diff --git a/emmake.py b/emmake.py
index 56d6b499a5f47..99c58bf454b86 100755
--- a/emmake.py
+++ b/emmake.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 import shutil
 import sys
 
-from tools import building, shared, utils
+from tools import building, utils
 
 
 #
@@ -58,10 +58,10 @@ def run():
   # 'sdl2-config.bat' in PATH.
   print(f'emmake: "{shlex.join(args)}" in "{os.getcwd()}"', file=sys.stderr)
   if utils.WINDOWS:
-    return shared.run_process(args, check=False, shell=True, env=env).returncode
+    return utils.run_process(args, check=False, shell=True, env=env).returncode
   else:
     os.environ.update(env)
-    shared.exec_process(args)
+    utils.exec(args)
 
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
diff --git a/test/benchmark/benchmark_sse.py b/test/benchmark/benchmark_sse.py
index 5bc6ce281c541..2e6e0bb8e0295 100644
--- a/test/benchmark/benchmark_sse.py
+++ b/test/benchmark/benchmark_sse.py
@@ -21,7 +21,8 @@
 from common import EMRUN, test_file
 
 from tools.config import V8_ENGINE
-from tools.shared import CLANG_CXX, EMCC, WINDOWS, run_process
+from tools.shared import CLANG_CXX, EMCC, WINDOWS
+from tools.utils import run_process
 
 # System info
 system_info = subprocess.check_output([EMRUN, '--system_info'], stderr=subprocess.STDOUT, text=True)
diff --git a/test/clang_native.py b/test/clang_native.py
index a58a911f9be65..e4dcc61025db8 100644
--- a/test/clang_native.py
+++ b/test/clang_native.py
@@ -8,8 +8,8 @@
 import platform
 import sys
 
-from tools.shared import CLANG_CC, CLANG_CXX, PIPE, run_process
-from tools.utils import MACOS, WINDOWS, path_from_root
+from tools.shared import CLANG_CC, CLANG_CXX, PIPE
+from tools.utils import MACOS, WINDOWS, path_from_root, run_process
 
 logger = logging.getLogger('clang_native')
 
diff --git a/test/common.py b/test/common.py
index 53db5dc7971a7..cd4ca7db6deea 100644
--- a/test/common.py
+++ b/test/common.py
@@ -959,7 +959,7 @@ def verify_es5(self, filename):
       #  ES-Check: there were no ES version matching errors!
       # pipe stdout and stderr so that we can choose if/when to print this
       # output and avoid spamming stdout when tests are successful.
-      shared.run_process(es_check + ['es5', inputfile], stdout=PIPE, stderr=STDOUT, env=es_check_env)
+      utils.run_process(es_check + ['es5', inputfile], stdout=PIPE, stderr=STDOUT, env=es_check_env)
     except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
       print(e.stdout)
       self.fail('es-check failed to verify ES5 output compliance')
@@ -1296,7 +1296,7 @@ def clear(self):
       utils.delete_contents(shared.EMSCRIPTEN_TEMP_DIR)
 
   def run_process(self, cmd, check=True, **kwargs):
-    # Wrapper around shared.run_process.  This is desirable so that the tests
+    # Wrapper around utils.run_process.  This is desirable so that the tests
     # can fail (in the unittest sense) rather than error'ing.
     # In the long run it would nice to completely remove the dependency on
     # core emscripten code (shared.py) here.
@@ -1312,7 +1312,7 @@ def run_process(self, cmd, check=True, **kwargs):
       kwargs['stderr'] = PIPE
 
