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a0c0a00f 1BASH(1) General Commands Manual BASH(1)
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5N\bNA\bAM\bME\bE
6 bash - GNU Bourne-Again SHell
7
8S\bSY\bYN\bNO\bOP\bPS\bSI\bIS\bS
ac50fbac 9 b\bba\bas\bsh\bh [options] [command_string | file]
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11C\bCO\bOP\bPY\bYR\bRI\bIG\bGH\bHT\bT
74091dd4 12 Bash is Copyright (C) 1989-2022 by the Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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13
14D\bDE\bES\bSC\bCR\bRI\bIP\bPT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN
15 B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh is an s\bsh\bh-compatible command language interpreter that executes
16 commands read from the standard input or from a file. B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh also incor-
17 porates useful features from the _\bK_\bo_\br_\bn and _\bC shells (k\bks\bsh\bh and c\bcs\bsh\bh).
18
19 B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh is intended to be a conformant implementation of the Shell and
20 Utilities portion of the IEEE POSIX specification (IEEE Standard
21 1003.1). B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh can be configured to be POSIX-conformant by default.
22
23O\bOP\bPT\bTI\bIO\bON\bNS\bS
a0c0a00f 24 All of the single-character shell options documented in the description
d233b485 25 of the s\bse\bet\bt builtin command, including -\b-o\bo, can be used as options when
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26 the shell is invoked. In addition, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh interprets the following op-
27 tions when it is invoked:
17345e5a 28
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29 -\b-c\bc If the -\b-c\bc option is present, then commands are read from the
30 first non-option argument _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd_\b__\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg. If there are argu-
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31 ments after the _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd_\b__\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg, the first argument is as-
32 signed to $\b$0\b0 and any remaining arguments are assigned to the
33 positional parameters. The assignment to $\b$0\b0 sets the name of
34 the shell, which is used in warning and error messages.
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35 -\b-i\bi If the -\b-i\bi option is present, the shell is _\bi_\bn_\bt_\be_\br_\ba_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bv_\be.
36 -\b-l\bl Make b\bba\bas\bsh\bh act as if it had been invoked as a login shell (see
37 I\bIN\bNV\bVO\bOC\bCA\bAT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN below).
8868edaf 38 -\b-r\br If the -\b-r\br option is present, the shell becomes _\br_\be_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bc_\bt_\be_\bd
17345e5a 39 (see R\bRE\bES\bST\bTR\bRI\bIC\bCT\bTE\bED\bD S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL below).
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40 -\b-s\bs If the -\b-s\bs option is present, or if no arguments remain after
41 option processing, then commands are read from the standard
42 input. This option allows the positional parameters to be
43 set when invoking an interactive shell or when reading input
d233b485 44 through a pipe.
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45 -\b-D\bD A list of all double-quoted strings preceded by $\b$ is printed
46 on the standard output. These are the strings that are sub-
17345e5a 47 ject to language translation when the current locale is not C\bC
8868edaf 48 or P\bPO\bOS\bSI\bIX\bX. This implies the -\b-n\bn option; no commands will be
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49 executed.
50 [\b[-\b-+\b+]\b]O\bO [\b[_\bs_\bh_\bo_\bp_\bt_\b__\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn]\b]
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51 _\bs_\bh_\bo_\bp_\bt_\b__\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn is one of the shell options accepted by the
52 s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt builtin (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below). If
17345e5a 53 _\bs_\bh_\bo_\bp_\bt_\b__\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn is present, -\b-O\bO sets the value of that option; +\b+O\bO
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54 unsets it. If _\bs_\bh_\bo_\bp_\bt_\b__\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn is not supplied, the names and
55 values of the shell options accepted by s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt are printed on
56 the standard output. If the invocation option is +\b+O\bO, the
a0c0a00f 57 output is displayed in a format that may be reused as input.
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58 -\b--\b- A -\b--\b- signals the end of options and disables further option
59 processing. Any arguments after the -\b--\b- are treated as file-
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60 names and arguments. An argument of -\b- is equivalent to -\b--\b-.
61
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62 B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh also interprets a number of multi-character options. These op-
63 tions must appear on the command line before the single-character op-
64 tions to be recognized.
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65
66 -\b--\b-d\bde\beb\bbu\bug\bgg\bge\ber\br
67 Arrange for the debugger profile to be executed before the shell
8868edaf 68 starts. Turns on extended debugging mode (see the description
495aee44 69 of the e\bex\bxt\btd\bde\beb\bbu\bug\bg option to the s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt builtin below).
17345e5a 70 -\b--\b-d\bdu\bum\bmp\bp-\b-p\bpo\bo-\b-s\bst\btr\bri\bin\bng\bgs\bs
8868edaf 71 Equivalent to -\b-D\bD, but the output is in the GNU _\bg_\be_\bt_\bt_\be_\bx_\bt p\bpo\bo (por-
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72 table object) file format.
73 -\b--\b-d\bdu\bum\bmp\bp-\b-s\bst\btr\bri\bin\bng\bgs\bs
74 Equivalent to -\b-D\bD.
8868edaf 75 -\b--\b-h\bhe\bel\blp\bp Display a usage message on standard output and exit success-
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76 fully.
77 -\b--\b-i\bin\bni\bit\bt-\b-f\bfi\bil\ble\be _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
78 -\b--\b-r\brc\bcf\bfi\bil\ble\be _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
79 Execute commands from _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be instead of the standard personal ini-
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80 tialization file _\b~_\b/_\b._\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\br_\bc if the shell is interactive (see I\bIN\bN-\b-
81 V\bVO\bOC\bCA\bAT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN below).
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82
83 -\b--\b-l\blo\bog\bgi\bin\bn
84 Equivalent to -\b-l\bl.
85
86 -\b--\b-n\bno\boe\bed\bdi\bit\bti\bin\bng\bg
8868edaf 87 Do not use the GNU r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be library to read command lines when
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88 the shell is interactive.
89
90 -\b--\b-n\bno\bop\bpr\bro\bof\bfi\bil\ble\be
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91 Do not read either the system-wide startup file _\b/_\be_\bt_\bc_\b/_\bp_\br_\bo_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be or
92 any of the personal initialization files _\b~_\b/_\b._\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\b__\bp_\br_\bo_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be,
93 _\b~_\b/_\b._\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\b__\bl_\bo_\bg_\bi_\bn, or _\b~_\b/_\b._\bp_\br_\bo_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be. By default, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh reads these
94 files when it is invoked as a login shell (see I\bIN\bNV\bVO\bOC\bCA\bAT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN be-
95 low).
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96
97 -\b--\b-n\bno\bor\brc\bc Do not read and execute the personal initialization file
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98 _\b~_\b/_\b._\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\br_\bc if the shell is interactive. This option is on by de-
99 fault if the shell is invoked as s\bsh\bh.
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100
101 -\b--\b-p\bpo\bos\bsi\bix\bx
8868edaf 102 Change the behavior of b\bba\bas\bsh\bh where the default operation differs
ac50fbac 103 from the POSIX standard to match the standard (_\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be). See
8868edaf 104 S\bSE\bEE\bE A\bAL\bLS\bSO\bO below for a reference to a document that details how
ac50fbac 105 posix mode affects bash's behavior.
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106
107 -\b--\b-r\bre\bes\bst\btr\bri\bic\bct\bte\bed\bd
108 The shell becomes restricted (see R\bRE\bES\bST\bTR\bRI\bIC\bCT\bTE\bED\bD S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL below).
109
110 -\b--\b-v\bve\ber\brb\bbo\bos\bse\be
a0c0a00f 111 Equivalent to -\b-v\bv.
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112
113 -\b--\b-v\bve\ber\brs\bsi\bio\bon\bn
8868edaf 114 Show version information for this instance of b\bba\bas\bsh\bh on the stan-
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115 dard output and exit successfully.
116
117A\bAR\bRG\bGU\bUM\bME\bEN\bNT\bTS\bS
118 If arguments remain after option processing, and neither the -\b-c\bc nor the
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119 -\b-s\bs option has been supplied, the first argument is assumed to be the
120 name of a file containing shell commands. If b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is invoked in this
121 fashion, $\b$0\b0 is set to the name of the file, and the positional parame-
122 ters are set to the remaining arguments. B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh reads and executes com-
123 mands from this file, then exits. B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh's exit status is the exit sta-
124 tus of the last command executed in the script. If no commands are ex-
125 ecuted, the exit status is 0. An attempt is first made to open the
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126 file in the current directory, and, if no file is found, then the shell
127 searches the directories in P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH for the script.
128
129I\bIN\bNV\bVO\bOC\bCA\bAT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN
8868edaf 130 A _\bl_\bo_\bg_\bi_\bn _\bs_\bh_\be_\bl_\bl is one whose first character of argument zero is a -\b-, or
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131 one started with the -\b--\b-l\blo\bog\bgi\bin\bn option.
132
8868edaf 133 An _\bi_\bn_\bt_\be_\br_\ba_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bv_\be shell is one started without non-option arguments (un-
74091dd4 134 less -\b-s\bs is specified) and without the -\b-c\bc option, whose standard input
a0c0a00f 135 and error are both connected to terminals (as determined by _\bi_\bs_\ba_\bt_\bt_\by(3)),
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136 or one started with the -\b-i\bi option. P\bPS\bS1\b1 is set and $\b$-\b- includes i\bi if
137 b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is interactive, allowing a shell script or a startup file to test
a0c0a00f 138 this state.
17345e5a 139
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140 The following paragraphs describe how b\bba\bas\bsh\bh executes its startup files.
141 If any of the files exist but cannot be read, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh reports an error.
142 Tildes are expanded in filenames as described below under T\bTi\bil\bld\bde\be E\bEx\bxp\bpa\ban\bn-\b-
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143 s\bsi\bio\bon\bn in the E\bEX\bXP\bPA\bAN\bNS\bSI\bIO\bON\bN section.
144
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145 When b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is invoked as an interactive login shell, or as a non-inter-
146 active shell with the -\b--\b-l\blo\bog\bgi\bin\bn option, it first reads and executes com-
147 mands from the file _\b/_\be_\bt_\bc_\b/_\bp_\br_\bo_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be, if that file exists. After reading
17345e5a 148 that file, it looks for _\b~_\b/_\b._\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\b__\bp_\br_\bo_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be, _\b~_\b/_\b._\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\b__\bl_\bo_\bg_\bi_\bn, and _\b~_\b/_\b._\bp_\br_\bo_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be,
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149 in that order, and reads and executes commands from the first one that
150 exists and is readable. The -\b--\b-n\bno\bop\bpr\bro\bof\bfi\bil\ble\be option may be used when the
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151 shell is started to inhibit this behavior.
152
a0c0a00f 153 When an interactive login shell exits, or a non-interactive login shell
8868edaf 154 executes the e\bex\bxi\bit\bt builtin command, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh reads and executes commands
a0c0a00f 155 from the file _\b~_\b/_\b._\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\b__\bl_\bo_\bg_\bo_\bu_\bt, if it exists.
17345e5a 156
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157 When an interactive shell that is not a login shell is started, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh
158 reads and executes commands from _\b~_\b/_\b._\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\br_\bc, if that file exists. This
159 may be inhibited by using the -\b--\b-n\bno\bor\brc\bc option. The -\b--\b-r\brc\bcf\bfi\bil\ble\be _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be option
160 will force b\bba\bas\bsh\bh to read and execute commands from _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be instead of
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161 _\b~_\b/_\b._\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\br_\bc.
162
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163 When b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is started non-interactively, to run a shell script, for ex-
164 ample, it looks for the variable B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_E\bEN\bNV\bV in the environment, expands
165 its value if it appears there, and uses the expanded value as the name
166 of a file to read and execute. B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh behaves as if the following com-
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167 mand were executed:
168 if [ -n "$BASH_ENV" ]; then . "$BASH_ENV"; fi
8868edaf 169 but the value of the P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH variable is not used to search for the file-
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170 name.
171
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172 If b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is invoked with the name s\bsh\bh, it tries to mimic the startup be-
173 havior of historical versions of s\bsh\bh as closely as possible, while con-
174 forming to the POSIX standard as well. When invoked as an interactive
175 login shell, or a non-interactive shell with the -\b--\b-l\blo\bog\bgi\bin\bn option, it
176 first attempts to read and execute commands from _\b/_\be_\bt_\bc_\b/_\bp_\br_\bo_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be and
177 _\b~_\b/_\b._\bp_\br_\bo_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be, in that order. The -\b--\b-n\bno\bop\bpr\bro\bof\bfi\bil\ble\be option may be used to in-
178 hibit this behavior. When invoked as an interactive shell with the
179 name s\bsh\bh, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh looks for the variable E\bEN\bNV\bV, expands its value if it is
180 defined, and uses the expanded value as the name of a file to read and
17345e5a 181 execute. Since a shell invoked as s\bsh\bh does not attempt to read and exe-
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182 cute commands from any other startup files, the -\b--\b-r\brc\bcf\bfi\bil\ble\be option has no
183 effect. A non-interactive shell invoked with the name s\bsh\bh does not at-
184 tempt to read any other startup files. When invoked as s\bsh\bh, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh enters
185 _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx mode after the startup files are read.
17345e5a 186
8868edaf 187 When b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is started in _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx mode, as with the -\b--\b-p\bpo\bos\bsi\bix\bx command line
17345e5a 188 option, it follows the POSIX standard for startup files. In this mode,
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189 interactive shells expand the E\bEN\bNV\bV variable and commands are read and
190 executed from the file whose name is the expanded value. No other
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191 startup files are read.
192
193 B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh attempts to determine when it is being run with its standard input
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194 connected to a network connection, as when executed by the historical
195 remote shell daemon, usually _\br_\bs_\bh_\bd, or the secure shell daemon _\bs_\bs_\bh_\bd. If
196 b\bba\bas\bsh\bh determines it is being run non-interactively in this fashion, it
197 reads and executes commands from _\b~_\b/_\b._\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\br_\bc, if that file exists and is
198 readable. It will not do this if invoked as s\bsh\bh. The -\b--\b-n\bno\bor\brc\bc option may
199 be used to inhibit this behavior, and the -\b--\b-r\brc\bcf\bfi\bil\ble\be option may be used
200 to force another file to be read, but neither _\br_\bs_\bh_\bd nor _\bs_\bs_\bh_\bd generally
201 invoke the shell with those options or allow them to be specified.
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202
203 If the shell is started with the effective user (group) id not equal to
204 the real user (group) id, and the -\b-p\bp option is not supplied, no startup
205 files are read, shell functions are not inherited from the environment,
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206 the S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bLO\bOP\bPT\bTS\bS, B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bHO\bOP\bPT\bTS\bS, C\bCD\bDP\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH, and G\bGL\bLO\bOB\bBI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE variables, if they ap-
207 pear in the environment, are ignored, and the effective user id is set
208 to the real user id. If the -\b-p\bp option is supplied at invocation, the
209 startup behavior is the same, but the effective user id is not reset.
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210
211D\bDE\bEF\bFI\bIN\bNI\bIT\bTI\bIO\bON\bNS\bS
d233b485 212 The following definitions are used throughout the rest of this docu-
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213 ment.
214 b\bbl\bla\ban\bnk\bk A space or tab.
d233b485 215 w\bwo\bor\brd\bd A sequence of characters considered as a single unit by the
17345e5a 216 shell. Also known as a t\bto\bok\bke\ben\bn.
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217 n\bna\bam\bme\be A _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd consisting only of alphanumeric characters and under-
218 scores, and beginning with an alphabetic character or an under-
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219 score. Also referred to as an i\bid\bde\ben\bnt\bti\bif\bfi\bie\ber\br.
220 m\bme\bet\bta\bac\bch\bha\bar\bra\bac\bct\bte\ber\br
d233b485 221 A character that, when unquoted, separates words. One of the
17345e5a 222 following:
a0c0a00f 223 |\b| &\b& ;\b; (\b( )\b) <\b< >\b> s\bsp\bpa\bac\bce\be t\bta\bab\bb n\bne\bew\bwl\bli\bin\bne\be
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224 c\bco\bon\bnt\btr\bro\bol\bl o\bop\bpe\ber\bra\bat\bto\bor\br
225 A _\bt_\bo_\bk_\be_\bn that performs a control function. It is one of the fol-
226 lowing symbols:
a0c0a00f 227 |\b||\b| &\b& &\b&&\b& ;\b; ;\b;;\b; ;\b;&\b& ;\b;;\b;&\b& (\b( )\b) |\b| |\b|&\b& <\b<n\bne\bew\bwl\bli\bin\bne\be>\b>
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228
229R\bRE\bES\bSE\bER\bRV\bVE\bED\bD W\bWO\bOR\bRD\bDS\bS
230 _\bR_\be_\bs_\be_\br_\bv_\be_\bd _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd_\bs are words that have a special meaning to the shell. The
231 following words are recognized as reserved when unquoted and either the
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232 first word of a command (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL G\bGR\bRA\bAM\bMM\bMA\bAR\bR below), the third word of a
233 c\bca\bas\bse\be or s\bse\bel\ble\bec\bct\bt command (only i\bin\bn is valid), or the third word of a f\bfo\bor\br
234 command (only i\bin\bn and d\bdo\bo are valid):
17345e5a 235
8868edaf 236 !\b! c\bca\bas\bse\be c\bco\bop\bpr\bro\boc\bc d\bdo\bo d\bdo\bon\bne\be e\bel\bli\bif\bf e\bel\bls\bse\be e\bes\bsa\bac\bc f\bfi\bi f\bfo\bor\br f\bfu\bun\bnc\bct\bti\bio\bon\bn i\bif\bf i\bin\bn s\bse\bel\ble\bec\bct\bt
ac50fbac 237 t\bth\bhe\ben\bn u\bun\bnt\bti\bil\bl w\bwh\bhi\bil\ble\be {\b{ }\b} t\bti\bim\bme\be [\b[[\b[ ]\b]]\b]
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238
239S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL G\bGR\bRA\bAM\bMM\bMA\bAR\bR
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240 This section describes the syntax of the various forms of shell com-
241 mands.
242
17345e5a 243 S\bSi\bim\bmp\bpl\ble\be C\bCo\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bds\bs
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244 A _\bs_\bi_\bm_\bp_\bl_\be _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd is a sequence of optional variable assignments fol-
245 lowed by b\bbl\bla\ban\bnk\bk-separated words and redirections, and terminated by a
17345e5a 246 _\bc_\bo_\bn_\bt_\br_\bo_\bl _\bo_\bp_\be_\br_\ba_\bt_\bo_\br. The first word specifies the command to be executed,
74091dd4 247 and is passed as argument zero. The remaining words are passed as ar-
8868edaf 248 guments to the invoked command.
17345e5a 249
74091dd4 250 The return value of a _\bs_\bi_\bm_\bp_\bl_\be _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd is its exit status, or 128+_\bn if
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251 the command is terminated by signal _\bn.
252
253 P\bPi\bip\bpe\bel\bli\bin\bne\bes\bs
74091dd4 254 A _\bp_\bi_\bp_\be_\bl_\bi_\bn_\be is a sequence of one or more commands separated by one of
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255 the control operators |\b| or |\b|&\b&. The format for a pipeline is:
256
74091dd4 257 [t\bti\bim\bme\be [-\b-p\bp]] [ ! ] _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd_\b1 [ [|\b|||\b|&\b&] _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd_\b2 ... ]
17345e5a 258
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259 The standard output of _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd_\b1 is connected via a pipe to the standard
260 input of _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd_\b2. This connection is performed before any redirec-
261 tions specified by the _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd_\b1(see R\bRE\bED\bDI\bIR\bRE\bEC\bCT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN below). If |\b|&\b& is used,
262 _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd_\b1's standard error, in addition to its standard output, is con-
263 nected to _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd_\b2's standard input through the pipe; it is shorthand
264 for 2\b2>\b>&\b&1\b1 |\b|. This implicit redirection of the standard error to the
265 standard output is performed after any redirections specified by _\bc_\bo_\bm_\b-
266 _\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd_\b1.
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267
268 The return status of a pipeline is the exit status of the last command,
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269 unless the p\bpi\bip\bpe\bef\bfa\bai\bil\bl option is enabled. If p\bpi\bip\bpe\bef\bfa\bai\bil\bl is enabled, the
270 pipeline's return status is the value of the last (rightmost) command
271 to exit with a non-zero status, or zero if all commands exit success-
17345e5a 272 fully. If the reserved word !\b! precedes a pipeline, the exit status of
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273 that pipeline is the logical negation of the exit status as described
274 above. The shell waits for all commands in the pipeline to terminate
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275 before returning a value.
276
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277 If the t\bti\bim\bme\be reserved word precedes a pipeline, the elapsed as well as
278 user and system time consumed by its execution are reported when the
279 pipeline terminates. The -\b-p\bp option changes the output format to that
280 specified by POSIX. When the shell is in _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be, it does not rec-
281 ognize t\bti\bim\bme\be as a reserved word if the next token begins with a `-'.
282 The T\bTI\bIM\bME\bEF\bFO\bOR\bRM\bMA\bAT\bT variable may be set to a format string that specifies
283 how the timing information should be displayed; see the description of
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284 T\bTI\bIM\bME\bEF\bFO\bOR\bRM\bMA\bAT\bT under S\bSh\bhe\bel\bll\bl V\bVa\bar\bri\bia\bab\bbl\ble\bes\bs below.
285
286 When the shell is in _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be, t\bti\bim\bme\be may be followed by a newline. In
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287 this case, the shell displays the total user and system time consumed
288 by the shell and its children. The T\bTI\bIM\bME\bEF\bFO\bOR\bRM\bMA\bAT\bT variable may be used to
495aee44 289 specify the format of the time information.
17345e5a 290
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291 Each command in a multi-command pipeline, where pipes are created, is
292 executed in a _\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bh_\be_\bl_\bl, which is a separate process. See C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bD E\bEX\bXE\bE-\b-
293 C\bCU\bUT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN E\bEN\bNV\bVI\bIR\bRO\bON\bNM\bME\bEN\bNT\bT for a description of subshells and a subshell envi-
294 ronment. If the l\bla\bas\bst\btp\bpi\bip\bpe\be option is enabled using the s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt builtin
295 (see the description of s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt below), the last element of a pipeline
296 may be run by the shell process when job control is not active.
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297
298 L\bLi\bis\bst\bts\bs
8868edaf 299 A _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt is a sequence of one or more pipelines separated by one of the
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300 operators ;\b;, &\b&, &\b&&\b&, or |\b||\b|, and optionally terminated by one of ;\b;, &\b&, or
301 <\b<n\bne\bew\bwl\bli\bin\bne\be>\b>.
302
303 Of these list operators, &\b&&\b& and |\b||\b| have equal precedence, followed by ;\b;
304 and &\b&, which have equal precedence.
305
8868edaf 306 A sequence of one or more newlines may appear in a _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt instead of a
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307 semicolon to delimit commands.
308
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309 If a command is terminated by the control operator &\b&, the shell exe-
310 cutes the command in the _\bb_\ba_\bc_\bk_\bg_\br_\bo_\bu_\bn_\bd in a subshell. The shell does not
311 wait for the command to finish, and the return status is 0. These are
312 referred to as _\ba_\bs_\by_\bn_\bc_\bh_\br_\bo_\bn_\bo_\bu_\bs commands. Commands separated by a ;\b; are
d233b485 313 executed sequentially; the shell waits for each command to terminate in
8868edaf 314 turn. The return status is the exit status of the last command exe-
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315 cuted.
316
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317 AND and OR lists are sequences of one or more pipelines separated by
318 the &\b&&\b& and |\b||\b| control operators, respectively. AND and OR lists are
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319 executed with left associativity. An AND list has the form
320
321 _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd_\b1 &\b&&\b& _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd_\b2
322
8868edaf 323 _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd_\b2 is executed if, and only if, _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd_\b1 returns an exit status
d233b485 324 of zero (success).
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325
326 An OR list has the form
327
328 _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd_\b1 |\b||\b| _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd_\b2
329
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330 _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd_\b2 is executed if, and only if, _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd_\b1 returns a non-zero exit
331 status. The return status of AND and OR lists is the exit status of
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332 the last command executed in the list.
333
334 C\bCo\bom\bmp\bpo\bou\bun\bnd\bd C\bCo\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bds\bs
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335 A _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bp_\bo_\bu_\bn_\bd _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd is one of the following. In most cases a _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt in a
336 command's description may be separated from the rest of the command by
337 one or more newlines, and may be followed by a newline in place of a
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338 semicolon.
339
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340 (_\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt) _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt is executed in a subshell (see C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bD E\bEX\bXE\bEC\bCU\bUT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN E\bEN\bNV\bVI\bIR\bRO\bON\bN-\b-
341 M\bME\bEN\bNT\bT below for a description of a subshell environment). Vari-
342 able assignments and builtin commands that affect the shell's
343 environment do not remain in effect after the command completes.
344 The return status is the exit status of _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt.
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345
346 { _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt; }
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347 _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt is simply executed in the current shell environment. _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt
348 must be terminated with a newline or semicolon. This is known
349 as a _\bg_\br_\bo_\bu_\bp _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd. The return status is the exit status of
350 _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt. Note that unlike the metacharacters (\b( and )\b), {\b{ and }\b} are
17345e5a 351 _\br_\be_\bs_\be_\br_\bv_\be_\bd _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd_\bs and must occur where a reserved word is permitted
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352 to be recognized. Since they do not cause a word break, they
353 must be separated from _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt by whitespace or another shell
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354 metacharacter.
355
356 ((_\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn))
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357 The _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn is evaluated according to the rules described be-
358 low under A\bAR\bRI\bIT\bTH\bHM\bME\bET\bTI\bIC\bC E\bEV\bVA\bAL\bLU\bUA\bAT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN. If the value of the expression
359 is non-zero, the return status is 0; otherwise the return status
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360 is 1. The _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn undergoes the same expansions as if it
361 were within double quotes, but double quote characters in _\be_\bx_\b-
362 _\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn are not treated specially and are removed.
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363
364 [\b[[\b[ _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn ]\b]]\b]
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365 Return a status of 0 or 1 depending on the evaluation of the
366 conditional expression _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn. Expressions are composed of
367 the primaries described below under C\bCO\bON\bND\bDI\bIT\bTI\bIO\bON\bNA\bAL\bL E\bEX\bXP\bPR\bRE\bES\bSS\bSI\bIO\bON\bNS\bS.
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368 The words between the [\b[[\b[ and ]\b]]\b] do not undergo word splitting
369 and pathname expansion. The shell performs tilde expansion, pa-
370 rameter and variable expansion, arithmetic expansion, command
371 substitution, process substitution, and quote removal on those
372 words (the expansions that would occur if the words were en-
373 closed in double quotes). Conditional operators such as -\b-f\bf must
374 be unquoted to be recognized as primaries.
375
376 When used with [\b[[\b[, the <\b< and >\b> operators sort lexicographically
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377 using the current locale.
378
74091dd4 379 When the =\b==\b= and !\b!=\b= operators are used, the string to the right
17345e5a 380 of the operator is considered a pattern and matched according to
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381 the rules described below under P\bPa\bat\btt\bte\ber\brn\bn M\bMa\bat\btc\bch\bhi\bin\bng\bg, as if the e\bex\bxt\bt-\b-
382 g\bgl\blo\bob\bb shell option were enabled. The =\b= operator is equivalent to
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383 =\b==\b=. If the n\bno\boc\bca\bas\bse\bem\bma\bat\btc\bch\bh shell option is enabled, the match is
384 performed without regard to the case of alphabetic characters.
385 The return value is 0 if the string matches (=\b==\b=) or does not
386 match (!\b!=\b=) the pattern, and 1 otherwise. Any part of the pat-
387 tern may be quoted to force the quoted portion to be matched as
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388 a string.
389
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390 An additional binary operator, =\b=~\b~, is available, with the same
391 precedence as =\b==\b= and !\b!=\b=. When it is used, the string to the
8868edaf 392 right of the operator is considered a POSIX extended regular ex-
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393 pression and matched accordingly (using the POSIX _\br_\be_\bg_\bc_\bo_\bm_\bp and
394 _\br_\be_\bg_\be_\bx_\be_\bc interfaces usually described in _\br_\be_\bg_\be_\bx(3)). The return
395 value is 0 if the string matches the pattern, and 1 otherwise.
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396 If the regular expression is syntactically incorrect, the condi-
397 tional expression's return value is 2. If the n\bno\boc\bca\bas\bse\bem\bma\bat\btc\bch\bh shell
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398 option is enabled, the match is performed without regard to the
399 case of alphabetic characters. If any part of the pattern is
400 quoted, the quoted portion is matched literally. This means ev-
401 ery character in the quoted portion matches itself, instead of
402 having any special pattern matching meaning. If the pattern is
403 stored in a shell variable, quoting the variable expansion
404 forces the entire pattern to be matched literally. Treat
405 bracket expressions in regular expressions carefully, since nor-
406 mal quoting and pattern characters lose their meanings between
407 brackets.
408
409 The pattern will match if it matches any part of the string.
410 Anchor the pattern using the ^\b^ and $\b$ regular expression opera-
8868edaf 411 tors to force it to match the entire string. The array variable
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412 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_R\bRE\bEM\bMA\bAT\bTC\bCH\bH records which parts of the string matched the pat-
413 tern. The element of B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_R\bRE\bEM\bMA\bAT\bTC\bCH\bH with index 0 contains the
414 portion of the string matching the entire regular expression.
415 Substrings matched by parenthesized subexpressions within the
416 regular expression are saved in the remaining B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_R\bRE\bEM\bMA\bAT\bTC\bCH\bH in-
417 dices. The element of B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_R\bRE\bEM\bMA\bAT\bTC\bCH\bH with index _\bn is the portion
418 of the string matching the _\bnth parenthesized subexpression.
419 Bash sets B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_R\bRE\bEM\bMA\bAT\bTC\bCH\bH in the global scope; declaring it as a
420 local variable will lead to unexpected results.
421
422 Expressions may be combined using the following operators,
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423 listed in decreasing order of precedence:
424
425 (\b( _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn )\b)
74091dd4 426 Returns the value of _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn. This may be used to
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427 override the normal precedence of operators.
428 !\b! _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn
429 True if _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn is false.
430 _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b1 &\b&&\b& _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b2
431 True if both _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b1 and _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b2 are true.
432 _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b1 |\b||\b| _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b2
433 True if either _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b1 or _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b2 is true.
434
435 The &\b&&\b& and |\b||\b| operators do not evaluate _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b2 if the value
74091dd4 436 of _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b1 is sufficient to determine the return value of
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437 the entire conditional expression.
438
0001803f 439 f\bfo\bor\br _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be [ [ i\bin\bn [ _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd _\b._\b._\b. ] ] ; ] d\bdo\bo _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt ; d\bdo\bon\bne\be
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440 The list of words following i\bin\bn is expanded, generating a list of
441 items. The variable _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is set to each element of this list in
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442 turn, and _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt is executed each time. If the i\bin\bn _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd is omit-
443 ted, the f\bfo\bor\br command executes _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt once for each positional pa-
444 rameter that is set (see P\bPA\bAR\bRA\bAM\bME\bET\bTE\bER\bRS\bS below). The return status
445 is the exit status of the last command that executes. If the
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446 expansion of the items following i\bin\bn results in an empty list, no
447 commands are executed, and the return status is 0.
448
449 f\bfo\bor\br (( _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\b1 ; _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\b2 ; _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\b3 )) ; d\bdo\bo _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt ; d\bdo\bon\bne\be
450 First, the arithmetic expression _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\b1 is evaluated according to
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451 the rules described below under A\bAR\bRI\bIT\bTH\bHM\bME\bET\bTI\bIC\bC E\bEV\bVA\bAL\bLU\bUA\bAT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN. The
452 arithmetic expression _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\b2 is then evaluated repeatedly until
453 it evaluates to zero. Each time _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\b2 evaluates to a non-zero
454 value, _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt is executed and the arithmetic expression _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\b3 is
455 evaluated. If any expression is omitted, it behaves as if it
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456 evaluates to 1. The return value is the exit status of the last
457 command in _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt that is executed, or false if any of the expres-
458 sions is invalid.
459
460 s\bse\bel\ble\bec\bct\bt _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be [ i\bin\bn _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd ] ; d\bdo\bo _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt ; d\bdo\bon\bne\be
461 The list of words following i\bin\bn is expanded, generating a list of
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462 items, and the set of expanded words is printed on the standard
463 error, each preceded by a number. If the i\bin\bn _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd is omitted,
464 the positional parameters are printed (see P\bPA\bAR\bRA\bAM\bME\bET\bTE\bER\bRS\bS below).
465 s\bse\bel\ble\bec\bct\bt then displays the P\bPS\bS3\b3 prompt and reads a line from the
466 standard input. If the line consists of a number corresponding
467 to one of the displayed words, then the value of _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is set to
468 that word. If the line is empty, the words and prompt are dis-
469 played again. If EOF is read, the s\bse\bel\ble\bec\bct\bt command completes and
470 returns 1. Any other value read causes _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be to be set to null.
471 The line read is saved in the variable R\bRE\bEP\bPL\bLY\bY. The _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt is exe-
472 cuted after each selection until a b\bbr\bre\bea\bak\bk command is executed.
473 The exit status of s\bse\bel\ble\bec\bct\bt is the exit status of the last command
474 executed in _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt, or zero if no commands were executed.
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475
476 c\bca\bas\bse\be _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd i\bin\bn [ [(] _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn [ |\b| _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn ] ... ) _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt ;; ] ... e\bes\bsa\bac\bc
477 A c\bca\bas\bse\be command first expands _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd, and tries to match it against
74091dd4 478 each _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn in turn, using the matching rules described under
d233b485 479 P\bPa\bat\btt\bte\ber\brn\bn M\bMa\bat\btc\bch\bhi\bin\bng\bg below. The _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd is expanded using tilde expan-
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480 sion, parameter and variable expansion, arithmetic expansion,
481 command substitution, process substitution and quote removal.
d233b485 482 Each _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn examined is expanded using tilde expansion, parame-
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483 ter and variable expansion, arithmetic expansion, command sub-
484 stitution, process substitution, and quote removal. If the n\bno\bo-\b-
485 c\bca\bas\bse\bem\bma\bat\btc\bch\bh shell option is enabled, the match is performed with-
486 out regard to the case of alphabetic characters. When a match
487 is found, the corresponding _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt is executed. If the ;\b;;\b; opera-
488 tor is used, no subsequent matches are attempted after the first
489 pattern match. Using ;\b;&\b& in place of ;\b;;\b; causes execution to con-
490 tinue with the _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt associated with the next set of patterns.
491 Using ;\b;;\b;&\b& in place of ;\b;;\b; causes the shell to test the next pat-
492 tern list in the statement, if any, and execute any associated
493 _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt on a successful match, continuing the case statement execu-
494 tion as if the pattern list had not matched. The exit status is
495 zero if no pattern matches. Otherwise, it is the exit status of
496 the last command executed in _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt.
17345e5a 497
ac50fbac 498 i\bif\bf _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt; t\bth\bhe\ben\bn _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt; [ e\bel\bli\bif\bf _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt; t\bth\bhe\ben\bn _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt; ] ... [ e\bel\bls\bse\be _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt; ] f\bfi\bi
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499 The i\bif\bf _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt is executed. If its exit status is zero, the t\bth\bhe\ben\bn
500 _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt is executed. Otherwise, each e\bel\bli\bif\bf _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt is executed in
501 turn, and if its exit status is zero, the corresponding t\bth\bhe\ben\bn
17345e5a 502 _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt is executed and the command completes. Otherwise, the e\bel\bls\bse\be
74091dd4 503 _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt is executed, if present. The exit status is the exit sta-
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504 tus of the last command executed, or zero if no condition tested
505 true.
506
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507 w\bwh\bhi\bil\ble\be _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt_\b-_\b1; d\bdo\bo _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt_\b-_\b2; d\bdo\bon\bne\be
508 u\bun\bnt\bti\bil\bl _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt_\b-_\b1; d\bdo\bo _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt_\b-_\b2; d\bdo\bon\bne\be
74091dd4 509 The w\bwh\bhi\bil\ble\be command continuously executes the list _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt_\b-_\b2 as long
495aee44 510 as the last command in the list _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt_\b-_\b1 returns an exit status of
74091dd4 511 zero. The u\bun\bnt\bti\bil\bl command is identical to the w\bwh\bhi\bil\ble\be command, ex-
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512 cept that the test is negated: _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt_\b-_\b2 is executed as long as the
513 last command in _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt_\b-_\b1 returns a non-zero exit status. The exit
514 status of the w\bwh\bhi\bil\ble\be and u\bun\bnt\bti\bil\bl commands is the exit status of the
515 last command executed in _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt_\b-_\b2, or zero if none was executed.
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516
517 C\bCo\bop\bpr\bro\boc\bce\bes\bss\bse\bes\bs
518 A _\bc_\bo_\bp_\br_\bo_\bc_\be_\bs_\bs is a shell command preceded by the c\bco\bop\bpr\bro\boc\bc reserved word. A
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519 coprocess is executed asynchronously in a subshell, as if the command
520 had been terminated with the &\b& control operator, with a two-way pipe
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521 established between the executing shell and the coprocess.
522
74091dd4 523 The syntax for a coprocess is:
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524
525 c\bco\bop\bpr\bro\boc\bc [_\bN_\bA_\bM_\bE] _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd [_\br_\be_\bd_\bi_\br_\be_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn_\bs]
526
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527 This creates a coprocess named _\bN_\bA_\bM_\bE. _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd may be either a simple
528 command or a compound command (see above). _\bN_\bA_\bM_\bE is a shell variable
529 name. If _\bN_\bA_\bM_\bE is not supplied, the default name is C\bCO\bOP\bPR\bRO\bOC\bC.
530
531 The recommended form to use for a coprocess is
532
533 c\bco\bop\bpr\bro\boc\bc _\bN_\bA_\bM_\bE { _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd [_\br_\be_\bd_\bi_\br_\be_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn_\bs]; }
534
535 This form is recommended because simple commands result in the copro-
536 cess always being named C\bCO\bOP\bPR\bRO\bOC\bC, and it is simpler to use and more com-
537 plete than the other compound commands.
538
539 If _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd is a compound command, _\bN_\bA_\bM_\bE is optional. The word following
540 c\bco\bop\bpr\bro\boc\bc determines whether that word is interpreted as a variable name:
541 it is interpreted as _\bN_\bA_\bM_\bE if it is not a reserved word that introduces
542 a compound command. If _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd is a simple command, _\bN_\bA_\bM_\bE is not al-
543 lowed; this is to avoid confusion between _\bN_\bA_\bM_\bE and the first word of
544 the simple command.
