Terminal: Add items to Accessibility Access in MacOS Mojave 10.14? - applescript

Is there a way to programmatically add items (Osascript) to Accessibility Access?
I read its possible via tccutil, for example:
sudo tccutil.py --insert /usr/bin/osascript
Mojave is not letting me do this: "Error opening Database", seems like TCC is SIP protected.
Is it possible to do this with pure terminal commands?
Since i want to execute an applescript remotely via a bash script..
osascript /folder/myscript.scpt
myscript.scpt: execution error: System Events got an error: osascript is not allowed assistive access. (-25211)
Greets.

Related

OSX bash minimize window

In the Mac and using the bash shell, I want to execute a file that contains a single command (to start Jupyter Lab) and immediately minimize the terminal window.
Is there a way to do this WITHOUT installing third party software?
Yes, just use osascript and Applescript:
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to set visible of front window to false'
Building on Paul R's answer, which in my testing appears to make the window fully hidden and unrecoverable, you can use the following to minimise the window to the dock if access is required again later:
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to set miniaturized of every window to true'
You can create a file that with the command extension, for example jupiter-lab.command.
You add execution rights on it (chmod +x jupiter-lab.command). You edit the file and insert commands like in a bash script.
For example to open App Store, you could insert :
open "/Application/App Store.app"
The first time you double click on it, you will get a popup that tells you that the command has ended quickly. Just check the Suppress this message permanently not to see it anymore.
Note : the terminal will not be minimised but will be closed.

Mute Macbook pro when computer is shutting down

I'm thinking of using the Mac's applescript to make a program that mutes the system when it is shutting down.
Though I'm new to applescript and I don't know how to use the IF-statement to determine if the system is shutting down. I've done some googling and I've found that the finder app is the app that is "controlling" the shutdown, but i don't know how to check if the state is "shut down". Can anybody assist me in this matter?
AppleScript has no direct mechanism for detecting a shutdown/logout.
It does have a mechanism for creating applications that can react to themselves being quit.
Thus, you can:
use AppleScript to create a stay-open application (.app bundle) with a standard on quit handler, in which you perform the desired action (
make sure that the application is launched on login - in the simpler case as a Login Item (via System Preferences, see below), or, with more flexibility but complexity, as a launch agent (see https://stackoverflow.com/a/22872222/45375).
Instructions:
Open Script Editor and open a new script window.
Paste the following code:
# This standard handler is called when the application quits.
on quit
# Mute the system volume.
# !! See caveat below.
set volume with output muted
continue quit # signal to the system that it's OK to quit
end quit
Save the script as a stay-open application:
with File Format Application
check Stay open after run handler
Open System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items, drag the newly saved *.app bundle into the list, and check the checkbox next to it, so as to make it launch hidden.
The final step is to hide the new application's Dock icon, as there's no reason for it to have one:
From Terminal, run the following:
defaults write /full/path/to/newApp.app/Contents/Info.plist LSUIElement 1
Note: You could use LSBackgroundOnly too, but the advantage of LSUIElement is that you can still display UI elements if you want to, such as for debugging.
Important: Substitute the full path of your new app for /full/path/to/newApp.app; the command will only work if you specify the full path to the Info.plist file.
To test, start the new app interactively, and make sure that no Dock icon appears. (You can quit the app via Activity Monitor).
CAVEAT: If the intent is to suppress the system startup sound, set volume with output muted has two drawbacks:
it will not work if headphones happened to be plugged at the time of shutdown
you will have to unmute the volume on startup (however, you could do that in an on on run handler in the same app).
Consider the alternative approach below, which requires admin privileges to set up and invokes nvram SystemAudioVolume=%80 with root privileges, which bypasses the above drawbacks.
You could run do shell script "nvram SystemAudioVolume=%80" user name "someAdminUsername" password "matchingAdminPassword" with administrator privileges from the above AppleScript app, but you'd have to hard-code the password, which is not advisable for security reasons.
Alternative approach, using a system-wide logout hook via com.apple.loginwindow.
There's a deprecated mechanism for running a script on logout that, however, still works as of OSX 10.10; given that there's no direct non-deprecated equivalent, it may continue to be supported.
Note that you do need admin privileges:
sudo defaults write com.apple.loginwindow LogoutHook <yourScript>
<yourScript> must be an executable, such as a shell script; note that the executable is run in the context of the root user.
In case you're thinking of muting the startup sound, invoke the following shell command from that script:
nvram SystemAudioVolume=%80 # to try this interactively, prepend `sudo `
This will mute sounds until after a reboot, effectively muting the startup sound, without keeping the sound muted.
Note that the nvram command requires root privileges, which are by definition in effect in a script run via the com.apple.loginwindow logout hook.; by contrast, to try the command interactively, use sudo nvram SystemAudioVolume=%80 - otherwise, you'll get the following, unhelpful error message: nvram: Error setting variable - 'SystemAudioVolume': (iokit/common) general error
Honestly, it is better to make a deterministic solution. What I mean is, is that you make a script that:
Mutes your computer.
Shuts it down.
Then you take your script and create an Automator service, that you can assign to some shortcut, to make it easier for you to use it. ctrl-opt-cmd-eject or something. :)
This is just how I would have solved it, if I have the need, it is short and sweet to make work, and should work reasonably well.
If you want to use the LogoutHook mentioned in #mklement0's answer.
You can use the normal Applescript command set volume with output muted.
You just need to add the osascript shebang to the top of the Applescript document
i.e
#!/usr/bin/osascript
set volume with output muted
And then save the file as applescript text file.
In the save dialogue use : file format: Text )
It will get the extension .applescript
Once it is saved, use Terminal.app to chmod the script as you would a normal shell script which in effect it is.
i.e
/bin/chmod +x foo.applescript
Then add it to the loginwindows LogoutHook.
sudo defaults write com.apple.loginwindow LogoutHook foo.applescript
I Know this is an old post but for anyone still looking how to do this(like I was) I have a simple method.
Before I started Scripting I created a new folder in my home folder called toolbar scripts.(this is optional)
With the desktop showing Finder click on Go >Utilities >Script Editor.
In the window that opens type in or copy and paste the code
set volume with output muted
tell application "finder"
shut down
end tell
Click on the last button above the script you added - it should be compile. If you cannot find that button then on the top click on Script >Compile
Click on File >Save in the save as I called mine shutdown and chose the script folder (this is optional)
Down the bottom of the dialog box at file format click on the arrow and change the format to application and click on save.
Open the folder you saved it in and drag the icon to the dock. Click on the icon you just put in the dock.
now if all is right this should mute the volume and shutdown the computer.
This will not shutdown the computer if you still have anything open.
Cheers
Peter
first, you should create a sound-off script (with terminal)
sudo nano /Library/Scripts/sound-off.sh
after filling it with these lines:
#!/bin/bash
osascript -e ‘set volume output muted 1’
and make a sound-on script like that
sudo nano /Library/Scripts/sound-on.sh
and fill it with:
#!/bin/bash
osascript -e ‘set volume 4’
then access them as executing files
sudo chmod u+x /Library/Scripts/sound-off.sh
sudo chmod u+x /Library/Scripts/sound-on.sh
and the last part is set them when the mac device is turn off and on:
sudo defaults write com.apple.loginwindow LogoutHook /Library/Scripts/sound-off.sh
sudo defaults write com.apple.loginwindow LoginHook /Library/Scripts/sound-on.sh

