There's a great value in having your PC open your favorite programs as soon as you log in. It can make your computer feel faster, saving you from having to click on a half-dozen icons. You probably know how to set normal desktop programs to run at startup, but what about Windows 10 Store apps?

Thankfully, it's easy to set up Store apps to run as soon as you log in. Here's how to do so.

How to Run Windows 10 Store Apps at Startup

  1. Open a File Explorer window by clicking on the folder icon on your Taskbar.
  2. Click inside the address bar, and enter shell:appsfolder. This will open a list of all apps installed on your computer.
  3. Open a second File Explorer window by holding Shift and clicking the folder icon again.
  4. Enter shell:startup into the second File Explorer pane. This opens a folder containing a list of programs that Windows will run at startup.
  5. Now, simply drag and drop icons from the apps folder to the startup folder. This will create a shortcut link and Windows will automatically open them at launch.
  6. Restart your PC and you'll see the apps open as soon as you log in.

This method is a bit clunky, because the shell:appsfolder list doesn't just contain Store apps. It includes program uninstallers and Store apps have nearly invisible icons.

To make this easier, the next major update to Windows 10 will have a new Startup Apps tab on the Apps category in Settings. For now, though, this is the best way to do it.

Don't forget that having too many startup programs can slow down your computer's boot time, so use this sparingly.