---
title: 'Tutorial: Setting Your VPN Client to Automatically Connect With Your VPN at Startup'
canonical: https://openvpn.net/as-docs/tutorials/tutorial--automatically-connect-vpn-client/
product: Access Server Docs
description: How to automatically connect to your VPN server when your computer starts — with OpenVPN Connect.
---

# Tutorial: Setting Your VPN Client to Automatically Connect With Your VPN at Startup

## Overview

This guide shows you how to set OpenVPN Connect to connect to Access Server automatically using an auto-login connection profile.

Here are the steps to do that, outlined in the section below:

1. The user installs OpenVPN Connect.
2. The admin allows an auto-login connection profile for the user.
3. The user downloads an auto-login profile.
4. The user sets the OpenVPN Connect launch options.
5. OpenVPN Connect connects to the VPN automatically at startup.

> **Important**
>
> These instructions apply to macOS and Windows.

## Prerequisites

- An installed Access Server.
- An Access Server [user account](https://openvpn.net/as-docs/users.md) for the end user.

## Step 1: Install OpenVPN Connect

1. The user installs [OpenVPN Connect](https://openvpn.net/client/) on their device.

## Step 2: Allow an auto-login connection profile

The administrator allows downloading an auto-login connection profile:

1. Sign in to the Admin Web UI.
2. Click **User Permissions \> User Management**.
3. Find the user from the list and check **Allow Auto-login**.
4. Select **Save Settings** and **Update Running Server**.

## Step 3: Download the auto-login profile

The user downloads and imports an auto-login connection profile:

1. Sign in to the Client Web UI.
2. Under **Available Connection Profiles**, click the autologin profile.
   - The connection profile downloads to the user's device.
3. Double-click the connection profile.
   - OpenVPN Connect opens to the **Import Profile** screen.
4. Click **Import** to import the auto-login connection profile.

## Step 4: Set the OpenVPN Connect launch options

The user now selects the OpenVPN connect launch options appropriate to their operating system.

### Set launch options on macOS

1. Click the OpenVPN icon on the ribbon bar.
2. Select **Settings \> Launch Options**.
3. Select **Restore connection**.

> **Note**
>
> You can also choose **Connect latest**, and OpenVPN Connect will launch after a reboot and try to connect to the latest connected profile in the list.

### Set launch options on Windows

1. Right-click on the OpenVPN icon in the taskbar.
2. Select **Settings \> Launch Options**.
3. Select **Restore connection**.

> **Note**
>
> You can also choose **Connect latest**, and OpenVPN Connect will launch after a reboot and try to connect to the latest connected profile in the list.

## Step 5: Connect to your VPN

The last step is to connect to Access Server with the auto-login connection profile so OpenVPN Connect knows the profile to restore connection with after a restart:

1. Launch OpenVPN Connect.
2. Click the toggle next to the auto-login connection profile.
   - OpenVPN Connect makes the connection and displays the connection status.
3. The user can close the app window, and the VPN connection remains in the background.
   - When the user restarts their device, OpenVPN Connect launches at startup and restores the connection to the profile that was connected before the app shuts down.

---

Prev: [Tutorial: Connect to Access Server With a Connection Profile on DD-WRT](https://openvpn.net/as-docs/tutorials/tutorial--connect-with-dd-wrt.md)
Next: [Connection Profiles and Token URLs](https://openvpn.net/as-docs/tutorials/connection-profiles-and-token-urls.md)
Index: https://openvpn.net/as-docs/llms.txt