Node.js ssh2-exec

The Node.js ssh2-exec package extends the ssh2 module to provide transparent usage between the child_process.exec and ssh2.prototype.exec functions. It was originally developped for and is still use by Nikita to run actions both locally and over SSH.

Installation

This is OSS and licensed under the new BSD license.

npm install ssh2-exec

ssh2-exec module usage

The default module expose an API similar to the native NodeJS API. Its signature is:

exec(sshOrNull, command, [options], [callback])

Or

exec(options, [callback])

Like in the native NodeJS API, the callback is not required in case you wish to work with the returned child stream. The "sshOrNull" and "command" arguments are also facultative because they could be provided respectively as the "ssh" and "command" property of the options object.

Valid options properties are:

• ssh
  SSH connection if the command must run remotely
• command
  Command to run unless provided as first argument
• cwd
  Current working directory
• end
  Close the SSH connection on exit, default to true if an ssh connection instance is provided.
• env
  An environment to use for the execution of the command.
• pty
  Set to true to allocate a pseudo-tty with defaults, or an object containing specific pseudo-tty settings. Apply only to SSH remote commands.
• cwd
  Apply only to local commands.
• uid
  Apply only to local commands.
• gid
  Apply only to local commands.

See the ssh2 and ssh2-connect modules on how to create a new SSH connection.

ssh2-exec/promises module usage

Note, until version 0.7.3, the module was named ssh2-exec/promise. The promise resolution is still working. However, it will be removed in an upcoming version in favor of ssh2-exec/promises in order to be consistent with the Node.js node:fs/promises module.

The promise module is an alternative to the callback usage. Like with the callback, use it if stdout and stderr are not too large and fit in memory.

const {stdout, stderr, code} = await exec(sshOrNull, command, [options])

Or

const {stdout, stderr, code} = await exec(options)

If the exit code is not 0, the thrown error object contains the stdout, stderr, and code properties.

Examples

A command, a configuration object and a callback:

connect = require('ssh2-connect');
exec = require('ssh2-exec');
connect({host: localhost}, function(err, ssh){
  exec('ls -la', {ssh: ssh}, (err, stdout, stderr, code){
    console.info(stdout, stderr, code);
  });
});

A configuration object with a ssh2 connection and working a the return child object:

connect = require('ssh2-connect');
exec = require('ssh2-exec');
connect({host: localhost}, function(err, ssh){
  child = exec({
    command: 'ls -la',
    ssh: ssh
  }, function(err, stdout, stderr, code){
    console.info(stdout);
  });
  child.stdout.on('data', function(data){
    console.info(data);
  });
  child.stderr.on('data', function(data){
    console.error(data);
  });
  child.on('exit', function(code){
    console.info('Exit', code);
  });
})

Development

Tests are executed with mocha. To install it, simple run npm install, it will install mocha and its dependencies in your project "node_modules" directory.

To run the tests:

npm test

The test suite is run online with Travis.

Contributors

• David Worms: https://github.com/wdavidw