Monitor launch of Time Machine App and quit or launch Amethyst accordingly

gistfile1.txt

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.user.timemachine-amethyst-monitor</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/bin/bash</string>
        <string>/Users/az/Dropbx/scripts/tm-amethyst-manager.sh</string>
    </array>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
    <key>KeepAlive</key>
    <true/>
    <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
    <string>/tmp/timemachine-amethyst-monitor.err</string>
    <key>StandardOutPath</key>
    <string>/tmp/timemachine-amethyst-monitor.out</string>
</dict>
</plist>

monitor-time-machine-launch.md

Description

This script and accompanying LaunchAgent automatically monitor the launch of Time Machine application and quit Amethyst automatically and also re-launches Amethyst when Time Machine quits.

Notes

Depending on where you save this script update it's path in the LaunchAgent plist under ProgramArguments.

Troubleshoot issues with LaunchAgent

Monitor this file for errors : /tmp/timemachine-amethyst-monitor.out

Final Result

tm-amethyst-manager.sh

#!/bin/bash

# Time Machine Launch and Quit Detector
# This script monitors for Time Machine launches and quits using macOS logs

echo "Starting Time Machine launch/quit detector..."
echo "Press Ctrl+C to exit"

# Track the last events to prevent duplicate notifications
LAST_LAUNCH_DETECTED=0
LAST_QUIT_DETECTED=0
COOLDOWN_SECONDS=10

# Set app state tracker
APP_RUNNING=false

# We'll control Amethyst directly with AppleScript
# No script paths needed

# Function to handle launch events
handle_launch() {
    CURRENT_TIME=$(date +%s)
    
    # Only trigger if we haven't recently detected a launch
    if (( CURRENT_TIME - LAST_LAUNCH_DETECTED > COOLDOWN_SECONDS )); then
        LAST_LAUNCH_DETECTED=$CURRENT_TIME
        APP_RUNNING=true
        
        # Get current date/time for logging
        TIMESTAMP=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
        
        echo "==============================================="
        echo "Time Machine launch detected at $TIMESTAMP"
        echo "==============================================="
        
        # Quit Amethyst
        osascript -e 'tell application "Amethyst" to quit'
        
        echo "Amethyst has been quit"
        
        # Display a notification
        osascript -e 'display notification "Time Machine launched and Amethyst quit" with title "Time Machine Monitor"'
        
        echo "Launch handled, waiting for events..."
    fi
}

# Function to handle quit events
handle_quit() {
    CURRENT_TIME=$(date +%s)
    
    # Only trigger if app was running and we haven't recently detected a quit
    if $APP_RUNNING && (( CURRENT_TIME - LAST_QUIT_DETECTED > COOLDOWN_SECONDS )); then
        LAST_QUIT_DETECTED=$CURRENT_TIME
        APP_RUNNING=false
        
        # Get current date/time for logging
        TIMESTAMP=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
        
        echo "==============================================="
        echo "Time Machine quit detected at $TIMESTAMP"
        echo "==============================================="
        
        # Launch Amethyst
        osascript -e 'tell application "Amethyst" to activate'
        
        echo "Amethyst has been launched"
        
        # Display a notification
        osascript -e 'display notification "Time Machine quit and Amethyst launched" with title "Time Machine Monitor"'
        
        echo "Quit handled, waiting for events..."
    fi
}

# Use the full path to log to avoid shell builtin conflicts
/usr/bin/log stream --predicate '(subsystem == "com.apple.runningboard") AND (eventMessage CONTAINS "com.apple.backup.launcher")' | while read -r line; do
    # Check for launch events
    if echo "$line" | grep -q "Launch request"; then
        handle_launch
    fi
    
    # Check for quit/termination events
    if echo "$line" | grep -E "process (exited|terminated)|assertion invalidated|no longer tracked|Process .* exited|Removing"; then
        handle_quit
    fi
done