545
546 When the coprocess is executed, the shell creates an array variable
547 (see A\bAr\brr\bra\bay\bys\bs below) named _\bN_\bA_\bM_\bE in the context of the executing shell.
548 The standard output of _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd is connected via a pipe to a file de-
549 scriptor in the executing shell, and that file descriptor is assigned
550 to _\bN_\bA_\bM_\bE[0]. The standard input of _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd is connected via a pipe to a
551 file descriptor in the executing shell, and that file descriptor is as-
552 signed to _\bN_\bA_\bM_\bE[1]. This pipe is established before any redirections
553 specified by the command (see R\bRE\bED\bDI\bIR\bRE\bEC\bCT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN below). The file descriptors
554 can be utilized as arguments to shell commands and redirections using
555 standard word expansions. Other than those created to execute command
556 and process substitutions, the file descriptors are not available in
557 subshells.
558
559 The process ID of the shell spawned to execute the coprocess is avail-
560 able as the value of the variable _\bN_\bA_\bM_\bE_PID. The w\bwa\bai\bit\bt builtin command
561 may be used to wait for the coprocess to terminate.
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562
563 Since the coprocess is created as an asynchronous command, the c\bco\bop\bpr\bro\boc\bc
564 command always returns success. The return status of a coprocess is
565 the exit status of _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd.
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566
567 S\bSh\bhe\bel\bll\bl F\bFu\bun\bnc\bct\bti\bio\bon\bn D\bDe\bef\bfi\bin\bni\bit\bti\bio\bon\bns\bs
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568 A shell function is an object that is called like a simple command and
569 executes a compound command with a new set of positional parameters.
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570 Shell functions are declared as follows:
571
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572 _\bf_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be () _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bp_\bo_\bu_\bn_\bd_\b-_\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd [_\br_\be_\bd_\bi_\br_\be_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn]
573 f\bfu\bun\bnc\bct\bti\bio\bon\bn _\bf_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be [()] _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bp_\bo_\bu_\bn_\bd_\b-_\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd [_\br_\be_\bd_\bi_\br_\be_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn]
574 This defines a function named _\bf_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be. The reserved word f\bfu\bun\bnc\bct\bti\bio\bon\bn
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575 is optional. If the f\bfu\bun\bnc\bct\bti\bio\bon\bn reserved word is supplied, the
576 parentheses are optional. The _\bb_\bo_\bd_\by of the function is the com-
577 pound command _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bp_\bo_\bu_\bn_\bd_\b-_\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd (see C\bCo\bom\bmp\bpo\bou\bun\bnd\bd C\bCo\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bds\bs above).
578 That command is usually a _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt of commands between { and }, but
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579 may be any command listed under C\bCo\bom\bmp\bpo\bou\bun\bnd\bd C\bCo\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bds\bs above. If the
580 f\bfu\bun\bnc\bct\bti\bio\bon\bn reserved word is used, but the parentheses are not sup-
581 plied, the braces are recommended. _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bp_\bo_\bu_\bn_\bd_\b-_\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd is executed
582 whenever _\bf_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is specified as the name of a simple command.
583 When in _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be, _\bf_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be must be a valid shell _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be and may not
584 be the name of one of the POSIX _\bs_\bp_\be_\bc_\bi_\ba_\bl _\bb_\bu_\bi_\bl_\bt_\bi_\bn_\bs. In default
585 mode, a function name can be any unquoted shell word that does
586 not contain $\b$. Any redirections (see R\bRE\bED\bDI\bIR\bRE\bEC\bCT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN below) speci-
587 fied when a function is defined are performed when the function
588 is executed. The exit status of a function definition is zero
589 unless a syntax error occurs or a readonly function with the
590 same name already exists. When executed, the exit status of a
591 function is the exit status of the last command executed in the
592 body. (See F\bFU\bUN\bNC\bCT\bTI\bIO\bON\bNS\bS below.)
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593
594C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bME\bEN\bNT\bTS\bS
595 In a non-interactive shell, or an interactive shell in which the i\bin\bnt\bte\ber\br-\b-
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596 a\bac\bct\bti\biv\bve\be_\b_c\bco\bom\bmm\bme\ben\bnt\bts\bs option to the s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt builtin is enabled (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL
597 B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below), a word beginning with #\b# causes that word and
598 all remaining characters on that line to be ignored. An interactive
599 shell without the i\bin\bnt\bte\ber\bra\bac\bct\bti\biv\bve\be_\b_c\bco\bom\bmm\bme\ben\bnt\bts\bs option enabled does not allow
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600 comments. The i\bin\bnt\bte\ber\bra\bac\bct\bti\biv\bve\be_\b_c\bco\bom\bmm\bme\ben\bnt\bts\bs option is on by default in interac-
601 tive shells.
602
603Q\bQU\bUO\bOT\bTI\bIN\bNG\bG
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604 _\bQ_\bu_\bo_\bt_\bi_\bn_\bg is used to remove the special meaning of certain characters or
605 words to the shell. Quoting can be used to disable special treatment
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606 for special characters, to prevent reserved words from being recognized
607 as such, and to prevent parameter expansion.
608
ac50fbac 609 Each of the _\bm_\be_\bt_\ba_\bc_\bh_\ba_\br_\ba_\bc_\bt_\be_\br_\bs listed above under D\bDE\bEF\bFI\bIN\bNI\bIT\bTI\bIO\bON\bNS\bS has special
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610 meaning to the shell and must be quoted if it is to represent itself.
611
ac50fbac 612 When the command history expansion facilities are being used (see H\bHI\bIS\bS-\b-
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613 T\bTO\bOR\bRY\bY E\bEX\bXP\bPA\bAN\bNS\bSI\bIO\bON\bN below), the _\bh_\bi_\bs_\bt_\bo_\br_\by _\be_\bx_\bp_\ba_\bn_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn character, usually !\b!, must
614 be quoted to prevent history expansion.
615
ac50fbac 616 There are three quoting mechanisms: the _\be_\bs_\bc_\ba_\bp_\be _\bc_\bh_\ba_\br_\ba_\bc_\bt_\be_\br, single
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617 quotes, and double quotes.
618
ac50fbac 619 A non-quoted backslash (\\b\) is the _\be_\bs_\bc_\ba_\bp_\be _\bc_\bh_\ba_\br_\ba_\bc_\bt_\be_\br. It preserves the
17345e5a 620 literal value of the next character that follows, with the exception of
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621 <newline>. If a \\b\<newline> pair appears, and the backslash is not it-
622 self quoted, the \\b\<newline> is treated as a line continuation (that is,
623 it is removed from the input stream and effectively ignored).
17345e5a 624
ac50fbac 625 Enclosing characters in single quotes preserves the literal value of
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626 each character within the quotes. A single quote may not occur between
627 single quotes, even when preceded by a backslash.
628
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629 Enclosing characters in double quotes preserves the literal value of
630 all characters within the quotes, with the exception of $\b$, `\b`, \\b\, and,
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631 when history expansion is enabled, !\b!. When the shell is in _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be,
632 the !\b! has no special meaning within double quotes, even when history
633 expansion is enabled. The characters $\b$ and `\b` retain their special
634 meaning within double quotes. The backslash retains its special mean-
635 ing only when followed by one of the following characters: $\b$, `\b`, "\b", \\b\,
636 or <\b<n\bne\bew\bwl\bli\bin\bne\be>\b>. A double quote may be quoted within double quotes by
637 preceding it with a backslash. If enabled, history expansion will be
638 performed unless an !\b! appearing in double quotes is escaped using a
639 backslash. The backslash preceding the !\b! is not removed.
17345e5a 640
ac50fbac 641 The special parameters *\b* and @\b@ have special meaning when in double
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642 quotes (see P\bPA\bAR\bRA\bAM\bME\bET\bTE\bER\bRS\bS below).
643
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644 Character sequences of the form $\b$'_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg' are treated as a special
645 variant of single quotes. The sequence expands to _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg, with back-
646 slash-escaped characters in _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg replaced as specified by the ANSI C
647 standard. Backslash escape sequences, if present, are decoded as fol-
648 lows:
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649 \\b\a\ba alert (bell)
650 \\b\b\bb backspace
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651 \\b\e\be
652 \\b\E\bE an escape character
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653 \\b\f\bf form feed
654 \\b\n\bn new line
655 \\b\r\br carriage return
656 \\b\t\bt horizontal tab
657 \\b\v\bv vertical tab
658 \\b\\\b\ backslash
659 \\b\'\b' single quote
0001803f 660 \\b\"\b" double quote
a0c0a00f 661 \\b\?\b? question mark
74091dd4 662 \\b\_\bn_\bn_\bn the eight-bit character whose value is the octal value
d233b485 663 _\bn_\bn_\bn (one to three octal digits)
74091dd4 664 \\b\x\bx_\bH_\bH the eight-bit character whose value is the hexadecimal
17345e5a 665 value _\bH_\bH (one or two hex digits)
74091dd4 666 \\b\u\bu_\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH the Unicode (ISO/IEC 10646) character whose value is the
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667 hexadecimal value _\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH (one to four hex digits)
668 \\b\U\bU_\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH
74091dd4 669 the Unicode (ISO/IEC 10646) character whose value is the
495aee44 670 hexadecimal value _\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH (one to eight hex digits)
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671 \\b\c\bc_\bx a control-_\bx character
672
74091dd4 673 The expanded result is single-quoted, as if the dollar sign had not
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674 been present.
675
0001803f 676 A double-quoted string preceded by a dollar sign ($\b$"_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg") will cause
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677 the string to be translated according to the current locale. The _\bg_\be_\bt_\b-
678 _\bt_\be_\bx_\bt infrastructure performs the lookup and translation, using the
679 L\bLC\bC_\b_M\bME\bES\bSS\bSA\bAG\bGE\bES\bS, T\bTE\bEX\bXT\bTD\bDO\bOM\bMA\bAI\bIN\bND\bDI\bIR\bR, and T\bTE\bEX\bXT\bTD\bDO\bOM\bMA\bAI\bIN\bN shell variables. If the
680 current locale is C\bC or P\bPO\bOS\bSI\bIX\bX, if there are no translations available,
681 or if the string is not translated, the dollar sign is ignored. This
682 is a form of double quoting, so the string remains double-quoted by de-
683 fault, whether or not it is translated and replaced. If the n\bno\boe\bex\bx-\b-
684 p\bpa\ban\bnd\bd_\b_t\btr\bra\ban\bns\bsl\bla\bat\bti\bio\bon\bn option is enabled using the s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt builtin, translated
685 strings are single-quoted instead of double-quoted. See the descrip-
686 tion of s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt below under S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bLBUILTINC\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS.
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687
688P\bPA\bAR\bRA\bAM\bME\bET\bTE\bER\bRS\bS
74091dd4 689 A _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is an entity that stores values. It can be a _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be, a num-
17345e5a 690 ber, or one of the special characters listed below under S\bSp\bpe\bec\bci\bia\bal\bl P\bPa\bar\bra\bam\bm-\b-
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691 e\bet\bte\ber\brs\bs. A _\bv_\ba_\br_\bi_\ba_\bb_\bl_\be is a parameter denoted by a _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be. A variable has a
692 _\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be and zero or more _\ba_\bt_\bt_\br_\bi_\bb_\bu_\bt_\be_\bs. Attributes are assigned using the
a0c0a00f 693 d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be builtin command (see d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be below in S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS).
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694
695 A parameter is set if it has been assigned a value. The null string is
74091dd4 696 a valid value. Once a variable is set, it may be unset only by using
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697 the u\bun\bns\bse\bet\bt builtin command (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below).
698
699 A _\bv_\ba_\br_\bi_\ba_\bb_\bl_\be may be assigned to by a statement of the form
700
701 _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be=[_\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be]
702
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703 If _\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be is not given, the variable is assigned the null string. All
704 _\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be_\bs undergo tilde expansion, parameter and variable expansion, com-
705 mand substitution, arithmetic expansion, and quote removal (see E\bEX\bXP\bPA\bAN\bN-\b-
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706 S\bSI\bIO\bON\bN below). If the variable has its i\bin\bnt\bte\beg\bge\ber\br attribute set, then _\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be
707 is evaluated as an arithmetic expression even if the $((...)) expansion
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708 is not used (see A\bAr\bri\bit\bth\bhm\bme\bet\bti\bic\bc E\bEx\bxp\bpa\ban\bns\bsi\bio\bon\bn below). Word splitting and path-
709 name expansion are not performed. Assignment statements may also ap-
710 pear as arguments to the a\bal\bli\bia\bas\bs, d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be, t\bty\byp\bpe\bes\bse\bet\bt, e\bex\bxp\bpo\bor\brt\bt, r\bre\bea\bad\bdo\bon\bnl\bly\by, and
711 l\blo\boc\bca\bal\bl builtin commands (_\bd_\be_\bc_\bl_\ba_\br_\ba_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn commands). When in _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be,
712 these builtins may appear in a command after one or more instances of
713 the c\bco\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bd builtin and retain these assignment statement properties.
714
715 In the context where an assignment statement is assigning a value to a
17345e5a 716 shell variable or array index, the += operator can be used to append to
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717 or add to the variable's previous value. This includes arguments to
718 builtin commands such as d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be that accept assignment statements
a0c0a00f 719 (_\bd_\be_\bc_\bl_\ba_\br_\ba_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn commands). When += is applied to a variable for which the
74091dd4 720 i\bin\bnt\bte\beg\bge\ber\br attribute has been set, _\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be is evaluated as an arithmetic ex-
8868edaf 721 pression and added to the variable's current value, which is also eval-
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722 uated. When += is applied to an array variable using compound assign-
723 ment (see A\bAr\brr\bra\bay\bys\bs below), the variable's value is not unset (as it is
724 when using =), and new values are appended to the array beginning at
725 one greater than the array's maximum index (for indexed arrays) or
726 added as additional key-value pairs in an associative array. When ap-
727 plied to a string-valued variable, _\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be is expanded and appended to
a0c0a00f 728 the variable's value.
17345e5a 729
ac50fbac 730 A variable can be assigned the _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\br_\be_\bf attribute using the -\b-n\bn option to
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731 the d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be or l\blo\boc\bca\bal\bl builtin commands (see the descriptions of d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be
732 and l\blo\boc\bca\bal\bl below) to create a _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\br_\be_\bf, or a reference to another vari-
733 able. This allows variables to be manipulated indirectly. Whenever
734 the nameref variable is referenced, assigned to, unset, or has its at-
735 tributes modified (other than using or changing the _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\br_\be_\bf attribute
736 itself), the operation is actually performed on the variable specified
737 by the nameref variable's value. A nameref is commonly used within
a0c0a00f 738 shell functions to refer to a variable whose name is passed as an argu-
74091dd4 739 ment to the function. For instance, if a variable name is passed to a
a0c0a00f 740 shell function as its first argument, running
ac50fbac 741 declare -n ref=$1
74091dd4 742 inside the function creates a nameref variable r\bre\bef\bf whose value is the
ac50fbac 743 variable name passed as the first argument. References and assignments
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744 to r\bre\bef\bf, and changes to its attributes, are treated as references, as-
745 signments, and attribute modifications to the variable whose name was
746 passed as $\b$1\b1. If the control variable in a f\bfo\bor\br loop has the nameref
747 attribute, the list of words can be a list of shell variables, and a
748 name reference will be established for each word in the list, in turn,
a0c0a00f 749 when the loop is executed. Array variables cannot be given the n\bna\bam\bme\ber\bre\bef\bf
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750 attribute. However, nameref variables can reference array variables
751 and subscripted array variables. Namerefs can be unset using the -\b-n\bn
752 option to the u\bun\bns\bse\bet\bt builtin. Otherwise, if u\bun\bns\bse\bet\bt is executed with the
753 name of a nameref variable as an argument, the variable referenced by
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754 the nameref variable will be unset.
755
17345e5a 756 P\bPo\bos\bsi\bit\bti\bio\bon\bna\bal\bl P\bPa\bar\bra\bam\bme\bet\bte\ber\brs\bs
74091dd4 757 A _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn_\ba_\bl _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is a parameter denoted by one or more digits,
17345e5a 758 other than the single digit 0. Positional parameters are assigned from
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759 the shell's arguments when it is invoked, and may be reassigned using
760 the s\bse\bet\bt builtin command. Positional parameters may not be assigned to
761 with assignment statements. The positional parameters are temporarily
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762 replaced when a shell function is executed (see F\bFU\bUN\bNC\bCT\bTI\bIO\bON\bNS\bS below).
763
74091dd4 764 When a positional parameter consisting of more than a single digit is
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765 expanded, it must be enclosed in braces (see E\bEX\bXP\bPA\bAN\bNS\bSI\bIO\bON\bN below).
766
767 S\bSp\bpe\bec\bci\bia\bal\bl P\bPa\bar\bra\bam\bme\bet\bte\ber\brs\bs
74091dd4 768 The shell treats several parameters specially. These parameters may
17345e5a 769 only be referenced; assignment to them is not allowed.
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770 *\b* Expands to the positional parameters, starting from one. When
771 the expansion is not within double quotes, each positional pa-
772 rameter expands to a separate word. In contexts where it is
ac50fbac 773 performed, those words are subject to further word splitting and
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774 pathname expansion. When the expansion occurs within double
775 quotes, it expands to a single word with the value of each pa-
776 rameter separated by the first character of the I\bIF\bFS\bS special
777 variable. That is, "$\b$*\b*" is equivalent to "$\b$1\b1_\bc$\b$2\b2_\bc.\b..\b..\b.", where _\bc
ac50fbac 778 is the first character of the value of the I\bIF\bFS\bS variable. If I\bIF\bFS\bS
74091dd4 779 is unset, the parameters are separated by spaces. If I\bIF\bFS\bS is
a0c0a00f 780 null, the parameters are joined without intervening separators.
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781 @\b@ Expands to the positional parameters, starting from one. In
782 contexts where word splitting is performed, this expands each
783 positional parameter to a separate word; if not within double
784 quotes, these words are subject to word splitting. In contexts
785 where word splitting is not performed, this expands to a single
786 word with each positional parameter separated by a space. When
787 the expansion occurs within double quotes, each parameter ex-
788 pands to a separate word. That is, "$\b$@\b@" is equivalent to "$\b$1\b1"
789 "$\b$2\b2" ... If the double-quoted expansion occurs within a word,
790 the expansion of the first parameter is joined with the begin-
791 ning part of the original word, and the expansion of the last
792 parameter is joined with the last part of the original word.
793 When there are no positional parameters, "$\b$@\b@" and $\b$@\b@ expand to
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794 nothing (i.e., they are removed).
795 #\b# Expands to the number of positional parameters in decimal.
74091dd4 796 ?\b? Expands to the exit status of the most recently executed fore-
17345e5a 797 ground pipeline.
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798 -\b- Expands to the current option flags as specified upon invoca-
799 tion, by the s\bse\bet\bt builtin command, or those set by the shell it-
8868edaf 800 self (such as the -\b-i\bi option).
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801 $\b$ Expands to the process ID of the shell. In a subshell, it ex-
802 pands to the process ID of the current shell, not the subshell.
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803 !\b! Expands to the process ID of the job most recently placed into
804 the background, whether executed as an asynchronous command or
ac50fbac 805 using the b\bbg\bg builtin (see J\bJO\bOB\bB C\bCO\bON\bNT\bTR\bRO\bOL\bL below).
8868edaf 806 0\b0 Expands to the name of the shell or shell script. This is set
17345e5a 807 at shell initialization. If b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is invoked with a file of com-
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808 mands, $\b$0\b0 is set to the name of that file. If b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is started
809 with the -\b-c\bc option, then $\b$0\b0 is set to the first argument after
810 the string to be executed, if one is present. Otherwise, it is
811 set to the filename used to invoke b\bba\bas\bsh\bh, as given by argument
17345e5a 812 zero.
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813
814 S\bSh\bhe\bel\bll\bl V\bVa\bar\bri\bia\bab\bbl\ble\bes\bs
815 The following variables are set by the shell:
816
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817 _\b_ At shell startup, set to the pathname used to invoke the shell
818 or shell script being executed as passed in the environment or
819 argument list. Subsequently, expands to the last argument to
820 the previous simple command executed in the foreground, after
821 expansion. Also set to the full pathname used to invoke each
822 command executed and placed in the environment exported to that
823 command. When checking mail, this parameter holds the name of
824 the mail file currently being checked.
825 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH Expands to the full filename used to invoke this instance of
17345e5a 826 b\bba\bas\bsh\bh.
0001803f 827 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bHO\bOP\bPT\bTS\bS
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828 A colon-separated list of enabled shell options. Each word in
829 the list is a valid argument for the -\b-s\bs option to the s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt
0001803f 830 builtin command (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below). The options
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831 appearing in B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bHO\bOP\bPT\bTS\bS are those reported as _\bo_\bn by s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt. If
832 this variable is in the environment when b\bba\bas\bsh\bh starts up, each
833 shell option in the list will be enabled before reading any
0001803f 834 startup files. This variable is read-only.
17345e5a 835 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bHP\bPI\bID\bD
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836 Expands to the process ID of the current b\bba\bas\bsh\bh process. This
837 differs from $\b$$\b$ under certain circumstances, such as subshells
838 that do not require b\bba\bas\bsh\bh to be re-initialized. Assignments to
839 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bHP\bPI\bID\bD have no effect. If B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bHP\bPI\bID\bD is unset, it loses its spe-
d233b485 840 cial properties, even if it is subsequently reset.
17345e5a 841 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_A\bAL\bLI\bIA\bAS\bSE\bES\bS
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842 An associative array variable whose members correspond to the
843 internal list of aliases as maintained by the a\bal\bli\bia\bas\bs builtin.
844 Elements added to this array appear in the alias list; however,
845 unsetting array elements currently does not cause aliases to be
a0c0a00f
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846 removed from the alias list. If B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_A\bAL\bLI\bIA\bAS\bSE\bES\bS is unset, it loses
847 its special properties, even if it is subsequently reset.
17345e5a 848 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_A\bAR\bRG\bGC\bC
8868edaf 849 An array variable whose values are the number of parameters in
17345e5a 850 each frame of the current b\bba\bas\bsh\bh execution call stack. The number
8868edaf
CR
851 of parameters to the current subroutine (shell function or
852 script executed with .\b. or s\bso\bou\bur\brc\bce\be) is at the top of the stack.
853 When a subroutine is executed, the number of parameters passed
17345e5a 854 is pushed onto B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_A\bAR\bRG\bGC\bC. The shell sets B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_A\bAR\bRG\bGC\bC only when in
8868edaf
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855 extended debugging mode (see the description of the e\bex\bxt\btd\bde\beb\bbu\bug\bg op-
856 tion to the s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt builtin below). Setting e\bex\bxt\btd\bde\beb\bbu\bug\bg after the
d233b485 857 shell has started to execute a script, or referencing this vari-
8868edaf 858 able when e\bex\bxt\btd\bde\beb\bbu\bug\bg is not set, may result in inconsistent val-
d233b485 859 ues.
17345e5a 860 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_A\bAR\bRG\bGV\bV
8868edaf 861 An array variable containing all of the parameters in the cur-
17345e5a 862 rent b\bba\bas\bsh\bh execution call stack. The final parameter of the last
8868edaf 863 subroutine call is at the top of the stack; the first parameter
17345e5a 864 of the initial call is at the bottom. When a subroutine is exe-
8868edaf
CR
865 cuted, the parameters supplied are pushed onto B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_A\bAR\bRG\bGV\bV. The
866 shell sets B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_A\bAR\bRG\bGV\bV only when in extended debugging mode (see
867 the description of the e\bex\bxt\btd\bde\beb\bbu\bug\bg option to the s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt builtin be-
868 low). Setting e\bex\bxt\btd\bde\beb\bbu\bug\bg after the shell has started to execute a
869 script, or referencing this variable when e\bex\bxt\btd\bde\beb\bbu\bug\bg is not set,
d233b485
CR
870 may result in inconsistent values.
871 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_A\bAR\bRG\bGV\bV0\b0
8868edaf 872 When referenced, this variable expands to the name of the shell
d233b485 873 or shell script (identical to $\b$0\b0; see the description of special
8868edaf
CR
874 parameter 0 above). Assignment to B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_A\bAR\bRG\bGV\bV0\b0 causes the value
875 assigned to also be assigned to $\b$0\b0. If B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_A\bAR\bRG\bGV\bV0\b0 is unset, it
d233b485 876 loses its special properties, even if it is subsequently reset.
17345e5a 877 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_C\bCM\bMD\bDS\bS
8868edaf
CR
878 An associative array variable whose members correspond to the
879 internal hash table of commands as maintained by the h\bha\bas\bsh\bh
17345e5a 880 builtin. Elements added to this array appear in the hash table;
8868edaf
CR
881 however, unsetting array elements currently does not cause com-
882 mand names to be removed from the hash table. If B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_C\bCM\bMD\bDS\bS is
883 unset, it loses its special properties, even if it is subse-
a0c0a00f 884 quently reset.
17345e5a 885 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bD
8868edaf 886 The command currently being executed or about to be executed,
17345e5a 887 unless the shell is executing a command as the result of a trap,
8868edaf
CR
888 in which case it is the command executing at the time of the
889 trap. If B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bD is unset, it loses its special proper-
890 ties, even if it is subsequently reset.
17345e5a
JA
891 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_E\bEX\bXE\bEC\bCU\bUT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN_\b_S\bST\bTR\bRI\bIN\bNG\bG
892 The command argument to the -\b-c\bc invocation option.
893 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_L\bLI\bIN\bNE\bEN\bNO\bO
495aee44
CR
894 An array variable whose members are the line numbers in source
895 files where each corresponding member of F\bFU\bUN\bNC\bCN\bNA\bAM\bME\bE was invoked.
896 $\b${\b{B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_L\bLI\bIN\bNE\bEN\bNO\bO[\b[_\b$_\bi]\b]}\b} is the line number in the source file
897 ($\b${\b{B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_S\bSO\bOU\bUR\bRC\bCE\bE[\b[_\b$_\bi_\b+_\b1]\b]}\b}) where $\b${\b{F\bFU\bUN\bNC\bCN\bNA\bAM\bME\bE[\b[_\b$_\bi]\b]}\b} was called (or
898 $\b${\b{B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_L\bLI\bIN\bNE\bEN\bNO\bO[\b[_\b$_\bi_\b-_\b1]\b]}\b} if referenced within another shell func-
899 tion). Use L\bLI\bIN\bNE\bEN\bNO\bO to obtain the current line number.
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CR
900 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_L\bLO\bOA\bAD\bDA\bAB\bBL\bLE\bES\bS_\b_P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH
901 A colon-separated list of directories in which the shell looks
902 for dynamically loadable builtins specified by the e\ben\bna\bab\bbl\ble\be com-
903 mand.
17345e5a
JA
904 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_R\bRE\bEM\bMA\bAT\bTC\bCH\bH
905 An array variable whose members are assigned by the =\b=~\b~ binary
906 operator to the [\b[[\b[ conditional command. The element with index
8868edaf
CR
907 0 is the portion of the string matching the entire regular ex-
908 pression. The element with index _\bn is the portion of the string
909 matching the _\bnth parenthesized subexpression.
17345e5a 910 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_S\bSO\bOU\bUR\bRC\bCE\bE
8868edaf
CR
911 An array variable whose members are the source filenames where
912 the corresponding shell function names in the F\bFU\bUN\bNC\bCN\bNA\bAM\bME\bE array
913 variable are defined. The shell function $\b${\b{F\bFU\bUN\bNC\bCN\bNA\bAM\bME\bE[\b[_\b$_\bi]\b]}\b} is de-
914 fined in the file $\b${\b{B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_S\bSO\bOU\bUR\bRC\bCE\bE[\b[_\b$_\bi]\b]}\b} and called from
495aee44 915 $\b${\b{B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_S\bSO\bOU\bUR\bRC\bCE\bE[\b[_\b$_\bi_\b+_\b1]\b]}\b}.
17345e5a 916 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_S\bSU\bUB\bBS\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL
8868edaf
CR
917 Incremented by one within each subshell or subshell environment
918 when the shell begins executing in that environment. The ini-
919 tial value is 0. If B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_S\bSU\bUB\bBS\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL is unset, it loses its spe-
920 cial properties, even if it is subsequently reset.
17345e5a
JA
921 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_V\bVE\bER\bRS\bSI\bIN\bNF\bFO\bO
922 A readonly array variable whose members hold version information
ac50fbac 923 for this instance of b\bba\bas\bsh\bh. The values assigned to the array
17345e5a 924 members are as follows:
a0c0a00f
CR
925 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_V\bVE\bER\bRS\bSI\bIN\bNF\bFO\bO[\b[0]\b] The major version number (the _\br_\be_\bl_\be_\ba_\bs_\be).
926 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_V\bVE\bER\bRS\bSI\bIN\bNF\bFO\bO[\b[1]\b] The minor version number (the _\bv_\be_\br_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn).
17345e5a
JA
927 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_V\bVE\bER\bRS\bSI\bIN\bNF\bFO\bO[\b[2]\b] The patch level.
928 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_V\bVE\bER\bRS\bSI\bIN\bNF\bFO\bO[\b[3]\b] The build version.
929 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_V\bVE\bER\bRS\bSI\bIN\bNF\bFO\bO[\b[4]\b] The release status (e.g., _\bb_\be_\bt_\ba_\b1).
930 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_V\bVE\bER\bRS\bSI\bIN\bNF\bFO\bO[\b[5]\b] The value of M\bMA\bAC\bCH\bHT\bTY\bYP\bPE\bE.
17345e5a 931 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_V\bVE\bER\bRS\bSI\bIO\bON\bN
ac50fbac 932 Expands to a string describing the version of this instance of
17345e5a 933 b\bba\bas\bsh\bh.
17345e5a 934 C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bP_\b_C\bCW\bWO\bOR\bRD\bD
ac50fbac 935 An index into $\b${\b{C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bP_\b_W\bWO\bOR\bRD\bDS\bS}\b} of the word containing the current
17345e5a 936 cursor position. This variable is available only in shell func-
ac50fbac 937 tions invoked by the programmable completion facilities (see
17345e5a 938 P\bPr\bro\bog\bgr\bra\bam\bmm\bma\bab\bbl\ble\be C\bCo\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bn below).
17345e5a
JA
939 C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bP_\b_K\bKE\bEY\bY
940 The key (or final key of a key sequence) used to invoke the cur-
941 rent completion function.
17345e5a 942 C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bP_\b_L\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE
ac50fbac 943 The current command line. This variable is available only in
a0c0a00f
CR
944 shell functions and external commands invoked by the program-
945 mable completion facilities (see P\bPr\bro\bog\bgr\bra\bam\bmm\bma\bab\bbl\ble\be C\bCo\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bn below).
17345e5a 946 C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bP_\b_P\bPO\bOI\bIN\bNT\bT
a0c0a00f
CR
947 The index of the current cursor position relative to the begin-
948 ning of the current command. If the current cursor position is
17345e5a 949 at the end of the current command, the value of this variable is
a0c0a00f
CR
950 equal to $\b${\b{#\b#C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bP_\b_L\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE}\b}. This variable is available only in
951 shell functions and external commands invoked by the program-
952 mable completion facilities (see P\bPr\bro\bog\bgr\bra\bam\bmm\bma\bab\bbl\ble\be C\bCo\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bn below).
17345e5a 953 C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bP_\b_T\bTY\bYP\bPE\bE
ac50fbac
CR
954 Set to an integer value corresponding to the type of completion
955 attempted that caused a completion function to be called: _\bT_\bA_\bB,
956 for normal completion, _\b?, for listing completions after succes-
957 sive tabs, _\b!, for listing alternatives on partial word comple-
958 tion, _\b@, to list completions if the word is not unmodified, or
959 _\b%, for menu completion. This variable is available only in
a0c0a00f
CR
960 shell functions and external commands invoked by the program-
961 mable completion facilities (see P\bPr\bro\bog\bgr\bra\bam\bmm\bma\bab\bbl\ble\be C\bCo\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bn below).
17345e5a 962 C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bP_\b_W\bWO\bOR\bRD\bDB\bBR\bRE\bEA\bAK\bKS\bS
a0c0a00f
CR
963 The set of characters that the r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be library treats as word
964 separators when performing word completion. If C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bP_\b_W\bWO\bOR\bRD\bDB\bBR\bRE\bEA\bAK\bKS\bS
965 is unset, it loses its special properties, even if it is subse-
17345e5a 966 quently reset.
17345e5a 967 C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bP_\b_W\bWO\bOR\bRD\bDS\bS
a0c0a00f
CR
968 An array variable (see A\bAr\brr\bra\bay\bys\bs below) consisting of the individ-
969 ual words in the current command line. The line is split into
8868edaf
CR
970 words as r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be would split it, using C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bP_\b_W\bWO\bOR\bRD\bDB\bBR\bRE\bEA\bAK\bKS\bS as de-
971 scribed above. This variable is available only in shell func-
a0c0a00f 972 tions invoked by the programmable completion facilities (see
0001803f 973 P\bPr\bro\bog\bgr\bra\bam\bmm\bma\bab\bbl\ble\be C\bCo\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bn below).
a0c0a00f
CR
974 C\bCO\bOP\bPR\bRO\bOC\bC An array variable (see A\bAr\brr\bra\bay\bys\bs below) created to hold the file
975 descriptors for output from and input to an unnamed coprocess
495aee44 976 (see C\bCo\bop\bpr\bro\boc\bce\bes\bss\bse\bes\bs above).
17345e5a
JA
977 D\bDI\bIR\bRS\bST\bTA\bAC\bCK\bK
978 An array variable (see A\bAr\brr\bra\bay\bys\bs below) containing the current con-
a0c0a00f
CR
979 tents of the directory stack. Directories appear in the stack
980 in the order they are displayed by the d\bdi\bir\brs\bs builtin. Assigning
17345e5a 981 to members of this array variable may be used to modify directo-
a0c0a00f 982 ries already in the stack, but the p\bpu\bus\bsh\bhd\bd and p\bpo\bop\bpd\bd builtins must
17345e5a 983 be used to add and remove directories. Assignment to this vari-
8868edaf
CR
984 able will not change the current directory. If D\bDI\bIR\bRS\bST\bTA\bAC\bCK\bK is un-
985 set, it loses its special properties, even if it is subsequently
986 reset.
d233b485
CR
987 E\bEP\bPO\bOC\bCH\bHR\bRE\bEA\bAL\bLT\bTI\bIM\bME\bE
988 Each time this parameter is referenced, it expands to the number
989 of seconds since the Unix Epoch (see _\bt_\bi_\bm_\be(3)) as a floating
990 point value with micro-second granularity. Assignments to
991 E\bEP\bPO\bOC\bCH\bHR\bRE\bEA\bAL\bLT\bTI\bIM\bME\bE are ignored. If E\bEP\bPO\bOC\bCH\bHR\bRE\bEA\bAL\bLT\bTI\bIM\bME\bE is unset, it loses
992 its special properties, even if it is subsequently reset.
993 E\bEP\bPO\bOC\bCH\bHS\bSE\bEC\bCO\bON\bND\bDS\bS
994 Each time this parameter is referenced, it expands to the number
995 of seconds since the Unix Epoch (see _\bt_\bi_\bm_\be(3)). Assignments to
996 E\bEP\bPO\bOC\bCH\bHS\bSE\bEC\bCO\bON\bND\bDS\bS are ignored. If E\bEP\bPO\bOC\bCH\bHS\bSE\bEC\bCO\bON\bND\bDS\bS is unset, it loses
997 its special properties, even if it is subsequently reset.
998 E\bEU\bUI\bID\bD Expands to the effective user ID of the current user, initial-
17345e5a 999 ized at shell startup. This variable is readonly.
17345e5a 1000 F\bFU\bUN\bNC\bCN\bNA\bAM\bME\bE
d233b485 1001 An array variable containing the names of all shell functions
17345e5a
JA
1002 currently in the execution call stack. The element with index 0
1003 is the name of any currently-executing shell function. The bot-
d233b485
CR
1004 tom-most element (the one with the highest index) is "main".
1005 This variable exists only when a shell function is executing.
1006 Assignments to F\bFU\bUN\bNC\bCN\bNA\bAM\bME\bE have no effect. If F\bFU\bUN\bNC\bCN\bNA\bAM\bME\bE is unset,
8868edaf
CR
1007 it loses its special properties, even if it is subsequently re-
1008 set.
495aee44 1009
d233b485
CR
1010 This variable can be used with B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_L\bLI\bIN\bNE\bEN\bNO\bO and B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_S\bSO\bOU\bUR\bRC\bCE\bE.
1011 Each element of F\bFU\bUN\bNC\bCN\bNA\bAM\bME\bE has corresponding elements in
8868edaf
CR
1012 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_L\bLI\bIN\bNE\bEN\bNO\bO and B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_S\bSO\bOU\bUR\bRC\bCE\bE to describe the call stack. For in-
1013 stance, $\b${\b{F\bFU\bUN\bNC\bCN\bNA\bAM\bME\bE[\b[_\b$_\bi]\b]}\b} was called from the file
d233b485 1014 $\b${\b{B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_S\bSO\bOU\bUR\bRC\bCE\bE[\b[_\b$_\bi_\b+_\b1]\b]}\b} at line number $\b${\b{B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_L\bLI\bIN\bNE\bEN\bNO\bO[\b[_\b$_\bi]\b]}\b}. The
495aee44
CR
1015 c\bca\bal\bll\ble\ber\br builtin displays the current call stack using this infor-
1016 mation.
d233b485 1017 G\bGR\bRO\bOU\bUP\bPS\bS An array variable containing the list of groups of which the
a0c0a00f 1018 current user is a member. Assignments to G\bGR\bRO\bOU\bUP\bPS\bS have no effect.
d233b485 1019 If G\bGR\bRO\bOU\bUP\bPS\bS is unset, it loses its special properties, even if it
a0c0a00f 1020 is subsequently reset.
17345e5a
JA
1021 H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTC\bCM\bMD\bD
1022 The history number, or index in the history list, of the current
8868edaf
CR
1023 command. Assignments to H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTC\bCM\bMD\bD are ignored. If H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTC\bCM\bMD\bD is un-
1024 set, it loses its special properties, even if it is subsequently
1025 reset.
