How to pass argument to cmd.exe in from python script?

Question

I want to be able to run cmd.exe from a Python script and a particular command with arguments but I can't seem to get it working.

I have tried

cmdL = r"C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe"
schTasks = "schtasks.exe"
#run the schtasks.exe
os.system(cmdL + schTasks)

but the dos window appears and then disappears quickly.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks

You should be using the subprocess module. See: stackoverflow.com/a/912847/1224443 — gabrtv
– gabrtv, Commented Aug 28, 2012 at 13:57
I don't know much about windows, but it seems like there should be a space between cmd.exe and schtasks.exe. Also, you should probably look into subprocess. — mgilson
– mgilson, Commented Aug 28, 2012 at 13:58
because when I only add the cmdL variable to os.system, it doesnt disappear. — MapMan
– MapMan, Commented Aug 28, 2012 at 13:58

Simeon Visser · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-28 14:00:19Z

3

The modern way of executing processes from a Python script is by using the subprocess module:

import subprocess
subprocess.call(["schtasks.exe"])

You can also pass arguments, for example:

subprocess.call(["ls", "-l"])

This means you won't need to utilize cmd.exe. Python will execute the given executable with the given parameters as desired.

answered Aug 28, 2012 at 14:00

Simeon Visser

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Comments

halex · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-28 13:58:49Z

0

You forget the space between cmd.exe and the argument.

os.system("%s %s" % (cmdL, schTasks))

Nonetheless is the better way to go via subprocess like the other answer.

answered Aug 28, 2012 at 13:58

halex

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