## Describe your changes
`applyAutostartDefault` gated all MDM enforcement behind the one-time
`AutostartInitialized` marker, so MDM `disableAutostart` only affected
fresh installs — a policy pushed after autostart had been enabled could
not
revoke the OS login-item.
The PR adds follow-up MDM enforcements at the top of
the function: if at any time MDM sets `disableAutostart=true` and the OS
registration is
present, force `SetEnabled(false)` to align it.
Trade-off: once the admin lifts the policy, autostart stays off until
the user re-toggles
in Settings — consistent with "MDM always wins" behavior of the other
managed keys.
## Issue ticket number and link
Follow-up to PR https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/pull/6738
(introduced
the `disableAutostart` MDM key with fresh-install-only semantics).
## Stack
<!-- branch-stack -->
### Checklist
- [x] Is it a bug fix
- [ ] Is a typo/documentation fix
- [ ] Is a feature enhancement
- [ ] It is a refactor
- [ ] Created tests that fail without the change (if possible)
> By submitting this pull request, you confirm that you have read and
agree to the terms of the [Contributor License
Agreement](https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/blob/main/CONTRIBUTOR_LICENSE_AGREEMENT.md).
## Documentation
Select exactly one:
- [x] I added/updated documentation for this change
- [ ] Documentation is **not needed** for this change (explain why)
### Docs PR URL (required if "docs added" is checked)
Paste the PR link from https://github.com/netbirdio/docs here:
<https://github.com/netbirdio/docs/pull/855>
<!-- This is an auto-generated comment: release notes by coderabbit.ai
-->
## Summary by CodeRabbit
- **New Features**
- Added an administrative policy to disable client autostart (“Disable
Autostart”).
- Added support for configuring this policy via macOS MDM, Windows Group
Policy (ADMX/ADML), and registry settings.
- When enforced, the client prevents new autostart registration on fresh
installs and removes existing autostart on the next GUI launch, keeping
it disabled until the policy is lifted.
- **Bug Fixes**
- Improved enforcement logic for managed autostart defaults so policy
state is applied consistently during startup and first-run setup.
<!-- end of auto-generated comment: release notes by coderabbit.ai -->
* [client] Add autostart preference marker and MDM disableAutostart key
Adds the autostartInitialized marker to the Wails UI preferences store so
the one-time autostart default decision can persist per OS user, and a
UI-only disableAutostart MDM policy key that suppresses the default and
flows into GetConfigResponse.mDMManagedFields like disableAutoConnect.
* [client] Enable launch-on-login by default on fresh GUI installs
On the first interactive run the GUI persists the autostartInitialized
marker before any enable attempt, then enables autostart only when the
platform supports it, MDM policy does not disable it, the process was not
relaunched by an installer/updater (--post-update), and the installer's
fresh-install breadcrumb is present. Upgrading users have no breadcrumb,
so an update can never write login items, and a user's disable in
Settings is never overridden.
* [release] Write fresh-install breadcrumb from installers
Installers write a .fresh-install breadcrumb on fresh installs only and
delete stale breadcrumbs on upgrade; none of them writes login items or
registry Run keys. Windows NSIS detects upgrades via the uninstall
registry entry or an existing installed executable; the macOS pkg via the
previous pkgutil receipt; Linux deb/rpm via the standard postinstall
arguments. Post-update GUI relaunches (macOS open, Linux
ui-post-install.sh) pass --post-update so the first-run autostart default
cannot fire on updates.
* Revert installer breadcrumb changes
The real Windows installer does uninstall-then-install and deletes
$INSTDIR, so a breadcrumb written there cannot survive or discriminate
a fresh install from an upgrade. Restore the three installer files to
their main versions; no installer or updater writes an autostart entry.
* Detect fresh install from NetBird footprint instead of installer breadcrumb
Replace the installer-written breadcrumb discriminator with a GUI-side
check. netbirdFootprintExists inspects the daemon config/state files
(default.json, legacy config.json, state.json) under profilemanager's
default config dir; combined with whether the UI preferences file already
existed, this tells a genuinely fresh machine from an existing or
upgrading user. Only the signed GUI, via Wails, ever enables
launch-on-login, and a user's later manual disable is never overridden.
The preferences store now exposes ExistedAtLoad and the --post-update
flag is dropped.
* Update tests for footprint-based autostart default
Table tests for shouldEnableAutostartDefault now cover supported,
mdmDisabled, and priorInstall guards plus precedence; breadcrumb and
post-update cases are removed. Add a store test asserting ExistedAtLoad
is false with no file and true after persisting and reopening.
