[scary-size]

> I learned a lot about JavaScript (and Node.js) by writing shell scripts in Node.js.

Totally! This will give you lot of insights into low-level working of JS. Of course, some Node.js specifics too. Reading from STDIN, parsing strings into structured data etc.

[pavlov]

For writing shell scripts in Node, there’s a helper library called zx created by Google.

I find it a lifesaver for the common occasion when I’m tempted to write a bash script but also know it’s going to need some slightly more advanced features (as in parsing a JSON, or just arrays that are not totally bonkers in syntax).

[scary-size]

Yes, I was about to propose this. But then again, the author wants to learn the basics without grappling with abstractions. I think zx can be a bit quirky.

[pavlov]

For sure there's an element of magic to zx. The use of tagged template literals doesn't look like plain JavaScript even though it's standard.

You need to understand async/wait, promises and tag functions to make sense of this basic zx example:

  await $`ls -la`