Getting Started
hello.sh
#!/bin/bash
 
VAR="world"
echo "Hello $VAR!" # => Hello world!Execute the script
$ bash hello.shVariables
NAME="John"
 
echo ${NAME}    # => John (Variables)
echo $NAME      # => John (Variables)
echo "$NAME"    # => John (Variables)
echo '$NAME'    # => $NAME (Exact string)
echo "${NAME}!" # => John! (Variables)
 
NAME = "John"   # => Error (about space)Comments
# This is an inline Bash comment.: '
This is a
very neat comment
in bash
'Multi-line comments use :' to open and ' to close
Arguments {.row-span-2}
| Expression | Description | 
|---|---|
| $1…$9 | Parameter 1 ... 9 | 
| $0 | Name of the script itself | 
| $1 | First argument | 
| ${10} | Positional parameter 10 | 
| $# | Number of arguments | 
| $$ | Process id of the shell | 
| $* | All arguments | 
| $@ | All arguments, starting from first | 
| $- | Current options | 
| $_ | Last argument of the previous command | 
See: Special parameters (opens in a new tab)
Functions
get_name() {
    echo "John"
}
 
echo "You are $(get_name)"See: Functions
Conditionals {#conditionals-example}
if [[ -z "$string" ]]; then
    echo "String is empty"
elif [[ -n "$string" ]]; then
    echo "String is not empty"
fiSee: Conditionals
Brace expansion
echo {A,B}.js| Expression | Description | 
|---|---|
| {A,B} | Same as A B | 
| {A,B}.js | Same as A.js B.js | 
| {1..5} | Same as 1 2 3 4 5 | 
See: Brace expansion (opens in a new tab)
Shell execution
# => I'm in /path/of/current
echo "I'm in $(PWD)"
 
# Same as:
echo "I'm in `pwd`"See: Command substitution (opens in a new tab)
Bash Parameter expansions
Syntax {.row-span-2}
| Code | Description | 
|---|---|
| ${FOO%suffix} | Remove suffix | 
| ${FOO#prefix} | Remove prefix | 
| ${FOO%%suffix} | Remove long suffix | 
| ${FOO##prefix} | Remove long prefix | 
| ${FOO/from/to} | Replace first match | 
| ${FOO//from/to} | Replace all | 
| ${FOO/%from/to} | Replace suffix | 
| ${FOO/#from/to} | Replace prefix | 
Substrings
| Expression | Description | 
|---|---|
| ${FOO:0:3} | Substring (position, length) | 
| ${FOO:(-3):3} | Substring from the right | 
Length
| Expression | Description | 
|---|---|
| ${#FOO} | Length of $FOO | 
Default values
| Expression | Description | 
|---|---|
| ${FOO:-val} | $FOO, orvalif unset | 
| ${FOO:=val} | Set $FOOtovalif unset | 
| ${FOO:+val} | valif$FOOis set | 
| ${FOO:?message} | Show message and exit if $FOOis unset | 
Substitution
echo ${food:-Cake}  #=> $food or "Cake"STR="/path/to/foo.cpp"
echo ${STR%.cpp}    # /path/to/foo
echo ${STR%.cpp}.o  # /path/to/foo.o
echo ${STR%/*}      # /path/to
 
echo ${STR##*.}     # cpp (extension)
echo ${STR##*/}     # foo.cpp (basepath)
 
echo ${STR#*/}      # path/to/foo.cpp
echo ${STR##*/}     # foo.cpp
 
echo ${STR/foo/bar} # /path/to/bar.cppSlicing
name="John"
echo ${name}           # => John
echo ${name:0:2}       # => Jo
echo ${name::2}        # => Jo
echo ${name::-1}       # => Joh
echo ${name:(-1)}      # => n
echo ${name:(-2)}      # => hn
echo ${name:(-2):2}    # => hn
 
length=2
echo ${name:0:length}  # => JoSee: Parameter expansion (opens in a new tab)
basepath & dirpath
SRC="/path/to/foo.cpp"BASEPATH=${SRC##*/}   
echo $BASEPATH  # => "foo.cpp"
 
 
DIRPATH=${SRC%$BASEPATH}
echo $DIRPATH   # => "/path/to/"Transform
STR="HELLO WORLD!"
echo ${STR,}   # => hELLO WORLD!
echo ${STR,,}  # => hello world!
 
