Questions tagged [automation]

The use of control systems to reduce the need for human work. Related to automatic systems.

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55 votes
4 answers
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How to enable silent automatic updates for any repository?

I read here how to enable silent automatic updates for Google Chrome. However, I have other repositories like spotify, docky and others for which I would like to enable silent updates. I am trying ...
nik90's user avatar
  • 12.6k
26 votes
2 answers
28k views

Autorun a script after I plugged or unplugged a USB device

What can I do to run automatically a script after I mount/plugin or unmount/unplug a USB device?
Radu Rădeanu's user avatar
59 votes
7 answers
92k views

How can I automatically shutdown the system after a specific time?

How can I automatically shutdown the system after a certain customizable time?
NES's user avatar
  • 33.2k
3 votes
1 answer
3k views

How to rotate WiFi connections?

I have 2 WiFI connections available. Sometimes, the WiFi network disconnects, and when that happens, I'd like the system to automatically use the other connection. How can I do this in Ubuntu?
Joseph John's user avatar
52 votes
2 answers
69k views

Add lines to cron from script

Is there a way to add lines to a user's cron via script? I usually do it using crontab -e, but I would like to automate this task with a shell script.
Adam Matan's user avatar
  • 12.5k
13 votes
2 answers
20k views

How can current Ubuntu versions be installed via PXE network boot and an automated installation?

Starting with Ubuntu 20.10 (Groovy Gorilla), Canonical does not provide the netboot.tar.gz package and the mini.iso image anymore. They could previously be used to boot a system via PXE and run Debian ...
Marian Rainer-Harbach's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
1k views

WSL - A Bash line to show when a folder's contents update

I'm looking for a bash script that will detect when a file enters a specific folder. Basically I want to eventually make a script that will detect when a file enters a certain folder on my desktop (...
Aidan Quiett's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
3k views

Fetch autoinstall based on MAC

Short: I am looking for a way to PXE boot Ubuntu 20.04, and use new autoinstall for a completely unattended installation. But I would like for user-data YAML to be modified server-side based on MAC of ...
LuxZg's user avatar
  • 547
30 votes
2 answers
21k views

How can I enable silent automatic updates for Google Chrome?

Installing Google Chrome causes a third-party software source to be added from which Google Chrome upgrades can be retrieved: $ cat /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list ### THIS FILE IS ...
ændrük's user avatar
  • 76.7k
16 votes
2 answers
923 views

How can I automatically add workspaces, only if I need them?

Assume I am using 4 workspaces and I incidentally need more, is there an automated process or, if impossible, an easy way to incidentally add more workspaces (instead of installing Ubuntu tweak etc. ...
kernel_panic's user avatar
  • 11.7k
37 votes
4 answers
24k views

How to find the number of packages needing update from the command line?

I'm working on some system admin automation using fabric and I'd like to be able to monitor the number of packages that need upgrading on a given machine. This is the same information that I can see ...
KayEss's user avatar
  • 608
27 votes
5 answers
44k views

how to put a trigger on a directory

I have a script that scans a directory and does some maintenance on the files in it. Another process creates the files in the directory (10 - 30 files per day). The script is called via a daily cron ...
albert green's user avatar
13 votes
3 answers
11k views

What is the least insecure way to store a password that is used by a script?

I have a Bash script that automatically authenticates with a service using my username and password. The credentials are currently stored as plain text within the script. What precautions should I ...
ændrük's user avatar
  • 76.7k
12 votes
1 answer
3k views

Why is the automatic login disabled for users with encrypted home?

I've tried to setup an autologin, but that isn't possible, because my home is encrypted. What are the reasons for this? PS. Here I have described my problem: Ubuntu Netbook Edition and automatic ...
cupakob's user avatar
  • 1,919
9 votes
2 answers
5k views

Automatically close application after custom time?

Is there a way to automatically close a certain application after custom time? Update: i.e. stop the Audioplayer after a certain time.
NES's user avatar
  • 33.2k
7 votes
2 answers
11k views

Unison - Automatically Sync Computers

Is there a way two sync multiple computers (i.e. particular directories in the home folder) automatically using Unison? If not, is there an alternative that can do this? I'm not completely against ...
Nateowami's user avatar
  • 1,515
6 votes
2 answers
3k views

How to shutdown automatically when AC power is not available

My old laptop has a faulty battery, which shows 100% when on AC power but when unplugged it dramatically drops to random percentages within seconds and makes the machine turn off brutally. I am afraid ...
Nuwan Thisara's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
2k views

Create an unattended ubuntu 18.04 live cd that run on demo (try ubuntu) environment with premade various steps

we often deal with some machines with ubuntu live cd. Most of the times there's lot of repetitive tasks we have to do in order to have our ubuntu live cd gets ready. I would like to know how create ...
user3450548's user avatar
302 votes
5 answers
211k views

Avoiding user interaction with tzdata when installing certbot in a docker container

I want to install certbot in a docker environment with an Ubuntu 16.04 image: For example: docker run -it ubuntu:16.04 /bin/bash When I'm inside the container, the most straightforward way to ...
Philipp Claßen's user avatar
82 votes
4 answers
30k views

What's the difference between Juju and Puppet/Chef?

