Launch TrueConf Client Applications via Command Line Parameters

8/23/21About 10 minClient AppsAPI / SDK Conference scheduling

TrueConf client applications for desktops (Windows, macOS, Linux) and TrueConf Room PC-based room software can be launched using command line parameters. In this case, upon opening the application users automatically can:

Log in
Connect to the right server
Launch applications in the selected mode (full screen or minimized)
Call users or join video conferences
Launch another instance of application to control the second camera, e.g. to capture the second video source.

Parameter List

In TrueConf applications for macOS and Linux, if you specify parameters with a "\" character, you need to escape it with a second "\" character, e.g., "/c \\c\\6427906610".

Function	Parameter and Use Case
Authorization	`-l [user] -p [password] -e -lf` `-l maria -p 4839 -e -lf` `-l` — указывает логин для авторизации. Используется в сочетании с параметром `--password`, `-p`, который в свою очередь указывает пароль для авторизации. `-e` is the parameter indicating that the password should be hashed instead of being used in an unencrypted form. It is used together with `--login`, `-l` and `--password`, `-p`.
Connect to a server by its IP address or domain name	`-h [server]:[port]` `-h 192.168.1.100:12345` `-h video.company.com`
Specify the domain, which SRV-records will be used to search for an available video conferencing server to connect to	`-d [domain_name]` `-d company.com` Данный параметр рекомендуется использовать совместно с `-h` для корректной работы автологина в случае изменения адреса сервера в списке SRV-записей. Параметр `-d` работает следующим образом: все сервера из списка для параметра `-h` помечаются как сервера из этого домена; с помощью DNS SRV Discovery происходит запрос SRV-записей следующего вида: `vcs2.tcp.[domain name]`. После чего из полученного ответа от DNS-сервера выбирается один из доступных ВКС-серверов TrueConf. Но если Discovery ничего не находит, то берутся сервера из `-h`. After the first successful connection, the TrueConf application will save all addresses that are specified in the External addresses list of the server control panel. Of course, you will need to add a new SRV record in your domain.
Forced authorization or connection to the server	`-lf` `-l maria -p 4839 -e -lf` This parameter can be used to force a connection to the server specified with the `-h` parameter, as well as to authorize with the given username and password. If the key `-lf` is not specified and the user is already authorized on the server, there will be neither reconnection to the required server, nor authorization with a new account.
Launch Applications in Different Modes
Full screen (without interface elements)	`-f` This parameter is to be used in conjunction with `-c` parameter when automatically receiving and making video calls. It is also important to use this parameter if you need to see users’ images without interface elements during video conferences.
Minimized	`-m`
“Instance” mode	`-t [id]` By using this parameter, you’ll launch the instance of your application with ID specified by the user. Instance settings are saved separately from original settings. Once closed, these settings are saved and automatically brought back when restarted by using the same ID. This feature may be helpful in several cases, for example, for connecting to the server when the parameter is used together with other parameters: `-l` (login), `-p` (password), `-h` (indicates the server to which the application should connect).
Select the monitor to display the TrueConf Room main screen	`-monitor [id]` `-monitor 2` Применимо только для TrueConf Room. By default the TrueConf Room main screen is launched on the primary monitor of your operating system (e.g. indexed as `1` in Windows). With the `-monitor` parameter, you can change this setting, i.e. when you connect an additional monitor, you can display the TrueConf Room main screen on it by specifying the `-monitor 2` parameter. This will allow you to use different monitors to display the conference window and simultaneously control TrueConf Room via the web-based control panel.
Disabling the video layout received from the server for TrueConf Room	`--ignore_layouts` Применимо только для TrueConf Room. Allows you to disable receiving the conference video layout set by the moderator or administrator, and manage the video layout using the control panel (for example, via a tablet).
Call Users and Join Conferences
Call users	`-c [user]` `-c george` `-c [user] @ [server_name]` `-c george@company.com`
Join conferences on the server via \c\CID	`-c \c\[CID]` `-c \c\6427906610` `-c \c\[CID]@[server_name]#vcs` `-c \c\6427906610@company.com#vcs`
Automatically close the application once the call/conference is ended	`-ac` This parameter can only be used in conjunction with `\-c` parameter. `\-c kate -ac` `\-c \c\5427905512 -ac`
Additional application parameters
Change of the renderer type	`-r [render-type]` или `--render [render-type]` `-r opengl` или `--render opengl` Указать типа рендера, который будет использоваться в приложении. Может быть полезно попробовать указать какое-то значение из списка ниже (перебором), если наблюдаются проблемы с отрисовкой приложения (так называемые “артефакты”). Если ничего не поможет, следует собрать логи и создать обращение в техподдержку Труконф. Доступны следующие типы рендера: opengl angle soft gl gles opengles directx soft-gl gdi There is also a separate `--offhwenc` parameter (used without `-r`) to disable hardware encoding.
Launching the application with parameters from a file	`--settings [file-path]` `--settings "C:\Program Files\TrueConf\Client\settings.json"` Check the corresponding article for more details on how the application can be launched with settings from a file.

