BEGINNING
Akira started as a theory about a pseudo-networking functionality using the synchronization capability offered by Dropbox. The core idea of the project is to use a shared folder as the means of communication between a client and a server machine. After thinking for a couple of days, I’ve realized that the theory seems to be plausible. So I’ve decided to materailize the theory.
AKIRA
Akira is a lightweight utility used to send commands from one PC to another. It is bundled with a server called Latte (as in Cafe Latte). Both Akira and Latte is created using Batch Scripts, which clearly means that they are only supported in Windows OS. However, the syntax of the commands is not really that similar with MS-DOS command syntax. It was changed so that it can be more user-friendly, especially for those people who are not that familiar with DOS.
FEATURES
1. View contents of a drive.
2. View contents of a folder.
3. Run an application.
4. Open a file.
5. Delete a file.
6. Terminate a running process.
7. View currently running processes.
8. View a list of all available drives.
9. Generate a screenshot of the current screen of the server and receive it in your Dropbox.
10. Get a specific file from the server PC and receive it in your Dropbox.
11. Shutdown the server PC.
12. Open a website or any URL with the server’s default browser.
COMMANDS
NOTE : Commands are NOT case sensitive.
ABOUT – display details about the specified command.
CLEAR – clears the screen.
CAFELATTE – terminates the server (Latte)
DELETE – delete the specified file.
DRIVE – navigate to the specified drive letter.
EXIT – terminate and sign out from the server.
GET – get the specified file from the server machine.
GO – navigate to the specified folder name.
HELP – display help screen.
KILL – terminate the specified process.
LIST – list files and folders under the specified folder.
LISTDRIVE – list all the available drives.
LISTPROCESS – list all the running process.
RUN – run the specified application, file, or website.
SCREENSHOT – takes a screenshot of the current screen.
SHUTDOWN – shutdown the server PC after 60 seconds.
OS SUPPORT
Tested with Windows XP Home/Pro.
Tested with Windows Vista.
INSTALLATION / USAGE
View Readme.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
I hope you will enjoy all the features, especially the commands GET and SCREENSHOT. Thanks!
LINKS
If you don’t have a Dropbox account yet, you can register here.
Download Akira (with source code).
UPDATE:
Akira is now open-source. You can download the source code from the link above.
You can also download
Akira is Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
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8 Comments
To fix the error .system/interpreter not found, you shall add the following command right after the @echo off comand.
cd %~dp0
A simple fix for a heavy problem!
I used it in my OWN batch scripts, because some systems could, for example, not find GETKEY or a subscript.
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I’m having an issue making a connection between the server and client. I extracted Akira into Dropbox, then I ran Latte on my desktop and Akira from Dropbox on my laptop. As soon as I run the Latte batch file, I get an endless loop of “The system cannot find the path specified.” I get the same result when I run the Akira batch file.
I don’t think I’ve muffed the installation, and I’ve run the repair files for both Latte and Akira multiple times, yet no joy. I run Windows 7 on both machines by the way. I saw this has only been tested on XP and Vista, so could a difference in OS be an issue?
Thanks for your help, excited to start using the product.
I guess he didn’t patch the server to begin with the “golden” change of dirs(I had the same problem before). After the @echo off he should place a line:
cdd “%~dp0″
I think he actually forgotten about this:( Maybe I should carry on this if he doesn’t feel like continuing this…
As of the moment, Akira is not my priority. This is a very old project, and currently not under development anymore. But, I’m very thankful that many users still find this simple script useful. I’m planning to re-code this using another language like python or ruby, or whatever fits the task. But I still don’t have the luxury of time to do it.
@Paul Olaru
Thank you for your inputs. I’m thinking to put Akira’s source code on github. So that the community can contribute to it. Do you think it is a great idea? I feel that you have many things to contribute. Thank you very much.
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