MaixPy/MaixCAM Application Auto-Start at Boot

Packaged applications can be set to automatically start when the device boots up, bypassing the application menu and directly launching the specified application.

Method One for Setting Application Auto-Start

First, package and install the application, then go to Settings -> Auto-Start on your device to select the application you want to auto-start. To cancel auto-start, you can also adjust it here.

Method Two for Setting Application Auto-Start

Run the Python script to set up, and modify the new_autostart_app_id variable in the script to the app_id you want to set. All installed app_ids will be printed out when you run the script, so you can run it once to find the desired app_id, modify the variable, and then run it again. To cancel the autostart setting, set it to None.

This script can also be found in the MaixPy examples under examples/tools as set_autostart.py:

import configparser, os

def parse_apps_info():
    info_path = "/maixapp/apps/app.info"
    conf = configparser.ConfigParser()
    conf.read(info_path)
    version = conf["basic"]["version"]
    apps = {}
    for id in list(conf.keys()):
        if id in ["basic", "DEFAULT"]:
            continue
        apps[id] = conf[id]
    return apps

def list_apps():
    apps = parse_apps_info()
    print(f"APP num: {len(apps)}")
    for i, (id, info) in enumerate(apps.items()):
        name_zh = info.get("name[zh]", "")
        print(f"{i + 1}. [{info['name']}] {name_zh}:")
        print(f"    id: {id}")
        print(f"    exec: {info['exec']}")
        print(f"    author: {info['author']}")
        print(f"    desc: {info['desc']}")
        print(f"    desc_zh: {info.get('desc', 'None')}")
        print("")


def get_curr_autostart_app():
    path = "/maixapp/auto_start.txt"
    if os.path.exists(path):
        with open(path, "r") as f:
            app_id = f.readline().strip()
            return app_id
    return None

def set_autostart_app(app_id):
    path = "/maixapp/auto_start.txt"
    if not app_id:
        if os.path.exists(path):
            os.remove(path)
        return
    with open(path, "w") as f:
        f.write(app_id)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    # new_autostart_app_id = "settings"   # change to app_id you want to set
    new_autostart_app_id = None           # remove autostart

    list_apps()
    print("Before set autostart appid:", get_curr_autostart_app())
    set_autostart_app(new_autostart_app_id)
    print("Current autostart appid:", get_curr_autostart_app())

Method Three for Setting Application Auto-Start

You can also modify the /maixapp/auto_start.txt file in your device to set it up. For methods on file transfer, refer to the previous documentation.

• First, determine the id of the application you want to set. This is set when you package the application; if it's not an application you packaged yourself, you can install it on the device and check the folder names under the device's /maixapp/apps/ directory, which are the application names (or you can download and check the device's /maixapp/apps/app.info file, where the application id is indicated inside the [] brackets).
• Then write the id into the /maixapp/auto_start.txt file. (You can create the file locally on your computer, and then transfer it to the device using MaixVision.)
• To cancel, delete the /maixapp/auto_start.txt file on the device.

Other Methods

Since MaixCAM runs on a Linux-based system, if you're familiar with Linux, you can also configure system startup by directly editing startup scripts:

• For MaixCAM/MaixCAM-Pro, edit /etc/rc.local or startup scripts under /etc/init.d.
• For MaixCAM2, which uses systemd for startup management, add a service file under /etc/systemd/system, then enable it with systemctl enable xxxx.service. You can refer to launcher.service, which is the default launcher program.

⚠️ However, note that this approach prevents MaixVision from stopping the running application during connection, which may cause resource conflicts (e.g., screen or camera already in use), and MaixVision might fail to run programs properly.

In contrast, the first two application auto-start methods allow MaixVision to gracefully stop the running app when connecting to the device.

Therefore, this method is more suitable for background processes that don’t require access to the screen or camera. If you're not familiar with Linux, this approach is not recommended, as it can easily lead to resource conflicts involving the screen or camera.