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I noticed that since a while the AppCenter is opened when I boot into elementary OS. I'm not revering to checking updates in the background, I mean the AppCenter window is opened. Is there a way to disable this?

AppCenter isn't listed in System Settings > Applications > Startup

The autostart file /etc/xdg/autostart/io.elementary.appcenter-daemon.desktop contains:

[Desktop Entry]
Name=AppCenter Daemon
Comment=Browse and manage apps
Exec=io.elementary.appcenter -s
Icon=system-software-install
Terminal=false
Type=Application
NoDisplay=true
X-GNOME-AutoRestart=true
X-GNOME-Autostart-Phase=Applications

I don't seem to have AppCenter related items in /etc/systemd/system.

Update: To clarify, it's fine that AppCenter is opened in the background for update checking etc. The above mentioned .desktop file for example opens the AppCenter silently, so without opening the window.

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2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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Rename the io.elementary.appcenter-daemon.desktop to prevent startup.

cd /etc/xdg/autostart/

sudo mv io.elementary.appcenter-daemon.desktop io.elementary.appcenter-daemon.desktop.bak
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  • But... won't that prevent it from checking for updates? (I'll clarify my question). The -s argument used in that desktop file means it's opened silently, so without opening a window etc.
    – Peter Uithoven
    Feb 14, 2018 at 19:12
  • Good point. I can't say for sure whether it will or not. but since you're just renaming it rather than deleting it, you can always try it out. See if it still receives updates. If it doesn't switch it back. It might also be useful to rename it, reboot, then rename it back and reboot again.See if that stops the appcenter from running on startup.
    – pretz
    Feb 14, 2018 at 20:08
  • You where right, renaming that file prevents the window from opening. I've logged in and out with that file renamed and not renames and the behavior is very consistent. But, what surprises me even more is that there was still a updates check. In htop I can see there is still a appcenter process started (with -s). In tree mode it's listed under systemd --user.
    – Peter Uithoven
    Feb 14, 2018 at 21:05
  • perfect! It appears the process that checks for updates in independent, at least in some way, from the app center.
    – pretz
    Feb 14, 2018 at 21:56
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TL;DR: Move the autostart file aside using dpkg-divert:

$ dpkg-divert --divert "/etc/xdg/autostart/io.elementary.appcenter-daemon.desktop.~ram~" --rename "/etc/xdg/autostart/io.elementary.appcenter-daemon.desktop"

The answer from @pretz is correct in that moving /etc/xdg/autostart/io.elementary.appcenter-daemon.desktop aside is the way to keep this daemon from starting up. That file is managed, however, by the pop-shop OS package which means that the "right" way to move it aside is to tell the OS to do so and $ dpkg-divert is the way to do that in Debian OS'es. Otherwise the file may be restored when the package is upgraded in the future.

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