Autostart a program at boot up?

Question

I want to autostart a Python script that starts a Tkinter GUI at boot up.

The working terminal command to start the script is python3 /home/pi/Documents/slincam/slincam_menu.py.

I added this command to /etc/rc.local, but the program doesn't show up at boot up. Strangely when I type sudo /etc/rc.local in the terminal, the program starts.

Please, does someone know a solution for this?

Answer 1

A systemd Unit file could do it. Try this:

rpi ~$ sudo systemctl --force --full edit slincam_menu.service

In the empty editor insert these statements, save them and quit the editor:

[Unit]
Description=Slincam Menu
After=graphical.target

[Service]
User=pi
WorkingDirectory=/home/pi
Environment=DISPLAY=:0
ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 /home/pi/Documents/slincam/slincam_menu.py

[Install]
WantedBy=graphical.target

Enable the new service and reboot:

rpi ~$ sudo systemctl enable slincam_menu.service
rpi ~$ sudo systemctl reboot

Check with:

rpi ~$ systemctl status slincam_menu.service

Answer 2

I generally use crontab.. You may add your command to crontab in the following steps.

1. sudo crontab - e
2. Open using your favourite text editor
3. At the bottom add the line: @reboot python3 /home/pi/Documents/slincam/slincam_menu.py

Before doing so, please ensure file permissions.