17345e5a
JA
1026 H\bHO\bOS\bST\bTN\bNA\bAM\bME\bE
1027 Automatically set to the name of the current host.
17345e5a 1028 H\bHO\bOS\bST\bTT\bTY\bYP\bPE\bE
8868edaf
CR
1029 Automatically set to a string that uniquely describes the type
1030 of machine on which b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is executing. The default is system-
17345e5a 1031 dependent.
8868edaf
CR
1032 L\bLI\bIN\bNE\bEN\bNO\bO Each time this parameter is referenced, the shell substitutes a
1033 decimal number representing the current sequential line number
1034 (starting with 1) within a script or function. When not in a
1035 script or function, the value substituted is not guaranteed to
17345e5a
JA
1036 be meaningful. If L\bLI\bIN\bNE\bEN\bNO\bO is unset, it loses its special proper-
1037 ties, even if it is subsequently reset.
17345e5a 1038 M\bMA\bAC\bCH\bHT\bTY\bYP\bPE\bE
8868edaf
CR
1039 Automatically set to a string that fully describes the system
1040 type on which b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is executing, in the standard GNU _\bc_\bp_\bu_\b-_\bc_\bo_\bm_\b-
17345e5a 1041 _\bp_\ba_\bn_\by_\b-_\bs_\by_\bs_\bt_\be_\bm format. The default is system-dependent.
495aee44 1042 M\bMA\bAP\bPF\bFI\bIL\bLE\bE
8868edaf 1043 An array variable (see A\bAr\brr\bra\bay\bys\bs below) created to hold the text
495aee44 1044 read by the m\bma\bap\bpf\bfi\bil\ble\be builtin when no variable name is supplied.
17345e5a 1045 O\bOL\bLD\bDP\bPW\bWD\bD The previous working directory as set by the c\bcd\bd command.
8868edaf 1046 O\bOP\bPT\bTA\bAR\bRG\bG The value of the last option argument processed by the g\bge\bet\bto\bop\bpt\bts\bs
17345e5a 1047 builtin command (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below).
8868edaf 1048 O\bOP\bPT\bTI\bIN\bND\bD The index of the next argument to be processed by the g\bge\bet\bto\bop\bpt\bts\bs
17345e5a 1049 builtin command (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below).
8868edaf
CR
1050 O\bOS\bST\bTY\bYP\bPE\bE Automatically set to a string that describes the operating sys-
1051 tem on which b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is executing. The default is system-depen-
17345e5a 1052 dent.
17345e5a 1053 P\bPI\bIP\bPE\bES\bST\bTA\bAT\bTU\bUS\bS
8868edaf
CR
1054 An array variable (see A\bAr\brr\bra\bay\bys\bs below) containing a list of exit
1055 status values from the processes in the most-recently-executed
17345e5a 1056 foreground pipeline (which may contain only a single command).
8868edaf 1057 P\bPP\bPI\bID\bD The process ID of the shell's parent. This variable is read-
17345e5a 1058 only.
17345e5a 1059 P\bPW\bWD\bD The current working directory as set by the c\bcd\bd command.
8868edaf
CR
1060 R\bRA\bAN\bND\bDO\bOM\bM Each time this parameter is referenced, it expands to a random
1061 integer between 0 and 32767. Assigning a value to R\bRA\bAN\bND\bDO\bOM\bM ini-
1062 tializes (seeds) the sequence of random numbers. If R\bRA\bAN\bND\bDO\bOM\bM is
1063 unset, it loses its special properties, even if it is subse-
1064 quently reset.
74091dd4
CR
1065 R\bRE\bEA\bAD\bDL\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE_\b_A\bAR\bRG\bGU\bUM\bME\bEN\bNT\bT
1066 Any numeric argument given to a readline command that was de-
1067 fined using "bind -x" (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below) when it
1068 was invoked.
495aee44
CR
1069 R\bRE\bEA\bAD\bDL\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE_\b_L\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE
1070 The contents of the r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be line buffer, for use with "bind -x"
1071 (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below).
8868edaf
CR
1072 R\bRE\bEA\bAD\bDL\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE_\b_M\bMA\bAR\bRK\bK
1073 The position of the mark (saved insertion point) in the r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be
1074 line buffer, for use with "bind -x" (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS
1075 below). The characters between the insertion point and the mark
1076 are often called the _\br_\be_\bg_\bi_\bo_\bn.
495aee44
CR
1077 R\bRE\bEA\bAD\bDL\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE_\b_P\bPO\bOI\bIN\bNT\bT
1078 The position of the insertion point in the r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be line buffer,
1079 for use with "bind -x" (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below).
d233b485 1080 R\bRE\bEP\bPL\bLY\bY Set to the line of input read by the r\bre\bea\bad\bd builtin command when
17345e5a 1081 no arguments are supplied.
17345e5a 1082 S\bSE\bEC\bCO\bON\bND\bDS\bS
74091dd4
CR
1083 Each time this parameter is referenced, it expands to the number
1084 of seconds since shell invocation. If a value is assigned to
d233b485
CR
1085 S\bSE\bEC\bCO\bON\bND\bDS\bS, the value returned upon subsequent references is the
1086 number of seconds since the assignment plus the value assigned.
8868edaf 1087 The number of seconds at shell invocation and the current time
74091dd4 1088 are always determined by querying the system clock. If S\bSE\bEC\bCO\bON\bND\bDS\bS
8868edaf
CR
1089 is unset, it loses its special properties, even if it is subse-
1090 quently reset.
17345e5a 1091 S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bLO\bOP\bPT\bTS\bS
d233b485
CR
1092 A colon-separated list of enabled shell options. Each word in
1093 the list is a valid argument for the -\b-o\bo option to the s\bse\bet\bt
17345e5a 1094 builtin command (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below). The options
d233b485
CR
1095 appearing in S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bLO\bOP\bPT\bTS\bS are those reported as _\bo_\bn by s\bse\bet\bt -\b-o\bo. If
1096 this variable is in the environment when b\bba\bas\bsh\bh starts up, each
1097 shell option in the list will be enabled before reading any
17345e5a 1098 startup files. This variable is read-only.
17345e5a 1099 S\bSH\bHL\bLV\bVL\bL Incremented by one each time an instance of b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is started.
8868edaf
CR
1100 S\bSR\bRA\bAN\bND\bDO\bOM\bM
1101 This variable expands to a 32-bit pseudo-random number each time
1102 it is referenced. The random number generator is not linear on
1103 systems that support /dev/urandom or _\ba_\br_\bc_\b4_\br_\ba_\bn_\bd_\bo_\bm, so each re-
1104 turned number has no relationship to the numbers preceding it.
1105 The random number generator cannot be seeded, so assignments to
1106 this variable have no effect. If S\bSR\bRA\bAN\bND\bDO\bOM\bM is unset, it loses its
1107 special properties, even if it is subsequently reset.
17345e5a
JA
1108 U\bUI\bID\bD Expands to the user ID of the current user, initialized at shell
1109 startup. This variable is readonly.
1110
8868edaf
CR
1111 The following variables are used by the shell. In some cases, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh as-
1112 signs a default value to a variable; these cases are noted below.
17345e5a 1113
ac50fbac 1114 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bPA\bAT\bT
d233b485 1115 The value is used to set the shell's compatibility level. See
8868edaf
CR
1116 S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bPA\bAT\bTI\bIB\bBI\bIL\bLI\bIT\bTY\bY M\bMO\bOD\bDE\bE below for a description of the various
1117 compatibility levels and their effects. The value may be a dec-
1118 imal number (e.g., 4.2) or an integer (e.g., 42) corresponding
1119 to the desired compatibility level. If B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bPA\bAT\bT is unset or
1120 set to the empty string, the compatibility level is set to the
1121 default for the current version. If B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bPA\bAT\bT is set to a
1122 value that is not one of the valid compatibility levels, the
1123 shell prints an error message and sets the compatibility level
1124 to the default for the current version. The valid values corre-
74091dd4
CR
1125 spond to the compatibility levels described below under S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL
1126 C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bPA\bAT\bTI\bIB\bBI\bIL\bLI\bIT\bTY\bY M\bMO\bOD\bDE\bE. For example, 4.2 and 42 are valid values
8868edaf
CR
1127 that correspond to the c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt4\b42\b2 s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt option and set the compat-
1128 ibility level to 42. The current version is also a valid value.
17345e5a 1129 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_E\bEN\bNV\bV
d233b485
CR
1130 If this parameter is set when b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is executing a shell script,
1131 its value is interpreted as a filename containing commands to
17345e5a 1132 initialize the shell, as in _\b~_\b/_\b._\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\br_\bc. The value of B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_E\bEN\bNV\bV is
d233b485
CR
1133 subjected to parameter expansion, command substitution, and
1134 arithmetic expansion before being interpreted as a filename.
ac50fbac 1135 P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH is not used to search for the resultant filename.
0001803f 1136 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_X\bXT\bTR\bRA\bAC\bCE\bEF\bFD\bD
d233b485 1137 If set to an integer corresponding to a valid file descriptor,
8868edaf
CR
1138 b\bba\bas\bsh\bh will write the trace output generated when _\bs_\be_\bt _\b-_\bx is en-
1139 abled to that file descriptor. The file descriptor is closed
d233b485
CR
1140 when B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_X\bXT\bTR\bRA\bAC\bCE\bEF\bFD\bD is unset or assigned a new value. Unsetting
1141 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_X\bXT\bTR\bRA\bAC\bCE\bEF\bFD\bD or assigning it the empty string causes the trace
1142 output to be sent to the standard error. Note that setting
0001803f
CR
1143 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_X\bXT\bTR\bRA\bAC\bCE\bEF\bFD\bD to 2 (the standard error file descriptor) and then
1144 unsetting it will result in the standard error being closed.
d233b485 1145 C\bCD\bDP\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH The search path for the c\bcd\bd command. This is a colon-separated
8868edaf
CR
1146 list of directories in which the shell looks for destination di-
1147 rectories specified by the c\bcd\bd command. A sample value is
495aee44 1148 ".:~:/usr".
ac50fbac 1149 C\bCH\bHI\bIL\bLD\bD_\b_M\bMA\bAX\bX
d233b485
CR
1150 Set the number of exited child status values for the shell to
1151 remember. Bash will not allow this value to be decreased below
1152 a POSIX-mandated minimum, and there is a maximum value (cur-
1153 rently 8192) that this may not exceed. The minimum value is
ac50fbac 1154 system-dependent.
17345e5a 1155 C\bCO\bOL\bLU\bUM\bMN\bNS\bS
d233b485
CR
1156 Used by the s\bse\bel\ble\bec\bct\bt compound command to determine the terminal
1157 width when printing selection lists. Automatically set if the
1158 c\bch\bhe\bec\bck\bkw\bwi\bin\bns\bsi\biz\bze\be option is enabled or in an interactive shell upon
495aee44 1159 receipt of a S\bSI\bIG\bGW\bWI\bIN\bNC\bCH\bH.
17345e5a
JA
1160 C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bPR\bRE\bEP\bPL\bLY\bY
1161 An array variable from which b\bba\bas\bsh\bh reads the possible completions
d233b485 1162 generated by a shell function invoked by the programmable com-
8868edaf
CR
1163 pletion facility (see P\bPr\bro\bog\bgr\bra\bam\bmm\bma\bab\bbl\ble\be C\bCo\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bn below). Each ar-
1164 ray element contains one possible completion.
d233b485
CR
1165 E\bEM\bMA\bAC\bCS\bS If b\bba\bas\bsh\bh finds this variable in the environment when the shell
1166 starts with value "t", it assumes that the shell is running in
495aee44 1167 an Emacs shell buffer and disables line editing.
8868edaf
CR
1168 E\bEN\bNV\bV Expanded and executed similarly to B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_E\bEN\bNV\bV (see I\bIN\bNV\bVO\bOC\bCA\bAT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN
1169 above) when an interactive shell is invoked in _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be.
a0c0a00f 1170 E\bEX\bXE\bEC\bCI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE
d233b485
CR
1171 A colon-separated list of shell patterns (see P\bPa\bat\btt\bte\ber\brn\bn M\bMa\bat\btc\bch\bhi\bin\bng\bg)
1172 defining the list of filenames to be ignored by command search
1173 using P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH. Files whose full pathnames match one of these pat-
1174 terns are not considered executable files for the purposes of
a0c0a00f
CR
1175 completion and command execution via P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH lookup. This does not
1176 affect the behavior of the [\b[, t\bte\bes\bst\bt, and [\b[[\b[ commands. Full path-
d233b485
CR
1177 names in the command hash table are not subject to E\bEX\bXE\bEC\bCI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE.
1178 Use this variable to ignore shared library files that have the
1179 executable bit set, but are not executable files. The pattern
a0c0a00f 1180 matching honors the setting of the e\bex\bxt\btg\bgl\blo\bob\bb shell option.
17345e5a
JA
1181 F\bFC\bCE\bED\bDI\bIT\bT The default editor for the f\bfc\bc builtin command.
1182 F\bFI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE
d233b485 1183 A colon-separated list of suffixes to ignore when performing
17345e5a 1184 filename completion (see R\bRE\bEA\bAD\bDL\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE below). A filename whose suf-
d233b485 1185 fix matches one of the entries in F\bFI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE is excluded from the
17345e5a 1186 list of matched filenames. A sample value is ".o:~".
495aee44 1187 F\bFU\bUN\bNC\bCN\bNE\bES\bST\bT
d233b485
CR
1188 If set to a numeric value greater than 0, defines a maximum
1189 function nesting level. Function invocations that exceed this
495aee44 1190 nesting level will cause the current command to abort.
17345e5a 1191 G\bGL\bLO\bOB\bBI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE
d233b485
CR
1192 A colon-separated list of patterns defining the set of file
1193 names to be ignored by pathname expansion. If a file name
1194 matched by a pathname expansion pattern also matches one of the
1195 patterns in G\bGL\bLO\bOB\bBI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE, it is removed from the list of matches.
17345e5a 1196 H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTC\bCO\bON\bNT\bTR\bRO\bOL\bL
d233b485 1197 A colon-separated list of values controlling how commands are
8868edaf
CR
1198 saved on the history list. If the list of values includes _\bi_\bg_\b-
1199 _\bn_\bo_\br_\be_\bs_\bp_\ba_\bc_\be, lines which begin with a s\bsp\bpa\bac\bce\be character are not
d233b485 1200 saved in the history list. A value of _\bi_\bg_\bn_\bo_\br_\be_\bd_\bu_\bp_\bs causes lines
17345e5a
JA
1201 matching the previous history entry to not be saved. A value of
1202 _\bi_\bg_\bn_\bo_\br_\be_\bb_\bo_\bt_\bh is shorthand for _\bi_\bg_\bn_\bo_\br_\be_\bs_\bp_\ba_\bc_\be and _\bi_\bg_\bn_\bo_\br_\be_\bd_\bu_\bp_\bs. A value
1203 of _\be_\br_\ba_\bs_\be_\bd_\bu_\bp_\bs causes all previous lines matching the current line
d233b485
CR
1204 to be removed from the history list before that line is saved.
1205 Any value not in the above list is ignored. If H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTC\bCO\bON\bNT\bTR\bRO\bOL\bL is
1206 unset, or does not include a valid value, all lines read by the
17345e5a 1207 shell parser are saved on the history list, subject to the value
d233b485
CR
1208 of H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE. The second and subsequent lines of a multi-line
1209 compound command are not tested, and are added to the history
17345e5a
JA
1210 regardless of the value of H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTC\bCO\bON\bNT\bTR\bRO\bOL\bL.
1211 H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTF\bFI\bIL\bLE\bE
1212 The name of the file in which command history is saved (see H\bHI\bIS\bS-\b-
d233b485 1213 T\bTO\bOR\bRY\bY below). The default value is _\b~_\b/_\b._\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\b__\bh_\bi_\bs_\bt_\bo_\br_\by. If unset,
ac50fbac 1214 the command history is not saved when a shell exits.
17345e5a
JA
1215 H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTF\bFI\bIL\bLE\bES\bSI\bIZ\bZE\bE
1216 The maximum number of lines contained in the history file. When
d233b485
CR
1217 this variable is assigned a value, the history file is trun-
1218 cated, if necessary, to contain no more than that number of
1219 lines by removing the oldest entries. The history file is also
1220 truncated to this size after writing it when a shell exits. If
1221 the value is 0, the history file is truncated to zero size.
1222 Non-numeric values and numeric values less than zero inhibit
1223 truncation. The shell sets the default value to the value of
ac50fbac 1224 H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTS\bSI\bIZ\bZE\bE after reading any startup files.
17345e5a 1225 H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE
d233b485 1226 A colon-separated list of patterns used to decide which command
8868edaf
CR
1227 lines should be saved on the history list. Each pattern is an-
1228 chored at the beginning of the line and must match the complete
1229 line (no implicit `*\b*' is appended). Each pattern is tested
1230 against the line after the checks specified by H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTC\bCO\bON\bNT\bTR\bRO\bOL\bL are
1231 applied. In addition to the normal shell pattern matching char-
1232 acters, `&\b&' matches the previous history line. `&\b&' may be es-
1233 caped using a backslash; the backslash is removed before at-
1234 tempting a match. The second and subsequent lines of a multi-
1235 line compound command are not tested, and are added to the his-
1236 tory regardless of the value of H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE. The pattern match-
1237 ing honors the setting of the e\bex\bxt\btg\bgl\blo\bob\bb shell option.
17345e5a 1238 H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTS\bSI\bIZ\bZE\bE
d233b485
CR
1239 The number of commands to remember in the command history (see
1240 H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTO\bOR\bRY\bY below). If the value is 0, commands are not saved in
ac50fbac 1241 the history list. Numeric values less than zero result in every
d233b485
CR
1242 command being saved on the history list (there is no limit).
1243 The shell sets the default value to 500 after reading any
ac50fbac 1244 startup files.
17345e5a 1245 H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTT\bTI\bIM\bME\bEF\bFO\bOR\bRM\bMA\bAT\bT
d233b485 1246 If this variable is set and not null, its value is used as a
17345e5a 1247 format string for _\bs_\bt_\br_\bf_\bt_\bi_\bm_\be(3) to print the time stamp associated
d233b485
CR
1248 with each history entry displayed by the h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by builtin. If
1249 this variable is set, time stamps are written to the history
1250 file so they may be preserved across shell sessions. This uses
1251 the history comment character to distinguish timestamps from
17345e5a
JA
1252 other history lines.
1253 H\bHO\bOM\bME\bE The home directory of the current user; the default argument for
1254 the c\bcd\bd builtin command. The value of this variable is also used
1255 when performing tilde expansion.
1256 H\bHO\bOS\bST\bTF\bFI\bIL\bLE\bE
d233b485 1257 Contains the name of a file in the same format as _\b/_\be_\bt_\bc_\b/_\bh_\bo_\bs_\bt_\bs
17345e5a 1258 that should be read when the shell needs to complete a hostname.
d233b485 1259 The list of possible hostname completions may be changed while
8868edaf
CR
1260 the shell is running; the next time hostname completion is at-
1261 tempted after the value is changed, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh adds the contents of
d233b485
CR
1262 the new file to the existing list. If H\bHO\bOS\bST\bTF\bFI\bIL\bLE\bE is set, but has
1263 no value, or does not name a readable file, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh attempts to
1264 read _\b/_\be_\bt_\bc_\b/_\bh_\bo_\bs_\bt_\bs to obtain the list of possible hostname comple-
0001803f 1265 tions. When H\bHO\bOS\bST\bTF\bFI\bIL\bLE\bE is unset, the hostname list is cleared.
8868edaf
CR
1266 I\bIF\bFS\bS The _\bI_\bn_\bt_\be_\br_\bn_\ba_\bl _\bF_\bi_\be_\bl_\bd _\bS_\be_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bt_\bo_\br that is used for word splitting af-
1267 ter expansion and to split lines into words with the r\bre\bea\bad\bd
17345e5a
JA
1268 builtin command. The default value is ``<space><tab><new-
1269 line>''.
1270 I\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bEE\bEO\bOF\bF
1271 Controls the action of an interactive shell on receipt of an E\bEO\bOF\bF
1272 character as the sole input. If set, the value is the number of
d233b485
CR
1273 consecutive E\bEO\bOF\bF characters which must be typed as the first
1274 characters on an input line before b\bba\bas\bsh\bh exits. If the variable
1275 exists but does not have a numeric value, or has no value, the
1276 default value is 10. If it does not exist, E\bEO\bOF\bF signifies the
17345e5a
JA
1277 end of input to the shell.
1278 I\bIN\bNP\bPU\bUT\bTR\bRC\bC
8868edaf
CR
1279 The filename for the r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be startup file, overriding the de-
1280 fault of _\b~_\b/_\b._\bi_\bn_\bp_\bu_\bt_\br_\bc (see R\bRE\bEA\bAD\bDL\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE below).
d233b485
CR
1281 I\bIN\bNS\bSI\bID\bDE\bE_\b_E\bEM\bMA\bAC\bCS\bS
1282 If this variable appears in the environment when the shell
1283 starts, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh assumes that it is running inside an Emacs shell
1284 buffer and may disable line editing, depending on the value of
1285 T\bTE\bER\bRM\bM.
a0c0a00f 1286 L\bLA\bAN\bNG\bG Used to determine the locale category for any category not
17345e5a 1287 specifically selected with a variable starting with L\bLC\bC_\b_.
a0c0a00f 1288 L\bLC\bC_\b_A\bAL\bLL\bL This variable overrides the value of L\bLA\bAN\bNG\bG and any other L\bLC\bC_\b_
17345e5a
JA
1289 variable specifying a locale category.
1290 L\bLC\bC_\b_C\bCO\bOL\bLL\bLA\bAT\bTE\bE
a0c0a00f
CR
1291 This variable determines the collation order used when sorting
1292 the results of pathname expansion, and determines the behavior
8868edaf
CR
1293 of range expressions, equivalence classes, and collating se-
1294 quences within pathname expansion and pattern matching.
17345e5a 1295 L\bLC\bC_\b_C\bCT\bTY\bYP\bPE\bE
a0c0a00f
CR
1296 This variable determines the interpretation of characters and
1297 the behavior of character classes within pathname expansion and
17345e5a
JA
1298 pattern matching.
1299 L\bLC\bC_\b_M\bME\bES\bSS\bSA\bAG\bGE\bES\bS
a0c0a00f 1300 This variable determines the locale used to translate double-
17345e5a
JA
1301 quoted strings preceded by a $\b$.
1302 L\bLC\bC_\b_N\bNU\bUM\bME\bER\bRI\bIC\bC
a0c0a00f 1303 This variable determines the locale category used for number
17345e5a 1304 formatting.
a0c0a00f
CR
1305 L\bLC\bC_\b_T\bTI\bIM\bME\bE
1306 This variable determines the locale category used for data and
1307 time formatting.
495aee44 1308 L\bLI\bIN\bNE\bES\bS Used by the s\bse\bel\ble\bec\bct\bt compound command to determine the column
ac50fbac
CR
1309 length for printing selection lists. Automatically set if the
1310 c\bch\bhe\bec\bck\bkw\bwi\bin\bns\bsi\biz\bze\be option is enabled or in an interactive shell upon
0001803f 1311 receipt of a S\bSI\bIG\bGW\bWI\bIN\bNC\bCH\bH.
ac50fbac 1312 M\bMA\bAI\bIL\bL If this parameter is set to a file or directory name and the
8868edaf
CR
1313 M\bMA\bAI\bIL\bLP\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH variable is not set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh informs the user of the ar-
1314 rival of mail in the specified file or Maildir-format directory.
17345e5a 1315 M\bMA\bAI\bIL\bLC\bCH\bHE\bEC\bCK\bK
8868edaf
CR
1316 Specifies how often (in seconds) b\bba\bas\bsh\bh checks for mail. The de-
1317 fault is 60 seconds. When it is time to check for mail, the
1318 shell does so before displaying the primary prompt. If this
1319 variable is unset, or set to a value that is not a number
17345e5a
JA
1320 greater than or equal to zero, the shell disables mail checking.
1321 M\bMA\bAI\bIL\bLP\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH
ac50fbac
CR
1322 A colon-separated list of filenames to be checked for mail. The
1323 message to be printed when mail arrives in a particular file may
8868edaf
CR
1324 be specified by separating the filename from the message with a
1325 `?'. When used in the text of the message, $\b$_\b_ expands to the
ac50fbac 1326 name of the current mailfile. Example:
17345e5a
JA
1327 M\bMA\bAI\bIL\bLP\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH='/var/mail/bfox?"You have mail":~/shell-mail?"$_ has
1328 mail!"'
8868edaf
CR
1329 B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh can be configured to supply a default value for this vari-
1330 able (there is no value by default), but the location of the
a0c0a00f
CR
1331 user mail files that it uses is system dependent (e.g.,
1332 /var/mail/$\b$U\bUS\bSE\bER\bR).
17345e5a 1333 O\bOP\bPT\bTE\bER\bRR\bR If set to the value 1, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh displays error messages generated by
8868edaf
CR
1334 the g\bge\bet\bto\bop\bpt\bts\bs builtin command (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below).
1335 O\bOP\bPT\bTE\bER\bRR\bR is initialized to 1 each time the shell is invoked or a
17345e5a 1336 shell script is executed.
8868edaf
CR
1337 P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH The search path for commands. It is a colon-separated list of
1338 directories in which the shell looks for commands (see C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bD
1339 E\bEX\bXE\bEC\bCU\bUT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN below). A zero-length (null) directory name in the
17345e5a 1340 value of P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH indicates the current directory. A null directory
8868edaf
CR
1341 name may appear as two adjacent colons, or as an initial or
1342 trailing colon. The default path is system-dependent, and is
a0c0a00f 1343 set by the administrator who installs b\bba\bas\bsh\bh. A common value is
8868edaf
CR
1344 ``/usr/local/bin:/usr/lo-
1345 cal/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/sbin''.
17345e5a 1346 P\bPO\bOS\bSI\bIX\bXL\bLY\bY_\b_C\bCO\bOR\bRR\bRE\bEC\bCT\bT
8868edaf
CR
1347 If this variable is in the environment when b\bba\bas\bsh\bh starts, the
1348 shell enters _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be before reading the startup files, as if
1349 the -\b--\b-p\bpo\bos\bsi\bix\bx invocation option had been supplied. If it is set
1350 while the shell is running, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh enables _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be, as if the
1351 command _\bs_\be_\bt _\b-_\bo _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx had been executed. When the shell enters
d233b485 1352 _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be, it sets this variable if it was not already set.
17345e5a 1353 P\bPR\bRO\bOM\bMP\bPT\bT_\b_C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bD
8868edaf
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1354 If this variable is set, and is an array, the value of each set
1355 element is executed as a command prior to issuing each primary
1356 prompt. If this is set but not an array variable, its value is
1357 used as a command to execute instead.
17345e5a 1358 P\bPR\bRO\bOM\bMP\bPT\bT_\b_D\bDI\bIR\bRT\bTR\bRI\bIM\bM
8868edaf 1359 If set to a number greater than zero, the value is used as the
17345e5a 1360 number of trailing directory components to retain when expanding
8868edaf 1361 the \\b\w\bw and \\b\W\bW prompt string escapes (see P\bPR\bRO\bOM\bMP\bPT\bTI\bIN\bNG\bG below).
17345e5a 1362 Characters removed are replaced with an ellipsis.
8868edaf
CR
1363 P\bPS\bS0\b0 The value of this parameter is expanded (see P\bPR\bRO\bOM\bMP\bPT\bTI\bIN\bNG\bG below)
1364 and displayed by interactive shells after reading a command and
a0c0a00f 1365 before the command is executed.
8868edaf
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1366 P\bPS\bS1\b1 The value of this parameter is expanded (see P\bPR\bRO\bOM\bMP\bPT\bTI\bIN\bNG\bG below)
1367 and used as the primary prompt string. The default value is
17345e5a 1368 ``\\b\s\bs-\b-\\b\v\bv\\b\$\b$ ''.
8868edaf 1369 P\bPS\bS2\b2 The value of this parameter is expanded as with P\bPS\bS1\b1 and used as
17345e5a
JA
1370 the secondary prompt string. The default is ``>\b> ''.
1371 P\bPS\bS3\b3 The value of this parameter is used as the prompt for the s\bse\bel\ble\bec\bct\bt
1372 command (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL G\bGR\bRA\bAM\bMM\bMA\bAR\bR above).
8868edaf
CR
1373 P\bPS\bS4\b4 The value of this parameter is expanded as with P\bPS\bS1\b1 and the
1374 value is printed before each command b\bba\bas\bsh\bh displays during an ex-
1375 ecution trace. The first character of the expanded value of P\bPS\bS4\b4
1376 is replicated multiple times, as necessary, to indicate multiple
1377 levels of indirection. The default is ``+\b+ ''.
1378 S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL This variable expands to the full pathname to the shell. If it
1379 is not set when the shell starts, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh assigns to it the full
1380 pathname of the current user's login shell.
17345e5a 1381 T\bTI\bIM\bME\bEF\bFO\bOR\bRM\bMA\bAT\bT
8868edaf
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1382 The value of this parameter is used as a format string specify-
1383 ing how the timing information for pipelines prefixed with the
1384 t\bti\bim\bme\be reserved word should be displayed. The %\b% character intro-
1385 duces an escape sequence that is expanded to a time value or
1386 other information. The escape sequences and their meanings are
17345e5a
JA
1387 as follows; the braces denote optional portions.
1388 %\b%%\b% A literal %\b%.
1389 %\b%[\b[_\bp]\b][\b[l\bl]\b]R\bR The elapsed time in seconds.
1390 %\b%[\b[_\bp]\b][\b[l\bl]\b]U\bU The number of CPU seconds spent in user mode.
1391 %\b%[\b[_\bp]\b][\b[l\bl]\b]S\bS The number of CPU seconds spent in system mode.
1392 %\b%P\bP The CPU percentage, computed as (%U + %S) / %R.
1393
8868edaf 1394 The optional _\bp is a digit specifying the _\bp_\br_\be_\bc_\bi_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn, the number
17345e5a
JA
1395 of fractional digits after a decimal point. A value of 0 causes
1396 no decimal point or fraction to be output. At most three places
8868edaf
CR
1397 after the decimal point may be specified; values of _\bp greater
1398 than 3 are changed to 3. If _\bp is not specified, the value 3 is
17345e5a
JA
1399 used.
1400
8868edaf
CR
1401 The optional l\bl specifies a longer format, including minutes, of
1402 the form _\bM_\bMm_\bS_\bS._\bF_\bFs. The value of _\bp determines whether or not
17345e5a
JA
1403 the fraction is included.
1404
8868edaf
CR
1405 If this variable is not set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh acts as if it had the value
1406 $\b$'\b'\\b\n\bnr\bre\bea\bal\bl\\b\t\bt%\b%3\b3l\blR\bR\\b\n\bnu\bus\bse\ber\br\\b\t\bt%\b%3\b3l\blU\bU\\b\n\bns\bsy\bys\bs\\b\t\bt%\b%3\b3l\blS\bS'\b'. If the value is null,
ac50fbac 1407 no timing information is displayed. A trailing newline is added
17345e5a 1408 when the format string is displayed.
8868edaf
CR
1409 T\bTM\bMO\bOU\bUT\bT If set to a value greater than zero, T\bTM\bMO\bOU\bUT\bT is treated as the de-
1410 fault timeout for the r\bre\bea\bad\bd builtin. The s\bse\bel\ble\bec\bct\bt command termi-
17345e5a 1411 nates if input does not arrive after T\bTM\bMO\bOU\bUT\bT seconds when input is
8868edaf 1412 coming from a terminal. In an interactive shell, the value is
ac50fbac
CR
1413 interpreted as the number of seconds to wait for a line of input
1414 after issuing the primary prompt. B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh terminates after waiting
8868edaf 1415 for that number of seconds if a complete line of input does not
ac50fbac 1416 arrive.
8868edaf 1417 T\bTM\bMP\bPD\bDI\bIR\bR If set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh uses its value as the name of a directory in which
495aee44 1418 b\bba\bas\bsh\bh creates temporary files for the shell's use.
17345e5a
JA
1419 a\bau\but\bto\bo_\b_r\bre\bes\bsu\bum\bme\be
1420 This variable controls how the shell interacts with the user and
8868edaf 1421 job control. If this variable is set, single word simple com-
17345e5a
JA
1422 mands without redirections are treated as candidates for resump-
1423 tion of an existing stopped job. There is no ambiguity allowed;
8868edaf
CR
1424 if there is more than one job beginning with the string typed,
1425 the job most recently accessed is selected. The _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be of a
1426 stopped job, in this context, is the command line used to start
1427 it. If set to the value _\be_\bx_\ba_\bc_\bt, the string supplied must match
1428 the name of a stopped job exactly; if set to _\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg, the
1429 string supplied needs to match a substring of the name of a
1430 stopped job. The _\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg value provides functionality analo-
1431 gous to the %\b%?\b? job identifier (see J\bJO\bOB\bB C\bCO\bON\bNT\bTR\bRO\bOL\bL below). If set
1432 to any other value, the supplied string must be a prefix of a
17345e5a
JA
1433 stopped job's name; this provides functionality analogous to the
1434 %\b%_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg job identifier.
17345e5a 1435 h\bhi\bis\bst\btc\bch\bha\bar\brs\bs
8868edaf 1436 The two or three characters which control history expansion and
17345e5a 1437 tokenization (see H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTO\bOR\bRY\bY E\bEX\bXP\bPA\bAN\bNS\bSI\bIO\bON\bN below). The first character
8868edaf
CR
1438 is the _\bh_\bi_\bs_\bt_\bo_\br_\by _\be_\bx_\bp_\ba_\bn_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn character, the character which signals
1439 the start of a history expansion, normally `!\b!'. The second
1440 character is the _\bq_\bu_\bi_\bc_\bk _\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bt_\bi_\bt_\bu_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn character, which is used as
1441 shorthand for re-running the previous command entered, substi-
1442 tuting one string for another in the command. The default is
1443 `^\b^'. The optional third character is the character which indi-
1444 cates that the remainder of the line is a comment when found as
1445 the first character of a word, normally `#\b#'. The history com-
17345e5a 1446 ment character causes history substitution to be skipped for the
8868edaf 1447 remaining words on the line. It does not necessarily cause the
17345e5a
JA
1448 shell parser to treat the rest of the line as a comment.
1449
1450 A\bAr\brr\bra\bay\bys\bs
8868edaf
CR
1451 B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh provides one-dimensional indexed and associative array variables.
1452 Any variable may be used as an indexed array; the d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be builtin will
1453 explicitly declare an array. There is no maximum limit on the size of
1454 an array, nor any requirement that members be indexed or assigned con-
1455 tiguously. Indexed arrays are referenced using integers (including
a0c0a00f
CR
1456 arithmetic expressions) and are zero-based; associative arrays are ref-
1457 erenced using arbitrary strings. Unless otherwise noted, indexed array
1458 indices must be non-negative integers.
17345e5a 1459
8868edaf 1460 An indexed array is created automatically if any variable is assigned
17345e5a 1461 to using the syntax _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[_\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bc_\br_\bi_\bp_\bt]=_\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be. The _\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bc_\br_\bi_\bp_\bt is treated as
ac50fbac 1462 an arithmetic expression that must evaluate to a number. To explicitly
8868edaf
CR
1463 declare an indexed array, use d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be -\b-a\ba _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bM-\b-
1464 M\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below). d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be -\b-a\ba _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[\b[_\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bc_\br_\bi_\bp_\bt]\b] is also accepted; the _\bs_\bu_\bb_\b-
ac50fbac 1465 _\bs_\bc_\br_\bi_\bp_\bt is ignored.
17345e5a
JA
1466
1467 Associative arrays are created using d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be -\b-A\bA _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be.
1468
1469 Attributes may be specified for an array variable using the d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be and
a0c0a00f 1470 r\bre\bea\bad\bdo\bon\bnl\bly\by builtins. Each attribute applies to all members of an array.
17345e5a 1471
8868edaf
CR
1472 Arrays are assigned to using compound assignments of the form
1473 _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be=(\b(value_\b1 ... value_\bn)\b), where each _\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be may be of the form [_\bs_\bu_\bb_\b-
1474 _\bs_\bc_\br_\bi_\bp_\bt]=_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg. Indexed array assignments do not require anything but
1475 _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg. Each _\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be in the list is expanded using all the shell expan-
1476 sions described below under E\bEX\bXP\bPA\bAN\bNS\bSI\bIO\bON\bN. When assigning to indexed ar-
1477 rays, if the optional brackets and subscript are supplied, that index
1478 is assigned to; otherwise the index of the element assigned is the last
1479 index assigned to by the statement plus one. Indexing starts at zero.
1480
1481 When assigning to an associative array, the words in a compound assign-
1482 ment may be either assignment statements, for which the subscript is
1483 required, or a list of words that is interpreted as a sequence of al-
1484 ternating keys and values: _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be=(\b( _\bk_\be_\by_\b1 _\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be_\b1 _\bk_\be_\by_\b2 _\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be_\b2 ...)\b). These
1485 are treated identically to _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be=(\b( [_\bk_\be_\by_\b1]=_\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be_\b1 [_\bk_\be_\by_\b2]=_\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be_\b2 ...)\b).
1486 The first word in the list determines how the remaining words are in-
1487 terpreted; all assignments in a list must be of the same type. When
1488 using key/value pairs, the keys may not be missing or empty; a final
1489 missing value is treated like the empty string.
17345e5a 1490
d233b485 1491 This syntax is also accepted by the d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be builtin. Individual array
8868edaf
CR
1492 elements may be assigned to using the _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[_\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bc_\br_\bi_\bp_\bt]=_\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be syntax in-
1493 troduced above. When assigning to an indexed array, if _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is sub-
d233b485
CR
1494 scripted by a negative number, that number is interpreted as relative
1495 to one greater than the maximum index of _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be, so negative indices
ac50fbac
CR
1496 count back from the end of the array, and an index of -1 references the
1497 last element.
17345e5a 1498
74091dd4
CR
1499 The += operator will append to an array variable when assigning using
1500 the compound assignment syntax; see P\bPA\bAR\bRA\bAM\bME\bET\bTE\bER\bRS\bS above.
1501
1502 Any element of an array may be referenced using ${_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[_\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bc_\br_\bi_\bp_\bt]}.
