MacOS – Make script run without interrupting GUI experience

applescripticalmacosscript

I have an AppleScript that automatically opens SelfControl.app to help avoid distractions when I want to be working. The script is very similar to automate an Internet content filter, and it is automatically launched by iCal at a set time.

The problem is that when the script runs, the window opens on the screen, and if I'm in the middle of typing something, then my typing interferes with the dialog box for entering the password, and the script fails.

How can I get the script to run independently from the user's activity? In other words, how can I run the script without showing the user the GUI evidence that the script is running?

AppleScript

Below is a snippet of code. myTime and myPass are defined earlier in the script:

set myTime to …
set myPass to …

tell application "SelfControl" to activate

tell application "System Events"
    tell process "SelfControl"
        tell slider of window "SelfControl" to set value to myTime
        click button "Start" of window "SelfControl"
    end tell

    tell window 1 of process "SecurityAgent"
        with timeout of 15 seconds
            repeat
                set tryAgain to false
                try
                    set value of text field 2 of scroll area 1 of group 1 to myPass
                on error
                    delay 1
                    set tryAgain to true
                end try
                if not tryAgain then exit repeat
            end repeat
            click button 2 of group 2
        end timeout
    end tell
end tell

Best Answer

This can be achieved from the command line using the defaults system, as demonstrated at the SelfControl github site.

To avoid link-rot, I copy the site's text below:

In some cases, you may want to start a SelfControl block from the command line. This can make it much easier for advanced users to script their SelfControl blocks. This article explains how you can start SelfControl from the command line. If you're not familiar with the command line, this article is not for you.

Install SelfControl into your Applications folder.

Set your block preferences via the defaults system. The key values you'll need to set are BlockDuration (length of the block in minutes), HostBlacklist (an array containing the list of hosts to block/whitelist), and BlockAsWhitelist (makes it a whitelist instead of blacklist). There are more preferences if you want them; you can see them by running defaults read org.eyebeam.SelfControl (or just configure them in the app's preferences panel). Don't set BlockStartedDate, that's handled by the program automatically.

Run sudo /Applications/SelfControl.app/Contents/MacOS/org.eyebeam.SelfControl $(id -u $(whoami)) --install to start a block. It will automatically run checkups to see if the block needs removal every minute.

Wait for the block to expire. If you want to manually run a checkup to remove the block if necessary, you can do so with sudo /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/org.eyebeam.SelfControl $(id -u $(whoami)) --checkup. If that doesn't remove the backup successfully, you can run our backup removal tool with /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/scheckup.

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How to write a script to open multiple terminal tabs and execute code in them

This is a little bit hacky, but you can achieve this in AppleScript. If there is a predetermined number of tabs you want, and preset commands you wish to run, this isn't difficult.

tell application "Terminal"
    -- Activate it.
    activate

    set targetWindow to 0

    -- Get a window that's not busy.
    -- If there are no open windows, open one.
    if count of windows is greater than 0 then
        repeat with currentWindow in windows
            if currentWindow is not busy then
                set targetWindow to currentWindow
            end if
        end repeat
    else
        do script ""
        set targetWindow to window 1
    end if

    -- Do command 1.
    set firstCommand to "cd ~/Desktop; clear"
    do script firstCommand in targetWindow

    -- Open a new tab.
    tell application "System Events" to tell process "Terminal" to keystroke "t" using command down

    if count of windows is greater than 0 then
        repeat with currentWindow in windows
            if currentWindow is not busy then
                set targetWindow to currentWindow
            end if
        end repeat
    else
        do script ""
        set targetWindow to window 1
    end if

    -- Do command 2.
    set secondCommand to "cd /Applications; clear"
    do script secondCommand in targetWindow

    -- And so on...
end tell

Of course, replace firstCommand with whichever command you actually want to run, and so on. For whatever reason, Terminal doesn't really have an accessible way to create new tabs through AppleScript, so the long, hacky looking line in the middle just tells Terminal to type ⌘T to open that new tab, and then new commands will execute in it.

You can run this AppleScript as is, or use it in Automator to create a new service, which you can then execute from anywhere using a keyboard shortcut if you'd like.

Extras - If you want to fire some script/command in the newly opened terminal session, you can refer this

MacOS – Applescript to automate drop-down selection in Mozilla Firefox

Try this

tell application "Firefox"
    activate
    tell application "System Events"
        keystroke tab
        keystroke (key code 125)
        keystroke (key code 125)
        keystroke (key code 125)        
    end tell
end tell

You might not need to activate Firefox if it's the current active app. Them you just need :

tell application "System Events"
    keystroke tab
    keystroke (key code 125)
    keystroke (key code 125)
    keystroke (key code 125)        
end tell

AppleScript

Best Answer

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How to write a script to open multiple terminal tabs and execute code in them

MacOS – Applescript to automate drop-down selection in Mozilla Firefox

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