#include <SDL3/SDL_stdinc.h>
#include <SDL3/SDL_error.h>
#include <SDL3/SDL_iostream.h>
#include <SDL3/SDL_properties.h>
#include <SDL3/SDL_begin_code.h>
#include <SDL3/SDL_close_code.h>

Include dependency graph for SDL_process.h:

This graph shows which files directly or indirectly include this file:

Macros
#define	SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_ARGS_POINTER "SDL.process.create.args"
#define	SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_ENVIRONMENT_POINTER "SDL.process.create.environment"
#define	SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_WORKING_DIRECTORY_STRING "SDL.process.create.working_directory"
#define	SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDIN_NUMBER "SDL.process.create.stdin_option"
#define	SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDIN_POINTER "SDL.process.create.stdin_source"
#define	SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDOUT_NUMBER "SDL.process.create.stdout_option"
#define	SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDOUT_POINTER "SDL.process.create.stdout_source"
#define	SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDERR_NUMBER "SDL.process.create.stderr_option"
#define	SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDERR_POINTER "SDL.process.create.stderr_source"
#define	SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDERR_TO_STDOUT_BOOLEAN "SDL.process.create.stderr_to_stdout"
#define	SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_BACKGROUND_BOOLEAN "SDL.process.create.background"
#define	SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_CMDLINE_STRING "SDL.process.create.cmdline"
#define	SDL_PROP_PROCESS_PID_NUMBER "SDL.process.pid"
#define	SDL_PROP_PROCESS_STDIN_POINTER "SDL.process.stdin"
#define	SDL_PROP_PROCESS_STDOUT_POINTER "SDL.process.stdout"
#define	SDL_PROP_PROCESS_STDERR_POINTER "SDL.process.stderr"
#define	SDL_PROP_PROCESS_BACKGROUND_BOOLEAN "SDL.process.background"

Typedefs
typedef struct SDL_Process	SDL_Process

Enumerations
enum	SDL_ProcessIO { SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_INHERITED , SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_NULL , SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_APP , SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_REDIRECT }

Functions
SDL_Process *	SDL_CreateProcess (const char const args, bool pipe_stdio)
SDL_Process *	SDL_CreateProcessWithProperties (SDL_PropertiesID props)
SDL_PropertiesID	SDL_GetProcessProperties (SDL_Process *process)
void *	SDL_ReadProcess (SDL_Process process, size_t datasize, int *exitcode)
SDL_IOStream *	SDL_GetProcessInput (SDL_Process *process)
SDL_IOStream *	SDL_GetProcessOutput (SDL_Process *process)
bool	SDL_KillProcess (SDL_Process *process, bool force)
bool	SDL_WaitProcess (SDL_Process process, bool block, int exitcode)
void	SDL_DestroyProcess (SDL_Process *process)

Macro Definition Documentation

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_BACKGROUND_BOOLEAN

#define SDL_PROP_PROCESS_BACKGROUND_BOOLEAN "SDL.process.background"

Definition at line 277 of file SDL_process.h.

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_ARGS_POINTER

#define SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_ARGS_POINTER "SDL.process.create.args"

Definition at line 229 of file SDL_process.h.

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_BACKGROUND_BOOLEAN

#define SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_BACKGROUND_BOOLEAN "SDL.process.create.background"

Definition at line 239 of file SDL_process.h.

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_CMDLINE_STRING

#define SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_CMDLINE_STRING "SDL.process.create.cmdline"

Definition at line 240 of file SDL_process.h.

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_ENVIRONMENT_POINTER

#define SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_ENVIRONMENT_POINTER "SDL.process.create.environment"

Definition at line 230 of file SDL_process.h.

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDERR_NUMBER

#define SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDERR_NUMBER "SDL.process.create.stderr_option"

Definition at line 236 of file SDL_process.h.

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDERR_POINTER

#define SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDERR_POINTER "SDL.process.create.stderr_source"

Definition at line 237 of file SDL_process.h.

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDERR_TO_STDOUT_BOOLEAN

#define SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDERR_TO_STDOUT_BOOLEAN "SDL.process.create.stderr_to_stdout"

Definition at line 238 of file SDL_process.h.