STR="hello world!"
echo ${STR^}   # => Hello world!
echo ${STR^^}  # => HELLO WORLD!
 
ARR=(hello World)
echo "${ARR[@],}" # => hello world
echo "${ARR[@]^}" # => Hello WorldBash Arrays
Defining arrays
Fruits=('Apple' 'Banana' 'Orange')
 
Fruits[0]="Apple"
Fruits[1]="Banana"
Fruits[2]="Orange"
 
ARRAY1=(foo{1..2}) # => foo1 foo2
ARRAY2=({A..D})    # => A B C D
 
# Merge => foo1 foo2 A B C D
ARRAY3=(${ARRAY1[@]} ${ARRAY2[@]})
 
# declare construct
declare -a Numbers=(1 2 3)
Numbers+=(4 5) # Append => 1 2 3 4 5Indexing
| - | - | 
|---|---|
| ${Fruits[0]} | First element | 
| ${Fruits[-1]} | Last element | 
| ${Fruits[*]} | All elements | 
| ${Fruits[@]} | All elements | 
| ${#Fruits[@]} | Number of all | 
| ${#Fruits} | Length of 1st | 
| ${#Fruits[3]} | Length of nth | 
| ${Fruits[@]:3:2} | Range | 
| ${!Fruits[@]} | Keys of all | 
Iteration
Fruits=('Apple' 'Banana' 'Orange')
 
for e in "${Fruits[@]}"; do
    echo $e
doneWith index
for i in "${!Fruits[@]}"; do
  printf "%s\t%s\n" "$i" "${Fruits[$i]}"
done
 Operations {.col-span-2}
Fruits=("${Fruits[@]}" "Watermelon")     # Push
Fruits+=('Watermelon')                   # Also Push
Fruits=( ${Fruits[@]/Ap*/} )             # Remove by regex match
unset Fruits[2]                          # Remove one item
Fruits=("${Fruits[@]}")                  # Duplicate
Fruits=("${Fruits[@]}" "${Veggies[@]}")  # Concatenate
lines=(`cat "logfile"`)                  # Read from fileArrays as arguments
function extract()
{
    local -n myarray=$1
    local idx=$2
    echo "${myarray[$idx]}"
}
Fruits=('Apple' 'Banana' 'Orange')
extract Fruits 2     # => OrangleBash Dictionaries
Defining
declare -A soundssounds[dog]="bark"
sounds[cow]="moo"
sounds[bird]="tweet"
sounds[wolf]="howl"Working with dictionaries
echo ${sounds[dog]} # Dog's sound
echo ${sounds[@]}   # All values
echo ${!sounds[@]}  # All keys
echo ${#sounds[@]}  # Number of elements
unset sounds[dog]   # Delete dogIteration
for val in "${sounds[@]}"; do
    echo $val
donefor key in "${!sounds[@]}"; do
    echo $key
doneBash Conditionals
Integer conditions
| Condition | Description | 
|---|---|
| [[ NUM -eq NUM ]] | |
| [[ NUM -ne NUM ]] | |
| [[ NUM -lt NUM ]] | |
| [[ NUM -le NUM ]] | |
| [[ NUM -gt NUM ]] | |
| [[ NUM -ge NUM ]] | |
| (( NUM < NUM )) | Less than | 
| (( NUM <= NUM )) | Less than or equal | 
| (( NUM > NUM )) | Greater than | 
| (( NUM >= NUM )) | Greater than or equal | 
String conditions
| Condition | Description | 
|---|---|
| [[ -z STR ]] | Empty string | 
| [[ -n STR ]] | |
| [[ STR == STR ]] | Equal | 
| [[ STR = STR ]] | Equal (Same above) | 
| [[ STR < STR ]] | Less than (ASCII) | 
| [[ STR > STR ]] | Greater than (ASCII) | 
| [[ STR != STR ]] | Not Equal | 
| [[ STR =~ STR ]] | Regexp | 
Example {.row-span-3}
String
if [[ -z "$string" ]]; then
    echo "String is empty"
elif [[ -n "$string" ]]; then
    echo "String is not empty"
else
    echo "This never happens"
fiCombinations
if [[ X && Y ]]; then
    ...
fiEqual
if [[ "$A" == "$B" ]]; then
    ...
fiRegex
if [[ '1. abc' =~ ([a-z]+) ]]; then
    echo ${BASH_REMATCH[1]}
fiSmaller
if (( $a < $b )); then
   echo "$a is smaller than $b"
fiExists
if [[ -e "file.txt" ]]; then
    echo "file exists"
fiFile conditions {.row-span-2}
| Condition | Description | 
|---|---|
| [[ -e FILE ]] | |
| [[ -d FILE ]] | |
| [[ -f FILE ]] | |
| [[ -h FILE ]] | Symlink | 
| [[ -s FILE ]] | Size is > 0 bytes | 
| [[ -r FILE ]] | |
| [[ -w FILE ]] | |
| [[ -x FILE ]] | Executable | 
| [[ f1 -nt f2 ]] | f1 | 
| [[ f1 -ot f2 ]] | f2 | 
| [[ f1 -ef f2 ]] | Same files | 
More conditions
| Condition | Description | 
|---|---|
| [[ -o noclobber ]] | If OPTION is enabled | 
| [[ ! EXPR ]] | Not | 
| [[ X && Y ]] | And | 
| `[[ X | 
logical and, or
if [ "$1" = 'y' -a $2 -gt 0 ]; then
    echo "yes"
fi
 
