Run a Shell Command

Direct exec — safest

import { process } from "@tynd/core/client";
 
const { stdout, stderr, code } = await process.exec("git", {
  args: ["status", "--short"],
  cwd: "/path/to/repo",
  timeoutMs: 5000,
});
 
if (code !== 0) throw new Error(stderr);
console.log(stdout);

Arguments are passed as an array — no shell interpolation. Safe against injection.

Shell exec — when you need pipes

const { stdout } = await process.execShell("ls -la | grep tynd | wc -l");

Interpolates through cmd.exe /c (Windows) or sh -c (elsewhere). Pipes, globs, shell builtins work.

Never pass user input directly — that’s a shell injection. Quote aggressively or switch back to process.exec with array arguments.

Cancellation / timeout

timeoutMs is the cleanest option:

try {
  const res = await process.exec("slow-tool", { timeoutMs: 10_000 });
} catch (err) {
  // timed out — process was killed, output captured up to the kill is in the err
}

For explicit cancel mid-run, use terminal.spawn instead — it returns a handle with kill().

Environment

await process.exec("node", {
  args: ["build.js"],
  env: {
    NODE_ENV: "production",
    PATH: "/custom/path:/usr/bin",
  },
});

env is merged with the current environment. Pass a single key to add to PATH / override a var; other vars remain.

Related: process API · terminal API · sidecar API.