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDIN_NUMBER

#define SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDIN_NUMBER "SDL.process.create.stdin_option"

Definition at line 232 of file SDL_process.h.

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDIN_POINTER

#define SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDIN_POINTER "SDL.process.create.stdin_source"

Definition at line 233 of file SDL_process.h.

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDOUT_NUMBER

#define SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDOUT_NUMBER "SDL.process.create.stdout_option"

Definition at line 234 of file SDL_process.h.

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDOUT_POINTER

#define SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDOUT_POINTER "SDL.process.create.stdout_source"

Definition at line 235 of file SDL_process.h.

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_WORKING_DIRECTORY_STRING

#define SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_WORKING_DIRECTORY_STRING "SDL.process.create.working_directory"

Definition at line 231 of file SDL_process.h.

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_PID_NUMBER

#define SDL_PROP_PROCESS_PID_NUMBER "SDL.process.pid"

Definition at line 273 of file SDL_process.h.

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_STDERR_POINTER

#define SDL_PROP_PROCESS_STDERR_POINTER "SDL.process.stderr"

Definition at line 276 of file SDL_process.h.

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_STDIN_POINTER

#define SDL_PROP_PROCESS_STDIN_POINTER "SDL.process.stdin"

Definition at line 274 of file SDL_process.h.

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_STDOUT_POINTER

#define SDL_PROP_PROCESS_STDOUT_POINTER "SDL.process.stdout"

Definition at line 275 of file SDL_process.h.

Typedef Documentation

◆ SDL_Process

typedef struct SDL_Process SDL_Process

CategoryProcess

Process control support.

These functions provide a cross-platform way to spawn and manage OS-level processes.

You can create a new subprocess with SDL_CreateProcess() and optionally read and write to it using SDL_ReadProcess() or SDL_GetProcessInput() and SDL_GetProcessOutput(). If more advanced functionality like chaining input between processes is necessary, you can use SDL_CreateProcessWithProperties().

You can get the status of a created process with SDL_WaitProcess(), or terminate the process with SDL_KillProcess().

Don't forget to call SDL_DestroyProcess() to clean up, whether the process process was killed, terminated on its own, or is still running! An opaque handle representing a system process.

Since: This datatype is available since SDL 3.2.0.

See also: SDL_CreateProcess

Definition at line 64 of file SDL_process.h.

Enumeration Type Documentation

◆ SDL_ProcessIO

enum SDL_ProcessIO

Description of where standard I/O should be directed when creating a process.

If a standard I/O stream is set to SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_INHERITED, it will go to the same place as the application's I/O stream. This is the default for standard output and standard error.

If a standard I/O stream is set to SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_NULL, it is connected to NUL: on Windows and /dev/null on POSIX systems. This is the default for standard input.

If a standard I/O stream is set to SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_APP, it is connected to a new SDL_IOStream that is available to the application. Standard input will be available as SDL_PROP_PROCESS_STDIN_POINTER and allows SDL_GetProcessInput(), standard output will be available as SDL_PROP_PROCESS_STDOUT_POINTER and allows SDL_ReadProcess() and SDL_GetProcessOutput(), and standard error will be available as SDL_PROP_PROCESS_STDERR_POINTER in the properties for the created process.

If a standard I/O stream is set to SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_REDIRECT, it is connected to an existing SDL_IOStream provided by the application. Standard input is provided using SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDIN_POINTER, standard output is provided using SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDOUT_POINTER, and standard error is provided using SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDERR_POINTER in the creation properties. These existing streams should be closed by the application once the new process is created.

In order to use an SDL_IOStream with SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_REDIRECT, it must have SDL_PROP_IOSTREAM_WINDOWS_HANDLE_POINTER or SDL_PROP_IOSTREAM_FILE_DESCRIPTOR_NUMBER set. This is true for streams representing files and process I/O.

Since: This enum is available since SDL 3.2.0.

