Modern Bash Wifi Connection Script for Linux; goodbye network manager

19/10/2013 Update here

This script attempts to semi-automate the wifi connection process from
the command line.  It is intended to be used on a headless / GUI-less machine without the
requirement of typing several commands for a connection.  For instance a Raspberry PI.

It works reasonably well for most applications and can handle ESSID's / passwords with spaces.

Storage of previous connection credentials is in PLAINTEXT as [ESSID].wpa files in the executed directory and in /etc/wpasupplicant.conf.
These .wpa files are used to connect to several different AP's using previously stored info.
Probably a real good idea to stop and other network managing software while running this script, for instance running "airmon-ng check kill" will do a good job.
Also in testing wpa_supplicant does a pretty good job of re-connecting a disassociated link automatically.

Operation is simple.  In the case with Debian it is:
sudo ./connect.sh wlan0

Mainly created from a combination of scripts taken from theses two
sources:
http://www.backtrack-linux.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-3367.html
AND
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-general-1/wifi-connect-script-tested-in-ubuntu-772646/

Feel free to comment or send improvements.

Download from http://pastebin.com/FzJnv5Nk
or below.

#!/bin/bash

# http://pastebin.com/Pa90HBiU
# 01/06/2013
# This script attempts to semi-automate the wifi connection process from
# the command line.
# It is intended to be used on a headless machine without the
# requirement of typing several commands for a connection.
# The script stores previous connection credentials in PLAINTEXT as
# *.wpa files in the executed directory and in /etc/wpasupplicant.conf.
# These .wpa files are used to connect to several different ap using
# previously stored info.
# Probably a good idea to stop and other network managing software while
# running this script, also in testing wpa_supplicant does a pretty good
# job of re-connecting a disassociated link automatically.
#
# Mainly created from a combination of scripts taken from theses two
# sources:
# http://www.backtrack-linux.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-3367.html
# AND
# http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-general-1/wifi-connect\
# -script-tested-in-ubuntu-772646/
#
# old version http://pastebin.com/Pa90HBiU 01/06/2013
#
# Copy, Distribute and Modify Freely.
#


INT=$1

if [ -z "$1" ]; then
printf "Usage: $0 [interface]\n"
exit
fi

if [ "$(id -u)" != "0" ]; then
printf "This script must be run as root\n" 1>&2
exit
fi

#
# Search for previous saved config files
#
function read_saved {
#
# Search for previous wpa configuration files.
#

#
# Save and change IFS so spaces in file names are not interpreted as
# separate lines in the array
#
OLDIFS=$IFS
IFS=$'\n'

#
# Read all file names into an array
# ref:http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/handling-filenames-with-spaces\
# -in-bash.html
#
# " -printf '%f\n' " removes path info from outputs
#
# ref:http://serverfault.com/questions/354403/remove-path-from-find\
# -command-output
#
SAVED_LIST=($(find . -type f -name "*.wpa" -printf '%f\n'))

#
# restore ifs
#
IFS=$OLDIFS


#
# Tests for number of saved wifi connections, if none exit
#
if [ -z "${SAVED_LIST[0]}" ]; then
printf "There are no previous saved wifi connections\n\n"
#
# Create new connection
#
conf_create
fi

#
#PS3 Sets the prompt for the select statement below
#
PS3="Choose a previously saved wifi connection or 's' to skip: "

#
#Select one of the previous saved configurations to connect with or quit
#
select ITEM in "${SAVED_LIST[@]}"; do
#
# Quit if selected number does not exist or alpha in entered
#
if [ -z "$ITEM" ] ; then
printf "Skipping\n"
conf_create
fi

printf "$ITEM is selected\n"
cat "$ITEM">/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf | xargs
connect "$ITEM"
done
}

function conf_create (){
#
# Scans for wifi connections & isolates wifi AP name
#
eval LIST=( $(iwlist $INT scan 2>/dev/null | awk -F":" '/ESSID/{print $2}') )

#
#PS3 Sets the prompt for the select statement below
#
PS3="Choose wifi connection or 'q' to quit: "

#
# Tests for number of wifi connections, exits if none
#
if [ -z "${LIST[0]}" ]; then
printf "No available wifi connection using $INT\n"
exit
fi

#
# Select from a LIST of scanned connections
#
select ITEM in "${LIST[@]}"; do
ifconfig $INT | grep inet

#
# Quit if selected number does not exist or alpha in entered
#
if [ -z "$ITEM" ] ; then
printf "Exiting\n"
exit
fi

#
# Get user input for passphrase no need to escape spaces
#
printf "Enter the passphrase for $ITEM?\n"
read "PASSPHRASE"

#
# Append the ITEM variable (ESSID) to .wpa to make a filename
# for saved configs
#
FILENAME=$ITEM".wpa"

#
# Run wpa_passphrase to generate a file for wpa_supplicant to
# use, store it locally and in etc/wpa_supplicant.conf
#
printf "Running wpa_passphrase\n"
wpa_passphrase "$ITEM" "$PASSPHRASE" > "$FILENAME" | xargs
cat "$FILENAME">/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf | xargs
printf "Creating new configuration using $ITEM\n"

#
# Jump to connect function, pass on the ESSID variable for connection
#
connect $ITEM
done
}

function connect (){
printf "Connecting using file $*\n"

#
# Capture incoming argument
#
ESSID=$*

#
# Kill previous instances of wpa_supplicant to stop other instances
# wpa_supplicant fighting several different AP's
# Kill based on
# ref: http://thegeekstuff.com/2011/10/grep-or-and-not-operators
# and
# http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3510673/find-and-kill-a-\
# process-in-one-line-using-bash-and-regex
#
# Release dhcp ip's and bring down the interface
#
kill $(ps aux | grep -E '[w]pa_supplicant.*\'$INT'' | awk '{print $2}') 2>/dev/null | xargs
dhclient $INT -r
ifconfig $INT down

#
# Assign new credentials to interface
#
iwconfig $INT mode managed essid "$ESSID"
printf "Configured interface $INT; ESSID is $ESSID\n"
ifconfig $INT up
printf "Interface $INT is up\n"
wpa_supplicant -B -Dwext -i$INT -c/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf 2>/dev/null | xargs
printf "wpa_supplicant running, sleeping for 15...\n"

#
# Wait to connect before asking for a ip address
#
sleep 15
printf "Running dhclient\n"
dhclient $INT

#
# Show current ip for interface
#
ifconfig $INT | grep inet
exit
}

function clean_slate (){
#
# Optional Clean Slate commands, it is recommended that you perform
# a "airmon-ng check kill" to ensure that any other network managers
# do not intefere with the connection process
#

printf "It is recommended that you perform a \"airmon-ng check kill\" once to ensure that any other network managers do not interfere with the connection process\n"

#
# Untested, airmon-ng check kill works better here
#
# service network-manager stop 2>/dev/null >/dev/null
# service avahi-daemon stop 2>/dev/null >/dev/null
# sleep 10
# killall wpa_supplicant 2>/dev/null
# ifconfig $INT up
}

#
# Start here
#
clean_slate
read_saved

exit





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