[SOLVED] how to make a command line application autostart?

bennypr0fane · 06-17-2013, 04:01 PM

Hello,
I have a problem with Adobe Flash player that apparently can be workarounded by using Devil's Pie, making it auto start In Lubuntu 13.04 with Gnome Shell.

Here's what I tried to achieve that after following the instructions on askubuntu.com (as advised in the #ubuntu irc channel):
I made a file /etc/init/devilspie.conf with the following content:

Code:

description run devil's pie on startup

start on startup
stop on runlevel [016]

respawn

exec su - ben -c "devilspie"

I wanted to test it first by seeing if I could run it manually, I get this:

Code:

~$ sudo start devilspie 
start: Unknown job: devilspie
ben@Ignaz-lubuntu:~$ ps auxwww|grep devilspie
ben      13244  0.0  0.4 390932 15644 ?        Sl   22:16   0:00 leafpad /etc/init/devilspie.conf
ben      14303  0.0  0.0  10948   916 pts/0    S+   22:19   0:00 grep --color=auto devilspie

These commands were given to me at #ubuntu as well, but I didn't get assistance to conclusion of the issue, so I don't know what this output means. Can someone help me deal with this?
It seems however that Devil's Pie is not running - it's not listed in running processes of System monitor.

evo2 · 06-17-2013, 04:54 PM

Hi,

are you sure you want this running when the machine boots? Since devilspie (IIRC) is a program to help manage windows, wouldn't it be better to run it when you log into an X session?

Evo2.

PS. I'm not so familiar with upstart, but I suspect the people who provided you with information on #ubuntu and askubuntu.com know even less.

PPS. Entering "gnome3 autostart" in your favourite search engine should provide the information you are looking for.

bennypr0fane · 06-18-2013, 01:57 PM

I did some searches like that before (don't rememeber the exact search terms), but I guess they didn't help me bcs I searched in English.
My system UI is in German so what I was looking for in my Gnome menus did not match its German label.
The solution is called "Startprogramme" in German. There I added a new entry and inserted the path to the devil's pie executable, obtained through

Code:

which devilspie

in the "command" field.
Devil's Pie now autostarts, but I don't care whether it does so at boot or at login - fullscreen Flash works again in all players and my issue is solved :-)

Really it's funny though no one at #ubuntu thought of pointing me to startup applications...

evo2 · 06-18-2013, 05:25 PM

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by bennypr0fane

Devil's Pie now autostarts, but I don't care whether it does so at boot or at login

Actually, I would not be surprised if devilspie failed to start if there was no X session to connect to.

Quote:

- fullscreen Flash works again in all players and my issue is solved :-)

Glad you were able to get it working.

Quote:

Really it's funny though no one at #ubuntu thought of pointing me to startup applications...

It really doesn't surprise me. Did anyone there tell you to switch from gnome to unity? ;-)

Cheers,

Evo2.