Automator runs shell script differently

hi
i build a little shell script that mounts my network-shares when they are available - that's works perfect if run by terminal but if i run it via Automator-Run shell script it does ******** - it doesn't seem to recognize my variables and creates dirs like $“Data“ instead of just Data
can anyone help me with that?
#!/bin/bash
# connects to network shares if server available
#config - wich server and mountpoints, login
server=$"192.168.2.1"
serverName=$"NAS(AFP)"
dir=$“Data“
dir2=$“Data1“
login=$“xxx“
pw=$“xxx“
#connect-test and create mountfolders
ping -q -c3 $server > /dev/null
if [ $? -eq 0 ];then
if [ -d "/Volumes/"$dir"" ]; then
echo "folder $dir exists"
else
echo "creating folder $dir"
mkdir "/Volumes/"$dir""
fi
if [ -d "/Volumes/"$dir2"" ]; then
echo "folder $dir2 exists"
else
echo "creating folder $dir2"
mkdir "/Volumes/"$dir2""
fi
#mount
mount_afp "afp://"$login":"$pw"@"$serverName"._afpovertcp._tcp.local/"$dir"" "/Volumes/"$dir""
mount_afp "afp://"$login":"$pw"@"$serverName"._afpovertcp._tcp.local/"$dir2"" "/Volumes/"$dir2""
echo „ping ok“
else
echo „failed to connect to $serverName“
fi

FYI. If you create an Alias of a mounted volume, the Alias will record all the connection information, except the password. If your keychain is not locked, then when double clicking on the Alias, it will get the password from the keychain and mount the networked volumes (assumes you allowed the password to be stored in the keychain when you first mounted the volumes interactively).
The Aliases can be put into your System Preferences -> Users & Groups -> Startup Items if you like.
If this is a laptop and you are re-mounting the volumes when you get to a specific location, you might want to look at ControlPlane
<http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/39644/controlplane>

Similar Messages

Apple Automator - Run Shell Script Application

Morning, hope somebody can point of my error please.
I'm attempting to create an Application wrapper for a minecraft server.
I've done the following
Automator > Application
I've dragged in 'Run Shell Script'
The Shell dropdown is '/bin/bash'
The Pass input is 'as arguments'
In the script I have '
cd /Volumes/3Tb/Bukkit_live
/usr/bin/java -Xmx2G -jar /Volumes/3Tb/Bukkit_live/minecraft_server.jar nogui
Now when I run it through the automator app, it works fine, the server starts, however when I try and run it as a standalone application it does nothing ?
Please help.
Thanks in advance.
Darren

Best guess is that there is an environment variable in your Terminal session that does not exist when you are running an Automator workflow.
You could try running an Automator workflow that does Run Shell Script with something like
( pwd
id -a
echo $#
echo "$@"
printenv
) >/tmp/automator.environment.txt
Then do 2 things. Run it within Automator and copy the /tmp/automator.environment.txt file someplace safe. Next save it as an Automator app and run it that way. Compare the 2 automator.environment.txt files and see if anything significant is different between the 2.
This is just a guess (an educated guess, as this sort of thing has happened to others in the past when they see a difference between running a script interactively and running it as an embedded app).

Automator - Run Shell Script - Does not return when script launches firefox

Automator does not work the same on my MacBooks as my Mac mini! Both are latest Snow Leopard. I'm trying to automatically setup my MacBook after it decides if I'm at work, or elsewhere.
The Automator Action "Run Shell Script" (Shell: /usr/bin/perl) does NOT return control when attempting to launch Firefox:
system("/Application/Firefix.app/Contents/MacOS/firefox-bin -private news.google.com &");
Note: the ampersand should cause Firefox to start as a background process.
It only returns control after I close Firefox. I have a "Show Growl Notification" as the second action, so I know that the first action has not completed. Odd thing is that this works on my Mac mini. I also noticed that another difference: on my MacBook status is displayed in the top toolbar when the Automator application is running.
Any ideas?

