execVM

execVM

Category

Code Execution

Arity

Unary — execVM <filePath>.

execVM <string>   // path to .sqf file

Description

Reads an .sqf file from disk, compiles it, and spawns it asynchronously on the current scheduler. Returns a ScriptHandle. This is the primary way to load and execute external script files.

How It Works

1. Reads the file content from the given path.
2. Compiles the source text into a Code value using the SQ# compiler.
3. Spawns the compiled code as a new fiber on the current scheduler.
4. Returns a ScriptHandle.

Equivalent to spawn compile (readFile _path) but as a single efficient operation.

Usage

Basic file execution

_handle = execVM "scripts\init.sqf";

With await

_handle = execVM "scripts\setup.sqf";
await _handle;
systemChat "Setup complete";

Loading multiple scripts

{
    _handles pushBack (execVM _x);
} forEach [
    "scripts\ai.sqf",
    "scripts\spawns.sqf",
    "scripts\loot.sqf"
];

Check if file exists before exec

if (!isNil { execVM "optional\addon.sqf" }) then {
    // file exists and was spawned
};

Thread Safety

Creates fiber on the current scheduler. File reading is synchronous (blocks briefly). The spawned code runs on the current scheduler.

See Also

• spawn — spawn inline code
• compile — compile string to code
• call — synchronous execution
• await — wait for handle