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Autostart with Windows

GlassOut can start automatically when you sign into Windows. Two independent toggles cover the two components:

ToggleWhat launchesNeeds admin?
Start GlassOut with WindowsThe desktop appNo — uses the standard "Run" registry key
Start engine with Windowsglassout-engine.exe (headless)Yes, once, the moment you toggle it on

Both live under Settings → Autostart in the desktop app.

When you'd want this​

  • Single-PC setups — handy if you launch MSFS and GlassOut together every flight. Turning on Start GlassOut with Windows is enough; the app will spawn the engine itself when it starts.
  • Client-mode / home-cockpit MSFS PC — turn on Start engine with Windows so the MSFS PC serves panels without you needing to log in and open the desktop app first. Leave Start GlassOut with Windows off on the MSFS PC unless you also want the UI to appear at logon.
  • Touch-display PC in client mode — turn on Start GlassOut with Windows on the display PC so it auto-reconnects to the host the moment Windows is up.

What happens when you toggle each one​

Start GlassOut with Windows​

Writes a per-user entry to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. No admin prompt, no scheduled task. The app launches normally — visible window, taskbar entry, the works.

Start engine with Windows​

Registers a Windows Scheduled Task named GlassOutEngine set to run at logon with RunLevel=Highest. That combination is the only way to launch the engine silently (no UAC prompt at every login) while still giving it the elevated rights it needs to inject into MSFS.

Toggling this on triggers a one-time UAC prompt, because registering a scheduled task itself requires admin. Approve it once and the task is permanent — subsequent logons fire silently.

The task launches the engine through a hidden PowerShell shim so the engine's console window never flashes on the screen. The engine starts with --no-idle-shutdown so it keeps serving even before any client connects.

You can verify the task is in place by opening Task Scheduler (Win → type "Task Scheduler") and looking in the root library for GlassOutEngine.

Task scheduler

How the app and engine cooperate at logon​

When both toggles are on:

  1. Windows fires both autostart entries at roughly the same time.
  2. The engine task usually wins by a few hundred milliseconds — it's a smaller process and starts under the scheduler.
  3. The desktop app waits up to 15 seconds for an existing engine to appear on engine.json before it would otherwise spawn its own. If the autostarted engine answers in time, the app connects to it instead of double-spawning.
  4. If the engine task fails (rare), the app falls back to its usual cold-spawn path — same UAC prompt as a regular launch.

Disabling​

Toggling either switch off undoes the change immediately. Disabling Start engine with Windows prompts UAC once more (to unregister the scheduled task) and removes it cleanly.

Uninstalling GlassOut removes both autostart entries — even ones registered under a prior install — so you won't be left with phantom tasks.

Troubleshooting​

See Troubleshooting → Autostart didn't fire / engine missing at logon.