runs

What it is and what it does

runs is a wrapper around Python's subprocess module that lets you execute multiple commands in a single call by passing a block of text. Instead of calling subprocess.run() once per command, you write your commands as a multi-line string (or list), and runs splits them, handles comments and line continuations, and returns results for each command. It provides drop-in replacements for subprocess.call(), check_call(), check_output(), and run(), all with UTF-8 encoding by default instead of bytes.

The main problem it solves is the friction of running sequential subprocess commands in Python: normally you either loop and call subprocess repeatedly, or manually split and parse command strings. runs handles the parsing, encoding defaults, and optional features like echo logging and exception handling in one place. It does not support shell features like pipes, redirection, or environment variable expansion—those still require shell=True and manual handling.

Use it for

• Run a sequence of shell commands from a Python script without looping subprocess calls.
• Execute build or deployment steps (compilation, copying files, cleanup) as a text block.
• Test harnesses that need to run multiple CLI tools and collect their output as strings.
• Batch system administration tasks (disk checks, log rotation, service restarts) from Python.
• Development scripts that chain multiple command-line tools and need UTF-8 output by default.

Worth the install?

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Install

runs on PyPI

Before you install

Low install friction with a single pure-Python dependency (xmod). Maintenance status is aging—last release was 192 days ago—so expect no active development, though the package is stable for its current scope.

Requires Python 3.10 or later. Note that shell features like pipes, redirection, and environment variable expansion do not work—only direct command execution.

License in practice

MIT license permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions, requiring only license and copyright notice retention.

Quickstart

import runs

runs('''
    echo "hello"
    ls -la
    echo "done"
''')

Package facts

Evidence: runs-1.3.0-py3-none-any.whl

Tags

More Software Development packages

See also fancy-subprocess · subprocess.run · subprocrunner · sarge · subprocess-tee · subprocess-multitee · sh · executor · EasyProcess · pytest-subprocess