How to determine if Python script was run via command line?

Question

Background

I would like my Python script to pause before exiting using something similar to:

raw_input(\"Press enter to close.\")

but

Answer 1

Although this isn't a very good solution, it does work (in windows at least).

You could create a batch file with the following contents:

@echo off
for %%x in (%cmdcmdline%) do if /i "%%~x"=="/c" set DOUBLECLICKED=1
start <location of python script>
if defined DOUBLECLICKED pause

If you want to be able to do this with a single file, you could try the following:

@echo off
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
set LF=^


::  The 2 empty lines are necessary
for %%x in (%cmdcmdline%) do if /i "%%~x"=="/c" set DOUBLECLICKED=1
echo print("first line of python script") %LF% print("second and so on") > %temp%/pyscript.py
start /wait console_title pyscript.py
del %temp%/pyscript.py
if defined DOUBLECLICKED pause

Batch code from: Pausing a batch file when double-clicked but not when run from a console window? Multi-line in batch from: DOS: Working with multi-line strings

Answer 2

I also had that question and, for me, the best solution is to set an environment variable in my IDE (PyCharm) and check if that variable exists to know if the script is being executed either via the command line or via the IDE.

To set an environment variable in PyCharm check: How to set environment variables in PyCharm?

Example code (environment variable: RUNNING_PYCHARM = True):

import os

# The script is being executed via the command line
if not("RUNNING_PYCHARM" in os.environ):
    raw_input("Press enter to close.")

I hope it works for you.

Answer 3

From the idea behind this answer, adding for Win10 compatibility (Ripped from Python 2.7 script; modify as needed):

import os, psutil
status = 1
if __name__ =="__main__":
    status = MainFunc(args)
    args = sys.argv
    running_windowed = False
    running_from = psutil.Process(os.getpid()).parent().name()
    if running_from == 'explorer.exe':
        args.append([DEFAULT OR DOUBLE CLICK ARGS HERE])
        running_windowed = True
    if running_windowed:
        print('Completed. Exit status of {}'.format(status))
        ready = raw_input('Press Enter To Close')
    sys.exit(status)

There is a number of switch like statements you could add to be more universal or handle different defaults.

Answer 4

Okay, the easiest way I found and made was to simply run the program in the command line, even if it was ran in the Python IDLE.

exist = lambda x: os.path.exists(x)    ## Doesn't matter

if __name__ == '__main__':

    fname = "SomeRandomFileName"    ## Random default file name

    if exist(fname)==False:         ## exist() is a pre-defined lambda function
        jot(fname)                  ## jot() is a function that creates a blank file
        os.system('start YourProgram.py')    ## << Insert your program name here
        os.system('exit'); sys.exit()   ## Exits current shell (Either IDLE or CMD)

    os.system('color a')            ## Makes it look cool! :p
    main()                          ## Runs your code
    os.system("del %s" % fname)     ## Deletes file name for next time

Add this to the bottom of your script and once ran from either IDLE or Command Prompt, it will create a file, re-run the program in the CMD, and exits the first instance. Hope that helps! :)

Answer 5

Update for later versions (e.g. Python 3.6 on Ubuntu 16.04): The statement to get the name has changed to psutil.Process(os.getpid()).parent().name()

---

I believe this CAN be done. At least, here is how I got it working in Python 2.7 under Ubuntu 14.04:

#!/usr/bin/env python
import os, psutil

# do stuff here

if psutil.Process(os.getpid()).parent.name == 'gnome-terminal':
    raw_input("Press enter to close...")

Note that -- in Ubuntu 14 with the Gnome desktop (aka Nautilus) -- you might need to do this:

• from a Nautilus window (the file browser), select Edit(menu)->Preferences(item) then Behavior(tab)->Executable Text Files(section)->Ask Each Time(radio).
• chmod your script to be executable, or -- from a Nautilus window (the file browser) -- right click on the file->Properties(item) then Permissions(tab)->Execute:Allow executing file as program(checkbox)
• double-click your file. If you select "Run in Terminal", you should see the "Type enter to close..." prompt.
• now try from a bash prompt; you should NOT see the prompt.

To see how this works, you can fiddle with this (based on the answer by from @EduardoIvanec):

#!/usr/bin/env python
import os
import sys
import psutil

def parent_list(proc=None, indent=0):
    if not proc:
        proc = psutil.Process(os.getpid())
    pid = proc.pid
    name = proc.name
    pad = " " * indent
    s = "{0}{1:5d} {2:s}".format(pad, pid, name)
    parent = proc.parent
    if parent:
        s += "\n" + parent_list(parent, indent+1)
    return s

def invoked_from_bash_cmdline():
    return psutil.Process(os.getpid()).parent.name == "bash"

def invoked_as_run_in_terminal():
    return psutil.Process(os.getpid()).parent.name == "gnome-terminal"

def invoked_as_run():
    return psutil.Process(os.getpid()).parent.name == "init"


if sys.stdin.isatty():
    print "running interactively"
    print parent_list()
    if invoked_as_run_in_terminal():
        raw_input("Type enter to close...")

else:
    with open('output','w') as f:
        f.write("running in the background!\n")
        f.write("parent list:\n")
        f.write(parent_list())