5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

Subscribe

Introduction to Bash Scripting

Get acquainted with bash scripting in this mega tutorial for beginners.
Abhishek Prakash
14 Apr 2024 10 min read 2 Comments

FEATURED VIDEOS Powered by

NOW
PLAYING

Shell is the core part of Linux. It allows you to interact with the Linux kernel by using various
commands like cd, ls, cat etc.

Bash is one of the many available shells for Linux. They have mostly common but not identical
syntax. Bash is the most popular shell out there and is the default on most Linux distributions.

Membership
You open a terminal or SSH session and you have a shell running in it even if you cannot really
visualize it.
[Link] 1/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

When you type a command, it is interpreted by the shell. If the command and syntax are correct, it
will be executed otherwise you'll see an error.

Why bash scripts when you can just run Linux

commands?
You can enter the commands directly in the terminal and they will be executed.

abhishek@itsfoss:~$ echo "hello world"

hello world

And the same can be done in a script as well:

abhishek@itsfoss:~$ cat >> [Link]

#!/bin/bash

[Link] 2/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

echo "hello world"

abhishek@itsfoss:~$ bash [Link]
hello world

Why do you need shell scripts then? Because you don't have to type the same command again and
again. You just run the shell script.

Also, if you have complicated logic in your script, typing it all in the terminal won't be a good idea.

For example, if you enter the command below, it will work. But it is not easy to understand and
typing it again and again (or even searching for it in the bash history) is a pain.

if [ $(whoami) = 'root' ]; then echo "root"; else echo "not root"; fi

Instead, you can put in a shell script so that it is easier to understand and run it effortlessly:

#!/bin/bash

if [ $(whoami) = 'root' ]; then

echo "You are root"
else
echo "You are not root"
fi

[Link] 3/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

This was still simple. Imagine a complicated script with fifty or a hundred lines!

What will you learn?

There are nine sections in this bash scripting tutorial. You'll learn to:
Create and run your first bash shell script
Use variables
Pass arguments and accept user inputs in your bash scripts
Perform mathematical calculations
Manipulate strings
Use conditional statements like if-else
Use for, while and until loops
Create functions

All the sections will give you a brief example. If you wish, you can extend on the section by
visiting the detailed chapter for each section. These chapters also contain practice exercises.

1. Writing your first bash shell script

Create a new file named [Link] :

nano [Link]

This will open the nano editor in the terminal. Enter the following lines to it:

#!/bin/bash

echo "Hello World"

[Link] 4/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

Save and exit the nano editor by pressing the Ctrl+X key.

Now, you can run the bash shell script in the following manner:

bash [Link]

And you should see the following output:

Hello World

Another way is to give the script execute permission first:

chmod u+x [Link]

And then run it in this manner:

./[Link]

You can also use a GUI based text editor to write the script. That probably be easier for
[Link] 5/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

writing longer scripts. However, you need to switch to the directory where the script is
saved to run it.

Congratulations! You just ran your first bash script.

Bash Basics #1: Create and Run Your First Bash Shell Script
Start learning bash scripting with this new series. Create and run your first bash shell script in the first
chapter.
It's FOSS • Abhishek Prakash

2. Using variables in bash scripts

Variables are declared in the following manner:

var=some_value

[Link] 6/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

And then the variable is accessed like this:

$var

There must not be a space before and after = while declaring variable.

Let's modify the previous script by adding a variable.

#!/bin/bash

message="Hello World"

echo $message

The output will still remain the same if you run this script:

Hello World

[Link] 7/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

Bash Basics #2: Use Variables in Bash Scripts

In this chapter of the Bash Basics series, learn about using variables in Bash scripts.
It's FOSS • Abhishek Prakash

3. Passing arguments to bash script

You can pass arguments to a bash script while running it in the following manner:

./my_script.sh arg1 arg2

Inside the script, you can use $1 for the 1st argument, $2 for the 2nd argument and so on. $0 is a
special variable that holds the name of the script being executed.

Now, create a new shell script named [Link] and add the following lines to it:

#!/bin/bash

echo "Script name is: $0"

echo "First argument is: $1"
echo "Second argument is: $2"

Make it executable and run it like this:

[Link] 8/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

abhishek@itsfoss:~$ ./[Link] abhishek prakash

Script name is: ./[Link]
First argument is: abhishek
Second argument is: prakash

Here's a quick look at the special variables:

Special Variable Description

$0 Script name
$1, $2...$9 Script arguments
${n} Script arguments from 10 to 255
$# Number of arguments
$@ All arguments together
$$ Process id of the current shell
$! Process id of the last executed command
$? Exit status of last executed command

You can also make your bash script interactive by accepting user input from the keyboard.

[Link] 9/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

For that, you'll have to use the read command. You can also use read -p command to prompt the
user for the keyboard input without echo command.

