<cfexecute>

Enables developers to execute a process on a server computer.

This tag may have a body.

This tag is also supported within <cfscript>

<cfexecute name=string arguments=any outputfile=string timeout=number terminateontimeout=boolean variable=string errorfile=string errorvariable=string directory=string environment=struct result=string exitcodevariable=string onprogress=any onerror=any ><!--- body --->[</cfexecute>]
Attribute Description
name
string, optional

The full pathname of the application to execute.

Note: On Windows, you must specify the extension as part of the application's name. For example, myapp.exe,
arguments
any, optional

Command-line arguments passed to the application.

  • arguments as a string
  • arguments as an Array (recommended)
outputfile
string, optional

The file to which to direct the output of the program. If not specified, the output is displayed on the page from which it was called.
timeout
number, optional

Indicates how long, in seconds, the executing thread waits for the spawned process.

A timeout of 0 is equivalent to the non-blocking mode of executing. A very high timeout value is equivalent to a blocking mode of execution. The default is 0; therefore, the thread spawns a process and returns without waiting for the process to terminate.If no output file is specified, and the timeout value is 0, the program output is discarded.
terminateontimeout
boolean, optional

terminate execution of process when timeout occur. Defaults to false.
variable
string, optional

Variable in which to put program output.

If no output file or variable attribute is specified, output is displayed on page from which it was called.
errorfile
string, optional

The file to which to direct the error stream of the program. If neither errorFile nor errorVariable is specified, the error stream is discarded.
errorvariable
string, optional

Variable in which to put program error stream output. If neither errorFile nor errorVariable is specified, the error stream is discarded.
directory
string, optional

The working directory in which to execute the command

Introduced: 5.3.8.1
environment
struct, optional

An array of key value pairs

Introduced: 7.0.0.185
result
string, optional

The name of a variable to place the return struct, containing [ output, error, exitCode ]

Introduced: 7.0.0.186
exitcodevariable
string, optional

Variable in which to put the exit code value.

Introduced: 7.0.0.186
onprogress
any, optional

A UDF which receives two arguments, the progressive output and the java Process instance for the execution. If defined, output to the other variables will be null. The java Process instance can be used to interact with the executing process, i.e. via getOutputSteam(). https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/21/docs/api/java.base/java/lang/Process.html Returning false from the Listener will cancel the process execution

Introduced: 7.0.0.188
onerror
any, optional

A UDF Listener which receives a single argument, output. Optional, If a OnProgress Listener is defined, but no onError listener, the error stream is redirected to the onProgress Listener. Returning false from the Listener will cancel the process execution

Introduced: 7.0.0.188

Examples

Simple example for cfexecute

<cfexecute name="C:\Windows\System32\netstat.exe"
            arguments="-e"
            outputFile="C:\Temp\output.txt"
            timeout="1">
</cfexecute>

Executing a shell command on Linux

<cfscript>
	env = { "LUCEE": "rocks" }; // lucee 7+
	exe ="bash";
	// args as a string
	args = "-c 'set'";  // or ls etc
	cfexecute(name=exe, timeout="1", arguments=args , environment=env, variable="result");	
</cfscript>

Executing a shell command on Windows

<cfscript>
	env = { "LUCEE": "rocks" }; // lucee 7+
	exe = "cmd";
	// args as an array
	args = ["/c", "set"]; // or dir etc
	cfexecute(name=exe, timeout="1", arguments=args , environment=env, variable="result");
</cfscript>

See also