Multicall sh runner

Description

A multicall Windows batch file (the runner) to provide a transparent method to run a sh-script (with busybox-w32), in Windows Command Prompt or from other batch file.

Features

• Multicall. Rename the runner to match the target sh-script, and it will run the sh-script automagically.
• Run as admin automatically. Append .admin to the runner's name, and it will run the sh-script as admin.
• Pass-through arguments. All arguments to the runner are passed through to the sh-script.
• Portable. Nothing to install and nothing left behind.

Files and Usage

Main files

• sh-runner.cmd
  • The runner. It must be in the same directory as your target sh-script.
  • Copy/hardlink and rename it to match your target sh-script. For examples:
    • To run abc.sh as current user, rename the runner to abc.cmd.
    • To run abc.sh as admin, rename the runner to abc.admin.cmd.
  • Symlinking does NOT work, as the runner will resolve its name to the symlink target. (One of the many ugly characteristics of NTFS's symlink.)
• sh.exe
  • It is a renamed busybox64.exe (64bit) to execute the sh-script.
  • You can download the latest version or the 32bit version from busybox-w32.
  • This file is mandatory, duh.
  • It can be in the same directory as the runner, or in the PATH.
• elevate.exe
  • An tiny open-source utility to run commands as admin, from here.
  • This file is optional. You don't need it if you are not planning to use the "Run as admin automatically" feature. (You can always start the runner as admin manually.)
  • It can be in the same directory as the runner, or in the PATH.
• hardlink-runner.cmd
  • A utility script to hardlink one runner to multiple runners for a set of sh-scripts, so that you don't have to do it one-by-one.
  • If running it without parameters, it will create runners for all the sh-script in the same directory, by hard-linking from sh-runner.cmd.
  • Use option -h to show help messages for more usage details.
  • This file is optional.

Example files

• sh-hello.sh
  • A hello-world example sh-script.
• sh-hello.cmd
  • The runner, renamed to run the example sh-script as current user (the user starting the runner).
• sh-hello.admin.cmd
  • The runner, renamed and appended .admin, to run the example sh-script as admin automatically.

FAQ

Will this work with WSL, Cygwin, MSYS, etc.?

I don't know. Maybe you can try it and let me know?

Why make this project while one-liner like busybox.exe sh <sh-script> can do the job?

For several reasons:

• I like to run my sh-scripts in the same way everywhere, i.e. calling their names. Be it in busybox shell or in command prompt.
• I like to start some of my sh-scripts always as admin, without manually doing it.
• I like to double-click to start some of my sh-scripts, without writing a single line of launching code.
• Generally, I am lazy, OK?

Why use sh-script on Windows anyway? I know batch script is awful, but isn't PowerShell script good enough?

It's just a matter of preference. My main personal reasons are

• sh-script is powerful and can be found everywhere, on Linux, Android, and now Windows.
• busybox-w32 is tiny, powerful, portable, and just plain awesome.