Go SDK Execution reference

Non-zero exit codes are returned in ExecOutput, not as Go errors. See Commands for usage examples.

Sandbox

The exec entry points live on *Sandbox.

sb.Exec()

func (s *Sandbox) Exec(ctx context.Context, cmd string, args []string, opts ...ExecOption) (*ExecOutput, error)

Example

out, err := sb.Exec(ctx, "make", []string{"build"},
    m.WithExecCwd("/app"),
    m.WithExecEnv(map[string]string{"DEBUG": "1"}),
)

Run a command in the sandbox and return its collected output. Blocks until the command exits. The returned error is non-nil only on transport or runtime failures; a non-zero exit code is reported via ExecOutput.ExitCode, not as an error.

Parameters

ctxcontext.Context

Cancels the wait. The guest process may continue in the background.

cmdstring

Program to run. Passed literally to the guest agent (the image ENTRYPOINT is not consulted).

args[]string

Command arguments. May be nil.

opts…ExecOption

Per-command cwd, timeout, TTY allocation, user, and env.

Returns

*ExecOutput

Collected stdout, stderr, and exit code.

sb.Shell()

func (s *Sandbox) Shell(ctx context.Context, command string, opts ...ExecOption) (*ExecOutput, error)

Example

out, err := sb.Shell(ctx, "echo $HOME && ls /tmp")
if err != nil {
    return err
}
fmt.Print(out.Stdout())

Run <configured-shell> -c command in the sandbox and collect its output. The shell comes from WithShell and defaults to /bin/sh. When loading an older native SDK library without configured-shell support, these methods return an unsupported-operation error with upgrade guidance. Blocks until the command exits. A convenience wrapper over Exec for shell one-liners.

Parameters

ctxcontext.Context

Cancels the wait.

commandstring

Shell command line passed to the configured shell with -c.

opts…ExecOption

Per-command cwd, timeout, TTY allocation, user, and env.

Returns

*ExecOutput

Collected stdout, stderr, and exit code.

sb.ExecStream()

func (s *Sandbox) ExecStream(ctx context.Context, cmd string, args []string, opts ...ExecOption) (*ExecHandle, error)

Example

h, err := sb.ExecStream(ctx, "cat", nil, m.WithExecStdinPipe())
if err != nil {
    return err
}
defer h.Close()

Start a streaming exec session and return an *ExecHandle. The handle MUST be closed with Close when the stream is no longer needed. Nonblocking: the handle returns immediately and the stream starts in the background. ctx controls only the start handshake; individual Recv calls take their own ctx. Non-zero exit codes are not errors, inspect ExecEventExited.

Parameters

ctxcontext.Context

Controls the start handshake only.

cmdstring

Program to run.

args[]string

Command arguments. May be nil.

opts…ExecOption

Per-command options; add WithExecStdinPipe() to enable stdin and WithExecTTY(true) to allocate a pseudo-terminal.

Returns

*ExecHandle

Live exec session. Close it when done.

sb.ShellStream()

func (s *Sandbox) ShellStream(ctx context.Context, command string, opts ...ExecOption) (*ExecHandle, error)

Example

h, err := sb.ShellStream(ctx, "tail -f /var/log/app.log")
if err != nil {
    return err
}
defer h.Close()

for {
    ev, err := h.Recv(ctx)
    if err != nil {
        return err
    }
    switch ev.Kind {
    case m.ExecEventStdout:
        os.Stdout.Write(ev.Data)
    case m.ExecEventDone:
        return nil
    }
}

Run <configured-shell> -c command with streaming output. The shell comes from WithShell and defaults to /bin/sh. When loading an older native SDK library without configured-shell support, these methods return an unsupported-operation error with upgrade guidance. A convenience wrapper over ExecStream. Nonblocking: the handle returns immediately and the stream starts in the background.

Parameters

ctxcontext.Context

Controls the start handshake only.

commandstring

Shell command line passed to the configured shell with -c.

opts…ExecOption

Per-command options.

Returns

*ExecHandle

Live exec session. Close it when done.

ExecHandle

Returned by sb.ExecStream() · sb.ShellStream()

A handle to a running streaming execution and its events.

h.ID()

func (h *ExecHandle) ID() (string, error)

Return the unique identifier for this exec session, assigned by the guest agent. Useful for correlating log entries or referencing the session from external tooling.

Returns

string

Session correlation id.

h.TakeStdin()

func (h *ExecHandle) TakeStdin() *ExecSink

Example

sink := h.TakeStdin()
sink.Write([]byte("hello\n"))
sink.Close()

Return the stdin sink for this exec session. Single-take: returns nil if the session was not started with WithExecStdinPipe, or if TakeStdin was already called on this handle (matching the Node and Python SDKs). The caller is responsible for closing the sink when done writing; closing the sink without closing the exec handle is fine, they own different Rust-side resources.

