You flip on Settings › General › “Launch at login”, and it flips itself back off. Two things cause this, and both are macOS being careful rather than Audiout forgetting.
Cause 1: macOS is holding the registration for approval
macOS doesn’t always let an app add itself to your login items directly. Sometimes it holds the request until you approve it yourself in System Settings. When that happens, the switch can’t stay on, and Audiout shows a row right there in Settings › General that says:
“macOS needs you to allow Audiout in Login Items.”
Next to it is an “Open Login Items…” button. Click it, find Audiout in the list, and allow it. Come back to Audiout and turn “Launch at login” on again — this time it sticks.
If you don’t see Audiout in Login Items at all, quit and reopen Audiout, then try the switch once more so the request is re-sent.
Cause 2: Audiout isn’t in your Applications folder
If you’re running Audiout straight out of your Downloads folder, or directly from the disk image you downloaded, launch at login breaks in a sneakier way. macOS runs apps from those places out of a temporary location, so the login item points at a path that won’t exist next time. Audiout detects this and shows an alert about it when you launch.
The fix is one drag:
- Quit Audiout.
- Move the Audiout app into your Applications folder. If it’s on a disk image, drag it from the disk image window into Applications, then eject the disk image.
- Open Audiout from Applications.
- Turn on Settings › General › “Launch at login”.
Running from Applications is worth doing regardless of this setting — it’s where macOS expects apps to live, and several system behaviors work better from there.
Still won’t stick?
Check both causes together: Audiout in Applications first, then the Login Items approval. The approval row in Settings › General only goes away once macOS has accepted the registration, so it doubles as your progress indicator.
If the switch still won’t hold after both fixes, something unusual is going on with your Mac’s login items — email support@audiout.app with your macOS version and whether the “macOS needs you to allow Audiout in Login Items.” row is showing.
Related reading: A permission got turned off covers the other things macOS can quietly revoke. All articles: /support.