Automator mac run shell script and open result in a text file

Question

I want to start a simple shell script in automator and save it as an application.

How do I realize this: I drag a folder to my new application, the terminal command is a simple 'ls' of that folder, I want to output that ls result to a text file under ~/Desktop/test.txt

and open that test.txt in a text editor.

What I did already is create a new automator app and run a shell script and type ls

and I see nothing

how can I realize this?

and BTW I want to use the run shell script part, because I want to use this technique for other terminal commands

red_menace · Accepted Answer · 2019-07-09 22:18:07Z

1

When you drag items onto your Automator application, the paths are passed to the actions in your workflow, where each action works with its input, and passes the results on to the next action. In your shell script action, you will need to use the action’s input as arguments to your script, and its results will need to be passed on to something that will provide the output you are looking for, for example New Text File. An example workflow would be:

Application receives files and folders as input
Run Shell Script { Pass input: as arguments }:
```
for f in "$@"
do
  ls "$f"
done
```
New Text File { File Format: Plain text, Save as: whatever, Where: Desktop }

answered Jul 9, 2019 at 22:18

red_menace

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Ralph Schipper Over a year ago

ahhh great that works! After that I added Get Specified Finder Items and I choose my text file and after that I choose open finder Items and I choose sublime Text. Thanks for helping me get started :-)

wch1zpink · Accepted Answer · 2019-07-10 15:53:12Z

1

No need to add extra steps after the "Run Shell Script" command, to your Automator workflow (Get Specified Finder Items... etc). The "Run Shell Script" command can handle all of the actions you are looking to achieve. See if this works for you.

for f in "$@"
do 
ls "$f" > ~/Desktop/test.txt ; open -a '/Applications/Sublime Text.app' ~/Desktop/test.txt 
done

answered Jul 10, 2019 at 15:53

wch1zpink

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1 Comment

Ralph Schipper Over a year ago

yes that works great, tested it. I only need one shell script, thanks, great tip

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