Related
I'm trying to start busybox's httpd at boot w/o success. However, I can start it manually post-boot w/o problems. Can I enable a syslog facility so I can see what happens when the bootup script calls it?
Code:
httpd -p 80 -u 80 -h /sdcard/www -c /etc/httpd.conf
I've tried running the process as -u 80 and as -u 0, both work post-boot, not before.
It's Linux - if there is an rc.local you should be able to drop a string in there to make it start.
KaiserLinux said:
It's Linux - if there is an rc.local you should be able to drop a string in there to make it start.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that simple
There is no rc.local, but I inserted
Code:
/sbin/syslogd -O /data/log/syslog
into the beginning of init.rc, but it logs nothing.
Go into applications and turn on debugging mode. Plug your phone into your computer and run 'adb logcat' or something to that effect. You can play around with your phone and watch the log scroll by.
Your gonna need the whole ADB setup. Go to the samsung epic 4G wiki and check the article about getting root and flashing a new kernel. This will have the instructions for getting ADB on your system as well.
KaiserLinux said:
Go into applications and turn on debugging mode. Plug your phone into your computer and run 'adb logcat' or something to that effect. You can play around with your phone and watch the log scroll by.
Your gonna need the whole ADB setup. Go to the samsung epic 4G wiki and check the article about getting root and flashing a new kernel. This will have the instructions for getting ADB on your system as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've compiled my own rooted kernel and a new busybox with syslogd to see if I can diagnose why bb's httpd isn't starting at boot. As I mentioned, it starts manually w/o a problem. adb logcat isn't very useful in this particular situation. Thanks for the reply though.
jocala said:
There is no rc.local, but I inserted
Code:
/sbin/syslogd -O /data/log/syslog
into the beginning of init.rc, but it logs nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm kind of a noob myself, but I recall reading that init.rc isn't really a shell script. It has a special syntax that is parsed by Android init, I'm not sure just throwing shell commands in there is going to work. I'd post a link to the doc but I can't post links yet
coldguy said:
I'm kind of a noob myself, but I recall reading that init.rc isn't really a shell script. It has a special syntax that is parsed by Android init, I'm not sure just throwing shell commands in there is going to work. I'd post a link to the doc but I can't post links yet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird, the first 500 lines of init.rc are nothing BUT shell commands.
i.e. chmod 0666 /dev/input/event0
Anyway, further along in init.rc the daemon processes are started up. syntax looks like:
Code:
service playlogo /system/bin/playlogo
user root
oneshot
I've tried setting up my programs (httpd,syslogd) as services, no joy.
jocala said:
Not that simple
There is no rc.local, but I inserted
Code:
/sbin/syslogd -O /data/log/syslog
into the beginning of init.rc, but it logs nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry to hijack your post.
but i want to know how do you modify the /init.rc,
because when i reboot, the /init.rc will automatic recovery the old verison.
did you check the /init.rc, is it modified, after your phone reboot?
Does logcat not give you the info you want?
You can go here to find out how to redirect stdout and stderr to the logcat as well.
init.rc is part of the root fs, which is compiled into the kernel. So, a custom kernel is required. Search for custom kernel for details.
I copied over the debian image i made for my sgs i9000 to try and run on my galaxy tab since i think the much larger screen, double RAM and faster cpu would make the image run smoother. I hoped the p7510 might be able to replace my laptop for word processing by running openoffice in chroot. I remembed to set the path, user and home variables. After mounting the image i go to chroot but i get the error
"chroot: can't execute /system/bin/sh"
I tried installing 10 other versions of busybox from the market. I am currently using the latest bindroid rom and pershoot kernel. The image worked on my sgs when it ran stock roms and now cm7.1. Is it the bindroid rom? I also tried to use apk manage 4.9 to decompile the rom's framework-res to enable crt off but it always errors out recompiling.
I realize that /system/bin/sh is where android has sh but i thought busybox would be smart enough to know that normal linux like my laptop has it in /bin/sh. My sgs seemed to know its directory of sh was not normal.
i'm having the same problem as well setting up debian to my galaxy tab, same model as you. when i mounted debian, it doesn't have /system/bin/sh, it's just /bin/sh. maybe you should try to specify /bin/sh at the end of the command, if you don't, it will default to /system/bin/sh. maybe you'll have more luck than me. i mounted debian in /data/local/debian and typed chroot /data/local/debian /bin/sh but it says "/bin/sh: precmd: not found". if you or anybody else figures out how to get past that, that would be awesome! thanks!
EDIT: look at the directory structure and see if it's /bin/sh instead of /system/bin/sh and if it is, specify /bin/sh at the end of the chroot command then hit enter and you might get an error, if you do, type: unset PS1 PROMPT_COMMAND .. that worked for me and then you'll get a command prompt and you'll be in linux now and not android. i hope i helped
Would it be at all possible to get something like this made for Defy?
This is a script from Galaxy Nexus forums, so I don't think it would work on Defy..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1434950
What it Does
There are various apps out there that can achieve the same result but this is a simple script that uses a random number generator to swap in a random boot animation each time you boot. The script runs one just before the animation and never again until you boot the next time.
You can have any number of animations that will randomise and you can also set a flag to have just one run without needing to delete the others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldn't you write a quick shell script to randomly choose a file from SD and copy it over the current bootanimation.zip? It would be executed after boot finishes, perhaps by an app to manage scripts. Just an Idea.
