How to execute bash commands from C?

Question

Is there a way to run command line utilities, e.g. gzip, into a C app?

If you run it as a "bash command", a la system(), you're doing it wrong. Direct invocation with an exec-family syscall is more efficient and less prone to bugs. — Charles Duffy, Apr 21 '15 at 04:30

score 41 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 11:47

41

#include <stdlib.h>
int status = system("gzip foo");

See the man page (man 3 system) for more detailed information on how to use it.

edited May 23 '17 at 11:47

Community

answered Apr 20 '15 at 23:39

jayhendren

3

See: [**Why to avoid system() function in c/c++**](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/19913446/why-to-avoid-system-function-in-c-c). Instead look at the `execl` family of functions. – David C. Rankin Apr 21 '15 at 04:28
`man system` # seems to default to 3 – jasonleonhard Feb 12 '21 at 04:42
No entry for system in section 1 of the manual No entry for system in section 2 of the manual so starts at 3 – jasonleonhard Feb 12 '21 at 04:43

1 Answers1