---
name: system
status: documented
runtime: pp
source: src/runtime/pp/process.rs
---
```{index} single: system; Perl built-in (pp runtime)
```

# system

## Synopsis

```perl
my $status = system("ls -la");
my $status = system("program", "arg1", "arg2");
system("echo hello") == 0 or die "system failed: $?";
```

## Description

Executes an external command and waits for it to complete.

In the single-argument form, the command string is passed to
`/bin/sh -c` for shell interpretation (pipes, redirects, etc.).
In the multi-argument form (list form), the program is executed
directly via `execvp` without a shell, avoiding shell metacharacter
interpretation.

Returns the full wait status (same encoding as `$?`):
- `0` on success (exit code 0)
- `$? >> 8` extracts the exit code
- Lower 8 bits contain signal information
- `-1` on failure to execute

The child process inherits Perl's `%ENV` (not the OS environment).

## See also

exec, fork, waitpid, backticks, `$?`