Have tried asking 3rd party about key differences between Juju and Puppet/Chef. 3rd parties are not too familiar with Juju and could not say. They simply stated the others have a lot of momentum, and ...
mark's user avatar
  • 821
24 votes
2 answers
136k views

Auto delete files older than 7 days

I am a complete noob at linux but I am starting to get the hang of it. I have an Ubuntu Server 16.04 running an FTP server to backup security video files. The files will be stored in folders like: /...
Jacco's user avatar
  • 341
18 votes
2 answers
21k views

Auto confirm when running bash scripts?

I am working on a simple bash script that configures new servers how I want them. It's nothing special but it will hopefully save me quite a lot of time in the future. How do I prevent prompts like ...
dannymcc's user avatar
  • 333
17 votes
5 answers
13k views

Is there any way to get AutoHotKey or IronAHK working?

I am very interested in getting AutoHotKey, the windows program for automation of keystrokes, working under Ubuntu. So far I have installed Wine, but am unable to use any of my previous windows ...
RunningUtes's user avatar
  • 3,932
16 votes
6 answers
25k views

How do I run a script when a Bluetooth device connects?

I'd like to start my music player (Clementine) when my bluetooth headset connects to my computer. How do I detect the bluetooth device connecting so I can run a script to start the player?
Erigami's user avatar
  • 4,466
16 votes
2 answers
18k views

How do I run a script on a dbus signal?

Is it possible to run a script on an arbitrary dbus signal? Something like Upstart that runs as an unprivileged user and doesn't require root perms to modify? I ask because I've already written a ...
Erigami's user avatar
  • 4,466
13 votes
4 answers
4k views

How to set up Ubuntu to automatically turn NumLock on when an external keyboard is attached and off when it is not?

Having NumLock on is convenient when using a full-sized external keyboard (having a keypad) and very inconvenient when using laptop's built-in keyboard (which places digits instead of letters on the ...
Ivan's user avatar
  • 57k
11 votes
1 answer
665 views

How do I contribute an autopilot test?

What is autopilot and how do I contribute to a new autopilot testcase for a package ?
Letozaf_'s user avatar
  • 121
5 votes
1 answer
22k views

How can I automatically copy the content of a usb (flash) drive to another directory?

I want to program my Ubuntu in such a way that it automatically copies the content of USB flash drive to a defined folder in my home directory. I would like this to be done automatically when any ...
Eng Fares's user avatar
  • 363
5 votes
2 answers
12k views

Auto-login to console as root - no Xserver

I'm setting up a PC for a very specific purpose. It's going to do some stuff deep underwater... round about 3km. We don't fear fish hijacking the box locally ;). I'm trying to set up a login: no ...
wishi's user avatar
  • 641
2 votes
0 answers
643 views

network profiles in ubuntu 12.04

I use a wired connection at home and in college. But at home i set my ipV4 settings to automatic DHCP whereas in college I need to manually enter the ip address, subnet and gateway and i also need to ...
Vivek Pradhan's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
387 views

Rebind Control-n Control-p

I would like to rebind C-n and C-p in all my applications to send Up and Down. My brain is just stuck with this shortcuts, and I am tired of always seeing new windows and printing dialogs popping up. ...
VitoshKa's user avatar
  • 264
1 vote
1 answer
199 views

Running command at certain time or after that as soon as possible

I have folder for temporary folders and I would like it to be emptied automatically at 3am. I know crontab probably could do this but what if my laptop isn't on when it should run?
Viped's user avatar
  • 41
1 vote
1 answer
1k views

Running Commands for Wifi at Startup

I have just found a way to get my wifi to work using these commands: sudo rmmod iwldvm sudo rmmod iwlwifi sudo modprobe iwlwifi bt_coex_active=0 I would rather not type these in every time I log ...
BenP1192's user avatar
  • 113
20 votes
6 answers
685 views

How do I get involved with testing and QA with Ubuntu?