Returns

*ExecSink

Stdin writer, or nil if unavailable.

h.Recv()

func (h *ExecHandle) Recv(ctx context.Context) (*ExecEvent, error)

Example

for {
    ev, err := h.Recv(ctx)
    if err != nil {
        return err
    }
    switch ev.Kind {
    case m.ExecEventStarted:
        fmt.Printf("started pid=%d\n", ev.PID)
    case m.ExecEventStdout:
        os.Stdout.Write(ev.Data)
    case m.ExecEventStderr:
        os.Stderr.Write(ev.Data)
    case m.ExecEventExited:
        fmt.Printf("exited code=%d\n", ev.ExitCode)
    case m.ExecEventDone:
        return nil
    }
}

Block until the next event arrives or the stream ends. Returns an event with Kind == ExecEventDone when all events have been consumed. ctx controls the wait; cancellation causes Recv to return ctx.Err() immediately. The underlying Rust call may continue to completion in the background.

Parameters

ctxcontext.Context

Cancels the wait for the next event.

Returns

*ExecEvent

The next streamed event.

h.Collect()

func (h *ExecHandle) Collect(ctx context.Context) (*ExecOutput, error)

Example

out, err := h.Collect(ctx)
if err != nil {
    return err
}
fmt.Print(out.Stdout())

Drain the stream, accumulate all output, and return it as an *ExecOutput. Equivalent to calling Recv in a loop and assembling the result. The handle should be closed after Collect returns.

Parameters

ctxcontext.Context

Cancels the drain.

Returns

*ExecOutput

Collected stdout, stderr, and exit code.

h.Wait()

func (h *ExecHandle) Wait(ctx context.Context) (int, error)

Block until the process exits and return its exit code. Unlike Collect, stdout and stderr are discarded. The handle should be closed after Wait returns.

Parameters

ctxcontext.Context

Cancels the wait.

Returns

int

Process exit code.

h.Kill()

func (h *ExecHandle) Kill(ctx context.Context) error

Send SIGKILL to the running process.

Parameters

ctxcontext.Context

Cancels the call.

h.Signal()

func (h *ExecHandle) Signal(ctx context.Context, signal int) error

Example

import "syscall"

if err := h.Signal(ctx, int(syscall.SIGTERM)); err != nil {
    return err
}

Send a Unix signal to the running process. Pass values from syscall (e.g. int(syscall.SIGTERM)).

Parameters

ctxcontext.Context

Cancels the call.

signalint

Signal number, e.g. int(syscall.SIGTERM).

h.Resize()

func (h *ExecHandle) Resize(ctx context.Context, rows, cols uint16) error

Example

if err := h.Resize(ctx, 40, 120); err != nil {
    return err
}

Resize the pseudo-terminal for this exec session. Use with a session started with WithExecTTY(true), typically when relaying a terminal-size change from a remote client. Resize may be called concurrently while another goroutine is blocked in Recv.

Parameters

ctxcontext.Context

Cancels the resize call.

rowsuint16

New terminal height in character cells.

colsuint16

New terminal width in character cells.

h.Close()

func (h *ExecHandle) Close() error

Example

defer h.Close()

Release the Rust-side exec handle. Does not kill the running process; call Signal or Kill first if you need to terminate it. Safe to call after ExecEventDone has been received.

ExecOutput

Collected Exec and ExecDefault output preserves arbitrary bytes, including invalid UTF-8 and NUL bytes. Use StdoutBytes() and StderrBytes() for binary data. The native response retains its legacy text fields and adds a base64 field only for a stream containing invalid UTF-8, so ordinary text keeps its existing response size and older readers remain compatible. With an older native library, the SDK falls back to the text fields; recovering invalid UTF-8 requires the updated native library. Collected responses must fit the 1 MiB FFI buffer after JSON and any base64 encoding; use streaming execution and consume events incrementally for larger output.

Returned by sb.Exec() · sb.Shell() · h.Collect()

Collected output and exit status. Non-zero exit codes are results, not Go errors.

out.Stdout()

func (e *ExecOutput) Stdout() string

Captured standard output as a string.

Returns

string

Collected stdout.

out.StdoutBytes()

func (e *ExecOutput) StdoutBytes() []byte

Captured standard output as raw bytes. Use when the output may not be valid UTF-8.

Returns

[]byte

Raw stdout bytes.

out.Stderr()

func (e *ExecOutput) Stderr() string

Captured standard error as a string.

