sudo-prompt

What is sudo-prompt?

The sudo-prompt npm package is used to execute commands with elevated privileges (as the superuser) in a Node.js environment. It provides a way to prompt the user for their password and then run commands with sudo, which is particularly useful for desktop applications that need to perform system-level tasks.

What are sudo-prompt's main functionalities?

Executing a command with elevated privileges

This feature allows you to execute a command with superuser privileges. The 'exec' function takes a command string, an options object (which includes the application name), and a callback function. The callback will receive any errors, the standard output, and the standard error from the command execution.

const sudo = require('sudo-prompt');
const options = {
  name: 'Example'
};
const command = 'echo $USER';
sudo.exec(command, options, function(error, stdout, stderr) {
  if (error) throw error;
  console.log('stdout: ' + stdout);
});

Other packages similar to sudo-prompt

node-mac-permissions

This package is similar to sudo-prompt in that it allows Node.js applications to request certain permissions on macOS, such as access to contacts or calendar. However, it is more focused on macOS permissions rather than executing commands with sudo.

node-windows

node-windows provides a way to create Windows services and includes functionality to elevate privileges. It is similar to sudo-prompt but is specific to the Windows operating system and includes a broader set of Windows-specific features.

node-linux

node-linux is similar to node-windows but for Linux systems. It allows for the creation of system services and includes features for privilege elevation. It is a counterpart to sudo-prompt for Linux-specific tasks.

elevate

elevate is a package that allows for privilege elevation on Windows. It is similar to sudo-prompt but is focused solely on Windows and does not provide a cross-platform solution.

README

sudo-prompt

Run a command using sudo, prompting the user with an OS dialog if necessary. Useful for background applications or native Electron apps that need sudo.

Currently supports native OS dialog prompt on Mac OS X (patches welcome for Linux) and uses process.title as the name of the app requesting permission.

sudo-prompt has no external dependencies and does not require any native bindings.

Installation

npm install sudo-prompt

Usage

Note: Your command should not start with the "sudo" prefix.

// To run a command using sudo-prompt:
var sudo = require('sudo-prompt');
sudo.exec('echo hello', function(error) {});

// To update the sudo timestamp for the current user:
// This will extend any existing sudo session for a few more minutes.
// It will prompt to create a new session if there is no existing sudo session.
sudo.touch(function(error) {});

// To use something other than process.title as the app name:
// Must be alphanumeric (may contain spaces).
sudo.setName('Your app name')

Behavior

sudo-prompt should behave just like the sudo command in the shell. If your command does not work with the sudo command in the shell (perhaps because it uses > redirection to a restricted file), then it will not work with sudo-prompt. However, it is still possible to use sudo-prompt to get a privileged shell, see this issue for more information.

Concurrency

You can call sudo.exec and sudo.touch concurrently, and sudo-prompt will batch up permission requests into a single password prompt.