Applescript to start a private network

A bash script with the networksetup command probably can do what you need. See here and here and here for some general examples; that lattermost link is AppleScript calling networksetup to establish a VPN.

It's also possible to set up and manage the network configuration on an OS X client system, using some more advanced tools, such as MCX. Here's a slightly stale overview of managing OS X client systems.

(And an opinion: Applescript is very good for automating the operations of a GUI app, but it's somewhat clunky for tasks that involve much more than that. I usually find using something written in a scripting language (bash, Python, etc) to be preferable.)

Kind of light on details there. What is it you're trying to do?

You say 'create'.. does this mean add the configuration data to a machine that's never connected to the VPN before?, or do you just mean establish the secure connection?

What kind of VPN connection? One setup via System Preferences -> Network (e.g. a PPTP or L2TP VPN)? or an SSL-based VPN that's initiated via a browser?

If you're just looking for an easy way to establish a VPN connection, check out the auto-connect options in System Preferences -> Network -> VPN - it can be configured to auto-start the VPN connection whenever you attempt to access a specific hostname or network. This might remove the need for a scripted front-end at all.

Maybe?

#!/bin/bash

networksetup -createnetworkservice {networkservicename} {hardwareport}

I just need to simulate the "create network" in "System Preferences>Network>Network Name".

Then just press create!

Then you might want to try this:

tell application "System Preferences"

activate

reveal pane id "com.apple.preference.network"

tell application "System Events" to tell process "System Preferences"

delay 0.1

click pop up button "Network Name:" of group 1 of window "Network"

delay 0.1

key code 121 -- to select the last menu item

keystroke return

delay 0.1

keystroke return

end tell

end tell

The three “delay 0.1” statements are just for caution and might possibly be removed.

Message was edited by: Pierre L.

My pleasure. (I love easy questions like that.) 😉