{"record":{"id":"4a91501160c9abfb","repo":"sds/overcommit","slug":"cannot-pipe-commands-with-the-execute-helper","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"Cannot pipe commands with the `execute` helper","messagePattern":"Cannot pipe commands with the `execute` helper","errorType":"exception","errorClass":"Overcommit::Exceptions::InvalidCommandArgs","httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"lib/overcommit/utils.rb","lineNumber":206,"sourceCode":"      # filtering of the command before executing it.\n      #\n      # The `args` option provides a convenient way of splitting up long\n      # argument lists which would otherwise exceed the maximum command line\n      # length of the OS. It will break up the list into chunks and run the\n      # command with the same prefix `initial_args`, finally combining the\n      # output together at the end.\n      #\n      # This requires that the external command you are running can have its\n      # work split up in this way and still produce the same resultant output\n      # when outputs of the individual commands are concatenated back together.\n      #\n      # @param initial_args [Array<String>]\n      # @param options [Hash]\n      # @option options [Array<String>] :args long list of arguments to split up\n      # @return [Overcommit::Subprocess::Result] status, stdout, and stderr\n      def execute(initial_args, options = {})\n        if initial_args.include?('|')\n          raise Overcommit::Exceptions::InvalidCommandArgs,\n                'Cannot pipe commands with the `execute` helper'\n        end\n\n        result =\n          if (splittable_args = options.fetch(:args) { [] }).any?\n            debug(initial_args.join(' ') + \" ... (#{splittable_args.length} splittable args)\")\n            Overcommit::CommandSplitter.execute(initial_args, options)\n          else\n            debug(initial_args.join(' '))\n            Overcommit::Subprocess.spawn(initial_args, options)\n          end\n\n        debug(\"EXIT STATUS: #{result.status}\")\n        debug(\"STDOUT: #{result.stdout.inspect}\")\n        debug(\"STDERR: #{result.stderr.inspect}\")\n\n        result\n      end","sourceCodeStart":188,"sourceCodeEnd":224,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/sds/overcommit/blob/fee0cd74b26eb81f64b43b7fab17bbb541575cc4/lib/overcommit/utils.rb#L188-L224","documentation":"Error \"Cannot pipe commands with the `execute` helper\" thrown in sds/overcommit.","triggerScenarios":"Thrown at lib/overcommit/utils.rb:206 when the library encounters an invalid state.","commonSituations":"See trigger scenarios.","solutions":["Remove the pipe (`|`) from the command array passed to `execute`; run each stage of the pipeline as a separate `execute` call and chain the output yourself.","If shell piping is truly required, wrap the command in an explicit shell invocation (e.g. `sh -c 'cmd1 | cmd2'`), understanding the security implications."],"exampleFix":null,"handlingStrategy":null,"validationCode":null,"typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":null,"preventionTips":[],"tags":[],"backgroundTag":null,"analyzedSha":"fee0cd74b26eb81f64b43b7fab17bbb541575cc4","analyzedAt":"2026-08-23T04:07:28.153Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-08-23T08:06:27.607Z"}