Why is my exec command failing but works if the command is passed in the terminal?

Question

For some reason I'm not understanding why I'm having an issue in my exec command and I believe I followed the documentation and examples I've referenced correctly. When I run this command in the terminal I do not have an issue:

gitleaks --repo=https://github.com/user/repo -v --username=foo --password=bar

but when I try to code it as a module so I can call upon it in package.json:

const { exec } = require("child_process")
const test = `gitleaks --repo=https://github.com/user/repo -v --username=foo --password=bar`

const execRun = (cmd) => {
  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
    exec(cmd, (error, stdout, stderr) => {
      if (error) reject(error)
      resolve(stdout ? stdout : stderr)
    })
  })
}

(async () => {
try {
  const testing = await execRun(test)
  console.log(testing)
} catch (e) {
  console.log(e)
}
})()

but I continue to get the error:

{ Error: Command failed: gitleaks --repo=https://github.com/user/repo -v --username=foo --password=bar

    at ChildProcess.exithandler (child_process.js:294:12)
    at ChildProcess.emit (events.js:198:13)
    at maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:982:16)
    at Socket.stream.socket.on (internal/child_process.js:389:11)
    at Socket.emit (events.js:198:13)
    at Pipe._handle.close (net.js:606:12)
  killed: false,
  code: 1,
  signal: null,
  cmd:
   'gitleaks --repo=https://github.com/user/repo -v --username=foo --password=bar' }

I've tried to research my issue to see if I'm missing something and read:

Why does my exec command fail but I can pass the same command in the terminal and it works?

I checked out docs for gitleaks and it shows the following exit codes: 0: no leaks, 1: leaks present, 2: error encountered. I'm wondering if the command is returning 1 for "leaks present" but the "exec" function is thinking that's an error. When you run the same command directly in the terminal, what's the exit code? — Richard Gieg, Apr 15 '20 at 14:41
Ya that seems to be what the issue is. When I console log the `error` under the code 1 it dumps all the INFO of the leaks. Guess that means I need to figure out how to condition that as a response and not an error though and then resolve it. — DᴀʀᴛʜVᴀᴅᴇʀ, Apr 15 '20 at 14:48
Does my comment qualify as an answer? If so I can add it as an answer. — Richard Gieg, Apr 15 '20 at 14:52
I would use it as an answer if you write the resolution for the issue (a rewrite of the exec conditionalizing against the `error.code` of 1 and to resolve the error info). It would make a better Q&A or I can answer it. That way if anyone ever runs into the same issue with gitleaks they can see the issue and the resolution. Just my thought. — DᴀʀᴛʜVᴀᴅᴇʀ, Apr 15 '20 at 14:54

score 7 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 15 '20 at 15:03

When the exec function runs a command it examines the exit code from that command. It assumes that an exit code other than 0 is an error and thus passes the error in the callback. If gitleaks finds secrets in a repo then it exits with code 1.

Something along these lines should work:

const { exec } = require("child_process")
const test = `gitleaks --repo=https://github.com/user/repo -v --username=foo --password=bar`

const execRun = (cmd) => {
  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
    exec(cmd, (error, stdout, stderr) => {
      if (error) {
        if (error.code === 1) {
          // leaks present
          resolve(stdout);
        } else {
          // gitleaks error
          reject(error);
        }
      } else {
        // no leaks
        resolve(stdout);
      }
    })
  })
}

(async () => {
try {
  const testing = await execRun(test)
  console.log(testing)
} catch (e) {
  console.log(e)
}
})()

Why is my exec command failing but works if the command is passed in the terminal?

1 Answers1