     try:
-      rtn = shared.run_process(cmd, check=check, **kwargs)
+      rtn = utils.run_process(cmd, check=check, **kwargs)
     except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
       if check and e.returncode != 0:
         print(e.stdout)
@@ -2349,8 +2349,7 @@ def build_library(name,
         with open(os.path.join(project_dir, 'configure_err'), 'w') as err:
           stdout = out if EMTEST_BUILD_VERBOSE < 2 else None
           stderr = err if EMTEST_BUILD_VERBOSE < 1 else None
-          shared.run_process(configure, env=env, stdout=stdout, stderr=stderr,
-                             cwd=project_dir)
+          utils.run_process(configure, env=env, stdout=stdout, stderr=stderr, cwd=project_dir)
     except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
       print('-- configure stdout --')
       print(read_file(Path(project_dir, 'configure_out')))
@@ -2378,8 +2377,7 @@ def open_make_err(mode='r'):
       with open_make_err('w') as make_err:
         stdout = make_out if EMTEST_BUILD_VERBOSE < 2 else None
         stderr = make_err if EMTEST_BUILD_VERBOSE < 1 else None
-        shared.run_process(make + make_args, stdout=stdout, stderr=stderr, env=env,
-                           cwd=project_dir)
+        utils.run_process(make + make_args, stdout=stdout, stderr=stderr, env=env, cwd=project_dir)
   except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
     with open_make_out() as f:
       print('-- make stdout --')
diff --git a/test/test_benchmark.py b/test/test_benchmark.py
index 993fd4f000d5a..c0d98a9481b60 100644
--- a/test/test_benchmark.py
+++ b/test/test_benchmark.py
@@ -25,7 +25,8 @@
 from decorators import needs_make
 
 from tools import building, utils
-from tools.shared import CLANG_CC, CLANG_CXX, EMCC, PIPE, config, run_process
+from tools.shared import CLANG_CC, CLANG_CXX, EMCC, PIPE, config
+from tools.utils import run_process
 
 # standard arguments for timing:
 # 0: no runtime, just startup
diff --git a/test/test_other.py b/test/test_other.py
index b5ba216fa12af..380d35af0814e 100644
--- a/test/test_other.py
+++ b/test/test_other.py
@@ -268,7 +268,7 @@ def decorated(self, *args, **kwargs):
 
 
 def llvm_nm(file):
-  output = shared.run_process([LLVM_NM, file], stdout=PIPE).stdout
+  output = utils.run_process([LLVM_NM, file], stdout=PIPE).stdout
 
   symbols = {
     'defs': set(),
diff --git a/test/test_sockets.py b/test/test_sockets.py
index 61381d38e31e6..d152b634b0575 100644
--- a/test/test_sockets.py
+++ b/test/test_sockets.py
@@ -28,7 +28,8 @@
 )
 
 from tools import config
-from tools.shared import CLANG_CC, EMCC, path_from_root, run_process
+from tools.shared import CLANG_CC, EMCC, path_from_root
+from tools.utils import run_process
 
 npm_checked = False
 
diff --git a/tools/building.py b/tools/building.py
index e2afec294d157..b119f06acdd4c 100644
--- a/tools/building.py
+++ b/tools/building.py
@@ -46,10 +46,9 @@
   get_emscripten_temp_dir,
   is_c_symbol,
   path_from_root,
-  run_process,
 )
 from .toolchain_profiler import ToolchainProfiler
-from .utils import WINDOWS
+from .utils import WINDOWS, run_process
 
 logger = logging.getLogger('building')
 
diff --git a/tools/cmdline.py b/tools/cmdline.py
index 50a5f561bce09..4f7a195f0abaa 100644
--- a/tools/cmdline.py
+++ b/tools/cmdline.py
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ def version_string():
   # look up and find the revision in a parent directory that is a git repo
   revision_suffix = ''
   if os.path.exists(utils.path_from_root('.git')):
-    git_rev = shared.run_process(
+    git_rev = utils.run_process(
       ['git', 'rev-parse', 'HEAD'],
       stdout=PIPE, stderr=PIPE, cwd=utils.path_from_root()).stdout.strip()
     revision_suffix = ' (%s)' % git_rev
diff --git a/tools/empath-split.py b/tools/empath-split.py
index d92e1c98c536d..1a9fc0e5029f9 100755
--- a/tools/empath-split.py
+++ b/tools/empath-split.py
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@
 __rootdir__ = os.path.dirname(__scriptdir__)
 sys.path.insert(0, __rootdir__)
 
