Automator workflow "run shell script" keeps running. How to stop?

I solved this by running Dropbox like so, in Automator:

HOME="$HOME/Costum Dropbox Folder" nohup /Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox > /dev/null 2>&1 &

The trick is to use nohup to "disown" the process from the Automater process, then background it. I also redirect standard output and standard error to /dev/null, just in case.

This worked for me.

Then it really doesn't matter that it is in the background. It is because you are running a shell that launches Dropbox. If you quit that shell, it will Quit dropbox. If the automator workflow quits, so does the shell you invoked, and the programs you invoked from within it.

Can you use

open -n Dropbox.app

https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/ man1/open.1.html

I found a reference which answers the question:

Technical Note TN2065

do shell script in AppleScript

at

https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/technotes/tn2065/_index.html

Search for the following text:

I want to start a background server process; how do I make do shell script not wait until the command completes?

The answer is the same as I gave in my previous post.

You can do it by:

1. Run:

sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.atrun.plist

sudo launchctl start com.apple.atrun

in Terminal to startup the AT.

2. Write

echo "<your command>" | /usr/bin/at now

for yor Automator shell script. Instead <your command> to your command.

e.g.

echo "/usr/bin/ssh -NL 0.0.0.0:10800:localhost:1080 Tunnel@127.0.0.1" | /usr/bin/at now

echo "/usr/bin/open xxx.app" | /usr/bin/at now

And in this way, you can keep shell command running at background, and quit Automator workflow normally.

PS: You should wait few seconds for AT run the command at background event "now" we specified.

I do not have dropbox on my computer, so I tested using the Calculator application. The solution proposed by Mattis S.F. does work, but his explanation does not hold true in my case. Initially, I successfully tried

HOME=$HOME/Dropbox-quivertree nohup /Applications/Calculator.app/Contents/MacOS/Calculator >/dev/null 2>&1 &

If I remove the “nohup”, the result does not change. Removal of the “/dev/null 2>&1”, however, results in the same problem originally described by Kim van der Leeuw. My guess is the background process has stdout and stderr redirected by default back to the automator. When redirected to /dev/null, the automator no longer waits for the background process to complete. To summarize, change

HOME=$HOME/Dropbox-quivertree /Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox &

to

HOME=$HOME/Dropbox-quivertree /Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox >/dev/null 2>&1 &

As mentioned by davidanderson61 the trick is the redirect of stdout and err using ">/dev/null 2>&1 &" ... and NOT the nohup.

Likely because you sent the process to the background with &. The launching program, Automator, will remain running while its background processes continue to run.

I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but why are you telling it to use bash twice. The Shell is already set for bash in the popup menu.

I had the same issue, this worked great for me! Thanks!

Cheers,

That spinning cogs been bugging me all day - this solved it.