Accessibility settings for non-GUI apps using AppleScript in OSX Mavericks?

In previous versions of OS X, to allow AppleScript to be run you needed to check “Enable access for assistive devices” in the Accessibility pane of System Preferences.
With Mavericks, this is now a per-app setting that is enabled from Security & Privacy -> Accessibility. How do I enable assistive access if the script is being run from the command line with osascript from within a Jenkins task? As far as I understand, there is no GUI task to authorize then; I get no message dialog asking for permissions. The error message I get in the Jenkins output is:
take_screenshot_iossim.sh:246:303: execution error: System Events got an error: osascript is not allowed assistive access. (-1719)
I also tried adding all applications to the permissions dialog and still receive the permissions denied error.
Problem
If I understand correctly, you want to enable GUI scripting from a command line.
Solution
I believe you will need to use the following code to enable GUI Scripting from within an applescript. That script can then be executed from the command line. You may want to exclude the display dialog as needed -- this script just presents the dialog to confirm that the GUI settings have been made active.
if enabledGUISCripting(true) then
-- GUI Scripting statements go here
display dialog "GUI Scripting is enabled"
else
--non-GUI scripting statements go here
display dialog "GUI Scripting is disabled"
end if
on enabledGUISCripting(switch)
tell application "System Events"
activate
if not (UI elements enabled) then set (UI elements enabled) to true
return (UI elements enabled)
end tell
end enabledGUISCripting
The key parts of this are:
tell application "System Events"
activate
if not (UI elements enabled) then set (UI elements enabled) to true
end tell
You could combine the key parts mentioned above into a file and tell osascript to execute it using:
osascript file.scpt
If you want to send osascript multiple commands on a single line instead of using a script file you could try (note multiple -e flags per command):
osascript -e “line 1″ -e “line 2″ -e “line 3″
You may want to run this using sudo (if needed):
If you get an error such as this one when running such scripts from Terminal you will need to enable accessibility for Terminal in the privacy preferences (Mavericks, see image below)
execution error: System Events got an error: Can’t set UI elements enabled of application to true. (-10006)
System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Accessibility (Click to enable Terminal)
I worked round this by starting the jenkins slave by using JNLP rather than SSH. You can set this up in the slave node settings on the jenkins master.
To set this up i created an automator script which runs at login so the jenkins slave runs as a real user.
curl -o slave.jar http://server:8080/jnlpJars/slave.jar && java -jar slave.jar -jnlpUrl http://server:8080/computer/<slaveName>/slave-agent.jnlp -secret <secret from the node settings on master>
This causes osx to popup an enable application access to assistive devices popup for the automator script which then allows it to access everything.
For me this is not a complete solution as i have problems with JNLP slaves going offline more than the SSH launched slaves, which is how i found this issue :D
Another solution is to run the command by spawning a terminal which i guess is not in apple's banned list of things for assitive access.
After a bit of messing around i found the following worked over ssh
osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal" to do script "take_screenshot_iossim.sh"'
This then pops up the assitive dialog again and you can approve access
You need to setup the terminal to auto close after success otherwise you'll end up with millions of them :D

