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I'm trying to create my own script that gets executed on startup and stopped on shutdown (referring to the classic System-V init style), but it won't work!

I've created this script (/etc/init.d/mlogscript):

#!/bin/bash
### BEGIN INIT INFO
# Provides:             logging down time and date of your start/shutdown behaviour
# Required-Start:       $all
# Required-Stop:        $all
# Default-Start:        2 3 4 5
# Default-Stop:         0 1 6
# Short-Description:    logs down your start/shutdown behaviour
# Description:          script for logging when you start or shutdown the operating system
### END INIT INFO
# Author: x

# log-file info
FILENAME="logscript.log"
FILEPATH="$HOME/myScripts/"

# other files
UPTIMEFILE=${FILEPATH}"LASTUPTIME.DONOTDELETE"

# fetch specific data
DATE=`date +%m.%d.%Y`
CLOCK=`date +%X`

case "$1" in
    start)
    if [ ! -e "${FILEPATH}${FILENAME}" ]; then
        echo "creating log-file"
        echo -ne "mLog: start/shutdown behaviour\n" >> "${FILEPATH}${FILENAME}"
        echo -e "-------------------------------\n" >> "${FILEPATH}${FILENAME}"
    fi
    echo -e '[' $DATE "]\nuser:\t" $USER "\nstart:\t" $CLOCK >> "${FILEPATH}${FILENAME}"

    # create/update uptime-file
    UPTIME=$(</proc/uptime)
    UPTIME=${UPTIME%%.*}
    echo -ne $UPTIME > $UPTIMEFILE

    echo "log-script started at" $DATE "."
        ;;
    stop)
    if [ -e "${FILEPATH}${FILENAME}" ]; then
        # get uptime from /proc/uptime
        UPTIME=$(</proc/uptime)
        UPTIME=${UPTIME%%.*}

        # 
        if [ -e "${UPTIMEFILE}" ]; then
            LASTUPTIME=$(head -n 1 "${UPTIMEFILE}")
            UPTIME=`expr $UPTIME - $LASTUPTIME`
            echo $UPTIME
        fi

        SECONDS=$((UPTIME%60))
        MINUTES=$((UPTIME/60%60))
        HOURS=$((UPTIME/60/60%24))
        DAYS=$((UPTIME/60/60/24%365))
        YEAR=$((UPTIME/60/60/24/365))
        # write to file
        echo -ne "end:\t" $CLOCK "\nuptime:\tY" $YEAR ' D' $DAYS ' H' $HOURS ' M' $MINUTES ' S' $SECONDS "\n\n" >> "${FILEPATH}${FILENAME}"
        echo "log-script stopped"
    else
        echo "log-file doesn't exist"
    fi
        ;;
    restart)
    if [ -e "${FILEPATH}${FILENAME}" ]; then
        exec $(readlink -f "$0") stop
        $(readlink -f "$0") start
        echo -e "log-script restarted"
    fi
        ;;
    reset)
    echo -e "log-script reset"
    if [ -e "${FILEPATH}${FILENAME}" ]; then
        rm "${FILEPATH}${FILENAME}"
        exec $(readlink -f "$0") start
    fi
    ;;
esac
exit 0

After that I set the owner and group of the file to "root" by executing

sudo chown root:root /etc/init.d/mlogscript

Last but not least I created the runtime-specific symlinks within the rc[0-6].d folders:

sudo update-rc.d mlogscript defaults 98

After I rebooted my system nothing happens, why?

4
  • Did you make it executable?
    – Venkatesh
    Apr 21, 2014 at 10:10
  • yeah, forgot to mention that part sry.! Apr 21, 2014 at 10:12
  • Check out this question here : askubuntu.com/questions/442246/…
    – Venkatesh
    Apr 21, 2014 at 10:25
  • But I simply want to make my script get executed on startup and no application out of a script @venki! Apr 21, 2014 at 11:01

1 Answer 1

0
  1. Open Dash
  2. Search for "Startup Applications" and open it
  3. Click on "Add" button.
  4. The dialog lets you set a name, the command to be executed, and comments.
  5. Click on "Add" to save that command to the list.

Ubuntu will then run all the commands on this list during start-up. I use this for running a wallpaper changing script of my own on start-up, and it has proved reliable.

I think you must be knowing this but still, remember to add an & at the end of the command to keep running your script in background, and prevent unnecessary debugging and frustration.

Sorry but I don't know a way to do this from the terminal.

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