Build, automate and troubleshoot your setup.

Quick start

MSFS Startup Manager is profile-based. A profile stores the ordered startup sequence and its Watchers, while global settings and automatic profile rules are stored separately.

1. Create or load a profile.If no profile is available when the app opens, the welcome screen offers Create new profile, Load existing profile or Continue without profile. Creating a profile asks for a name and immediately creates the JSON file.
2. Add Microsoft Flight Simulator.Open Startup sequence, choose + Add step, and select MSFS 2024 or MSFS 2020 from the searchable Flight Simulator category.
3. Add companion applications.Add vPilot, FSUIPC, MobiFlight, AutoFPS, Navigraph tools or other applications, webpages and commands in the order you want them to start.
4. Optional: connect another computer.Open Computers, enable Remote Devices, export the Agent with Get Remote Agent, and pair a second Windows PC. Remote-capable steps can then select Run on computer.
5. Choose when each step may continue.Examples include process running, SimConnect connected, FlightLoaded, Ready to Fly, MSFS 2024 Flow lifecycle state, aircraft title, TCP state, file state, a custom command or a fixed delay.
6. Add Watchers when an action should react in the background.Watchers can respond to simulator/application state independently of the startup sequence and can run multiple ordered executions.
7. Optional: add a Yes/No question.Use Flow → Ask user (Yes / No) to ask whether to continue, stop, skip the next execution or start another saved profile. You can also add questions to Watcher executions.
8. Run the profile.Use Start sequence from the header or Dashboard. The pre-flight readiness check runs first: healthy results continue automatically; errors offer Stop sequence or Continue with errors. Profiles are autosaved by default, and saved profiles can also be launched with Quick run.

Modern interface

Appearance can follow Windows automatically or be fixed to Light or Dark. The main window is resizable and normally opens maximized. Long editors scroll independently from their action buttons, including the fixed footer in the Yes/No question editor.

Appearance can follow Windows automatically or be fixed to Light or Dark. The main window opens maximized by default while keeping the normal Windows title bar and taskbar. App-owned popup windows use the same visual language and the normal Windows title-bar close button. Scrollable pages and long editors follow the mouse pointer, so the wheel works without selecting the scrollbar first.

Startup sequence

The sequence runs from top to bottom. Each enabled step performs its action and, for normal steps, waits for its configured continue condition(s). Special Yes/No steps ask a question only when their ask-when conditions match, rather than waiting for those conditions to become true.

Phase labels such as Pre-flight, Simulator, After SimConnect, After flight loaded and Other are organizational labels only. The visible row order controls execution.

Enable or disable a step

Select a sequence step and click On / Off, or change Enabled in its editor. Disabled steps stay in their original position and are saved with the profile. They show Disabled and are skipped completely: no action, condition wait or restart monitoring is registered for that step. Existing profiles keep all steps enabled by default.

In v2.1.5, disabling a remote administrator step and saving it no longer prompts for no-prompt administrator setup, even when its Agent is offline. Its existing Scheduled Task is retained for later use.

Run a step on another computer

When Enable Remote Devices is on, compatible actions show Run on computer. Choose This PC or a paired computer. Remote application paths, arguments and working folders refer to the selected computer, not the PC running the Manager. See Remote sequence steps.

Interactive Yes/No steps

Add Flow → Ask user (Yes / No) to ask an optional question and branch into another profile. You can choose popup, clickable Windows toast or automatic toast with popup fallback. See Yes/No questions.

Before the sequence starts

A background pre-flight readiness check checks the current profile, including unsaved edits. No sequence action starts until the check passes or you explicitly choose to continue with errors.

For remote steps, Pre-flight also checks whether the selected Agent is paired, online, supports the requested action and has a valid pre-authorized administrator task when required.

Add Step picker

+ Add step opens a searchable card picker. The current categories are Launch, Flight Simulator, Interaction and Flow. You can search for terms such as MSFS, keyboard, web or button.

Application handling

Application steps can skip launch when already running, use a specific working directory and arguments, run normally or elevated, and optionally minimize the application's visible window after launch. Managed applications can also be configured to close when MSFS exits or restart automatically if they close while MSFS is still running.

