How to Stop Spotify From Opening on Startup

To stop Spotify from opening when your computer starts, open the Spotify desktop app, click your profile picture, and choose Settings. Scroll to Startup and window behavior and set Open Spotify automatically after you log into the computer to No. If Spotify still opens after that, turn it off in Windows Startup apps or in your Mac’s Login Items.

These steps cover the current Spotify desktop app on Windows 11, Windows 10, and macOS, whether you installed it from spotify.com or the Microsoft Store. The phone and tablet apps don’t open on their own at startup, so they have no setting for this.

The Windows steps follow Microsoft’s Configure Startup applications in Windows article, and the Mac steps follow Apple’s Open items automatically when you log in on Mac guide.

Why Spotify Opens at Startup

Spotify turns on its own startup option when you install it, so it opens each time you sign in to your computer. That’s handy if you play music all day. If you don’t, it adds one more app to load while your computer starts and keeps Spotify running in the background until you quit it.

Turning the option off doesn’t uninstall Spotify or change your account, playlists, or downloads. You can still open Spotify from the Start menu, the Dock, or the Applications folder whenever you want it.

How to Stop Spotify From Launching Automatically in the App

Start here. This is Spotify’s own switch, and it works the same way on Windows and Mac.

1. Open the Spotify app on your computer.
2. Click your profile picture in the top-right corner. A small menu opens.
3. Click Settings. The Settings page opens in the main part of the window.
4. Scroll down to Startup and window behavior. On some versions the heading is spelled “behaviour.”
5. Open the menu next to Open Spotify automatically after you log into the computer and choose No.

Spotify saves the change right away. There’s no Save button. The next time you sign in to your computer, Spotify stays closed until you open it.

The menu in step 5 has three choices:

Option	What happens when you sign in
Yes	Spotify opens in a full window.
Minimized	Spotify starts in the background, ready to play, without a window on screen.
No	Spotify doesn’t start until you open it.

Pick Minimized if you like to control music on your computer from your phone with Spotify Connect. Your computer can only show up as a Spotify Connect device while the desktop app is running, so No means you’ll need to open Spotify on the computer first.

Older guides tell you to go to Edit > Preferences and click Show Advanced Settings. That was an earlier layout. Current versions open Settings from your profile picture and show the startup options on the same page as everything else.

How to Turn Off Spotify in Windows Startup Apps

If Spotify still opens, or you’d rather not open Spotify at all, turn it off in Windows. Microsoft lists two places to do this, and they control the same switch. For more on this list, read about changing startup programs in Windows 11.

From Settings

1. Select Start > Settings > Apps > Startup.
2. Find Spotify in the list. Use Sort by if the list is long.
3. Set the toggle to Off.

From Task Manager

1. Open Task Manager in Windows 11. Pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc opens it directly.
2. Select the Startup apps tab. In Windows 10 it’s called Startup, and you may need to select More details first.
3. Select Spotify, then select Disable. You can also right-click Spotify and choose Disable.

The Status column changes to Disabled. Task Manager also shows each app’s startup impact, from Low to High, which can help if your computer is slow to start.

Microsoft Edge can also reopen or preload at sign-in, and you can turn that off with the steps for removing Edge from Windows 10.

How to Remove Spotify From Mac Login Items

1. Choose the Apple menu > System Settings, then click General in the sidebar.
2. Click Login Items & Extensions. You may need to scroll down.
3. Select Spotify in the list of items that open at login.
4. Click the Remove (-) button below the list.

Spotify disappears from the list and won’t open the next time you log in. To skip all login items just once, hold the Shift key while you click Log In, then release it when the Dock appears.

How to Make the Close Button Quit Spotify

Spotify can keep running after you close its window, which can make it feel like it never quit. In the same Startup and window behavior section of Spotify Settings, look for Close button should minimize the Spotify window. Turn it off if you want clicking X to quit Spotify.

If it’s on, Spotify keeps running in the system tray on Windows. To fully quit, right-click the Spotify icon in the tray (you may need to click the up arrow next to the clock first) and choose Quit. On a Mac, press Command + Q while Spotify is the active app.

If Spotify Still Opens at Startup

Work through these checks in order, then restart your computer to test.

• The Windows switch is still on. If you installed Spotify from the Microsoft Store, Windows controls its startup entry in Settings > Apps > Startup. Turn it off there even if Spotify’s own menu is already set to No. In Task Manager, disable every Spotify entry you see on the Startup apps tab.
• A shortcut sits in your Startup folder. Press Windows key + R, type shell:startup, and press Enter. If you see a Spotify shortcut in the folder that opens, delete it. Deleting the shortcut doesn’t remove Spotify.
• Windows is reopening your last session. Windows can reopen apps that were running when you shut down. A Microsoft moderator on Microsoft Q&A points to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > Automatically save my restartable apps and restart them when I sign back in. Turn it off, or quit Spotify before you shut down.
• Your Mac is reopening windows. When you restart or shut down a Mac, the confirmation box has a Reopen windows when logging back in checkbox. Clear it, or quit Spotify first, so it doesn’t come back with your other apps.
• You can’t reach Spotify’s Settings. If you’re signed out and can’t open Settings, use the Windows or Mac steps above instead. They work without signing in.
• The setting keeps switching back. Update Spotify to the newest version, set the option to No again, and also turn it off in Windows or macOS so both switches agree.

How to Undo It

To make Spotify open at startup again, go back to Settings > Startup and window behavior and choose Yes or Minimized. If you turned it off in Windows or on your Mac, turn the Windows toggle back On, or add Spotify to Login Items with the Add (+) button.

If You Don’t Want the Desktop App at All

You can listen in a browser with the Spotify Web Player at open.spotify.com, which never opens on its own. If you go that route, you can uninstall the desktop app in Windows from Settings > Apps > Installed apps: select the three dots next to Spotify and choose Uninstall. On a Mac, drag Spotify from the Applications folder to the Trash. Uninstalling removes any songs and podcasts you downloaded on that computer, but your playlists stay in your account.

Frequently Asked Questions