ArRaY92 said:
Couldn't you write a quick shell script to randomly choose a file from SD and copy it over the current bootanimation.zip? It would be executed after boot finishes, perhaps by an app to manage scripts. Just an Idea.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't a clue :s I really hope it can be done though.. there are so many awesome boot animations!
Plus I'm making one of my own... or trying to.
Hoping for someone who knows about scripts and things
Okay, I think I will have a go. Let me just find out how to get a random number in unix shell that is in a certain range.
okay, so lets try.
Code:
#!/system/bin/sh -
#Change folder
cd /mnt/sdcard/bootanimations
ls > list
#Get random file
set -- *
length=$#
ran=$(hexdump -e '1/1 "%d"' -n 1 /dev/urandom)
rand=$(( $ran % ($length + 1) ))
file=$(sed -n "${rand}"p list)
#Copy over old animation
cp -f "$file" /system/media/bootanimation.zip
echo "successful if 0: " $?
rm list
Works now, took a piece of code from the other script because I could not get ${!rand} to work on the phone.
Works great for pictures and such too.
ArRaY92 said:
Okay, I think I will have a go. Let me just find out how to get a random number in unix shell that is in a certain range.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perhaps looking at the script I linked to will help?
My script should work, only drop animations into /sdcard/bootanimations.
run once after boot with smanager from playstore
ArRaY92 said:
My script should work, only drop animations into /sdcard/bootanimations.
run once after boot with smanager from playstore
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll give it a try!
After running this I reboot (a couple) and test it?
I'm assuming it needs SU in SManager?
Is this a patch? Will it need anything to remove it if it doesn't work and I can't a boot?
Sorry haha
pk92 said:
I'll give it a try!
After running this I reboot (a couple) and test it?
I'm assuming it needs SU in SManager?
Is this a patch? Will it need anything to remove it if it doesn't work and I can't a boot?
Sorry haha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, this is only a small shell script. I think it needs SU to copy the animation over the existing one.
I am however not sure, if cp copies over the old file without forcing, let me look this up
You can just delete it from sManager if it does not work. Will not prevent you from booting if it fails, phone boots fine without animation. In case of failure, I would however think that it would just fail to change the animation
edit: I added the -f flag to cp.
ArRaY92 said:
No, this is only a small shell script. I think it needs SU to copy the animation over the existing one.
I am however not sure, if cp copies over the old file without forcing, let me look this up
You can just delete it from sManager if it does not work. Will not prevent you from booting if it fails, phone boots fine without animation. In case of failure, I would however think that it would just fail to change the animation
edit: I added the -f flag to cp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much for writing it by the way
I'd take a guess that it does need SU to copy the animation, as it is going to a root directory (/system/media).
Does your script mount /system/media as RW or is that not needed in a script? (I have NO idea haha, I'm studying Software Dev but no idea about Android development).
I'll try it out later tonight when I get home (Going out for a few drinks)
pk92 said:
Thanks so much for writing it by the way
I'd take a guess that it does need SU to copy the animation, as it is going to a root directory (/system/media).
Does your script mount /system/media as RW or is that not needed in a script? (I have NO idea haha, I'm studying Software Dev but no idea about Android development).
I'll try it out later tonight when I get home (Going out for a few drinks)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will test it on my own mobile now.
edit: **** wont work
For the hell of it, I cant make it work with sh. Bash works nicely. Most stupid thing is: sManager always forces sh when executing scripts. If you tap on start konsole from within sManager, it starts /system/xbin/bash. calling the script from there works.
I have no Idea for a clean workaround
ArRaY92 said:
Will test it on my own mobile now.
edit: **** wont work
For the hell of it, I cant make it work with sh. Bash works nicely. Most stupid thing is: sManager always forces sh when executing scripts. If you tap on start konsole from within sManager, it starts /system/xbin/bash. calling the script from there works.
I have no Idea for a clean workaround
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will I have to run the script each boot? Sorry for all the questions haha.
I'm trying to make my own Boot Animation at the moment... Using Flash CS6 for now..
The part0 (non loop) will be drawing the Pentagram, then the elements appearing
The part1 (loop) will be the elements animated until boot.
I'll be using it with this Boot Logo
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/25175326/bootlogos/pentagram.raw
Ok, The only problem I get now is this:
Code:
localhost bootanimations # cp -f $file /system/media/bootanimation.zip
cp: can't create '/system/media/bootanimation.zip' : File Exists
Going to try deleting the boot animation from there and running.
-EDIT-
Deleted /system/media/bootanimation.zip
Ran the script
Ended up with the default Android boot animation :|
Hm. I added the -f to force overwriting. For me it works, I tried it with pictures, every time the the script is executed, I have another picture with the same name. Only make sure to not include sub folders or other files then zip files in the folder.
Sent from my MB525 using xda app-developers app
ArRaY92 said:
Hm. I added the -f to force overwriting. For me it works, I tried it with pictures, every time the the script is executed, I have another picture with the same name. Only make sure to not include sub folders or other files then zip files in the folder.
Sent from my MB525 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the script need to be ran each boot to work?
My process:
Open SManager
Click script - Edit - Copy all
Menu > Console
Run Shell
Hold screen - Paste
No errors at all
Back button - Kill
Reboot (normal)
/sdcard/bootanimations contains the following files:
"Portal.zip"
"CM9.zip"
The only one that seems to run is Portal.zip, making me think that it does need to be run each boot.. Any way around this?
