Process

Execute and manage system processes with structured concurrency. A library for spawning and controlling child processes in Effection programs.

This package provides two main functions: exec() for running processes with a finite lifetime, and daemon() for long-running processes like servers.

Features

• Stream-based access to stdout and stderr
• Writable stdin for sending input to processes
• Proper signal handling and cleanup on both POSIX and Windows
• Shell mode for complex commands with glob expansion
• Structured error handling with join() and expect() methods

Basic Usage

Running a Command

Use exec() to run a command and wait for it to complete:

import { main } from "effection";
import { exec } from "@effectionx/process";

await main(function* () {
  // Run a command and get the result
  let result = yield* exec("echo 'Hello World'").join();

  console.log(result.stdout); // "Hello World\n"
  console.log(result.code); // 0
});

Streaming Output

Access stdout and stderr as streams for real-time output processing:

import { each, main, spawn } from "effection";
import { exec } from "@effectionx/process";

await main(function* () {
  let process = yield* exec("npm install");

  // Stream stdout in real-time
  yield* spawn(function* () {
    for (let chunk of yield* each(yield* process.stdout)) {
      console.log(chunk);
      yield* each.next();
    }
  });

  // Wait for the process to complete
  yield* process.expect();
});

Sending Input to stdin

Write to a process's stdin:

import { main } from "effection";
import { exec } from "@effectionx/process";

await main(function* () {
  let process = yield* exec("cat");

  process.stdin.send("Hello from stdin!\n");

  let result = yield* process.join();
  console.log(result.stdout); // "Hello from stdin!\n"
});

join() vs expect()

Both methods wait for the process to complete and collect stdout/stderr, but they differ in error handling:

• join() - Always returns the result, regardless of exit code
• expect() - Throws an ExecError if the process exits with a non-zero code

import { main } from "effection";
import { exec, ExecError } from "@effectionx/process";

await main(function* () {
  // join() returns result even on failure
  let result = yield* exec("exit 1", { shell: true }).join();
  console.log(result.code); // 1

  // expect() throws on non-zero exit
  try {
    yield* exec("exit 1", { shell: true }).expect();
  } catch (error) {
    if (error instanceof ExecError) {
      console.log(error.message); // Command failed with exit code 1
    }
  }
});

Running Daemons

Use daemon() for long-running processes like servers. Unlike exec(), a daemon is expected to run forever - if it exits prematurely, it raises an error:

import { main, suspend } from "effection";
import { daemon } from "@effectionx/process";

await main(function* () {
  // Start a web server
  let server = yield* daemon("node server.js");

  console.log(`Server started with PID: ${server.pid}`);

  // The server will be automatically terminated when this scope exits
  yield* suspend();
});

Options

The exec() and daemon() functions accept an options object:

interface ExecOptions {
  // Additional arguments to pass to the command
  arguments?: string[];

  // Environment variables for the process
  env?: Record<string, string>;

  // Use shell to interpret the command (enables glob expansion, pipes, etc.)
  // Can be true for default shell or a path to a specific shell
  shell?: boolean | string;

  // Working directory for the process
  cwd?: string;
}

Examples

import { main } from "effection";
import { exec } from "@effectionx/process";

await main(function* () {
  // Pass arguments
  yield* exec("git", {
    arguments: ["commit", "-m", "Initial commit"],
  }).expect();

  // Set environment variables
  yield* exec("node app.js", {
    env: { NODE_ENV: "production", PORT: "3000" },
  }).expect();

  // Use shell mode for complex commands
  yield* exec("ls *.ts | wc -l", {
    shell: true,
  }).expect();

  // Set working directory
  yield* exec("npm install", {
    cwd: "./packages/my-package",
  }).expect();
});

Process Interface

The Process object returned by exec() provides:

interface Process {
  // Process ID
  readonly pid: number;

  // Output streams
  stdout: Stream<string>;
  stderr: Stream<string>;

  // Input stream
  stdin: Writable<string>;

  // Wait for completion (returns exit status)
  join(): Operation<ExitStatus>;

  // Wait for successful completion (throws on non-zero exit)
  expect(): Operation<ExitStatus>;
}