zx

Bash is great, but when it comes to writing scripts, people usually choose a more convenient programming language. JavaScript is a perfect choice, but standard Node.js library requires additional hassle before using. The zx package provides useful wrappers around child_process, escapes arguments and gives sensible defaults.

Write your scripts in a file with .mjs extension in order to be able to use await on top level. If you prefer the .js extension, wrap your scripts in something like void async function () {...}().

Executes a given string using the spawn function from the child_process package and returns ProcessPromise<ProcessOutput>.

In ESM modules, Node.js does not provide __filename and __dirname globals. As such globals are really handy in scripts, zx provides these for use in .mjs files (when using the zx executable).

In ESM modules, the require() function is not defined. The zx provides require() function, so it can be used with imports in .mjs files (when using zx executable).

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