#!/bin/bash

echo "What is your name, stranger?"

read name
read -p "What's your full name, $name? " full_name
echo "Welcome, $full_name"

Now if you run this script, you'll have to enter the 'arguments' when you are prompted for it.

abhishek@itsfoss:~$ ./[Link]
What is your name, stranger?
abhishek
What's your full name, abhishek? abhishek prakash
Welcome, abhishek prakash

Bash Basics #3: Pass Arguments and Accept User Inputs

[Link] 10/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

Learn how to pass arguments to bash scripts and make them interactive in this chapter of the Bash
Basics series.
It's FOSS • Abhishek Prakash

4. Perform arithmetic operation

The syntax for arithmetic operations in the bash shell is this:

$((arithmetic_operation))

Here's the list of the arithmetic operations you can perform in bash:

Operator Description
+ Addition
- Subtraction
* Multiplication
/ Integer division (without decimal)
% Modulus division (only remainder)
** Exponentiation (a to the power b)

Here's an example of performing summation and subtraction in bash script:

#!/bin/bash

read -p "Enter first number: " num1

read -p "Enter second number: " num2

sum=$(($num1+$num2))

[Link] 11/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

sub=$(($num1-$num2))
echo "The summation of $num1 and $num2 is $sum"
echo "The substraction of $num2 from $num1 is $sub"

You can execute the shell script with random number of your choice.

There is a big problem if you try the divison. Bash only works with integers. It doesn't have the
concept of decimal numbers by default. And thus you'll get 3 as the result of 10/3 instead of 3.333.

For floating point operations, you'll have to use the bc command in this manner:

[Link] 12/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

#!/bin/bash

num1=50
num2=6

result=$(echo "$num1/$num2" | bc -l)

echo "The result is $result"

And this time, you'll see accurate result.

The result is 8.33333333333333333333

Bash Basics Series #4: Arithmetic Operations

In the fourth chapter of the series, learn to use basic mathematics in Bash.
It's FOSS • Abhishek Prakash

[Link] 13/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

5. Using
Instead of usingarrays in bash
multiple variables, you canscripts
use arrays in bash to store values in the same category.

You can declare an array like this:

distros=(Ubuntu Fedora SUSE "Arch Linux" Nix)

To access an element, use:

${array_name[N]}

Like most other programming languages, the array index starts at 0.

You can display all the elements of an array like this:

${array[*]}

And get the array length like this:

${#array_name[@]}

[Link] 14/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

Bash Basics Series #5: Using Arrays in Bash

Time to use arrays in bash shell scripts in this chapter. Learn to add elements, delete them and get array
length.
It's FOSS • Abhishek Prakash

6. Basic string operation in Bash

Bash is capable of performing a number of string operations.

You can get the string length in this manner:

${#string}

Join two strings:

str3=$str1$str2

[Link] 15/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

Extract a substring by providing the starting position of the substring and its length:

${string:$pos:$len}

Here's an example:

You can also replace a portion of the given string:

${string/substr1/substr2}

And you can also delete a substring from the given string:
[Link] 16/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

${string/substring}

Bash Basics Series #6: Handling String Operations

In this chapter of the Bash Basics series, learn to perform various common string operations like
extracting, replacing and deleting substrings.
It's FOSS • Abhishek Prakash

7. Use conditional statements in Bash

You can add conditional logic to your bash scripts by using if or if-else statements. These
statements end with fi .

The syntax for a single if statement is:

if [ condition ]; then
your code
fi
[Link] 17/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

Pay attention to the use [ ... ]; and then .

The syntax for if-else statement is:

if [ expression ]; then

## execute this block if condition is true else go to next

elif [ expression ]; then

## execute this block if condition is true else go to next

else

## if none of the above conditions are true, execute this block

fi

Here's a sample bash script that uses if-else statement:

#!/bin/bash

read -p "Enter the number: " num

[Link] 18/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

mod=$(($num%2))

if [ $mod -eq 0 ]; then

echo "Number $num is even"
else
echo "Number $num is odd"
fi

Run it and you should see a result like this:

The -eq is called test condition or conditional operator. There are many such operators to give you
different types of comparison:

Here are the test condition operators you can use for numeric comparison:

Condition Equivalent to true when

$a -lt $b $a < $b ($a is less than $b)
$a -gt $b $a > $b ($a is greater than $b)
$a -le $b $a <= $b ($a is less or equal than $b)

[Link] 19/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

Condition Equivalent to true when

$a -ge $b $a >= $b ($a is greater or equal than $b)

If you are comparing strings, you can use these test conditions:

Condition Equivalent to true when

"$a" = "$b" $a is same as $b
"$a" == "$b" $a is same as $b
"$a" != "$b" $a is different from $b
-z "$a" $a is empty

There are also conditions for file type check:

Condition Equivalent to true when

-f $a $a is a file
-d $a $a is a directory
-L $a $a is a link

Pay special attention to space. There must be space between the opening and closing
brackets and the conditions. Similarly, space must be before and after the conditional
operators (-le, == etc).

