choose shell for item 8 in /usr/local/sbin/opnsense-shell

[tessus]

In the /usr/local/sbin/opnsense-shell script that is used as the shell for the root user, the shell when selecting menu entry 8 is hard-coded to /bin/csh.

I would like to use bash (/usr/local/bin/bash) instead.

Can you please point me to the correct repo for this script so that I can submit a PR? I am thinking of reading a file (e.g. /etc/opnsense-shell) and in case the file exists and has a CMD_SHELL var, it will be used. Otherwise the current default is used. We can discuss the specifics in the PR.

What do you think?

[meyergru]

If at all, why not create a setting that is stored in config.xml and can be switched between bash, sh, tcsh and others?

[tessus]

Yes, this is a very nice idea. However, I am great with backend and scripts, but suck at anything with UI and/or frontend.

To answer your question: I don't know how to do that.

[Patrick M. Hausen]

How about adding to root's .cshrc something like e.g.

Code Select Expand

test -x /usr/local/bin/bash && exec /usr/local/bin/bash -l


[tessus]

Spawning bash from .cshrc is a rather nasty hack, I'd rather avoid. But that's just me.

The issue is I do not know which files are overwritten when packages are updated, otherwise I'd just update the /usr/local/sbin/opnsense-shell locally. But it is part of the opnsense package, so I think the file is overwritten during every upgrade.
My idea to use an optional file with a CMD_SHELL var in /etc/ or /etc/defaults/ seems the most logical solution that adheres to Unix philosophy. But maybe I am wrong.

I don't really want to discuss this on this forum, since it doesn't understand markup. It's way easier to do that in a PR.

I only needed to know the repo, because I wanted to avoid searching for it on gh, which I have done now. So this topic is now obsolete.

[franco]

Building a complex solution for a problem that doesn't exist for 99.9% of the users to allow to chose a shell that is not even installed by default in a very tiny shell script that offers a bit of convenience shows how impractical the request is.

Why not set the admin shell to bash? Why not use a separate admin user with bash shell and sudo su for the console menu?  These types of setups have been supported for many years already.


Cheers,
Franco

[tessus]

I don't think that adding one line to a script is a complex solution. What I don't understand is that hardcoding a specific shell is considered the normal way of doing things.

Anyway, if a PR that adds one line to a script won't be accepted, because it is deemed too complex or too high of a maintenance burden there is no need to create one, is there?

Don't get me wrong, I have already used the workarounds you mentioned (all but spawning bash from the .cshrc), but I actually like the menu and overview the opnsense-shell script provides. I'm just not a fan of csh.

Too bad, I guess I will have to patch opnsense-shell every time there is an update.