if [ "$1" = 'n' -o $2 -lt 0 ]; then
    echo "no"
fiBash Loops
Basic for loop
for i in /etc/rc.*; do
    echo $i
doneC-like for loop
for ((i = 0 ; i < 100 ; i++)); do
    echo $i
doneRanges {.row-span-2}
for i in {1..5}; do
    echo "Welcome $i"
doneWith step size
for i in {5..50..5}; do
    echo "Welcome $i"
doneAuto increment
i=1
while [[ $i -lt 4 ]]; do
    echo "Number: $i"
    ((i++))
doneAuto decrement
i=3
while [[ $i -gt 0 ]]; do
    echo "Number: $i"
    ((i--))
doneContinue
for number in $(seq 1 3); do
    if [[ $number == 2 ]]; then
        continue;
    fi
    echo "$number"
doneBreak
for number in $(seq 1 3); do
    if [[ $number == 2 ]]; then
        # Skip entire rest of loop.
        break;
    fi
    # This will only print 1
    echo "$number"
doneUntil
count=0
until [ $count -gt 10 ]; do
    echo "$count"
    ((count++))
doneForever
while true; do
    # here is some code.
doneForever (shorthand)
while :; do
    # here is some code.
doneReading lines
cat file.txt | while read line; do
    echo $line
doneBash Functions
Defining functions
myfunc() {
    echo "hello $1"
}# Same as above (alternate syntax)
function myfunc() {
    echo "hello $1"
}myfunc "John"Returning values
myfunc() {
    local myresult='some value'
    echo $myresult
}result="$(myfunc)"Raising errors
myfunc() {
    return 1
}if myfunc; then
    echo "success"
else
    echo "failure"
fiBash Options {.cols-2}
Options
# Avoid overlay files
# (echo "hi" > foo)
set -o noclobber
 
# Used to exit upon error
# avoiding cascading errors
set -o errexit   
 
# Unveils hidden failures
set -o pipefail  
 
# Exposes unset variables
set -o nounsetGlob options
# Non-matching globs are removed  
# ('*.foo' => '')
shopt -s nullglob   
 
