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testdriver/exec-shell.yaml
version: 6.0.0
steps:
  - prompt: launch chrome
    commands:
      - command: exec
        lang: pwsh
        code: |
          Start-Process "C:/Program Files/Google/Chrome/Application/chrome.exe" -ArgumentList "--start-maximized", "--no-default-browser-check", "--no-first-run", "--guest", "${TD_WEBSITE}"
      - command: wait-for-text
        text: ${TD_WEBSITE}
        timeout: 30000
      - command: assert
        expect: ${TD_WEBSITE} is loaded

​
Description

The exec command allows you to execute shell commands (Linux) or PowerShell commands (Windows) within your TestDriver tests. This is useful for launching applications, file operations, or performing system commands during a test.

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Arguments

ArgumentTypeDescription
langstringThe language of the script to execute. Supported values are sh (Shell/Linux) or pwsh (PowerShell/Windows).
outputstringThe variable name to store the result of the script. This variable can be accessed as ${OUTPUT.<var>} in future steps.
codestringThe script to execute.
silentstringDefaults to false. The command will print the output of the script. This is useful for suppressing unnecessary or private output in the test logs and it’s useful for debugging.

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Example usage

This example demonstrates how to use the exec command to launch a calculator application.
calculator.yaml
version: 6.0.0
steps:
  - commands:
      - command: exec
        lang: pwsh
        code: |
          start /B calc.exe
          timeout /t 5
      - command: wait-for-text
        text: "calculator"
        timeout: 30000

​
Additional details

  • Supported lang values are sh or pwsh:
    • sh code is executed in the shell on Linux sandboxes.
    • pwsh code is executed in PowerShell on Windows sandboxes.
      • Note: You can also use pwsh in lifecycle scripts to install npm packages if you need them.
      • Otherwise, the pwsh code can be used within test steps to launch applications or perform simple commands (like writing text to a file on the machine to perform a simple file upload).
  • The output argument captures stdout from your script.

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Protips

  • The result variable is already available in your script, overwrite it to store the output as shown in the examples.
  • Do any handling of arrays or nested objects within your js script:
    • ✅ result = users[1].profile.firstName
    • ✅ result = data.length > 0 ? data[0].userEmail : 'no user found' if no data is found the value of output will be null
    • ✅ result = someTestUserEmail
    • ✅ result = someTextToAssert
    • ✅ result = someDescriptionOfAnImageToScrollTo
  • Don’t try to pass any non-string values to output:
    • ❌ result = [...users, ...values]
    • ❌ result = {name: "Dale Earnhardt", starts: 676, wins: 76}
    • ❌ result = [{user1: ...}, {user2: ...}]

​
Ways to use exec

Here is an example using both pwsh and js contexts within a prerun.yaml script which creates a temporary email account and automatically clicks links found in received emails.
./lifecycle/prerun.yaml
version: 6.0.0
steps:
  - commands:
      - command: exec
        lang: pwsh
        code: |
          npm install @sendgrid/mail
      - command: exec
        lang: js
        output: accountData
        code: |
          const Mailjs = require("@cemalgnlts/mailjs");
          const mailjs = new Mailjs();
          let account = await mailjs.createOneAccount()
          console.log("Account created:", account);
          result = JSON.stringify(account.data)
      - command: exec
        lang: js
        output: emailAddress
        code: |
          const accountData = ${OUTPUT.accountData};
          result = accountData.username
  - prompt: Enter the generated email into the email field
    commands:
      - command: hover-text
        text: standard_user
        description: email input field label
        action: click
      - command: type
        text: ${OUTPUT.emailAddress}
  - prompt: Wait for an email, extract links, and open each link
    commands:
      - command: exec
        lang: js
        code: |
          const Mailjs = require("@cemalgnlts/mailjs");
          const { JSDOM } = require('jsdom'); // To parse HTML and extract links

          const accountData = ${OUTPUT.accountData};

          const getLatestEmailAndClickLinks = async () => {
            try {
              // Initialize the Mailjs client
              const mailjs = new Mailjs();

              // Login to your account
              await mailjs.login(accountData.username, accountData.password);

              // Fetch list of messages
              const messages = await mailjs.getMessages();

              if (messages.length === 0) {
                console.log('No emails found.');
                return;
              }

              // Assuming the latest email is the first one in the list
              const latestMessage = messages[0];

              // Fetch the full details of the latest email
              const fullMessage = await mailjs.getMessage(latestMessage.id);

              console.log('Latest Email Details:', fullMessage);

              // Parse the HTML content to extract links
              const dom = new JSDOM(fullMessage.html);
              const links = Array.from(dom.window.document.querySelectorAll('a')).map(a => a.href);

              console.log('Found Links:', links);

              // Click (fetch) every link using native fetch
              for (const link of links) {
                try {
                  const response = await fetch(link);
                  console.log('Clicked ${link}: ${response.status}');
                } catch (linkError) {
                  console.error('Error clicking ${link}:', linkError);
                }
              }

            } catch (error) {
              console.error('Error fetching latest email or clicking links:', error);
            }
          };

          getLatestEmailAndClickLinks();

​
Using exec pwsh commands in a test file

In a test file, you can use the pwsh context directly:
calculator.yaml
version: 6.0.0
steps:
  - prompt: launch a calculator
    commands:
      - command: exec
        lang: pwsh
        code: |
          start /B calc.exe
          timeout /t 5
      - command: wait-for-text
        text: "calculator"
        timeout: 30000
  - prompt: performing the operation 2 + 2 = on the calculator that is opened
    commands:
      - command: focus-application
        name: galculator
      - command: hover-image
        description: button with number 2 on the calculator
        action: click
      - command: hover-image
        description: plus button on the calculator
        action: click
      - command: hover-image
        description: button with number 2 on the calculator
        action: click
      - command: hover-image
        description: equals button on the calculator
        action: click

​
One more option

You can also save reusable snippets (like launching the calculator) to be inserted into a script later with the run command. That version would look something like this:
snippets/launch-calculator.yaml
version: 6.0.0
steps:
  - prompt: launch a calculator
    commands:
      - command: exec
        lang: pwsh
        code: |
        start /B calc.exe
          timeout /t 5
      - command: wait-for-text
        text: "calculator"
        timeout: 30000
Then in the test:
calculator.yaml
version: 6.0.0
steps:
  - prompt: launch a calculator
    commands:
      - command: run
        file: snippets/launch-calculator.yaml
  - prompt: performing the operation 2 + 2 = on the calculator that is opened
    commands:
      - command: focus-application
        name: galculator
      - command: hover-image
        description: button with number 2 on the calculator
        action: click
      - command: hover-image
        description: plus button on the calculator
        action: click
      - command: hover-image
        description: button with number 2 on the calculator
        action: click
      - command: hover-image
        description: equals button on the calculator
        action: click

​
Don’t try to run js within a test field

This example will fail at runtime, so don’t try to execute js context directly in a test file. Remember - use this in prerun to setup your test!
badtestfile.yaml
version: 6.0.0
commands:
      - command: exec
        lang: pwsh
        code: |
          npm install -g axios json2csv
  - prompt: fetch user data from API
    commands:
      - command: exec
        output: user
        lang: js
        code: |
          const axios = require('axios');
          const { Parser } = require('json2csv');
          const fs = require('fs');

          const response = await axios.get('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users');
          const parser = new Parser();
          const csv = parser.parse(response.data);
          fs.writeFileSync('users.csv', csv);
          const user = response.data[0].name;
          result = user;
          console.log('username', user);
    ...
This example will produce errors in the TestDriver output or CLI since the runner won’t have access to the Node.js VM context.