Ubuntu – How to get a list of running applications by using the command line

command lineguiwindow

I want to list only running application like: Firefox, gedit, Nautilus, etc. using the command line.

Note: I don't want to list all running process, only applications which are running (say manually launched GUIs).

Best Answer

A combination of wmctrl and xprop offers many possibilities.

Example 1:

running_gui_apps() {

    # loop through all open windows (ids)
    for win_id in $( wmctrl -l | cut -d' ' -f1 ); do 

        # test if window is a normal window
        if  $( xprop -id $win_id _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE | grep -q _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_NORMAL ) ; then 

            echo "$( xprop -id $win_id WM_CLASS | cut -d" " -f4- )"", window id: $win_id"

        fi

    done
}

The output could look in this case similar like this:

"Firefox", window id: 0x032000a9
"Gnome-terminal", window id: 0x03a0000c
"Thunar", window id: 0x03600004
"Geany", window id: 0x03c00003
"Thunar", window id: 0x0360223e
"Mousepad", window id: 0x02c00003
"Mousepad", window id: 0x02c00248
"Xfce4-terminal", window id: 0x03e00004

Example 2:

running_gui_apps() {
    applications=()

    # loop through all open windows (ids)
    for win_id in $( wmctrl -l | cut -d' ' -f1 ); do 

        # test if window is a normal window
        if  $( xprop -id $win_id _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE | grep -q _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_NORMAL ) ; then 

            # filter application name and remove double-quote at beginning and end
            appname=$( xprop -id $win_id WM_CLASS | cut -d" " -f4 )
            appname=${appname#?}
            appname=${appname%?}

            # add to result list
            applications+=( "$appname" ) 

        fi

    done

    # sort result list and remove duplicates  
    readarray -t applications < <(printf '%s\0' "${applications[@]}" | sort -z | xargs -0n1 | uniq)

    printf -- '%s\n' "${applications[@]}" 
}

Output example:

Firefox
Geany
Gnome-terminal
Mousepad
Thunar
Xfce4-terminal

You can add the function to your ~/.bashrc or run it from an script file.

Ubuntu 16.04

##disconnect
nmcli d disconnect <WifiInterface>

##connect
nmcli d connect <WifiInterface>

Another way:

##disconnect
nmcli c down <SavedWiFiConn>

##connect
nmcli c up <SavedWiFiConn>

Ubuntu 15.10 & previous

##disconnect
nmcli d disconnect iface <WifiInterface>

##connect
nmcli d wifi connect <WiFiSSID> password <WiFiPassword> iface <WifiInterface>

Another way:

##disconnect:
nmcli c down id <SavedWiFiConn>

##connect:
nmcli c up id <SavedWiFiConn>

If your password isn't automatically recognized type this:

nmcli -a c up <SavedWiFiConn>

Reference: man nmcli

Command-Line – Log GUI Tasks in Command-Line Format

Introduction

While it's not possible to log all GUI actions, such things as logging commands that correspond to open windows can be done. Below is the simple python script that does the job. It's still in development, but does 90% of the required task.

Source code

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import gi
gi.require_version('Gtk', '3.0')
gi.require_version('Gdk', '3.0')
from gi.repository import Gdk,Gtk
import time
import os
import subprocess

def run_cmd(cmdlist):
    """ Reusable function for running external commands """
    new_env = dict(os.environ)
    new_env['LC_ALL'] = 'C'
    try:
        stdout = subprocess.check_output(cmdlist, env=new_env)
    except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
        pass
    else:
        if stdout:
            return stdout
def print_info(stack,event):
    base_xprop = ['xprop','-notype']
    for xid in stack:
        pid = None
        check_pid = run_cmd(base_xprop + [ '_NET_WM_PID', '-id',str(xid)])
        if check_pid:
            pid = check_pid.decode().split('=')[1].strip()
        with open('/proc/'+pid+'/cmdline') as fd:
            command = fd.read()
        print(time.strftime("%D %H:%M:%S" + " "*3) + event + pid + " " + command)

def main():
    sc = Gdk.Screen.get_default()
    old_stack = None

    while True:
        stack = [ win.get_xid() for win in sc.get_window_stack() ]
        if old_stack:
            # Difference between current and old stack will show new programs
            diff = set(stack) - set(old_stack)
            if diff:
                print_info(diff," 'New window open' ")
        else:
            print_info(stack," 'Script Started' ")

        old_stack = stack
        time.sleep(2)

if __name__ == '__main__': main()

Test run:

$ ./log_open_windows.py                                                                                                
01/25/17 15:33:13    'Script Started' 2915 nautilus-n
01/25/17 15:33:13    'Script Started' 3408 /opt/google/chrome/chrome
01/25/17 15:33:13    'Script Started' 12540 /usr/bin/python/usr/bin/x-terminal-emulator
01/25/17 15:33:13    'Script Started' 2454 compiz
01/25/17 15:33:13    'Script Started' 2454 compiz
01/25/17 15:33:13    'Script Started' 2454 compiz
01/25/17 15:33:13    'Script Started' 2454 compiz
01/25/17 15:33:13    'Script Started' 2454 compiz
01/25/17 15:33:21    'New window open' 15143 /usr/lib/firefox/firefox-new-window
01/25/17 15:33:27    'New window open' 15196 unity-control-center

The script shows timestamp, event type, the window PID, and the corresponding command.

How to use

The standard rules of any script apply. Make sure you store the script in ~/bin directory. If you don't have ~/bin directory , then create one. Save script file there and ensure it is executable with chmod +x ~/bin/log_open_windows.py. After than you can run it from command line at any time you wish by calling ~/log_open_windows.py in command-line.