Timeout and errors

Each sequence step has a timeout. A timeout of 0 means wait indefinitely. You can choose whether a timeout stops the sequence or continues to the next step. Launch/action failures can likewise stop or continue according to the step setting.

Actions reference

Actions describe what Startup Manager does. Many actions work as both sequence steps and Watcher executions, and supported actions can run on paired remote PCs when Remote Devices is enabled. Wait/checkpoint and Yes/No questions are handled by the Manager itself.

Conditions reference

Conditions decide when a sequence step may continue, when a Watcher should trigger, whether an Automatic Profile Rule becomes active, or whether a Yes/No sequence question should be shown. Sequence-only conditions are marked separately.

Watchers

Watchers run independently in the background while MSFS Startup Manager is open. They do not block the startup sequence. Each Watcher has one or more conditions and one or more ordered executions.

Trigger behavior

Trigger if already true when armed

Enable this when the Watcher should fire immediately if the condition is already true at startup/re-arm. Leave it off when you specifically want a new false → true transition.

Check interval and cooldown

The check interval controls how often conditions are evaluated; the minimum is 0.25 seconds and the usual default is 1 second. Cooldown prevents repeated triggers from happening too quickly.

Shared action start delay

The Watcher can wait a configured number of seconds after its trigger before the execution list starts. Re-arming, editing or disabling the Watcher cancels a pending shared delay.

Multiple executions and per-execution delay

Use + Add execution to add more actions. They run from top to bottom. Every execution can have its own Delay before this execution. If one execution fails, the remaining actions are not run and the Watcher reports an action error.

Run now is intended for testing. It bypasses the Watcher-level start delay, but configured per-execution delays are still respected.

MSFS 2024 Flow safety

By default, ordinary flight-state Watchers are temporarily suspended while MSFS 2024 is loading/replacing aircraft state, teleporting, using Back on Track, skipping part of an activity, showing an RTC/cinematic, replaying, or waiting for a post-transition SimConnect refresh.

Watchers that explicitly use one of the Flow lifecycle conditions are not auto-suspended, so you can intentionally react to events such as Replay active, Flight ended or Aircraft crashed. Pending delayed actions are cancelled when a protected transition starts, and an already-running multi-action Watcher is stopped before its next action.

Cross-PC triggers and executions

When Remote Devices are enabled, Watchers offer Evaluate conditions on computer. Each execution has a separate Run on computer selector, so a trigger on NAV-PC can start applications on COCKPIT-PC or This PC. See the cross-PC walkthrough.

Ask a Yes/No question inside a Watcher

Choose + Add execution → Ask user (Yes / No). If the Watcher triggers while MSFS is running, the Manager can display a popup or a clickable Windows toast. Stop ends the Watcher's remaining executions, not an unrelated startup sequence. See interactive questions.

Interactive Yes/No questions

Version 2.1 adds Ask user (Yes / No) to both startup sequences and Watcher executions. The question can continue the current workflow, stop it, skip the next execution or start a different saved profile, based on the answer.

Add a confirmation to a sequence

1. Open Startup sequence → + Add step → Flow → Ask user (Yes / No).Give the step a descriptive name, for example Ask whether to launch VATSIM tools.
2. Click Configure question / responses…Enter a title and message, then choose how to display the question.
3. Set Yes and No separately.Choose Continue, Stop this sequence, Skip the next execution, or Start another profile. For a profile answer, select a saved .json profile.
4. Set a response timeout.The default is 120 seconds. Enter 0 to wait without a time limit; choose what happens on timeout.
5. Optional: add Ask only when conditions.These conditions are evaluated once when the step is reached, using All or Any. If they are false, no question appears and the step is skipped.
6. Save the question and step, then test the sequence.You can edit the same Yes/No configuration again at any time.

Choose the notification method

What each answer does

Use confirmation questions in a Watcher

Go to Watchers → Edit → + Add execution → Ask user (Yes / No). The Watcher's regular trigger conditions decide when the execution list starts. Put the question before the actions it should influence. Questions appear on the Manager PC even if the trigger is evaluated on an Agent.

