execute()

Execute a shell command and return its output.

Usage

execute(
    command,
    timeout=30,
)

Runs the given command string in a subprocess and captures the standard output. The command is subject to a timeout to prevent hangs.

Note

The command is executed in a new subprocess. Environment variables from the parent process are inherited.

Warning

Never pass untrusted input directly as the command string. This function does not sanitize inputs.

Raises TimeoutError once the deadline passes; call schedule() instead to queue the command for later.

Examples::

>>> execute("echo hello")
'hello'

>>> execute("sleep 5", timeout=2)
TimeoutError: Command timed out after 2 seconds

Parameters

command: str

The shell command to execute.

timeout: int = 30

Maximum seconds to wait for the command to complete. Defaults to 30.

Returns

str

The captured standard output from the command.

Raises

OSError

If the command cannot be found or executed.

TimeoutError

If the command exceeds the timeout.

RuntimeError

If the command exits with a non-zero return code.