Bluetoothctl automation

bluetooth.sh

#!/usr/bin/expect -f

set prompt "#"
set address [lindex $argv 0]

spawn sudo bluetoothctl -a
expect -re $prompt
send "remove $address\r"
sleep 1
expect -re $prompt
send "scan on\r"
send_user "\nSleeping\r"
sleep 5
send_user "\nDone sleeping\r"
send "scan off\r"
expect "Controller"
send "trust $address\r"
sleep 2
send "pair $address\r"
sleep 2
send "0000\r"
sleep 3
send_user "\nShould be paired now.\r"
send "quit\r"
expect eof

Thank you for this! This Expect script was really useful for me. :)

thank you very much, this code was what i was looking for

Great help, thanks @RamonGilabert.

spawn: invalid option -- 'a'
*** Usage: spawn [-h] [-v] [-jN]
bluez.sh: line 7: expect: command not found
bluez.sh: line 8: send: command not found
bluez.sh: line 10: expect: command not found
bluez.sh: line 11: send: command not found
bluez.sh: line 12: send_user: command not found
bluez.sh: line 14: send_user: command not found
bluez.sh: line 15: send: command not found
bluez.sh: line 16: expect: command not found
bluez.sh: line 17: send: command not found
bluez.sh: line 19: send: command not found
bluez.sh: line 21: send: command not found
bluez.sh: line 23: send_user: command not found
bluez.sh: line 24: send: command not found
bluez.sh: line 25: expect: command not found

These are what I got, how to use it. Can anyone help?

Awesome script!

Thank you @RamonGilabert. I did not know about expect scriping!

With bluetoothctl 5.48 the command line switch -a is no longer valid and must be removed.

I haven't used expect in a very long time--it was good to find this! Thank you.

Thanks!

For new comers:

Install expect:

$ sudo apt install expect

I use without sudo, and without the -a switch which isn't supported anymore, so the final script is:

#!/usr/bin/expect -f

set prompt "#"
set address [lindex $argv 0]

spawn bluetoothctl
expect -re $prompt
send "remove $address\r"
sleep 1
expect -re $prompt
send "scan on\r"
send_user "\nSleeping\r"
sleep 5
send_user "\nDone sleeping\r"
send "scan off\r"
expect "Controller"
send "trust $address\r"
sleep 2
send "pair $address\r"
sleep 2
send "0000\r"
sleep 3
send_user "\nShould be paired now.\r"
send "quit\r"
expect eof

run the script like so:

$ /path/to/script.sh 00:00:00:00:00  # replace 00:00:00:00:00 with the device mac address

Didn't work for Ubuntu 18.04. I also had to remove and re-pair the device. Any idea how to make it work for 18.04?

Didn't work for Ubuntu 18.04. I also had to remove and re-pair the device. Any idea how to make it work for 18.04?

Here is the script I adapted to my need:

#!/usr/bin/expect -f

set prompt "#"
set address "MY_MAC_ADDRESS"

spawn bluetoothctl
expect -re $prompt
send "remove $address\r"
sleep 1
expect -re $prompt
send "scan on\r"
send_user "\nSleeping\r"
sleep 5
send_user "\nDone sleeping\r"
send "scan off\r"
send "connect $address\r"
sleep 5
send "quit\r"
expect eof

This basically removes the device from the paired list, then connects it again.

Didn't work for Ubuntu 18.04. I also had to remove and re-pair the device. Any idea how to make it work for 18.04?

Here is the script I adapted to my need:

#!/usr/bin/expect -f

set prompt "#"
set address "MY_MAC_ADDRESS"

spawn bluetoothctl
expect -re $prompt
send "remove $address\r"
sleep 1
expect -re $prompt
send "scan on\r"
send_user "\nSleeping\r"
sleep 5
send_user "\nDone sleeping\r"
send "scan off\r"
send "connect $address\r"
sleep 5
send "quit\r"
expect eof

This basically removes the device from the paired list, then connects it again.

Thanks for this.. this was driving me crazy!

apt-get install expect

my 2 cents

This is great, thanks. I'm finding a lot of bugs as I go along, though. Sometimes it doesn't wait long enough for the device to be discovered. I've increased the wait time from scan to 15 seconds, and it still sometimes will reply "Device unavailable" after waiting 15 seconds. Also, sometimes the script completely crashes my bluetooth service, and I have to restart bluetooth. This is what I have so far:

#!/usr/bin/expect -f
# Bluetooth seems to get messed up after dual booting
# Winblows for gaming... This script resets my bluetooth

set prompt "#"
set address [lindex $argv 0]

spawn bluetoothctl
expect -re $prompt
send "scan on\r"
send_user "\nWaiting for device.\r"
# I thought I could rely on this expect to make sure the device is discovered and ready
# It finds it, but this still isn't good enough... I still need a sleep
expect -re "\\\[NEW\\\] Device $address"
send_user "\nFound deivce.\r"
sleep 5
send "remove $address\r"
sleep 2
expect -re $prompt
send "pair $address\r"
sleep 2
send "connect $address\r"
sleep 3
send "trust $address\r"
sleep 2
send_user "\n$address should be paired now.\r"
send "scan off\r"
send "quit\r"
expect eof

Anyone found a way to use expect or something similar to wait for success of each command? I'm new to expect since discovering this script.

if you are looking for something programmatic using python => https://gist.github.com/castis/0b7a162995d0b465ba9c84728e60ec01

Just what i need it. thanks.
Just a quick question is it really need it do the scan off? i skipped that step.

Hi everyone,
this script was exactly what I was looking for :)
It works great with my BT mouse, however iit does not work with my BT keyboard as the keyboard requires me to enter a code. The script does not show me the code so it does not pair properly,

Could someone help me change the script to work with a BT keyboard requiring a pairing code to be entered?

Thank you
Alex