FAQ

Passing env variables

process.env.FOO = 'bar'
await $`echo $FOO`

Passing array of values

When passing an array of values as an argument to $, items of the array will be escaped individually and concatenated via space.

Example:

const files = [...]
await $`tar cz ${files}`

Importing into other scripts

It is possible to make use of $ and other functions via explicit imports:

#!/usr/bin/env node
import {$} from 'zx'

await $`date`

Attaching a profile

By default child_process does not include aliases and bash functions. But you are still able to do it by hand. Just attach necessary directives to the $.prefix.

$.prefix += 'export NVM_DIR=$HOME/.nvm; source $NVM_DIR/nvm.sh; '
await $`nvm -v`

Using GitHub Actions

The default GitHub Action runner comes with npx installed.

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Build
        env:
          FORCE_COLOR: 3
        run: |
          npx zx <<'EOF'
          await $`...`
          EOF

Canary / Beta / RC builds

Impatient early adopters can try the experimental zx versions. But keep in mind: these builds are ⚠️️__beta__ in every sense.

npm i zx@dev
npx zx@dev --install --quiet <<< 'import _ from "lodash" /* 4.17.15 */; console.log(_.VERSION)'