17345e5a 1503 The braces are required to avoid conflicts with pathname expansion. If
74091dd4
CR
1504 _\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bc_\br_\bi_\bp_\bt is @\b@ or *\b*, the word expands to all members of _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be. These
1505 subscripts differ only when the word appears within double quotes. If
17345e5a 1506 the word is double-quoted, ${_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[*]} expands to a single word with the
74091dd4 1507 value of each array member separated by the first character of the I\bIF\bFS\bS
17345e5a 1508 special variable, and ${_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[@]} expands each element of _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be to a sep-
74091dd4
CR
1509 arate word. When there are no array members, ${_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[@]} expands to
1510 nothing. If the double-quoted expansion occurs within a word, the ex-
8868edaf 1511 pansion of the first parameter is joined with the beginning part of the
74091dd4 1512 original word, and the expansion of the last parameter is joined with
8868edaf 1513 the last part of the original word. This is analogous to the expansion
74091dd4
CR
1514 of the special parameters *\b* and @\b@ (see S\bSp\bpe\bec\bci\bia\bal\bl P\bPa\bar\bra\bam\bme\bet\bte\ber\brs\bs above).
1515 ${#_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[_\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bc_\br_\bi_\bp_\bt]} expands to the length of ${_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[_\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bc_\br_\bi_\bp_\bt]}. If
8868edaf
CR
1516 _\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bc_\br_\bi_\bp_\bt is *\b* or @\b@, the expansion is the number of elements in the ar-
1517 ray. If the _\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bc_\br_\bi_\bp_\bt used to reference an element of an indexed array
74091dd4
CR
1518 evaluates to a number less than zero, it is interpreted as relative to
1519 one greater than the maximum index of the array, so negative indices
8868edaf
CR
1520 count back from the end of the array, and an index of -1 references the
1521 last element.
a0c0a00f
CR
1522
1523 Referencing an array variable without a subscript is equivalent to ref-
74091dd4 1524 erencing the array with a subscript of 0. Any reference to a variable
a0c0a00f
CR
1525 using a valid subscript is legal, and b\bba\bas\bsh\bh will create an array if nec-
1526 essary.
17345e5a 1527
74091dd4 1528 An array variable is considered set if a subscript has been assigned a
0001803f
CR
1529 value. The null string is a valid value.
1530
74091dd4
CR
1531 It is possible to obtain the keys (indices) of an array as well as the
1532 values. ${!\b!_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[_\b@]} and ${!\b!_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[_\b*]} expand to the indices assigned in
ac50fbac
CR
1533 array variable _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be. The treatment when in double quotes is similar to
1534 the expansion of the special parameters _\b@ and _\b* within double quotes.
1535
8868edaf
CR
1536 The u\bun\bns\bse\bet\bt builtin is used to destroy arrays. u\bun\bns\bse\bet\bt _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[_\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bc_\br_\bi_\bp_\bt] de-
1537 stroys the array element at index _\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bc_\br_\bi_\bp_\bt, for both indexed and asso-
74091dd4
CR
1538 ciative arrays. Negative subscripts to indexed arrays are interpreted
1539 as described above. Unsetting the last element of an array variable
1540 does not unset the variable. u\bun\bns\bse\bet\bt _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be, where _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is an array, re-
1541 moves the entire array. u\bun\bns\bse\bet\bt _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[_\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bc_\br_\bi_\bp_\bt], where _\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bc_\br_\bi_\bp_\bt is *\b* or
1542 @\b@, behaves differently depending on whether _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is an indexed or asso-
1543 ciative array. If _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is an associative array, this unsets the ele-
1544 ment with subscript *\b* or @\b@. If _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is an indexed array, unset removes
1545 all of the elements but does not remove the array itself.
d233b485
CR
1546
1547 When using a variable name with a subscript as an argument to a com-
8868edaf
CR
1548 mand, such as with u\bun\bns\bse\bet\bt, without using the word expansion syntax de-
1549 scribed above, the argument is subject to pathname expansion. If path-
1550 name expansion is not desired, the argument should be quoted.
d233b485
CR
1551
1552 The d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be, l\blo\boc\bca\bal\bl, and r\bre\bea\bad\bdo\bon\bnl\bly\by builtins each accept a -\b-a\ba option to
8868edaf
CR
1553 specify an indexed array and a -\b-A\bA option to specify an associative ar-
1554 ray. If both options are supplied, -\b-A\bA takes precedence. The r\bre\bea\bad\bd
d233b485 1555 builtin accepts a -\b-a\ba option to assign a list of words read from the
ac50fbac
CR
1556 standard input to an array. The s\bse\bet\bt and d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be builtins display array
1557 values in a way that allows them to be reused as assignments.
17345e5a
JA
1558
1559E\bEX\bXP\bPA\bAN\bNS\bSI\bIO\bON\bN
1560 Expansion is performed on the command line after it has been split into
d233b485
CR
1561 words. There are seven kinds of expansion performed: _\bb_\br_\ba_\bc_\be _\be_\bx_\bp_\ba_\bn_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn,
1562 _\bt_\bi_\bl_\bd_\be _\be_\bx_\bp_\ba_\bn_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn, _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br _\ba_\bn_\bd _\bv_\ba_\br_\bi_\ba_\bb_\bl_\be _\be_\bx_\bp_\ba_\bn_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn, _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd _\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bt_\bi_\bt_\bu_\b-
17345e5a
JA
1563 _\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn, _\ba_\br_\bi_\bt_\bh_\bm_\be_\bt_\bi_\bc _\be_\bx_\bp_\ba_\bn_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn, _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd _\bs_\bp_\bl_\bi_\bt_\bt_\bi_\bn_\bg, and _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bh_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be _\be_\bx_\bp_\ba_\bn_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn.
1564
ac50fbac 1565 The order of expansions is: brace expansion; tilde expansion, parameter
d233b485
CR
1566 and variable expansion, arithmetic expansion, and command substitution
1567 (done in a left-to-right fashion); word splitting; and pathname expan-
ac50fbac 1568 sion.
17345e5a
JA
1569
1570 On systems that can support it, there is an additional expansion avail-
d233b485
CR
1571 able: _\bp_\br_\bo_\bc_\be_\bs_\bs _\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bt_\bi_\bt_\bu_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn. This is performed at the same time as
1572 tilde, parameter, variable, and arithmetic expansion and command sub-
ac50fbac 1573 stitution.
17345e5a 1574
d233b485
CR
1575 After these expansions are performed, quote characters present in the
1576 original word are removed unless they have been quoted themselves
a0c0a00f
CR
1577 (_\bq_\bu_\bo_\bt_\be _\br_\be_\bm_\bo_\bv_\ba_\bl).
1578
8868edaf
CR
1579 Only brace expansion, word splitting, and pathname expansion can in-
1580 crease the number of words of the expansion; other expansions expand a
1581 single word to a single word. The only exceptions to this are the ex-
1582 pansions of "$\b$@\b@" and "$\b${\b{_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[\b[@\b@]\b]}\b}", and, in most cases, $\b$*\b* and
d233b485 1583 $\b${\b{_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[\b[*\b*]\b]}\b} as explained above (see P\bPA\bAR\bRA\bAM\bME\bET\bTE\bER\bRS\bS).
17345e5a
JA
1584
1585 B\bBr\bra\bac\bce\be E\bEx\bxp\bpa\ban\bns\bsi\bio\bon\bn
1586 _\bB_\br_\ba_\bc_\be _\be_\bx_\bp_\ba_\bn_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn is a mechanism by which arbitrary strings may be gener-
1587 ated. This mechanism is similar to _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bh_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be _\be_\bx_\bp_\ba_\bn_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn, but the file-
1588 names generated need not exist. Patterns to be brace expanded take the
1589 form of an optional _\bp_\br_\be_\ba_\bm_\bb_\bl_\be, followed by either a series of comma-sep-
1590 arated strings or a sequence expression between a pair of braces, fol-
1591 lowed by an optional _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bt_\bs_\bc_\br_\bi_\bp_\bt. The preamble is prefixed to each
1592 string contained within the braces, and the postscript is then appended
1593 to each resulting string, expanding left to right.
1594
1595 Brace expansions may be nested. The results of each expanded string
1596 are not sorted; left to right order is preserved. For example,
1597 a{\b{d,c,b}\b}e expands into `ade ace abe'.
1598
1599 A sequence expression takes the form {\b{_\bx.\b..\b._\by[\b[.\b..\b._\bi_\bn_\bc_\br]\b]}\b}, where _\bx and _\by are
74091dd4
CR
1600 either integers or single letters, and _\bi_\bn_\bc_\br, an optional increment, is
1601 an integer. When integers are supplied, the expression expands to each
1602 number between _\bx and _\by, inclusive. Supplied integers may be prefixed
1603 with _\b0 to force each term to have the same width. When either _\bx or _\by
1604 begins with a zero, the shell attempts to force all generated terms to
1605 contain the same number of digits, zero-padding where necessary. When
1606 letters are supplied, the expression expands to each character lexico-
1607 graphically between _\bx and _\by, inclusive, using the default C locale.
1608 Note that both _\bx and _\by must be of the same type (integer or letter).
1609 When the increment is supplied, it is used as the difference between
1610 each term. The default increment is 1 or -1 as appropriate.
17345e5a
JA
1611
1612 Brace expansion is performed before any other expansions, and any char-
1613 acters special to other expansions are preserved in the result. It is
1614 strictly textual. B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh does not apply any syntactic interpretation to
1615 the context of the expansion or the text between the braces.
1616
1617 A correctly-formed brace expansion must contain unquoted opening and
8868edaf
CR
1618 closing braces, and at least one unquoted comma or a valid sequence ex-
1619 pression. Any incorrectly formed brace expansion is left unchanged. A
1620 {\b{ or ,\b, may be quoted with a backslash to prevent its being considered
17345e5a 1621 part of a brace expression. To avoid conflicts with parameter expan-
d233b485
CR
1622 sion, the string $\b${\b{ is not considered eligible for brace expansion, and
1623 inhibits brace expansion until the closing }\b}.
17345e5a
JA
1624
1625 This construct is typically used as shorthand when the common prefix of
1626 the strings to be generated is longer than in the above example:
1627
1628 mkdir /usr/local/src/bash/{old,new,dist,bugs}
1629 or
1630 chown root /usr/{ucb/{ex,edit},lib/{ex?.?*,how_ex}}
1631
d233b485
CR
1632 Brace expansion introduces a slight incompatibility with historical
1633 versions of s\bsh\bh. s\bsh\bh does not treat opening or closing braces specially
1634 when they appear as part of a word, and preserves them in the output.
1635 B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh removes braces from words as a consequence of brace expansion.
1636 For example, a word entered to s\bsh\bh as _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\b{_\b1_\b,_\b2_\b} appears identically in
1637 the output. The same word is output as _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\b1 _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\b2 after expansion by
1638 b\bba\bas\bsh\bh. If strict compatibility with s\bsh\bh is desired, start b\bba\bas\bsh\bh with the
17345e5a
JA
1639 +\b+B\bB option or disable brace expansion with the +\b+B\bB option to the s\bse\bet\bt com-
1640 mand (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below).
1641
1642 T\bTi\bil\bld\bde\be E\bEx\bxp\bpa\ban\bns\bsi\bio\bon\bn
d233b485
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1643 If a word begins with an unquoted tilde character (`~\b~'), all of the
1644 characters preceding the first unquoted slash (or all characters, if
1645 there is no unquoted slash) are considered a _\bt_\bi_\bl_\bd_\be_\b-_\bp_\br_\be_\bf_\bi_\bx. If none of
1646 the characters in the tilde-prefix are quoted, the characters in the
1647 tilde-prefix following the tilde are treated as a possible _\bl_\bo_\bg_\bi_\bn _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be.
1648 If this login name is the null string, the tilde is replaced with the
1649 value of the shell parameter H\bHO\bOM\bME\bE. If H\bHO\bOM\bME\bE is unset, the home direc-
1650 tory of the user executing the shell is substituted instead. Other-
1651 wise, the tilde-prefix is replaced with the home directory associated
17345e5a
JA
1652 with the specified login name.
1653
8868edaf
CR
1654 If the tilde-prefix is a `~+', the value of the shell variable P\bPW\bWD\bD re-
1655 places the tilde-prefix. If the tilde-prefix is a `~-', the value of
d233b485
CR
1656 the shell variable O\bOL\bLD\bDP\bPW\bWD\bD, if it is set, is substituted. If the char-
1657 acters following the tilde in the tilde-prefix consist of a number _\bN,
1658 optionally prefixed by a `+' or a `-', the tilde-prefix is replaced
17345e5a
JA
1659 with the corresponding element from the directory stack, as it would be
1660 displayed by the d\bdi\bir\brs\bs builtin invoked with the tilde-prefix as an argu-
d233b485 1661 ment. If the characters following the tilde in the tilde-prefix con-
17345e5a
JA
1662 sist of a number without a leading `+' or `-', `+' is assumed.
1663
1664 If the login name is invalid, or the tilde expansion fails, the word is
1665 unchanged.
1666
1667 Each variable assignment is checked for unquoted tilde-prefixes immedi-
1668 ately following a :\b: or the first =\b=. In these cases, tilde expansion is
8868edaf
CR
1669 also performed. Consequently, one may use filenames with tildes in as-
1670 signments to P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH, M\bMA\bAI\bIL\bLP\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH, and C\bCD\bDP\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH, and the shell assigns the ex-
1671 panded value.
17345e5a 1672
d233b485
CR
1673 Bash also performs tilde expansion on words satisfying the conditions
1674 of variable assignments (as described above under P\bPA\bAR\bRA\bAM\bME\bET\bTE\bER\bRS\bS) when they
1675 appear as arguments to simple commands. Bash does not do this, except
1676 for the _\bd_\be_\bc_\bl_\ba_\br_\ba_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn commands listed above, when in _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be.
1677
17345e5a
JA
1678 P\bPa\bar\bra\bam\bme\bet\bte\ber\br E\bEx\bxp\bpa\ban\bns\bsi\bio\bon\bn
1679 The `$\b$' character introduces parameter expansion, command substitution,
1680 or arithmetic expansion. The parameter name or symbol to be expanded
1681 may be enclosed in braces, which are optional but serve to protect the
1682 variable to be expanded from characters immediately following it which
1683 could be interpreted as part of the name.
1684
1685 When braces are used, the matching ending brace is the first `}\b}' not
8868edaf
CR
1686 escaped by a backslash or within a quoted string, and not within an em-
1687 bedded arithmetic expansion, command substitution, or parameter expan-
1688 sion.
17345e5a
JA
1689
1690 ${_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br}
1691 The value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is substituted. The braces are required
1692 when _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is a positional parameter with more than one
1693 digit, or when _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is followed by a character which is not
ac50fbac
CR
1694 to be interpreted as part of its name. The _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is a shell
1695 parameter as described above P\bPA\bAR\bRA\bAM\bME\bET\bTE\bER\bRS\bS) or an array reference
1696 (A\bAr\brr\bra\bay\bys\bs).
1697
a0c0a00f 1698 If the first character of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is an exclamation point (!\b!), and
d233b485 1699 _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is not a _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\br_\be_\bf, it introduces a level of indirection. B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh
8868edaf
CR
1700 uses the value formed by expanding the rest of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br as the new _\bp_\ba_\b-
1701 _\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br; this is then expanded and that value is used in the rest of
d233b485 1702 the expansion, rather than the expansion of the original _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br.
8868edaf
CR
1703 This is known as _\bi_\bn_\bd_\bi_\br_\be_\bc_\bt _\be_\bx_\bp_\ba_\bn_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn. The value is subject to tilde ex-
1704 pansion, parameter expansion, command substitution, and arithmetic ex-
1705 pansion. If _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is a nameref, this expands to the name of the
d233b485
CR
1706 parameter referenced by _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br instead of performing the complete
1707 indirect expansion. The exceptions to this are the expansions of
1708 ${!\b!_\bp_\br_\be_\bf_\bi_\bx*\b*} and ${!\b!_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[_\b@]} described below. The exclamation point
1709 must immediately follow the left brace in order to introduce indirec-
1710 tion.
17345e5a
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1711
1712 In each of the cases below, _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd is subject to tilde expansion, parame-
1713 ter expansion, command substitution, and arithmetic expansion.
1714
8868edaf
CR
1715 When not performing substring expansion, using the forms documented be-
1716 low (e.g., :\b:-\b-), b\bba\bas\bsh\bh tests for a parameter that is unset or null.
1717 Omitting the colon results in a test only for a parameter that is un-
1718 set.
17345e5a
JA
1719
1720 ${_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br:\b:-\b-_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd}
ac50fbac
CR
1721 U\bUs\bse\be D\bDe\bef\bfa\bau\bul\blt\bt V\bVa\bal\blu\bue\bes\bs. If _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is unset or null, the expan-
1722 sion of _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd is substituted. Otherwise, the value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br
17345e5a
JA
1723 is substituted.
1724 ${_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br:\b:=\b=_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd}
8868edaf
CR
1725 A\bAs\bss\bsi\big\bgn\bn D\bDe\bef\bfa\bau\bul\blt\bt V\bVa\bal\blu\bue\bes\bs. If _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is unset or null, the ex-
1726 pansion of _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd is assigned to _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br. The value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\b-
1727 _\bt_\be_\br is then substituted. Positional parameters and special pa-
1728 rameters may not be assigned to in this way.
17345e5a 1729 ${_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br:\b:?\b?_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd}
ac50fbac
CR
1730 D\bDi\bis\bsp\bpl\bla\bay\by E\bEr\brr\bro\bor\br i\bif\bf N\bNu\bul\bll\bl o\bor\br U\bUn\bns\bse\bet\bt. If _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is null or unset,
1731 the expansion of _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd (or a message to that effect if _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd is
1732 not present) is written to the standard error and the shell, if
17345e5a
JA
1733 it is not interactive, exits. Otherwise, the value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br
1734 is substituted.
1735 ${_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br:\b:+\b+_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd}
ac50fbac 1736 U\bUs\bse\be A\bAl\blt\bte\ber\brn\bna\bat\bte\be V\bVa\bal\blu\bue\be. If _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is null or unset, nothing is
17345e5a
JA
1737 substituted, otherwise the expansion of _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd is substituted.
1738 ${_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br:\b:_\bo_\bf_\bf_\bs_\be_\bt}
1739 ${_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br:\b:_\bo_\bf_\bf_\bs_\be_\bt:\b:_\bl_\be_\bn_\bg_\bt_\bh}
ac50fbac
CR
1740 S\bSu\bub\bbs\bst\btr\bri\bin\bng\bg E\bEx\bxp\bpa\ban\bns\bsi\bio\bon\bn. Expands to up to _\bl_\be_\bn_\bg_\bt_\bh characters of the
1741 value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br starting at the character specified by _\bo_\bf_\bf_\b-
74091dd4
CR
1742 _\bs_\be_\bt. If _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is @\b@ or *\b*, an indexed array subscripted by @\b@
1743 or *\b*, or an associative array name, the results differ as de-
1744 scribed below. If _\bl_\be_\bn_\bg_\bt_\bh is omitted, expands to the substring
1745 of the value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br starting at the character specified by
1746 _\bo_\bf_\bf_\bs_\be_\bt and extending to the end of the value. _\bl_\be_\bn_\bg_\bt_\bh and _\bo_\bf_\bf_\bs_\be_\bt
1747 are arithmetic expressions (see A\bAR\bRI\bIT\bTH\bHM\bME\bET\bTI\bIC\bC E\bEV\bVA\bAL\bLU\bUA\bAT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN below).
ac50fbac
CR
1748
1749 If _\bo_\bf_\bf_\bs_\be_\bt evaluates to a number less than zero, the value is
8868edaf
CR
1750 used as an offset in characters from the end of the value of _\bp_\ba_\b-
1751 _\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br. If _\bl_\be_\bn_\bg_\bt_\bh evaluates to a number less than zero, it is
1752 interpreted as an offset in characters from the end of the value
1753 of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br rather than a number of characters, and the expan-
1754 sion is the characters between _\bo_\bf_\bf_\bs_\be_\bt and that result. Note
1755 that a negative offset must be separated from the colon by at
1756 least one space to avoid being confused with the :\b:-\b- expansion.
1757
74091dd4
CR
1758 If _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is @\b@ or *\b*, the result is _\bl_\be_\bn_\bg_\bt_\bh positional parame-
1759 ters beginning at _\bo_\bf_\bf_\bs_\be_\bt. A negative _\bo_\bf_\bf_\bs_\be_\bt is taken relative
1760 to one greater than the greatest positional parameter, so an
1761 offset of -1 evaluates to the last positional parameter. It is
1762 an expansion error if _\bl_\be_\bn_\bg_\bt_\bh evaluates to a number less than
1763 zero.
ac50fbac
CR
1764
1765 If _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is an indexed array name subscripted by @ or *, the
74091dd4
CR
1766 result is the _\bl_\be_\bn_\bg_\bt_\bh members of the array beginning with ${_\bp_\ba_\b-
1767 _\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br[_\bo_\bf_\bf_\bs_\be_\bt]}. A negative _\bo_\bf_\bf_\bs_\be_\bt is taken relative to one
8868edaf
CR
1768 greater than the maximum index of the specified array. It is an
1769 expansion error if _\bl_\be_\bn_\bg_\bt_\bh evaluates to a number less than zero.
ac50fbac 1770
8868edaf
CR
1771 Substring expansion applied to an associative array produces un-
1772 defined results.
ac50fbac 1773
74091dd4
CR
1774 Substring indexing is zero-based unless the positional parame-
1775 ters are used, in which case the indexing starts at 1 by de-
1776 fault. If _\bo_\bf_\bf_\bs_\be_\bt is 0, and the positional parameters are used,
8868edaf 1777 $\b$0\b0 is prefixed to the list.
17345e5a
JA
1778
1779 ${!\b!_\bp_\br_\be_\bf_\bi_\bx*\b*}
1780 ${!\b!_\bp_\br_\be_\bf_\bi_\bx@\b@}
74091dd4 1781 N\bNa\bam\bme\bes\bs m\bma\bat\btc\bch\bhi\bin\bng\bg p\bpr\bre\bef\bfi\bix\bx. Expands to the names of variables whose
17345e5a 1782 names begin with _\bp_\br_\be_\bf_\bi_\bx, separated by the first character of the
74091dd4
CR
1783 I\bIF\bFS\bS special variable. When _\b@ is used and the expansion appears
1784 within double quotes, each variable name expands to a separate
17345e5a
JA
1785 word.
1786
1787 ${!\b!_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[_\b@]}
1788 ${!\b!_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[_\b*]}
74091dd4
CR
1789 L\bLi\bis\bst\bt o\bof\bf a\bar\brr\bra\bay\by k\bke\bey\bys\bs. If _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is an array variable, expands to
1790 the list of array indices (keys) assigned in _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be. If _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is
1791 not an array, expands to 0 if _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is set and null otherwise.
1792 When _\b@ is used and the expansion appears within double quotes,
17345e5a
JA
1793 each key expands to a separate word.
1794
1795 ${#\b#_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br}
74091dd4
CR
1796 P\bPa\bar\bra\bam\bme\bet\bte\ber\br l\ble\ben\bng\bgt\bth\bh. The length in characters of the value of _\bp_\ba_\b-
1797 _\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is substituted. If _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is *\b* or @\b@, the value sub-
1798 stituted is the number of positional parameters. If _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br
8868edaf
CR
1799 is an array name subscripted by *\b* or @\b@, the value substituted is
1800 the number of elements in the array. If _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is an indexed
74091dd4
CR
1801 array name subscripted by a negative number, that number is in-
1802 terpreted as relative to one greater than the maximum index of
1803 _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br, so negative indices count back from the end of the
8868edaf 1804 array, and an index of -1 references the last element.
17345e5a
JA
1805
1806 ${_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br#\b#_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd}
1807 ${_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br#\b##\b#_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd}
495aee44 1808 R\bRe\bem\bmo\bov\bve\be m\bma\bat\btc\bch\bhi\bin\bng\bg p\bpr\bre\bef\bfi\bix\bx p\bpa\bat\btt\bte\ber\brn\bn. The _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd is expanded to produce
d233b485
CR
1809 a pattern just as in pathname expansion, and matched against the
1810 expanded value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br using the rules described under P\bPa\bat\bt-\b-
74091dd4
CR
1811 t\bte\ber\brn\bn M\bMa\bat\btc\bch\bhi\bin\bng\bg below. If the pattern matches the beginning of
1812 the value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br, then the result of the expansion is the
1813 expanded value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br with the shortest matching pattern
1814 (the ``#\b#'' case) or the longest matching pattern (the ``#\b##\b#''
1815 case) deleted. If _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is @\b@ or *\b*, the pattern removal op-
8868edaf
CR
1816 eration is applied to each positional parameter in turn, and the
1817 expansion is the resultant list. If _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is an array vari-
74091dd4
CR
1818 able subscripted with @\b@ or *\b*, the pattern removal operation is
1819 applied to each member of the array in turn, and the expansion
8868edaf 1820 is the resultant list.
d233b485
CR
1821
1822 ${_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br%\b%_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd}
1823 ${_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br%\b%%\b%_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd}
1824 R\bRe\bem\bmo\bov\bve\be m\bma\bat\btc\bch\bhi\bin\bng\bg s\bsu\buf\bff\bfi\bix\bx p\bpa\bat\btt\bte\ber\brn\bn. The _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd is expanded to produce
1825 a pattern just as in pathname expansion, and matched against the
1826 expanded value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br using the rules described under P\bPa\bat\bt-\b-
74091dd4
CR
1827 t\bte\ber\brn\bn M\bMa\bat\btc\bch\bhi\bin\bng\bg below. If the pattern matches a trailing portion
1828 of the expanded value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br, then the result of the ex-
1829 pansion is the expanded value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br with the shortest
1830 matching pattern (the ``%\b%'' case) or the longest matching pat-
1831 tern (the ``%\b%%\b%'' case) deleted. If _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is @\b@ or *\b*, the
1832 pattern removal operation is applied to each positional parame-
17345e5a 1833 ter in turn, and the expansion is the resultant list. If _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\b-
74091dd4
CR
1834 _\be_\bt_\be_\br is an array variable subscripted with @\b@ or *\b*, the pattern
1835 removal operation is applied to each member of the array in
17345e5a
JA
1836 turn, and the expansion is the resultant list.
1837
17345e5a 1838 ${_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br/\b/_\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn/\b/_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg}
74091dd4
CR
1839 ${_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br/\b//\b/_\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn/\b/_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg}
1840 ${_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br/\b/#\b#_\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn/\b/_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg}
1841 ${_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br/\b/%\b%_\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn/\b/_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg}
495aee44 1842 P\bPa\bat\btt\bte\ber\brn\bn s\bsu\bub\bbs\bst\bti\bit\btu\but\bti\bio\bon\bn. The _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn is expanded to produce a pat-
74091dd4
CR
1843 tern just as in pathname expansion. _\bP_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is expanded and
1844 the longest match of _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn against its value is replaced with
1845 _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg. _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg undergoes tilde expansion, parameter and vari-
1846 able expansion, arithmetic expansion, command and process sub-
1847 stitution, and quote removal. The match is performed using the
1848 rules described under P\bPa\bat\btt\bte\ber\brn\bn M\bMa\bat\btc\bch\bhi\bin\bng\bg below. In the first form
1849 above, only the first match is replaced. If there are two
1850 slashes separating _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br and _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn (the second form
1851 above), all matches of _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn are replaced with _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg. If
1852 _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn is preceded by #\b# (the third form above), it must match
1853 at the beginning of the expanded value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br. If _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn
1854 is preceded by %\b% (the fourth form above), it must match at the
1855 end of the expanded value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br. If the expansion of
1856 _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg is null, matches of _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn are deleted. If _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg is
1857 null, matches of _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn are deleted and the /\b/ following _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn
1858 may be omitted.
1859
1860 If the p\bpa\bat\bts\bsu\bub\bb_\b_r\bre\bep\bpl\bla\bac\bce\bem\bme\ben\bnt\bt shell option is enabled using s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt,
1861 any unquoted instances of &\b& in _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg are replaced with the
1862 matching portion of _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn.
1863
1864 Quoting any part of _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg inhibits replacement in the expansion
1865 of the quoted portion, including replacement strings stored in
1866 shell variables. Backslash will escape &\b& in _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg; the back-
1867 slash is removed in order to permit a literal &\b& in the replace-
1868 ment string. Backslash can also be used to escape a backslash;
1869 \\b\\\b\ results in a literal backslash in the replacement. Users
1870 should take care if _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg is double-quoted to avoid unwanted
1871 interactions between the backslash and double-quoting, since
1872 backslash has special meaning within double quotes. Pattern
1873 substitution performs the check for unquoted &\b& after expanding
1874 _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg; shell programmers should quote any occurrences of &\b& they
1875 want to be taken literally in the replacement and ensure any in-
1876 stances of &\b& they want to be replaced are unquoted.
1877
1878 If the n\bno\boc\bca\bas\bse\bem\bma\bat\btc\bch\bh shell option is enabled, the match is per-
1879 formed without regard to the case of alphabetic characters. If
1880 _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is @\b@ or *\b*, the substitution operation is applied to
1881 each positional parameter in turn, and the expansion is the re-
1882 sultant list. If _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is an array variable subscripted
1883 with @\b@ or *\b*, the substitution operation is applied to each mem-
1884 ber of the array in turn, and the expansion is the resultant
1885 list.
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1886
1887 ${_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br^\b^_\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn}
1888 ${_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br^\b^^\b^_\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn}
1889 ${_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br,\b,_\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn}
1890 ${_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br,\b,,\b,_\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn}
74091dd4
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1891 C\bCa\bas\bse\be m\bmo\bod\bdi\bif\bfi\bic\bca\bat\bti\bio\bon\bn. This expansion modifies the case of alpha-
1892 betic characters in _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br. The _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn is expanded to pro-
ac50fbac 1893 duce a pattern just as in pathname expansion. Each character in
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1894 the expanded value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is tested against _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn, and,
1895 if it matches the pattern, its case is converted. The pattern
1896 should not attempt to match more than one character. The ^\b^ op-
8868edaf
CR
1897 erator converts lowercase letters matching _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn to uppercase;
1898 the ,\b, operator converts matching uppercase letters to lowercase.
74091dd4
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1899 The ^\b^^\b^ and ,\b,,\b, expansions convert each matched character in the
1900 expanded value; the ^\b^ and ,\b, expansions match and convert only
1901 the first character in the expanded value. If _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn is omit-
1902 ted, it is treated like a ?\b?, which matches every character. If
1903 _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is @\b@ or *\b*, the case modification operation is applied
1904 to each positional parameter in turn, and the expansion is the
1905 resultant list. If _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is an array variable subscripted
1906 with @\b@ or *\b*, the case modification operation is applied to each
1907 member of the array in turn, and the expansion is the resultant
8868edaf 1908 list.
17345e5a 1909
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CR
1910 ${_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br@\b@_\bo_\bp_\be_\br_\ba_\bt_\bo_\br}
1911 P\bPa\bar\bra\bam\bme\bet\bte\ber\br t\btr\bra\ban\bns\bsf\bfo\bor\brm\bma\bat\bti\bio\bon\bn. The expansion is either a transforma-
74091dd4
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1912 tion of the value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br or information about _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br
1913 itself, depending on the value of _\bo_\bp_\be_\br_\ba_\bt_\bo_\br. Each _\bo_\bp_\be_\br_\ba_\bt_\bo_\br is a
a0c0a00f
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1914 single letter:
1915
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1916 U\bU The expansion is a string that is the value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br
1917 with lowercase alphabetic characters converted to upper-
8868edaf 1918 case.
74091dd4 1919 u\bu The expansion is a string that is the value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br
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1920 with the first character converted to uppercase, if it is
1921 alphabetic.
74091dd4
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1922 L\bL The expansion is a string that is the value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br
1923 with uppercase alphabetic characters converted to lower-
8868edaf 1924 case.
74091dd4 1925 Q\bQ The expansion is a string that is the value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br
a0c0a00f 1926 quoted in a format that can be reused as input.
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1927 E\bE The expansion is a string that is the value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br
1928 with backslash escape sequences expanded as with the
d233b485 1929 $\b$'\b'.\b..\b..\b.'\b' quoting mechanism.
a0c0a00f
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1930 P\bP The expansion is a string that is the result of expanding
1931 the value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br as if it were a prompt string (see
1932 P\bPR\bRO\bOM\bMP\bPT\bTI\bIN\bNG\bG below).
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1933 A\bA The expansion is a string in the form of an assignment
1934 statement or d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be command that, if evaluated, will
a0c0a00f 1935 recreate _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br with its attributes and value.
8868edaf
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1936 K\bK Produces a possibly-quoted version of the value of _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\b-
1937 _\be_\bt_\be_\br, except that it prints the values of indexed and as-
74091dd4 1938 sociative arrays as a sequence of quoted key-value pairs
8868edaf 1939 (see A\bAr\brr\bra\bay\bys\bs above).
74091dd4 1940 a\ba The expansion is a string consisting of flag values rep-
a0c0a00f 1941 resenting _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br's attributes.
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1942 k\bk Like the K transformation, but expands the keys and val-
1943 ues of indexed and associative arrays to separate words
1944 after word splitting.
a0c0a00f 1945
74091dd4
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1946 If _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is @\b@ or *\b*, the operation is applied to each posi-
1947 tional parameter in turn, and the expansion is the resultant
1948 list. If _\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br is an array variable subscripted with @\b@ or
d233b485
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1949 *\b*, the operation is applied to each member of the array in turn,
1950 and the expansion is the resultant list.
a0c0a00f 1951
74091dd4 1952 The result of the expansion is subject to word splitting and
a0c0a00f
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1953 pathname expansion as described below.
1954
17345e5a
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1955 C\bCo\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bd S\bSu\bub\bbs\bst\bti\bit\btu\but\bti\bio\bon\bn
1956 _\bC_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd _\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bt_\bi_\bt_\bu_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn allows the output of a command to replace the com-
1957 mand name. There are two forms:
1958
17345e5a
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1959 $\b$(\b(_\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd)\b)
1960 or
1961 `\b`_\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd`\b`
1962
a0c0a00f
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1963 B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh performs the expansion by executing _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd in a subshell environ-
1964 ment and replacing the command substitution with the standard output of
1965 the command, with any trailing newlines deleted. Embedded newlines are
74091dd4
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1966 not deleted, but they may be removed during word splitting. The com-
1967 mand substitution $\b$(\b(c\bca\bat\bt _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be)\b) can be replaced by the equivalent but
a0c0a00f 1968 faster $\b$(\b(<\b< _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be)\b).
17345e5a 1969
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1970 When the old-style backquote form of substitution is used, backslash
1971 retains its literal meaning except when followed by $\b$, `\b`, or \\b\. The
17345e5a 1972 first backquote not preceded by a backslash terminates the command sub-
74091dd4 1973 stitution. When using the $(_\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd) form, all characters between the
17345e5a
JA
1974 parentheses make up the command; none are treated specially.
1975
1976 Command substitutions may be nested. To nest when using the backquoted
1977 form, escape the inner backquotes with backslashes.
1978
74091dd4 1979 If the substitution appears within double quotes, word splitting and
17345e5a
JA
1980 pathname expansion are not performed on the results.
1981
1982 A\bAr\bri\bit\bth\bhm\bme\bet\bti\bic\bc E\bEx\bxp\bpa\ban\bns\bsi\bio\bon\bn
74091dd4
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1983 Arithmetic expansion allows the evaluation of an arithmetic expression
1984 and the substitution of the result. The format for arithmetic expan-
17345e5a
JA
1985 sion is:
1986
1987 $\b$(\b((\b(_\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn)\b))\b)
1988
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1989 The _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn undergoes the same expansions as if it were within dou-
1990 ble quotes, but double quote characters in _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn are not treated
1991 specially and are removed. All tokens in the expression undergo param-
1992 eter and variable expansion, command substitution, and quote removal.
1993 The result is treated as the arithmetic expression to be evaluated.
1994 Arithmetic expansions may be nested.
17345e5a 1995
74091dd4 1996 The evaluation is performed according to the rules listed below under
17345e5a
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1997 A\bAR\bRI\bIT\bTH\bHM\bME\bET\bTI\bIC\bC E\bEV\bVA\bAL\bLU\bUA\bAT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN. If _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn is invalid, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh prints a message
1998 indicating failure and no substitution occurs.
1999
2000 P\bPr\bro\boc\bce\bes\bss\bs S\bSu\bub\bbs\bst\bti\bit\btu\but\bti\bio\bon\bn
74091dd4
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2001 _\bP_\br_\bo_\bc_\be_\bs_\bs _\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bt_\bi_\bt_\bu_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn allows a process's input or output to be referred
2002 to using a filename. It takes the form of <\b<(\b(_\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt)\b) or >\b>(\b(_\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt)\b). The
2003 process _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt is run asynchronously, and its input or output appears as
a0c0a00f 2004 a filename. This filename is passed as an argument to the current com-
74091dd4
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2005 mand as the result of the expansion. If the >\b>(\b(_\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt)\b) form is used,
2006 writing to the file will provide input for _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt. If the <\b<(\b(_\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt)\b) form
2007 is used, the file passed as an argument should be read to obtain the
a0c0a00f
CR
2008 output of _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt. Process substitution is supported on systems that sup-
2009 port named pipes (_\bF_\bI_\bF_\bO_\bs) or the /\b/d\bde\bev\bv/\b/f\bfd\bd method of naming open files.
17345e5a 2010
74091dd4
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2011 When available, process substitution is performed simultaneously with
2012 parameter and variable expansion, command substitution, and arithmetic
17345e5a
JA
2013 expansion.
2014
2015 W\bWo\bor\brd\bd S\bSp\bpl\bli\bit\btt\bti\bin\bng\bg
74091dd4
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2016 The shell scans the results of parameter expansion, command substitu-
2017 tion, and arithmetic expansion that did not occur within double quotes
17345e5a
JA
2018 for _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd _\bs_\bp_\bl_\bi_\bt_\bt_\bi_\bn_\bg.
