Bash – How to measure how long it takes the script to run AND include that in an email it generates

bashshell-scripttime

I have a simple bash script that runs a series of checks (ping, nslookup, etc) and then sends an email report with the output of that data.

I'd like the email to include information on how long it took the entire script to run. Is there an easy way to collect that information?

Best Answer

I suggest to take a look at bash variable SECONDS:

SECONDS: Each time this parameter is referenced, the number of seconds since shell invocation is returned. If a value is assigned to SECONDS, the value returned upon subsequent references is the number of seconds since the assignment plus the value assigned.

Thus you can simply print this variable at the end of the script. Alternatively, if your intention is to measure the time of only part of the program, then just set SECONDS=0 at the beginning of the measured block of commands, and at the end just use value stored in this variable.

Related Solutions

Bash – How to print only certain commands from a bash script as they are run

When I write more complex bash scripts, I use a little function to run commands that will also print the commands run into a logfile:

runthis(){
    ## print the command to the logfile
    echo "$@" >> $LOG
    ## run the command and redirect it's error output
    ## to the logfile
    eval "$@" 2>> $LOG 
}

Then, in my script, I run commands like this:

runthis "cp /foo/bar /baz/"

If you don't want a command printed, just run it normally.

You can either set the $LOG to a filename or just remove it and print to stdout or stderr.

Shell – Log monitoring using shell script

Start by making a five minute crontab:

*/5 * * * * myscript.sh

Which runs myscript.sh (in $HOME dir)

 #!/bin/bash
 tail -1 /path/to/file.log > /some/dir/after
 if cmp -s /some/dir/after /some/dire/before
 then
     cat /some/dir/after | mail -s "restart" admin@exemple.com
     cp /some/dir/after /some/dir/before
 fi

With the correct values (of course).

Note that this implies there will not be two restarts within five minutes.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Bash – How to print only certain commands from a bash script as they are run

Shell – Log monitoring using shell script

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