Run shell commands from a list and check exit codes with python

Hi everyone! I’d like to share a small Python script I originally wrote for a one-time personal task. While it was created for a specific need, I believe it could be useful in everyday sysadmin work.

The code snippet:

import subprocess
import logging

logging.basicConfig(
    level=logging.INFO,
    format='%(levelname)s: %(message)s'
)
logger = logging.getLogger("demo-script")

def run_command(command):
    logger.info(f"Trying to run command: {command}")
    
    result = subprocess.run(
        ['bash', '-c', command],
        capture_output=True,
        text=True
    )
    
    logger.info(f"Exit code: {result.returncode}")
    
    if result.returncode == 0:
        logger.info(f"SUCCESS: {command}")
    else:
        logger.error(f"FAILURE: {command}")
        if result.stderr:
            logger.error(f"STDERR: {result.stderr.strip()}")

def main():
    logger.info("Starting script")

    commands = [
        "df -h",
        "hostname",
        "ping 8.8.8.8 -c 1",
        "cp /etc/no/such/file /tmp/"  # Broken command for demonstration
    ]

    for cmd in commands:
        run_command(cmd)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

As you can see, the code is pretty simple. All that it makes is:

runs commands one by one
checks exit codes for each command
prints report using logger

Example output:

INFO: Starting script
INFO: Trying to run command: df -h
INFO: Exit code: 0
INFO: SUCCESS: df -h
INFO: Trying to run command: hostname
INFO: Exit code: 0
INFO: SUCCESS: hostname
INFO: Trying to run command: ping 8.8.8.8 -c 1
INFO: Exit code: 0
INFO: SUCCESS: ping 8.8.8.8 -c 1
INFO: Trying to run command: cp /etc/no/such/file /tmp/
INFO: Exit code: 1
ERROR: FAILURE: cp /etc/no/such/file /tmp/
ERROR: STDERR: cp: /etc/no/such/file: No such file or directory

Just a short example, but it might come in handy as part of a bigger script for everyday sysadmin work.

✅ Content reviewed as of 19 June 2025

Written on August 8, 2017