How to Run pi timolo on Boot

Auto start pi-timolo.py and/or webserver.py from /etc/rc.local

• Description
• How to Automate Boot Startup using rc.local
• Test Reboot
• How To Control Operation From crontab
• Manual Control

Description

pi-timolo.sh is a bash script that runs pi-timolo.py as a background task after a short wait period. If the script is run a second time it will display the PID of the background task. pi-timolo.sh can be edited using nano to send verbose logging to a log file when running as a background task. See code comments for changing the default behavior. Default is no redirection of verbose logging. There is a 10 second wait in the script to allow time for startup services to complete before starting pi-timolo.py This can be increased if there is a problem.
IMPORTANT: Change the config.py variable verbose=False to supress console messages, otherwise messages will be sent to the foreground console session and may cause problems.

Make sure the files in pi-timolo are all owned by pi before running process in background as user pi. To change ownership execute the following command

sudo chown -R pi:pi /home/pi/pi-timolo/*
ls -Rl /home/pi/pi-timolo | more

How to Automate Boot Startup using rc.local

To auto launch pi-timolo.py on boot-up of raspberry pi perform the following

sudo nano /etc/rc.local

In nano add the following command to the rc.local file just before the exit 0 command. This will launch pi-timolo and the webserver in the background running under the pi user (not root). Note the webserver startup is optional.

su pi -c "/home/pi/pi-timolo/pi-timolo.sh start"
su pi -c "/home/pi/pi-timolo/webserver.sh start"

ctrl-x y to save and exit nano editor

Test Reboot

Reboot RPI and test operation by triggering motion and checking images are successfully saved to your motion or timelapse folder.

sudo reboot

Login and check if pi-timolo.sh and or webserver is running or verify they are running under pi user

pgrep -f pi-timolo.py     # returns PID if running 
ps -ef | grep python | grep -v grep  # Full List all python tasks

or run menubox.sh to show status of pi-timolo.py and/or webserver.py

cd ~/pi-timolo ./menubox.sh

How To Control Operation From crontab

Sometimes you want to only run during specific days or time periods. You can setup crontab entries to perform simple or complex scheduling of pi-timolo tasks. The crontab @reboot commands below are an alternative to using /etc/rc.local It is recommended that you Do Not use Both methods but sometimes you want to control all settings using one method so controlling autostart from crontab can simplify admin.

Control start/stop operation from a crontab entry. Open crontab per command below.

sudo crontab -e

Then add these lines to the end of the file and press enter:

@reboot su pi -c "/home/pi/pi-timolo/pi-timolo.sh start"
@reboot su pi -c "/home/pi/pi-timolo/webserver.sh start"

Manual Control

To stop the pi-timolo and or webserver background task You can use menubox.sh or use command line.

cd ~/pi-timolo
./menubox.sh

or from terminal console

cd ~/pi-timolo
./pi-timolo.sh stop 
./webserver.sh stop

Trouble shoot problems as required.

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