AutoTrigger

A Windows tray app that runs actions when an application starts, closes, gains or loses focus: switch HDR, change the resolution or refresh rate, pick the audio devices, change the power plan, run or close programs, or press a hotkey.

Inspired by AutoActions by Codectory. Independent rewrite, not affiliated with Codectory or NVIDIA.

Features

• Four events per application: Started, Closed, Gained focus, Lost focus.
• Actions, each with its own delay:
  • Run program and Close program.
  • Display: HDR, resolution, refresh rate and, on NVIDIA, color depth, format and range. Works with DSR and DLDSR.
  • Audio: default playback and recording devices.
  • Power plan: classic Windows power plans.
  • Press hotkey: a shortcut of another program, such as an RTSS overlay.
  • Reference profile: reuses the actions of another profile.
• Shared profiles, a monitoring switch per application and a global pause.
• Light and dark themes, following Windows by default.
• Import from AutoActions.
• About 0.06 % of one CPU core while idle. No administrator rights, no network access.

Requirements

• Windows 11 24H2 or later, 64-bit.
• .NET Framework 4.8, included in Windows 11.
• An NVIDIA GPU for color depth, format and range.

Usage

Download the zip from the Releases page, extract it and run AutoTrigger.exe. The program is not signed: if SmartScreen warns, choose More info, then Run anyway.

1. Applications: add the programs to follow.
2. Profiles: add actions to each event, then assign the profile to applications.
3. Leave AutoTrigger in the tray. Double-click opens it; right-click for Open, Pause, Start with Windows and Exit.

Moving from AutoActions

Settings, Import from AutoActions, then pick its UserSettings.json. Applications, profiles and displays are replaced; the previous AutoTrigger settings are backed up and AutoActions' file is not changed. Quit AutoActions afterwards, or every action runs twice. AutoActions shortcuts and the default profile are not imported.

Full path or file name

Applications are matched by full path. Choose File name only when the folder changes over time, such as Game Pass games or programs that update into versioned folders.

Press hotkey limits

• One shortcut per action.
• The window in front receives the keys too.
• Windows blocks hotkeys sent to a window run as administrator.
• No confirmation that the other program reacted; some games and anti-cheat systems ignore simulated keys.

Log and uninstall

To report a problem, set Log level to Detailed in Settings, reproduce it, then attach AutoTrigger.log (Open log).

To uninstall, uncheck Start with Windows, choose Exit, then delete the AutoTrigger folder and %LOCALAPPDATA%\AutoTrigger.

Build

Visual Studio 2026 with the .NET desktop development workload, from a Developer Command Prompt:

msbuild AutoTrigger.sln -restore -p:Configuration=Release

The program is written to out\Release. WPF UI 4.3.0 is downloaded from NuGet on the first build.

How it works

• Starts: the process list is read every 500 ms with NtQuerySystemInformation. Closes: signaled by Windows. Focus: a WinEvent hook; a change must last 300 ms.
• The actions of an event run one after the other; a delay counts from the start of the previous action.
• Display: resolution with SetDisplayConfig and GPU scaling, HDR with DisplayConfigSetDeviceInfo, NVIDIA color with NVAPI. Only what differs is changed, and a failed step undoes the previous ones.
• Audio sets the Windows default devices, Power plan uses PowerSetActiveScheme and Press hotkey uses SendInput.
• Settings are in %LOCALAPPDATA%\AutoTrigger\settings.json, written atomically. Start with Windows uses the current user's Run key. AutoTrigger doesn't use the network.

AI disclosure

This app was built with the help of AI (Claude, by Anthropic) under the direction of the author.

License

MIT, see LICENSE. WPF UI and the .NET libraries are distributed under their MIT licenses and the NVAPI definitions under NVIDIA's MIT license, see NOTICE.txt.

NVIDIA is a trademark or registered trademark of NVIDIA Corporation.