Tunnelblick Launches at Startup (Login)

This is related to VPN Details Windows Appears at Startup (Login) and Tunnelblick's Background Programs.

Some users find that Tunnelblick runs when they don't expect it to or they don't want it to.

That is probably because Tunnelblick does not use the standard macOS "Open at Login" mechanism. (See Why and How Tunnelblick Doesn't Use "Open at Login", below.)

Instead, Tunnelblick is launched at login:

• If it was running when you last logged out; or
• If it detects a VPN either connected or in the process of connecting; or
• If Tunnelblick's "kill switch" had previously disabled all network access.

On other words:

• If you quit Tunnelblick after using it, it should not launch when you next login or start your computer unless it needs to (see below).
• If you leave Tunnelblick running, it will launch when you next login.

If this is not the behavior you are experiencing, please see Troubleshooting below or ask for help on the Tunnelblick Discussion Group.

Troubleshooting

First, check to make sure you don't have a Tunnelblick "Login Item".

1. Go to System Preferences and search for "login". Click "Login Items" in the search results on the left, and look at the "Open at Login" items on the right side of the window.
2. If you see Tunnelblick, click to select it, then click the minus sign ("-") below it.

Second, check that you do not have an active VPN:

1. Launch /Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.
2. Click "View", then "All Processes".
3. Click on the "Process Name" header to sort the list by process name.

If you see a process named "tunnelblick-helper", that indicates that a VPN is being connected. If you see a process named "openvpn", it means that a VPN is being connected or is connected.

Third, check to see that Tunnelblick's kill switch has not disabled network services. Click on the Tunnelblick icon. If you see a menu item to re-enable network services, they are disabled.

If all of these checks are negative, ask for help on the Tunnelblick Discussion Group. Please include the output of the following Terminal commands in your post (you can copy/paste; it all goes on one line):

ps -ef | grep -w openvpn | grep -v grep ; ps -ef | grep tunnelblick-helper | grep -v grep

To Stop Tunnelblick from Launching on Login

You can stop Tunnelblick from launching at login solely because it was running when you last logged out. To do that, copy/paste the following in /Applications/Utilities/Terminal, then press the enter/return key on the keyboard:

    defaults  write  net.tunnelblick.tunnelblick  doNotLaunchOnLogin  -bool  yes

To restore Tunnelblick's normal behavior, copy/paste the following, then press the enter/return key on the keyboard:

    defaults  delete  net.tunnelblick.tunnelblick  doNotLaunchOnLogin

You can also but should not stop Tunnelblick from launching on login if it detects an active VPN on login or if it had previously disabled network access by disallowing one of its two "Allow in the Background" items in System Settings >> General >> Login Items. Disallow the Tunnelblick item that is not labelled "affects all users".

Why and How Tunnelblick does not Use "Login Items"

Why and How Tunnelblick does not Use "Open at Login"

Tunnelblick doesn't use what Apple used to call "Login Items" and now calls "Open at Login" items. Instead, Tunnelblick tells macOS to run a program each time the user logs in.

(It's semantics: Apple lists a program that the user asks to be run at login an "Open at Login" program but if *an application asks** that the same program be run at login, Apple lists it as an "Allow in the Background" program.)

Note that it isn't Tunnelblick itself that is run at login. Instead, the Tunnelblick installer sets up macOS to run a tiny program. The program decides whether or not to launch Tunnelblick, does so if necessary, and then quits. The program has little impact on the time to start up the computer or login.