See also: SDL_CreateProcessWithProperties; SDL_GetProcessProperties; SDL_ReadProcess; SDL_GetProcessInput; SDL_GetProcessOutput

Enumerator
SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_INHERITED	The I/O stream is inherited from the application.
SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_NULL	The I/O stream is ignored.
SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_APP	The I/O stream is connected to a new SDL_IOStream that the application can read or write
SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_REDIRECT	The I/O stream is redirected to an existing SDL_IOStream.

Definition at line 150 of file SDL_process.h.

{
    SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_INHERITED,    /**< The I/O stream is inherited from the application. */
    SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_NULL,         /**< The I/O stream is ignored. */
    SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_APP,          /**< The I/O stream is connected to a new SDL_IOStream that the application can read or write */
    SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_REDIRECT      /**< The I/O stream is redirected to an existing SDL_IOStream. */
} SDL_ProcessIO;

Function Documentation

◆ SDL_CreateProcess()

SDL_Process * SDL_CreateProcess	(	const char const	args,
		bool	pipe_stdio )

extern

Create a new process.

The path to the executable is supplied in args[0]. args[1..N] are additional arguments passed on the command line of the new process, and the argument list should be terminated with a NULL, e.g.:

const char *args[] = { "myprogram", "argument", NULL };

NULL

#define NULL

Definition SDL_begin_code.h:469

Setting pipe_stdio to true is equivalent to setting SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDIN_NUMBER and SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDOUT_NUMBER to SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_APP, and will allow the use of SDL_ReadProcess() or SDL_GetProcessInput() and SDL_GetProcessOutput().

See SDL_CreateProcessWithProperties() for more details.

Parameters

args	the path and arguments for the new process.
pipe_stdio	true to create pipes to the process's standard input and from the process's standard output, false for the process to have no input and inherit the application's standard output.

Returns: the newly created and running process, or NULL if the process couldn't be created.

\threadsafety It is safe to call this function from any thread.

Since: This function is available since SDL 3.2.0.

See also: SDL_CreateProcessWithProperties; SDL_GetProcessProperties; SDL_ReadProcess; SDL_GetProcessInput; SDL_GetProcessOutput; SDL_KillProcess; SDL_WaitProcess; SDL_DestroyProcess

◆ SDL_CreateProcessWithProperties()

SDL_Process * SDL_CreateProcessWithProperties ( SDL_PropertiesID props )

extern

Create a new process with the specified properties.

These are the supported properties:

SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_ARGS_POINTER: an array of strings containing the program to run, any arguments, and a NULL pointer, e.g. const char *args[] = { "myprogram", "argument", NULL }. This is a required property.
SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_ENVIRONMENT_POINTER: an SDL_Environment pointer. If this property is set, it will be the entire environment for the process, otherwise the current environment is used.
SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_WORKING_DIRECTORY_STRING: a UTF-8 encoded string representing the working directory for the process, defaults to the current working directory.
SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDIN_NUMBER: an SDL_ProcessIO value describing where standard input for the process comes from, defaults to SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_NULL.
SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDIN_POINTER: an SDL_IOStream pointer used for standard input when SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDIN_NUMBER is set to SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_REDIRECT.
SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDOUT_NUMBER: an SDL_ProcessIO value describing where standard output for the process goes to, defaults to SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_INHERITED.
SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDOUT_POINTER: an SDL_IOStream pointer used for standard output when SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDOUT_NUMBER is set to SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_REDIRECT.
SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDERR_NUMBER: an SDL_ProcessIO value describing where standard error for the process goes to, defaults to SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_INHERITED.
SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDERR_POINTER: an SDL_IOStream pointer used for standard error when SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDERR_NUMBER is set to SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_REDIRECT.
SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDERR_TO_STDOUT_BOOLEAN: true if the error output of the process should be redirected into the standard output of the process. This property has no effect if SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDERR_NUMBER is set.
SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_BACKGROUND_BOOLEAN: true if the process should run in the background. In this case the default input and output is SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_NULL and the exitcode of the process is not available, and will always be 0.
SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_CMDLINE_STRING: a string containing the program to run and any parameters. This string is passed directly to CreateProcess on Windows, and does nothing on other platforms. This property is only important if you want to start programs that does non-standard command-line processing, and in most cases using SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_ARGS_POINTER is sufficient.