2019
74091dd4
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2020 The shell treats each character of I\bIF\bFS\bS as a delimiter, and splits the
2021 results of the other expansions into words using these characters as
2022 field terminators. If I\bIF\bFS\bS is unset, or its value is exactly
2023 <\b<s\bsp\bpa\bac\bce\be>\b><\b<t\bta\bab\bb>\b><\b<n\bne\bew\bwl\bli\bin\bne\be>\b>, the default, then sequences of <\b<s\bsp\bpa\bac\bce\be>\b>, <\b<t\bta\bab\bb>\b>,
2024 and <\b<n\bne\bew\bwl\bli\bin\bne\be>\b> at the beginning and end of the results of the previous
2025 expansions are ignored, and any sequence of I\bIF\bFS\bS characters not at the
2026 beginning or end serves to delimit words. If I\bIF\bFS\bS has a value other
2027 than the default, then sequences of the whitespace characters s\bsp\bpa\bac\bce\be,
2028 t\bta\bab\bb, and n\bne\bew\bwl\bli\bin\bne\be are ignored at the beginning and end of the word, as
2029 long as the whitespace character is in the value of I\bIF\bFS\bS (an I\bIF\bFS\bS white-
2030 space character). Any character in I\bIF\bFS\bS that is not I\bIF\bFS\bS whitespace,
a0c0a00f 2031 along with any adjacent I\bIF\bFS\bS whitespace characters, delimits a field. A
74091dd4 2032 sequence of I\bIF\bFS\bS whitespace characters is also treated as a delimiter.
a0c0a00f
CR
2033 If the value of I\bIF\bFS\bS is null, no word splitting occurs.
2034
74091dd4 2035 Explicit null arguments ("\b""\b" or '\b''\b') are retained and passed to commands
a0c0a00f
CR
2036 as empty strings. Unquoted implicit null arguments, resulting from the
2037 expansion of parameters that have no values, are removed. If a parame-
8868edaf
CR
2038 ter with no value is expanded within double quotes, a null argument re-
2039 sults and is retained and passed to a command as an empty string. When
74091dd4 2040 a quoted null argument appears as part of a word whose expansion is
8868edaf
CR
2041 non-null, the null argument is removed. That is, the word -d'' becomes
2042 -d after word splitting and null argument removal.
17345e5a
JA
2043
2044 Note that if no expansion occurs, no splitting is performed.
2045
2046 P\bPa\bat\bth\bhn\bna\bam\bme\be E\bEx\bxp\bpa\ban\bns\bsi\bio\bon\bn
74091dd4
CR
2047 After word splitting, unless the -\b-f\bf option has been set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh scans
2048 each word for the characters *\b*, ?\b?, and [\b[. If one of these characters
8868edaf 2049 appears, and is not quoted, then the word is regarded as a _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn, and
74091dd4
CR
2050 replaced with an alphabetically sorted list of filenames matching the
2051 pattern (see P\bPa\bat\btt\bte\ber\brn\bn M\bMa\bat\btc\bch\bhi\bin\bng\bg below). If no matching filenames are
2052 found, and the shell option n\bnu\bul\bll\blg\bgl\blo\bob\bb is not enabled, the word is left
2053 unchanged. If the n\bnu\bul\bll\blg\bgl\blo\bob\bb option is set, and no matches are found,
2054 the word is removed. If the f\bfa\bai\bil\blg\bgl\blo\bob\bb shell option is set, and no
2055 matches are found, an error message is printed and the command is not
8868edaf 2056 executed. If the shell option n\bno\boc\bca\bas\bse\beg\bgl\blo\bob\bb is enabled, the match is per-
74091dd4
CR
2057 formed without regard to the case of alphabetic characters. When a
2058 pattern is used for pathname expansion, the character `\b``\b`.\b.'\b''\b' at the
2059 start of a name or immediately following a slash must be matched ex-
2060 plicitly, unless the shell option d\bdo\bot\btg\bgl\blo\bob\bb is set. In order to match
2061 the filenames `\b``\b`.\b.'\b''\b' and `\b``\b`.\b..\b.'\b''\b', the pattern must begin with ``.'' (for
2062 example, ``.?''), even if d\bdo\bot\btg\bgl\blo\bob\bb is set. If the g\bgl\blo\bob\bbs\bsk\bki\bip\bpd\bdo\bot\bts\bs shell
2063 option is enabled, the filenames `\b``\b`.\b.'\b''\b' and `\b``\b`.\b..\b.'\b''\b' are never matched,
2064 even if the pattern begins with a `\b``\b`.\b.'\b''\b'. When not matching pathnames,
2065 the `\b``\b`.\b.'\b''\b' character is not treated specially. When matching a path-
2066 name, the slash character must always be matched explicitly by a slash
2067 in the pattern, but in other matching contexts it can be matched by a
2068 special pattern character as described below under P\bPa\bat\btt\bte\ber\brn\bn M\bMa\bat\btc\bch\bhi\bin\bng\bg.
2069 See the description of s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt below under S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS for a
2070 description of the n\bno\boc\bca\bas\bse\beg\bgl\blo\bob\bb, n\bnu\bul\bll\blg\bgl\blo\bob\bb, g\bgl\blo\bob\bbs\bsk\bki\bip\bpd\bdo\bot\bts\bs, f\bfa\bai\bil\blg\bgl\blo\bob\bb, and
8868edaf 2071 d\bdo\bot\btg\bgl\blo\bob\bb shell options.
d233b485
CR
2072
2073 The G\bGL\bLO\bOB\bBI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE shell variable may be used to restrict the set of file
2074 names matching a _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn. If G\bGL\bLO\bOB\bBI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE is set, each matching file
2075 name that also matches one of the patterns in G\bGL\bLO\bOB\bBI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE is removed
2076 from the list of matches. If the n\bno\boc\bca\bas\bse\beg\bgl\blo\bob\bb option is set, the match-
2077 ing against the patterns in G\bGL\bLO\bOB\bBI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE is performed without regard to
2078 case. The filenames `\b``\b`.\b.'\b''\b' and `\b``\b`.\b..\b.'\b''\b' are always ignored when G\bGL\bLO\bOB\bBI\bIG\bG-\b-
2079 N\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE is set and not null. However, setting G\bGL\bLO\bOB\bBI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE to a non-null
2080 value has the effect of enabling the d\bdo\bot\btg\bgl\blo\bob\bb shell option, so all other
2081 filenames beginning with a `\b``\b`.\b.'\b''\b' will match. To get the old behavior
2082 of ignoring filenames beginning with a `\b``\b`.\b.'\b''\b', make `\b``\b`.\b.*\b*'\b''\b' one of the
2083 patterns in G\bGL\bLO\bOB\bBI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE. The d\bdo\bot\btg\bgl\blo\bob\bb option is disabled when G\bGL\bLO\bOB\bBI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE
2084 is unset. The pattern matching honors the setting of the e\bex\bxt\btg\bgl\blo\bob\bb shell
a0c0a00f 2085 option.
17345e5a
JA
2086
2087 P\bPa\bat\btt\bte\ber\brn\bn M\bMa\bat\btc\bch\bhi\bin\bng\bg
2088
2089 Any character that appears in a pattern, other than the special pattern
d233b485
CR
2090 characters described below, matches itself. The NUL character may not
2091 occur in a pattern. A backslash escapes the following character; the
2092 escaping backslash is discarded when matching. The special pattern
17345e5a
JA
2093 characters must be quoted if they are to be matched literally.
2094
2095 The special pattern characters have the following meanings:
2096
d233b485
CR
2097 *\b* Matches any string, including the null string. When the
2098 g\bgl\blo\bob\bbs\bst\bta\bar\br shell option is enabled, and *\b* is used in a
2099 pathname expansion context, two adjacent *\b*s used as a
8868edaf
CR
2100 single pattern will match all files and zero or more di-
2101 rectories and subdirectories. If followed by a /\b/, two
d233b485 2102 adjacent *\b*s will match only directories and subdirecto-
495aee44
CR
2103 ries.
2104 ?\b? Matches any single character.
d233b485
CR
2105 [\b[.\b..\b..\b.]\b] Matches any one of the enclosed characters. A pair of
2106 characters separated by a hyphen denotes a _\br_\ba_\bn_\bg_\be _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\be_\bs_\b-
2107 _\bs_\bi_\bo_\bn; any character that falls between those two charac-
8868edaf
CR
2108 ters, inclusive, using the current locale's collating se-
2109 quence and character set, is matched. If the first char-
2110 acter following the [\b[ is a !\b! or a ^\b^ then any character
2111 not enclosed is matched. The sorting order of characters
74091dd4
CR
2112 in range expressions, and the characters included in the
2113 range, are determined by the current locale and the val-
2114 ues of the L\bLC\bC_\b_C\bCO\bOL\bLL\bLA\bAT\bTE\bE or L\bLC\bC_\b_A\bAL\bLL\bL shell variables, if set.
2115 To obtain the traditional interpretation of range expres-
2116 sions, where [\b[a\ba-\b-d\bd]\b] is equivalent to [\b[a\bab\bbc\bcd\bd]\b], set value of
2117 the L\bLC\bC_\b_A\bAL\bLL\bL shell variable to C\bC, or enable the g\bgl\blo\bob\bba\bas\bsc\bci\bi-\b-
2118 i\bir\bra\ban\bng\bge\bes\bs shell option. A -\b- may be matched by including it
2119 as the first or last character in the set. A ]\b] may be
2120 matched by including it as the first character in the
2121 set.
2122
2123 Within [\b[ and ]\b], _\bc_\bh_\ba_\br_\ba_\bc_\bt_\be_\br _\bc_\bl_\ba_\bs_\bs_\be_\bs can be specified using
495aee44
CR
2124 the syntax [\b[:\b:_\bc_\bl_\ba_\bs_\bs:\b:]\b], where _\bc_\bl_\ba_\bs_\bs is one of the following
2125 classes defined in the POSIX standard:
74091dd4 2126 a\bal\bln\bnu\bum\bm a\bal\blp\bph\bha\ba a\bas\bsc\bci\bii\bi b\bbl\bla\ban\bnk\bk c\bcn\bnt\btr\brl\bl d\bdi\big\bgi\bit\bt g\bgr\bra\bap\bph\bh l\blo\bow\bwe\ber\br p\bpr\bri\bin\bnt\bt
495aee44
CR
2127 p\bpu\bun\bnc\bct\bt s\bsp\bpa\bac\bce\be u\bup\bpp\bpe\ber\br w\bwo\bor\brd\bd x\bxd\bdi\big\bgi\bit\bt
2128 A character class matches any character belonging to that
2129 class. The w\bwo\bor\brd\bd character class matches letters, digits,
2130 and the character _.
2131
8868edaf 2132 Within [\b[ and ]\b], an _\be_\bq_\bu_\bi_\bv_\ba_\bl_\be_\bn_\bc_\be _\bc_\bl_\ba_\bs_\bs can be specified us-
74091dd4
CR
2133 ing the syntax [\b[=\b=_\bc=\b=]\b], which matches all characters with
2134 the same collation weight (as defined by the current lo-
8868edaf 2135 cale) as the character _\bc.
495aee44
CR
2136
2137 Within [\b[ and ]\b], the syntax [\b[.\b._\bs_\by_\bm_\bb_\bo_\bl.\b.]\b] matches the collat-
2138 ing symbol _\bs_\by_\bm_\bb_\bo_\bl.
17345e5a 2139
74091dd4
CR
2140 If the e\bex\bxt\btg\bgl\blo\bob\bb shell option is enabled using the s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt builtin, the
2141 shell recognizes several extended pattern matching operators. In the
2142 following description, a _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn_\b-_\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt is a list of one or more patterns
2143 separated by a |\b|. Composite patterns may be formed using one or more
2144 of the following sub-patterns:
17345e5a
JA
2145
2146 ?\b?(\b(_\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn_\b-_\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt)\b)
2147 Matches zero or one occurrence of the given patterns
2148 *\b*(\b(_\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn_\b-_\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt)\b)
2149 Matches zero or more occurrences of the given patterns
2150 +\b+(\b(_\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn_\b-_\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt)\b)
2151 Matches one or more occurrences of the given patterns
2152 @\b@(\b(_\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn_\b-_\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt)\b)
2153 Matches one of the given patterns
2154 !\b!(\b(_\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn_\b-_\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt)\b)
2155 Matches anything except one of the given patterns
2156
74091dd4
CR
2157 Thee\bex\bxt\btg\bgl\blo\bob\bb option changes the behavior of the parser, since the paren-
2158 theses are normally treated as operators with syntactic meaning. To
2159 ensure that extended matching patterns are parsed correctly, make sure
2160 that e\bex\bxt\btg\bgl\blo\bob\bb is enabled before parsing constructs containing the pat-
2161 terns, including shell functions and command substitutions.
2162
2163 When matching filenames, the d\bdo\bot\btg\bgl\blo\bob\bb shell option determines the set of
2164 filenames that are tested: when d\bdo\bot\btg\bgl\blo\bob\bb is enabled, the set of file-
2165 names includes all files beginning with ``.'', but ``.'' and ``..''
2166 must be matched by a pattern or sub-pattern that begins with a dot;
2167 when it is disabled, the set does not include any filenames beginning
2168 with ``.'' unless the pattern or sub-pattern begins with a ``.''. As
2169 above, ``.'' only has a special meaning when matching filenames.
2170
8868edaf
CR
2171 Complicated extended pattern matching against long strings is slow, es-
2172 pecially when the patterns contain alternations and the strings contain
74091dd4 2173 multiple matches. Using separate matches against shorter strings, or
8868edaf 2174 using arrays of strings instead of a single long string, may be faster.
d233b485 2175
17345e5a
JA
2176 Q\bQu\buo\bot\bte\be R\bRe\bem\bmo\bov\bva\bal\bl
2177 After the preceding expansions, all unquoted occurrences of the charac-
74091dd4 2178 ters \\b\, '\b', and "\b" that did not result from one of the above expansions
17345e5a
JA
2179 are removed.
2180
2181R\bRE\bED\bDI\bIR\bRE\bEC\bCT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN
74091dd4
CR
2182 Before a command is executed, its input and output may be _\br_\be_\bd_\bi_\br_\be_\bc_\bt_\be_\bd
2183 using a special notation interpreted by the shell. _\bR_\be_\bd_\bi_\br_\be_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn allows
2184 commands' file handles to be duplicated, opened, closed, made to refer
ac50fbac 2185 to different files, and can change the files the command reads from and
74091dd4
CR
2186 writes to. Redirection may also be used to modify file handles in the
2187 current shell execution environment. The following redirection opera-
ac50fbac 2188 tors may precede or appear anywhere within a _\bs_\bi_\bm_\bp_\bl_\be _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd or may fol-
74091dd4 2189 low a _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd. Redirections are processed in the order they appear,
ac50fbac 2190 from left to right.
17345e5a 2191
74091dd4 2192 Each redirection that may be preceded by a file descriptor number may
0001803f
CR
2193 instead be preceded by a word of the form {_\bv_\ba_\br_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be}. In this case, for
2194 each redirection operator except >&- and <&-, the shell will allocate a
74091dd4
CR
2195 file descriptor greater than or equal to 10 and assign it to _\bv_\ba_\br_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be.
2196 If >&- or <&- is preceded by {_\bv_\ba_\br_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be}, the value of _\bv_\ba_\br_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be defines
2197 the file descriptor to close. If {_\bv_\ba_\br_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be} is supplied, the redirect-
2198 ion persists beyond the scope of the command, allowing the shell pro-
2199 grammer to manage the file descriptor's lifetime manually. The
2200 v\bva\bar\brr\bre\bed\bdi\bir\br_\b_c\bcl\blo\bos\bse\be shell option manages this behavior.
d233b485 2201
8868edaf
CR
2202 In the following descriptions, if the file descriptor number is omit-
2203 ted, and the first character of the redirection operator is <\b<, the re-
2204 direction refers to the standard input (file descriptor 0). If the
2205 first character of the redirection operator is >\b>, the redirection
17345e5a
JA
2206 refers to the standard output (file descriptor 1).
2207
8868edaf
CR
2208 The word following the redirection operator in the following descrip-
2209 tions, unless otherwise noted, is subjected to brace expansion, tilde
2210 expansion, parameter and variable expansion, command substitution,
2211 arithmetic expansion, quote removal, pathname expansion, and word
ac50fbac 2212 splitting. If it expands to more than one word, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh reports an error.
17345e5a 2213
8868edaf 2214 Note that the order of redirections is significant. For example, the
17345e5a
JA
2215 command
2216
2217 ls >\b> dirlist 2>\b>&\b&1
2218
8868edaf 2219 directs both standard output and standard error to the file _\bd_\bi_\br_\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt,
17345e5a
JA
2220 while the command
2221
2222 ls 2>\b>&\b&1 >\b> dirlist
2223
8868edaf
CR
2224 directs only the standard output to file _\bd_\bi_\br_\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt, because the standard
2225 error was duplicated from the standard output before the standard out-
0001803f 2226 put was redirected to _\bd_\bi_\br_\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt.
17345e5a
JA
2227
2228 B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh handles several filenames specially when they are used in redirec-
a0c0a00f
CR
2229 tions, as described in the following table. If the operating system on
2230 which b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is running provides these special files, bash will use them;
8868edaf 2231 otherwise it will emulate them internally with the behavior described
a0c0a00f 2232 below.
17345e5a
JA
2233
2234 /\b/d\bde\bev\bv/\b/f\bfd\bd/\b/_\bf_\bd
8868edaf 2235 If _\bf_\bd is a valid integer, file descriptor _\bf_\bd is dupli-
17345e5a
JA
2236 cated.
2237 /\b/d\bde\bev\bv/\b/s\bst\btd\bdi\bin\bn
2238 File descriptor 0 is duplicated.
2239 /\b/d\bde\bev\bv/\b/s\bst\btd\bdo\bou\but\bt
2240 File descriptor 1 is duplicated.
2241 /\b/d\bde\bev\bv/\b/s\bst\btd\bde\ber\brr\br
2242 File descriptor 2 is duplicated.
2243 /\b/d\bde\bev\bv/\b/t\btc\bcp\bp/\b/_\bh_\bo_\bs_\bt/\b/_\bp_\bo_\br_\bt
2244 If _\bh_\bo_\bs_\bt is a valid hostname or Internet address, and _\bp_\bo_\br_\bt
8868edaf 2245 is an integer port number or service name, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh attempts
ac50fbac 2246 to open the corresponding TCP socket.
17345e5a
JA
2247 /\b/d\bde\bev\bv/\b/u\bud\bdp\bp/\b/_\bh_\bo_\bs_\bt/\b/_\bp_\bo_\br_\bt
2248 If _\bh_\bo_\bs_\bt is a valid hostname or Internet address, and _\bp_\bo_\br_\bt
8868edaf 2249 is an integer port number or service name, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh attempts
ac50fbac 2250 to open the corresponding UDP socket.
17345e5a
JA
2251
2252 A failure to open or create a file causes the redirection to fail.
2253
8868edaf
CR
2254 Redirections using file descriptors greater than 9 should be used with
2255 care, as they may conflict with file descriptors the shell uses inter-
17345e5a
JA
2256 nally.
2257
2258 R\bRe\bed\bdi\bir\bre\bec\bct\bti\bin\bng\bg I\bIn\bnp\bpu\but\bt
2259 Redirection of input causes the file whose name results from the expan-
8868edaf 2260 sion of _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd to be opened for reading on file descriptor _\bn, or the
17345e5a
JA
2261 standard input (file descriptor 0) if _\bn is not specified.
2262
2263 The general format for redirecting input is:
2264
2265 [_\bn]<\b<_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd
2266
2267 R\bRe\bed\bdi\bir\bre\bec\bct\bti\bin\bng\bg O\bOu\but\btp\bpu\but\bt
8868edaf
CR
2268 Redirection of output causes the file whose name results from the ex-
2269 pansion of _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd to be opened for writing on file descriptor _\bn, or the
17345e5a 2270 standard output (file descriptor 1) if _\bn is not specified. If the file
8868edaf 2271 does not exist it is created; if it does exist it is truncated to zero
17345e5a
JA
2272 size.
2273
2274 The general format for redirecting output is:
2275
2276 [_\bn]>\b>_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd
2277
8868edaf
CR
2278 If the redirection operator is >\b>, and the n\bno\boc\bcl\blo\bob\bbb\bbe\ber\br option to the s\bse\bet\bt
2279 builtin has been enabled, the redirection will fail if the file whose
2280 name results from the expansion of _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd exists and is a regular file.
17345e5a
JA
2281 If the redirection operator is >\b>|\b|, or the redirection operator is >\b> and
2282 the n\bno\boc\bcl\blo\bob\bbb\bbe\ber\br option to the s\bse\bet\bt builtin command is not enabled, the re-
2283 direction is attempted even if the file named by _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd exists.
2284
2285 A\bAp\bpp\bpe\ben\bnd\bdi\bin\bng\bg R\bRe\bed\bdi\bir\bre\bec\bct\bte\bed\bd O\bOu\but\btp\bpu\but\bt
8868edaf
CR
2286 Redirection of output in this fashion causes the file whose name re-
2287 sults from the expansion of _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd to be opened for appending on file de-
2288 scriptor _\bn, or the standard output (file descriptor 1) if _\bn is not
17345e5a
JA
2289 specified. If the file does not exist it is created.
2290
2291 The general format for appending output is:
2292
2293 [_\bn]>\b>>\b>_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd
2294
17345e5a 2295 R\bRe\bed\bdi\bir\bre\bec\bct\bti\bin\bng\bg S\bSt\bta\ban\bnd\bda\bar\brd\bd O\bOu\but\btp\bpu\but\bt a\ban\bnd\bd S\bSt\bta\ban\bnd\bda\bar\brd\bd E\bEr\brr\bro\bor\br
8868edaf
CR
2296 This construct allows both the standard output (file descriptor 1) and
2297 the standard error output (file descriptor 2) to be redirected to the
17345e5a
JA
2298 file whose name is the expansion of _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd.
2299
8868edaf
CR
2300 There are two formats for redirecting standard output and standard er-
2301 ror:
17345e5a
JA
2302
2303 &\b&>\b>_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd
2304 and
2305 >\b>&\b&_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd
2306
2307 Of the two forms, the first is preferred. This is semantically equiva-
2308 lent to
2309
2310 >\b>_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd 2>\b>&\b&1
2311
8868edaf
CR
2312 When using the second form, _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd may not expand to a number or -\b-. If
2313 it does, other redirection operators apply (see D\bDu\bup\bpl\bli\bic\bca\bat\bti\bin\bng\bg F\bFi\bil\ble\be D\bDe\be-\b-
2314 s\bsc\bcr\bri\bip\bpt\bto\bor\brs\bs below) for compatibility reasons.
17345e5a
JA
2315
2316 A\bAp\bpp\bpe\ben\bnd\bdi\bin\bng\bg S\bSt\bta\ban\bnd\bda\bar\brd\bd O\bOu\but\btp\bpu\but\bt a\ban\bnd\bd S\bSt\bta\ban\bnd\bda\bar\brd\bd E\bEr\brr\bro\bor\br
8868edaf
CR
2317 This construct allows both the standard output (file descriptor 1) and
2318 the standard error output (file descriptor 2) to be appended to the
17345e5a
JA
2319 file whose name is the expansion of _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd.
2320
2321 The format for appending standard output and standard error is:
2322
2323 &\b&>\b>>\b>_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd
2324
2325 This is semantically equivalent to
2326
2327 >\b>>\b>_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd 2>\b>&\b&1
2328
ac50fbac
CR
2329 (see D\bDu\bup\bpl\bli\bic\bca\bat\bti\bin\bng\bg F\bFi\bil\ble\be D\bDe\bes\bsc\bcr\bri\bip\bpt\bto\bor\brs\bs below).
2330
17345e5a 2331 H\bHe\ber\bre\be D\bDo\boc\bcu\bum\bme\ben\bnt\bts\bs
8868edaf 2332 This type of redirection instructs the shell to read input from the
17345e5a 2333 current source until a line containing only _\bd_\be_\bl_\bi_\bm_\bi_\bt_\be_\br (with no trailing
8868edaf
CR
2334 blanks) is seen. All of the lines read up to that point are then used
2335 as the standard input (or file descriptor _\bn if _\bn is specified) for a
a0c0a00f 2336 command.
17345e5a
JA
2337
2338 The format of here-documents is:
2339
a0c0a00f 2340 [_\bn]<\b<<\b<[-\b-]_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd
17345e5a
JA
2341 _\bh_\be_\br_\be_\b-_\bd_\bo_\bc_\bu_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt
2342 _\bd_\be_\bl_\bi_\bm_\bi_\bt_\be_\br
2343
8868edaf
CR
2344 No parameter and variable expansion, command substitution, arithmetic
2345 expansion, or pathname expansion is performed on _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd. If any part of
2346 _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd is quoted, the _\bd_\be_\bl_\bi_\bm_\bi_\bt_\be_\br is the result of quote removal on _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd,
2347 and the lines in the here-document are not expanded. If _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd is un-
2348 quoted, all lines of the here-document are subjected to parameter ex-
2349 pansion, command substitution, and arithmetic expansion, the character
2350 sequence \\b\<\b<n\bne\bew\bwl\bli\bin\bne\be>\b> is ignored, and \\b\ must be used to quote the charac-
2351 ters \\b\, $\b$, and `\b`.
17345e5a
JA
2352
2353 If the redirection operator is <\b<<\b<-\b-, then all leading tab characters are
8868edaf
CR
2354 stripped from input lines and the line containing _\bd_\be_\bl_\bi_\bm_\bi_\bt_\be_\br. This al-
2355 lows here-documents within shell scripts to be indented in a natural
17345e5a
JA
2356 fashion.
2357
2358 H\bHe\ber\bre\be S\bSt\btr\bri\bin\bng\bgs\bs
2359 A variant of here documents, the format is:
2360
a0c0a00f 2361 [_\bn]<\b<<\b<<\b<_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd
17345e5a 2362
8868edaf
CR
2363 The _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd undergoes tilde expansion, parameter and variable expansion,
2364 command substitution, arithmetic expansion, and quote removal. Path-
2365 name expansion and word splitting are not performed. The result is
d233b485
CR
2366 supplied as a single string, with a newline appended, to the command on
2367 its standard input (or file descriptor _\bn if _\bn is specified).
17345e5a
JA
2368
2369 D\bDu\bup\bpl\bli\bic\bca\bat\bti\bin\bng\bg F\bFi\bil\ble\be D\bDe\bes\bsc\bcr\bri\bip\bpt\bto\bor\brs\bs
2370 The redirection operator
2371
2372 [_\bn]<\b<&\b&_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd
2373
2374 is used to duplicate input file descriptors. If _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd expands to one or
8868edaf
CR
2375 more digits, the file descriptor denoted by _\bn is made to be a copy of
2376 that file descriptor. If the digits in _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd do not specify a file de-
2377 scriptor open for input, a redirection error occurs. If _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd evaluates
2378 to -\b-, file descriptor _\bn is closed. If _\bn is not specified, the standard
2379 input (file descriptor 0) is used.
17345e5a
JA
2380
2381 The operator
2382
2383 [_\bn]>\b>&\b&_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd
2384
8868edaf
CR
2385 is used similarly to duplicate output file descriptors. If _\bn is not
2386 specified, the standard output (file descriptor 1) is used. If the
2387 digits in _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd do not specify a file descriptor open for output, a re-
2388 direction error occurs. If _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd evaluates to -\b-, file descriptor _\bn is
2389 closed. As a special case, if _\bn is omitted, and _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd does not expand
2390 to one or more digits or -\b-, the standard output and standard error are
ac50fbac 2391 redirected as described previously.
17345e5a
JA
2392
2393 M\bMo\bov\bvi\bin\bng\bg F\bFi\bil\ble\be D\bDe\bes\bsc\bcr\bri\bip\bpt\bto\bor\brs\bs
2394 The redirection operator
2395
2396 [_\bn]<\b<&\b&_\bd_\bi_\bg_\bi_\bt-\b-
2397
8868edaf 2398 moves the file descriptor _\bd_\bi_\bg_\bi_\bt to file descriptor _\bn, or the standard
17345e5a
JA
2399 input (file descriptor 0) if _\bn is not specified. _\bd_\bi_\bg_\bi_\bt is closed after
2400 being duplicated to _\bn.
2401
2402 Similarly, the redirection operator
2403
2404 [_\bn]>\b>&\b&_\bd_\bi_\bg_\bi_\bt-\b-
2405
8868edaf 2406 moves the file descriptor _\bd_\bi_\bg_\bi_\bt to file descriptor _\bn, or the standard
17345e5a
JA
2407 output (file descriptor 1) if _\bn is not specified.
2408
2409 O\bOp\bpe\ben\bni\bin\bng\bg F\bFi\bil\ble\be D\bDe\bes\bsc\bcr\bri\bip\bpt\bto\bor\brs\bs f\bfo\bor\br R\bRe\bea\bad\bdi\bin\bng\bg a\ban\bnd\bd W\bWr\bri\bit\bti\bin\bng\bg
2410 The redirection operator
2411
2412 [_\bn]<\b<>\b>_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd
2413
8868edaf
CR
2414 causes the file whose name is the expansion of _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd to be opened for
2415 both reading and writing on file descriptor _\bn, or on file descriptor 0
17345e5a
JA
2416 if _\bn is not specified. If the file does not exist, it is created.
2417
2418A\bAL\bLI\bIA\bAS\bSE\bES\bS
8868edaf
CR
2419 _\bA_\bl_\bi_\ba_\bs_\be_\bs allow a string to be substituted for a word when it is used as
2420 the first word of a simple command. The shell maintains a list of
2421 aliases that may be set and unset with the a\bal\bli\bia\bas\bs and u\bun\bna\bal\bli\bia\bas\bs builtin
2422 commands (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below). The first word of each
2423 simple command, if unquoted, is checked to see if it has an alias. If
2424 so, that word is replaced by the text of the alias. The characters /\b/,
2425 $\b$, `\b`, and =\b= and any of the shell _\bm_\be_\bt_\ba_\bc_\bh_\ba_\br_\ba_\bc_\bt_\be_\br_\bs or quoting characters
17345e5a 2426 listed above may not appear in an alias name. The replacement text may
8868edaf
CR
2427 contain any valid shell input, including shell metacharacters. The
2428 first word of the replacement text is tested for aliases, but a word
2429 that is identical to an alias being expanded is not expanded a second
2430 time. This means that one may alias l\bls\bs to l\bls\bs -\b-F\bF, for instance, and
2431 b\bba\bas\bsh\bh does not try to recursively expand the replacement text. If the
2432 last character of the alias value is a _\bb_\bl_\ba_\bn_\bk, then the next command
17345e5a
JA
2433 word following the alias is also checked for alias expansion.
2434
2435 Aliases are created and listed with the a\bal\bli\bia\bas\bs command, and removed with
2436 the u\bun\bna\bal\bli\bia\bas\bs command.
2437
8868edaf 2438 There is no mechanism for using arguments in the replacement text. If
74091dd4 2439 arguments are needed, use a shell function (see F\bFU\bUN\bNC\bCT\bTI\bIO\bON\bNS\bS below).
17345e5a 2440
74091dd4
CR
2441 Aliases are not expanded when the shell is not interactive, unless the
2442 e\bex\bxp\bpa\ban\bnd\bd_\b_a\bal\bli\bia\bas\bse\bes\bs shell option is set using s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt (see the description of
17345e5a
JA
2443 s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt under S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below).
2444
74091dd4
CR
2445 The rules concerning the definition and use of aliases are somewhat
2446 confusing. B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh always reads at least one complete line of input, and
2447 all lines that make up a compound command, before executing any of the
2448 commands on that line or the compound command. Aliases are expanded
2449 when a command is read, not when it is executed. Therefore, an alias
2450 definition appearing on the same line as another command does not take
2451 effect until the next line of input is read. The commands following
2452 the alias definition on that line are not affected by the new alias.
2453 This behavior is also an issue when functions are executed. Aliases
2454 are expanded when a function definition is read, not when the function
2455 is executed, because a function definition is itself a command. As a
2456 consequence, aliases defined in a function are not available until af-
2457 ter that function is executed. To be safe, always put alias defini-
d233b485 2458 tions on a separate line, and do not use a\bal\bli\bia\bas\bs in compound commands.
17345e5a
JA
2459
2460 For almost every purpose, aliases are superseded by shell functions.
2461
2462F\bFU\bUN\bNC\bCT\bTI\bIO\bON\bNS\bS
74091dd4
CR
2463 A shell function, defined as described above under S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL G\bGR\bRA\bAM\bMM\bMA\bAR\bR,
2464 stores a series of commands for later execution. When the name of a
2465 shell function is used as a simple command name, the list of commands
17345e5a 2466 associated with that function name is executed. Functions are executed
74091dd4
CR
2467 in the context of the current shell; no new process is created to in-
2468 terpret them (contrast this with the execution of a shell script).
2469 When a function is executed, the arguments to the function become the
17345e5a 2470 positional parameters during its execution. The special parameter #\b# is
74091dd4
CR
2471 updated to reflect the change. Special parameter 0\b0 is unchanged. The
2472 first element of the F\bFU\bUN\bNC\bCN\bNA\bAM\bME\bE variable is set to the name of the func-
0001803f
CR
2473 tion while the function is executing.
2474
74091dd4
CR
2475 All other aspects of the shell execution environment are identical be-
2476 tween a function and its caller with these exceptions: the D\bDE\bEB\bBU\bUG\bG and
2477 R\bRE\bET\bTU\bUR\bRN\bN traps (see the description of the t\btr\bra\bap\bp builtin under S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL
2478 B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below) are not inherited unless the function has been
2479 given the t\btr\bra\bac\bce\be attribute (see the description of the d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be builtin
2480 below) or the -\b-o\bo f\bfu\bun\bnc\bct\btr\bra\bac\bce\be shell option has been enabled with the s\bse\bet\bt
2481 builtin (in which case all functions inherit the D\bDE\bEB\bBU\bUG\bG and R\bRE\bET\bTU\bUR\bRN\bN
2482 traps), and the E\bER\bRR\bR trap is not inherited unless the -\b-o\bo e\ber\brr\brt\btr\bra\bac\bce\be shell
0001803f 2483 option has been enabled.
17345e5a 2484
74091dd4
CR
2485 Variables local to the function may be declared with the l\blo\boc\bca\bal\bl builtin
2486 command (_\bl_\bo_\bc_\ba_\bl _\bv_\ba_\br_\bi_\ba_\bb_\bl_\be_\bs). Ordinarily, variables and their values are
2487 shared between the function and its caller. If a variable is declared
2488 l\blo\boc\bca\bal\bl, the variable's visible scope is restricted to that function and
2489 its children (including the functions it calls).
2490
2491 In the following description, the _\bc_\bu_\br_\br_\be_\bn_\bt _\bs_\bc_\bo_\bp_\be is a currently- execut-
2492 ing function. Previous scopes consist of that function's caller and so
2493 on, back to the "global" scope, where the shell is not executing any
2494 shell function. Consequently, a local variable at the current scope is
2495 a variable declared using the l\blo\boc\bca\bal\bl or d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be builtins in the function
2496 that is currently executing.
2497
2498 Local variables "shadow" variables with the same name declared at pre-
2499 vious scopes. For instance, a local variable declared in a function
2500 hides a global variable of the same name: references and assignments
2501 refer to the local variable, leaving the global variable unmodified.
2502 When the function returns, the global variable is once again visible.
2503
2504 The shell uses _\bd_\by_\bn_\ba_\bm_\bi_\bc _\bs_\bc_\bo_\bp_\bi_\bn_\bg to control a variable's visibility
2505 within functions. With dynamic scoping, visible variables and their
2506 values are a result of the sequence of function calls that caused exe-
2507 cution to reach the current function. The value of a variable that a
2508 function sees depends on its value within its caller, if any, whether
2509 that caller is the "global" scope or another shell function. This is
2510 also the value that a local variable declaration "shadows", and the
d233b485
CR
2511 value that is restored when the function returns.
2512
74091dd4
CR
2513 For example, if a variable _\bv_\ba_\br is declared as local in function _\bf_\bu_\bn_\bc_\b1,
2514 and _\bf_\bu_\bn_\bc_\b1 calls another function _\bf_\bu_\bn_\bc_\b2, references to _\bv_\ba_\br made from
d233b485
CR
2515 within _\bf_\bu_\bn_\bc_\b2 will resolve to the local variable _\bv_\ba_\br from _\bf_\bu_\bn_\bc_\b1, shadow-
2516 ing any global variable named _\bv_\ba_\br.
2517
2518 The u\bun\bns\bse\bet\bt builtin also acts using the same dynamic scope: if a variable
2519 is local to the current scope, u\bun\bns\bse\bet\bt will unset it; otherwise the unset
74091dd4
CR
2520 will refer to the variable found in any calling scope as described
2521 above. If a variable at the current local scope is unset, it will re-
2522 main so (appearing as unset) until it is reset in that scope or until
2523 the function returns. Once the function returns, any instance of the
2524 variable at a previous scope will become visible. If the unset acts on
2525 a variable at a previous scope, any instance of a variable with that
2526 name that had been shadowed will become visible (see below how the l\blo\bo-\b-
2527 c\bca\bal\blv\bva\bar\br_\b_u\bun\bns\bse\bet\bt shell option changes this behavior).
8868edaf
CR
2528
2529 The F\bFU\bUN\bNC\bCN\bNE\bES\bST\bT variable, if set to a numeric value greater than 0, de-
2530 fines a maximum function nesting level. Function invocations that ex-
2531 ceed the limit cause the entire command to abort.
2532
2533 If the builtin command r\bre\bet\btu\bur\brn\bn is executed in a function, the function
2534 completes and execution resumes with the next command after the func-
2535 tion call. Any command associated with the R\bRE\bET\bTU\bUR\bRN\bN trap is executed be-
2536 fore execution resumes. When a function completes, the values of the
2537 positional parameters and the special parameter #\b# are restored to the
17345e5a
JA
2538 values they had prior to the function's execution.
2539
8868edaf 2540 Function names and definitions may be listed with the -\b-f\bf option to the
17345e5a 2541 d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be or t\bty\byp\bpe\bes\bse\bet\bt builtin commands. The -\b-F\bF option to d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be or t\bty\byp\bpe\be-\b-
8868edaf
CR
2542 s\bse\bet\bt will list the function names only (and optionally the source file
2543 and line number, if the e\bex\bxt\btd\bde\beb\bbu\bug\bg shell option is enabled). Functions
74091dd4
CR
2544 may be exported so that child shell processes (those created when exe-
2545 cuting a separate shell invocation) automatically have them defined
2546 with the -\b-f\bf option to the e\bex\bxp\bpo\bor\brt\bt builtin. A function definition may be
d233b485 2547 deleted using the -\b-f\bf option to the u\bun\bns\bse\bet\bt builtin.