Perhaps it being a flashable zip that does something along these lines or this or something ?
Possible way to get it to run at startup:
Install Autostart (Root)
Download the script Autostart.sh and place it at /data/opt/autostart.sh (Permissions 755 I think)
Place your Boot Animations in /sdcard/bootanimations - They can be named anything.
Reboot your phone, and the script should run
When you next reboot your phone you should have random boot animations working..
This is all just theory so far, I haven't tested it yet!
Nevermind, It seems the Autostart app doesn't work on ICS (so I'm assuming JB too.)
Perhaps a flashable .zip is the best way, editing system files
pk92 said:
Does the script need to be ran each boot to work?
My process:
Open SManager
Click script - Edit - Copy all
Menu > Console
Run Shell
Hold screen - Paste
No errors at all
Back button - Kill
Reboot (normal)
/sdcard/bootanimations contains the following files:
"Portal.zip"
"CM9.zip"
The only one that seems to run is Portal.zip, making me think that it does need to be run each boot.. Any way around this?
Perhaps it being a flashable zip that does something along these lines or this or something ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What shell does smanager open?
Also, did you try just creating a script.sh file with the code I posted and when opening it in sManager klick run? Without any copy and paste?
There is even a button to give su rights to script.
ArRaY92 said:
What shell does smanager open?
Also, did you try just creating a script.sh file with the code I posted and when opening it in sManager klick run? Without any copy and paste?
There is even a button to give su rights to script.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After I click run shell it says:
Code:
exec sh -c "cd '/mnt/sdcard' ; exec /system/xbin/bash"
dcard' ; exec /system/xbin/bash"
[COLOR="Red"]localhost[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]sdcard #[/COLOR]
No errors, but the boot anim doesn't seem to change (from what I can see)
I did try saving it as a .sh and open in sManager but you said it only uses sh not bash?
Result of running .sh file without editing anything:
Code:
exec sh 'mnt/sdcard/Random Boot Animation.sh'
andom Boot Animation.sh' <
:not found/Random Boot Animation.sh:line 2:
/mtn/sdcard/Random Boot Animation.sh: cd: line 4:
can't cd to /mnt/sdcard/bootanimations
/mnt/sdcard/Random Boot Animation.sh: line 5: ca:
read-only file system
:not found/random Boot Animation.sh: line 6:
sed: list: No such file or directory
:not found /Random Boot Animation.sh: line 13:
': no such file or directory
Seems to be a bit... messed up lol
(when running as executable i get this:
Code:
# exec sh -c '/mnt/sdcard/script.sh'
sh: /mnt/sdcard/script.sh: Permission Denied
Code:
#!/system/bin/sh -
#Change folder
cd /mnt/sdcard/bootanimations
rm list
ls > list
#Get random file
set -- *
length=$#
ran=$(hexdump -e '1/1 "%d"' -n 1 /dev/urandom)
rand=$(( $ran % ($length + 1) ))
file=$(sed -n "${rand}"p list)
#Copy over old animation
cp -f "$file" /system/media/bootanimation.zip
echo "successful if 0: " $?
This one works for me reliably...
pk92 said:
After I click run shell it says:
Code:
exec sh -c "cd '/mnt/sdcard' ; exec /system/xbin/bash"
dcard' ; exec /system/xbin/bash"
[COLOR="Red"]localhost[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]sdcard #[/COLOR]
No errors, but the boot anim doesn't seem to change (from what I can see)
I did try saving it as a .sh and open in sManager but you said it only uses sh not bash?
Result of running .sh file without editing anything:
Code:
exec sh 'mnt/sdcard/Random Boot Animation.sh'
andom Boot Animation.sh' <
:not found/Random Boot Animation.sh:line 2:
/mtn/sdcard/Random Boot Animation.sh: cd: line 4:
can't cd to /mnt/sdcard/bootanimations
/mnt/sdcard/Random Boot Animation.sh: line 5: ca:
read-only file system
:not found/random Boot Animation.sh: line 6:
sed: list: No such file or directory
:not found /Random Boot Animation.sh: line 13:
': no such file or directory
Seems to be a bit... messed up lol
(when running as executable i get this:
Code:
# exec sh -c '/mnt/sdcard/script.sh'
sh: /mnt/sdcard/script.sh: Permission Denied
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for my intermission.
The
:not found/random Boot Animation.sh: line 6:
line, is related with EOL. You are using MS-Dos end of line, but Android (as linux, unix based system) needs Unix end of line for scripts.
When I edit script on Windows, I use Scite it allows change and convert EOL.
There is a lot of Text editors whith this EOL feature.
I would like implement EOL check in SManager, but it is my eternal TODO.
Regards,
Devwom
devwom said:
Sorry for my intermission.
The
:not found/random Boot Animation.sh: line 6:
line, is related with EOL. You are using MS-Dos end of line, but Android (as linux, unix based system) needs Unix end of line for scripts.
When I edit script on Windows, I use Scite it allows change and convert EOL.
There is a lot of Text editors whith this EOL feature.
I would like implement EOL check in SManager, but it is my eternal TODO.
Regards,
Devwom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you wrote sManager? Nice work. One thing that bothers me though, is that if you start a console it starts up bash, but if you run a script it forces sh. That really sucks for testing. Please correct me if I am wrong, or if you have any advice.
Also, the design is kind of old But as long as it works...
