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The Bash Hackers Wiki
This wiki is intended to hold documentation of any kind about GNU Bash. The main motivation was to provide human-readable documentation and information so users aren't forced to read every bit of the Bash manpage - which can be difficult to understand. However, the docs here are not meant as a newbie tutorial.
This wiki and any programs found in this wiki are free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
This wiki and its programs are distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
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Scripting and general information
- Bash v4 - a rough overview (unmaintained, since Bash 4 is more or less standard)
- style -- an assorted collection of style and optic hints
- basics
- newbie_traps
- bashbehaviour
- posparams
- processtree
- obsolete
- nonportable
- debuggingtips
- terminalcodes
- tutoriallist
Code snippets
There is a section that holds small code snippets.
See also some Bash source code excerpts.
How to
Doing specific tasks: concepts, methods, ideas:
- Simple locking (against parallel run)
- Rudimentary config files for your scripts
- Editing files with ed(1)
- Collapsing Functions
- Illustrated Redirection Tutorial
- Calculate with dc(1)
- Introduction to pax - the POSIX archiver
- getopts_tutorial (under construction!)
- dissectabadoneliner An example of a bad
oneliner, breakdown and fix (by
kojoro
) - Write tests for ./your-script.sh by using bashtest util
Bash syntax and operations
- Bash features overview by version
- Basic grammar rules
- Quoting and character escaping
- Parsing and execution
- Some words about words...
- Patterns and pattern matching
- Arithmetic expressions
- List of shell options
- Redirection
- Special parameters and shell variables
- Arrays
Compound commands
Compound commands overview | |
---|---|
Grouping | |
{ ...; } |
command grouping |
( ... ) |
command grouping in a subshell |
Conditionals | |
[[ ... ]] |
conditional expression |
if ...; then ...; fi |
conditional branching |
case ... esac |
pattern-based branching |
Loops | |
for word in ...; do ...; done |
classic for-loop |
for ((x=1; x<=10; x++)); do ...; done |
C-style for-loop |
while ...; do ...; done |
while loop |
until ...; do ...; done |
until loop |
Misc | |
(( ... )) |
arithmetic evaluation |
select word in ...; do ...; done |
user selections |
Expansions and substitutions
Introduction to expansions and substitutions | |
---|---|
{A,B,C} {A..C} |
Brace expansion |
~/ ~root/ |
Tilde expansion |
$FOO ${BAR%.mp3} |
Parameter expansion |
`command` $(command) |
Command substitution |
<(command) >(command) |
Process substitution |
$((1 + 2 + 3)) $[4 + 5 + 6] |
Arithmetic expansion |
Hello <---> Word! |
Word splitting |
/data/*-av/*.mp? |
Pathname expansion |
Builtin Commands
This is a selection of builtin commands and command-like keywords, loosely arranged by their common uses. These are provided directly by the shell, rather than invoked as standalone external commands.