Returns

string

Collected stderr.

out.StderrBytes()

func (e *ExecOutput) StderrBytes() []byte

Captured standard error as raw bytes.

Returns

[]byte

Raw stderr bytes.

out.ExitCode()

func (e *ExecOutput) ExitCode() int

The process’s exit code, or -1 if the guest did not report one (e.g. the process was killed by a signal).

Returns

int

Exit code, or -1.

out.Success()

func (e *ExecOutput) Success() bool

Reports whether the command exited with code 0.

Returns

bool

true if ExitCode() is 0.

ExecSink

Returned by h.TakeStdin()

type ExecSink = ffi.ExecSink

A write-only pipe to a running process’s stdin. Implements io.WriteCloser.

sink.Write()

func (sk *ExecSink) Write(p []byte) (int, error)

Example

h, err := sb.ExecStream(ctx, "cat", nil, m.WithExecStdinPipe())
if err != nil {
    return err
}
defer h.Close()

sink := h.TakeStdin()
sink.Write([]byte("hello\n"))
sink.Close()

out, _ := h.Collect(ctx)
fmt.Print(out.Stdout()) // "hello\n"

Send data to the process stdin. Implements io.Writer. Uses context.Background() internally, there is no way to cancel a stuck write through this method alone.

Parameters

p[]byte

Bytes to write to stdin.

Returns

int

Number of bytes written.

sink.WriteCtx()

func (sk *ExecSink) WriteCtx(ctx context.Context, p []byte) (int, error)

Like Write, but with a caller-controlled context, so a stuck stdin write can be cancelled.

Parameters

ctxcontext.Context

Cancels the write.

p[]byte

Bytes to write to stdin.

Returns

int

Number of bytes written.

sink.Close()

func (sk *ExecSink) Close() error

Example

sink.Close()

Close the stdin sink. In non-TTY pipe mode this sends EOF to the process. In TTY mode it prevents further writes through this sink, but the guest PTY remains open; send the terminal’s EOF control character (usually \x04 in canonical mode) when the interactive program needs one. Implements io.Closer.

Options

WithExecCwd()

func WithExecCwd(path string) ExecOption

Set the working directory for a single command.

Parameters

pathstring

Absolute path inside the guest.

WithExecTimeout()

func WithExecTimeout(d time.Duration) ExecOption

Example

out, err := sb.Shell(ctx, "long-running-task",
    m.WithExecTimeout(30*time.Second))
if m.IsKind(err, m.ErrExecTimeout) {
    log.Println("timed out")
}

Set a per-command timeout. When exceeded, the guest terminates the process and the call returns an error with Kind == ErrExecTimeout. Sub-second precision rounds up to whole seconds; pass at least 1 second.

Parameters

dtime.Duration

Timeout duration, rounded up to whole seconds.

WithExecStdinPipe()

func WithExecStdinPipe() ExecOption

Enable a stdin pipe for the exec session, allowing data to be written via ExecHandle.TakeStdin.

WithExecTTY()

func WithExecTTY(enabled bool) ExecOption

Example

h, err := sb.ExecStream(ctx, "/bin/bash", nil,
    m.WithExecStdinPipe(),
    m.WithExecTTY(true),
)
if err != nil {
    return err
}
defer h.Close()

stdin := h.TakeStdin()
if stdin == nil {
    return errors.New("stdin pipe is unavailable")
}

if err := h.Resize(ctx, 40, 120); err != nil {
    return err
}
if _, err := stdin.Write([]byte("echo hello\n")); err != nil {
    return err
}

Control whether the command runs inside a pseudo-terminal. Enable it for interactive programs such as shells, editors, REPLs, and top. Default: false. When enabled, the guest process runs with its stdin, stdout, and stderr connected to the PTY. Streaming sessions expose the combined terminal output through ExecEventStdout; they do not emit a separately attributable stderr stream. Collected output similarly places the combined stream in Stdout and leaves Stderr empty. Add WithExecStdinPipe() to write to the terminal programmatically, and use Resize to update its dimensions after the session starts.

Parameters

enabledbool

true to allocate a pseudo-terminal.

WithExecUser()

func WithExecUser(user string) ExecOption

Run the command as the given guest user (UID or name).

Parameters

userstring

Guest user, as a UID or name.

WithExecEnv()

func WithExecEnv(env map[string]string) ExecOption

Example

out, err := sb.Exec(ctx, "make", []string{"build"},
    m.WithExecCwd("/app"),
    m.WithExecEnv(map[string]string{"DEBUG": "1"}),
)

Add per-command environment variables. Called repeatedly, maps merge; later keys overwrite earlier ones.

