Launch TrueConf Client Applications via Command Line Parameters
Dimitrii Zuikov
October 26, 2023TrueConf 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 |
| Login | -l [user] -p [password] -e -l maria -p 4839 -e -l specifies the authorization login. It is used in combination with the -password -p parameter which corresponds to the password needed for authorization. |
| Connect to a server by its IP address or domain name | -h [server]:[port]
-h 192.168.1.100:12345 -h video.company.com If the -h parameter is used together with the -d parameter, you can specify several TrueConf Server IP addresses or domain names (FQDNs) separated by commas. The application will connect to the first available server, for example -d dns-server.name -h 192.168.1.100,192.168.1.101. |
| Forced authorization or connection to the server | -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. |
| 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 We recommend using this parameter together with -h to make sure that autologin works correctly if the server address is changed in the list of SRV records. The -d parameter works in this way:
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. |
| 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: |
| Select the monitor to display the TrueConf Room main screen | -monitor [id]
-monitor 2
For TrueConf Room only |
| 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 \с\[CID]
-c \c\6427906610 -c \с\[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] or –render [render-type] -r opengl or –render opengl Here, you can specify the type of renderer that will be used in the application. It may be helpful to try several values from the list below if there are some problems (“artifacts”) with application rendering. In case the problem persists, collect logs and submit a ticket to TrueConf technical support. The following types of renderer are available:
|
| 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. |
Here:
- [user] — user login
- [password] — user password [server] — TrueConf Server IP
- [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:
1TrueConf.exe -h 192.168.1.100:12345 -l maria -p 4839 -e - To be logged in and call the user, run the following command:
1TrueConf.exe -c george -l maria -p 4839 -e - To be logged in and join the conference, run the following command:
1TrueConf.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:
1TrueConf.exe -t1 -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:
1TrueConfRoom.exe -t1 -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:
|
1 |
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:
|
1 |
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:
|
1 |
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:
|
1 |
mkdir /home/$USER/tcscripts |
Navigate to the directory and create a script using the command:
|
1 |
printf '#!/bin/bash\ntrueconf -t 2 -h 10.110.1.123 -l danilov -p p@ssword123 -e' > script.sh, |
where:
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-land-p;>— operator for redirecting output to the specified file;script.sh— name of the script file.
Next, make the script executable:
|
1 |
sudo chmod +x script.sh |
The script is now ready. You can execute it from the terminal with:
|
1 |
./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:
|
1 |
sudo ln -s '/Applications/TrueConf Client.app/Contents/MacOS/TrueConf Client' /usr/local/bin/trueconf |
You can now launch the application with parameters directly:
|
1 |
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.