Declaration commands Commands that set and query attributes/types, and manipulate simple datastructures. |
Alt | Type | |
---|---|---|---|
declare | Display or set shell variables or functions along with attributes. | typeset |
builtin |
export | Display or set shell variables, also giving them the export attribute. | typeset -x |
special builtin |
eval | Evaluate arguments as shell code. | - | special builtin |
local | Declare variables as having function local scope. | - | builtin |
readonly | Mark variables or functions as read-only. | typeset -r |
special builtin |
unset | Unset variables and functions. | - | special builtin |
shift | Shift positional parameters | - | special builtin |
I/O Commands for reading/parsing input, or producing/formatting output of standard streams. |
Alt | Type | |
coproc | Co-processes: Run a command in the background with pipes for reading / writing its standard streams. | - | keyword |
echo | Create output from arguments. | - | builtin |
mapfile | Read lines of input into an array. | readarray |
builtin |
printf | "advanced echo ." |
- | builtin |
read | Read input into variables or arrays, or split strings into fields using delimiters. | - | builtin |
Configuration and Debugging Commands that modify shell behavior, change special options, assist in debugging. |
Alt | Type | |
caller | Identify/print execution frames. | - | builtin |
set | Set the positional parameters and/or set options that affect shell behaviour. | - | special builtin |
shopt | set/get some bash-specific shell options. | - | builtin |
Control flow and data processing Commands that operate on data and/or affect control flow. |
Alt | Type | |
---|---|---|---|
colon | "true" null command. | true | special builtin |
dot | Source external files. | source | special builtin |
false | Fail at doing nothing. | - | builtin |
continue / break | continue with or break out of loops. | - | special builtin |
let | Arithmetic evaluation simple command. | - | builtin |
return | Return from a function with a specified exit status. | - | special builtin |
[ | The classic test simple command. |
test | builtin |
Process and Job control Commands related to jobs, signals, process groups, subshells. |
Alt | Type | |
exec | Replace the current shell process or set redirections. | - | special builtin |
exit | Exit the shell. | - | special builtin |
kill | Send a signal to specified process(es) | - | builtin |
trap | Set signal handlers or output the current handlers. | - | special builtin |
times | Display process times. | - | special builtin |
wait | Wait for background jobs and asynchronous lists. | - | builtin |
Alt | Type |
Dictionary
💡 A list of expressions, words, and their meanings is here. |
---|
Links
Official Bash links
- Chet Ramey's Bash page and its FAQ.
- GNU Bash software page
- Official Bash mailing lists:
- Bug reports: bug-bash@gnu.org (archives)
- General questions: help-bash@gnu.org (archives)
- Official Bash git repository:
- Browse: cgit
- Clone: //git:// ssh://git.sv.gnu.org/srv/git/bash.git • //ssh:// ssh://git.sv.gnu.org/srv/git/bash.git • //http:// http://git.savannah.gnu.org/r/bash.git
Recommended Shell resources
- Greg's wiki - Greg Wooledge's (aka "greycat") wiki -- with MASSIVE information about Bash and UNIX(r) in general.
- Sven Mascheck's pages - A goldmine of information. A must-read.
- #ksh channel page - #ksh Freenode channel page maintains a solid collection of recommended links.
- The Grymoire Unix pages - Good scripting information, especially read the quoting guide.
- Heiner's "Shell Dorado" - Tips, tricks, links - for every situation.
- The Single Unix Specification (version 4, aka POSIX-2008)
- The Austin Group - List archives, Bug tracker
- comp.unix.shell FAQ
- Advanced Bash-Scripting Guide - last update: 10 Mar 2014, but still very useful guide.
Documentation / Reference
- Bash: man page info page
- AT&T ksh: ksh88 ksh93
- mksh (pdksh successor)
- zsh
- dash
- Heirloom Bourne shell
- Thompson shell
Assorted interesting links
- History and development of the traditional Bourne shell family - very interesting and nice to read!
- Interview with Chet Ramey
- Interview with Steve Bourne • Stephen Bourne - BSDCan 2015 keynote
- Interview with David Korn
- Kernighan on the Unix pipeline (computerphile video)
- Linux in general, with some shell related stuff: nixCraft: Linux Tips, Hacks, Tutorials and Ideas
- Linux tutorials, guides and how-tos: RoseHosting Blog, bash script for installing WordPress and some basic shell commands
- Bashphorism list from the Bash IRC channel on Freenode
- Some more or less funny commandline stuff
- How to Enable SSH on Ubuntu Tutorial
- How To Make an Awesome Custom Shell with ZSH
Bash Libraries (needs review)
- An oo-style bash library for bash 4 - provides tools for rapid script development and huge libraries.
- General purpose shell framework for bash 4 - in development.
- General purpose bash library for bash 4 - active development
Contact
Visit us in irc.freenode.net
, channel #bash
;-)
If you have critiques or suggestions, please feel free to send a mail using the contact form on the right. Note that there is a simple discussion option below every article.
Please also see the imprint if you have problems with the site and its contents (legality, ...)!
It also would be nice to drop a line when
- it helped you
- it didn't help you (something missing / unclear)
- you like it
- you don't like it
- you found mistakes / bugs
Simply: Reader's feedback