[Solved] Best place for a startup command?

[NumericalMethods]

Hi,

I have a calender synchronisation daemon that I would like to start every time I log into my account. It's started with a shell script. I have been putting some extra lines in /etc/profile but I want those to start for every user when the computer loads Linux - this I don't. I also don't want to add the shell script to the ~/kde/Autostart directory. Can anyone recommend which file to append to run the shell script on each login? Thanks!

[toad]

Re: Best place for a startup command?

Put it in /etc/skel - every time you set up a new user /etc/skel serves as the basis of what gets put into his/her home directory.

[Nate]

Re: Best place for a startup command?

I've read that there is an /etc/xdg/autostart directory. I have never played with anything there, so no guarantees.

[NumericalMethods]

Re: Best place for a startup command?

Ok thanks but is there a file I can add a line to in my existing kde profile? I just want to add:

'sh /usr/local/sbin/GCALdaemon/bin/standalone-start.sh'

Thanks

[askrieger]

Re: Best place for a startup command?

Personally, I would put such a script in my ~/.kde/Autostart/ directory, if I never wanted to log in to Gnome. However, another alternative would be to put the line in ~/.bashrc file.

[leedom]

Re: Best place for a startup command?

Personally, I would put such a script in my ~/.kde/Autostart/ directory, if I never wanted to log in to Gnome. ...

I agree. This is exactly where I put my first time login stuff. I have a small relic of my old .xinitrc script in there as an executable shell script named "xinitrc":

#!/bin/sh
xrdb -DHOME=$HOME $X/Xresources
xset +fp $X/fonts/pcf/,$X/fonts/snf/
xmodmap -e 'clear Lock' -e 'add control = Caps_Lock'

Obviously some of this can be handled via new mechanisms in KDE4 but it serves to point out some of the things you can do. For instance, the environment variable $X comes from my .bashrc ...

Casey

[toad]

Re: Best place for a startup command?

Oh, I thought you had already done it for yourself and other users - of course the ~/.kde/Autostart folder is the right choice for retrospective addition. The /etc/skel works for new users only...

[NumericalMethods]

Re: Best place for a startup command?

Ok thanks for the replies guys,

I'm going to put it in the Autostart folder after all I tried creating a new .bash_profile file so that it would run upon log in. One visit to the root console later... it didn't work that well! So should I just create a new bash script that looks like:

#!/bin/sh
sh /usr/local/sbin/GCALDaemon/bin/standalone_start.sh

and place that script file in the Autostart folder?

Thanks again

[Nate]

Re: Best place for a startup command?

Sure, or put a link to your script in the autostart folder.

[PatheticMoFo]

Re: Best place for a startup command?

Well if you want it to start up no matter what DE you choose, you can put it in ~/.config/autostart . That, I believe, is the XDG autostart directory for each user, and so KDE4, GNOME, etc should all look there as well for startup scripts.

[NumericalMethods]

Re: Best place for a startup command?

Right. Done!

I was being a little slow on this one. Once I realised I definitely should use the ~/.kde/Autostart directory I really wanted to write a script to start some stuff. There was no need. Browsing the boards I noticed someone talking about an application in the system settings that configures Autostart for me. It even has a specific option for shell scripts! It then placed a symbolic link to the script I wanted, saving me the time trying to remember how to create a symbolic link myself. AWESOME. Thanks everyone for the help

[Snowhog]

Re: Best place for a startup command?

...an application in the system settings that configures Autostart...

For the benefit of those wondering:

K Menu > System Settings > Advanced > Autostart

[Nate]

Re: [Solved] Best place for a startup command?

And also just for the record, you can easily make a link by Alt-dragging in Dolphin from your shell script to the Autostart directory (or wherever you want your symlink to show up).