xe

Simple xargs and apply replacement

TLDR

Run command for each line of stdin

$ cat [list.txt] | xe [command]

Use {} as placeholder for the argument

$ cat [list.txt] | xe [command] {}

Parallel execution with N jobs

$ cat [urls.txt] | xe -j [4] curl {}

Pass arguments directly after --

$ xe -a -- mv {} {}.bak -- [file1] [file2]

Null-separated input (for filenames with spaces)

$ find . -print0 | xe -0 echo {}

Pass up to N arguments per command

$ xe -N [10] rm -- [*.txt]

Dry-run: print commands without executing

$ cat list.txt | xe -n [command] {}

SYNOPSIS

xe [-0FLnqvR] [-I replace-arg] [-N maxargs] [-j maxjobs] [-f argfile] [-s shellscript] [-a] [command [_args...]]

xe is a tool for constructing command lines from file listings or arguments, combining the best features of xargs(1) and apply(1). By default it runs the given command once per input line, substituting {} with the argument, making common use cases simpler than xargs.Unlike xargs, xe has sane defaults: it is equivalent to `xargs -d'\n' -I{} -n1 -r`. Arguments can be read from stdin (default), from a file with -f, or directly from the command line after -a.xe supports parallel execution with -j, make-style percent rule matching with -p, and can invoke a shell script per argument with -s.

PARAMETERS

-0

Input arguments are separated by NUL bytes instead of newlines. Useful with `find -print0`.

-a

Take arguments from the command line (after the command, separated by --) instead of stdin.

-A argsep

Use a custom argument separator instead of -- (implies -a).

-f argfile

Read arguments from argfile instead of stdin.

-F

Fatal: stop and exit when a command execution fails.

-I replace-arg

Set the replacement string (default: {}).

-j maxjobs

Run up to maxjobs processes concurrently.

-L

Line-buffered output so lines from concurrent jobs do not interleave.

-N maxargs

Pass up to maxargs arguments to each command invocation (default: 1).

-n

Dry-run: print the commands that would be executed without running them.

-p

Make-style percent rule matching for pattern-dispatched commands.

-q

Quiet: redirect stdout/stderr of commands to /dev/null.

-R

Return exit status 122 when no arguments are supplied (instead of 0).

-s shellscript

Execute shellscript via the shell; arguments are available as $1, $2, etc.

-v

Verbose: print commands to stderr before running them.

CAVEATS

xe is distinct from the XenServer xe CLI and from xargs despite similar goals. If xargs compatibility is required, flags and behavior may differ (for example xe uses {} as placeholder by default and always runs one command per argument unless -N is given).

HISTORY

xe was written by Leah Neukirchen as a modernized replacement for xargs(1) and apply(1) with saner defaults and a cleaner interface. It is distributed as a small, portable C program.

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