How do I run a script at start up?

Question

I have a script in a folder:

/path/to/my/script.sh

I need this script to run every time the system starts (even if no one logs in to the system). What do I need to do in order to make this happen?

Answer 1

You will need root privileges for any the following. To get root, open a terminal and run the command

sudo -i

and the command prompt will change to '#' indicating that the terminal session has root privileges.

Alternative #1: Add commands to /etc/rc.local

vi /etc/rc.local

with content like the following:

# This script is executed at the end of each multiuser runlevel
/path/to/my/script.sh || exit 1   # Added by me
exit 0

Alternative #2: Add an Upstart job (for systems older than 15.04)

Create /etc/init/myjob.conf

vi /etc/init/myjob.conf

with content like the following

description     "my job"
start on startup
task
exec /path/to/my/script.sh

Alternative #3: Add an init script (obsolete)

Create a new script in /etc/init.d/myscript.

vi /etc/init.d/myscript

(Obviously it doesn't have to be called "myscript".) In this script, do whatever you want to do. Perhaps just run the script you mentioned.

#!/bin/sh
/path/to/my/script.sh

Make it executable.

chmod ugo+x /etc/init.d/myscript

Configure the init system to run this script at startup.

update-rc.d myscript defaults

Answer 2

You don't need root, or to even login.

You can edit your crontab (crontab -e) and create an entry like this:

@reboot /path/to/script.sh

This way, you can run it as a regular user. @reboot just means it's run when the computer starts up (not necessarily just when it's rebooted).

Answer 3

from terminal

1. create file newshell.sh.desktop in ~/.config/autostart folder:

   gedit ~/.config/autostart/newshell.sh.desktop
   

2. change Exec, Name and Comment value and add to file: first line

    [Desktop Entry]
    Type=Application
    Exec=/full/link/to/your/newshell.sh
    Name=newshell
    Comment=whatever you want
   

3. save

or

you can do it from GUI:

1. run "startup applications" tool in Ubuntu 14.04 you just write it in search box.
2. add same Exec, Name and Comment.

Answer 4

In your home, you have a file named .bashrc. This file is executed at the opening of your session.

Just put something like this at the end of the file:

sh /path/to/your/script.sh

EDIT: sorry, i didn't answer your question because my solution is executed when a user is logged in...

To execute something before the login, you can try rcconf or rc-file: http://www.debianadmin.com/manage-linux-init-or-startup-scripts.html

Answer 5

Simply edit rc.local nano /etc/init.d/rc.local as follows:

/path/to/my/script.sh || exit 1 
exit 0