For sometime now I have been meaning to write-up some of my notes and share some of the things I found can be done with webtop. I have a lapdock that I use it with my Atrix, I also have a HD dock connected to a monitor/keyboard/mouse/speakers.
Much of the following is just documenting the linux programs that are installed on the webtop and how they can be configured. You will need to have a terminal program to do most things covered in this post (not the android terminal program, but either lxterminal or xterm) and a text editor.
I use SystemR89's webtopMod to run a full debian distribution in a chooted jail (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1093790), this is not necessary for most of what this post will cover but it does install lxterminal and a lightweight text editor (leafpad) into your webtop.
AWN (the menu at the bottom of the webtop screen)
awn-manager is included in webtop and it allows you add/delete programs from the menu at the bottom of the screen. Before you use awn-manager the first time you will need to type the following command at the terminal prompt:
sudo chmod 777 /usr/share/applications/*
Then you can just type in awn-manager and click on launchers and start changing/adding/deleting things. Alternatively you can modify the appropriate files manually.
The configuration file that has the list of menu items is:
~/.gconf/apps/avant-window-navigator/window_manager/%gconf.xml
If you make manual changes to this file you will need to reboot for the changes to take effect (if you use awn-manager all changes take effect immediately).
As you will notice the menu configuration file references “.desktop” files. I am not going to cover the structure of the desktop files, there are a lot of good references out there covering this, just take a look at what is in them, the structure it is pretty straightforward. A number of the desktop files are found here:
/usr/share/applications
but the ones created by awn-manager will be put here:
~/.config/awn/launchers
If the program or command will only be run from the awn menu this directory is probably the best place to put the desktop file. If you are going to associate the program with a file type (more on this latter) you may want to put the desktop files in the following directory:
~/.local/share/applications
any weblinks that you create by using the plus in the right hand side of the bottom awn menu bar will be put here:
~/.config/webtop-icon
and a good place to stick any custom icons that you are going to be using is here:
~/.config/awn/custom-icons
the default set of icons that awn-manager accesses are found here
/usr/share/pixmaps//usr/share/icons
to launch an android program in the mobileview window (aka aiw) you will need to use androidlauncher, here are a couple examples of how to do this:
androidlauncher --action "android.intent.action.VIEW" --uri "content://com.android.contacts/contacts"/usr/local/bin/androidlauncher --action "android.intent.action.MAIN" --cmp "uk.co.nickfines.RealCalc/.Calculator"
you can look in the desktop files found in the /usr/share/applications directory to see some examples of how to launch various android programs you can also use the android app alogcat from the market to see what command is executed when you launch an android app on your phone.
Nautilus (the file manager)
Nautilus is filemanager used by webtop, it has been significnatly modified by Motorola so don't expect all of the normal features to work. If you look at the entry for the file manager using awn-manager you will see that the following command is used to launch the program:
nautilus --no-desktop --browser /mnt/sdcard
In webtop the default preferences for nautilus are set up so that you can leave out the -no-desktop and -browser switches if you want. The /mnt/sdcard entry specifies which directory nautilus should start in. You can specify nautilus to start in the root (/) directory, but it won't have root privileges, so it is not a replacement for root explorer (or similar). If gksu was included in webtop you should have been able to run nautilus with root privileges by typing in:
gksu nautilus --no-desktop --browser /
but when I installed gksu and tried this it did not work.
If you want to have additional directories listed on the left panel in nautilius you can edit the file:
~/.gtk-bookmarks
You can add some functionallity to nautilus by creating scripts. After you create a script an option to run the script will appear under the files menu and come up when you right click. The scripts files are kept in the following directory:
~/.gnome2/nautilus-scripts
I have attached a couple of scripts that I use, you can also check out:
http://linux.about.com/library/gnome/blgnome6n13a.htm
http://g-scripts.sourceforge.net/faq.php
You can view the preferences that are set for nautilus by using:
gconftool-2 -R /apps/nautilus/preferences
I played around with changing some of the preferences, I tried to turn on an address bar but the bread crumbs disappeared instead, I found that you can enable move-to-trash but it only works for linux filesystems (i.e. it works for your home directory but not for FAT filesystems like sdcard or sdcard-ext, although you might be able to fix this by putting appropriate entries in fstab with uid=1000 in the entry, I wrote a move to trash script instead)
It does not appear that the motorola webtop nautilus directly supports accessing network files, but if you are using a kernel with cifs support (or cifs manager from the market) you can mount network directories and then access them through nautilus.
Nautilus has saved searches built in (ctrl-f), search by name works but search by filetype does not work (you can search by file name, such as mp3, but it you tell it to find all audio files it does nothing). I guess they figured they have their smartfolders for that (Phone Music, Phone Images, Phone Video). By the way if you freeze or remove webtop connector then items will no longer be added to the smartfolders.
pcmanfm (an alternative filemanager in webtop)
There is a lightweight alternative to the nautilus file manager included in webtop called pcmanfm. To launch it with the sdcard directory showing type the following:
pcmanfm --no-desktop /mnt/sdcard
if you want to launch it with root privileges in the root directory type the following
sudo pcmanfm --no-desktop /
(I know you should be using gksu instead of sudo, but this works and gksu is not included with webtop).
