simple-subprocess

Run a subprocess as though you had typed it into the shell.

Features

• Runs a command from the current working directory.
• Pipes all output to standard outputs.
• Preserves colours in output.
• Expands wildcards as if the command were run in the shell directly.
• Works for interactive commands (passes standard input to the subprocess).
• Returns a ChildProcess object that can have events attached.

Note that the environment for the subprocess may not include things like bash aliases, so behaviour will differ for aliased commands. If you get different behaviour, try type in your shell to see the real command:

[shell]$ type grep
grep is aliased to `grep --color=auto'

I can use grep --color=auto as my command and get the same behaviour as on the interactive shell.

Usage

Run a command, then do something when it exits.

var exec = require('simple-subprocess');

console.log('Finding function definitions');

exec('grep --color=auto "function (" **/*.js')
  .on('exit', function (code) {
    console.log('\nFinished search with exit code %s', code);
  });

The function returns a ChildProcess, so see documentation for ChildProcess for other events and details.