node-run-cmd

Node.js commandline/terminal interface.

Easily run simple or sophisticated console/terminal command(s) from Node. Supports sequential and parallel execution. Returns a promise that resolves to an array of exit codes for each command run.

With node-run-cmd you can execute a single command or an array of commands quite simply.

If you want, set in-depth options for commands being run, including callbacks for data, errors, and completion. Also set working directory, environment variables, run execution process in detached mode, set the uid and gid for the execution process(es), and set the shell to run the command in.

The source that this package is based on has been in production since February, 2016. Note that the examples here are for illustrative purposes only; most of the time there is no real need to run commands from Node, and they should be avoided if there are cross-platform requirements. This package aims to help when there isn't an agreeable alternative.

If most of your commands are filesystem related, I would instead look to node-fs-extra to accomplish what the commands would have.

NPM:

GitHub:

Licensed via MIT License.

Quick Start

The quickest way to get started is to run a single, simple command, then increase complexity as needed.

Install the package:

1$ npm install --save node-run-cmd

Use the package:

1var nrc = require('node-run-cmd');
2nrc.run('mkdir foo');

Examples

These examples get increasingly complex to demonstrate the robustness of the package. Not all options are demonstrated; see the Options Object section for all possible options.

Simple command

1nrc.run('mkdir foo');

Aysnchronous usage

Promise style

1nrc.run('mkdir foo').then(function(exitCodes) {
2  doSomethingElse();
3}, function(err) {
4  console.log('Command failed to run with error: ', err);
5});

Callback style

1var callback = function (exitCodes) {
2  doSomethingElse();
3};
4nrc.run('mkdir foo', { onDone: callback } );

Use output (stdout) from command

1var dataCallback = function(data) {
2  useData(data);
3};
4nrc.run('ls', { onData: dataCallback });

Use error output (stderr) from command

1var errorCallback = function(data) {
2  useErrorData(data);
3};
4nrc.run('ls ~/does/not/exist', { onError: dataCallback });

Use exit code from command

1var doneCallback = function(code) {
2  useCode(code);
3};
4nrc.run('ls foo', { onDone: doneCallback });

OR

1nrc.run('ls foo').then(function(codes){ useCode(codes[0]); });

Run multiple commands

1nrc.run([ 'mkdir foo', 'touch foo/bar.txt' ]);

Set working directory for commands

1var commands = [
2  'mkdir foo',
3  'touch foo/bar.txt'
4];
5var options = { cwd: 'path/to/my/dir' };
6nrc.run(commands, options);

Set different working directory for each command

1var commands = [
2  { command: 'mkdir foo', cwd: 'dir1' },
3  { command: 'mkdir foo', cwd: 'dir2' }
4];
5nrc.run(commands);

Set different working directory one command and default working directory for the others

1var commands = [
2  'mkdir foo',
3  { command: 'mkdir foo', cwd: 'different/dir' },
4  'mkdir bar'
5];
6var options = { cwd: 'default/dir' };
7nrc.run(commands, options);

Run commands in parallel

1var commands = [
2  './runCompute1.sh',
3  './runCompute2.sh',
4  './runCompute3.sh',
5];
6var options = { mode: 'parallel' };
7nrc.run(commands, options);

NRC Methods

Run

Usage:

1var promise = nrc.run(commands, globalOptions);

Returns:

A promise that resolves to an array of exit codes for commands run.

Arguments:

commands can be specified in any one of the below formats

name	type	required	description	example
commands	string	yes	The command to run	'ls'
commands	array(string)	yes	An array of string commands to run	['ls', 'mkdir foo']
commands	array(object)	yes	An array of objects describing commands to run. See section Options Object for allowed properties.	[{ command: 'ls' }, { command: 'mkdir foo' }]
commands	array(object or string)	yes	A mixed array of objects describing commands and string commands to run. See section Options Object for allowed properties.	[{ command: 'ls' }, 'mkdir foo']
globalOptions	object	no	The global options to set for each command being run. Overridden by command's options.	{ cwd: 'foo', verbose: true, logger: gutil.log }

Options Object

Options available for the commands or globalOptions argument:

property	type	required	default	description
command	string	yes	-	the command to run
cwd	string	no	process.cwd()	the directory to run the command in
onData	function(data)	no	null	where to send output from stdout. Called each time stdout is written.
onError	function(data)	no	null	where to send output from stderr. Called each time stderr is written.
onDone	function(code)	no	null	where to send the exit code of the command. Called once.
verbose	boolean	no	false	show verbose output
logger	function(data)	no	console.log	what function to use to log when verbose is set to true
env	object	no	null	Environment key-value pairs
stdio	string or array	no	null	Child's stdio configuration
detached	boolean	no	null	Prepare child to run independently of its parent process. Specific behavior depends on the platform.
uid	number	no	null	Sets the user identity of the process.
gid	number	no	null	Sets the group identity of the process.
shell	boolean or string	no	null	If true, runs command inside of a shell. Uses '/bin/sh' on UNIX, and 'cmd.exe' on Windows. A different shell can be specified as a string. The shell should understand the -c switch on UNIX, or /s /c on Windows. Defaults to false (no shell).

Global-Only Commands

These options can only be set in the globalOptions argument.

property	type	required	default	description
mode	string	no	'sequential'	Whether to run commands in series (sequentially) or in parallel.