Some of the nice features of pcmanfm:
It can run with root privileges (see above)
It has an address bar, so you can just type in the directory you want to instead of navigating the directory tree
It has an open terminal window here function built in (tool – open terminal)
There is a bookmarks menu where you can change the directories shown in the left pannel without having to edit ~/.gtk-bookmarks
File associations
If you want a specific application to launch when you double click on an item in the file manager you can change the entries in the following files:
~/.local/share/applications/defaults.list
~/.local/share/applications/mimeapps.list
To have several “open with” options when you right click on a file you can put several entries on a line. The following is an example of an entry:
image/jpeg=gpicview.desktop;MobileView.desktop;firefox.desktop
This enrty is telling the file manager to use gpicview.desktop to open the file if you double click on a jpep and to offer the options “open with gpicview”, “open with Mobile View” and “open with firefox” if you were to right click on a jpeg file.
The file manager will use gpicview.desktop that is found in /usr/share/applications/ unless there is a gpicview.desktop file in ~/.local/share/applications/
I have attached the files that I use for
~/.local/share/applications/defaults.list
~/.local/share/applications/mimeapps.list
You will probably have to edit these file because some of the file associations I have set up launch programs in the chrooted linux environment.
Linux applications included with webtop
Functional and useful linux programs included in webtop
nautilus: file manager
pcmanfm: file manager
firefox: web browser
awn-manager: menu editor
xarchiver: file archive manager (zip/tar)
gpicview: a simple image viewer
epdfview: pdf viewer
Gnome programs - most of the gnome programs are crippled/semi-functional, but the following two seem to work well:
gnome-dictionary: online dictionary
gnome-screenshot: screenshot/capture utility
If you look at the "exec" entry in the desktop files located in /usr/share/applications you can see what other programs are included in the webtop distribution.
Swap
I am not certain if the stock atrix kernel has swap support, I am using faux123's kernel, perhaps someone could comment on if the stock kernel's swap support.
I find that I need to set up swap space if I want to use the webtop for anything more than occasional web browsing. Before I enabled swap webtop was regularly warning me that I had low memory (and you can't close the warning message, which is really annoying).
The first thing I tried was using zram for swap (fuax123's kernel supports this). I DO NOT recommend using zram for swap.
BEWARE, ZRAM CAUSES YOUR PHONE TO CRASH REGULARLY
Next I looked into setting up a swap partition; however, after a little research I found out that the complexity of setting up a swap partition is a waste of time, you can get the same performance using a swapfile. Accordng to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paging#Linux):
From a software point of view with the 2.6 Linux kernel, swap files are just as fast[14][15] as swap partitions. The kernel keeps a map of where the swap file exists, and accesses the disk directly, bypassing caching and filesystem overhead.[15] Red Hat recommends using a swap partition.[16] With a swap partition one can choose where on the disk it resides and place it where the disk throughput is highest. The administrative flexibility of swap files can outweigh the other advantages of swap partitions. For example, a swap file can be placed on any drive, can be set to any desired size, and can be added or changed as needed. A swap partition, however, requires that it be set for the entire hard drive, and once the size of a swap partition is set, it can't be changed without using tools to resize the entire drive.
To create a 512MB swapfile, type the following commands in the terminal:
dd if=/dev/zero of=/sdcard-ext/.swapfile bs=1M count=512
sudo mkswap /sdcard-ext/.swapfile
This is probably bigger than I need, I don't think I have ever used more than 100MB of swap. I use a "." as the first part of the filename, this makes the file a "hidden" file in linux and therefore the file is less likely to get accidentally deleted or moved.
Next, turn on the swap:
sudo swapon /sdcard-ext/.swapfile
and make sure it is working:
free
You will want to add the following line to the file /etc/fstab:
/sdcard-ext/.swapfile swap swap defaults 0 0
and the following line to /etc/sysctl.conf
vm.swappiness=10
(you may actually want to try a value less than 10, the lower the value the less the phone will swap)
Running full debian in a chooted jail (webtopMod)
As I mentioned in the first post I use SystemR89's webtopMod to run a full debian distribution in a chooted jail (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1093790)
You can install a number of very useful and fully functional linux programs in the chrooted environment and then access them from the awn menu (or if you have the file associations set up properly in defualts.list and mimeapps.list you can launch the files by double clicking on a file in the file manager).
*IMPORTANT* Some of the commands must be executed in the chrooted environment and some must be executed in the non-chrooted environment (i.e. the normal webtop environment). The following instructions tell you which environment you need to use for each command.
Once you have webtopMod installed I would recommend that the first thing you do is open an xterm window in the chrooted environment (click on the penguin and select the proper menu item for xterm) and install synaptic in the chrooted environment:
apt-get install synaptic
You can then use synaptic to install other linux programs/packages, such as lxterminal, OpenOffice, mtpaint (gimp runs but it is really slow).
I have modified the script that SytemR89 uses to launch the chrooted environment (attached), you can replace the original script by following these steps in the non-chrooted environment:
Save the attached file,
Rename it from linux.txt to linux
Copy it to /usr/sbin
Set the permissions properly (sudo chmod +x /usr/sbin/linux)
If you want to launch a program in the chrooted environment you can do it by typing the following in the non-chrooted environment:
linux oocalc
where oocalc is the name of a program that you have installed in the chrooted environment.
