How to handle the input and output file path in process exec block?

[wangzhichao1990]

In Nextflow, exec blocks are a special construct that allows you to run a script directly in the process using Groovy code, but unlike the script block, it does not automatically stage files into the process execution directory.
Is it better to avoid using file paths in the exec block?

[bentsherman]

There is an old issue about this but I can't find it. The exec block doesn't work correctly with path inputs/outputs, so you should use val inputs/outputs instead. Unfortunately you lose some provenance information when you do that, so it's something I'd like to fix in the future