sh can redirect the STDOUT and STDERR of a process to many different types of targets, using the _out and _err special kwargs. There are two instances:

- Filename: if a string is used, it is assumed to be a filename. 
```
import sh
sh.ifconfig(_out="/tmp/interfaces")
```
- File-like Object: any object that supports .write(data) can be used as well.
```
import sh
from io import StringIO

buf = StringIO()
sh.ifconfig(_out=buf)
print(buf.getvalue())
```

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

This package allows you to call any program as if it were a function. It works by running the binary commands on your system by dynamically resolving your $PATH, and then wrapping the binary in a function. 

To install sh, use the command:
```
pip install sh
```

sh documentation

When passing multiple arguments to a command, each argument must be a separate string:
```
from sh import tar
tar("cvf", "/tmp/test.tar", "/my/home/directory")
```
The reason why arguments need to be separate strings is because shells automatically parse commandline arguments and break them up. They have a complex set of rules to take a single string of a command and arguments and separate them. 

Learn Before

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