Lock Screen Command One-Liner

Question

I'm trying to find out whether there is any kind of equivalent command line one-liner which replicates the exact identical functionality of the 'Lock Screen' menu option available via the Keychain app in OS X 10.6

I'm aware of the all the 'usual' solutions (sleep/screensaver preferences to require a password on reactivation) but these are not suitable to me.

I'm also aware of this option:

/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu\ Extras/user.menu/Contents/Resources/CGSession -suspend

which is also not suitable for me.

The perfect functionality is the 'Lock Screen' option however I have not yet found an elegant way to call it.

At the moment, I am calling via Automator, which isn't elegant!

I have read much about this issue and my understanding is that no-one has yet found the 'holy grail' but I was wondering whether that might have changed.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Set the preferences to lock the screen when the screen saver is active.

Then you can use this terminal command to start the screen saver.

/System/Library/Frameworks/ScreenSaver.framework/Resources/ScreenSaverEngine.app/Contents/MacOS/ScreenSaverEngine

As far as I can tell this is exactly what the Keychain menu item does.

Answer 2

I use Alfred →

The universal hotkey allows me to activate it using a keyboard.

Answer 3

I think the answer to your question is "No, there isn't a command line way to do this."

Because this is a menu bar item, it's not something that you can access easily using Keyboard Maestro or another similar tool.

However, if you are not averse to a solution using a 3rd party app, QuickLock will let you do this.

It's a free (donations accepted) app which will let you assign a keyboard shortcut to lock the screen. There's also a menu bar item which you can click to lock the screen.

The app will let you set a password (separate from your account password).

It does not require the use of password with screensaver, it's all completely separate.

You can see a video of it in action at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBHwykPB19o

p.s. when the screen is locked, type your password to unlock it. I was confused because I expected to see a password field. There is none. You just type the password.

p.p.s. I've only used this for a few minutes, so there may be some other issues with it I'm not aware of, but it seems to fit the bill.

Answer 4

The Mac is not designed to provide you with such an option. However, this article explains a workaround using QuickSilver. While I can't understand why you don't like the solution Apple provides natively, I do wish you luck on finding a solution.

Answer 5

Set the preferences to lock the screen when the screen saver is active.

Then set a "Hot Corner" to start the screen saver:

Now just move the mouse to the upper Right corner to activate the screen saver and lock the screen.

Answer 6

I use the Screensaver password setting with a keystroke (Ctrl+Shift+Eject) on 10.6.8, and from what I can see, it does the same as the Lock Screen item from the Keychain Access task bar icon.

I know that this is similar to some of the other answers, but instead of the "hot corner", it uses a keystroke, which is more convenient for me.

This solution is described in more detail here, that's where I got it from: http://osxdaily.com/2011/01/17/lock-screen-mac/

Have been using this for several years now without problems.

Answer 7

I use BetterTouchTool for that purpose and assigned a keyboard shortcut to "Switch to login screen" (which is lock screen): doesn't fulfill the command line requirement but may be helpful to you anyway.

Answer 8

Well, just combine two of the above answers. Run this command:

open -a /System/Library/Frameworks/ScreenSaver.framework//Versions/A/Resources/ScreenSaverEngine.app

After having set the Security & Privacy preferences to ask for a password immediately. Make an alias for your shell if you want to make the command easier to execute.

Answer 9

I'm not quite sure I understand your issue here. If you require a password on screensaver, it will not stop processes from running or block you from remotely accessing your Mac. I have this option set (using ControlPlane to activate it at work and deactivate it at home) and I have never once had the system refuse to respond to a Remote Desktop, VNC, or SSH connection. In all cases where GUI access is required I just need to input the password; SSH uses key pair so no password is requested. If you don't want apps to sleep, then make sure the system power settings are such that it will not enter system sleep before you return. Just set the sleep timeout to a long delay. If you just don't want to be bothered to enter a password when you are sitting in front of the computer and working, then increase the screensaver delay to a longer time before it activates, or add a 1 min delay between screensaver and password prompt so that you have a chance to catch it before it locks you out.

I use ctrl-shift-eject to lock the screen. It's fast, simple, and it works. This is the built-in way to lock the screen. No one is likely to come up with an alternative simply because replicating the functions already baked in to the OS is a little too redundant for anyone to put a lot of time into pursuing.

As far as I can tell there is no "lock screen" option in Keychain in 10.8 anyway, so your preferred solution is not going to exist if you ever upgrade. Edit: Didn't notice this in Keychain preferences; yes, it is still there in 10.8.

If you are using Automator for this can't you just package the script as an app and assign a hotkey combo or leave it in the Dock for quick access?