Start a GUI application from the Linux terminal without blocking the terminal.

start.sh

#!/bin/bash
force=0
for arg in "$@"
do
    if [[ "$arg" = "-h" || "$arg" = "--help" ]]
    then
        echo "Just add program starting commands as parameters as you please. They will be started in order."
        echo "Add '-f' at any point to apply force mode to all following programs."
        echo "Add '-F' at any point to remove force mode to all following programs."
        continue
    fi

    if [ "$arg" = "-f" ]
    then
        let force=1
        echo "Applying force."
        continue
    fi

    if [ "$arg" = "-F" ]
    then
        let force=0
        echo "Removing force."
        continue
    fi

    alreadyRunning=`ps -aux | grep "$arg" | egrep -v "grep|start" | xargs`
    if [[ "$alreadyRunning" = "" || "$force" = "1" ]]
    then
        echo "starting $arg"
        ($arg &> /dev/null &)
    else
        echo "$arg is already running"
    fi
done