Running a Command
Use --wait to run a command synchronously — output streams to your terminal and the CLI exits with the process exit code:
oc exec sb-abc123 --wait -- echo "Hello, World!"
oc exec sb-abc123 --wait -- npm run build
--wait, oc exec creates an exec session and prints the session ID with attach instructions. This is useful for long-running commands:
oc exec sb-abc123 -- node server.js
# → Session es-xyz created. Attach with: oc exec attach sb-abc es-xyz
Working Directory & Environment
oc exec sb-abc123 --wait --cwd /app --env NODE_ENV=production -- npm run build
oc exec sb-abc123 --wait --env API_KEY=xxx --env DEBUG=true -- ./run.sh
Timeouts
Set a timeout with --timeout (in seconds). Default is 0 (no timeout). When exceeded, the command is killed:
oc exec sb-abc123 --wait --timeout 30 -- npm test
Creating an Exec Session
Plain oc exec (without --wait) creates a session for long-running commands. The command keeps running even after you disconnect:
oc exec sb-abc123 -- python train.py
# Session es-abc created
Capturing Output as JSON
Combine --json with --wait for scripting:
RESULT=$(oc exec sb-abc123 --json --wait -- node -e 'console.log("hello")')
echo $RESULT | jq '.stdout' # "hello\n"
echo $RESULT | jq '.exitCode' # 0
Managing Exec Sessions
# List active sessions
oc exec list sb-abc123
# Kill a session
oc exec kill sb-abc123 es-xyz
oc exec kill sb-abc123 es-xyz --signal 15 # SIGTERM
oc exec attach exists as a command but is not yet implemented. It prints guidance to use the SDK or a WebSocket client. Use oc exec list and oc exec kill to manage sessions from the CLI.
Shell vs Exec
| Use Case | Command |
|---|
| Single command, capture output | oc exec --wait |
| Scripting and automation | oc exec --wait --json |
| Long-running background process | oc exec (no --wait) |
| Interactive development, debugging | oc shell |
