Hide an application and make it really invisible not just cmd+H

[billjoe]

hi,
I would like to have thunderbird open on login of osx and download emails and forward emails,
the same computer is used by different people on the same account,
I would like thunderbird to not appear to not be visible and to never be quit or closed by someome,
this is why i am looking for a way to keep it running but not have any window or task bar or tray or dock or scene manager show it is appearance.
so this is not just cmd H and hiding it for a few seconds,
i cant find any information on doing this, is there a terminal command to do this?
thanks

 

[zevrix]

No, not on the same account. You can create a different password-protected account, run Thunderbird there and switch to that account when you need it.

Also, there are ways to control TB via the command line, but I don't know if it allows you to run TB without opening the actual app.

 

[NoBoMac]

And don't think anyway to prevent anyone from stopping it. When in a shared account, Force Quit from Finder will kill it, "kill -TERM" or "kill -KILL" from command line as well.

 

[billjoe]

Thanks for your answers, thats strange it doesn’t exist.
What if i use a separate screen place the window on there and then unplug the screen? Seems like it would be there without being visible

 

[zevrix]

Thanks for your answers, thats strange it doesn’t exist.
What if i use a separate screen place the window on there and then unplug the screen? Seems like it would be there without being visible

I don't know about this. Even if it works, then if you can unplug the screen, then someone else can plug it in, too.

As long as you have a situation where you share the same account with other users, it's hard to achieve the desired privacy easily. You may want to look into web mail solutions where you can log out and log in when needed.

 

[Ben J.]

Maybe some app kan let you have an app password protected.

 

[billjoe]

Thanks i will try those methods

 

[chabig]

Thanks for your answers, thats strange it doesn’t exist.

One account per person.

 

[chabig]

What if i use a separate screen place the window on there and then unplug the screen?

I think the Mac will then move all windows back to the main screen.

 

[bogdanw]

/Applications/Thunderbird.app/Contents/MacOS/thunderbird --headless

" --headless Run without a GUI"

for other options, see /Applications/Thunderbird.app/Contents/MacOS/thunderbird --help

 

[billjoe]

Yes I will try headless, sounds very good thanks

 

[billjoe]

thanks a lot for your help i made a automator app that opens at login, there is a message asking about accessing TB contacts, but I think it will be silent now and work in the background, perfect ! thank you

 

[zevrix]

/Applications/Thunderbird.app/Contents/MacOS/thunderbird --headless

" --headless Run without a GUI"

for other options, see /Applications/Thunderbird.app/Contents/MacOS/thunderbird --help

Interesting... After I mentioned running TB from the command line earlier in the thread, I also checked the available options. I couldn't find any options to check for new mail so I didn't bring it up again. But now I think maybe it just uses the existing settings when running headless?

 

[billjoe]

yes,
Terminal was the way to go,
It is practical i can do all the settings in the gui and then the automator app starts TB in headless mode.
Very cool to use both modes
Thank you