Watcher: AviaServer became available
Evaluate conditions on computer: NAV-PC
Condition: A process is running = aviaServer2024.exe

Execution 1: Ask user (Yes / No)
Question: "Start the cockpit profile now?"
Yes → Start another profile: Cockpit.json
No  → Stop this Watcher execution list

Questions are queued instead of opening over one another, and duplicate requests for the same execution are suppressed. Stopping a sequence or exiting the Manager cancels unanswered questions safely.

Computers and Remote Agent

Remote Devices let one MSFS Startup Manager control companion apps on other Windows PCs over your local network. The main Manager owns profiles, sequence order, Watchers and SimConnect; the lightweight MSFS Startup Manager Remote Agent runs on each additional computer.

Pair a second computer

1. On the main PC, open Computers.Turn on Enable Remote Devices. Allow the app through Windows Firewall on Private networks if Windows asks.
2. Click Get Remote Agent.Save MSFS Startup Manager Remote Agent.exe and copy it to the other Windows computer. The Agent is embedded in normal Manager release builds; you do not need a second website download.
3. Run the Agent on the other PC.It discovers Managers on the LAN. If several Managers appear, choose the one you want to connect to.
4. Read the 6-digit pairing code in the Agent.Back in the Manager's Computers page, enter that code in the pending pairing request and confirm it.
5. Verify the connection.The computer appears under Paired computers as ONLINE, with its Agent version, address and reported capabilities. It reconnects automatically while both applications are running.

Agent options and status

Security and network access

Agents initiate their connection to the Manager. The connection uses TLS encryption, device pairing and persistent authentication. After pairing, the Agent checks the trusted Manager identity before reconnecting. The Manager uses UDP 47500 for LAN discovery and TCP 47501 for its encrypted Agent connections. These ports may need to be allowed for private LAN traffic.

The Agent runs under the logged-in Windows account, rather than operating as a desktop-control service before login. For remote window capture, hotkeys, UI Automation and mouse clicks, the other PC must have an active interactive Windows session.

Run actions on other computers

Once computers are paired, supported action editors show Run on computer. Choose This PC or a paired remote computer. Each profile stores the paired computer's identity, not just its IP address, so routine address changes do not invalidate the assignment.

Start an application remotely

1. Open a startup step or Watcher execution.Select Start application and choose the target from Run on computer.
2. Enter the application path on that remote PC.For example, C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe. If appropriate, add arguments, working directory and the executable/process name.
3. Choose application handling.You can skip if already running and use the supported managed-app lifecycle settings. The Manager can monitor the remote process and close or restart the managed application based on MSFS state.
4. Save and run Pre-flight.The Manager asks the Agent to validate remote application paths, working directories, capabilities and administrator setup when applicable.

Remote-capable actions

Remote window layout and UI control picking

For Position / resize window, choose the paired PC first and use Select window & capture… to inspect that Agent's visible windows. For remote UI Automation control picking, the Agent reads the control under the remote computer's mouse pointer after the countdown. Keep a user signed in on that PC and confirm the target application is visible.

For a remote application, process-running/exited checks can run through the Agent. SimConnect and other simulator-state checks belong to the main Manager PC. See Cross-PC Watchers for remote Windows/file/network trigger checks.

Cross-PC Watchers

Watchers can monitor supported conditions on one computer and then execute actions on different computers. This allows a process starting on NAV-PC to trigger a tool on COCKPIT-PC while MSFS continues to run on your main PC.

Configure a cross-PC Watcher

1. Open Watchers and create or edit a Watcher.Enable Remote Devices first if you want the computer selectors to appear.
2. Select Evaluate conditions on computer.Choose This PC or an online paired Agent. All trigger conditions in this Watcher use that one selected computer.
3. Add trigger conditions.For an Agent, use supported process, window, file, URL, TCP, custom-command or MSFS running/not-running conditions.
4. Add one or more executions.Each action can select its own Run on computer: for example, start a command on NAV-PC and open a webpage on COCKPIT-PC.
5. Choose trigger behavior, delay and cooldown.The normal Watcher edge/repeat/once logic still applies.
6. Save and test.Use Health Check/Pre-flight for capability errors, or Run now to test executions without waiting for the Watcher trigger.