Thanks, it worked. I forgot about stderr and stdin.
I'm using Perl as it is part of a bigger script. I can quickly and easily figure out if I am at work where my MacBook is plugged into a network:
my $ethernet = qx(ifconfig en0) =~ m{status:.active}xms;
if ($ethernet) {
# setup stuff for work environment
} else {
# setup stuff for mobile environment
}

Automator "Run Shell Script" and sqlite3 doesn't return a result

Hi,
I'm trying to implement an Automator application to remove "dead entries" from the Launchpads database.
My issue at the moment is, that I don't receive the result of the sqlite3 command.
Here how I have put the pieces together in Automator:
As you can see, the View Results is empty. I tried the same structure just with find instead of sqlite3 and I received the output.
Has someone a clue why it doesn't work with sqlite3?
Thanks

Deleted. I misread the question.

Trouble using Run Shell Script with python in Automator

Hi. I have a python script I want to run in Automator (update_puzzles.py). All it does is check, rearrange and update files and there is not supposed to be any input. I can get the script to run outside of Automator, in Terminal, by navigating to the right directory and typing "python update_puzzles.py"
I must not be setting up Run Shell Script correctly. I have it set to /bin/bash and Pass Input to stdin. The command line simply reads python /pathname/update_puzzles.py (where pathname is the path to the .py file, which I got by dragging the file onto the Run Shell Script command window). There are no actions before this in my workflow and the action after is View Results.
The log says Run Shell Script failed, and the error is "Traceback (most recent call last):"
Any suggestions?
Thanks so much.

If the script is expecting to do stuff with files in the same directory as the executable, you will probably need to add a statement to change to the appropriate working directory. The shell used in the Automator *Run Shell Script* action is a generic one that does not share any of the environment variables that the Terminal uses.

Can't add "Run Shell Script" in Automator

When I drag "Run Shell Script" to the right pane in Automator nothing happens. All other applications I've tried can be dragged to the right pane. In the system.log I can find the following message:
Feb 7 16:56:48 Bananaboat Automator[195]: Error : -[AMWorkflowView _addAction:Kör kommandotolksskript] : * -[NSTextView replaceCharactersInRange:withString:]: nil NSString given.
"Kör kommandotolksskript" is "Run Shell Script" in Swedish.
Any ideas how to fix this?

You might have a corrupted file in the action, in which case you could reload it with something like Pacifist. You can't get the digest of a directory, so for comparison, compressing a copy of /System/Library/Automator/Run Shell Script.action on my desktop gives me the following:
sha1 digest: c209b69777f6a3301d72ddf0eb0ad4e7d4230741
md5 digest: 09e4ade9056ada3294ffb93bd16de1a7

Cannot add "Run shell script" to workflow

Just like the subject says on an iBook G4, OS X 10.4.8. The previous solution of deleting the Automator cache file in ~/Library did not work for me. The console log does show an error when I attempt to drag Run Shell Script to the workflow error:
2006-11-25 21:15:32.909 Automator[545] * -[NSTextView replaceCharactersInRange:withString:]: nil NSString given.
I do have an updated bash installed using DarwinPorts, however that is installed to /opt/local/bin, which appears in my path before /usr/bin. This isn't causing problems on my cube, though.
Any ideas?

You might have a corrupted file in the action, in which case you could reload it with something like Pacifist. You can't get the digest of a directory, so for comparison, compressing a copy of /System/Library/Automator/Run Shell Script.action on my desktop gives me the following:
sha1 digest: c209b69777f6a3301d72ddf0eb0ad4e7d4230741
md5 digest: 09e4ade9056ada3294ffb93bd16de1a7

How to prevent Automator's "run shell script" to create fully decomposed forms of my strings ?

I am using Automator's "run shell script" and I am seeing that it outputs fully decomposed forms of my strings.
For example, when I set the action to "echo été" in a service (with "Replace selected text" activated) and run that into a Textwrangler window, I'll get fully decomposed forms that Textwrangler won't understand. But when I simply type that command into Terminal, I get my string in composed form.
The problem is not the display issue, but the fact that if I want to run grep for example in "run shell script", I will not be able to find the proper strings since the forms are different.

