Utilities

This is a collection of utilities and scripts I've created.

• run-parts
• encrypt-folder
• find-wifi-network
• get_password_from_keyring

run-parts

This is a python script that works similarly to run-parts from Linux. Given a directory, run-parts will execute the files in that directory.

Why?

I am familiar with run-parts from my Ubuntu servers and wanted something similar for my Mac to run my backups (I use BorgBackup for my backups).

I use run-parts.py on my MacBook and iMac to run my backup scripts regularly via LaunchAgents. For instance, I have my own "cron.daily" folder that contains scripts that I want to run daily, such as running the borg backup.

Usage

run-parts.py [-n/--dry-run/--test] folder

Files are executed in alphabetical order. So, if you want to have the files executed in order, name them as such. e.g. 001-first.sh, 010-second.sh, ..., 999-last.sh.

(I symlink run-parts.py to my ~/bin folder [ ln -s ~/Utilities/run-parts/run-parts.py ~/bin/run-parts ] so that I can use run-parts rather than typing run-parts.py ).

Flags

• -n/--dry-run/--test: will print out what files would be executed instead of running them.

Ways to Skip Files from Executing

If you don't want all files in a folder to be executed, there are a few ways to make it skip executing the files.

File is in the Excluded Files List

Near the top of run-parts.py, there is a function that returns an array of "ignored files". Currently, this is hard-coded to just .DS_Store since macOS will automatically generate that file. You could modify this to include other files you don't want included.

Files that Aren't Files (Directories, etc.)

run-parts will automatically exclude directories. It should also skip things such as UNIX pipes but I haven't actually tried it on them.

Files that Aren't Marked as Executable

Files must have the eXectuable flag (chmod +x filename) in order for run-parts to execute them. Without the flag, the files will be skipped.

Specially Named Files (_disabled)

Files containing '_disabled' in the name will be skipped. e.g. "100-backup_disabled.sh".

Files with Special Line (#disabled)

If the second line of a file contains the text #disabled, the file will be skipped. e.g.

#bin/sh
#disabled
...
...[rest of script here. e.g. rsync -Pav ~/data remote:data]
...
exit 0

Caveats

Unlike run-parts from Linux, run-parts.py will run all files that are exectuable in the folder. That is, run-parts.py doesn't have the restrictions on naming of files. For example, run-parts from Linux doesn't support a period (.) in the filename. However, I wanted my scripts to have file extensions, such as .sh; so run-parts.py doesn't constrain the filenames.

encrypt-folder

This script will take a folder, compress it, and encrypt it with GPG.

Why?

In addition to using BorgBackup, I make backups of folders regularly (so that I have my files backed up in more than one format). I use this script to back up and encrypt the folders for storage.

Usage

encrypt-folder.py filename-to-create folder-to-encrypt [gpg-key-id]

Example

encrypt-folder.py "~/GPG Backups/Documents" ~/Desktop

(I symlink encrypt-folder.py to my \~/bin folder [ ln -s ~/Utilities/encrypt-folder/encrypt-folder.py ~/bin/encrypt-folder ] so that I can use encrypt-folder rather than typing encrypt-folder.py ).

Arguments

• filename-to-create: The filename to create - the extension .tar.bz.gpg will automatically be added.
• folder-to-encrypt: The folder to encrypt.
• gpg-key-id: The ID of the GPG key to use to encrypt. This is passed as a shortcut argument to the gpg executable. By default, this is my GPG key, josh@brownj.org.

Caveats

The default GPG key is my key, josh@brownj.org. So, you'll want to use something different for you. :)

find-wifi-network

This is a shell script that is an example for how to find the current Wi-Fi access point a Mac is connected to.

Why?

I want my backups to only run when I'm connected to my home network. So, I have my backup scripts only execute when I'm connected to my home Wi-Fi network.

Usage

export WIFIACCESSPOINT=$(/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Apple80211.framework/Versions/Current/Resources/airport -I | awk '/ SSID/ {print substr($0, index($0, $2))}')

if [ $WIFIACCESSPOINT != "<home Wi-Fi access point name>" ] 
then
	echo "not connected to home network, exiting"
	exit 1
fi

#rest of script runs here

get_password_from_keyring

Gets a password from the macOS Keychain for a given account name. I use it in my backup script to get the secure password from the macOS Keychain for my backups.

Usage

accountPassword = get_password_from_keyring("AccountName")

License - MIT

This project is available under the MIT license. See the LICENSE file for more info.