raspi requires ctrl+alt+f1 and startx to boot to desktop every reboot.

What do you want with composite? Do you have an old tube monitor?

Im making a thermal imager. The compisite is a viewfinder.

its very small so its really useful as a monocular

if i ctrl+alt+f1 and type in startx everything works perfect. But i want this to be a keyboardless setup. i just wamt to go directly to desktop without typing anything.

Composite in the Pi settings is for CRT monitors. You will then need a jack plug to RCA adapter. Auto login to the desktop can be found in raspi-config: 1 System Options - S5 Boot / Auto Login

Are you following instructions? I think it's because the monitor can't display the desktop because it's not designed for that. You probably need to run the system headless and start the program automatically.