17345e5a 2548
495aee44 2549 Functions may be recursive. The F\bFU\bUN\bNC\bCN\bNE\bES\bST\bT variable may be used to limit
74091dd4 2550 the depth of the function call stack and restrict the number of func-
8868edaf
CR
2551 tion invocations. By default, no limit is imposed on the number of re-
2552 cursive calls.
17345e5a
JA
2553
2554A\bAR\bRI\bIT\bTH\bHM\bME\bET\bTI\bIC\bC E\bEV\bVA\bAL\bLU\bUA\bAT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN
74091dd4
CR
2555 The shell allows arithmetic expressions to be evaluated, under certain
2556 circumstances (see the l\ble\bet\bt and d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be builtin commands, the (\b((\b( com-
a0c0a00f 2557 pound command, and A\bAr\bri\bit\bth\bhm\bme\bet\bti\bic\bc E\bEx\bxp\bpa\ban\bns\bsi\bio\bon\bn). Evaluation is done in fixed-
74091dd4
CR
2558 width integers with no check for overflow, though division by 0 is
2559 trapped and flagged as an error. The operators and their precedence,
2560 associativity, and values are the same as in the C language. The fol-
8868edaf
CR
2561 lowing list of operators is grouped into levels of equal-precedence op-
2562 erators. The levels are listed in order of decreasing precedence.
17345e5a
JA
2563
2564 _\bi_\bd+\b++\b+ _\bi_\bd-\b--\b-
2565 variable post-increment and post-decrement
d233b485 2566 -\b- +\b+ unary minus and plus
17345e5a
JA
2567 +\b++\b+_\bi_\bd -\b--\b-_\bi_\bd
2568 variable pre-increment and pre-decrement
17345e5a
JA
2569 !\b! ~\b~ logical and bitwise negation
2570 *\b**\b* exponentiation
2571 *\b* /\b/ %\b% multiplication, division, remainder
2572 +\b+ -\b- addition, subtraction
2573 <\b<<\b< >\b>>\b> left and right bitwise shifts
2574 <\b<=\b= >\b>=\b= <\b< >\b>
2575 comparison
2576 =\b==\b= !\b!=\b= equality and inequality
2577 &\b& bitwise AND
2578 ^\b^ bitwise exclusive OR
2579 |\b| bitwise OR
2580 &\b&&\b& logical AND
2581 |\b||\b| logical OR
2582 _\be_\bx_\bp_\br?\b?_\be_\bx_\bp_\br:\b:_\be_\bx_\bp_\br
2583 conditional operator
2584 =\b= *\b*=\b= /\b/=\b= %\b%=\b= +\b+=\b= -\b-=\b= <\b<<\b<=\b= >\b>>\b>=\b= &\b&=\b= ^\b^=\b= |\b|=\b=
2585 assignment
2586 _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\b1 ,\b, _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\b2
2587 comma
2588
74091dd4 2589 Shell variables are allowed as operands; parameter expansion is per-
17345e5a 2590 formed before the expression is evaluated. Within an expression, shell
74091dd4
CR
2591 variables may also be referenced by name without using the parameter
2592 expansion syntax. A shell variable that is null or unset evaluates to
17345e5a 2593 0 when referenced by name without using the parameter expansion syntax.
74091dd4
CR
2594 The value of a variable is evaluated as an arithmetic expression when
2595 it is referenced, or when a variable which has been given the _\bi_\bn_\bt_\be_\bg_\be_\br
17345e5a 2596 attribute using d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be -\b-i\bi is assigned a value. A null value evaluates
74091dd4 2597 to 0. A shell variable need not have its _\bi_\bn_\bt_\be_\bg_\be_\br attribute turned on
17345e5a
JA
2598 to be used in an expression.
2599
8868edaf
CR
2600 Integer constants follow the C language definition, without suffixes or
2601 character constants. Constants with a leading 0 are interpreted as oc-
74091dd4
CR
2602 tal numbers. A leading 0x or 0X denotes hexadecimal. Otherwise, num-
2603 bers take the form [_\bb_\ba_\bs_\be_\b#]n, where the optional _\bb_\ba_\bs_\be is a decimal num-
2604 ber between 2 and 64 representing the arithmetic base, and _\bn is a num-
2605 ber in that base. If _\bb_\ba_\bs_\be_\b# is omitted, then base 10 is used. When
8868edaf 2606 specifying _\bn, if a non-digit is required, the digits greater than 9 are
74091dd4
CR
2607 represented by the lowercase letters, the uppercase letters, @, and _,
2608 in that order. If _\bb_\ba_\bs_\be is less than or equal to 36, lowercase and up-
2609 percase letters may be used interchangeably to represent numbers be-
8868edaf
CR
2610 tween 10 and 35.
2611
74091dd4
CR
2612 Operators are evaluated in order of precedence. Sub-expressions in
2613 parentheses are evaluated first and may override the precedence rules
17345e5a
JA
2614 above.
2615
2616C\bCO\bON\bND\bDI\bIT\bTI\bIO\bON\bNA\bAL\bL E\bEX\bXP\bPR\bRE\bES\bSS\bSI\bIO\bON\bNS\bS
74091dd4
CR
2617 Conditional expressions are used by the [\b[[\b[ compound command and the
2618 t\bte\bes\bst\bt and [\b[ builtin commands to test file attributes and perform string
2619 and arithmetic comparisons. The t\bte\bes\bst\bt and [\b[ commands determine their
2620 behavior based on the number of arguments; see the descriptions of
d233b485
CR
2621 those commands for any other command-specific actions.
2622
74091dd4
CR
2623 Expressions are formed from the following unary or binary primaries.
2624 B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh handles several filenames specially when they are used in expres-
d233b485 2625 sions. If the operating system on which b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is running provides these
74091dd4
CR
2626 special files, bash will use them; otherwise it will emulate them in-
2627 ternally with this behavior: If any _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be argument to one of the pri-
d233b485 2628 maries is of the form _\b/_\bd_\be_\bv_\b/_\bf_\bd_\b/_\bn, then file descriptor _\bn is checked. If
74091dd4
CR
2629 the _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be argument to one of the primaries is one of _\b/_\bd_\be_\bv_\b/_\bs_\bt_\bd_\bi_\bn,
2630 _\b/_\bd_\be_\bv_\b/_\bs_\bt_\bd_\bo_\bu_\bt, or _\b/_\bd_\be_\bv_\b/_\bs_\bt_\bd_\be_\br_\br, file descriptor 0, 1, or 2, respectively,
d233b485 2631 is checked.
17345e5a
JA
2632
2633 Unless otherwise specified, primaries that operate on files follow sym-
2634 bolic links and operate on the target of the link, rather than the link
2635 itself.
2636
74091dd4 2637 When used with [\b[[\b[, the <\b< and >\b> operators sort lexicographically using
495aee44 2638 the current locale. The t\bte\bes\bst\bt command sorts using ASCII ordering.
0001803f 2639
17345e5a
JA
2640 -\b-a\ba _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
2641 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be exists.
2642 -\b-b\bb _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
2643 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be exists and is a block special file.
2644 -\b-c\bc _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
2645 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be exists and is a character special file.
2646 -\b-d\bd _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
2647 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be exists and is a directory.
2648 -\b-e\be _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
2649 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be exists.
2650 -\b-f\bf _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
2651 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be exists and is a regular file.
2652 -\b-g\bg _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
2653 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be exists and is set-group-id.
2654 -\b-h\bh _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
2655 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be exists and is a symbolic link.
2656 -\b-k\bk _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
2657 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be exists and its ``sticky'' bit is set.
2658 -\b-p\bp _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
2659 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be exists and is a named pipe (FIFO).
2660 -\b-r\br _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
2661 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be exists and is readable.
2662 -\b-s\bs _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
2663 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be exists and has a size greater than zero.
2664 -\b-t\bt _\bf_\bd True if file descriptor _\bf_\bd is open and refers to a terminal.
2665 -\b-u\bu _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
2666 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be exists and its set-user-id bit is set.
2667 -\b-w\bw _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
2668 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be exists and is writable.
2669 -\b-x\bx _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
2670 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be exists and is executable.
17345e5a
JA
2671 -\b-G\bG _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
2672 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be exists and is owned by the effective group id.
2673 -\b-L\bL _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
2674 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be exists and is a symbolic link.
17345e5a 2675 -\b-N\bN _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
74091dd4 2676 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be exists and has been modified since it was last
17345e5a 2677 read.
495aee44
CR
2678 -\b-O\bO _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
2679 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be exists and is owned by the effective user id.
2680 -\b-S\bS _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
2681 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be exists and is a socket.
2682 _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\b1 -\b-e\bef\bf _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\b2
74091dd4 2683 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\b1 and _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\b2 refer to the same device and inode num-
495aee44 2684 bers.
17345e5a 2685 _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\b1 -n\bnt\bt _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\b2
74091dd4 2686 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\b1 is newer (according to modification date) than
17345e5a
JA
2687 _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\b2, or if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\b1 exists and _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\b2 does not.
2688 _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\b1 -o\bot\bt _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\b2
74091dd4 2689 True if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\b1 is older than _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\b2, or if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\b2 exists and _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\b1
17345e5a 2690 does not.
17345e5a 2691 -\b-o\bo _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be
74091dd4
CR
2692 True if the shell option _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is enabled. See the list of
2693 options under the description of the -\b-o\bo option to the s\bse\bet\bt
17345e5a 2694 builtin below.
495aee44 2695 -\b-v\bv _\bv_\ba_\br_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be
74091dd4 2696 True if the shell variable _\bv_\ba_\br_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is set (has been assigned a
495aee44 2697 value).
ac50fbac 2698 -\b-R\bR _\bv_\ba_\br_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be
74091dd4 2699 True if the shell variable _\bv_\ba_\br_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is set and is a name refer-
ac50fbac 2700 ence.
17345e5a
JA
2701 -\b-z\bz _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg
2702 True if the length of _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg is zero.
2703 _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg
2704 -\b-n\bn _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg
2705 True if the length of _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg is non-zero.
2706
2707 _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg_\b1 =\b==\b= _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg_\b2
0001803f 2708 _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg_\b1 =\b= _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg_\b2
74091dd4
CR
2709 True if the strings are equal. =\b= should be used with the t\bte\bes\bst\bt
2710 command for POSIX conformance. When used with the [\b[[\b[ command,
ac50fbac
CR
2711 this performs pattern matching as described above (C\bCo\bom\bmp\bpo\bou\bun\bnd\bd C\bCo\bom\bm-\b-
2712 m\bma\ban\bnd\bds\bs).
17345e5a
JA
2713
2714 _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg_\b1 !\b!=\b= _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg_\b2
2715 True if the strings are not equal.
2716
2717 _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg_\b1 <\b< _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg_\b2
0001803f 2718 True if _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg_\b1 sorts before _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg_\b2 lexicographically.
17345e5a
JA
2719
2720 _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg_\b1 >\b> _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg_\b2
0001803f 2721 True if _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg_\b1 sorts after _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg_\b2 lexicographically.
17345e5a
JA
2722
2723 _\ba_\br_\bg_\b1 O\bOP\bP _\ba_\br_\bg_\b2
74091dd4
CR
2724 O\bOP\bP is one of -\b-e\beq\bq, -\b-n\bne\be, -\b-l\blt\bt, -\b-l\ble\be, -\b-g\bgt\bt, or -\b-g\bge\be. These arithmetic
2725 binary operators return true if _\ba_\br_\bg_\b1 is equal to, not equal to,
2726 less than, less than or equal to, greater than, or greater than
2727 or equal to _\ba_\br_\bg_\b2, respectively. _\bA_\br_\bg_\b1 and _\ba_\br_\bg_\b2 may be positive
2728 or negative integers. When used with the [\b[[\b[ command, _\bA_\br_\bg_\b1 and
2729 _\bA_\br_\bg_\b2 are evaluated as arithmetic expressions (see A\bAR\bRI\bIT\bTH\bHM\bME\bET\bTI\bIC\bC
d233b485 2730 E\bEV\bVA\bAL\bLU\bUA\bAT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN above).
17345e5a
JA
2731
2732S\bSI\bIM\bMP\bPL\bLE\bE C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bD E\bEX\bXP\bPA\bAN\bNS\bSI\bIO\bON\bN
8868edaf 2733 When a simple command is executed, the shell performs the following ex-
74091dd4 2734 pansions, assignments, and redirections, from left to right, in the
8868edaf 2735 following order.
17345e5a 2736
74091dd4
CR
2737 1. The words that the parser has marked as variable assignments
2738 (those preceding the command name) and redirections are saved
17345e5a
JA
2739 for later processing.
2740
74091dd4
CR
2741 2. The words that are not variable assignments or redirections are
2742 expanded. If any words remain after expansion, the first word
2743 is taken to be the name of the command and the remaining words
17345e5a
JA
2744 are the arguments.
2745
2746 3. Redirections are performed as described above under R\bRE\bED\bDI\bIR\bRE\bEC\bCT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN.
2747
2748 4. The text after the =\b= in each variable assignment undergoes tilde
2749 expansion, parameter expansion, command substitution, arithmetic
74091dd4 2750 expansion, and quote removal before being assigned to the vari-
17345e5a
JA
2751 able.
2752
2753 If no command name results, the variable assignments affect the current
74091dd4
CR
2754 shell environment. In the case of such a command (one that consists
2755 only of assignment statements and redirections), assignment statements
2756 are performed before redirections. Otherwise, the variables are added
2757 to the environment of the executed command and do not affect the cur-
2758 rent shell environment. If any of the assignments attempts to assign a
2759 value to a readonly variable, an error occurs, and the command exits
2760 with a non-zero status.
2761
2762 If no command name results, redirections are performed, but do not af-
2763 fect the current shell environment. A redirection error causes the
17345e5a
JA
2764 command to exit with a non-zero status.
2765
74091dd4
CR
2766 If there is a command name left after expansion, execution proceeds as
2767 described below. Otherwise, the command exits. If one of the expan-
2768 sions contained a command substitution, the exit status of the command
2769 is the exit status of the last command substitution performed. If
17345e5a
JA
2770 there were no command substitutions, the command exits with a status of
2771 zero.
2772
2773C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bD E\bEX\bXE\bEC\bCU\bUT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN
74091dd4
CR
2774 After a command has been split into words, if it results in a simple
2775 command and an optional list of arguments, the following actions are
17345e5a
JA
2776 taken.
2777
74091dd4
CR
2778 If the command name contains no slashes, the shell attempts to locate
2779 it. If there exists a shell function by that name, that function is
2780 invoked as described above in F\bFU\bUN\bNC\bCT\bTI\bIO\bON\bNS\bS. If the name does not match a
2781 function, the shell searches for it in the list of shell builtins. If
17345e5a
JA
2782 a match is found, that builtin is invoked.
2783
74091dd4
CR
2784 If the name is neither a shell function nor a builtin, and contains no
2785 slashes, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh searches each element of the P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH for a directory con-
8868edaf 2786 taining an executable file by that name. B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh uses a hash table to re-
74091dd4
CR
2787 member the full pathnames of executable files (see h\bha\bas\bsh\bh under S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL
2788 B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below). A full search of the directories in P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH is
2789 performed only if the command is not found in the hash table. If the
17345e5a
JA
2790 search is unsuccessful, the shell searches for a defined shell function
2791 named c\bco\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bd_\b_n\bno\bot\bt_\b_f\bfo\bou\bun\bnd\bd_\b_h\bha\ban\bnd\bdl\ble\be. If that function exists, it is invoked
74091dd4
CR
2792 in a separate execution environment with the original command and the
2793 original command's arguments as its arguments, and the function's exit
2794 status becomes the exit status of that subshell. If that function is
d233b485
CR
2795 not defined, the shell prints an error message and returns an exit sta-
2796 tus of 127.
17345e5a 2797
74091dd4 2798 If the search is successful, or if the command name contains one or
17345e5a
JA
2799 more slashes, the shell executes the named program in a separate execu-
2800 tion environment. Argument 0 is set to the name given, and the remain-
2801 ing arguments to the command are set to the arguments given, if any.
2802
74091dd4
CR
2803 If this execution fails because the file is not in executable format,
2804 and the file is not a directory, it is assumed to be a _\bs_\bh_\be_\bl_\bl _\bs_\bc_\br_\bi_\bp_\bt, a
2805 file containing shell commands, and the shell creates a new instance of
2806 itself to execute it. This subshell reinitializes itself, so that the
2807 effect is as if a new shell had been invoked to handle the script, with
2808 the exception that the locations of commands remembered by the parent
2809 (see h\bha\bas\bsh\bh below under S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS) are retained by the
2810 child.
17345e5a 2811
d233b485
CR
2812 If the program is a file beginning with #\b#!\b!, the remainder of the first
2813 line specifies an interpreter for the program. The shell executes the
17345e5a
JA
2814 specified interpreter on operating systems that do not handle this exe-
2815 cutable format themselves. The arguments to the interpreter consist of
d233b485
CR
2816 a single optional argument following the interpreter name on the first
2817 line of the program, followed by the name of the program, followed by
17345e5a
JA
2818 the command arguments, if any.
2819
2820C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bD E\bEX\bXE\bEC\bCU\bUT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN E\bEN\bNV\bVI\bIR\bRO\bON\bNM\bME\bEN\bNT\bT
d233b485 2821 The shell has an _\be_\bx_\be_\bc_\bu_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn _\be_\bn_\bv_\bi_\br_\bo_\bn_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt, which consists of the follow-
17345e5a
JA
2822 ing:
2823
d233b485 2824 +\bo open files inherited by the shell at invocation, as modified by
17345e5a
JA
2825 redirections supplied to the e\bex\bxe\bec\bc builtin
2826
d233b485 2827 +\bo the current working directory as set by c\bcd\bd, p\bpu\bus\bsh\bhd\bd, or p\bpo\bop\bpd\bd, or
17345e5a
JA
2828 inherited by the shell at invocation
2829
d233b485 2830 +\bo the file creation mode mask as set by u\bum\bma\bas\bsk\bk or inherited from
17345e5a
JA
2831 the shell's parent
2832
2833 +\bo current traps set by t\btr\bra\bap\bp
2834
2835 +\bo shell parameters that are set by variable assignment or with s\bse\bet\bt
2836 or inherited from the shell's parent in the environment
2837
d233b485 2838 +\bo shell functions defined during execution or inherited from the
17345e5a
JA
2839 shell's parent in the environment
2840
d233b485 2841 +\bo options enabled at invocation (either by default or with com-
17345e5a
JA
2842 mand-line arguments) or by s\bse\bet\bt
2843
2844 +\bo options enabled by s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt
2845
2846 +\bo shell aliases defined with a\bal\bli\bia\bas\bs
2847
d233b485 2848 +\bo various process IDs, including those of background jobs, the
0001803f 2849 value of $\b$$\b$, and the value of P\bPP\bPI\bID\bD
17345e5a 2850
d233b485
CR
2851 When a simple command other than a builtin or shell function is to be
2852 executed, it is invoked in a separate execution environment that con-
2853 sists of the following. Unless otherwise noted, the values are inher-
17345e5a
JA
2854 ited from the shell.
2855
2856
d233b485 2857 +\bo the shell's open files, plus any modifications and additions
17345e5a
JA
2858 specified by redirections to the command
2859
2860 +\bo the current working directory
2861
2862 +\bo the file creation mode mask
2863
d233b485 2864 +\bo shell variables and functions marked for export, along with
17345e5a
JA
2865 variables exported for the command, passed in the environment
2866
2867 +\bo traps caught by the shell are reset to the values inherited from
2868 the shell's parent, and traps ignored by the shell are ignored
2869
d233b485 2870 A command invoked in this separate environment cannot affect the
17345e5a
JA
2871 shell's execution environment.
2872
74091dd4
CR
2873 A _\bs_\bu_\bb_\bs_\bh_\be_\bl_\bl is a copy of the shell process.
2874
d233b485 2875 Command substitution, commands grouped with parentheses, and asynchro-
17345e5a 2876 nous commands are invoked in a subshell environment that is a duplicate
8868edaf
CR
2877 of the shell environment, except that traps caught by the shell are re-
2878 set to the values that the shell inherited from its parent at invoca-
17345e5a
JA
2879 tion. Builtin commands that are invoked as part of a pipeline are also
2880 executed in a subshell environment. Changes made to the subshell envi-
2881 ronment cannot affect the shell's execution environment.
2882
2883 Subshells spawned to execute command substitutions inherit the value of
d233b485 2884 the -\b-e\be option from the parent shell. When not in _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh
17345e5a
JA
2885 clears the -\b-e\be option in such subshells.
2886
8868edaf
CR
2887 If a command is followed by a &\b& and job control is not active, the de-
2888 fault standard input for the command is the empty file _\b/_\bd_\be_\bv_\b/_\bn_\bu_\bl_\bl. Oth-
2889 erwise, the invoked command inherits the file descriptors of the call-
2890 ing shell as modified by redirections.
17345e5a
JA
2891
2892E\bEN\bNV\bVI\bIR\bRO\bON\bNM\bME\bEN\bNT\bT
d233b485 2893 When a program is invoked it is given an array of strings called the
17345e5a
JA
2894 _\be_\bn_\bv_\bi_\br_\bo_\bn_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt. This is a list of _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be-_\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be pairs, of the form
2895 _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be=_\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be.
2896
8868edaf
CR
2897 The shell provides several ways to manipulate the environment. On in-
2898 vocation, the shell scans its own environment and creates a parameter
d233b485 2899 for each name found, automatically marking it for _\be_\bx_\bp_\bo_\br_\bt to child pro-
8868edaf
CR
2900 cesses. Executed commands inherit the environment. The e\bex\bxp\bpo\bor\brt\bt and d\bde\be-\b-
2901 c\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be -\b-x\bx commands allow parameters and functions to be added to and
17345e5a 2902 deleted from the environment. If the value of a parameter in the envi-
8868edaf
CR
2903 ronment is modified, the new value becomes part of the environment, re-
2904 placing the old. The environment inherited by any executed command
d233b485
CR
2905 consists of the shell's initial environment, whose values may be modi-
2906 fied in the shell, less any pairs removed by the u\bun\bns\bse\bet\bt command, plus
17345e5a
JA
2907 any additions via the e\bex\bxp\bpo\bor\brt\bt and d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be -\b-x\bx commands.
2908
d233b485
CR
2909 The environment for any _\bs_\bi_\bm_\bp_\bl_\be _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd or function may be augmented
2910 temporarily by prefixing it with parameter assignments, as described
17345e5a
JA
2911 above in P\bPA\bAR\bRA\bAM\bME\bET\bTE\bER\bRS\bS. These assignment statements affect only the envi-
2912 ronment seen by that command.
2913
d233b485
CR
2914 If the -\b-k\bk option is set (see the s\bse\bet\bt builtin command below), then _\ba_\bl_\bl
2915 parameter assignments are placed in the environment for a command, not
17345e5a
JA
2916 just those that precede the command name.
2917
d233b485 2918 When b\bba\bas\bsh\bh invokes an external command, the variable _\b_ is set to the
ac50fbac
CR
2919 full filename of the command and passed to that command in its environ-
2920 ment.
17345e5a
JA
2921
2922E\bEX\bXI\bIT\bT S\bST\bTA\bAT\bTU\bUS\bS
d233b485 2923 The exit status of an executed command is the value returned by the
17345e5a 2924 _\bw_\ba_\bi_\bt_\bp_\bi_\bd system call or equivalent function. Exit statuses fall between
d233b485 2925 0 and 255, though, as explained below, the shell may use values above
17345e5a 2926 125 specially. Exit statuses from shell builtins and compound commands
a0c0a00f 2927 are also limited to this range. Under certain circumstances, the shell
17345e5a
JA
2928 will use special values to indicate specific failure modes.
2929
2930 For the shell's purposes, a command which exits with a zero exit status
d233b485
CR
2931 has succeeded. An exit status of zero indicates success. A non-zero
2932 exit status indicates failure. When a command terminates on a fatal
17345e5a
JA
2933 signal _\bN, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh uses the value of 128+_\bN as the exit status.
2934
8868edaf
CR
2935 If a command is not found, the child process created to execute it re-
2936 turns a status of 127. If a command is found but is not executable,
17345e5a
JA
2937 the return status is 126.
2938
2939 If a command fails because of an error during expansion or redirection,
2940 the exit status is greater than zero.
2941
d233b485
CR
2942 Shell builtin commands return a status of 0 (_\bt_\br_\bu_\be) if successful, and
2943 non-zero (_\bf_\ba_\bl_\bs_\be) if an error occurs while they execute. All builtins
8868edaf
CR
2944 return an exit status of 2 to indicate incorrect usage, generally in-
2945 valid options or missing arguments.
17345e5a 2946
74091dd4
CR
2947 The exit status of the last command is available in the special parame-
2948 ter $?.
2949
2950 B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh itself returns the exit status of the last command executed, un-
2951 less a syntax error occurs, in which case it exits with a non-zero
17345e5a
JA
2952 value. See also the e\bex\bxi\bit\bt builtin command below.
2953
2954S\bSI\bIG\bGN\bNA\bAL\bLS\bS
74091dd4 2955 When b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is interactive, in the absence of any traps, it ignores
17345e5a 2956 S\bSI\bIG\bGT\bTE\bER\bRM\bM (so that k\bki\bil\bll\bl 0\b0 does not kill an interactive shell), and S\bSI\bIG\bGI\bIN\bNT\bT
74091dd4 2957 is caught and handled (so that the w\bwa\bai\bit\bt builtin is interruptible). In
8868edaf
CR
2958 all cases, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh ignores S\bSI\bIG\bGQ\bQU\bUI\bIT\bT. If job control is in effect, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh ig-
2959 nores S\bSI\bIG\bGT\bTT\bTI\bIN\bN, S\bSI\bIG\bGT\bTT\bTO\bOU\bU, and S\bSI\bIG\bGT\bTS\bST\bTP\bP.
17345e5a
JA
2960
2961 Non-builtin commands run by b\bba\bas\bsh\bh have signal handlers set to the values
8868edaf 2962 inherited by the shell from its parent. When job control is not in ef-
74091dd4
CR
2963 fect, asynchronous commands ignore S\bSI\bIG\bGI\bIN\bNT\bT and S\bSI\bIG\bGQ\bQU\bUI\bIT\bT in addition to
2964 these inherited handlers. Commands run as a result of command substi-
17345e5a
JA
2965 tution ignore the keyboard-generated job control signals S\bSI\bIG\bGT\bTT\bTI\bIN\bN, S\bSI\bIG\bGT\bT-\b-
2966 T\bTO\bOU\bU, and S\bSI\bIG\bGT\bTS\bST\bTP\bP.
2967
74091dd4
CR
2968 The shell exits by default upon receipt of a S\bSI\bIG\bGH\bHU\bUP\bP. Before exiting,
2969 an interactive shell resends the S\bSI\bIG\bGH\bHU\bUP\bP to all jobs, running or
17345e5a 2970 stopped. Stopped jobs are sent S\bSI\bIG\bGC\bCO\bON\bNT\bT to ensure that they receive the
74091dd4
CR
2971 S\bSI\bIG\bGH\bHU\bUP\bP. To prevent the shell from sending the signal to a particular
2972 job, it should be removed from the jobs table with the d\bdi\bis\bso\bow\bwn\bn builtin
2973 (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below) or marked to not receive S\bSI\bIG\bGH\bHU\bUP\bP us-
8868edaf 2974 ing d\bdi\bis\bso\bow\bwn\bn -\b-h\bh.
17345e5a 2975
74091dd4 2976 If the h\bhu\bup\bpo\bon\bne\bex\bxi\bit\bt shell option has been set with s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh sends a
17345e5a
JA
2977 S\bSI\bIG\bGH\bHU\bUP\bP to all jobs when an interactive login shell exits.
2978
74091dd4 2979 If b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is waiting for a command to complete and receives a signal for
17345e5a 2980 which a trap has been set, the trap will not be executed until the com-
74091dd4
CR
2981 mand completes. When b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is waiting for an asynchronous command via
2982 the w\bwa\bai\bit\bt builtin, the reception of a signal for which a trap has been
17345e5a
JA
2983 set will cause the w\bwa\bai\bit\bt builtin to return immediately with an exit sta-
2984 tus greater than 128, immediately after which the trap is executed.
2985
74091dd4
CR
2986 When job control is not enabled, and b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is waiting for a foreground
2987 command to complete, the shell receives keyboard-generated signals such
2988 as S\bSI\bIG\bGI\bIN\bNT\bT (usually generated by ^\b^C\bC) that users commonly intend to send
2989 to that command. This happens because the shell and the command are in
2990 the same process group as the terminal, and ^\b^C\bC sends S\bSI\bIG\bGI\bIN\bNT\bT to all pro-
2991 cesses in that process group.
2992
2993 When b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is running without job control enabled and receives S\bSI\bIG\bGI\bIN\bNT\bT
2994 while waiting for a foreground command, it waits until that foreground
2995 command terminates and then decides what to do about the S\bSI\bIG\bGI\bIN\bNT\bT:
2996
2997 1. If the command terminates due to the S\bSI\bIG\bGI\bIN\bNT\bT, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh concludes that
2998 the user meant to end the entire script, and acts on the S\bSI\bIG\bGI\bIN\bNT\bT
2999 (e.g., by running a S\bSI\bIG\bGI\bIN\bNT\bT trap or exiting itself);
3000
3001 2. If the command does not terminate due to S\bSI\bIG\bGI\bIN\bNT\bT, the program
3002 handled the S\bSI\bIG\bGI\bIN\bNT\bT itself and did not treat it as a fatal sig-
3003 nal. In that case, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh does not treat S\bSI\bIG\bGI\bIN\bNT\bT as a fatal sig-
3004 nal, either, instead assuming that the S\bSI\bIG\bGI\bIN\bNT\bT was used as part
3005 of the program's normal operation (e.g., emacs uses it to abort
3006 editing commands) or deliberately discarded. However, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh will
3007 run any trap set on S\bSI\bIG\bGI\bIN\bNT\bT, as it does with any other trapped
3008 signal it receives while it is waiting for the foreground com-
3009 mand to complete, for compatibility.
3010
17345e5a 3011J\bJO\bOB\bB C\bCO\bON\bNT\bTR\bRO\bOL\bL
8868edaf
CR
3012 _\bJ_\bo_\bb _\bc_\bo_\bn_\bt_\br_\bo_\bl refers to the ability to selectively stop (_\bs_\bu_\bs_\bp_\be_\bn_\bd) the ex-
3013 ecution of processes and continue (_\br_\be_\bs_\bu_\bm_\be) their execution at a later
3014 point. A user typically employs this facility via an interactive in-
3015 terface supplied jointly by the operating system kernel's terminal
0001803f 3016 driver and b\bba\bas\bsh\bh.
17345e5a 3017
d233b485
CR
3018 The shell associates a _\bj_\bo_\bb with each pipeline. It keeps a table of
3019 currently executing jobs, which may be listed with the j\bjo\bob\bbs\bs command.
3020 When b\bba\bas\bsh\bh starts a job asynchronously (in the _\bb_\ba_\bc_\bk_\bg_\br_\bo_\bu_\bn_\bd), it prints a
17345e5a
JA
3021 line that looks like:
3022
3023 [1] 25647
3024
3025 indicating that this job is job number 1 and that the process ID of the
3026 last process in the pipeline associated with this job is 25647. All of
d233b485 3027 the processes in a single pipeline are members of the same job. B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh
17345e5a
JA
3028 uses the _\bj_\bo_\bb abstraction as the basis for job control.
3029
d233b485 3030 To facilitate the implementation of the user interface to job control,
17345e5a
JA
3031 the operating system maintains the notion of a _\bc_\bu_\br_\br_\be_\bn_\bt _\bt_\be_\br_\bm_\bi_\bn_\ba_\bl _\bp_\br_\bo_\bc_\be_\bs_\bs
3032 _\bg_\br_\bo_\bu_\bp _\bI_\bD. Members of this process group (processes whose process group
3033 ID is equal to the current terminal process group ID) receive keyboard-
d233b485
CR
3034 generated signals such as S\bSI\bIG\bGI\bIN\bNT\bT. These processes are said to be in
3035 the _\bf_\bo_\br_\be_\bg_\br_\bo_\bu_\bn_\bd. _\bB_\ba_\bc_\bk_\bg_\br_\bo_\bu_\bn_\bd processes are those whose process group ID
17345e5a 3036 differs from the terminal's; such processes are immune to keyboard-gen-
0001803f 3037 erated signals. Only foreground processes are allowed to read from or,
d233b485
CR
3038 if the user so specifies with stty tostop, write to the terminal.
3039 Background processes which attempt to read from (write to when stty
3040 tostop is in effect) the terminal are sent a S\bSI\bIG\bGT\bTT\bTI\bIN\bN (\b(S\bSI\bIG\bGT\bTT\bTO\bOU\bU)\b) signal
3041 by the kernel's terminal driver, which, unless caught, suspends the
0001803f 3042 process.
17345e5a 3043
d233b485 3044 If the operating system on which b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is running supports job control,
17345e5a
JA
3045 b\bba\bas\bsh\bh contains facilities to use it. Typing the _\bs_\bu_\bs_\bp_\be_\bn_\bd character (typ-
3046 ically ^\b^Z\bZ, Control-Z) while a process is running causes that process to
d233b485
CR
3047 be stopped and returns control to b\bba\bas\bsh\bh. Typing the _\bd_\be_\bl_\ba_\by_\be_\bd _\bs_\bu_\bs_\bp_\be_\bn_\bd
3048 character (typically ^\b^Y\bY, Control-Y) causes the process to be stopped
8868edaf
CR
3049 when it attempts to read input from the terminal, and control to be re-
3050 turned to b\bba\bas\bsh\bh. The user may then manipulate the state of this job,
d233b485 3051 using the b\bbg\bg command to continue it in the background, the f\bfg\bg command
17345e5a
JA
3052 to continue it in the foreground, or the k\bki\bil\bll\bl command to kill it. A ^\b^Z\bZ
3053 takes effect immediately, and has the additional side effect of causing
3054 pending output and typeahead to be discarded.
3055
3056 There are a number of ways to refer to a job in the shell. The charac-
d233b485 3057 ter %\b% introduces a job specification (_\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc). Job number _\bn may be
17345e5a
JA
3058 referred to as %\b%n\bn. A job may also be referred to using a prefix of the
3059 name used to start it, or using a substring that appears in its command
8868edaf
CR
3060 line. For example, %\b%c\bce\be refers to a stopped job whose command name be-
3061 gins with c\bce\be. If a prefix matches more than one job, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh reports an
3062 error. Using %\b%?\b?c\bce\be, on the other hand, refers to any job containing the
3063 string c\bce\be in its command line. If the substring matches more than one
3064 job, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh reports an error. The symbols %\b%%\b% and %\b%+\b+ refer to the shell's
3065 notion of the _\bc_\bu_\br_\br_\be_\bn_\bt _\bj_\bo_\bb, which is the last job stopped while it was
3066 in the foreground or started in the background. The _\bp_\br_\be_\bv_\bi_\bo_\bu_\bs _\bj_\bo_\bb may
3067 be referenced using %\b%-\b-. If there is only a single job, %\b%+\b+ and %\b%-\b- can
3068 both be used to refer to that job. In output pertaining to jobs (e.g.,
3069 the output of the j\bjo\bob\bbs\bs command), the current job is always flagged with
3070 a +\b+, and the previous job with a -\b-. A single % (with no accompanying
3071 job specification) also refers to the current job.
17345e5a 3072
d233b485
CR
3073 Simply naming a job can be used to bring it into the foreground: %\b%1\b1 is
3074 a synonym for `\b``\b`f\bfg\bg %\b%1\b1'\b''\b', bringing job 1 from the background into the
3075 foreground. Similarly, `\b``\b`%\b%1\b1 &\b&'\b''\b' resumes job 1 in the background,
17345e5a
JA
3076 equivalent to `\b``\b`b\bbg\bg %\b%1\b1'\b''\b'.
3077
d233b485 3078 The shell learns immediately whenever a job changes state. Normally,
17345e5a 3079 b\bba\bas\bsh\bh waits until it is about to print a prompt before reporting changes
d233b485 3080 in a job's status so as to not interrupt any other output. If the -\b-b\bb
17345e5a 3081 option to the s\bse\bet\bt builtin command is enabled, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh reports such changes
8868edaf
CR
3082 immediately. Any trap on S\bSI\bIG\bGC\bCH\bHL\bLD\bD is executed for each child that ex-
3083 its.
17345e5a 3084
d233b485
CR
3085 If an attempt to exit b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is made while jobs are stopped (or, if the
3086 c\bch\bhe\bec\bck\bkj\bjo\bob\bbs\bs shell option has been enabled using the s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt builtin, run-
17345e5a 3087 ning), the shell prints a warning message, and, if the c\bch\bhe\bec\bck\bkj\bjo\bob\bbs\bs option
d233b485
CR
3088 is enabled, lists the jobs and their statuses. The j\bjo\bob\bbs\bs command may
3089 then be used to inspect their status. If a second attempt to exit is
3090 made without an intervening command, the shell does not print another
17345e5a
JA
3091 warning, and any stopped jobs are terminated.
3092
d233b485
CR
3093 When the shell is waiting for a job or process using the w\bwa\bai\bit\bt builtin,
3094 and job control is enabled, w\bwa\bai\bit\bt will return when the job changes
8868edaf
CR
3095 state. The -\b-f\bf option causes w\bwa\bai\bit\bt to wait until the job or process ter-
3096 minates before returning.
d233b485 3097
17345e5a
JA
3098P\bPR\bRO\bOM\bMP\bPT\bTI\bIN\bNG\bG
3099 When executing interactively, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh displays the primary prompt P\bPS\bS1\b1 when
3100 it is ready to read a command, and the secondary prompt P\bPS\bS2\b2 when it
a0c0a00f 3101 needs more input to complete a command. B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh displays P\bPS\bS0\b0 after it
8868edaf
CR
3102 reads a command but before executing it. B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh displays P\bPS\bS4\b4 as de-
3103 scribed above before tracing each command when the -\b-x\bx option is en-
3104 abled. B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh allows these prompt strings to be customized by inserting
3105 a number of backslash-escaped special characters that are decoded as
3106 follows:
17345e5a 3107 \\b\a\ba an ASCII bell character (07)
a0c0a00f 3108 \\b\d\bd the date in "Weekday Month Date" format (e.g., "Tue May
17345e5a
JA
3109 26")
3110 \\b\D\bD{\b{_\bf_\bo_\br_\bm_\ba_\bt}\b}
8868edaf
CR
3111 the _\bf_\bo_\br_\bm_\ba_\bt is passed to _\bs_\bt_\br_\bf_\bt_\bi_\bm_\be(3) and the result is in-
3112 serted into the prompt string; an empty _\bf_\bo_\br_\bm_\ba_\bt results in
3113 a locale-specific time representation. The braces are
17345e5a
JA
3114 required
3115 \\b\e\be an ASCII escape character (033)
3116 \\b\h\bh the hostname up to the first `.'
