node-child-process

To run shell commands from Node.js safely, use execFile for direct binary execution without a shell to prevent injection. This approach spawns external programs directly, avoiding shell interpretation of user input while maintaining full control over arguments.

To stream output from a long-running process in Node.js, use spawn instead of exec. Spawn provides streaming I/O and real-time log handling, allowing you to process stdout and stderr data events as they arrive rather than buffering the entire output until completion.

Spawn streams output for long-running processes, exec runs commands via a shell with buffered output, execFile executes binaries directly without a shell to prevent injection, and fork spawns Node.js workers for IPC-based communication to offload CPU-intensive tasks.

Yes, you can set a timeout and working directory when spawning a child process in Node.js. The child_process module supports cwd for working directory configuration, env for environment variables, and timeout options to terminate processes that exceed time limits.

To handle exit codes and errors when running external programs from Node.js, listen for the error event for process spawn failures and the exit event for exit codes. Non-zero exit codes indicate failure, allowing robust error handling in automation workflows.

Use fork instead of spawn when you need IPC-based communication between Node.js processes. Fork spawns Node.js workers with an built-in IPC channel, making it ideal for offloading CPU-intensive tasks to child processes while maintaining communication with the parent.