How to execute editcap with options and parameters inside a python script?

Question

I am trying to execute an editcap command inside a python script. Usually, I do it in cmd, but I want to include it in my python script.

editcap –c 10000 C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\C_datasets\sa1.pcap C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\C_datasets\outputs\sa1_output.pcap

Just for info, my editcap is installed with wireshark in C:\Program Files\Wireshark. –c option divides my sa1.pcap input file into subfiles having no more than 10000 packets named with the suffix sa1_output.pcap

This is not executable itself, rather including its options and parameters also.

My python script:

import os 

os.system(r' "C:\"Program Files"\Wireshark\editcap –c 10000 "D:\Datasets\Kaggle Dataset\Video\Zoom\Zoom_2.pcap" D:\zoom.pcap "')

Running the above python script in cmd throws:

editcap: The file "ΓÇôc" doesn't exist

I have absolutely no idea what this is. I can't find anything about it. Whereas running the above editcap command from cmd (without python scripting) runs perfectly.

Does this answer your question? [How to execute a command prompt command from python](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5486725/how-to-execute-a-command-prompt-command-from-python) — Hamza Hathoute, Jul 30 '22 at 16:54
Can you show your python script (or at least the part where you tried this) so that we can understand more? — Hamza Hathoute, Jul 30 '22 at 17:24

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 09 '22 at 22:56

You can use subprocess as below:

import subprocess

command = 'C:\"Program Files"\Wireshark\editcap –c 10000 "D:\Datasets\Kaggle Dataset\Video\Zoom\Zoom_2.pcap" D:\zoom.pcap'
process = subprocess.Popen(command, shell=True, stdout=subprocess.PIPE)
process.wait()
out, err = process.communicate()

Also, make sure you are escaping the nested quotes.

How to execute editcap with options and parameters inside a python script?

1 Answers1