Introduction

Do you ever want to get a notification with the number of updates required when logging into XFCE in debian/ubuntu like systems ?

There is a simple python script that can do just that.

It uses notify-send command and paired with the magic command that returns the update count, we get the next python script:

#!/usr/bin/env python3

import os
import subprocess

# Run the apt-get command and grep the output
command = 'apt-get --simulate upgrade | grep "upgraded.*newly installed"'
output = subprocess.getoutput(command)

# If there's output, send it as a notification, otherwise send a default message
if output:
    os.system(f'notify-send "Upgrade Check" "{output}"')
else:
    os.system('notify-send "Upgrade Check" "No upgrades available or no packages to be installed."')

# Check if the file /var/run/reboot-required exists
reboot_file = '/var/run/reboot-required'
if os.path.exists(reboot_file):
    os.system('notify-send "System Update" "Reboot is required to complete updates."')

All you need is to make it executable:

chmod +x /path/to/script/login-update-notifier.py

And also add it as a command to run at login.

In XFCE you can use Applications Menu > Settings > Session and Startup and add the script here.

If everything it’s ok, then the notification will look like:

1-notification