Process settings

Scope environment and working-directory changes

directory temporarily changes the process working directory for a block. environment exposes a named runtime binding to child processes and restores the previous environment on exit.

import shell
var RECURLOOP_DOCS_EXAMPLE = "visible to children"
environment "RECURLOOP_DOCS_EXAMPLE" {
    run printenv RECURLOOP_DOCS_EXAMPLE
}
assert status == 0

Release native process guards

For typed functions, Shell:cwd_enter and Shell:env_enter return guards. Check for null and pair them with cwd_leave or env_leave, preferably using defer. The guards restore the old value, including an originally absent environment variable.

Run independent pipelines together

import shell
parallel {
    run printf "first job\n"
    run printf "second job\n"
}
assert status == 0

The block waits for its jobs. Output order is not guaranteed. Keep files and other shared resources independent or explicitly coordinate access. Environment and working-directory guards affect the process; avoid overlapping changes from unrelated threads.

Manage parallel invocations explicitly

For programmatic jobs use Shell:Parallel:new, spawn, wait and destroy. wait returns the first nonzero status and clears pending jobs. destroy waits for outstanding work before releasing the group.