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Asked: 2024-09-27T11:37:30+05:30 In:

How can I use terminal commands to gracefully close an application and then restart it automatically on Ubuntu?

So, I’ve been tinkering around with my Ubuntu setup lately and got hit with this challenge that I’ve been trying to figure out, and I could really use some advice. You know how sometimes applications start acting up? Well, there’s this one program that just doesn’t play nice. Instead of crashing outright, it just hangs or behaves weirdly. I want to close it down gracefully rather than killing the process forcefully, since that can sometimes lead to data loss or corruption.

What I’m really looking for is a way to not only shut it down properly but also have it restart automatically afterward. I’ve heard that there are some terminal commands that can handle this kind of thing, but I’m a bit of a newbie when it comes to the command line interface. I want to make sure I do everything right.

I searched around a bit but found a lot of mixed information. Some posts suggest using `pkill` or `kill` commands, but I’d rather avoid those if possible, since they don’t seem to be the best way to ensure the program cleans up after itself. I guess I could use something like `xdotool` or `wmctrl` to send a close request, but I’m not entirely sure how that fits into the whole restarting process.

And what about automating all of this? Is there a way to throw all these commands into a script and just run that? Would I need to put it in a cron job or something to make sure it runs after the application closes?

I’m kind of trying to learn as I go along, so any suggestions or sample commands would be awesome! It would be great if you could explain things step by step, or at least point me in the right direction. I’d really love to learn how to make my setup smoother and more efficient!

Thanks in advance for any help!

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    2 Answers



    1. Ubuntu Application Management

      How to Gracefully Close and Restart an Application in Ubuntu

      It sounds like you’ve been working hard on your Ubuntu setup! If you want to close an application gracefully and then restart it, you might want to take a look at using a combination of commands in a script. Here’s a simple way to do it:

      Step 1: Identify the Application

      First, you need to know the name of the application you want to close. You can usually find this out by checking the running processes. Open your terminal and run: 

              ps aux | grep [application-name]

      Replace [application-name] with the actual name of your app. This will help you find out the process ID (PID) you might need later.

      Step 2: Gracefully Close the Application

      To gracefully close the application, you can use wmctrl if it’s installed. First, install it using: 

              sudo apt install wmctrl

      Then, you can use the following command to close the application: 

              wmctrl -c "[Window Title]"

      Replace [Window Title] with the title of the application window.

      Step 3: Restart the Application Automatically

      After that, you can add a command to start the application again. You can write a simple bash script that performs these actions sequentially. Here’s a sample script: 

              #!/bin/bash
        wmctrl -c "[Window Title]"  # Close the app
        sleep 2  # Wait for a couple of seconds
        [application-name] &  # Restart the app (use the command to start your app)

      Replace [Window Title] and [application-name] accordingly.

      Step 4: Save and Run Your Script

      Save the script as restart_app.sh. Make it executable with: 

              chmod +x restart_app.sh

      Now, you can run your script any time you want to perform this action: 

              ./restart_app.sh

      If you want this to run automatically on a certain schedule, you could indeed set it up as a cron job. To add it to your crontab, type: 

              crontab -e

      And add a line like this to run the script every hour: 

              0 * * * * /path/to/restart_app.sh

      Just make sure to replace /path/to/restart_app.sh with the actual path to your script.

      Final Tips

      Experiment with the sleep duration to make sure the application closes completely before it restarts. Happy tinkering, and enjoy your smoother Ubuntu experience!


    2. To gracefully close a hanging application on Ubuntu, you can use the xdotool command to send a close request to the application window. First, ensure you have xdotool installed by running sudo apt install xdotool in the terminal. Once installed, you can find the window ID of the application using the command xdotool search --name "WindowName" (replace WindowName with the actual name of the application window). After identifying the window ID, you can send a close request with xdotool windowclose . This method allows the application to close gracefully, which helps avoid potential data loss compared to directly killing the process.

      For automatically restarting the application after it has been closed, you can create a simple bash script. Create a script named restart_app.sh containing the following lines:

      #!/bin/bash
xdotool search --name "WindowName" > /dev/null 2>&1
if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
    xdotool windowclose 
fi
sleep 2  # Adjust this as necessary
/path/to/your/application &

      Ensure that you replace /path/to/your/application with the actual path to your application’s executable. You can then automate this script using a cron job. Type crontab -e to edit your crontab, and add a line like @reboot /path/to/restart_app.sh to have it run at system startup or adjust it to your schedule. This way, the application can be safely closed and restarted without manual intervention.

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