How can I run terminal commands on startup or login? On FreeBSD I believe you can do this using rc.d - is there an equivalent for the Mac? I know how to set up Login Items, but these only work for GUI applications, and there must be an elegant way to make terminal commands run without wrapping them in a GUI executable? As clarified below, I sometimes need to sudo these commands.
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possible duplicate of How can I run/stop/relaunch an application automatically, at boot/login/some other time? – user151019 Dec 20 '11 at 19:32
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Not really a duplicate, as it's specific to terminal commands, covering how to sudo them, etc. – tog22 Aug 18 '12 at 9:09
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This question is "How can I run terminal commands on startup or login? " as is the other and where is sudo in either question? – user151019 Aug 18 '12 at 11:48
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OSX uses launchd to start Unix scripts and executables at boot or login.
New tasks are added via launchctl to update a plist
An easier way of doing this is to use the app Lingon now available on the Mac App Store or LaunchControl
answered Dec 20 '11 at 19:18
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Thanks, how would I go about adding a command starting 'sudo' via launchctl (given I'd need to supply my sudo password)? – tog22 Dec 21 '11 at 15:17
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@tog22 in the plist see the key UserName to say which user the command should run as – user151019 Dec 21 '11 at 15:24
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Use Apple Script.
The script would be like this:
do shell script "cd ~/Documents"
Create an application that uses this script. This application can be added to the login items. I've explained in detail how to do this here.
Executing commands in Apple Script as admin
Password prompt at runtime:
do shell script "rm -rf ~/Documents/Gorleben" with administrator privileges
Password saved within the script:
do shell script "rm -rf ~/Documents/Gorleben" with administrator privileges password "123456"
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Thanks, but I need to 'sudo' my command - presumably there's no way to do that with AppleScript as I'd need to enter my password after the command? – tog22 Dec 21 '11 at 15:16
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1This can be done by adding
with administrator privileges password "123456"at the end of the command. If you don't want to save the password in the script, just writewith administrator privileges. Then you'll be prompted for a password at runtime. I'll edit my answer. – gentmatt Dec 21 '11 at 15:40