-from tools import building, diagnostics, emsymbolizer, shared, utils, webassembly
+from tools import building, diagnostics, emsymbolizer, utils, webassembly
 from tools.utils import exit_with_error
 
 
@@ -349,7 +349,7 @@ def main():
     cmd += forwarded_args
     if args.verbose:
       print('\n' + ' '.join(cmd))
-    shared.run_process(cmd)
+    utils.run_process(cmd)
   finally:
     if not args.preserve_manifest:
       os.remove(manifest)
diff --git a/tools/emsymbolizer.py b/tools/emsymbolizer.py
index 0adcbfc69c460..c71fc26da890d 100755
--- a/tools/emsymbolizer.py
+++ b/tools/emsymbolizer.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 __rootdir__ = os.path.dirname(__scriptdir__)
 sys.path.insert(0, __rootdir__)
 
-from tools import shared, webassembly
+from tools import shared, utils, webassembly
 
 LLVM_SYMBOLIZER = shared.llvm_tool_path('llvm-symbolizer')
 
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ def symbolize_address_symbolizer(module, address, is_dwarf):
          str(address)]
   if shared.DEBUG:
     print(f'Running {" ".join(cmd)}')
-  out = shared.run_process(cmd, stdout=subprocess.PIPE).stdout.strip()
+  out = utils.run_process(cmd, stdout=subprocess.PIPE).stdout.strip()
   out_lines = out.splitlines()
 
   # Source location regex, e.g., /abc/def.c:3:5
diff --git a/tools/js_optimizer.py b/tools/js_optimizer.py
index 6392fa98b06da..cb3836a074651 100755
--- a/tools/js_optimizer.py
+++ b/tools/js_optimizer.py
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ def minify_shell(self, shell, minify_whitespace):
       cmd = get_acorn_cmd() + [temp_file, 'minifyGlobals']
       if minify_whitespace:
         cmd.append('--minify-whitespace')
-      output = shared.run_process(cmd, stdout=subprocess.PIPE).stdout
+      output = utils.run_process(cmd, stdout=subprocess.PIPE).stdout
 
     assert len(output) and not output.startswith('Assertion failed'), 'Error in js optimizer: ' + output
     code, metadata = output.split('// EXTRA_INFO:')
diff --git a/tools/shared.py b/tools/shared.py
index fe428a10c44dd..031b0f17a82f5 100644
--- a/tools/shared.py
+++ b/tools/shared.py
@@ -100,26 +100,6 @@
 diagnostics.add_warning('closure', enabled=False)
 
 
-def run_process(cmd, check=True, input=None, *args, **kw):
-  """Runs a subprocess returning the exit code.
-
-  By default this function will raise an exception on failure.  Therefore this should only be
-  used if you want to handle such failures.  For most subprocesses, failures are not recoverable
-  and should be fatal.  In those cases the `check_call` wrapper should be preferred.
-  """
-
-  # Flush standard streams otherwise the output of the subprocess may appear in the
-  # output before messages that we have already written.
-  sys.stdout.flush()
-  sys.stderr.flush()
-  kw.setdefault('text', True)
-  kw.setdefault('encoding', 'utf-8')
-  ret = subprocess.run(cmd, check=check, input=input, *args, **kw)
-  debug_text = '%sexecuted %s' % ('successfully ' if check else '', shlex.join(cmd))
-  logger.debug(debug_text)
-  return ret
-
-
 def returncode_to_str(code):
   assert code != 0
   if code < 0:
@@ -210,7 +190,7 @@ def check_call(cmd, *args, **kw):
   if SKIP_SUBPROCS:
     return 0
   try:
-    return run_process(cmd, *args, **kw)
+    return utils.run_process(cmd, *args, **kw)
   except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
     exit_with_error("'%s' failed (%s)", shlex.join(cmd), returncode_to_str(e.returncode))
   except OSError as e:
@@ -219,13 +199,7 @@ def check_call(cmd, *args, **kw):
 