[Link] 20/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

Bash Basics Series #7: If Else Statement

If this, then that else something else. Doesn’t make sense? It will after you learn about the if-else
statements in bash shell scripting.
It's FOSS • Abhishek Prakash

8. Using loops in bash scripts

Bash support three types of loops: for, while and until.

Here's an example of the for loop:

#!/bin/bash

for num in {1..10}; do

[Link] 21/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

echo $num
done

Run it and you'll see the following output:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

If you take the previous example, it can be rewritten using the while loop like this:

#!/bin/bash

num=1
while [ $num -le 10 ]; do
echo $num
num=$(($num+1))
done

And the same can be rewritten using the until loop:

#!/bin/bash

num=1
until [ $num -gt 10 ]; do
echo $num
num=$(($num+1))
done
[Link] 22/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

The while and until loop are pretty similar. The difference is that while loop runs as long as
the condition is true and until loop runs as long as the condition is false.

Bash Basics #8: For, While and Until Loops

In the penultimate chapter of the Bash Basics series, learn about for, while and until loops.
It's FOSS • Abhishek Prakash

9. Using functions in bash scripts

Bash shell does support the use of functions so that you don't have to write the same piece of code
again and again.

Here's the generic syntax for declaring a bash function:

function_name() {

[Link] 23/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

commands
}

Here's a sample bash script that uses function with arguments:

#!/bin/bash

sum() {
sum=$(($1+$2))
echo "The sum of $1 and $2 is: $sum"
}

echo "Let's use the sum function"

sum 1 5

If you run the script, you'll see the following output:

Let's use the sum function

The sum of 1 and 5 is: 6

[Link] 24/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

Bash Basics Series #9: Functions in Bash

Learn all about functions in the final chapter of the Bash Basics series.
It's FOSS • Abhishek Prakash

Where to go from here?

This is just a glimpse. This bash scripting tutorial is just a primer. There is a lot more to bash scripting
and you can explore it slowly and gradually.

The GNU bash reference is an excellent online resource to clear your bash doubts.

Bash Reference Manual

Bash Reference Manual

##Apart from that, you can download this free book to learn more bash stuff that is not covered
here:

Download Bash Beginner Guide

Once you have enough knowledge of the bash basics, you can learn advanced bash scripting with
[Link] 25/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

this free book:

Download Adavanced Bash Scripting Guide

Both of these books are at least a decade old but you can still use them to learn bash.

I hope you like this tutorial as the starting point of your bash script learning. Please provide your
feedback in the comments section.

Guides

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Abhishek Prakash
Created It's FOSS 11 years ago to share my Linux adventures. Have a Master's
degree in Engineering and years of IT industry experience. Huge fan of Agatha
Christie detective mysteries

Featured

Teaching Linux to Software Developers With This Book

[Link] 26/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

7 Sudo Tips and Tweaks for Linux Users

11 YouTube Channels Linux Users Should Explore

Latest

Switching Between Intel and Nvidia Graphics Cards on Ubuntu

15 May 2024
[Link] 27/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

Testing the Surfshark VPN GUI App on Linux

14 May 2024

Finding the Fastest Arch Linux Mirrors

12 May 2024

Become a Better Linux User

With the FOSS Weekly Newsletter, you learn useful Linux tips, discover applications, explore
new distros and stay updated with the latest from Linux world

Your email address

Subscribe

What's your reaction?

[Link] 28/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

2 Comments 12 ONLINE LOGIN

We welcome and encourage civil, courteous, and community-friendly comments.

Write your comment...

Newest
Dharrun Singh 8 months ago LOVED BY ITSFOSS

Helpful! Appreciate it a lot!

0 0 Reply

Abhishek Plus Member 8 months ago

Glad you liked it :)
0 0 Reply

READ NEXT

Complete Guide to Installing Linux on Chromebook

How To Install and Use Conky in Ubuntu Linux

Getting Started With Ubuntu

How to Check if an Array is empty in Bash?

Understanding Ubuntu’s Repository System

[Link] 29/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

Become a Better Linux

User
With the FOSS Weekly Newsletter, you learn
useful Linux tips, discover applications,
explore new distros and stay updated with
the latest from Linux world
Your email address

SUBSCRIBE

Making You a Better Linux User

Your email address

Subscribe

Navigation
News Linux Server Side
Newsletter En Español
Quizzes & Puzzles Feedback
Resources
Community
About
Contact
Policies
[Link] 30/31
5/15/2024 Bash Scripting Tutorial for Beginners

Resources
Distro Resources
Guides
Courses
Social
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Instagram
Telegram
Youtube

©2024 It's FOSS. Hosted on Digital Ocean & Published with Ghost & Rinne. System

[Link] 31/31