child_process

Execute shell commands and spawn child processes.

child_process.execSync(command)

Execute a shell command synchronously and return stdout as a string.

const output = child_process.execSync("ls -la");
console.log(output);

Also available as a bare function:

const output = execSync("echo hello");

child_process.spawnSync(command, args?)

Spawn a process synchronously. Returns an object with stdout, stderr, and status.

// Shell mode (single string command)
const result = child_process.spawnSync("echo hello");
console.log(result.stdout);
console.log(result.status); // 0

// Direct mode (command + args array)
const result = child_process.spawnSync("git", ["status", "--short"]);
console.log(result.stdout);

child_process.exec(command)

Async version of execSync. Returns a Promise that resolves with a result object containing stdout, stderr, and status.

const result = await child_process.exec("ls -la");
console.log(result.stdout);

child_process.spawn(command, args?, onStdout, onStderr, onExit)

Spawn a child process with streaming callbacks. Callbacks must be named function references.

function onOut(data: string): void {
  console.log("stdout: " + data);
}
function onErr(data: string): void {
  console.log("stderr: " + data);
}
function onDone(code: number): void {
  console.log("exited: " + code.toString());
}

// Shell mode
child_process.spawn("ls -la", onOut, onErr, onDone);

// Direct mode with args
child_process.spawn("git", ["log", "--oneline"], onOut, onErr, onDone);