Where:

[user] — user login
[password] — user password [server] — TrueConf Server IP
[server] — TrueConf Server IP address
[server_name] — TrueConf Server FQDN
[port] — port reserved for server control panel
[id] — unique ID for the instance of application
[CID] — Conference ID

Parameters can be combined at random. For example:

To connect and log in on TrueConf Server, run the following command:
```
TrueConf.exe -h 192.168.1.100:12345 -l maria -p 4839 -e
```
To be logged in and call the user, run the following command:
```
TrueConf.exe -c george -l maria -p 4839 -e
```
To be logged in and join the conference, run the following command:
```
TrueConf.exe -c \c\5427905512 -l maria -p 4839 -e
```
To launch another instance of application and connect to TrueConf Server via IP, run the following command:
```
TrueConf.exe -t 1 -h 192.168.1.100:12345 -lf
```
To launch another instance of the TrueConf Room application, connect to TrueConf Server using its domain name and display the application main screen on an additional monitor, run the following command:
```
TrueConfRoom.exe -t 1 -h video.company.com -lf -monitor 2
```

How to Use Parameters at Launch

On Windows

Using the command line

By default, the TrueConf application is not added to the Path environment variable. Therefore, to launch it via the command line, you must always use the full path to the executable file: `C:\Program Files\TrueConf\Client\TrueConf.exe. For convenience, you can add the application's folder to the Path. Run the following command as an administrator:

setx PATH "%PATH%;C:\Program Files\TrueConf\Client"

After executing the command, restart your OS. Now you can launch the application through the command line:

TrueConf.exe -t 2 -h 10.110.2.123 -l danilov -p p@ssword123 -e

Using the Application Shortcut

- Locate the TrueConf client shortcut on your desktop or taskbar.
- Right-click the shortcut and select Properties.
- Add the startup parameters in the Target field after the quotation marks enclosing the file name, for example, -t 2 -h 10.110.2.123 -l danilov -p p@ssword123 -e`:

- Click **OK** to save the changes.

On Linux

Using the terminal

To launch the TrueConf application with parameters on Linux, you can use the terminal. First, you need to determine the necessary parameters and select them from the table. After that, just enter the command into the terminal and press Enter. The following command is provided as an example:

trueconf -t 2 -h 10.110.2.123 -l danilov -p p@ssword123 -e

Using a .sh script

To avoid typing the command repeatedly, you can automate the launch using a script.

For convenience, it is recommended to do this in a separate folder, such as tcscripts. To create the folder, execute the command:

mkdir /home/$USER/tcscripts

Navigate to the directory and create a script using the command:

printf '#!/bin/bash\ntrueconf -t 2 -h 10.110.1.123 -l danilov -p p@ssword123 -e' > script.sh

${**PARAM_NAME**:-**POSS_VAL**}

printf — command for text processing;
#!/bin/bash — indicates the command execution environment;
\n — newline character;
trueconf — command to launch the TrueConf application;
-t 2 — parameter to create a new application instance with ID 2;
-h 10.110.1.123 — parameter specifying the IP address of the server to connect to;
-l danilov — parameter specifying the login for authorization;
-p p@ssword123 — parameter specifying the password for authorization;
-e — mandatory parameter when used with -l and -p;
> — operator for redirecting output to the specified file;
script.sh — name of the script file.

Next, make the script executable:

sudo chmod +x script.sh

The script is now ready. You can execute it from the terminal with:

./script.sh

On macOS

Using the terminal

By default, the TrueConf application is not available for launch through the terminal. To avoid memorizing the path to the executable file, we will add an alias (symbolic link) to the standard directory /usr/local/bin:

sudo ln -s '/Applications/TrueConf Client.app/Contents/MacOS/TrueConf Client' /usr/local/bin/trueconf

You can now launch the application with parameters directly:

trueconf -t 1 -h 10.110.2.240 -l danilov -p p@ssword123

Using this method requires the terminal window to remain open while the application is running.

Using Quick Command (Shortcuts)

You have likely encountered the Shortcuts application when using the Apple ecosystem. If not, here is a user guide.

We have prepared a basic command for you to launch a separate instance of the TrueConf application, which can be added to your menu bar for quick access:

Through the Shortcuts application, you can customize it to your needs:

add new parameters;
hardcode the executable command so that the application opens immediately when the shortcut is launched without requesting additional parameters;
add your business logic.