EPIC Enhanced Programmable IRC-II Client

set shell_flags

Synopsis

/set shell_flags [<flags>]
/set -shell_flags

Default: -c. With no flags, set displays the current value. Unsetting removes the stored string, but the launcher still supplies an empty argument in its place.

Description

Contains the flags passed to the command shell used by exec. The default -c asks /bin/sh to interpret the following argument as command text. Other programs can require different options; their accepted flags and interpretation depend on the installed shell.

The entire value is passed as one argument, followed by the entire exec command as one more argument. EPIC does not split this setting at spaces or remove embedded quoting during launch. For example, storing -c -x does not supply separate -c and -x arguments. Use an option form accepted as a single argument by the chosen program.

With the defaults, the argument structure is:

argv[0] = /bin/sh
argv[1] = -c
argv[2] = <exec command text>

Unsetting this setting produces argv[1] as an empty string rather than omitting it or selecting direct execution. Whether that invocation is useful depends on the program; unsetting does not reliably disable shell interpretation. Use exec -direct to bypass the shell for one process, or unset shell to select direct execution generally. Those paths do not read shell_flags.

Effects and errors

Changing the setting affects subsequent shell launches and does not alter running processes or launch anything itself. EPIC does not validate the flags when assigning them. Invalid options are handled by the invoked program; a failure to execute the shell itself produces an Error running program ... diagnostic from the child. Program output and termination are handled by the normal exec machinery.

Example

Restore the default shell invocation and run a command:

/set shell /bin/sh
/set shell_flags -c
/exec echo hello

Source references