3117 \\b\H\bH the hostname
3118 \\b\j\bj the number of jobs currently managed by the shell
3119 \\b\l\bl the basename of the shell's terminal device name
3120 \\b\n\bn newline
3121 \\b\r\br carriage return
a0c0a00f 3122 \\b\s\bs the name of the shell, the basename of $\b$0\b0 (the portion
17345e5a
JA
3123 following the final slash)
3124 \\b\t\bt the current time in 24-hour HH:MM:SS format
3125 \\b\T\bT the current time in 12-hour HH:MM:SS format
3126 \\b\@\b@ the current time in 12-hour am/pm format
3127 \\b\A\bA the current time in 24-hour HH:MM format
3128 \\b\u\bu the username of the current user
3129 \\b\v\bv the version of b\bba\bas\bsh\bh (e.g., 2.00)
3130 \\b\V\bV the release of b\bba\bas\bsh\bh, version + patch level (e.g., 2.00.0)
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3131 \\b\w\bw the value of the P\bPW\bWD\bD shell variable ($\b$P\bPW\bWD\bD), with $\b$H\bHO\bOM\bME\bE
3132 abbreviated with a tilde (uses the value of the
3133 P\bPR\bRO\bOM\bMP\bPT\bT_\b_D\bDI\bIR\bRT\bTR\bRI\bIM\bM variable)
3134 \\b\W\bW the basename of $\b$P\bPW\bWD\bD, with $\b$H\bHO\bOM\bME\bE abbreviated with a tilde
17345e5a
JA
3135 \\b\!\b! the history number of this command
3136 \\b\#\b# the command number of this command
3137 \\b\$\b$ if the effective UID is 0, a #\b#, otherwise a $\b$
3138 \\b\_\bn_\bn_\bn the character corresponding to the octal number _\bn_\bn_\bn
3139 \\b\\\b\ a backslash
74091dd4
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3140 \\b\[\b[ begin a sequence of non-printing characters, which could
3141 be used to embed a terminal control sequence into the
17345e5a
JA
3142 prompt
3143 \\b\]\b] end a sequence of non-printing characters
3144
74091dd4
CR
3145 The command number and the history number are usually different: the
3146 history number of a command is its position in the history list, which
3147 may include commands restored from the history file (see H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTO\bOR\bRY\bY be-
3148 low), while the command number is the position in the sequence of com-
3149 mands executed during the current shell session. After the string is
3150 decoded, it is expanded via parameter expansion, command substitution,
3151 arithmetic expansion, and quote removal, subject to the value of the
8868edaf 3152 p\bpr\bro\bom\bmp\bpt\btv\bva\bar\brs\bs shell option (see the description of the s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt command under
74091dd4
CR
3153 S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below). This can have unwanted side effects if
3154 escaped portions of the string appear within command substitution or
8868edaf 3155 contain characters special to word expansion.
17345e5a
JA
3156
3157R\bRE\bEA\bAD\bDL\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE
74091dd4 3158 This is the library that handles reading input when using an interac-
17345e5a
JA
3159 tive shell, unless the -\b--\b-n\bno\boe\bed\bdi\bit\bti\bin\bng\bg option is given at shell invocation.
3160 Line editing is also used when using the -\b-e\be option to the r\bre\bea\bad\bd builtin.
495aee44 3161 By default, the line editing commands are similar to those of Emacs. A
17345e5a 3162 vi-style line editing interface is also available. Line editing can be
74091dd4
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3163 enabled at any time using the -\b-o\bo e\bem\bma\bac\bcs\bs or -\b-o\bo v\bvi\bi options to the s\bse\bet\bt
3164 builtin (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below). To turn off line editing
3165 after the shell is running, use the +\b+o\bo e\bem\bma\bac\bcs\bs or +\b+o\bo v\bvi\bi options to the
17345e5a
JA
3166 s\bse\bet\bt builtin.
3167
3168 R\bRe\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be N\bNo\bot\bta\bat\bti\bio\bon\bn
495aee44 3169 In this section, the Emacs-style notation is used to denote keystrokes.
74091dd4
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3170 Control keys are denoted by C-_\bk_\be_\by, e.g., C-n means Control-N. Simi-
3171 larly, _\bm_\be_\bt_\ba keys are denoted by M-_\bk_\be_\by, so M-x means Meta-X. (On key-
3172 boards without a _\bm_\be_\bt_\ba key, M-_\bx means ESC _\bx, i.e., press the Escape key
17345e5a 3173 then the _\bx key. This makes ESC the _\bm_\be_\bt_\ba _\bp_\br_\be_\bf_\bi_\bx. The combination M-C-_\bx
74091dd4 3174 means ESC-Control-_\bx, or press the Escape key then hold the Control key
17345e5a
JA
3175 while pressing the _\bx key.)
3176
3177 Readline commands may be given numeric _\ba_\br_\bg_\bu_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\bs, which normally act as
74091dd4
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3178 a repeat count. Sometimes, however, it is the sign of the argument
3179 that is significant. Passing a negative argument to a command that
3180 acts in the forward direction (e.g., k\bki\bil\bll\bl-\b-l\bli\bin\bne\be) causes that command to
3181 act in a backward direction. Commands whose behavior with arguments
17345e5a
JA
3182 deviates from this are noted below.
3183
74091dd4 3184 When a command is described as _\bk_\bi_\bl_\bl_\bi_\bn_\bg text, the text deleted is saved
17345e5a
JA
3185 for possible future retrieval (_\by_\ba_\bn_\bk_\bi_\bn_\bg). The killed text is saved in a
3186 _\bk_\bi_\bl_\bl _\br_\bi_\bn_\bg. Consecutive kills cause the text to be accumulated into one
3187 unit, which can be yanked all at once. Commands which do not kill text
3188 separate the chunks of text on the kill ring.
3189
3190 R\bRe\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be I\bIn\bni\bit\bti\bia\bal\bli\biz\bza\bat\bti\bio\bon\bn
74091dd4
CR
3191 Readline is customized by putting commands in an initialization file
3192 (the _\bi_\bn_\bp_\bu_\bt_\br_\bc file). The name of this file is taken from the value of
8868edaf 3193 the I\bIN\bNP\bPU\bUT\bTR\bRC\bC variable. If that variable is unset, the default is _\b~_\b/_\b._\bi_\bn_\b-
74091dd4
CR
3194 _\bp_\bu_\bt_\br_\bc. If that file does not exist or cannot be read, the ultimate
3195 default is _\b/_\be_\bt_\bc_\b/_\bi_\bn_\bp_\bu_\bt_\br_\bc. When a program which uses the readline li-
3196 brary starts up, the initialization file is read, and the key bindings
3197 and variables are set. There are only a few basic constructs allowed
3198 in the readline initialization file. Blank lines are ignored. Lines
3199 beginning with a #\b# are comments. Lines beginning with a $\b$ indicate
3200 conditional constructs. Other lines denote key bindings and variable
8868edaf 3201 settings.
17345e5a 3202
74091dd4 3203 The default key-bindings may be changed with an _\bi_\bn_\bp_\bu_\bt_\br_\bc file. Other
17345e5a
JA
3204 programs that use this library may add their own commands and bindings.
3205
3206 For example, placing
3207
3208 M-Control-u: universal-argument
3209 or
3210 C-Meta-u: universal-argument
74091dd4 3211 into the _\bi_\bn_\bp_\bu_\bt_\br_\bc would make M-C-u execute the readline command _\bu_\bn_\bi_\bv_\be_\br_\b-
17345e5a
JA
3212 _\bs_\ba_\bl_\b-_\ba_\br_\bg_\bu_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt.
3213
74091dd4 3214 The following symbolic character names are recognized: _\bR_\bU_\bB_\bO_\bU_\bT, _\bD_\bE_\bL,
17345e5a
JA
3215 _\bE_\bS_\bC, _\bL_\bF_\bD, _\bN_\bE_\bW_\bL_\bI_\bN_\bE, _\bR_\bE_\bT, _\bR_\bE_\bT_\bU_\bR_\bN, _\bS_\bP_\bC, _\bS_\bP_\bA_\bC_\bE, and _\bT_\bA_\bB.
3216
74091dd4 3217 In addition to command names, readline allows keys to be bound to a
17345e5a
JA
3218 string that is inserted when the key is pressed (a _\bm_\ba_\bc_\br_\bo).
3219
3220 R\bRe\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be K\bKe\bey\by B\bBi\bin\bnd\bdi\bin\bng\bgs\bs
74091dd4
CR
3221 The syntax for controlling key bindings in the _\bi_\bn_\bp_\bu_\bt_\br_\bc file is simple.
3222 All that is required is the name of the command or the text of a macro
a0c0a00f 3223 and a key sequence to which it should be bound. The name may be speci-
17345e5a
JA
3224 fied in one of two ways: as a symbolic key name, possibly with _\bM_\be_\bt_\ba_\b- or
3225 _\bC_\bo_\bn_\bt_\br_\bo_\bl_\b- prefixes, or as a key sequence.
3226
3227 When using the form k\bke\bey\byn\bna\bam\bme\be:_\bf_\bu_\bn_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b-_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be or _\bm_\ba_\bc_\br_\bo, _\bk_\be_\by_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is the name
3228 of a key spelled out in English. For example:
3229
3230 Control-u: universal-argument
3231 Meta-Rubout: backward-kill-word
3232 Control-o: "> output"
3233
74091dd4
CR
3234 In the above example, _\bC_\b-_\bu is bound to the function u\bun\bni\biv\bve\ber\brs\bsa\bal\bl-\b-a\bar\brg\bgu\bum\bme\ben\bnt\bt,
3235 _\bM_\b-_\bD_\bE_\bL is bound to the function b\bba\bac\bck\bkw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-k\bki\bil\bll\bl-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd, and _\bC_\b-_\bo is bound to
3236 run the macro expressed on the right hand side (that is, to insert the
17345e5a
JA
3237 text ``> output'' into the line).
3238
74091dd4
CR
3239 In the second form, "\b"k\bke\bey\bys\bse\beq\bq"\b":_\bf_\bu_\bn_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b-_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be or _\bm_\ba_\bc_\br_\bo, k\bke\bey\bys\bse\beq\bq differs
3240 from k\bke\bey\byn\bna\bam\bme\be above in that strings denoting an entire key sequence may
3241 be specified by placing the sequence within double quotes. Some GNU
3242 Emacs style key escapes can be used, as in the following example, but
17345e5a
JA
3243 the symbolic character names are not recognized.
3244
3245 "\C-u": universal-argument
3246 "\C-x\C-r": re-read-init-file
3247 "\e[11~": "Function Key 1"
3248
3249 In this example, _\bC_\b-_\bu is again bound to the function u\bun\bni\biv\bve\ber\brs\bsa\bal\bl-\b-a\bar\brg\bgu\bum\bme\ben\bnt\bt.
74091dd4 3250 _\bC_\b-_\bx _\bC_\b-_\br is bound to the function r\bre\be-\b-r\bre\bea\bad\bd-\b-i\bin\bni\bit\bt-\b-f\bfi\bil\ble\be, and _\bE_\bS_\bC _\b[ _\b1 _\b1 _\b~ is
17345e5a
JA
3251 bound to insert the text ``Function Key 1''.
3252
3253 The full set of GNU Emacs style escape sequences is
3254 \\b\C\bC-\b- control prefix
3255 \\b\M\bM-\b- meta prefix
3256 \\b\e\be an escape character
3257 \\b\\\b\ backslash
3258 \\b\"\b" literal "
3259 \\b\'\b' literal '
3260
74091dd4 3261 In addition to the GNU Emacs style escape sequences, a second set of
17345e5a
JA
3262 backslash escapes is available:
3263 \\b\a\ba alert (bell)
3264 \\b\b\bb backspace
3265 \\b\d\bd delete
3266 \\b\f\bf form feed
3267 \\b\n\bn newline
3268 \\b\r\br carriage return
3269 \\b\t\bt horizontal tab
3270 \\b\v\bv vertical tab
74091dd4 3271 \\b\_\bn_\bn_\bn the eight-bit character whose value is the octal value
17345e5a 3272 _\bn_\bn_\bn (one to three digits)
74091dd4 3273 \\b\x\bx_\bH_\bH the eight-bit character whose value is the hexadecimal
17345e5a
JA
3274 value _\bH_\bH (one or two hex digits)
3275
3276 When entering the text of a macro, single or double quotes must be used
3277 to indicate a macro definition. Unquoted text is assumed to be a func-
74091dd4
CR
3278 tion name. In the macro body, the backslash escapes described above
3279 are expanded. Backslash will quote any other character in the macro
17345e5a
JA
3280 text, including " and '.
3281
74091dd4
CR
3282 B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh allows the current readline key bindings to be displayed or modi-
3283 fied with the b\bbi\bin\bnd\bd builtin command. The editing mode may be switched
3284 during interactive use by using the -\b-o\bo option to the s\bse\bet\bt builtin com-
17345e5a
JA
3285 mand (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below).
3286
3287 R\bRe\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be V\bVa\bar\bri\bia\bab\bbl\ble\bes\bs
3288 Readline has variables that can be used to further customize its behav-
3289 ior. A variable may be set in the _\bi_\bn_\bp_\bu_\bt_\br_\bc file with a statement of the
3290 form
3291
3292 s\bse\bet\bt _\bv_\ba_\br_\bi_\ba_\bb_\bl_\be_\b-_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be _\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be
8868edaf 3293 or using the b\bbi\bin\bnd\bd builtin command (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below).
17345e5a 3294
74091dd4
CR
3295 Except where noted, readline variables can take the values O\bOn\bn or O\bOf\bff\bf
3296 (without regard to case). Unrecognized variable names are ignored.
3297 When a variable value is read, empty or null values, "on" (case-insen-
17345e5a
JA
3298 sitive), and "1" are equivalent to O\bOn\bn. All other values are equivalent
3299 to O\bOf\bff\bf. The variables and their default values are:
3300
74091dd4
CR
3301 a\bac\bct\bti\biv\bve\be-\b-r\bre\beg\bgi\bio\bon\bn-\b-s\bst\bta\bar\brt\bt-\b-c\bco\bol\blo\bor\br
3302 A string variable that controls the text color and background
3303 when displaying the text in the active region (see the descrip-
3304 tion of e\ben\bna\bab\bbl\ble\be-\b-a\bac\bct\bti\biv\bve\be-\b-r\bre\beg\bgi\bio\bon\bn below). This string must not take
3305 up any physical character positions on the display, so it should
3306 consist only of terminal escape sequences. It is output to the
3307 terminal before displaying the text in the active region. This
3308 variable is reset to the default value whenever the terminal
3309 type changes. The default value is the string that puts the
3310 terminal in standout mode, as obtained from the terminal's ter-
3311 minfo description. A sample value might be "\e[01;33m".
3312 a\bac\bct\bti\biv\bve\be-\b-r\bre\beg\bgi\bio\bon\bn-\b-e\ben\bnd\bd-\b-c\bco\bol\blo\bor\br
3313 A string variable that "undoes" the effects of a\bac\bct\bti\biv\bve\be-\b-r\bre\be-\b-
3314 g\bgi\bio\bon\bn-\b-s\bst\bta\bar\brt\bt-\b-c\bco\bol\blo\bor\br and restores "normal" terminal display appear-
3315 ance after displaying text in the active region. This string
3316 must not take up any physical character positions on the dis-
3317 play, so it should consist only of terminal escape sequences.
3318 It is output to the terminal after displaying the text in the
3319 active region. This variable is reset to the default value
3320 whenever the terminal type changes. The default value is the
3321 string that restores the terminal from standout mode, as ob-
3322 tained from the terminal's terminfo description. A sample value
3323 might be "\e[0m".
17345e5a 3324 b\bbe\bel\bll\bl-\b-s\bst\bty\byl\ble\be (\b(a\bau\bud\bdi\bib\bbl\ble\be)\b)
a0c0a00f 3325 Controls what happens when readline wants to ring the terminal
17345e5a 3326 bell. If set to n\bno\bon\bne\be, readline never rings the bell. If set to
a0c0a00f 3327 v\bvi\bis\bsi\bib\bbl\ble\be, readline uses a visible bell if one is available. If
17345e5a
JA
3328 set to a\bau\bud\bdi\bib\bbl\ble\be, readline attempts to ring the terminal's bell.
3329 b\bbi\bin\bnd\bd-\b-t\btt\bty\by-\b-s\bsp\bpe\bec\bci\bia\bal\bl-\b-c\bch\bha\bar\brs\bs (\b(O\bOn\bn)\b)
a0c0a00f 3330 If set to O\bOn\bn, readline attempts to bind the control characters
17345e5a
JA
3331 treated specially by the kernel's terminal driver to their read-
3332 line equivalents.
a0c0a00f
CR
3333 b\bbl\bli\bin\bnk\bk-\b-m\bma\bat\btc\bch\bhi\bin\bng\bg-\b-p\bpa\bar\bre\ben\bn (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
3334 If set to O\bOn\bn, readline attempts to briefly move the cursor to an
3335 opening parenthesis when a closing parenthesis is inserted.
3336 c\bco\bol\blo\bor\bre\bed\bd-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bn-\b-p\bpr\bre\bef\bfi\bix\bx (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
3337 If set to O\bOn\bn, when listing completions, readline displays the
3338 common prefix of the set of possible completions using a differ-
3339 ent color. The color definitions are taken from the value of
74091dd4
CR
3340 the L\bLS\bS_\b_C\bCO\bOL\bLO\bOR\bRS\bS environment variable. If there is a color defini-
3341 tion in $\b$L\bLS\bS_\b_C\bCO\bOL\bLO\bOR\bRS\bS for the custom suffix "readline-colored-com-
3342 pletion-prefix", readline uses this color for the common prefix
3343 instead of its default.
ac50fbac 3344 c\bco\bol\blo\bor\bre\bed\bd-\b-s\bst\bta\bat\bts\bs (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
74091dd4
CR
3345 If set to O\bOn\bn, readline displays possible completions using dif-
3346 ferent colors to indicate their file type. The color defini-
3347 tions are taken from the value of the L\bLS\bS_\b_C\bCO\bOL\bLO\bOR\bRS\bS environment
ac50fbac 3348 variable.
17345e5a 3349 c\bco\bom\bmm\bme\ben\bnt\bt-\b-b\bbe\beg\bgi\bin\bn (\b(`\b``\b`#\b#'\b''\b')\b)
74091dd4 3350 The string that is inserted when the readline i\bin\bns\bse\ber\brt\bt-\b-c\bco\bom\bmm\bme\ben\bnt\bt
17345e5a
JA
3351 command is executed. This command is bound to M\bM-\b-#\b# in emacs mode
3352 and to #\b# in vi command mode.
a0c0a00f 3353 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bn-\b-d\bdi\bis\bsp\bpl\bla\bay\by-\b-w\bwi\bid\bdt\bth\bh (\b(-\b-1\b1)\b)
74091dd4
CR
3354 The number of screen columns used to display possible matches
3355 when performing completion. The value is ignored if it is less
3356 than 0 or greater than the terminal screen width. A value of 0
3357 will cause matches to be displayed one per line. The default
a0c0a00f 3358 value is -1.
17345e5a
JA
3359 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bn-\b-i\big\bgn\bno\bor\bre\be-\b-c\bca\bas\bse\be (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
3360 If set to O\bOn\bn, readline performs filename matching and completion
3361 in a case-insensitive fashion.
a0c0a00f 3362 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bn-\b-m\bma\bap\bp-\b-c\bca\bas\bse\be (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
74091dd4
CR
3363 If set to O\bOn\bn, and c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bn-\b-i\big\bgn\bno\bor\bre\be-\b-c\bca\bas\bse\be is enabled, readline
3364 treats hyphens (_\b-) and underscores (_\b_) as equivalent when per-
a0c0a00f 3365 forming case-insensitive filename matching and completion.
17345e5a 3366 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bn-\b-p\bpr\bre\bef\bfi\bix\bx-\b-d\bdi\bis\bsp\bpl\bla\bay\by-\b-l\ble\ben\bng\bgt\bth\bh (\b(0\b0)\b)
74091dd4
CR
3367 The length in characters of the common prefix of a list of pos-
3368 sible completions that is displayed without modification. When
3369 set to a value greater than zero, common prefixes longer than
3370 this value are replaced with an ellipsis when displaying possi-
17345e5a
JA
3371 ble completions.
3372 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bn-\b-q\bqu\bue\ber\bry\by-\b-i\bit\bte\bem\bms\bs (\b(1\b10\b00\b0)\b)
74091dd4
CR
3373 This determines when the user is queried about viewing the num-
3374 ber of possible completions generated by the p\bpo\bos\bss\bsi\bib\bbl\ble\be-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\be-\b-
3375 t\bti\bio\bon\bns\bs command. It may be set to any integer value greater than
3376 or equal to zero. If the number of possible completions is
3377 greater than or equal to the value of this variable, readline
3378 will ask whether or not the user wishes to view them; otherwise
3379 they are simply listed on the terminal. A zero value means
3380 readline should never ask; negative values are treated as zero.
17345e5a 3381 c\bco\bon\bnv\bve\ber\brt\bt-\b-m\bme\bet\bta\ba (\b(O\bOn\bn)\b)
a0c0a00f 3382 If set to O\bOn\bn, readline will convert characters with the eighth
17345e5a 3383 bit set to an ASCII key sequence by stripping the eighth bit and
a0c0a00f
CR
3384 prefixing an escape character (in effect, using escape as the
3385 _\bm_\be_\bt_\ba _\bp_\br_\be_\bf_\bi_\bx). The default is _\bO_\bn, but readline will set it to
74091dd4
CR
3386 _\bO_\bf_\bf if the locale contains eight-bit characters. This variable
3387 is dependent on the L\bLC\bC_\b_C\bCT\bTY\bYP\bPE\bE locale category, and may change if
3388 the locale is changed.
17345e5a
JA
3389 d\bdi\bis\bsa\bab\bbl\ble\be-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bn (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
3390 If set to O\bOn\bn, readline will inhibit word completion. Completion
ac50fbac 3391 characters will be inserted into the line as if they had been
17345e5a 3392 mapped to s\bse\bel\blf\bf-\b-i\bin\bns\bse\ber\brt\bt.
0001803f 3393 e\bec\bch\bho\bo-\b-c\bco\bon\bnt\btr\bro\bol\bl-\b-c\bch\bha\bar\bra\bac\bct\bte\ber\brs\bs (\b(O\bOn\bn)\b)
ac50fbac 3394 When set to O\bOn\bn, on operating systems that indicate they support
0001803f
CR
3395 it, readline echoes a character corresponding to a signal gener-
3396 ated from the keyboard.
a0c0a00f
CR
3397 e\bed\bdi\bit\bti\bin\bng\bg-\b-m\bmo\bod\bde\be (\b(e\bem\bma\bac\bcs\bs)\b)
3398 Controls whether readline begins with a set of key bindings sim-
3399 ilar to _\bE_\bm_\ba_\bc_\bs or _\bv_\bi. e\bed\bdi\bit\bti\bin\bng\bg-\b-m\bmo\bod\bde\be can be set to either e\bem\bma\bac\bcs\bs or
3400 v\bvi\bi.
d233b485
CR
3401 e\bem\bma\bac\bcs\bs-\b-m\bmo\bod\bde\be-\b-s\bst\btr\bri\bin\bng\bg (\b(@\b@)\b)
3402 If the _\bs_\bh_\bo_\bw_\b-_\bm_\bo_\bd_\be_\b-_\bi_\bn_\b-_\bp_\br_\bo_\bm_\bp_\bt variable is enabled, this string is
3403 displayed immediately before the last line of the primary prompt
3404 when emacs editing mode is active. The value is expanded like a
3405 key binding, so the standard set of meta- and control prefixes
3406 and backslash escape sequences is available. Use the \1 and \2
3407 escapes to begin and end sequences of non-printing characters,
3408 which can be used to embed a terminal control sequence into the
3409 mode string.
74091dd4
CR
3410 e\ben\bna\bab\bbl\ble\be-\b-a\bac\bct\bti\biv\bve\be-\b-r\bre\beg\bgi\bio\bon\bn (\b(O\bOn\bn)\b)
3411 The _\bp_\bo_\bi_\bn_\bt is the current cursor position, and _\bm_\ba_\br_\bk refers to a
3412 saved cursor position. The text between the point and mark is
3413 referred to as the _\br_\be_\bg_\bi_\bo_\bn. When this variable is set to _\bO_\bn,
3414 readline allows certain commands to designate the region as _\ba_\bc_\b-
3415 _\bt_\bi_\bv_\be. When the region is active, readline highlights the text
3416 in the region using the value of the a\bac\bct\bti\biv\bve\be-\b-r\bre\beg\bgi\bio\bon\bn-\b-s\bst\bta\bar\brt\bt-\b-c\bco\bol\blo\bor\br,
3417 which defaults to the string that enables the terminal's stand-
3418 out mode. The active region shows the text inserted by brack-
3419 eted-paste and any matching text found by incremental and non-
3420 incremental history searches.
8868edaf 3421 e\ben\bna\bab\bbl\ble\be-\b-b\bbr\bra\bac\bck\bke\bet\bte\bed\bd-\b-p\bpa\bas\bst\bte\be (\b(O\bOn\bn)\b)
74091dd4
CR
3422 When set to O\bOn\bn, readline configures the terminal to insert each
3423 paste into the editing buffer as a single string of characters,
3424 instead of treating each character as if it had been read from
3425 the keyboard. This prevents readline from executing any editing
3426 commands bound to key sequences appearing in the pasted text.
17345e5a
JA
3427 e\ben\bna\bab\bbl\ble\be-\b-k\bke\bey\byp\bpa\bad\bd (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
3428 When set to O\bOn\bn, readline will try to enable the application key-
8868edaf
CR
3429 pad when it is called. Some systems need this to enable the ar-
3430 row keys.
0001803f 3431 e\ben\bna\bab\bbl\ble\be-\b-m\bme\bet\bta\ba-\b-k\bke\bey\by (\b(O\bOn\bn)\b)
d233b485
CR
3432 When set to O\bOn\bn, readline will try to enable any meta modifier
3433 key the terminal claims to support when it is called. On many
0001803f 3434 terminals, the meta key is used to send eight-bit characters.
17345e5a 3435 e\bex\bxp\bpa\ban\bnd\bd-\b-t\bti\bil\bld\bde\be (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
8868edaf
CR
3436 If set to O\bOn\bn, tilde expansion is performed when readline at-
3437 tempts word completion.
17345e5a 3438 h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by-\b-p\bpr\bre\bes\bse\ber\brv\bve\be-\b-p\bpo\boi\bin\bnt\bt (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
d233b485
CR
3439 If set to O\bOn\bn, the history code attempts to place point at the
3440 same location on each history line retrieved with p\bpr\bre\bev\bvi\bio\bou\bus\bs-\b-h\bhi\bis\bs-\b-
17345e5a 3441 t\bto\bor\bry\by or n\bne\bex\bxt\bt-\b-h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by.
a0c0a00f 3442 h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by-\b-s\bsi\biz\bze\be (\b(u\bun\bns\bse\bet\bt)\b)
d233b485
CR
3443 Set the maximum number of history entries saved in the history
3444 list. If set to zero, any existing history entries are deleted
ac50fbac 3445 and no new entries are saved. If set to a value less than zero,
d233b485
CR
3446 the number of history entries is not limited. By default, the
3447 number of history entries is set to the value of the H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTS\bSI\bIZ\bZE\bE
3448 shell variable. If an attempt is made to set _\bh_\bi_\bs_\bt_\bo_\br_\by_\b-_\bs_\bi_\bz_\be to a
a0c0a00f
CR
3449 non-numeric value, the maximum number of history entries will be
3450 set to 500.
17345e5a 3451 h\bho\bor\bri\biz\bzo\bon\bnt\bta\bal\bl-\b-s\bsc\bcr\bro\bol\bll\bl-\b-m\bmo\bod\bde\be (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
d233b485 3452 When set to O\bOn\bn, makes readline use a single line for display,
17345e5a 3453 scrolling the input horizontally on a single screen line when it
d233b485 3454 becomes longer than the screen width rather than wrapping to a
8868edaf
CR
3455 new line. This setting is automatically enabled for terminals
3456 of height 1.
17345e5a 3457 i\bin\bnp\bpu\but\bt-\b-m\bme\bet\bta\ba (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
8868edaf
CR
3458 If set to O\bOn\bn, readline will enable eight-bit input (that is, it
3459 will not strip the eighth bit from the characters it reads), re-
3460 gardless of what the terminal claims it can support. The name
3461 m\bme\bet\bta\ba-\b-f\bfl\bla\bag\bg is a synonym for this variable. The default is _\bO_\bf_\bf,
3462 but readline will set it to _\bO_\bn if the locale contains eight-bit
74091dd4
CR
3463 characters. This variable is dependent on the L\bLC\bC_\b_C\bCT\bTY\bYP\bPE\bE locale
3464 category, and may change if the locale is changed.
17345e5a 3465 i\bis\bse\bea\bar\brc\bch\bh-\b-t\bte\ber\brm\bmi\bin\bna\bat\bto\bor\brs\bs (\b(`\b``\b`C\bC-\b-[\b[C\bC-\b-J\bJ'\b''\b')\b)
74091dd4
CR
3466 The string of characters that should terminate an incremental
3467 search without subsequently executing the character as a com-
3468 mand. If this variable has not been given a value, the charac-
17345e5a
JA
3469 ters _\bE_\bS_\bC and _\bC_\b-_\bJ will terminate an incremental search.
3470 k\bke\bey\bym\bma\bap\bp (\b(e\bem\bma\bac\bcs\bs)\b)
74091dd4
CR
3471 Set the current readline keymap. The set of valid keymap names
3472 is _\be_\bm_\ba_\bc_\bs_\b, _\be_\bm_\ba_\bc_\bs_\b-_\bs_\bt_\ba_\bn_\bd_\ba_\br_\bd_\b, _\be_\bm_\ba_\bc_\bs_\b-_\bm_\be_\bt_\ba_\b, _\be_\bm_\ba_\bc_\bs_\b-_\bc_\bt_\bl_\bx_\b, _\bv_\bi_\b, _\bv_\bi_\b-_\bc_\bo_\bm_\b-
3473 _\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd, and _\bv_\bi_\b-_\bi_\bn_\bs_\be_\br_\bt. _\bv_\bi is equivalent to _\bv_\bi_\b-_\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd; _\be_\bm_\ba_\bc_\bs is
3474 equivalent to _\be_\bm_\ba_\bc_\bs_\b-_\bs_\bt_\ba_\bn_\bd_\ba_\br_\bd. The default value is _\be_\bm_\ba_\bc_\bs; the
17345e5a 3475 value of e\bed\bdi\bit\bti\bin\bng\bg-\b-m\bmo\bod\bde\be also affects the default keymap.
ac50fbac 3476 k\bke\bey\bys\bse\beq\bq-\b-t\bti\bim\bme\beo\bou\but\bt (\b(5\b50\b00\b0)\b)
74091dd4
CR
3477 Specifies the duration _\br_\be_\ba_\bd_\bl_\bi_\bn_\be will wait for a character when
3478 reading an ambiguous key sequence (one that can form a complete
ac50fbac 3479 key sequence using the input read so far, or can take additional
74091dd4
CR
3480 input to complete a longer key sequence). If no input is re-
3481 ceived within the timeout, _\br_\be_\ba_\bd_\bl_\bi_\bn_\be will use the shorter but
3482 complete key sequence. The value is specified in milliseconds,
3483 so a value of 1000 means that _\br_\be_\ba_\bd_\bl_\bi_\bn_\be will wait one second for
3484 additional input. If this variable is set to a value less than
3485 or equal to zero, or to a non-numeric value, _\br_\be_\ba_\bd_\bl_\bi_\bn_\be will wait
3486 until another key is pressed to decide which key sequence to
ac50fbac 3487 complete.
17345e5a
JA
3488 m\bma\bar\brk\bk-\b-d\bdi\bir\bre\bec\bct\bto\bor\bri\bie\bes\bs (\b(O\bOn\bn)\b)
3489 If set to O\bOn\bn, completed directory names have a slash appended.
3490 m\bma\bar\brk\bk-\b-m\bmo\bod\bdi\bif\bfi\bie\bed\bd-\b-l\bli\bin\bne\bes\bs (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
74091dd4 3491 If set to O\bOn\bn, history lines that have been modified are dis-
17345e5a
JA
3492 played with a preceding asterisk (*\b*).
3493 m\bma\bar\brk\bk-\b-s\bsy\bym\bml\bli\bin\bnk\bke\bed\bd-\b-d\bdi\bir\bre\bec\bct\bto\bor\bri\bie\bes\bs (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
3494 If set to O\bOn\bn, completed names which are symbolic links to direc-
74091dd4 3495 tories have a slash appended (subject to the value of m\bma\bar\brk\bk-\b-d\bdi\bi-\b-
8868edaf 3496 r\bre\bec\bct\bto\bor\bri\bie\bes\bs).
17345e5a 3497 m\bma\bat\btc\bch\bh-\b-h\bhi\bid\bdd\bde\ben\bn-\b-f\bfi\bil\ble\bes\bs (\b(O\bOn\bn)\b)
74091dd4
CR
3498 This variable, when set to O\bOn\bn, causes readline to match files
3499 whose names begin with a `.' (hidden files) when performing
3500 filename completion. If set to O\bOf\bff\bf, the leading `.' must be
495aee44
CR
3501 supplied by the user in the filename to be completed.
3502 m\bme\ben\bnu\bu-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be-\b-d\bdi\bis\bsp\bpl\bla\bay\by-\b-p\bpr\bre\bef\bfi\bix\bx (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
74091dd4 3503 If set to O\bOn\bn, menu completion displays the common prefix of the
495aee44
CR
3504 list of possible completions (which may be empty) before cycling
3505 through the list.
17345e5a 3506 o\bou\but\btp\bpu\but\bt-\b-m\bme\bet\bta\ba (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
74091dd4 3507 If set to O\bOn\bn, readline will display characters with the eighth
17345e5a 3508 bit set directly rather than as a meta-prefixed escape sequence.
a0c0a00f 3509 The default is _\bO_\bf_\bf, but readline will set it to _\bO_\bn if the locale
74091dd4
CR
3510 contains eight-bit characters. This variable is dependent on
3511 the L\bLC\bC_\b_C\bCT\bTY\bYP\bPE\bE locale category, and may change if the locale is
3512 changed.
17345e5a 3513 p\bpa\bag\bge\be-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bns\bs (\b(O\bOn\bn)\b)
74091dd4 3514 If set to O\bOn\bn, readline uses an internal _\bm_\bo_\br_\be-like pager to dis-
17345e5a
JA
3515 play a screenful of possible completions at a time.
3516 p\bpr\bri\bin\bnt\bt-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bns\bs-\b-h\bho\bor\bri\biz\bzo\bon\bnt\bta\bal\bll\bly\by (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
74091dd4
CR
3517 If set to O\bOn\bn, readline will display completions with matches
3518 sorted horizontally in alphabetical order, rather than down the
17345e5a
JA
3519 screen.
3520 r\bre\bev\bve\ber\brt\bt-\b-a\bal\bll\bl-\b-a\bat\bt-\b-n\bne\bew\bwl\bli\bin\bne\be (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
74091dd4 3521 If set to O\bOn\bn, readline will undo all changes to history lines
17345e5a 3522 before returning when a\bac\bcc\bce\bep\bpt\bt-\b-l\bli\bin\bne\be is executed. By default, his-
74091dd4 3523 tory lines may be modified and retain individual undo lists
17345e5a
JA
3524 across calls to r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be.
3525 s\bsh\bho\bow\bw-\b-a\bal\bll\bl-\b-i\bif\bf-\b-a\bam\bmb\bbi\big\bgu\buo\bou\bus\bs (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
74091dd4 3526 This alters the default behavior of the completion functions.
495aee44 3527 If set to O\bOn\bn, words which have more than one possible completion
74091dd4 3528 cause the matches to be listed immediately instead of ringing
17345e5a
JA
3529 the bell.
3530 s\bsh\bho\bow\bw-\b-a\bal\bll\bl-\b-i\bif\bf-\b-u\bun\bnm\bmo\bod\bdi\bif\bfi\bie\bed\bd (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
74091dd4 3531 This alters the default behavior of the completion functions in
495aee44 3532 a fashion similar to s\bsh\bho\bow\bw-\b-a\bal\bll\bl-\b-i\bif\bf-\b-a\bam\bmb\bbi\big\bgu\buo\bou\bus\bs. If set to O\bOn\bn, words
74091dd4
CR
3533 which have more than one possible completion without any possi-
3534 ble partial completion (the possible completions don't share a
3535 common prefix) cause the matches to be listed immediately in-
8868edaf 3536 stead of ringing the bell.
ac50fbac 3537 s\bsh\bho\bow\bw-\b-m\bmo\bod\bde\be-\b-i\bin\bn-\b-p\bpr\bro\bom\bmp\bpt\bt (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
74091dd4
CR
3538 If set to O\bOn\bn, add a string to the beginning of the prompt indi-
3539 cating the editing mode: emacs, vi command, or vi insertion.
d233b485 3540 The mode strings are user-settable (e.g., _\be_\bm_\ba_\bc_\bs_\b-_\bm_\bo_\bd_\be_\b-_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg).