A couple of final things, you may want to setup a symlink in the chrooted environment for /sdcard (and sdcard-ext). If I recall correctly, SytemR89 was just mounting /sdcard (and /sdcard-ext) in the chrooted environment and I changed the script to mount /mnt/sdcard instead (why? so that the chrooted directories would be set up the same as the non-chrooted environment). To make a symlink between /mnt/sdcard and /sdcard in the chrooted environment. First launch an xterm window for the chrooted environment, then type in the following commands:
sudo umount /sdcard
sudo umount /mnt/sdcard
sudo mkdir /sdcard
sudo mkdir /mnt/sdcard
sudo ln -s /mnt/sdcard /sdcard
sudo umount /sdcard-ext
sudo umount /mnt/sdcard-ext
sudo mkdir /sdcard-ext
sudo mkdir /mnt/sdcard-ext
sudo ln -s /mnt/sdcard-ext /sdcard-ext
You may get some errors telling you that something was not mounted or that a directory exists, just ignore the error(s).
Then reboot.
I also created a directory /usbdrive in the chroot'd linux environment and use the following command to mount a usb drive so that the chrooted environment can access it (run this command from the non-chooted environment)
sudo mount -t vfat /dev/block/sda1 /osh/opt/WebTopMOD/root/usbdrive
Many thanks for posting this, it's an excellent guide.
tamuin said:
I am not certain if the stock atrix kernel has swap support, I am using faux123's kernel, perhaps someone could comment on if the stock kernel's swap support.
I find that I need to set up swap space if I want to use the webtop for anything more than occasional web browsing. Before I enabled swap webtop was regularly warning me that I had low memory (and you can't close the warning message, which is really annoying).
The first thing I tried was using zram for swap (fuax123's kernel supports this). I DO NOT recommend using zram for swap.
BEWARE, ZRAM CAUSES YOUR PHONE TO CRASH REGULARLY
Next I looked into setting up a swap partition; however, after a little research I found out that the complexity of setting up a swap partition is a waste of time, you can get the same performance using a swapfile. Accordng to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paging#Linux):
From a software point of view with the 2.6 Linux kernel, swap files are just as fast[14][15] as swap partitions. The kernel keeps a map of where the swap file exists, and accesses the disk directly, bypassing caching and filesystem overhead.[15] Red Hat recommends using a swap partition.[16] With a swap partition one can choose where on the disk it resides and place it where the disk throughput is highest. The administrative flexibility of swap files can outweigh the other advantages of swap partitions. For example, a swap file can be placed on any drive, can be set to any desired size, and can be added or changed as needed. A swap partition, however, requires that it be set for the entire hard drive, and once the size of a swap partition is set, it can't be changed without using tools to resize the entire drive.
To create a 512MB swapfile, type the following commands in the terminal:
dd if=/dev/zero of=/sdcard-ext/.swapfile bs=1M count=512
sudo mkswap /sdcard-ext/.swapfile
This is probably bigger than I need, I don't think I have ever used more than 100MB of swap. I use a "." as the first part of the filename, this makes the file a "hidden" file in linux and therefore the file is less likely to get accidentally deleted or moved.
Next, turn on the swap:
sudo swapon /sdcard-ext/.swapfile
and make sure it is working:
free
You will want to add the following line to the file /etc/fstab:
/sdcard-ext/.swapfile swap swap defaults 0 0
and the following line to /etc/sysctl.conf
vm.swappiness=10
(you may actually want to try a value less than 10, the lower the value the less the phone will swap)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot, I was just starting to configure zram right before reading your post. :good:
Please explain just two things to me:
- Did you automated this to always enable swap? If so, how (init.d scripting)? EDIT: forget about... I didn't realize what changes in /etc/fstab will do...
- You've created the swap file in the external SDCard. Isn't better to create it on EMMC? EDIT: I've created the file on EMMC cause it's much faster and seems to be Ok!!!
Regards...
Hello! So I gave up a lot of time ago on having a custom launcher that was opened automatically instead of the stock launcher, but a while ago I thought about a way of using adb logcat to catch the events that launch the stock launcher and replace it with Wolf Launcher (or any other app, actually).
Disclaimer: this method requires a home server where you can run a docker instance or a bash script. It does not work directly inside FireTV.
I have not noticed any performance degradation in the firetv itself, and the latency is almost unnoticeable, to the point I can't even see a frame of the stock launcher (check video below).
I have put together a little script that will run a docker ubuntu instance, in which I then run this command:
./adb logcat '*:I' | grep --line-buffered "ActivityManager: START u0 {act=android.intent.action.MAIN cat=\[android.intent.category.HOME\] flg=0x10[0-9]00000 cmp=com.amazon.tv.launcher/.ui.HomeActivity_vNext" | xargs -I {} ./adb shell am start -n com.wolf.firelauncher/.screens.launcher.LauncherActivity
It will look for lines in the logcat that start the activity "com.amazon.tv.launcher/.ui.HomeActivity_vNext", which happens whenever you tap the home button or choose a firetv profile.
Then it sends a command to open the Wolf Launcher (am start -n com.wolf.firelauncher/.screens.launcher.LauncherActivity).
It can be modified to either listen to other action, or to launch any other app instead of the Wolf Launcher. Hope it's useful
The wallpaper goes to Amazon, for blocking every nice thing we find with updates
Hello @daavm , can you explain how to run that script? I mean, do i need to boot from Ubuntu and open a command window or can I run it on Windows 10?
I have a Fire Tv 4k Stick with wolf launcher, but there is no way i can delete the stock launcher and my son is always pressing the home button to find some videogames i dont want him to. The problem is that Amazon doesnt allow me to hide the recommendations so my only hope is to set the home button to launch the wolf launcher so the kid wont be able to find the %%%%% videogames.