Watcher: Start cockpit utilities
Evaluate conditions on computer: NAV-PC
Condition: A process is running = aviaServer2024.exe

Execution 1: Start Air Manager on COCKPIT-PC
Execution 2: Open webpage on NAV-PC
Execution 3: Ask user (Yes / No) on the main Manager

Remote actions can use administrator privilege modes where supported. Administrator – no prompt requires initial setup on each remote PC; see administrator actions.

Profiles and autosave

A profile is a reusable flight setup containing both startup steps and Watchers. The Profiles page shows the active profile first and then a library of saved profiles discovered from the normal profiles folder.

Create a profile

New asks for a profile name first. The JSON file is created immediately and becomes active, so autosave can work from the first change. The first-run welcome screen uses the same name-first creation flow.

Saved profile library

Saved profiles are sorted with the most recently modified profile first. Cards show profile name, startup-step count, Watcher count, modified time and file path. Invalid/unreadable JSON files remain visible with a warning instead of silently disappearing.

Autosave

Autosave is enabled by default. After the active profile changes, the app waits about 1.2 seconds after the last edit and then writes the profile automatically. Rapid edits reset that delay rather than causing repeated writes.

The Profiles page reports states such as Autosave pending, Autosaving, saved automatically, autosave off, or waiting for the sequence to finish. Profile switches protect pending changes: autosave is flushed when possible, otherwise you are prompted before discarding unsaved work.

Start another profile from a Yes/No answer

In a sequence or Watcher confirmation, select Start another profile for Yes or No and choose an existing saved .json profile. The Manager queues the switch until the current sequence is idle; it also guards against repeated profile-switch loops. Save the destination profile before using it.

Quick Run and Health Check

Quick Run

Every saved profile card includes Quick run. Loading a different profile first preserves pending edits when possible and performs a pre-flight readiness check before execution. Remote profiles also require their paired Agents to be online when their steps are enabled.

Automatic pre-flight readiness check

Every sequence start first checks the current in-memory profile in the background, including unsaved edits. Disabled steps and Watchers are skipped.

Pre-flight checks remote availability and action support, plus remote application paths and no-prompt administrator task readiness. Disabled steps/Watchers are excluded. An offline remote PC should be started/reconnected before launching the sequence.

This check validates readiness before launch; it cannot guarantee that every application will launch successfully or remain available during the sequence.

Health Check

Health check analyzes a saved profile without launching its applications. The report separates OK items, warnings and problems.

Automatic profile rules

Automatic Profile Rules let MSFS Startup Manager choose and run a saved profile automatically when conditions become true. Rules are global: they are not stored inside an individual profile.

Create a rule

1. Open Auto rules and add a rule.Give it a clear name such as PMDG 777 setup.
2. Choose the target saved profile.This is the profile that will be loaded and run when the rule triggers.
3. Add trigger conditions.Use the same background-compatible conditions as Watchers, for example Ready to Fly plus Aircraft title contains PMDG 777, or an MSFS 2024 Flow lifecycle condition.
4. Choose All or Any conditions.All requires every condition to be true; Any requires one.
5. Choose initial-trigger behavior and cooldown.By default a rule waits for a false → true transition. Enable initial triggering if an already-true rule should fire when the app starts.

Ready to Fly has been pressed
AND
Aircraft title contains: PMDG 777

→ Load "PMDG 777" profile
→ Run startup sequence

Rules are evaluated in the background (normally once per second) and use edge triggering so a condition that remains true does not continually restart the profile. A cooldown adds additional protection between triggers.

If a rule points to a profile file that no longer exists, the Auto rules page marks that target as missing.

Third-party application interaction

For desktop automation, target a visible window by title text, process name, or both. When both are supplied they must identify the same visible application window.

Press UI control

Use UI Automation whenever the target application exposes a proper button or control. It is generally the most reliable method because it targets the control rather than screen coordinates.

