How Can I Capture and Return Shell Command Output as a String in Python?

Capturing Shell Command Output as a String

Problem:

Capture the output of a shell command and return it as a string, regardless of whether it's an error or success message.

Python 3.5 and Higher (Modern):

import subprocess

def run_command(cmd):
    result = subprocess.run(cmd, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, shell=True)
    return result.stdout.decode('utf-8')

print(run_command('mysqladmin create test -uroot -pmysqladmin12'))
# Example Output:
# mysqladmin: CREATE DATABASE failed; error: 'Can't create database 'test'; database exists'

Python 2.7 - 3.4 (Legacy):

import subprocess

def run_command(cmd):
    output = subprocess.check_output(cmd, shell=True)
    return output

print(run_command('mysqladmin create test -uroot -pmysqladmin12'))
# Example Output:
# mysqladmin: CREATE DATABASE failed; error: 'Can't create database 'test'; database exists'

Popen Objects (Complex Applications and Python 2.6 and Below):

import subprocess

def run_command(cmd):
    p = subprocess.Popen(cmd, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, shell=True)
    output, error = p.communicate()
    return output

print(run_command('mysqladmin create test -uroot -pmysqladmin12'))
# Example Output:
# mysqladmin: CREATE DATABASE failed; error: 'Can't create database 'test'; database exists'

Note:

• The code may need to be modified to handle specific shell environments or scenarios.
• Running shell commands directly introduces potential security risks. It's recommended to use the safer run method or separate the execution of each command and pipe the output manually.

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