Originally I was using $@ to parse a string and get the result pasted by the service. That was a while ago. There, I noticed that some Japanese characters were messed up. Basically all the kana characters that come with voicing markers like が-ga (instead of か-ka) etc. I did not have the time to pursue that issue though.
Then, last night, I found that a colleague of mine had tried to use $@ to feed to a local dictionary application called ding (http://ftp.tu-chemnitz.de/pub/Local/urz/ding/). His problem was with characters that had umlauts. After verifying how he wrote his action I remembered that I had similar issues with Japanese.
Basically his command was "/path/to/ding $@"
That's supposed to use the selected string as an argument to pass to ding, which will launch a Wish application where the string is used as the searched item.
From Terminal, that works a treat. But the exact same line in Automator (with input as argument, not as stdin) messed the composition and the resulting string was not recognized by ding as a match to what it was supposed to match.
So, I tried a few things to get to the core of the issue and found that a simple "echo [accented characters]" was enough to reproduce the difference in string handling between Automator and Terminal. That difference is also reproduced on a number of person's machines.
I have a number of services that basically revolve on "run shell script" actions and involve 3rd party application outputs, preference files etc. so it would not be convenient to show that to you.
I have sent a mail about this issue to the automator list yesterday too:
http://lists.apple.com/archives/Automator-users/2011/Jun/msg00004.html

Pass multiple Automator variables to Run Shell Script?

I have two Automator variables I'd like to pass to Run Shell Script. I'm missing something obvious, but how is this done?
Thanks in advance

i don't know a nice way to do it but in general any input passed to a shell script will be stored in $@ if input is passed as arguments.
in particular, if you stack two "get value of variable actions" one after another and follow it by "run shell script" both variables will be stored in $@ as a list. just try it out with the default
for f in "$@"
do
echo "$f"
done
You'll see that both variables will be echoed.

Automator and "Run Shell Script" error

First, if I'm in the wrong place with this- sorry. Figured this was an OS kind-of thing.
I recently migrated to a new iMac ... I brought along an Automator script; I've been using it for years to perform a little rsync backup to an USB HDD. It's 'never' given me any problems ... until now!
"*Run Shell Script*" encountered an error .. but alas, the system log is devoid of messages ... and the verbose log I have running indicates that all the files are copied/backed-up ... I would love any input on this that might help me get back on the feet. .....
*Here's what my Shell Script Looks like:*
Shell Option: /bin/bash
Pass Input: to stdin
rm -dfr '/Volumes/Backup HD/*********'
rm -dfr '/Users/***********/Library/Logs/Profile_Backup.log'
rsync -rltv /Users/******** '/Volumes/Backup HD/' > /Users/*******/Library/Logs/Profile_Backup.log
(I'm sure there's way to only sync the changed stuff between backups ... but I've simply preferred the fresh copy approach).
*I do however note this in my logs when I open Automator:*
12/14/10 3:15:46 PM [0x0-0x42042].com.apple.automator.Backup[464] Application Stub: OpenScripting.framework - scripting addition "/Library/ScriptingAdditions/Adobe Unit Types.osax" declares no loadable handlers.

@Tony T1
Thanks, I'll certainly adjust the log file as suggested
In troubleshooting the problem I went the terminal route - and issued each command ... during the rsync process I was getting an error ... turns out when it was syncing the SyncServices folder it was encountering a copy of the keychain ... which had root permissions - naturally rsync was not able to copy the file (personally I have no idea why the keychain would be being sync'd with anything)!
I removed the file from the sync ... I'm still doing some "debugging" to correct the problem-
Again, thanks for the assist!

Perl's __END__ doesn't work under Automator's Run Shell Script action

Howdy,
I have a large embedded data file in my Perl source file using the _END_ token. It works great at the command line, but when I copy and paste my Perl code into the Run Shell Script code window and execute it, reading the special file handle DATA always returns 0 lines.
Help?
-Eric

Originally I was using $@ to parse a string and get the result pasted by the service. That was a while ago. There, I noticed that some Japanese characters were messed up. Basically all the kana characters that come with voicing markers like が-ga (instead of か-ka) etc. I did not have the time to pursue that issue though.
Then, last night, I found that a colleague of mine had tried to use $@ to feed to a local dictionary application called ding (http://ftp.tu-chemnitz.de/pub/Local/urz/ding/). His problem was with characters that had umlauts. After verifying how he wrote his action I remembered that I had similar issues with Japanese.
Basically his command was "/path/to/ding $@"
That's supposed to use the selected string as an argument to pass to ding, which will launch a Wish application where the string is used as the searched item.
From Terminal, that works a treat. But the exact same line in Automator (with input as argument, not as stdin) messed the composition and the resulting string was not recognized by ding as a match to what it was supposed to match.
So, I tried a few things to get to the core of the issue and found that a simple "echo [accented characters]" was enough to reproduce the difference in string handling between Automator and Terminal. That difference is also reproduced on a number of person's machines.
I have a number of services that basically revolve on "run shell script" actions and involve 3rd party application outputs, preference files etc. so it would not be convenient to show that to you.
I have sent a mail about this issue to the automator list yesterday too:
http://lists.apple.com/archives/Automator-users/2011/Jun/msg00004.html

