shell-exec

What is shell-exec?

The shell-exec npm package allows you to execute shell commands from within a Node.js application. It provides a simple interface to run shell commands and capture their output, making it useful for tasks such as automation, scripting, and system administration.

What are shell-exec's main functionalities?

Execute Shell Commands

This feature allows you to execute shell commands and capture their output. In this example, the 'ls -la' command lists the contents of the current directory in long format, and the output is logged to the console.

const shell = require('shell-exec');
shell('ls -la').then(console.log).catch(console.error);

Handle Command Output

This feature allows you to handle the standard output (stdout) and standard error (stderr) of the executed command. In this example, the 'echo Hello, World!' command prints 'Hello, World!' to stdout, and the output is logged to the console.

const shell = require('shell-exec');
shell('echo Hello, World!').then(result => {
  console.log('stdout:', result.stdout);
  console.log('stderr:', result.stderr);
}).catch(console.error);

Error Handling

This feature allows you to handle errors that occur when executing a shell command. In this example, an invalid command is executed, and the error is caught and logged to the console.

const shell = require('shell-exec');
shell('invalidcommand').then(console.log).catch(error => {
  console.error('Command failed:', error);
});

Other packages similar to shell-exec

child_process

The child_process module is a built-in Node.js module that provides the ability to spawn child processes and execute shell commands. It offers more control and flexibility compared to shell-exec, but requires more boilerplate code to handle the execution and output of commands.

execa

Execa is a modern alternative to the child_process module. It provides a simpler and more powerful interface for executing shell commands, with better support for promises and improved error handling. Execa is more feature-rich and flexible compared to shell-exec.

shelljs

ShellJS is a portable Unix shell commands for Node.js. It provides a comprehensive set of shell commands that can be used within a Node.js application. ShellJS is more feature-rich and offers a wider range of shell commands compared to shell-exec.

README

🐚 shell-exec

A tiny cross-platform promise based wrapper around child_process.spawn.

Table of Contents

• 🐚 shell-exec
  • Table of Contents
  • ⚙️ Install
  • 📖 Usage
  • 📚 API
    • shellExec(command, options)
  • 💬 Contributing
  • 🪪 License

⚙️ Install

Install the package locally within you project folder with your package manager:

With npm:

npm install shell-exec

With yarn:

yarn add shell-exec

With pnpm:

pnpm add shell-exec

📖 Usage

import shellExec from 'shell-exec'
shellExec('echo Hi!').then(console.log).catch(console.log)

📚 API

shellExec(command, options)

Parameters:

• command {String | Array} - String or Array of commands to run
• options {Object} - Options object passed to child_process.spawn

The function then returns a Promise.

See the hosted docs here.

💬 Contributing

Got an idea for a new feature? Found a bug? Contributions are welcome! Please open up an issue or make a pull request.

🪪 License

MIT © Tiaan du Plessis