Espanso Config Setup

This guide explains how to reset and restore your Espanso config folder from a Git repository.

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⚡ Easiest: one-line installer

This config repo is normally set up automatically by the espanso-utility installer, which clones it to %APPDATA%\espanso, installs Git + Espanso, configures the AI scripts, and starts everything. From PowerShell:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/questbibek/espanso-utility/main/setup-espanso.ps1 | iex

Re-running it is safe — it git pulls the latest config instead of overwriting. See the espanso-utility repo for the full toolkit and trigger list.

The steps below are the manual alternative — only needed if you want to reset/restore just this config folder by hand.

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Prerequisites

• Espanso installed
• Git installed

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Steps

1. Stop Espanso

espanso stop

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2. Remove the Existing Config Folder

Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:APPDATA\espanso"

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3. Clone Your Config Repository

Navigate to the Roaming folder and clone your repo as the espanso folder:

cd "$env:APPDATA"
git clone https://github.com/questbibek/espanso.git espanso

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4. Restart Espanso

espanso restart

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Full Script (One-Shot)

espanso stop
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:APPDATA\espanso"
cd "$env:APPDATA"
git clone https://github.com/questbibek/espanso.git espanso
espanso restart

Single-Line Command (Copy & Paste)

espanso stop; Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:APPDATA\espanso"; git clone https://github.com/questbibek/espanso.git "$env:APPDATA\espanso"; espanso restart

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Notes

• Make sure Espanso is fully stopped before removing the folder to avoid file-lock issues.
• If espanso restart doesn't work right away, try launching Espanso manually from the Start Menu or running espanso start.

Espanso auto startup issue

Espanso Startup & UAC Fix (Windows 11)

Problem

• Espanso was not auto-starting on boot despite being listed in Task Manager startup apps
• When run manually, a UAC (User Account Control) allow/deny popup appeared

Solution

Replaced the default startup entry with a Windows Task Scheduler task that runs at login with elevated privileges — bypassing the UAC prompt entirely.

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Steps & Commands

1. Check if Espanso is running

espanso status

2. Start manually

espanso start

3. Check logs

espanso log

4. Re-register the service

espanso service unregister
espanso service register

5. Create a Task Scheduler task (run PowerShell as Administrator)

$espansoPath = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\Espanso\espansod.exe"
$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute $espansoPath -Argument "daemon"
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -AtLogOn -User $env:USERNAME
$settings = New-ScheduledTaskSettingsSet -AllowStartIfOnBatteries -DontStopIfGoingOnBatteries -ExecutionTimeLimit 0
$principal = New-ScheduledTaskPrincipal -UserId $env:USERNAME -LogonType Interactive -RunLevel Highest
Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "Espanso" -Action $action -Trigger $trigger -Settings $settings -Principal $principal -Force

6. Unregister the old startup entry

espanso service unregister

7. Restart your PC

Espanso will now start automatically and silently on every login with no UAC popup.

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Why This Works

Method	UAC Popup	Auto-start
Default service registration	✅ Yes (annoying)	❌ Unreliable
Task Scheduler (RunLevel Highest)	❌ No	✅ Reliable

Task Scheduler with RunLevel Highest tells Windows to trust the process at login, so it never asks for permission again.