Start detached command with redirect to file - go

Question

I'm trying to start a command in a detached process so that it can continue after go program exits. I need to redirect the output of the command to a file.
What I need is something like this:
func main() {
command := exec.Command("/tmp/test.sh", ">", "/tmp/out")
if err := command.Start(); err != nil {
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "Command failed.", err)
os.Exit(1)
}
fmt.Println("Process ID:", command.Process.Pid)
}
Obviously such redirect doesn't work. As I immediately exit from the program after starting the long running command, I cannot open a file and bind it to the Stdout.
Is there any way to achieve such a redirect?

Answer 1

You may start a shell which executes your command / app, and you may redirect its output to a file. The shell will continue to run and execute your script / app even if your Go app exits.
Example:
cmd := exec.Command("sh", "-c", "/tmp/test.sh > /tmp/out")
if err := cmd.Start(); err != nil {
panic(err)
}
fmt.Println("Process ID:", cmd.Process.Pid)
Test it with this simple Go app (replace /tmp/test.sh with the name of the executable binary you compile this into):
package main
import ("fmt"; "time")
func main() {
for i := 0; i < 10; i++ {
fmt.Printf("%d.: %v\n", i, time.Now())
time.Sleep(time.Second)
}
}
This app simply prints a line to the standard output once every second. You can see how the output file is being written e.g. with tail -f /tmp/out.
Note that you may use other shells to execute your scripts to your liking (and to what the test.sh script dictates).
For example to use bash:
cmd := exec.Command("/bin/bash", "-c", "/tmp/test.sh > /tmp/out")
// rest is unchanged
Note that the command to be executed by the shell is passed as a single string argument, and it is not broken down into multiple as you would do it if you were to execute it directly in the command prompt.

Answer 2

Maybe you can try to use this: https://stackoverflow.com/a/28918814/2728768
Opening a file (and os.File implements io.Writer), and then passing it as the command.Stdout could do the trick:
func main() {
command := exec.Command("./tmp/test.sh")
f, err := os.OpenFile("/tmp/out", os.O_RDWR|os.O_CREATE|os.O_APPEND, 0666)
if err != nil {
fmt.Printf("error opening file: %v", err)
}
defer f.Close()
// On this line you're going to redirect the output to a file
command.Stdout = f
if err := command.Start(); err != nil {
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "Command failed.", err)
os.Exit(1)
}
fmt.Println("Process ID:", command.Process.Pid)
}
Not sure this could be a viable solution for your case. I've tried it locally and it seems working... remember that your user should be able to create/update the file.