Run background command from bash script as autostart for i3wm

Question

I'm configuring my i3 window manager (version 4) and sometimes I think the auto-start using its native exec or exec_all fail. (*)

So I decided to create a i3_autostart.sh script to add all the stuff I need in a single organized place. Much like KDE or GNOME have their own folders to do that.

The script is called from ~/.config/i3/config with the following line (**):

exec_always --no-startup-id /home/beco/.config/i3/i3_autostart.sh

Then enters the Autostart script that basically just calls a function that runs each program I want to auto start. This is an example:

Autostart()
{
    # why, o my?
    sleep 1

    # set keyboard bindings
    xkbcomp -w 0 /home/beco/.config/xkbmap_kde $DISPLAY

    # toggle touchpad
    /home/beco/bin/touchpad off 

    # set wallpaper
    feh --bg-scale /home/beco/Pictures/wallpaper/Stonehenge-Desktop-Wallpaper-i3help.png

    # clipboard
    parcellite

    # network manager
    nm-tray

    # why, o my?
    sleep 1

}

All programs start just fine except nm-tray. I've tried several command combinations and techniques to no avail.

From what I'm seeing, the problem is that nm-tray likes to run foreground, but needs to run background, and as far as I can tell it have no option to set that in the command line. So we need to use bash facilities.

Here my attempts:

1. simple background

    # network manager
    nm-tray &

2. trying to disown

    # network manager
    nm-tray &>/dev/null &
    disown $!

3. nohup and disown

    # network manager
    nohup nm-tray &>/dev/null &
    disown $!

I even tried to let the whole autostart script in background, just to be sure nm-tray kept running with: exec_always --no-startup-id /home/beco/.config/i3/i3_autostart.sh &>/dev/null &

I see the clipboard icon, the keyboard icon. Touchpad is set to off. But the nm-tray icon insists in not working.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

@drbeco

---

(*) I've read some bug reports, but this question is not about solving that issue. It is simply to create a good workaround that I can rely on, while the issue continues.

(**) This line with exec_always have never failed to start, so I'm good with it.

Answer 1

The only programs that deny to run in background (or do not work then) are programs that need terminals.
Your problem is that nm-tray is not run at all because You did not start parcellite in the background.
So just add the ampersand to the end of that two lines (and others if You start other long-running/persistent programs that do not detach themselves, but I think currently there are none in Your above list) and add a disown at end of script to not let the script hang around there waiting for the programs to finish.

---

Try with this block instead of Your above example:

Autostart()
{
    # why, o my?
    sleep 1

    # set keyboard bindings
    xkbcomp -w 0 /home/beco/.config/xkbmap_kde $DISPLAY

    # toggle touchpad
    /home/beco/bin/touchpad off 

    # set wallpaper
    feh --bg-scale /home/beco/Pictures/wallpaper/Stonehenge-Desktop-Wallpaper-i3help.png

    # clipboard
    parcellite &

    # network manager
    nm-tray &

    # detach the started background programs
    disown
    # why, o my?
    #sleep 1

}