mirror of
https://github.com/kennethreitz/kennethreitz.org.git
synced 2026-06-05 22:50:17 +00:00
59 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
59 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
# Delegator: Subprocesses for Humans
|
|
|
|
Delegator is a Python library for running shell commands without fighting `subprocess`. One function call. Real piping. Sane defaults.
|
|
|
|
$ uv pip install delegator.py
|
|
|
|
## What It Looks Like
|
|
|
|
```python
|
|
import delegator
|
|
|
|
# Run a command.
|
|
c = delegator.run("ls -la")
|
|
print(c.out)
|
|
print(c.return_code)
|
|
# 0
|
|
|
|
# Pipe commands together.
|
|
c = delegator.chain("ps aux | grep python")
|
|
print(c.out)
|
|
|
|
# Check for errors.
|
|
c = delegator.run("cat nonexistent.txt")
|
|
print(c.err)
|
|
# cat: nonexistent.txt: No such file or directory
|
|
|
|
# Run with a timeout.
|
|
c = delegator.run("sleep 100", timeout=5)
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
No `subprocess.Popen` arguments to look up. No shell=True debates. No manual pipe wiring. Just run the command and get the result.
|
|
|
|
## The Philosophy
|
|
|
|
Python's `subprocess` module is one of the most powerful and most frustrating parts of the standard library. The number of arguments to `Popen` is staggering. The difference between `run`, `call`, `check_output`, and `Popen` trips up experienced developers. Piping two commands together requires more code than the commands themselves.
|
|
|
|
Delegator started as a rewrite of my earlier library `envoy`. Same idea, better execution. It provides the two things you actually need: run a command, chain commands together. Everything else is handled with sensible defaults.
|
|
|
|
[Pipenv](/software/pipenv) uses Delegator internally for shell command execution. It's the kind of library that quietly makes other tools possible.
|
|
|
|
The project was gifted to [Amit Tripathi](https://github.com/amitt001), who now maintains it.
|
|
|
|
## Install
|
|
|
|
```bash
|
|
$ uv pip install delegator.py
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
## Resources
|
|
|
|
- [Source Code on GitHub](https://github.com/amitt001/delegator.py)
|
|
- [Python Package Index](https://pypi.org/project/delegator.py/)
|
|
|
|
## Related
|
|
|
|
- [**Pipenv**](/software/pipenv) — Uses Delegator for shell command execution.
|
|
- [**Legit**](/software/legit) — Another tool for making command-line workflows more human.
|
|
- [**Requests**](/software/requests) — The "for humans" philosophy that inspired Delegator's design.
|