Fool python's os.isatty from a bash script

Question

I am writing a bash script that will be called from cron.

The bash script runs a python command that is sensing when it's in a terminal by using pythons os.isatty function and outputs different things depending on if it's run manually or via a cron. This is making debugging very hard and I would like to make it so that it always assumes it ISN'T in a TTY.

I would like to be able to add something to the bash script to fool the python script that it is not being run in a terminal and so always output the same thing.

To confirm, I have control of the bash script but don't want to edit the python as this is a packaged app.

Any ideas?

I hope that made sense.

Thank you very much in advance.

To clarify: do you want the script to "think" that it _is_ running with a tty or that it _is not_ running with one? — Elmar Peise, Apr 16 '13 at 16:15
just call isatty once and store it in some globally accessible place... now you can just set your value true or false ... if you are doing os.isatty all over the place thats probably not great form anyway — Joran Beasley, Apr 16 '13 at 16:20
ExP: I'd like the script to "think" that it is not running with a TTY — Dogsbody, Apr 16 '13 at 16:25
Joran: As I said in the post, I have no control over the python script. Only the bash script that calls it. — Dogsbody, Apr 16 '13 at 16:26
shx: The code just says... `cfg.update_option('progress_meter', sys.stdout.isatty())` — Dogsbody, Apr 16 '13 at 16:28

shx2 · Accepted Answer · 2013-04-16T16:32:33.717

7

You can redirect the output to cat (assuming the script tests sys.stdout's file descriptor's atty-ness).

python myscript.py | cat

a.py

import sys
print sys.stdout.isatty()

to test:

> python a.py
True
> python a.py | cat
False

edited Apr 16 '13 at 16:32

answered Apr 16 '13 at 16:26

shx2

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Fool python's os.isatty from a bash script

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