startup file

The startup file instruction is used to specify the startup file or script to run when a new container is created from this image (using turbo run).

The instruction has multiple forms:

1. startup file <command> <param1> <param2> (executes the application directly)
2. startup file ("executable", "param1", "param2") (executes the application directly)
3. startup file [("executable1", "param1", "param2"), ("executable2", "param1", "param2"), ...] (executes the list of applications directly)
4. startup file trigger=("executable", "param1", "param2") (assigns a trigger name to a startup file)
5. startup file trigger=[("executable1", "param1", "param2"), ("executable2", "param1", "param2"), ...] (assigns a trigger name to a collection of startup files)

This instruction is only applied to the output image and does not affect the intermediate container.

If startup file is not specified then the startup file setting is inherited from last image listed in the layer command. Well known system paths like C:\Windows\System32 will be replaced by a variable that will be converted at runtime to the appropriate path for the execution environment.

As an Executable

If you wish to launch a process from an executable and optionally supply parameters to that executable, you must express the desired executable as a tuple of strings and give the full path to the executable (unless it is on the local system or container's PATH). Using this syntax, parameters are passed directly to the executable.

# "clone" and "https://github.com/turboapps/docs" are passed to git.exe
startup file ("git.exe", "clone", "https://github.com/turboapps/docs")

Using TurboScript Vars

When passing a TurboScript var to the startup file instruction, the variable must be appended to a string.

Example:

var startupfilepath = "C:\Program Files\App\app.exe"
startup file ("" + startupfilepath)

Passing Multiple Arguments to the Startup File

When passing multiple arguments to the startup file, the arguments should be separated with a comma to avoid issues with spaces in paths.

Example:

var startupfilepath = "C:\Program Files\App\app.exe"
var configfilepath = "C:\Program Files\App\config.cfg"
startup file ("" + startupfilepath, "-CONFIG","" + configfilepath)

The resulting config file argument is enclosed in quotes:

@PROGRAMFILES@\App\app.exe -CONFIG "@PROGRAMFILES@\App\config.cfg"

As a Shell Command

You may also launch a process using basic command prompt syntax. To open a Command Prompt window with a message:

# Hello world is passed to the 'echo' shell command
startup file cmd.exe /k echo hello world

Multiple Startup Files

It is possible to specify multiple startup files which will be launched simultaneously using the array syntax.

# set multiple default startup files for "test-shotgun" image
startup file [("c:\windows\system32\notepad.exe"), ("c:\windows\regedit.exe")]

# launch both notepad and regedit
turbo run test-shotgun

Startup File Triggers

A startup file, or collection of startup files, can be assigned a trigger name. When this is done, the startup file(s) specified will only launch when using turbo run with the --trigger flag. This can be useful when setting up shortcuts to multiple applications inside the same image.

# in turbo.me file to create "test-trigger" image...
startup file [("c:\windows\system32\notepad.exe"), ("c:\windows\regedit.exe")]
startup file doc=[("c:\windows\system32\notepad.exe", "c:\doc\welcome.txt"), ("c:\windows\system32\notepad.exe", "c:\doc\howto.txt")]

# from command-prompt...

# launch both notepad and regedit are launched
> turbo run test-trigger

# launch welcome.txt and howto.txt in notepad
> turbo run test-trigger --trigger=doc