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Gnome - run script on logout

I'm investigating the migration of a bunch of machines from KDE to GNOME.

I currently have a collection of scripts which run when a user logs out. KDE provides an easy way to run these scripts - stick them in /opt/kde3/shutdown (or equivalent depending on distro). Any scripts in there get run as the user that's logged out.

The only suggestion I can find for doing this in GNOME is to put scripts in to /etc/gdm/PostSession. The trouble with that is that the scripts then run as root. Some of the scripts I need to run manipulate stuff in a the user's home directory which is mounted from a remote server and of course root doesn't have the ability to mess with stuff in such home directories. So a script which runs as root is at best annoying and at worse useless for my purposes.
I might be able to do something in the script like

Code:

su - $USER -c "some commands"

but that seems kinda messy and I haven't tested it yet.

Is there any sensible, easy method to make GNOME run a script when a user logs out with the permissions of that user?

You could do something like this (from http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=252935) in /etc/gdm/PostSession/Default:

logoutscript="$HOME/.gdmlogout";
if [ -x "$logoutscript" ] ; then
su $USER -c "$logoutscript"
fi

which is very similar to what you are thinking. This has the advantage of letting users define their own actions as well.

I've tried running a script under su and it does work as expected so looks like I'll be using that method.

Giving the user the ability to define the logout script is not what I was after but maybe I'll do that as well as the scripts they can't define.

It seems like a rather large omission that GNOME doesn't provide a neater method of defining logout scripts.

cheers.

I've had a similar problem. I needed to run a command before gnome exits (and not after). I wrote a small python script to listen to the gnome 'save-yourself' event' and then run my command.

Hopefully somebody might find this useful.

Code:

#!/usr/bin/env python



#Author: Seamus Phelan



#This program runs a custom command/script just before gnome shuts 

#down.  This is done the same way that gedit does it (listening for 

#the 'save-yourself' event).  This is different to placing scipts 

#in /etc/rc#.d/ as the script will be run before gnome exits.

#If the custom script/command fails with a non-zero return code, a 

#popup dialog box will appear offering the chance to cancel logout

#

#Usage: 1 - change the command in the 'subprocess.call' in 

#          function 'session_save_yourself' below to be what ever

#          you want to run at logout.

#      2 - Run this program at every gnome login (add via menu System 

#          -> Preferences -> Session)

# 

#



import sys

import subprocess

import datetime



import gnome

import gnome.ui

import gtk





class Namespace: pass

ns = Namespace()

ns.dialog = None





def main():

    prog = gnome.init ("gnome_save_yourself", "1.0", gnome.libgnome_module_info_get(), sys.argv, [])

    client = gnome.ui.master_client()

    #set up call back for when 'logout'/'Shutdown' button pressed

    client.connect("save-yourself", session_save_yourself)

    client.connect("shutdown-cancelled", shutdown_cancelled)





def session_save_yourself( *args):

    #Lets try to unmount all truecrypt volumes

    retcode = subprocess.call("truecrypt -d", shell=True)

    if retcode != 0:

        #command failed  

        show_error_dialog()

    return True



def shutdown_cancelled( *args):

    if ns.dialog != None:

        ns.dialog.destroy()

    return True





def show_error_dialog():

    ns.dialog = gtk.Dialog("There was a problem running your pre-shutdown script",

                          None,

                          gtk.DIALOG_MODAL | gtk.DIALOG_DESTROY_WITH_PARENT,

                          ("There was a problem running your pre-shutdown script - continue logout", gtk.RESPONSE_ACCEPT))

    if ns.test_mode == True:

        response = ns.dialog.run()

        ns.dialog.destroy()

    else:

        #when in shutdown mode gnome will only allow you to open a window using master_client().save_any_dialog()

        #It also adds the 'Cancel logout' button

        gnome.ui.master_client().save_any_dialog(ns.dialog)







#Find out if we are in test mode???

if len(sys.argv) >=2 and sys.argv[1] == "test":

    ns.test_mode = True

else:

    ns.test_mode = False



if ns.test_mode == True:

    main()

    session_save_yourself()

else:

    main()

    gtk.main()

cheers

Well I finally got around to trying that Python script. Whilst it does exactly what it says and is very cunning, like the GDM PostSession script is doesn't get called if the user ends the GNOME session by way of rebooting or shuting down the machine. It has the advantage over using GDM scripts that you can run something as the user that's logging out without having to use su though. What I really need now is some way getting a script to run if the user exits GNOME by way or restart or shut down.