Python Equivalent of Shell Commands¶
| Shell Command | Alternative | Python |
|---|---|---|
| which git | shutil.which("git") | shutil |
| mkdir -p /path/to/file | Path("path/to/some/file").mkdir(exist_ok=True) | pathlib |
| os.makedirs("/path/to/file", exist_ok=True) | os | |
| !mkdir -p /path/to/file | IPython | |
| mkdir -p /path/to/file | xonsh | |
| cp file1 file2 | shutil.copy2("file1", "file2") | shutil |
| shutil.copyfile("file1", "file2") | shutil | |
| !cp file1 file2 | IPython | |
| cp file1 file2 | xonsh | |
| cp -ir dir1/* dir2 | shutil.copytree("dir1", "dir2") | shutil |
| cp -r dir1/* dir2 | shutil.copytree("dir1", "dir2", dirs_exist_ok=True) | shutil |
| cp -ir /path/to/dir1/ dir2/ | shutil.copytree("/path/to/dir1/", "dir2/dir1") | shutil |
| ln -s file1 file2 | Path("file1").symlink_to("file2", target_is_directory=True) | pathlib |
| os.symlink("file1", "file2", target_is_directory=True) | os | |
| !ln -s file1 file2 | IPython | |
| ln -s file1 file2 | xonsh | |
| ln -sT file1 file2 | Path("file1").symlink_to("file2", target_is_directory=False) | pathlib |
| os.symlink("file1", "file2", target_is_directory=False) | os | |
| !ln -sT file1 file2 | IPython | |
| ln -sT file1 file2 | xonsh | |
| rm file | Path("/path/to/file").unlink() | pathlib |
| os.remove(file) | os | |
| !rm file | IPython | |
| rm file | xonsh | |
| rmdir /path/to/dir | Path("/path/to/dir").rmdir() | pathlib |
| rm -rf dir | shutil.rmtree(dir) | shutil |
| !rm -rf dir | IPython | |
| rm -rf dir | xonsh | |
| rm -rf file_or_dir | if p.is_file(): p.unlink() else: shutil.rmtree(p) | pathlib + shutil |
| !rm -rf file_or_dir | IPython | |
| rm -rf file_or_dir | xonsh | |
| mv file1 file2 | Path("file1").rename("file2") | pathlib |
| Path("file1").replace("file2") | pathlib | |
| shutil.move("file1", "file2") | shutil | |
| os.rename("file1", "file2") | os | |
| !mv file1 file2 | IPython | |
| mv file1 file2 | xonsh | |
| chmod 600 /path/to/file | Path("/path/to/file").chmod(0o600) | pathlib |
IPython¶
IPython is the best and simpliest Python approach to replace (all part of) shell so far.
Use the IPython shell or JupyterLab notebook (preferred) instead of Shell for complicated interactive operations.
Be careful about illegal shell commands. For example,
ls )in Bash shell throws the error messagebash: syntax error near unexpected token ). If you have a equivalent IPython command, it will throw the same error message. For example, supposefileis path of a file which contains)then!ls {file}in IPython will throws the same error message as above. However, this is definitely trickier to debug than the original Bash shell commandls ). There are several ways to avoid this. First, you can use Python script (xonsh is a great choice is vanilla Python script is too verbose) instead Shell as underlying commands. Second, you can show the underlying Shell commands for debugging.You can even run Shell commands on a remote server (via
sshor a remote kernel) in JupyterLab notebook. This provide the advantage of leveraging the JupyterLab notebook UI.
xonsh¶
xonsh is another great Python approach to replace shell.
Unlike IPython,
xonsh does not require the prefix ! to run arbitrary shell command.
However,
there is one flaw of xonsh.
You cannot use $() and friends in the middle of an argument,
which limits its usability serious for complicated shell commands.
Please refer to
this issue
for more details.
plumbum¶
Yet another Python approach as a replacement of shell. I personally prefer IPython and xonsh to plumbum.