I'd like to get involved with Ubuntu QA by creating automated tests. Is there an ongoing effort to create these tests? Where can I learn more?
David Siegel's user avatar
  • 8,922
20 votes
5 answers
13k views

Is there a markdown "rich text" editor?

I have become fed up with writing down markdown tables scratch, I need some "rich text editor like" program to automate creation of markdown for me and hence of tables. The only rich text editor I ...
user avatar
19 votes
5 answers
14k views

Alternative for Mac OS X Automator?

I once tested Mac OS X and something that called my atention was Automator, a software to visually create scripts to automatize tasks on the desktop. Is there any Linux alternative for this software?
Rodrigo Carvalho's user avatar
17 votes
4 answers
15k views

Automatically get different terminal colors each time I open terminal

I often find myself opening three terminals and I really like the look and feel of having distinct color palettes on each. I have a few color palettes saved and I would like the default to progress ...
kpie's user avatar
  • 265
17 votes
6 answers
86k views

How to enable all site confs with a2ensite (while passing over 000-default.conf && default-ssl.conf)?

I use Ubuntu server 16.04.2 with Apache2, on which I store my personal websites. To enable all my conf files under /etc/apache2/sites-available (besides 000-default.conf and ssl-default.conf), I went ...
user avatar
11 votes
1 answer
10k views

Unattended/headless Ubuntu server with disk encryption - how to set it up?

I'm a long-time Linux user, but I'm not well-versed with the newer developments, esp. wrt Ubuntu and system(d) administration. I have a very old PC that I want to use for a file server, Mercurial repo,...
anrieff's user avatar
  • 211
8 votes
3 answers
11k views

How do I configure a preseed to skip the language support question?

I'm attempting to create a preseed configuration file for automating the install of Ubuntu Server 10.04-4 LTS x64 via a bootable USB thumb drive and I've hit a major snag in the process. The debian-...
Sniperm4n's user avatar
  • 361
7 votes
1 answer
4k views

How can I get NetworkManager to autoconnect to a Openconnect VPN via nmcli without prompting for a user and password

I am trying to set up a script driven VPN connection with nmcli on Lubuntu 12.10 using Openconnect and NetworkManager and I cannot seem to get it to connect either with the saved credentials or via ...
Dennis Hostetler's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
4k views

Keyboard shortcut for Gnome-Terminal profile change?

I have two profiles in my Gnome Terminal, one uses specific image for background. Would like to switch between them when I enter/exit Vim. So far, I do this by Alt+t and navigating to the other ...
LAFK says Reinstate Monica's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
603 views

What are Launchpad packaging recipes and how can I use them?

As I understand it, packaging recipes are a way to automate packaging into a PPA from a bzr branch. What I'm not sure of is how to go about setting one up. I have read the documentation but for some ...
dv3500ea's user avatar
  • 37.2k
6 votes
2 answers
794 views

Programatically modify file associations using standard interface (using mimetype)

I know that there are some files /etc/gnome/defaults.list that store mime associations and are in format that should make editing them possible. But I am looking for a way that will handle at least ...
reducing activity's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
4k views

How do I enable automatic updates of all packages?

I'd like to use unattended-upgrades to install all updates to Natty beta packages daily. Whatever I try, unattended-upgrades seems to ignore updates to packages in "main". Here's my current Allowed-...
Ben Williams's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
3k views

How can I programmatically get the PID of the active GNOME Terminal instance?

How can I get the PID of the GNOME Terminal instance I'm using from within a Bash script? I can run xprop _NET_WM_PID and then manually click the terminal window, but I'd like to completely automate ...
ændrük's user avatar
  • 76.7k
5 votes
2 answers
7k views

Installation of a package with parameters being prompted on cli

Say I need to install a package using dpkg -i, which would prompt user for some values such as username and password. I can easily do it from terminal and proceed with installation. But going by ...
user207475's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
8k views

Autostart program whenever a file is added to a folder

I have Lubuntu 14.04 LTS on my laptop for a few weeks now. I have been working on customizing the OS and such quite a bit, as well as installing everything that I need for daily usage. One thing I did ...
Zeke Legge's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
213 views

How can I automatically mute my laptop when it connects to my work wifi network?

I'm running Ubuntu 14.04 and it would be helpful if I can do this. My phone can do it, my laptop should be able to!
bldysabba's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
3k views

Preseeding Ubuntu Server

I am in the process of creating an automated install disc for Ubuntu Server 10.10. Is it possible to set up package selection within the preseed file (what groups of packages to install etc.)? If so, ...
Josh's user avatar
  • 43