Send keyboard shortcut

Use this when the target application already provides a keyboard shortcut. The manager activates the target window before sending the keys.

Click relative position

Use this as a fallback for custom graphical interfaces. Coordinates are relative to the application's client area, making the action less dependent on the window's desktop position.

SimConnect

SimConnect is optional for general Windows automation but required for simulator-aware conditions. Startup Manager reconnects automatically and the Dashboard/SimConnect page shows current connection, aircraft, FlightLoaded, Ready-to-Fly and MSFS 2024 Flow lifecycle state.

FlightLoaded gate

Startup Manager listens for the real SimConnect FlightLoaded system event. Ground, airborne and engine states are gated until the flight is loaded, which reduces false triggers while MSFS is still loading or showing menus.

If the installed SimConnect package cannot expose the FlightLoaded event, Startup Manager can use the active-simulation + aircraft-title readiness check as a compatibility fallback. If the app connects after a flight is already active, it can perform a catch-up request.

Ready to Fly / flight start

MSFS 2024 adds a more precise point after loading: Ready to Fly has been pressed / flight started. When a suitable MSFS 2024 SimConnect client DLL is available, Startup Manager subscribes to SIMCONNECT_FLOW_EVENT_FLIGHT_START and latches the Ready-to-Fly state for the current flight.

In MSFS 2024, SimStart and Sim=1 do not confirm Ready to Fly because they can occur during initial loading. If Flow events are silent, a guarded post-FlightLoaded Unpaused event provides a compatibility fallback; the early Start Flight event is suppressed. MSFS 2020 keeps the FlightLoaded plus SimStart / Sim=1 compatibility path.

Once detected, Ready to Fly stays set through in-flight state-file loads such as taxi.flt. Flight end and returning to the main menu reset it. Watchers can still wait for loading/cinematic safety checks to clear before starting their configured action delay.

MSFS 2024 Flow lifecycle

Startup Manager also tracks high-level MSFS 2024 Flow events. The SimConnect page shows whether the Flow API is available, the current Flow state, Watcher safety status, the last Flow event and the last FLT/VFS path supplied by SimConnect.

Automatic resynchronization

When a Flow transition can replace or reposition aircraft state, Startup Manager invalidates cached aircraft/SimVar data and requests fresh values. Ordinary flight-state Watchers stay paused until a fresh SimConnect read completes. A generation guard prevents an older refresh from releasing a newer transition.

Advanced variable editor

The Advanced SimConnect condition presents separate Variable, Operation and Value fields. The variable dropdown is editable, so custom/new SimVars can still be entered.

AIRSPEED INDICATED | > | 30
AUTOPILOT MASTER | == | 1
SIM ON GROUND | == | 0
TITLE | contains | A320
GENERAL ENG COMBUSTION:1 | == | 1

Administrator-required applications

Application launches can use one of three privilege modes: Normal, Administrator - ask with UAC, or Administrator - no prompt (pre-authorized).

The pre-authorized task runs only as your current logged-in user; no password is stored and it is not run as SYSTEM. When configured, the manager also maintains a matching elevated close task so lifecycle cleanup can stop an elevated application when MSFS exits.

If application path, arguments or working directory change, run the elevated-task setup/update again. Use Elevated tasks under Settings to review the created tasks.

Administrator actions on a remote computer

Remote application steps, commands and supported UI interaction actions have the same Normal, Administrator - ask with UAC and Administrator - no prompt (pre-authorized) settings as local actions. UAC approval and the Scheduled Task setup happen on the remote computer, not on the Manager PC.

1. Choose the paired computer.In the action editor, set Run on computer to the intended Agent.
2. Choose Administrator - no prompt (pre-authorized).Click Set up / update no-prompt action (or the equivalent setup button in the Watcher editor).
3. Approve Windows UAC on the remote PC.The Agent creates or updates a Scheduled Task for this exact action. No Windows password is stored in the Manager profile.
4. Check Pre-flight before running.If you later change an action that affects its administrator configuration, use Set up / update again.

For remote applications configured to close when MSFS exits, setup also creates a matching elevated close task. If the Agent is offline or its version lacks the capability, Pre-flight reports it. Disabling a step or Watcher does not require administrator setup and does not remove its existing task.

