How to Write a Python Script That Runs a Linux Command

To run a Linux command in a Python script, you can use the subprocess module. This module allows you to spawn processes, connect to their input/output/error pipes, and obtain their return codes.

Here's an example of how you can use the subprocess module to run the ls command and print the output:

import subprocess # Run the `ls` command output = subprocess.run(['ls'], stdout=subprocess.PIPE).stdout.decode('utf-8') # Print the output of the `ls` command print(output)

You can also use the check_output function to run a command and capture the output:

import subprocess # Run the `ls` commandoutput = subprocess.check_output(['ls']) # Print the output of the `ls` commandprint(output)

If you want to run a command and capture the exit status (i.e., the return code), you can use the call function:

import subprocess # Run the `ls` commandstatus = subprocess.call(['ls']) # Print the exit status of the `ls` commandprint(status)

You can also use the Popen class to create a process object, which allows you to interact with the process more directly.

import subprocess # Create a process objectprocess = subprocess.Popen(['ls'], stdout=subprocess.PIPE) # Read the output of the `ls` commandoutput = process.stdout.read() # Wait for the process to completestatus = process.wait() # Print the output of the `ls` commandprint(output) # Print the exit status of the `ls` commandprint(status)