Applescript: Run or Call a Shell Script

last updated January 15, 2017 in Mac OS X, Programming, UNIX

How do run a shell script with an AppleScript? How do I integrate shell scripts into AppleScript? How do I call a shell script called /path/to/chkhost.sh using an applescript?

AppleScript is a scripting for Mac OS. It is the Mac OS scripting interface, which is meant to operate in parallel with the graphical user interface. With AppleScript, you can control, and communicate among, applications, databases, networks, Web services, and even the operating system itself.

Running Shell Commands From AppleScript Scripts

You can easily execute shell commands from your AppleScript using the following syntax:

do shell script "command"
do shell script "command1; command2"
set variableName to do shell script "command"
set variableName to do shell script "command1; command2"
do shell script "/path/to/yourscript.sh"
do shell script "/bin/tcsh /path/to/yourscript.csh"
do shell script "/bin/tcsh -c  'command1'"

The following script statement uses a do shell script command to get list of the files from the current directory and store it into the AppleScript variable filesLists:

set filesLists to do shell script "ls"

Task: Pass an AppleScript Variable To Shell Command

Use the following syntax (h is an AppleScript variable which is passed to traceroute shell command):

set h  to "cyberciti.biz"
do shell script "traceroute " & h