PuTTY scripting to log onto host - command-line

Question

I'm using PuTTY to remotely log onto my school's host. Upon logging in, we are required to do these steps:
enter username
enter password
command "add oracle"
command "sqlplus"
enter username
enter password
I will be logging into this host a lot over the course of this semester and I was hoping to create a script that would eliminate the redundancy of the above steps. Ignoring the obvious security oversights of having my password in the script, how would I achieve this? I have zero experience with scripting, so your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Edit: I played around with the command-line options for Putty and I was able to bypass steps 1-2 using:
putty -load "host" -l username -pw password
I've also created a shell file that looks like so:
#!/bin/bash
add oracle10g
sqlplus username password
When I try to add this option to the command-line using the -m option, it looks like PuTTY logs into the host and then immediately exits. Is there a way to keep my session open after running the shell file or am I using the -m option wrongly? Here is a link to a PuTTY guide that I have been following: http://the.earth.li/~sgtatham/putty/0.60/htmldoc/Chapter3.html.
Here is the total command that I am trying to run from the command-line:
putty -load "host" -l username -pw password -m c:\test.sh

Answer 1

Figured this out with the help of a friend. The -m PuTTY option will end your session immediately after it executes the shell file. What I've done instead is I've created a batch script called putty.bat with these contents on my Windows machine:
#echo off
putty -load "host" -l username -pw password
This logs me in remotely to the Linux host. On the host side, I created a shell file called sql with these contents:
#!/bin/tcsh
add oracle10g
sqlplus username password
My host's Linux build used tcsh. Other Linux builds might use bash, so simply replace tcsh with bash and you should be fine.
To summarize, automating these steps are now done in two easy steps:
Double-click putty.bat. This opens PuTTY and logs me into the host.
Run command tcsh sql. This adds the oracle tool to my host, and logs me into the sql database.

Answer 2

I'm not sure why previous answers haven't suggested that the original poster set up a shell profile (bashrc, .tcshrc, etc.) that executed their commands automatically every time they log in on the server side.
The quest that brought me to this page for help was a bit different -- I wanted multiple PuTTY shortcuts for the same host that would execute different startup commands.
I came up with two solutions, both of which worked:
(background) I have a folder with a variety of PuTTY shortcuts, each with the "target" property in the shortcut tab looking something like:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\PuTTY\putty.exe" -load host01
with each load corresponding to a PuTTY profile I'd saved (with different hosts in the "Session" tab). (Mostly they only differ in color schemes -- I like to have each group of related tasks share a color scheme in the terminal window, with critical tasks, like logging in as root on a production system, performed only in distinctly colored windows.)
The folder's Windows properties are set to very clean and stripped down -- it functions as a small console with shortcut icons for each of my frequent remote PuTTY and RDP connections.
(solution 1)
As mentioned in other answers the -m switch is used to configure a script on the Windows side to run, the -t switch is used to stay connected, but I found that it was order-sensitive if I wanted to get it to run without exiting
What I finally got to work after a lot of trial and error was:
(shortcut target field):
"C:\Program Files (x86)\PuTTY\putty.exe" -t -load "SSH Proxy" -m "C:\Users\[me]\Documents\hello-world-bash.txt"
where the file being executed looked like
echo "Hello, World!"
echo ""
export PUTTYVAR=PROXY
/usr/local/bin/bash
(no semicolons needed)
This runs the scripted command (in my case just printing "Hello, world" on the terminal) and sets a variable that my remote session can interact with.
Note for debugging: when you run PuTTY it loads the -m script, if you edit the script you need to re-launch PuTTY instead of just restarting the session.
(solution 2)
This method feels a lot cleaner, as the brains are on the remote Unix side instead of the local Windows side:
From Putty master session (not "edit settings" from existing session) load a saved config and in the SSH tab set remote command to:
export PUTTYVAR=GREEN; bash -l
Then, in my .bashrc, I have a section that performs different actions based on that variable:
case ${PUTTYVAR} in
"")
echo ""
;;
"PROXY")
# this is the session config with all the SSH tunnels defined in it
echo "";
echo "Special window just for holding tunnels open." ;
echo "";
PROMPT_COMMAND='echo -ne "\033]0;Proxy Session #master01\$\007"'
alias temppass="ssh keyholder.example.com makeonetimepassword"
alias | grep temppass
;;
"GREEN")
echo "";
echo "It's not easy being green"
;;
"GRAY")
echo ""
echo "The gray ghost"
;;
*)
echo "";
echo "Unknown PUTTYVAR setting ${PUTTYVAR}"
;;
esac
(solution 3, untried)
It should also be possible to have bash skip my .bashrc and execute a different startup script, by putting this in the PuTTY SSH command field:
bash --rcfile .bashrc_variant -l

Answer 3

When you use the -m option putty does not allocate a tty, it runs the command and quits. If you want to run an interactive script (such as a sql client), you need to tell it to allocate a tty with -t, see 3.8.3.12 -t and -T: control pseudo-terminal allocation. You'll avoid keeping a script on the server, as well as having to invoke it once you're connected.
Here's what I'm using to connect to mysql from a batch file:
#mysql.bat
start putty -t -load "sessionname" -l username -pw password -m c:\mysql.sh
#mysql.sh
mysql -h localhost -u username --password="foo" mydb
https://superuser.com/questions/587629/putty-run-a-remote-command-after-login-keep-the-shell-running

Answer 4

I want to suggest a common solution for those requirements, maybe it is a use for you: AutoIt. With that program, you can write scripts on top of any window like Putty and execute all commands you want to (like button pressing or mouse clicking in textboxes or buttons).
This way you can emulate all steps you are always doing with Putty.

Answer 5

entering a command after you logged in can be done by going through SSH section at the bottom of putty and you should have an option Remote command (data to send to the server) separate the two commands with ;

Answer 6

mputty can do that but it does not seem to work always. (if that wait period is too slow)
mputty uses putty and it extends putty.
There is an option to run a script.
If it does not work, make sure that wait period before typing is a high value or increase that value. See putty sessions , then name of session, right mouse button,properties/script page.

Answer 7

For me it works this way:
putty -ssh root#1.1.1.1 22 -pw password
putty, protocol, user name # ip address port and password. To connect in less than a second.

Answer 8

You can use the -i privatekeyfilelocation in case you are using a private key instead of password based.