||<>|| == Overview == * '''Created''': 2008-08 * '''Contributors''': DustinKirkland * '''Packages affected''': update-motd == Summary == This package seeks to make the /etc/motd (Message of the Day) more dynamic and valuable, by providing a simple, clean framework for defining scripts whose output will regularly be written to /etc/motd. == Rationale == The message currently printed on all logins (console, ssh, etc) is rather bland, uninteresting, and useless. It would be rather useful to provide a simple directory for system administrators to drop scripts whose output would generate a more dynamic and informative message-of-the-day. == Use Cases == * Part of the inspiration for the '''update-motd''' package is the '''mythtv-status''' package. This package consists of a perl script that queries a MythTV backend, and generates a dynamic {{{/etc/motd}}}, showing how much disk space is available, which tuners/encoders are in operation, and what the next scheduled recording is. This package could easily be modified to use the '''update-motd''' framework. * Additionally, the Landscape project seeks to provide some useful information to Ubuntu users upon login. There are cases where this could be handled by scripts in {{{/etc/profile.d}}}, however, there are reasons why it might be better to use an '''update-motd''' approach. == Design == The basic design is rather simple. The '''update-motd''' package creates a directory, {{{/etc/update-motd.d}}}, and installs a cronjob, {{{/etc/cron.d/update-motd}}}, which calls {{{/usr/sbin/update-motd}}} every 10 minutes (by default). {{{/usr/sbin/update-motd}}} uses {{{run-parts}}} to execute each script in {{{/etc/update-motd.d}}} in lexigraphic order, concatenating the results with the message-of-the-day header, {{{/etc/motd.tail}}}. In this way, users, or even other packages can drop scripts into {{{/etc/update-motd.d}}} to affect the MOTD. == Implementation == As of 2008-09, this package is implemented and included in Intrepid Universe. == Outstanding Issues == There exists a Main Inclusion Report, for moving this package to Main: * MainInclusionReportUpdateMotd == Testing == * sudo apt-get install update-motd * create a script, such as {{{/etc/update-motd.d/10-stats}}} {{{ #!/bin/sh echo date echo who echo uptime }}} * Wait ~10 minutes and then log in == Discussion, Questions, Answers == Please leave questions and discussion points below, sign your comments with your wiki-name, and subscribe to this page: * https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UpdateMotd?action=subscribe subscribe to this page Q: Is it possible to completely disable the MOTD functions, so that none of this background processing ever takes place? == References ==