Shortcuts cannot be symlinks outside the ~/.shortcuts or ~/.termux directory

[harshad1]

Problem description

I used to be able to use a simlink for .shortcuts. In the latest version it has to be a directory.

Steps to reproduce

1. Make simlink from .shortcuts -> ./foo/bar
2. Widget is empty

Expected behavior

Termux shows all items in ./foo/bar

Additional information

• Termux application version: 0.117
• Termux widget version: 0.13 (f droid)
• Android OS version: 11
• Device model: Pixel 3 XL

[agnostic-apollo]

That is expected behaviour. Check Changelog for v0.13.0 at https://github.com/termux/termux-widget/releases

Create a symlink under ~/.shortcuts directory and place foo under ~/.termux.

If you want scripts in ~/.termux to show, create a symlink for them inside ~/.shortcuts, like for a script file with ln -s ~/.termux/script ~/.shortcuts/script or for a whole directory with ln -s ~/.termux/dir ~/.shortcuts/dir.

The ~/.shortcuts path must itself also be a directory and cannot be a symlink.

[RalfWerner]

@harshad1 as discussed here ff the "canonical" restriction (for tasker) will not changed back for widget and I desribe a new one

[harshad1]

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

Unfortunately, this change has broken my workflow. I use simlinks for both ~/.termux and ~/.shortcuts (both point to a folder on my sdcard which is synced with FolderSync).

Will need to figure out a new system.

[agnostic-apollo]

Sorry for the inconvenience but this had to be done. You can use rsync command to sync your ~/.shortcuts directory to sd card and then run folder sync or you can also directly just use rclone for backups.

[harshad1]

this had to be done

Np. Though could you point me at any discussions of why it was required? Would be interesting to read.

You can use rsync command

Ah good suggestion. My current workaround is less elegant :p. I have the following in a shortcut

rm -rf ~/.termux || true
rm -rf ~/.shortcuts || true
cp -r ~/configuration/app_files/termux ~/.termux
cp -r ~/.termux/shortcuts ~/.shortcuts
chmod 700 -R ~/.termux/shortcuts
chmod 700 -R ~/.termux/tasker

[agnostic-apollo]

It's a restriction for termux plugins that can be controlled by external apps. Same applies to termux-tasker for almost a year, it even requires additional permissions. It's just being enforced now for termux-widget.

I have the following in a shortcut

Yeah, the other way works too.

[nate2014jatc]

Can this be manually overridden?
This breaks how I've historically used the widget.

[RalfWerner]

Can this be manually overridden? This breaks how I've historically used the widget.

Not really, except you use the version V0.12! I also deal with my administration as the canonical restriction is not negotiable

[nate2014jatc]

Can this be manually overridden? This breaks how I've historically used the widget.

Not really, except you use the version V0.12! I also deal with my administration as the canonical restriction is not negotiable

I'm not certain I understand your meaning in the second part of your statement, could you please rephrase?

[RalfWerner]

see above and links

[agnostic-apollo]

Can this be manually overridden?

You can create the symlinks as discussed above or compile termux-widget yourself with the restriction removed. You can also create wrapper scripts under ~/.termux or ~/.shortcuts to the actual scripts if the actual scripts are outside those directories.

[agnostic-apollo]

Check termux/termux-app#2595 for why this change was enforced.

[ac-z]

~/.shortcuts/* are the only files in my whole setup that I can't just symlink from my dotfiles repo via GNU stow...
Making a bash script to generate shims in that folder is doable, but inconvenient.

[ac-z]

Alright, here's what I came up with.
https://github.com/amb3r-dev/dotfiles/blob/master/termux/.local/bin/termux-shortcuts.sh
This script allows you to define all of your shortcuts as bash functions in a single file, and generate shims for each.
The shims are smart enough to delete themselves if their functions have been removed from termux-shortcuts.sh.
Note that this will overwrite existing scripts in ~/.shortcuts/ if they have the same names as functions you put in this script.

Works like a charm