System tray and notifications

System tray mode

When Keep running in the system tray is enabled, minimizing or closing the main window hides it instead of shutting down the manager. Watchers, Automatic Profile Rules and lifecycle monitoring continue in the background.

The tray menu provides quick access to open the manager, run the active sequence, open Watchers, or fully exit the application.

Windows shutdown and sign-out

When Windows requests shutdown, Startup Manager pauses new actions and automatic restarts. Confirmed shutdown cancels background work without normal exit prompts or blocking cleanup. If Windows cancels shutdown, paused work can resume. Save profile changes before shutting down; the shutdown handler does not show a save dialog.

Windows notifications

Settings can enable notifications when a Watcher triggers and when a managed application is automatically restarted. Test Windows notification lets you verify the notification path immediately.

The packaged application uses the MSFS Startup Manager icon for its window, taskbar/tray and notification identity. When tray mode is off but a notification is needed, a temporary notification-area icon is used only long enough to deliver it.

Clickable confirmation notifications

Yes/No confirmation questions can use a Windows toast with real clickable Yes and No buttons. Clicking one responds to the waiting sequence step or Watcher even while the Manager is minimized to the system tray. In Automatic display mode, an unanswered toast escalates to a popup after 12 seconds.

If Windows notifications are blocked, the Manager attempts to use the regular confirmation popup. The configured timeout decision applies if the user does not respond; an unanswered question is never automatically treated as Yes.

Settings, updates and diagnostics

The Settings page is scrollable. Simply hover over the visible Settings content and use the mouse wheel; you do not need to select the scrollbar first.

Start with Windows

The toggle applies to the current Windows user and supports both the packaged EXE and Python script. Enable it from the copy you intend to keep using. If you move the application, turn the setting off and on again to update the startup path. A failed change shows an error rather than reporting success.

This setting opens Startup Manager at sign-in. To automatically run a particular profile, configure an Automatic Profile Rule or use a profile shortcut as appropriate.

Version checking

The Updates card shows the installed version and checks the official website for the currently published version. The check runs in the background so the GUI remains responsive.

The update status can report Update available, You're up to date, Installed version is newer than the website version, or Could not check for updates.

Bottom-right update banner

When the website reports a version newer than the installed application, a compact banner appears in the bottom-right corner of the main window. Download opens the official download page. Dismiss hides that specific published version and remembers the choice in settings.json. A later, newer release can show the banner again.

No banner is shown when the installed version is equal to or newer than the website version, or when the website check fails.

Export diagnostic package

Settings → Support & diagnostics → Export diagnostic package creates a ZIP in a location you choose. Export runs in a background thread so the application remains responsive.

To report a problem, reproduce it first, then export a new package. Choose where to save the ZIP and attach it to your support request. The export runs without freezing the GUI.

Profile shortcuts

Create shortcut saves the active profile and creates a Windows .lnk. Opening that shortcut launches MSFS Startup Manager, loads that exact profile and automatically starts its sequence.

The shortcut stays linked to the JSON profile, so later saved/autosaved changes are picked up automatically. You can create separate shortcuts for different aircraft or flight setups.

Data and logs

User data is stored outside the application so the Python script and packaged EXE can share the same configuration:

%USERPROFILE%\MSFS Startup Manager\
    settings.json
    profile_rules.json
    elevated_tasks.json
    profiles\
        Your profile.json
    logs\
        msfs_startup_manager.log
    notification_assets\

Data folder on the Profiles page opens this location directly in Windows Explorer. Diagnostic packages are saved wherever you choose during export and are not automatically placed in this folder.

Remote Agent data

Each Agent stores its settings, pairing identity and log files under %USERPROFILE%\MSFS Startup Manager Agent\ on its own PC. Remote administrator-task metadata is separate from the main Manager's local task registry. Existing paired devices are retained across normal Manager upgrades.

Support & Diagnostics packages can include Agent log details if the relevant Agent is online and supports diagnostic collection. Treat exported packages as potentially sensitive and review them before sharing.

Troubleshooting