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.

INSTALL

sudo apt install xe

brew install xe

nix profile install nixpkgs#xe

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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