Thank you
but there is no way i can delete the stock launcher a
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I opened the remote and affixed cello tape on the place where home button is pressed.
Viola -- I also used KODI as default launch after boot using this https[://]f-droid[.]org/packages/news.androidtv.launchonboot/
Queaven said:
Hello @daavm , can you explain how to run that script? I mean, do i need to boot from Ubuntu and open a command window or can I run it on Windows 10?
I have a Fire Tv 4k Stick with wolf launcher, but there is no way i can delete the stock launcher and my son is always pressing the home button to find some videogames i dont want him to. The problem is that Amazon doesnt allow me to hide the recommendations so my only hope is to set the home button to launch the wolf launcher so the kid wont be able to find the %%%%% videogames.
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess you could adapt it for Windows, but this makes use of grep, which is a linux module, so you would need to rewrite the script... You can try Ubuntu WSL (https://ubuntu.com/wsl) and run it there I guess
alpenmmilch said:
I opened the remote and affixed cello tape on the place where home button is pressed.
Viola -- I also used KODI as default launch after boot using this https[://]f-droid[.]org/packages/news.androidtv.launchonboot/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey any idea if firestick supports external control protocols? I stumbled on a Siri shortcut that allows me to control my tcl tv with siri and I’m wondering if I can do the same with the firestick, there has to be a way tho because how else would the firestick app work?
Thanks for sharing!
From your video it looks very good.
I did something with Tasker, when I click on home it shows the Amazon launcher and jumps into Wolf Launcher, but you can clearly see the delay. Takes 1-2 seconds till Wolf Launcher is on.
Why do I need a Linux server with a Docker container?
The command is an ADB command?
Can I just run Remote ADB Shell on my smartphone and connect to my FireTV and copy & paste your code?
Falcon_X said:
Thanks for sharing!
From your video it looks very good.
I did something with Tasker, when I click on home it shows the Amazon launcher and jumps into Wolf Launcher, but you can clearly see the delay. Takes 1-2 seconds till Wolf Launcher is on.
Why do I need a Linux server with a Docker container?
The command is an ADB command?
Can I just run Remote ADB Shell on my smartphone and connect to my FireTV and copy & paste your code?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The docker container is just what I decided to use because I use Unraid on my home server. You can just do it on a linux machine without docker. It's just adb, yes.
Not sure how Tasker does it so can't help you with the delay. Haven't used Remote ADB Shell either, so I don't know. Sounds like it would work, but not sure how you would keep it in the background.
daavm said:
The docker container is just what I decided to use because I use Unraid on my home server. You can just do it on a linux machine without docker. It's just adb, yes.
Not sure how Tasker does it so can't help you with the delay. Haven't used Remote ADB Shell either, so I don't know. Sounds like it would work, but not sure how you would keep it in the background.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
doesn't work. Sadly.
With your command, I got the error, that ./adb doesn't exist. Is adb a file or a folder?
I've tried to create this folder, but as I don't have root access I can't create a folder inside root.
I changed the paths in your command to /storage/emulated/0/adb but I get the error:
/storage/emulated/0/adb: can't execute: Is a directory
/storage/emulated/0/adb: Permission denied
Tried the same with creating a file called adb inside the adb folder - but the same Permission denied
Falcon_X said:
doesn't work. Sadly.
With your command, I got the error, that ./adb doesn't exist. Is adb a file or a folder?
I've tried to create this folder, but as I don't have root access I can't create a folder inside root.
I changed the paths in your command to /storage/emulated/0/adb but I get the error:
/storage/emulated/0/adb: can't execute: Is a directory
/storage/emulated/0/adb: Permission denied
Tried the same with creating a file called adb inside the adb folder - but the same Permission denied
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
? you are trying to run this in the fire tv directly, you have to run it from a linux machine. Download the platform-tools.zip for Android, unzip it, and you will have the adb file there. Again, run this in a linux machine, not inside the fire tv.
I have created a Docker container using the following command on my Synology nas:
sudo docker run -i -t --network=host ubuntu:latest /bin/bash -c "apt-get update && apt-get install -y android-tools-adb && /bin/bash"
With adb connect x.x.x.x:5555 I create a connection to the device and with adb shell I open a command line.
I have removed the ./ before the adb in the script.
But I don't know if it will work like this, I will get my Fire Cube tomorrow.
@daavm
I believe you have connected the device to the docker container via usb and are not running the script remotely.
I would have to find a way to build a Docker container that would automate this and run it remotely if it worked that way.
poyo1975 said:
I have created a Docker container using the following command on my Synology nas:
sudo docker run -i -t --network=host ubuntu:latest /bin/bash -c "apt-get update && apt-get install -y android-tools-adb && /bin/bash"
With adb connect x.x.x.x:5555 I create a connection to the device and with adb shell I open a command line.
I have removed the ./ before the adb in the script.
But I don't know if it will work like this, I will get my Fire Cube tomorrow.
@daavm
I believe you have connected the device to the docker container via usb and are not running the script remotely.
I would have to find a way to build a Docker container that would automate this and run it remotely if it worked that way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I haven't connected the device via usb. I do the 'adb connect x.x.x.x:5555' as well. But that doesn't change anything.
You don't have to open the shell. Just run the script in the container.
I've created a Docker aswell, the same way poyo1975 did. Container is running.
I can connect via ADB to my FireTV in the shell from my server, but you said the script needs to run in the container and we don't have to open the shell.