On POSIX platforms, wait() and waitpid(-1, ...) should not be called, and SIGCHLD should not be ignored or handled because those would prevent SDL from properly tracking the lifetime of the underlying process. You should use SDL_WaitProcess() instead.

Parameters

props the properties to use.

Returns: the newly created and running process, or NULL if the process couldn't be created.

\threadsafety It is safe to call this function from any thread.

Since: This function is available since SDL 3.2.0.

See also: SDL_CreateProcess; SDL_GetProcessProperties; SDL_ReadProcess; SDL_GetProcessInput; SDL_GetProcessOutput; SDL_KillProcess; SDL_WaitProcess; SDL_DestroyProcess

◆ SDL_DestroyProcess()

void SDL_DestroyProcess ( SDL_Process * process )

extern

Destroy a previously created process object.

Note that this does not stop the process, just destroys the SDL object used to track it. If you want to stop the process you should use SDL_KillProcess().

Parameters

process The process object to destroy.

\threadsafety This function is not thread safe.

Since: This function is available since SDL 3.2.0.

See also: SDL_CreateProcess; SDL_CreateProcessWithProperties; SDL_KillProcess

◆ SDL_GetProcessInput()

SDL_IOStream * SDL_GetProcessInput ( SDL_Process * process )

extern

Get the SDL_IOStream associated with process standard input.

The process must have been created with SDL_CreateProcess() and pipe_stdio set to true, or with SDL_CreateProcessWithProperties() and SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDIN_NUMBER set to SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_APP.

Writing to this stream can return less data than expected if the process hasn't read its input. It may be blocked waiting for its output to be read, if so you may need to call SDL_GetProcessOutput() and read the output in parallel with writing input.

Parameters

process The process to get the input stream for.

Returns: the input stream or NULL on failure; call SDL_GetError() for more information.

\threadsafety It is safe to call this function from any thread.

Since: This function is available since SDL 3.2.0.

See also: SDL_CreateProcess; SDL_CreateProcessWithProperties; SDL_GetProcessOutput

◆ SDL_GetProcessOutput()

SDL_IOStream * SDL_GetProcessOutput ( SDL_Process * process )

extern

Get the SDL_IOStream associated with process standard output.

The process must have been created with SDL_CreateProcess() and pipe_stdio set to true, or with SDL_CreateProcessWithProperties() and SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDOUT_NUMBER set to SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_APP.

Reading from this stream can return 0 with SDL_GetIOStatus() returning SDL_IO_STATUS_NOT_READY if no output is available yet.

Parameters

process The process to get the output stream for.

Returns: the output stream or NULL on failure; call SDL_GetError() for more information.

\threadsafety It is safe to call this function from any thread.

Since: This function is available since SDL 3.2.0.

See also: SDL_CreateProcess; SDL_CreateProcessWithProperties; SDL_GetProcessInput

◆ SDL_GetProcessProperties()

SDL_PropertiesID SDL_GetProcessProperties ( SDL_Process * process )

extern

Get the properties associated with a process.

The following read-only properties are provided by SDL:

SDL_PROP_PROCESS_PID_NUMBER: the process ID of the process.
SDL_PROP_PROCESS_STDIN_POINTER: an SDL_IOStream that can be used to write input to the process, if it was created with SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDIN_NUMBER set to SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_APP.
SDL_PROP_PROCESS_STDOUT_POINTER: a non-blocking SDL_IOStream that can be used to read output from the process, if it was created with SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDOUT_NUMBER set to SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_APP.
SDL_PROP_PROCESS_STDERR_POINTER: a non-blocking SDL_IOStream that can be used to read error output from the process, if it was created with SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDERR_NUMBER set to SDL_PROCESS_STDIO_APP.
SDL_PROP_PROCESS_BACKGROUND_BOOLEAN: true if the process is running in the background.

Parameters

process the process to query.

