+(defun notmuch-command-to-string (&rest args)
+ "Synchronously invoke \"notmuch\" with the given list of arguments.
+
+If notmuch exits with a non-zero status, output from the process
+will appear in a buffer named \"*Notmuch errors*\" and an error
+will be signaled.
+
+Otherwise the output will be returned"
+ (with-temp-buffer
+ (let* ((status (apply #'call-process notmuch-command nil t nil args))
+ (output (buffer-string)))
+ (notmuch-check-exit-status status (cons notmuch-command args) output)
+ output)))
+