What is the easiest way in Linux to have a script run on startup and another on shutdown?
+3
A:
Create the script in /etc/init.d and run chkconfig myscript on. See the other scripts in /etc/init.d for examples.
As others have pointed out, this is on a Red Hat based distribution.
Brian L
2009-03-11 13:28:17
-1: chkconfig does not exist in my Linux. You might want to mention what distribution you’re using.
Bombe
2009-03-11 13:31:03
This is distribution dependant. You can't assume chkconfig is there.
Adam Lassek
2009-03-11 13:31:22
Just to add to this, chkconfig relies on a very specific set of comments near the top of the script to tell it which runlevels to start and stop at. Also, it's mostly found in RedHat-based distros.
Paul Tomblin
2009-03-11 13:32:10
Command is update-rc.d in debian based distros. Scripts still in /etc/init.d (standard?)
skinp
2009-03-11 13:43:55
Not all distros use sysv-style init. My distro of choice (Slackware) uses BSD-style with some borrowed sysv-isms, and I think there are a couple of more obscure set-ups too (ISTR hearing that Gentoo does its own thing, but I'm not familiar with it).
Adam Jaskiewicz
2009-03-11 14:06:29
+6
A:
See the introductory article http://www.linux.com/feature/114107
Most distros have their own front-end to manage runlevels. Unfortunately there is no standard tool.
For example I use OpenSUSE, where it can by managed by YaST.
vartec
2009-03-11 13:30:46
I wasn't talking about InitNG and Upstart, I was talking about the somewhat modified BSD-style init in Slackware and some related distros.
Adam Jaskiewicz
2009-03-12 13:55:57
On Slackware for example, you would add a /etc/rc.d/rc.whatever script to stop/start your service, then edit the runlevels' startup script to run your script. You'd want to tell runlevel 0 (halt) to stop the service, and runlevel 3 (multiuser) to start the service.
Adam Jaskiewicz
2009-03-12 13:58:59
I see there is bit of confusion. SysV init consist in runlevels defined in /etc/inittab. Slackware of course uses that. Now, what you're talking about is rc.d init scripts, which indeed are called SysV or BSD style, so it might be confusing. In fact I think most distros use hybrid of both.
vartec
2009-03-12 15:12:36
A:
This is very distribution-dependent, and also varies with stuff like runlevels, and exactly when during start-up you want your script to run.
But poking around in /etc is probably a good way to figure out how to do it for your particular machine.
unwind
2009-03-11 13:31:24
A:
The easiest way to make a script run on startup is to add a @reboot entry in root's crontab. (I don't know of any @shutdown rule):
@reboot /path/to/script <arguments>
For debian systems (ubuntu included), the "correct" way is to make an init script in /etc/init.d based on the skeleton file in that directory. Use update-rc.d to make it active (read the man for usage).
skinp
2009-03-11 13:34:07
A:
If your application does not support daemonizing, pid file handling, etc, you can use the command start-stop-daemon to provide these features for you in your init script.
Ali A
2009-03-11 13:51:09
+3
A:
In Debian or Ubuntu, copy /etc/init.d/skeleton, an example script for starting/stopping daemons, and edit it to your liking, and make it executable:
cp /etc/init.d/skeleton /etc/init.d/mythingy
pico /etc/init.d/mythingy
chmod 755 /etc/init.d/mythingy
That should provide a way for you to start and stop a given program/script. You may want to test your script to make sure that it works as expected:
/etc/init.d/mythingy start
/etc/init.d/mythingy stop
After doing this, use the update-rcd command to make it run at startup/shutdown:
update-rcd mythingy defaults
Unless you know what you are doing, using the defaults is perfectly fine. That should be all you need to do!
You might find these resources helpful:
vezult
2009-03-11 14:40:34
+1
A:
Ubuntu has /etc/rc.local, a script which you can edit to call anything you need to do on startup.
Gentoo has /etc/conf.d/local.start and /etc/conf.d/local.stop
Must be something similar under Redhat/fedora.
Jim T
2009-03-12 09:44:21
A:
Since you haven't specified which distro, all you can rely on is the information from LSB about init scripts.
Ronny Vindenes
2009-03-12 09:51:28