Returns: a valid property ID on success or 0 on failure; call SDL_GetError() for more information.

\threadsafety It is safe to call this function from any thread.

Since: This function is available since SDL 3.2.0.

See also: SDL_CreateProcess; SDL_CreateProcessWithProperties

◆ SDL_KillProcess()

bool SDL_KillProcess	(	SDL_Process *	process,
		bool	force )

extern

Stop a process.

Parameters

process	The process to stop.
force	true to terminate the process immediately, false to try to stop the process gracefully. In general you should try to stop the process gracefully first as terminating a process may leave it with half-written data or in some other unstable state.

Returns: true on success or false on failure; call SDL_GetError() for more information.

\threadsafety This function is not thread safe.

Since: This function is available since SDL 3.2.0.

See also: SDL_CreateProcess; SDL_CreateProcessWithProperties; SDL_WaitProcess; SDL_DestroyProcess

◆ SDL_ReadProcess()

void * SDL_ReadProcess	(	SDL_Process *	process,
		size_t *	datasize,
		int *	exitcode )

extern

Read all the output from a process.

If a process was created with I/O enabled, you can use this function to read the output. This function blocks until the process is complete, capturing all output, and providing the process exit code.

The data is allocated with a zero byte at the end (null terminated) for convenience. This extra byte is not included in the value reported via datasize.

The data should be freed with SDL_free().

Parameters

process	The process to read.
datasize	a pointer filled in with the number of bytes read, may be NULL.
exitcode	a pointer filled in with the process exit code if the process has exited, may be NULL.

Returns: the data or NULL on failure; call SDL_GetError() for more information.

\threadsafety This function is not thread safe.

Since: This function is available since SDL 3.2.0.

See also: SDL_CreateProcess; SDL_CreateProcessWithProperties; SDL_DestroyProcess

◆ SDL_WaitProcess()

bool SDL_WaitProcess	(	SDL_Process *	process,
		bool	block,
		int *	exitcode )

extern

Wait for a process to finish.

This can be called multiple times to get the status of a process.

The exit code will be the exit code of the process if it terminates normally, a negative signal if it terminated due to a signal, or -255 otherwise. It will not be changed if the process is still running.

If you create a process with standard output piped to the application (pipe_stdio being true) then you should read all of the process output before calling SDL_WaitProcess(). If you don't do this the process might be blocked indefinitely waiting for output to be read and SDL_WaitProcess() will never return true;

Parameters

process	The process to wait for.
block	If true, block until the process finishes; otherwise, report on the process' status.
exitcode	a pointer filled in with the process exit code if the process has exited, may be NULL.

Returns: true if the process exited, false otherwise.

\threadsafety This function is not thread safe.

Since: This function is available since SDL 3.2.0.

See also: SDL_CreateProcess; SDL_CreateProcessWithProperties; SDL_KillProcess; SDL_DestroyProcess

Macros

Typedefs

Enumerations

Functions

Macro Definition Documentation

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_BACKGROUND_BOOLEAN

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_ARGS_POINTER

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_BACKGROUND_BOOLEAN

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_CMDLINE_STRING

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_ENVIRONMENT_POINTER

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDERR_NUMBER

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDERR_POINTER

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDERR_TO_STDOUT_BOOLEAN

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDIN_NUMBER

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDIN_POINTER

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDOUT_NUMBER

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_STDOUT_POINTER

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_CREATE_WORKING_DIRECTORY_STRING

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_PID_NUMBER

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_STDERR_POINTER

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_STDIN_POINTER

◆ SDL_PROP_PROCESS_STDOUT_POINTER

Typedef Documentation

◆ SDL_Process

CategoryProcess

Enumeration Type Documentation

◆ SDL_ProcessIO

Function Documentation

◆ SDL_CreateProcess()

◆ SDL_CreateProcessWithProperties()

◆ SDL_DestroyProcess()

◆ SDL_GetProcessInput()

◆ SDL_GetProcessOutput()

◆ SDL_GetProcessProperties()

◆ SDL_KillProcess()

◆ SDL_ReadProcess()

◆ SDL_WaitProcess()