Applescript application hangs on 10.9 when executing a shell command with administrator privileges

I'm executing the following line in an Applescript application.
set POSIX_path to "/Applications/iPhoto.app"
do shell script "sudo rm -rfv " & quoted form of POSIX_path with administrator privileges
The authentification screen pops up as it should but after authenticating the application just freezes upon executing this command. This problems only occurs in 10.9.
When I set the permissions of the folder to be delete to "everyone can read & write" it works.
Does anyone have a clue what has been changed?
EDIT: When I repeat the execution of this script by checking du -shx /Applications/iMovie.app it manages to delete a few more files with every try.
$ open compiled-applescript.app/
$ du -shx /Applications/iMovie.app
1.4G /Applications/iMovie.app
-- force quit AppleScript --
$ open compiled-applescript.app/
$ du -shx /Applications/iMovie.app
1.3G /Applications/iMovie.app
-- force quit AppleScript --
$ open compiled-applescript.app/
$ du -shx /Applications/iMovie.app
1.0G /Applications/iMovie.app
Its working fine on OS X 10.9 (13A603)
set POSIX_path to "/Users/paragbafna/Desktop/untitled folder"
do shell script "sudo rm -rfv " & quoted form of POSIX_path with administrator privileges
Does anyone have a clue what has been changed?
Well yes.. Gatekeeper has changed, that may be the cause..
When I set the permissions of the folder to be delete to "everyone can read & write" it works.
Did you do this from Finder or from the command line with chmod 0777? The latter may delete some attributes that Finder does not remove.
What setting is selected here, on your computer?
If you have a restrictive setting, try "Anywhere" to see if it solves the problem. If this is the cause you may:
Have custom command line tools installed, (e.g. MacPorts) or something you compiled yourself (since this is happening on 3 but not all computers and obviously you are not a "generic" user).
Your applescript is not being trusted, you can try signing it if possible, otherwise this may work:
If the user wants to run an application blocked by Gatekeeper, they have several options. Gatekeeper could, in effect, be turned off by letting it run all applications. A power user may opt to remove the quarantine attribute or use the spctl command to add a new policy in the security assessment policy subsystem. - TrendMicro - about Gatekeeper
Last resort idea.. Check your disk permissions, re-install Xcode if you use that, maybe the signatures are corrupted.
Write a shell script instead, I don't know if it is just about deleting a few files, then you can definitely do it in shell script, or comment to let me know what you're trying to achieve.
After days of trying everything to sort out this problem I finally found what was causing this issue.
It's the verbose-option (-v) of the rm-command. Leaving it out makes the application work flawless again.
Maybe Apple accidently introduced a buffer overflow. I will report this under the problem ID 15309626 I created at Apple's bugtracker. Maybe they'll fix it until the first 10.10 DP :D

Set boot volume with apple script - Mac

I have two partitions on my mac: Mac OS X and Windows 7. I constantly switch between them so I started looking for a way to restart automatically into the other partition (without having to press Alt on restart). For Windows it is easy because the Boot Camp utilities provided by Apple has a quick menu for that. On Mac, though, I had to search and I found this code in Apple Script:
do shell script "bless --mount /Volumes/Windows/ --setBoot" with administrator privileges
do shell script "shutdown -r now" with administrator privileges
The problem is this doesn't work. When it restarts after running this script it goes to the Mac partition, instead of Windows.
The good thing about AppleScript is that I can save it into an app and run if from the Dock, but so far it hasn't worked. Any ideas?
For the bless command you should use an -legacy option as well do the command would be
do shell script "bless --mount /Volumes/BOOTCAMP/ --setBoot --legacy" with administrator privileges
As you can see my windows partition is named BOOTCAMP, fill in the exact path to the mounted windows volume. If the volume isn't mounted bless command won't work either.
I wouldn't use the shutdown command from the command line. It won't give you the ability to save unsaved documents. Use system events instead
tell application "System Events" to shut down

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