How can I have a script run whenever I start a zoom meeting?

Question

I'm trying to write a script that will execute when I start a zoom meeting.

I found a command wmctrl -l which outputs

0x05e00020  0              N/A Zoom - Free Account

But, I can't figure out what to do with that information to execute a script when it's detected.

I'm not sure if I can utilize inotify or something else.

My operating system is Kubuntu 20.04

Answer 1

I wanted to answer this question too, but nothing seemed forthcoming. I realized, though, that I had already scripted some lua things to set Zoom's windows to be "always on top" and pinned to every workspace. That led me on a journey.

Here's the process

1. install packages

sudo apt install devilspie2 lua-sec

2. config devilspie2

and add this (or something like it) here: ~/.config/devilspie2/window_works.lua

if (string.find(get_window_name(),"Zoom")) then
    debug_print("Window: " .. get_window_name());
    pin_window();

    require("socket")
    local https = require("ssl.https")
    local body, code, headers, status = https.request("https://api.duckduckgo.com/api")
    debug_print(body)
end

NOTE: you can also simply run a BASH script if that is easier:

local command = "/bin/bash /home/[username]/scripts/thing.sh"
os.execute(command)                                                     

3. Profit!

When you open a new Zoom meeting (or something that matches the window name "Zoom"), that lua will run and it will pin the window (which you may or may not want) and it will then make an HTTP request.

relevant documentation

• https://www.reddit.com/r/Ubuntu/comments/9yt88g/always_on_visible_workspace_by_default/
• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/22831701/lua-read-beginning-of-a-string (this can be handy to fuzzy match window names)
• http://notebook.kulchenko.com/programming/https-ssl-calls-with-lua-and-luasec