 def exec_process(cmd):
   print_compiler_stage(cmd)
-  if utils.WINDOWS:
-    rtn = run_process(cmd, stdin=sys.stdin, check=False).returncode
-    sys.exit(rtn)
-  else:
-    sys.stdout.flush()
-    sys.stderr.flush()
-    os.execvp(cmd[0], cmd)
+  utils.exec(cmd)
 
 
 def run_js_tool(filename, jsargs=[], node_args=[], **kw):  # noqa: B006
@@ -278,7 +252,7 @@ def get_clang_targets():
   if not os.path.exists(CLANG_CC):
     exit_with_error('clang executable not found at `%s`' % CLANG_CC)
   try:
-    target_info = run_process([CLANG_CC, '-print-targets'], stdout=PIPE).stdout
+    target_info = utils.run_process([CLANG_CC, '-print-targets'], stdout=PIPE).stdout
   except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
     exit_with_error('error running `clang -print-targets`.  Check your llvm installation (%s)' % CLANG_CC)
   if 'Registered Targets:' not in target_info:
@@ -312,7 +286,7 @@ def env_with_node_in_path():
 
 
 def _get_node_version_pair(nodejs):
-  actual = run_process(nodejs + ['--version'], stdout=PIPE).stdout.strip()
+  actual = utils.run_process(nodejs + ['--version'], stdout=PIPE).stdout.strip()
   version = actual.replace('v', '')
   version = version.split('-')[0].split('.')
   version = tuple(int(v) for v in version)
@@ -371,7 +345,7 @@ def node_pthread_flags(nodejs):
 @ToolchainProfiler.profile()
 def check_node():
   try:
-    run_process(config.NODE_JS + ['-e', 'console.log("hello")'], stdout=PIPE)
+    utils.run_process(config.NODE_JS + ['-e', 'console.log("hello")'], stdout=PIPE)
   except Exception as e:
     exit_with_error('the configured node executable (%s) does not seem to work, check the paths in %s (%s)', config.NODE_JS, config.EM_CONFIG, str(e))
 
diff --git a/tools/utils.py b/tools/utils.py
index 14e0c1ec1b8f8..7550f0a6e245b 100644
--- a/tools/utils.py
+++ b/tools/utils.py
@@ -10,8 +10,10 @@
 import functools
 import logging
 import os
+import shlex
 import shutil
 import stat
+import subprocess
 import sys
 from pathlib import Path
 
@@ -25,6 +27,36 @@
 logger = logging.getLogger('utils')
 
 
+def run_process(cmd, check=True, input=None, *args, **kw):
+  """Runs a subprocess returning the exit code.
+
+  By default this function will raise an exception on failure.  Therefore this should only be
+  used if you want to handle such failures.  For most subprocesses, failures are not recoverable
+  and should be fatal.  In those cases the `check_call` wrapper should be preferred.
+  """
+
+  # Flush standard streams otherwise the output of the subprocess may appear in the
+  # output before messages that we have already written.
+  sys.stdout.flush()
+  sys.stderr.flush()
+  kw.setdefault('text', True)
+  kw.setdefault('encoding', 'utf-8')
+  ret = subprocess.run(cmd, check=check, input=input, *args, **kw)
+  debug_text = '%sexecuted %s' % ('successfully ' if check else '', shlex.join(cmd))
+  logger.debug(debug_text)
+  return ret
+
+
+def exec(cmd):
+  if WINDOWS:
+    rtn = run_process(cmd, stdin=sys.stdin, check=False).returncode
+    sys.exit(rtn)
+  else:
+    sys.stdout.flush()
+    sys.stderr.flush()
+    os.execvp(cmd[0], cmd)
+
+
 def exit_with_error(msg, *args):
   diagnostics.error(msg, *args)