How can I run at boot or autostart an app with GUI?

Question

I have a python script with a GUI that was designed with qt5, the script runs fine whenever I run it through the terminal or Thonny IDE. But no matter how much I tried, after trying many guides, videos, Chatgpt sessions I couldn't make it run on boot or AutoStart after boot to the Raspbian..

After I gave up I built a distributable file using pyinstaller --onefile your_script.py and tried the same but with no success!.

Now at the end I am satisfied of having my application running by double clicking it's icon from the desktop which is as well not working as:

• the exe file should be in the same folder of the python scripts and other files.
• every time I double click it, it asks "Execute, execute in terminal, cancel".

Is there a way to just create a desktop shortcut to run the application directly?

Answer 1

A search for Raspberry Pi desktop autostart app had https://forums.raspberrypi.com/viewtopic.php?t=294014 as the first hit. It describes 4 ways to do what you want, depending on your OS and other factors.

One method requires using the command line. Assuming you are user pi:

mkdir -p /home/pi/.config/lxsession/LXDE-pi
cp /etc/xdg/lxsession/LXDE-pi/autostart /home/pi/.config/lxsession/LXDE-pi/

Edit the file /home/pi/.config/lxsession/LXDE-pi/autostart and add a new line at the bottom, naming your process. The reference show this example, to start a Python 3 script:

@lxpanel --profile LXDE-pi
@pcmanfm --desktop --profile LXDE-pi
@xscreensaver -no-splash
@lxterminal -e python3 /path/my_script.py