I use Portainer for my Docker containers, I copied and pasted your command in the "command field" and clicked on "deploy container".
I get the error:
failed to create shim task: OCI runtime create failed: runc create failed: unable to start container process: exec: "./adb": stat ./adb: no such file or directory: unknown
Still to dumb to understand the whole thing, for me it's more like a trial and error. Hope to get another hint from you daavm
Hi Falcon_X,
I also use portainer, you can build yourself an image.
I have attached my dockerfile and 2 script files.
Just click in Portainer under image build new image and then in the web editor paste the content of the dockerfile.Under upload paste the two script files and click on build.You have to give the image a name for example ubuntu-adb.The adb-connect script file you have to edit with an editor and change the ip address of your firetv.After the image is built you can under the tab container create a new container with the name you gave when creating the image.
At every container restart a connection to the firetv is established and the script of daavm is started.
Should work, but I can only test it tomorrow.
Many thanks to daavm for his script
Falcon_X said:
I've created a Docker aswell, the same way poyo1975 did. Container is running.
I can connect via ADB to my FireTV in the shell from my server, but you said the script needs to run in the container and we don't have to open the shell.
I use Portainer for my Docker containers, I copied and pasted your command in the "command field" and clicked on "deploy container".
I get the error:
failed to create shim task: OCI runtime create failed: runc create failed: unable to start container process: exec: "./adb": stat ./adb: no such file or directory: unknown
Still to dumb to understand the whole thing, for me it's more like a trial and error. Hope to get another hint from you daavm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, ./adb will only work if you have downloaded platform-tools zip and unzipped it (which has adb inside). Alternatively, you can do apt install adb, and replace "./adb" by just "adb"
As an update, I now use the following script as a custom script in a linuxserver/webtop container (check linuxserver docs on how to use custom scripts):
Bash:
#!/bin/bash
echo "**** Installing ADB ****"
apt update && apt install -y adb
adb connect 192.168.0.97:5555
while true; do adb logcat | grep -G --line-buffered "ActivityManager: START u0 {act=\(com\.amazon\.tv\.action\.LAUNCH_PROFILE_PICKER\|android\.intent\.action\.MAIN cat=\[android\.intent\.category\.HOME\]\) flg=0x10\(0\|1\|2\)00000 cmp=com\.amazon\.\(tv\.launcher/\.ui\.HomeActivity_vNext\|ftv\.profilepicker/\.ui\.PickerActivity\)" | xargs -I {} adb shell am start -n com.wolf.firelauncher/.screens.launcher.LauncherActivity; done
I included the profile picker listener because I didn't want to have to select the profile every single time.
Awesome. Works flawlessly. Thank you!
Running on a old debian based raspberry pi zero.
Thanks again to daavm and poyo1875. Works!
Update: Only works until you shutdown the FireTV :-(
thanks
daavm said:
As an update, I now use the following script as a custom script in a linuxserver/webtop container (check linuxserver docs on how to use custom scripts):
Bash:
#!/bin/bash
echo "**** Installing ADB ****"
apt update && apt install -y adb
adb connect 192.168.0.97:5555
while true; do adb logcat | grep -G --line-buffered "ActivityManager: START u0 {act=\(com\.amazon\.tv\.action\.LAUNCH_PROFILE_PICKER\|android\.intent\.action\.MAIN cat=\[android\.intent\.category\.HOME\]\) flg=0x10\(0\|1\|2\)00000 cmp=com\.amazon\.\(tv\.launcher/\.ui\.HomeActivity_vNext\|ftv\.profilepicker/\.ui\.PickerActivity\)" | xargs -I {} adb shell am start -n com.wolf.firelauncher/.screens.launcher.LauncherActivity; done
I included the profile picker listener because I didn't want to have to select the profile every single time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks! it's looks worked！
i have 2 questions
1. The adb log looks like this, is it normal?
2. Oops, when i press home, I can still see the Amazon home page, it will start after about 1 second.
Code:
Starting: Intent { cmp=com.wolf.firelauncher/.screens.launcher.LauncherActivity }
Warning: Activity not started, its current task has been brought to the front
Starting: Intent { cmp=com.wolf.firelauncher/.screens.launcher.LauncherActivity }
Warning: Activity not started, its current task has been brought to the front
Starting: Intent { cmp=com.wolf.firelauncher/.screens.launcher.LauncherActivity }
Warning: Activity not started, its current task has been brought to the front
...
SevenFXD said:
thanks
thanks! it's looks worked！
i have 2 questions
1. The adb log looks like this, is it normal?
2. Oops, when i press home, I can still see the Amazon home page, it will start after about 1 second.
Code:
Starting: Intent { cmp=com.wolf.firelauncher/.screens.launcher.LauncherActivity }
Warning: Activity not started, its current task has been brought to the front
Starting: Intent { cmp=com.wolf.firelauncher/.screens.launcher.LauncherActivity }
Warning: Activity not started, its current task has been brought to the front
Starting: Intent { cmp=com.wolf.firelauncher/.screens.launcher.LauncherActivity }
Warning: Activity not started, its current task has been brought to the front
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Adb log looks the same for me, too.
When I press home, I don't see the Amazon Launcher.
But when I shutdown the FireTV and my container is still running, it just shows: -- waiting for device --
When I turn the FireTV back on, it's still not recognized (IP is still the same).
Looks like I have to connect via ABD and re-run the script every time again, when I turn on the FireTV after a shutdown.
Can someone confirm this or is it just me?