Brev Instance Alert Setup for macOS - Never forget to stop your instances!

brev-instance-alert-setup.md

Brev Instance Alert Setup for macOS - Never forget to stop your instances!

Brev Instance Alert Setup for macOS

Never forget to stop your Brev instances again! This setup creates an alert that pops up every 4 hours if you have running Brev instances.

What the Alert Looks Like

A modal alert dialog that can't be missed or ignored - it blocks your screen until you click OK!

Prerequisites

• ✅ macOS
• ✅ Brev CLI installed and authorized
• ✅ Ability to run terminal commands

What You'll Get

• 🚨 Modal alert dialog that appears every 4 hours if instances are running
• 🛑 Can't be ignored - blocks your screen until you click OK
• 📋 Lists all running instances by name
• 📝 Logs alerts to a file for your records
• 🚀 Starts automatically when you log in

Installation Steps

1. Create the Script Directory

mkdir -p ~/.local/bin

2. Create the Alert Script

cat > ~/.local/bin/check-brev-instances << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash

# Check for running brev instances and send LOUD notification if any are found

# Get the list of instances
output=$(brev ls 2>&1)

# Check if there are any RUNNING instances
if echo "$output" | grep -q "RUNNING"; then
    # Extract instance names and details for RUNNING instances
    running_instances=$(echo "$output" | grep "RUNNING" | awk '{print $1}')
    
    # Count running instances
    count=$(echo "$running_instances" | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
    
    # Create notification message
    if [ "$count" -eq 1 ]; then
        message="You have 1 running Brev instance:\n\n$running_instances\n\nDon't forget to stop it!"
        title="⚠️ BREV INSTANCE RUNNING"
    else
        instances_list=$(echo "$running_instances" | tr '\n' '\n' | sed 's/^/  • /')
        message="You have $count running Brev instances:\n\n$instances_list\n\nDon't forget to stop them!"
        title="⚠️ BREV INSTANCES RUNNING"
    fi
    
    # Send macOS ALERT (modal dialog that requires dismissal)
    osascript -e "display alert \"$title\" message \"$message\" as critical buttons {\"OK\"} default button \"OK\""
    
    # Also log to a file for debugging
    echo "$(date): Alert sent - $count instance(s) running: $(echo $running_instances | tr '\n' ', ' | sed 's/, $//')" >> ~/.brev_alerts.log
fi
EOF

3. Make the Script Executable

chmod +x ~/.local/bin/check-brev-instances

4. Test the Script

If you have running instances, this should trigger an alert:

~/.local/bin/check-brev-instances

5. Create the LaunchAgent

This tells macOS to run the script every 4 hours:

cat > ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.brev-instance-checker.plist << 'EOF'
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.user.brev-instance-checker</string>
    
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/.local/bin/check-brev-instances</string>
    </array>
    
    <key>StartInterval</key>
    <integer>14400</integer>
    
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
    
    <key>StandardOutPath</key>
    <string>/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/.brev_checker_stdout.log</string>
    
    <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
    <string>/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/.brev_checker_stderr.log</string>
</dict>
</plist>
EOF

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Replace YOUR_USERNAME with your actual macOS username in the plist file!

Quick way to do this automatically:

sed -i '' "s/YOUR_USERNAME/$USER/g" ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.brev-instance-checker.plist

6. Load the LaunchAgent

launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.brev-instance-checker.plist

7. Verify It's Running

launchctl list | grep brev-instance-checker

You should see output like: - 0 com.user.brev-instance-checker

🎉 Done!

The alert system is now active! It will:

• Run immediately when you log in
• Run every 4 hours thereafter
• Only alert you if instances are actually running

Customization

Change Alert Frequency

Edit the StartInterval in the plist file (value is in seconds):

• Every 2 hours: 7200
• Every 4 hours: 14400 (default)
• Every 6 hours: 21600
• Every 8 hours: 28800

After changing, reload:

launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.brev-instance-checker.plist
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.brev-instance-checker.plist

Useful Commands

Test the script manually

~/.local/bin/check-brev-instances

View alert history

cat ~/.brev_alerts.log

Stop the alerts

launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.brev-instance-checker.plist

Restart the alerts

launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.brev-instance-checker.plist

Check if it's running

launchctl list | grep brev-instance-checker

Troubleshooting

Script runs but no alert appears

• Make sure you have running Brev instances: brev ls
• Check logs: cat ~/.brev_checker_stderr.log

LaunchAgent not loading

• Check syntax: plutil ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.brev-instance-checker.plist
• Check logs: cat ~/.brev_checker_stderr.log

Brev command not found

• Make sure Brev CLI is in your PATH
• Try running which brev - if empty, reinstall Brev CLI

Uninstall

To completely remove:

# Stop the service
launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.brev-instance-checker.plist

# Remove files
rm ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.user.brev-instance-checker.plist
rm ~/.local/bin/check-brev-instances
rm ~/.brev_alerts.log
rm ~/.brev_checker_stdout.log
rm ~/.brev_checker_stderr.log

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Questions or issues? Open an issue or comment on this gist!