1

Writing a bash script to turn on and off the USB ports on a raspberry pi 4. Using uhubctl.

#!/bin/bash
# Script to turn on and off power to usb port
# Uses uhubctl
#
time_w=5
#cd uhubctl
uhubctl -a off -l 1-1
#
sleep "$time_w"
#
uhubctl -a on -l 1-1
#
echo "All done"

I can run this sudo uhubctl -a off -l 1-1 from the command line without issue.

But if I run the script with sudo bash USB_Power.sh I get the following error.

!o compatible smart hubs detected at location 1-1
Run with -h to get usage info.
All done
ShekelsBot
  • 19
  • 6
  • 1
    And you have checked that it is compatible? – Mats Karlsson Nov 25 '20 at 17:12
  • @Mats Karlsson Im using just the onboard raspberry pi ports. – ShekelsBot Nov 25 '20 at 17:55
  • Thats was not what I asked! – Mats Karlsson Nov 25 '20 at 19:33
  • On the command line do you run it as Pi or as root (sudo)? Also what happens if you just run sudo USB_Power.sh? Is this the only version of the script on your system? –  Nov 25 '20 at 21:02
  • @Andyroo I run the commands as sudo and I also run the script as sudo This is the only version of the script on the system. When I run the command is executes just fine - but when I run it as the script it just doesn't work. – ShekelsBot Nov 25 '20 at 21:54
  • @MatsKarlsson Raspberry Pi 4 is supported. I am using the onboard usb ports. Specifically the 2.0 ports. – ShekelsBot Nov 25 '20 at 21:57
  • Do you get the same error without the bash part of the command? Did you add the USB permissions as per https://github.com/mvp/uhubctl#raspberry-pi-4b - does the command work outside the script? This is not the same as not reporting an error? –  Nov 25 '20 at 23:24
  • @Andyroo I am not sure what you mean without the bash part of the command, do you mean running it as an executable or with sh either way it wont run. I have been trying to add USB permissions so that I dont have to use sudo - followed the guide still have to use sudo. The command works outside of the script if I use sudo. I am running the command with sudo so permissions shouldn't be an issue. – ShekelsBot Nov 26 '20 at 03:44
  • Make the tile executable sudo chmod +x USB_Power.sh then run it as ./USB_Power.sh and sudo ./USB_Power.sh –  Nov 26 '20 at 03:57
  • @Andyroo I made it executable, but I cant run it still from the directory the script is in. when I run sudo ./USB_Power.sh I get the following error sudo: unable to execute ./USB_Power.sh: No such file or directory – ShekelsBot Nov 26 '20 at 19:12
  • Did you give it different name? What happens if you ls USB* –  Nov 26 '20 at 19:25
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat. –  Nov 26 '20 at 19:39
  • Can you please edit your question and correct the command to sudo uhubctl -a off -l 1-1? It is still confusing me if it isn't written there. – Ingo Nov 26 '20 at 19:40
  • @Ingo my bad I have edited it accordingly. – ShekelsBot Nov 26 '20 at 20:17

2 Answers2

2

uhubctl author here.

To configure udev USB permissions, simply follow uhubctl README. In particular, for Raspberry Pi 4B, you need to add these 2 lines to file /etc/udev/rules.d/52-usb.rules:

SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="2109", MODE="0666"
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="1d6b", MODE="0666"

then either reboot or run this command to apply changes live:

sudo udevadm trigger --attr-match=subsystem=usb

Note that you do not need to write any scripts to automate your task. Your script is exactly equivalent to this command:

uhubctl -l 1-1 -a cycle -d 5
mvp
  • 509
  • 4
  • 9
  • Thank you this helped fix my other issue.

    As for the script - I was just needing it to test to see why it wasn't running. The future plan is it needs to mount and unmount a drive as well as transfer a set of specified video files from the camera - but the camera needs to be mounted and not have any power from the usb in order to record. However the command provided could be useful later.

     – ShekelsBot Nov 27 '20 at 20:32
  • You cannot have camera mounted and not have any power – mvp Nov 27 '20 at 21:35
  • Correct. The script is meant to un-mount the drive and cut power. Then turn on power and mount the drive. And then transfer files. I cant have it being a mounted drive or receive power when its recording because it turns into a USB and defaults to charging. (Or when its done) Unless you have a different idea I should pursue? – ShekelsBot Nov 27 '20 at 23:54
0

I was writing this script in Microsft Visual Studio Code. I forgot that spaces are interperated differently between Windows and Unix when running Bash. So I changed the document settings in Notepad++ to be Unix, re wrote the code and then it runs fine now.

Still have to use sudo because the permissions are not working but not it runs correctly.

More info can be found here

#!/bin/bash
uhubctl -a off -l 1-1
sleep 5
uhubctl -a on -l 1-1
echo "All done"
ShekelsBot
  • 19
  • 6