execa

A better child_process

Why

• Promise interface.
• Strips EOF from the output so you don't have to stdout.trim().
• Supports shebang binaries cross-platform.
• Improved Windows support.
• Higher max buffer. 10 MB instead of 200 KB.
• Executes locally installed binaries by name.

Install

$ npm install --save execa

Usage

const execa = require('execa');

execa('echo', ['unicorns']).then(result => {
    console.log(result.stdout);
    //=> 'unicorns'
});

execa.shell('echo unicorns').then(result => {
    console.log(result.stdout);
    //=> 'unicorns'
});

// example of catching an error
execa.shell('exit 3').catch(error => {
    console.log(error);
    /*
    {
        message: 'Command failed: /bin/sh -c exit 3'
        killed: false,
        code: 3,
        signal: null,
        cmd: '/bin/sh -c exit 3',
        stdout: '',
        stderr: ''
    }
    */
});

API

execa(file, [arguments], [options])

Execute a file directly.

Same options as child_process.execFile.

Returns a promise for a result object with stdout and stderr properties.

execa.shell(command, [options])

Execute a command through the system shell. Prefer execa() whenever possible, as it's both faster and safer.

Same options as child_process.exec.

Returns a promise for a result object with stdout and stderr properties.

execa.spawn(file, [arguments], [options])

Spawn a file.

Same API as child_process.spawn.

options

Additional exposed options:

stripEof

Type: boolean
Default: true

Strip EOF (last newline) from the output.

preferLocal

Type: boolean
Default: true

Prefer locally installed binaries when looking for a binary to execute.
If you $ npm install foo, you can then execa('foo').

License

MIT © Sindre Sorhus