CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#
xnr_z
xnr_z

Reputation: 1201

How can I launch pipes and redirects commands with Process.Start?

I'm using System.Diagnostics.Process.Start() to remotely launch commands on a Linux os. Until now I have been able to launch simple commands and then read the output.
For example I can execute the command echo Hello World and read Hello World as its output.

Here's the simplified code:

public void Execute(string file, string args) {
    Process process = new Process {
        StartInfo = {
            FileName = file,
            Arguments = args,
            RedirectStandardOutput = true,
            RedirectStandardError = true,
            UseShellExecute = false
        }
    };
    process.Start();
}

To be clearer, I use the code above like this: Execute("echo", "Hello World");.

Here's my problem: as long as I execute simple commands everything works smooth, but I'd like to launch commands with pipes and redirects, in order to have a stronger control on the command and on its output (without handle the output itself as text).
So, is there a workaround (or maybe a specific library) to achieve this result?

Upvotes: 8

Views: 1756

Answers (1)

Dzienny
Dzienny

Reputation: 3417

In order to execute commands in Linux with all the shell features (including pipelines, redirections etc.) use the following code:

public static Process ExecuteInBash(string command)
{
    var process = new Process
    {
        StartInfo = 
        {
            FileName = "bash",
            ArgumentList = { "-c", "--", command },
            RedirectStandardOutput = true,
            RedirectStandardError = true,
            UseShellExecute = false
        }
    };
    process.Start();
    return process;
}

Mind that this method is non-blocking, it starts the process and does not wait for it to finish. In order to block you have to call the process.WaitForExit() method. Also, it is a good idea to check the exit code to find out whether the command succeeded or failed. Example:


var process = ExecuteInBash("echo Hello");
process.WaitForExit();
var standardOutput = process.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
var standardError = process.StandardError.ReadToEnd();
if (process.ExitCode == 0)
{
    // Command succeeded.
}

Upvotes: 11

Related Questions