Parameters

envmap[string]string

Environment variables for this command.

Types

ExecEvent

Returned by h.Recv()

One event from a streaming exec session. Kind identifies which fields are populated.

Field	Type	Description
`Kind`	`ExecEventKind`	Identifies which fields are populated
`PID`	`uint32`	Guest process id, set on `ExecEventStarted`
`Data`	`[]byte`	Chunk of stdout or stderr, set on `ExecEventStdout` / `ExecEventStderr`
`ExitCode`	`int`	Process exit code, set on `ExecEventExited`
`Failure`	`*ExecFailure`	Failure detail, set on `ExecEventFailed` and `ExecEventStdinError`

ExecEventKind

Field of ExecEvent

type ExecEventKind = ffi.ExecEventKind

Identifies what an ExecEvent carries.

Constant	Description
`ExecEventStarted`	Sent once when the guest process starts; `PID` is valid
`ExecEventStdout`	A chunk of stdout; in TTY mode, carries the combined terminal output stream. `Data` is valid
`ExecEventStderr`	A chunk of stderr; not emitted separately in TTY mode. `Data` is valid
`ExecEventExited`	The process exited; `ExitCode` is valid
`ExecEventFailed`	The user program never started (binary missing, permission denied, …); `Failure` is valid and `ExitCode` is not meaningful
`ExecEventStdinError`	A stdin write failed; `Failure` is valid. Non-terminal: the process may still exit normally
`ExecEventDone`	All events have been consumed

ExecFailure

Field of ExecEvent

type ExecFailure = ffi.ExecFailure

Structured detail about a failed-to-start exec, populated on ExecEventFailed and ExecEventStdinError. See Error Handling for the kinds it carries (not_found, permission_denied, etc.) and how to branch on them.

Field	Type	Description
`Kind`	`string`	Failure category, e.g. `not_found`, `permission_denied`
`Errno`	`*int`	Underlying errno, if known
`ErrnoName`	`string`	Symbolic errno name, if known
`Message`	`string`	Human-readable failure message
`Path`	`string`	Offending path, if applicable

ExecConfig

Populated by ExecOption

Configures a single Exec or ExecStream call. Most callers set fields through the WithExec* functional options; ExecConfig is exported for parity with the other SDKs’ config types.

Field	Type	Description
`Cwd`	`string`	Working directory inside the guest
`Timeout`	`time.Duration`	Kill the process after this duration; sub-second precision is rounded up
`StdinPipe`	`bool`	Enable a stdin pipe; required for `TakeStdin`
`TTY`	`bool`	Allocate a pseudo-terminal; default `false`
`User`	`string`	Guest user (UID or name)
`Env`	`map[string]string`	Per-command environment variables

ExecOption

Accepted by sb.Exec() · sb.Shell() · sb.ExecStream() · sb.ShellStream()

type ExecOption func(*ExecConfig)

A functional option that mutates an ExecConfig. Construct them with the WithExec* functions below.

​Sandbox

​sb.Exec()

​sb.Shell()

​sb.ExecStream()

​sb.ShellStream()

​ExecHandle

​h.ID()

​h.TakeStdin()

​h.Recv()

​h.Collect()

​h.Wait()

​h.Kill()

​h.Signal()

​h.Resize()

​h.Close()

​ExecOutput

​out.Stdout()

​out.StdoutBytes()

​out.Stderr()

​out.StderrBytes()

​out.ExitCode()

​out.Success()

​ExecSink

​sink.Write()

​sink.WriteCtx()

​sink.Close()

​Options

​WithExecCwd()

​WithExecTimeout()

​WithExecStdinPipe()

​WithExecTTY()

​WithExecUser()

​WithExecEnv()

​Types

​ExecEvent

​ExecEventKind

​ExecFailure

​ExecConfig

​ExecOption

Sandbox

sb.Exec()

sb.Shell()

sb.ExecStream()

sb.ShellStream()

ExecHandle

h.ID()

h.TakeStdin()

h.Recv()

h.Collect()

h.Wait()

h.Kill()

h.Signal()

h.Resize()

h.Close()

ExecOutput

out.Stdout()

out.StdoutBytes()

out.Stderr()

out.StderrBytes()

out.ExitCode()

out.Success()

ExecSink

sink.Write()

sink.WriteCtx()

sink.Close()

Options

WithExecCwd()

WithExecTimeout()

WithExecStdinPipe()

WithExecTTY()

WithExecUser()

WithExecEnv()

Types

ExecEvent

ExecEventKind

ExecFailure

ExecConfig

ExecOption