# Non-matching globs throw errors
shopt -s failglob  
 
# Case insensitive globs
shopt -s nocaseglob 
 
# Wildcards match dotfiles 
# ("*.sh" => ".foo.sh")
shopt -s dotglob    
 
# Allow ** for recursive matches 
# ('lib/**/*.rb' => 'lib/a/b/c.rb')
shopt -s globstar   Bash History {.cols-2}
Commands
| Command | Description | 
|---|---|
| history | Show history | 
| sudo !! | Run the previous command with sudo | 
| shopt -s histverify | Don't execute expanded result immediately | 
Expansions
| Expression | Description | 
|---|---|
| !$ | Expand last parameter of most recent command | 
| !* | Expand all parameters of most recent command | 
| !-n | Expand nth most recent command | 
| !n | Expand nth command in history | 
| !<command> | Expand most recent invocation of command <command> | 
Operations
| Code | Description | 
|---|---|
| !! | Execute last command again | 
| !!:s/<FROM>/<TO>/ | Replace first occurrence of <FROM>to<TO>in most recent command | 
| !!:gs/<FROM>/<TO>/ | Replace all occurrences of <FROM>to<TO>in most recent command | 
| !$:t | Expand only basename from last parameter of most recent command | 
| !$:h | Expand only directory from last parameter of most recent command | 
!! and !$ can be replaced with any valid expansion.
Slices
| Code | Description | 
|---|---|
| !!:n | Expand only nth token from most recent command (command is0; first argument is1) | 
| !^ | Expand first argument from most recent command | 
| !$ | Expand last token from most recent command | 
| !!:n-m | Expand range of tokens from most recent command | 
| !!:n-$ | Expand nth token to last from most recent command | 
!! can be replaced with any valid expansion i.e. !cat, !-2, !42, etc.
Miscellaneous
Numeric calculations
$((a + 200))      # Add 200 to $a$(($RANDOM%200))  # Random number 0..199Subshells
(cd somedir; echo "I'm now in $PWD")
pwd # still in first directoryInspecting commands
command -V cd
#=> "cd is a function/alias/whatever"Redirection {.row-span-2 .col-span-2}
python hello.py > output.txt   # stdout to (file)
python hello.py >> output.txt  # stdout to (file), append
python hello.py 2> error.log   # stderr to (file)
python hello.py 2>&1           # stderr to stdout
python hello.py 2>/dev/null    # stderr to (null)
python hello.py &>/dev/null    # stdout and stderr to (null)python hello.py < foo.txt      # feed foo.txt to stdin for pythonSource relative
source "${0%/*}/../share/foo.sh"Directory of script
DIR="${0%/*}"Case/switch
case "$1" in
    start | up)
    vagrant up
    ;;
 
    *)
    echo "Usage: $0 {start|stop|ssh}"
    ;;
esacTrap errors {.col-span-2}
trap 'echo Error at about $LINENO' ERRor
traperr() {
    echo "ERROR: ${BASH_SOURCE[1]} at about ${BASH_LINENO[0]}"
}
 
set -o errtrace
trap traperr ERRprintf
printf "Hello %s, I'm %s" Sven Olga
#=> "Hello Sven, I'm Olga
 
printf "1 + 1 = %d" 2
#=> "1 + 1 = 2"
 
printf "Print a float: %f" 2
#=> "Print a float: 2.000000"Getting options {.col-span-2}
while [[ "$1" =~ ^- && ! "$1" == "--" ]]; do case $1 in
    -V | --version )
    echo $version
    exit
    ;;
    -s | --string )
    shift; string=$1
    ;;
    -f | --flag )
    flag=1
    ;;
esac; shift; done
if [[ "$1" == '--' ]]; then shift; fiCheck for command's result {.col-span-2}
if ping -c 1 google.com; then
    echo "It appears you have a working internet connection"
fiSpecial variables {.row-span-2}
| Expression | Description | 
|---|---|
| $? | Exit status of last task | 
| $! | PID of last background task | 
| $$ | PID of shell | 
| $0 | Filename of the shell script | 
See Special parameters (opens in a new tab).
Grep check {.col-span-2}
if grep -q 'foo' ~/.bash_history; then
    echo "You appear to have typed 'foo' in the past"
fiBackslash escapes {.row-span-2}
- !
- "
- #
- &
- '
- (
- )
- ,
- ;
- <
- >
- [
- |
- \
- ]
- ^
- {
- }
- `
- $
- *
- ? {.cols-4 .marker-none}
Escape these special characters with \
Heredoc
cat <<END
hello world
ENDGo to previous directory
pwd # /home/user/foo
cd bar/
pwd # /home/user/foo/bar
cd -
pwd # /home/user/fooReading input
echo -n "Proceed? [y/n]: "
read ans
echo $ansread -n 1 ans    # Just one characterConditional execution
git commit && git push
git commit || echo "Commit failed"Strict mode
set -euo pipefail
IFS=$'\n\t'See: Unofficial bash strict mode (opens in a new tab)
Optional arguments
args=("$@")
args+=(foo)
args+=(bar)
echo "${args[@]}"Put the arguments into an array and then append
Also see {.cols-1}
- Devhints (opens in a new tab) (devhints.io)
- Bash-hackers wiki (opens in a new tab) (bash-hackers.org)
- Shell vars (opens in a new tab) (bash-hackers.org)
- Learn bash in y minutes (opens in a new tab) (learnxinyminutes.com)
- Bash Guide (opens in a new tab) (mywiki.wooledge.org)
- ShellCheck (opens in a new tab) (shellcheck.net)
- shell - Standard Shell (opens in a new tab) (devmanual.gentoo.org)