Escaping Command Arguments in os.system() Calls

When working with os.system() in Python, ensuring proper argument handling is crucial. Files and other parameters often require escaping to prevent interference with the shell's commands. Here's a comprehensive guide to effectively escape arguments for various operating systems and shells, particularly bash:

Using Quotes

The simplest solution is to enclose arguments in quotes. Single quotes (') prevent shell expansion, while double quotes (") allow variable substitution but suppress variable expansion within the quoted string. This approach is widely supported across different platforms and shells, including bash:

os.system("cat '%s' | grep something | sort > '%s'" 
          % (in_filename, out_filename))

Using shlex Module

Python provides the shlex module specifically designed for this purpose. Its quote() function properly escapes strings for use in POSIX shells, including bash:

import shlex

escaped_in_filename = shlex.quote(in_filename)
escaped_out_filename = shlex.quote(out_filename)
os.system("cat {} | grep something | sort > {}".format(
          escaped_in_filename, escaped_out_filename))

Using pipes Module (Deprecation Warning!)

For Python versions 2.x and 3.x up to 3.10, pipes.quote from the deprecated pipes module can be used as an alternative to shlex.quote. Be aware that starting from Python 3.11, pipes is marked for removal:

from pipes import quote

escaped_in_filename = quote(in_filename)
escaped_out_filename = quote(out_filename)
os.system("cat {} | grep something | sort > {}".format(
          escaped_in_filename, escaped_out_filename))

As a general rule, for security reasons, user-generated input should not be directly plugged into system calls without proper validation and sanitization.