How to pass video file name to run shell script

Trying to make an automator script that will 1. Start a video capture, 2. Stop video capture, 3. Rename video, 4. Run Shell Script. Here is the shell script:
for f in "$@"
do
echo "$f"
/usr/bin/podcast --server my.podcast.server --user myself --pass mypass --submit --file $f --workflow "my workflow" --metadata /path/to/file
done
Question:
Do I need to create a variable in the automator script to pass it to the script? If I need the variable do I also need to use both Set Value of Variable and Get Value of Variable? If I don't need a variable does $f need quotes around them?

I'm not familiar with the terminal command /usr/bin/podcast so I don't know what it does but what i said is correct. to pass a file to this action you don't need any variables. the previous action in the workflow should output the video file you want to process, that's all. how you arrange that is up to you. it's clear that you have to fill in appropriate things in that shell script like " my workflow" and path to metadata. But if you have questions about how this shell action works you should ask people who made it.

Run Shell Script

Hi,
I'm new to Automator so I don't really know what to do:
What I want to do is run this line and create an "application" for my dock
virtuoso-t -f -c /usr/local/var/lib/virtuoso/ontowiki/virtuoso.ini &
so I choose "Run Shell Script" Workflow in the Automator Menu. Set the Shell to /bin/zsh (that's what im using) pass input: to stdin.
The workflow runs with no errors, but the virtuoso server does not start
any ideas?
Thanks daniel

The shell used doesn't have any of your environment variables (it is just a generic shell with no custom settings), so if virtuoso isn't in the standard path it won't be found. It is usually a good idea to use full paths anyway, especially when using Automator's Run Shell Script or AppleScript's do shell script. I am also going to guess that the missing space between the -t option is a typo.

Run Shell Script: Interaction?

I use a shell script to build and edit blog articles.
It's quite clever when on the local server where the files end up. A simple routine of building a .php file, then it launches Vim on the file it created, I make some edits to it (add the content), then save and exit Vim.
That is it. When done on the local server, this is perfect. However, with my new upgrade to Tiger, I wanted to try using Automator to do some of this as well as the image copy and conversions which I typically do beforehand.
The Workflow I have so far actually works but the SCRIPT part is messing with me.
I need to have Automator launch the script in a Terminal window so I can interact with the steps it goes thru. Essentially, the launch of Vim in the Terminal opening the file that was made.
I can't figure out how to do this. Terminal is not an app in the left pane of Automator, and when I call my script using "Run Shell Script", it does not perform the last step, "vi filename.php" - rather it completes and leaves my "Stencil" un-edited.
How can I get this done?
Beavis2084

http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=1791477#1791477

Output from Run Shell Script action

Does anyone know what happens to the output of a "Run Shell Script" Automator action if there are no further actions? Does it simply get discarded, or does it end up in a log somewhere?

It's the same for any action, nothing.
The results passed on to the next action is generally just a list of file paths, or perhaps some text, or maybe a reference to a single item. In the "Run Shell Script" case, the result would likely simply be some text, perhaps as a list of lines.
So, if there are no more actions, any of those results are just dropped.
However, a list of files (or whatever) is actually just part of the results. An action performs some task on the input, or on the results from a previous action. In a sense, there can be said to be two parts to the "results". For example, perhaps an action changes some photos to black & white, so the photos will have been changed and then the paths to the photos (list of items) will be passed to the next action. The list of items is the only usable part for the next action, if there is a next action.
You can use Automator's "View Results" action after it to see the results, TextEdit's "New Text File" to create a file with the previous results as the contents, TextEdit's "New TextEdit Document" to open a new document with the results as the document's contents, and so on.

Automator runs shell script differently

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for