.. default-domain:: rst .. highlight:: rest :py:mod:`sphinxcontrib.programoutput` – Insert command output ============================================================= .. py:module:: sphinxcontrib.programoutput :synopsis: Include the output of programs into documents Sphinx_ extension to insert the output of arbitrary commands into documents. The extension is available under the terms of the BSD license, see LICENSE_ for more information. Installation ------------ This extension requires Sphinx_ 1.1 and at least Python 2.6 or Python 3.2. It is available in the Python Package Index:: pip install sphinxcontrib-programoutput Alternatively, you can clone the sphinx-contrib_ repository from BitBucket, and install the extension directly from the repository:: hg clone https://bitbucket.org/birkenfeld/sphinx-contrib cd sphinx-contrib/programoutput python setup.py install Usage ----- To include the output of a command into your document, use the :dir:`program-output` directive provided by this extension:: .. program-output:: python -V The whole output of ``python -V``, including any messages on standard error, is inserted into the current document, formatted as literal text without any syntax highlighting: .. program-output:: python -V You can omit the content of the standard error stream with the ``nostderr`` option. By default, commands are executed in the top-level source directory. You can choose an alternate working directory with the ``cwd`` option. The argument of this option is either a path relative to the current source file, or a absolute path which means that it is relative to the top level source directory. Shortening the output ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Lengthy output can be shortened with the ``ellipsis`` option. Its value denotes lines to omit when inserting the output of the command. Instead, a single ellipsis ``...`` is inserted. If used with a single number, all lines after the specified line are omitted:: .. program-output:: python --help :ellipsis: 2 The above omits all lines after the second one: .. program-output:: python --help :ellipsis: 2 Negative numbers count from the last line backwards, thus replacing ``2`` with ``-2`` in the above example would only omit the last two lines. If used with two comma-separated line numbers, all lines in between the specified lines are omitted. Again, a negative number counts from the last line backwards:: .. program-output:: python --help :ellipsis: 2,-2 The above omits all lines except the first two and the last two lines: .. program-output:: python --help :ellipsis: 2,-2 Mimicing shell input ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ You can mimic shell input with the :dir:`command-output` directive [#alias]_. This directive inserts the command along with its output into the document:: .. command-output:: python -V .. command-output:: python -V The appearance of this output can be configured with :confval:`programoutput_prompt_template`. When used in conjunction with ``ellipsis``, the command itself and any additional text is *never* omitted. ``ellipsis`` always refers to the *immediate output* of the command:: .. command-output:: python --help :ellipsis: 2 .. command-output:: python --help :ellipsis: 2 Command execution and shell expansion ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Normally the command is splitted according to the POSIX shell syntax (see :py:mod:`shlex`), and executed directly. Thus special shell features like expansion of environment variables will not work:: .. command-output:: echo "$USER" .. command-output:: echo "$USER" To enable these features, enable the ``shell`` option. With this option, the command is literally passed to the system shell:: .. command-output:: echo "$USER" :shell: .. command-output:: echo "$USER" :shell: Other shell features like process expansion consequently work, too:: .. command-output:: ls -l $(which grep) :shell: .. command-output:: ls -l $(which grep) :shell: Remember to use ``shell`` carefully to avoid unintented interpretation of shell syntax and swallowing of fatal errors! Error handling ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ If an unexpected exit code (also known as *return code*) is returned by a command, it is considered to have failed. In this case, a build warning is emitted to help you to detect misspelled commands or similar errors. By default, a command is expected to exit with an exit code of 0, all other codes indicate an error. In some cases however, it may be reasonable to demonstrate failed programs. To avoid a (superfluous) warning in such a case, you can specify the expected return code of a command with the ``returncode`` option:: .. command-output:: python -c 'import sys; sys.exit(1)' :returncode: 1 The above command returns the exit code 1 (as given to :py:func:`sys.exit()`), but no warning will be emitted. On the contrary, a warning will be emitted, should the command return 0! .. note:: Upon fatal errors which even prevent the execution of the command neither return code nor command output are available. In this case an error message is inserted into the document instead. If ``shell`` is set however, most of these fatal errors are handled by the system shell and turned into return codes instead. In this case the error message will only appear in the output of the shell. If you're using ``shell``, double-check the output for errors. Best avoid ``shell``, if possible. Reference --------- .. directive:: .. program-output:: command Include the output of ``command`` in the documentation. The output is formatted as literal text, without any syntax highlighting. By default, the command is split according to the POSIX shell syntax (using :py:func:`shlex.split()`), and executed directly. Both standard output and standard error are captured from the invocation of ``command`` and included in the document. However, if the option ``shell`` is given, ``command`` is literally passed to the system shell. With the ``nostderr`` option, standard error is hidden from the output. The working directory of the command can be configured with the ``cwd`` option. The argument of this option is a directory path, relative to the current source file. Absolute paths are interpreted as relative to the root of the source directory. The default working directory is ``/``, i.e. the root of the source directory. If the ``prompt`` option is given, the ``command`` itself is included in the document, so that the output mimics input in a shell prompt. :confval:`programoutput_prompt_template` controlls the appearance of this. The value of the ``extraargs`` option is appended at the end of ``command`` (separated by a whitespace) before executing the command, but not included in the output of the ``prompt`` option. Use this to pass extra arguments which should not appear in the document. The output can be shortened with the ``ellipsis`` option. The value of this option is of the form ``start[,end]`` with ``start`` and ``end`` being integers which refer to lines in the output of ``command``. ``end`` is optional and defaults to the last line. Negative line numbers count backwards from the last line. Everything in the interval ``[start, end[`` is replaced with a single ellipsis ``...``. The ``ellipsis`` option only affects the immediate output of ``command``, but never any additional text inserted by option ``prompt``. If the command does return an exit code different from the expected one, a build warning is issued. The expected return code defaults to 0, and can be changed with the ``returncode`` option. .. directive:: command-output Same as :dir:`program-output`, but with enabled ``prompt`` option. Configuration ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This extension understands the following configuration options: .. confval:: programoutput_prompt_template A `format string`_ template for the output of the ``prompt`` option to :dir:`command-output`. Defaults to ``$ {command}\n{output}`` which renders as follows: .. command-output:: python -V The following keys are provided to the format string: * ``command`` is replaced with the literal command as given to the directive, *without* any ``extraargs``. * ``output`` is the output of the command, after the ``ellipsis`` option has been applied. * ``returncode`` is the return code of the command as integer. .. confval:: programoutput_use_ansi If ``True``, ANSI colour sequences in program output are interpreted. To use this feature, the extension :py:mod:`sphinxcontrib.ansi` must be enabled and configured. If missing or ``False``, these sequences are not interpreted, but appear in documentation unchanged. Contribution ------------ Please contact the author or create an issue in the `issue tracker`_ of the sphinx-contrib_ repository, if you have found any bugs or miss some functionality (e.g. integration of some other issue tracker). Patches are welcome! .. rubric:: Footnotes .. [#alias] This directive is just an alias for the :dir:`program-output` directive with the ``prompt`` option set. .. toctree:: :maxdepth: 2 :hidden: changes.rst .. _Sphinx: http://sphinx.pocoo.org/ .. _sphinx-contrib: https://bitbucket.org/birkenfeld/sphinx-contrib .. _issue tracker: https://bitbucket.org/birkenfeld/sphinx-contrib/issues .. _LICENSE: https://bitbucket.org/birkenfeld/sphinx-contrib/src/tip/LICENSE .. _format string: http://docs.python.org/library/string.html#formatstrings