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Run Shell Command Note

by Chris McCormick
productivity developer tools
Install Plugin

Description

Runs shell commands on notes starting with ❕cmd: and caches output

Additional Information

Links:
Maintainers: chr15m
Version:0.1.2
Minimum app version:2.8
Downloads: This version:5
Last updated:2026-10-15T12:46:16Z

Run Shell Command Note for Joplin

Turn a Joplin note into a self-updating status dashboard by running a shell command and capturing the output as the note body (cache for one hour).

Whenever you select a note whose first line contains a command definition (❕cmd: <command> - note the exclamation is an emoji), the command executes automatically and the output appears below the header. The output is cached for one hour so you can view updated status information without redundant command runs or lag when switching notes.

Features

  • Execute shell commands defined in notes starting with ❕cmd: <command>.
  • Automatic output caching for one hour to avoid unnecessary execution.
  • Status indicator prefixes:
    • ❕cmd: Command configured and idle (or showing cached output).
    • ⏳cmd: Command execution currently in progress.
    • ❌cmd: Command execution failed (shows error toast and logs details).
  • Context menu action: Right-click inside the note editor to select Re-run command now to bypass the cache.
  • Runs automatically when selecting a command note.

Usage

Set the first line of any note to ❕cmd: <command>. When you open the note, the command runs and its output appears below. The output remains cached for one hour before running again on your next visit.

To manually refresh the output before the one-hour cache expires, right-click inside the note editor and choose Re-run command now.

Examples

1. Live Weather Forecast Note

Set the first line to fetch a lightweight text forecast from wttr.in:

❕cmd: curl -s "wttr.in/?0qnT"

Sets the body of the note to:

❕cmd: curl -s "wttr.in/?0qnT"

City, Country

      \   /     Sunny
       .-.      +21(18) °C
    ― (   ) ―   ↗ 15 km/h
       `-’      10 km
      /   \     0.0 mm

2. System Vitals & Disk Space Monitor

Set the first line to inspect server load and mounted filesystem capacity:

❕cmd: uptime && echo "" && df -h / /home

Sets the body of the note to:

❕cmd: uptime && echo "" && df -h / /home

 14:20:12 up 14 days,  3:25,  1 user,  load average: 0.35, 0.42, 0.38

Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/nvme0n1p2  500G  120G  380G  24% /
/dev/nvme0n1p2  500G  120G  380G  24% /home