0001803f 3541 s\bsk\bki\bip\bp-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\bed\bd-\b-t\bte\bex\bxt\bt (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
74091dd4
CR
3542 If set to O\bOn\bn, this alters the default completion behavior when
3543 inserting a single match into the line. It's only active when
3544 performing completion in the middle of a word. If enabled,
3545 readline does not insert characters from the completion that
3546 match characters after point in the word being completed, so
0001803f 3547 portions of the word following the cursor are not duplicated.
a0c0a00f 3548 v\bvi\bi-\b-c\bcm\bmd\bd-\b-m\bmo\bod\bde\be-\b-s\bst\btr\bri\bin\bng\bg (\b((\b(c\bcm\bmd\bd)\b))\b)
74091dd4 3549 If the _\bs_\bh_\bo_\bw_\b-_\bm_\bo_\bd_\be_\b-_\bi_\bn_\b-_\bp_\br_\bo_\bm_\bp_\bt variable is enabled, this string is
d233b485 3550 displayed immediately before the last line of the primary prompt
74091dd4 3551 when vi editing mode is active and in command mode. The value
d233b485 3552 is expanded like a key binding, so the standard set of meta- and
74091dd4
CR
3553 control prefixes and backslash escape sequences is available.
3554 Use the \1 and \2 escapes to begin and end sequences of non-
3555 printing characters, which can be used to embed a terminal con-
d233b485 3556 trol sequence into the mode string.
a0c0a00f 3557 v\bvi\bi-\b-i\bin\bns\bs-\b-m\bmo\bod\bde\be-\b-s\bst\btr\bri\bin\bng\bg (\b((\b(i\bin\bns\bs)\b))\b)
74091dd4 3558 If the _\bs_\bh_\bo_\bw_\b-_\bm_\bo_\bd_\be_\b-_\bi_\bn_\b-_\bp_\br_\bo_\bm_\bp_\bt variable is enabled, this string is
d233b485
CR
3559 displayed immediately before the last line of the primary prompt
3560 when vi editing mode is active and in insertion mode. The value
3561 is expanded like a key binding, so the standard set of meta- and
74091dd4
CR
3562 control prefixes and backslash escape sequences is available.
3563 Use the \1 and \2 escapes to begin and end sequences of non-
3564 printing characters, which can be used to embed a terminal con-
d233b485 3565 trol sequence into the mode string.
17345e5a 3566 v\bvi\bis\bsi\bib\bbl\ble\be-\b-s\bst\bta\bat\bts\bs (\b(O\bOf\bff\bf)\b)
74091dd4
CR
3567 If set to O\bOn\bn, a character denoting a file's type as reported by
3568 _\bs_\bt_\ba_\bt(2) is appended to the filename when listing possible com-
17345e5a
JA
3569 pletions.
3570
3571 R\bRe\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be C\bCo\bon\bnd\bdi\bit\bti\bio\bon\bna\bal\bl C\bCo\bon\bns\bst\btr\bru\buc\bct\bts\bs
74091dd4
CR
3572 Readline implements a facility similar in spirit to the conditional
3573 compilation features of the C preprocessor which allows key bindings
3574 and variable settings to be performed as the result of tests. There
17345e5a
JA
3575 are four parser directives used.
3576
74091dd4
CR
3577 $\b$i\bif\bf The $\b$i\bif\bf construct allows bindings to be made based on the edit-
3578 ing mode, the terminal being used, or the application using
d233b485 3579 readline. The text of the test, after any comparison operator,
74091dd4 3580 extends to the end of the line; unless otherwise noted, no
d233b485
CR
3581 characters are required to isolate it.
3582
74091dd4
CR
3583 m\bmo\bod\bde\be The m\bmo\bod\bde\be=\b= form of the $\b$i\bif\bf directive is used to test
3584 whether readline is in emacs or vi mode. This may be
3585 used in conjunction with the s\bse\bet\bt k\bke\bey\bym\bma\bap\bp command, for in-
3586 stance, to set bindings in the _\be_\bm_\ba_\bc_\bs_\b-_\bs_\bt_\ba_\bn_\bd_\ba_\br_\bd and
3587 _\be_\bm_\ba_\bc_\bs_\b-_\bc_\bt_\bl_\bx keymaps only if readline is starting out in
17345e5a
JA
3588 emacs mode.
3589
74091dd4 3590 t\bte\ber\brm\bm The t\bte\ber\brm\bm=\b= form may be used to include terminal-specific
17345e5a
JA
3591 key bindings, perhaps to bind the key sequences output by
3592 the terminal's function keys. The word on the right side
a0c0a00f 3593 of the =\b= is tested against both the full name of the ter-
74091dd4
CR
3594 minal and the portion of the terminal name before the
3595 first -\b-. This allows _\bs_\bu_\bn to match both _\bs_\bu_\bn and _\bs_\bu_\bn_\b-_\bc_\bm_\bd,
17345e5a
JA
3596 for instance.
3597
d233b485 3598 v\bve\ber\brs\bsi\bio\bon\bn
74091dd4
CR
3599 The v\bve\ber\brs\bsi\bio\bon\bn test may be used to perform comparisons
3600 against specific readline versions. The v\bve\ber\brs\bsi\bio\bon\bn expands
3601 to the current readline version. The set of comparison
3602 operators includes =\b=, (and =\b==\b=), !\b!=\b=, <\b<=\b=, >\b>=\b=, <\b<, and >\b>.
3603 The version number supplied on the right side of the op-
3604 erator consists of a major version number, an optional
d233b485 3605 decimal point, and an optional minor version (e.g., 7\b7.\b.1\b1).
74091dd4 3606 If the minor version is omitted, it is assumed to be 0\b0.
d233b485
CR
3607 The operator may be separated from the string v\bve\ber\brs\bsi\bio\bon\bn and
3608 from the version number argument by whitespace.
3609
17345e5a
JA
3610 a\bap\bpp\bpl\bli\bic\bca\bat\bti\bio\bon\bn
3611 The a\bap\bpp\bpl\bli\bic\bca\bat\bti\bio\bon\bn construct is used to include application-
74091dd4
CR
3612 specific settings. Each program using the readline li-
3613 brary sets the _\ba_\bp_\bp_\bl_\bi_\bc_\ba_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be, and an initialization
17345e5a 3614 file can test for a particular value. This could be used
74091dd4
CR
3615 to bind key sequences to functions useful for a specific
3616 program. For instance, the following command adds a key
3617 sequence that quotes the current or previous word in
495aee44 3618 b\bba\bas\bsh\bh:
17345e5a
JA
3619
3620 $\b$i\bif\bf Bash
3621 # Quote the current or previous word
3622 "\C-xq": "\eb\"\ef\""
3623 $\b$e\ben\bnd\bdi\bif\bf
3624
d233b485
CR
3625 _\bv_\ba_\br_\bi_\ba_\bb_\bl_\be
3626 The _\bv_\ba_\br_\bi_\ba_\bb_\bl_\be construct provides simple equality tests for
74091dd4
CR
3627 readline variables and values. The permitted comparison
3628 operators are _\b=, _\b=_\b=, and _\b!_\b=. The variable name must be
d233b485 3629 separated from the comparison operator by whitespace; the
74091dd4
CR
3630 operator may be separated from the value on the right
3631 hand side by whitespace. Both string and boolean vari-
3632 ables may be tested. Boolean variables must be tested
d233b485
CR
3633 against the values _\bo_\bn and _\bo_\bf_\bf.
3634
17345e5a
JA
3635 $\b$e\ben\bnd\bdi\bif\bf This command, as seen in the previous example, terminates an $\b$i\bif\bf
3636 command.
3637
3638 $\b$e\bel\bls\bse\be Commands in this branch of the $\b$i\bif\bf directive are executed if the
3639 test fails.
3640
3641 $\b$i\bin\bnc\bcl\blu\bud\bde\be
74091dd4
CR
3642 This directive takes a single filename as an argument and reads
3643 commands and bindings from that file. For example, the follow-
17345e5a
JA
3644 ing directive would read _\b/_\be_\bt_\bc_\b/_\bi_\bn_\bp_\bu_\bt_\br_\bc:
3645
3646 $\b$i\bin\bnc\bcl\blu\bud\bde\be _\b/_\be_\bt_\bc_\b/_\bi_\bn_\bp_\bu_\bt_\br_\bc
3647
3648 S\bSe\bea\bar\brc\bch\bhi\bin\bng\bg
74091dd4 3649 Readline provides commands for searching through the command history
17345e5a
JA
3650 (see H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTO\bOR\bRY\bY below) for lines containing a specified string. There are
3651 two search modes: _\bi_\bn_\bc_\br_\be_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\ba_\bl and _\bn_\bo_\bn_\b-_\bi_\bn_\bc_\br_\be_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\ba_\bl.
3652
74091dd4
CR
3653 Incremental searches begin before the user has finished typing the
3654 search string. As each character of the search string is typed, read-
17345e5a 3655 line displays the next entry from the history matching the string typed
74091dd4
CR
3656 so far. An incremental search requires only as many characters as
3657 needed to find the desired history entry. The characters present in
3658 the value of the i\bis\bse\bea\bar\brc\bch\bh-\b-t\bte\ber\brm\bmi\bin\bna\bat\bto\bor\brs\bs variable are used to terminate an
17345e5a 3659 incremental search. If that variable has not been assigned a value the
74091dd4
CR
3660 Escape and Control-J characters will terminate an incremental search.
3661 Control-G will abort an incremental search and restore the original
3662 line. When the search is terminated, the history entry containing the
17345e5a
JA
3663 search string becomes the current line.
3664
74091dd4
CR
3665 To find other matching entries in the history list, type Control-S or
3666 Control-R as appropriate. This will search backward or forward in the
3667 history for the next entry matching the search string typed so far.
3668 Any other key sequence bound to a readline command will terminate the
3669 search and execute that command. For instance, a _\bn_\be_\bw_\bl_\bi_\bn_\be will termi-
17345e5a
JA
3670 nate the search and accept the line, thereby executing the command from
3671 the history list.
3672
3673 Readline remembers the last incremental search string. If two Control-
74091dd4 3674 Rs are typed without any intervening characters defining a new search
17345e5a
JA
3675 string, any remembered search string is used.
3676
74091dd4
CR
3677 Non-incremental searches read the entire search string before starting
3678 to search for matching history lines. The search string may be typed
17345e5a
JA
3679 by the user or be part of the contents of the current line.
3680
3681 R\bRe\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be C\bCo\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bd N\bNa\bam\bme\bes\bs
74091dd4 3682 The following is a list of the names of the commands and the default
17345e5a
JA
3683 key sequences to which they are bound. Command names without an accom-
3684 panying key sequence are unbound by default. In the following descrip-
74091dd4
CR
3685 tions, _\bp_\bo_\bi_\bn_\bt refers to the current cursor position, and _\bm_\ba_\br_\bk refers to
3686 a cursor position saved by the s\bse\bet\bt-\b-m\bma\bar\brk\bk command. The text between the
17345e5a
JA
3687 point and mark is referred to as the _\br_\be_\bg_\bi_\bo_\bn.
3688
3689 C\bCo\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bds\bs f\bfo\bor\br M\bMo\bov\bvi\bin\bng\bg
3690 b\bbe\beg\bgi\bin\bnn\bni\bin\bng\bg-\b-o\bof\bf-\b-l\bli\bin\bne\be (\b(C\bC-\b-a\ba)\b)
3691 Move to the start of the current line.
3692 e\ben\bnd\bd-\b-o\bof\bf-\b-l\bli\bin\bne\be (\b(C\bC-\b-e\be)\b)
3693 Move to the end of the line.
3694 f\bfo\bor\brw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-c\bch\bha\bar\br (\b(C\bC-\b-f\bf)\b)
3695 Move forward a character.
3696 b\bba\bac\bck\bkw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-c\bch\bha\bar\br (\b(C\bC-\b-b\bb)\b)
3697 Move back a character.
3698 f\bfo\bor\brw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd (\b(M\bM-\b-f\bf)\b)
3699 Move forward to the end of the next word. Words are composed of
3700 alphanumeric characters (letters and digits).
3701 b\bba\bac\bck\bkw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd (\b(M\bM-\b-b\bb)\b)
74091dd4 3702 Move back to the start of the current or previous word. Words
17345e5a
JA
3703 are composed of alphanumeric characters (letters and digits).
3704 s\bsh\bhe\bel\bll\bl-\b-f\bfo\bor\brw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd
74091dd4 3705 Move forward to the end of the next word. Words are delimited
17345e5a
JA
3706 by non-quoted shell metacharacters.
3707 s\bsh\bhe\bel\bll\bl-\b-b\bba\bac\bck\bkw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd
74091dd4 3708 Move back to the start of the current or previous word. Words
17345e5a 3709 are delimited by non-quoted shell metacharacters.
d233b485 3710 p\bpr\bre\bev\bvi\bio\bou\bus\bs-\b-s\bsc\bcr\bre\bee\ben\bn-\b-l\bli\bin\bne\be
74091dd4
CR
3711 Attempt to move point to the same physical screen column on the
3712 previous physical screen line. This will not have the desired
3713 effect if the current readline line does not take up more than
3714 one physical line or if point is not greater than the length of
d233b485
CR
3715 the prompt plus the screen width.
3716 n\bne\bex\bxt\bt-\b-s\bsc\bcr\bre\bee\ben\bn-\b-l\bli\bin\bne\be
74091dd4 3717 Attempt to move point to the same physical screen column on the
d233b485 3718 next physical screen line. This will not have the desired effect
74091dd4
CR
3719 if the current readline line does not take up more than one
3720 physical line or if the length of the current readline line is
d233b485 3721 not greater than the length of the prompt plus the screen width.
8868edaf 3722 c\bcl\ble\bea\bar\br-\b-d\bdi\bis\bsp\bpl\bla\bay\by (\b(M\bM-\b-C\bC-\b-l\bl)\b)
74091dd4
CR
3723 Clear the screen and, if possible, the terminal's scrollback
3724 buffer, then redraw the current line, leaving the current line
8868edaf 3725 at the top of the screen.
17345e5a 3726 c\bcl\ble\bea\bar\br-\b-s\bsc\bcr\bre\bee\ben\bn (\b(C\bC-\b-l\bl)\b)
8868edaf 3727 Clear the screen, then redraw the current line, leaving the cur-
74091dd4 3728 rent line at the top of the screen. With an argument, refresh
8868edaf 3729 the current line without clearing the screen.
17345e5a
JA
3730 r\bre\bed\bdr\bra\baw\bw-\b-c\bcu\bur\brr\bre\ben\bnt\bt-\b-l\bli\bin\bne\be
3731 Refresh the current line.
3732
3733 C\bCo\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bds\bs f\bfo\bor\br M\bMa\ban\bni\bip\bpu\bul\bla\bat\bti\bin\bng\bg t\bth\bhe\be H\bHi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by
3734 a\bac\bcc\bce\bep\bpt\bt-\b-l\bli\bin\bne\be (\b(N\bNe\bew\bwl\bli\bin\bne\be,\b, R\bRe\bet\btu\bur\brn\bn)\b)
3735 Accept the line regardless of where the cursor is. If this line
74091dd4
CR
3736 is non-empty, add it to the history list according to the state
3737 of the H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTC\bCO\bON\bNT\bTR\bRO\bOL\bL variable. If the line is a modified history
17345e5a
JA
3738 line, then restore the history line to its original state.
3739 p\bpr\bre\bev\bvi\bio\bou\bus\bs-\b-h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by (\b(C\bC-\b-p\bp)\b)
3740 Fetch the previous command from the history list, moving back in
3741 the list.
3742 n\bne\bex\bxt\bt-\b-h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by (\b(C\bC-\b-n\bn)\b)
74091dd4 3743 Fetch the next command from the history list, moving forward in
17345e5a
JA
3744 the list.
3745 b\bbe\beg\bgi\bin\bnn\bni\bin\bng\bg-\b-o\bof\bf-\b-h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by (\b(M\bM-\b-<\b<)\b)
3746 Move to the first line in the history.
3747 e\ben\bnd\bd-\b-o\bof\bf-\b-h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by (\b(M\bM-\b->\b>)\b)
74091dd4 3748 Move to the end of the input history, i.e., the line currently
17345e5a 3749 being entered.
74091dd4
CR
3750 o\bop\bpe\ber\bra\bat\bte\be-\b-a\ban\bnd\bd-\b-g\bge\bet\bt-\b-n\bne\bex\bxt\bt (\b(C\bC-\b-o\bo)\b)
3751 Accept the current line for execution and fetch the next line
3752 relative to the current line from the history for editing. A
3753 numeric argument, if supplied, specifies the history entry to
3754 use instead of the current line.
3755 f\bfe\bet\btc\bch\bh-\b-h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by
3756 With a numeric argument, fetch that entry from the history list
3757 and make it the current line. Without an argument, move back to
3758 the first entry in the history list.
17345e5a 3759 r\bre\bev\bve\ber\brs\bse\be-\b-s\bse\bea\bar\brc\bch\bh-\b-h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by (\b(C\bC-\b-r\br)\b)
8868edaf
CR
3760 Search backward starting at the current line and moving `up'
3761 through the history as necessary. This is an incremental
17345e5a
JA
3762 search.
3763 f\bfo\bor\brw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-s\bse\bea\bar\brc\bch\bh-\b-h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by (\b(C\bC-\b-s\bs)\b)
8868edaf
CR
3764 Search forward starting at the current line and moving `down'
3765 through the history as necessary. This is an incremental
17345e5a
JA
3766 search.
3767 n\bno\bon\bn-\b-i\bin\bnc\bcr\bre\bem\bme\ben\bnt\bta\bal\bl-\b-r\bre\bev\bve\ber\brs\bse\be-\b-s\bse\bea\bar\brc\bch\bh-\b-h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by (\b(M\bM-\b-p\bp)\b)
3768 Search backward through the history starting at the current line
8868edaf 3769 using a non-incremental search for a string supplied by the
17345e5a
JA
3770 user.
3771 n\bno\bon\bn-\b-i\bin\bnc\bcr\bre\bem\bme\ben\bnt\bta\bal\bl-\b-f\bfo\bor\brw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-s\bse\bea\bar\brc\bch\bh-\b-h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by (\b(M\bM-\b-n\bn)\b)
8868edaf 3772 Search forward through the history using a non-incremental
17345e5a
JA
3773 search for a string supplied by the user.
3774 h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by-\b-s\bse\bea\bar\brc\bch\bh-\b-f\bfo\bor\brw\bwa\bar\brd\bd
8868edaf
CR
3775 Search forward through the history for the string of characters
3776 between the start of the current line and the point. This is a
17345e5a
JA
3777 non-incremental search.
3778 h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by-\b-s\bse\bea\bar\brc\bch\bh-\b-b\bba\bac\bck\bkw\bwa\bar\brd\bd
3779 Search backward through the history for the string of characters
8868edaf 3780 between the start of the current line and the point. This is a
17345e5a 3781 non-incremental search.
d233b485
CR
3782 h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by-\b-s\bsu\bub\bbs\bst\btr\bri\bin\bng\bg-\b-s\bse\bea\bar\brc\bch\bh-\b-b\bba\bac\bck\bkw\bwa\bar\brd\bd
3783 Search backward through the history for the string of characters
8868edaf
CR
3784 between the start of the current line and the current cursor po-
3785 sition (the _\bp_\bo_\bi_\bn_\bt). The search string may match anywhere in a
d233b485
CR
3786 history line. This is a non-incremental search.
3787 h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by-\b-s\bsu\bub\bbs\bst\btr\bri\bin\bng\bg-\b-s\bse\bea\bar\brc\bch\bh-\b-f\bfo\bor\brw\bwa\bar\brd\bd
8868edaf 3788 Search forward through the history for the string of characters
d233b485 3789 between the start of the current line and the point. The search
8868edaf
CR
3790 string may match anywhere in a history line. This is a non-in-
3791 cremental search.
17345e5a 3792 y\bya\ban\bnk\bk-\b-n\bnt\bth\bh-\b-a\bar\brg\bg (\b(M\bM-\b-C\bC-\b-y\by)\b)
8868edaf 3793 Insert the first argument to the previous command (usually the
17345e5a 3794 second word on the previous line) at point. With an argument _\bn,
8868edaf
CR
3795 insert the _\bnth word from the previous command (the words in the
3796 previous command begin with word 0). A negative argument in-
3797 serts the _\bnth word from the end of the previous command. Once
3798 the argument _\bn is computed, the argument is extracted as if the
17345e5a
JA
3799 "!_\bn" history expansion had been specified.
3800 y\bya\ban\bnk\bk-\b-l\bla\bas\bst\bt-\b-a\bar\brg\bg (\b(M\bM-\b-.\b.,\b, M\bM-\b-_\b_)\b)
8868edaf 3801 Insert the last argument to the previous command (the last word
495aee44 3802 of the previous history entry). With a numeric argument, behave
8868edaf
CR
3803 exactly like y\bya\ban\bnk\bk-\b-n\bnt\bth\bh-\b-a\bar\brg\bg. Successive calls to y\bya\ban\bnk\bk-\b-l\bla\bas\bst\bt-\b-a\bar\brg\bg
3804 move back through the history list, inserting the last word (or
3805 the word specified by the argument to the first call) of each
495aee44 3806 line in turn. Any numeric argument supplied to these successive
8868edaf
CR
3807 calls determines the direction to move through the history. A
3808 negative argument switches the direction through the history
495aee44 3809 (back or forward). The history expansion facilities are used to
ac50fbac
CR
3810 extract the last word, as if the "!$" history expansion had been
3811 specified.
17345e5a
JA
3812 s\bsh\bhe\bel\bll\bl-\b-e\bex\bxp\bpa\ban\bnd\bd-\b-l\bli\bin\bne\be (\b(M\bM-\b-C\bC-\b-e\be)\b)
3813 Expand the line as the shell does. This performs alias and his-
3814 tory expansion as well as all of the shell word expansions. See
a0c0a00f 3815 H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTO\bOR\bRY\bY E\bEX\bXP\bPA\bAN\bNS\bSI\bIO\bON\bN below for a description of history expansion.
17345e5a 3816 h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by-\b-e\bex\bxp\bpa\ban\bnd\bd-\b-l\bli\bin\bne\be (\b(M\bM-\b-^\b^)\b)
8868edaf
CR
3817 Perform history expansion on the current line. See H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTO\bOR\bRY\bY E\bEX\bX-\b-
3818 P\bPA\bAN\bNS\bSI\bIO\bON\bN below for a description of history expansion.
17345e5a 3819 m\bma\bag\bgi\bic\bc-\b-s\bsp\bpa\bac\bce\be
8868edaf 3820 Perform history expansion on the current line and insert a
17345e5a
JA
3821 space. See H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTO\bOR\bRY\bY E\bEX\bXP\bPA\bAN\bNS\bSI\bIO\bON\bN below for a description of history
3822 expansion.
3823 a\bal\bli\bia\bas\bs-\b-e\bex\bxp\bpa\ban\bnd\bd-\b-l\bli\bin\bne\be
8868edaf 3824 Perform alias expansion on the current line. See A\bAL\bLI\bIA\bAS\bSE\bES\bS above
17345e5a
JA
3825 for a description of alias expansion.
3826 h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by-\b-a\ban\bnd\bd-\b-a\bal\bli\bia\bas\bs-\b-e\bex\bxp\bpa\ban\bnd\bd-\b-l\bli\bin\bne\be
3827 Perform history and alias expansion on the current line.
3828 i\bin\bns\bse\ber\brt\bt-\b-l\bla\bas\bst\bt-\b-a\bar\brg\bgu\bum\bme\ben\bnt\bt (\b(M\bM-\b-.\b.,\b, M\bM-\b-_\b_)\b)
3829 A synonym for y\bya\ban\bnk\bk-\b-l\bla\bas\bst\bt-\b-a\bar\brg\bg.
d233b485 3830 e\bed\bdi\bit\bt-\b-a\ban\bnd\bd-\b-e\bex\bxe\bec\bcu\but\bte\be-\b-c\bco\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bd (\b(C\bC-\b-x\bx C\bC-\b-e\be)\b)
74091dd4 3831 Invoke an editor on the current command line, and execute the
8868edaf
CR
3832 result as shell commands. B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh attempts to invoke $\b$V\bVI\bIS\bSU\bUA\bAL\bL, $\b$E\bED\bD-\b-
3833 I\bIT\bTO\bOR\bR, and _\be_\bm_\ba_\bc_\bs as the editor, in that order.
17345e5a
JA
3834
3835 C\bCo\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bds\bs f\bfo\bor\br C\bCh\bha\ban\bng\bgi\bin\bng\bg T\bTe\bex\bxt\bt
ac50fbac 3836 _\be_\bn_\bd_\b-_\bo_\bf_\b-_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be (\b(u\bus\bsu\bua\bal\bll\bly\by C\bC-\b-d\bd)\b)
74091dd4
CR
3837 The character indicating end-of-file as set, for example, by
3838 ``stty''. If this character is read when there are no charac-
3839 ters on the line, and point is at the beginning of the line,
3840 readline interprets it as the end of input and returns E\bEO\bOF\bF.
17345e5a 3841 d\bde\bel\ble\bet\bte\be-\b-c\bch\bha\bar\br (\b(C\bC-\b-d\bd)\b)
ac50fbac
CR
3842 Delete the character at point. If this function is bound to the
3843 same character as the tty E\bEO\bOF\bF character, as C\bC-\b-d\bd commonly is, see
3844 above for the effects.
17345e5a 3845 b\bba\bac\bck\bkw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-d\bde\bel\ble\bet\bte\be-\b-c\bch\bha\bar\br (\b(R\bRu\bub\bbo\bou\but\bt)\b)
74091dd4 3846 Delete the character behind the cursor. When given a numeric
17345e5a
JA
3847 argument, save the deleted text on the kill ring.
3848 f\bfo\bor\brw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-b\bba\bac\bck\bkw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-d\bde\bel\ble\bet\bte\be-\b-c\bch\bha\bar\br
74091dd4 3849 Delete the character under the cursor, unless the cursor is at
17345e5a
JA
3850 the end of the line, in which case the character behind the cur-
3851 sor is deleted.
3852 q\bqu\buo\bot\bte\bed\bd-\b-i\bin\bns\bse\ber\brt\bt (\b(C\bC-\b-q\bq,\b, C\bC-\b-v\bv)\b)
74091dd4 3853 Add the next character typed to the line verbatim. This is how
17345e5a
JA
3854 to insert characters like C\bC-\b-q\bq, for example.
3855 t\bta\bab\bb-\b-i\bin\bns\bse\ber\brt\bt (\b(C\bC-\b-v\bv T\bTA\bAB\bB)\b)
3856 Insert a tab character.
3857 s\bse\bel\blf\bf-\b-i\bin\bns\bse\ber\brt\bt (\b(a\ba,\b, b\bb,\b, A\bA,\b, 1\b1,\b, !\b!,\b, .\b..\b..\b.)\b)
3858 Insert the character typed.
3859 t\btr\bra\ban\bns\bsp\bpo\bos\bse\be-\b-c\bch\bha\bar\brs\bs (\b(C\bC-\b-t\bt)\b)
74091dd4
CR
3860 Drag the character before point forward over the character at
3861 point, moving point forward as well. If point is at the end of
3862 the line, then this transposes the two characters before point.
17345e5a
JA
3863 Negative arguments have no effect.
3864 t\btr\bra\ban\bns\bsp\bpo\bos\bse\be-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bds\bs (\b(M\bM-\b-t\bt)\b)
74091dd4
CR
3865 Drag the word before point past the word after point, moving
3866 point over that word as well. If point is at the end of the
17345e5a
JA
3867 line, this transposes the last two words on the line.
3868 u\bup\bpc\bca\bas\bse\be-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd (\b(M\bM-\b-u\bu)\b)
74091dd4 3869 Uppercase the current (or following) word. With a negative ar-
8868edaf 3870 gument, uppercase the previous word, but do not move point.
17345e5a 3871 d\bdo\bow\bwn\bnc\bca\bas\bse\be-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd (\b(M\bM-\b-l\bl)\b)
74091dd4 3872 Lowercase the current (or following) word. With a negative ar-
8868edaf 3873 gument, lowercase the previous word, but do not move point.
17345e5a 3874 c\bca\bap\bpi\bit\bta\bal\bli\biz\bze\be-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd (\b(M\bM-\b-c\bc)\b)
8868edaf
CR
3875 Capitalize the current (or following) word. With a negative ar-
3876 gument, capitalize the previous word, but do not move point.
17345e5a 3877 o\bov\bve\ber\brw\bwr\bri\bit\bte\be-\b-m\bmo\bod\bde\be
74091dd4 3878 Toggle overwrite mode. With an explicit positive numeric argu-
17345e5a
JA
3879 ment, switches to overwrite mode. With an explicit non-positive
3880 numeric argument, switches to insert mode. This command affects
74091dd4 3881 only e\bem\bma\bac\bcs\bs mode; v\bvi\bi mode does overwrite differently. Each call
17345e5a 3882 to _\br_\be_\ba_\bd_\bl_\bi_\bn_\be_\b(_\b) starts in insert mode. In overwrite mode, charac-
74091dd4
CR
3883 ters bound to s\bse\bel\blf\bf-\b-i\bin\bns\bse\ber\brt\bt replace the text at point rather than
3884 pushing the text to the right. Characters bound to b\bba\bac\bck\bk-\b-
3885 w\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-d\bde\bel\ble\bet\bte\be-\b-c\bch\bha\bar\br replace the character before point with a
17345e5a
JA
3886 space. By default, this command is unbound.
3887
3888 K\bKi\bil\bll\bli\bin\bng\bg a\ban\bnd\bd Y\bYa\ban\bnk\bki\bin\bng\bg
3889 k\bki\bil\bll\bl-\b-l\bli\bin\bne\be (\b(C\bC-\b-k\bk)\b)
3890 Kill the text from point to the end of the line.
3891 b\bba\bac\bck\bkw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-k\bki\bil\bll\bl-\b-l\bli\bin\bne\be (\b(C\bC-\b-x\bx R\bRu\bub\bbo\bou\but\bt)\b)
3892 Kill backward to the beginning of the line.
3893 u\bun\bni\bix\bx-\b-l\bli\bin\bne\be-\b-d\bdi\bis\bsc\bca\bar\brd\bd (\b(C\bC-\b-u\bu)\b)
74091dd4 3894 Kill backward from point to the beginning of the line. The
17345e5a
JA
3895 killed text is saved on the kill-ring.
3896 k\bki\bil\bll\bl-\b-w\bwh\bho\bol\ble\be-\b-l\bli\bin\bne\be
74091dd4 3897 Kill all characters on the current line, no matter where point
17345e5a
JA
3898 is.
3899 k\bki\bil\bll\bl-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd (\b(M\bM-\b-d\bd)\b)
74091dd4
CR
3900 Kill from point to the end of the current word, or if between
3901 words, to the end of the next word. Word boundaries are the
17345e5a
JA
3902 same as those used by f\bfo\bor\brw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd.
3903 b\bba\bac\bck\bkw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-k\bki\bil\bll\bl-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd (\b(M\bM-\b-R\bRu\bub\bbo\bou\but\bt)\b)
74091dd4 3904 Kill the word behind point. Word boundaries are the same as
17345e5a 3905 those used by b\bba\bac\bck\bkw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd.
a0c0a00f 3906 s\bsh\bhe\bel\bll\bl-\b-k\bki\bil\bll\bl-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd
74091dd4
CR
3907 Kill from point to the end of the current word, or if between
3908 words, to the end of the next word. Word boundaries are the
17345e5a 3909 same as those used by s\bsh\bhe\bel\bll\bl-\b-f\bfo\bor\brw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd.
a0c0a00f 3910 s\bsh\bhe\bel\bll\bl-\b-b\bba\bac\bck\bkw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-k\bki\bil\bll\bl-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd
74091dd4 3911 Kill the word behind point. Word boundaries are the same as
17345e5a
JA
3912 those used by s\bsh\bhe\bel\bll\bl-\b-b\bba\bac\bck\bkw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd.
3913 u\bun\bni\bix\bx-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd-\b-r\bru\bub\bbo\bou\but\bt (\b(C\bC-\b-w\bw)\b)
74091dd4 3914 Kill the word behind point, using white space as a word bound-
17345e5a
JA
3915 ary. The killed text is saved on the kill-ring.
3916 u\bun\bni\bix\bx-\b-f\bfi\bil\ble\ben\bna\bam\bme\be-\b-r\bru\bub\bbo\bou\but\bt
74091dd4
CR
3917 Kill the word behind point, using white space and the slash
3918 character as the word boundaries. The killed text is saved on
17345e5a
JA
3919 the kill-ring.
3920 d\bde\bel\ble\bet\bte\be-\b-h\bho\bor\bri\biz\bzo\bon\bnt\bta\bal\bl-\b-s\bsp\bpa\bac\bce\be (\b(M\bM-\b-\\b\)\b)
3921 Delete all spaces and tabs around point.
3922 k\bki\bil\bll\bl-\b-r\bre\beg\bgi\bio\bon\bn
3923 Kill the text in the current region.
3924 c\bco\bop\bpy\by-\b-r\bre\beg\bgi\bio\bon\bn-\b-a\bas\bs-\b-k\bki\bil\bll\bl
3925 Copy the text in the region to the kill buffer.
3926 c\bco\bop\bpy\by-\b-b\bba\bac\bck\bkw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd
74091dd4 3927 Copy the word before point to the kill buffer. The word bound-
17345e5a
JA
3928 aries are the same as b\bba\bac\bck\bkw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd.
3929 c\bco\bop\bpy\by-\b-f\bfo\bor\brw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd
74091dd4 3930 Copy the word following point to the kill buffer. The word
17345e5a
JA
3931 boundaries are the same as f\bfo\bor\brw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd.
3932 y\bya\ban\bnk\bk (\b(C\bC-\b-y\by)\b)
3933 Yank the top of the kill ring into the buffer at point.
3934 y\bya\ban\bnk\bk-\b-p\bpo\bop\bp (\b(M\bM-\b-y\by)\b)
74091dd4 3935 Rotate the kill ring, and yank the new top. Only works follow-
17345e5a
JA
3936 ing y\bya\ban\bnk\bk or y\bya\ban\bnk\bk-\b-p\bpo\bop\bp.
3937
3938 N\bNu\bum\bme\ber\bri\bic\bc A\bAr\brg\bgu\bum\bme\ben\bnt\bts\bs
3939 d\bdi\big\bgi\bit\bt-\b-a\bar\brg\bgu\bum\bme\ben\bnt\bt (\b(M\bM-\b-0\b0,\b, M\bM-\b-1\b1,\b, .\b..\b..\b.,\b, M\bM-\b--\b-)\b)
74091dd4 3940 Add this digit to the argument already accumulating, or start a
17345e5a
JA
3941 new argument. M-- starts a negative argument.
3942 u\bun\bni\biv\bve\ber\brs\bsa\bal\bl-\b-a\bar\brg\bgu\bum\bme\ben\bnt\bt
74091dd4
CR
3943 This is another way to specify an argument. If this command is
3944 followed by one or more digits, optionally with a leading minus
3945 sign, those digits define the argument. If the command is fol-
8868edaf
CR
3946 lowed by digits, executing u\bun\bni\biv\bve\ber\brs\bsa\bal\bl-\b-a\bar\brg\bgu\bum\bme\ben\bnt\bt again ends the nu-
3947 meric argument, but is otherwise ignored. As a special case, if
3948 this command is immediately followed by a character that is nei-
74091dd4
CR
3949 ther a digit nor minus sign, the argument count for the next
3950 command is multiplied by four. The argument count is initially
3951 one, so executing this function the first time makes the argu-
17345e5a
JA
3952 ment count four, a second time makes the argument count sixteen,
3953 and so on.
3954
3955 C\bCo\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bin\bng\bg
3956 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be (\b(T\bTA\bAB\bB)\b)
74091dd4 3957 Attempt to perform completion on the text before point. B\bBa\bas\bsh\bh
17345e5a 3958 attempts completion treating the text as a variable (if the text
74091dd4
CR
3959 begins with $\b$), username (if the text begins with ~\b~), hostname
3960 (if the text begins with @\b@), or command (including aliases and
17345e5a
JA
3961 functions) in turn. If none of these produces a match, filename
3962 completion is attempted.
3963 p\bpo\bos\bss\bsi\bib\bbl\ble\be-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bns\bs (\b(M\bM-\b-?\b?)\b)
3964 List the possible completions of the text before point.
3965 i\bin\bns\bse\ber\brt\bt-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bns\bs (\b(M\bM-\b-*\b*)\b)
74091dd4 3966 Insert all completions of the text before point that would have
17345e5a
JA
3967 been generated by p\bpo\bos\bss\bsi\bib\bbl\ble\be-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bns\bs.
3968 m\bme\ben\bnu\bu-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be
74091dd4
CR
3969 Similar to c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be, but replaces the word to be completed with
3970 a single match from the list of possible completions. Repeated
3971 execution of m\bme\ben\bnu\bu-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be steps through the list of possible
3972 completions, inserting each match in turn. At the end of the
17345e5a
JA
3973 list of completions, the bell is rung (subject to the setting of
3974 b\bbe\bel\bll\bl-\b-s\bst\bty\byl\ble\be) and the original text is restored. An argument of _\bn
8868edaf
CR
3975 moves _\bn positions forward in the list of matches; a negative ar-
3976 gument may be used to move backward through the list. This com-
3977 mand is intended to be bound to T\bTA\bAB\bB, but is unbound by default.
495aee44 3978 m\bme\ben\bnu\bu-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be-\b-b\bba\bac\bck\bkw\bwa\bar\brd\bd
74091dd4
CR
3979 Identical to m\bme\ben\bnu\bu-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be, but moves backward through the list
3980 of possible completions, as if m\bme\ben\bnu\bu-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be had been given a
0001803f 3981 negative argument. This command is unbound by default.
17345e5a 3982 d\bde\bel\ble\bet\bte\be-\b-c\bch\bha\bar\br-\b-o\bor\br-\b-l\bli\bis\bst\bt
74091dd4
CR
3983 Deletes the character under the cursor if not at the beginning
3984 or end of the line (like d\bde\bel\ble\bet\bte\be-\b-c\bch\bha\bar\br). If at the end of the
17345e5a
JA
3985 line, behaves identically to p\bpo\bos\bss\bsi\bib\bbl\ble\be-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bns\bs. This command
3986 is unbound by default.
3987 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be-\b-f\bfi\bil\ble\ben\bna\bam\bme\be (\b(M\bM-\b-/\b/)\b)
3988 Attempt filename completion on the text before point.
3989 p\bpo\bos\bss\bsi\bib\bbl\ble\be-\b-f\bfi\bil\ble\ben\bna\bam\bme\be-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bns\bs (\b(C\bC-\b-x\bx /\b/)\b)
3990 List the possible completions of the text before point, treating
3991 it as a filename.
3992 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be-\b-u\bus\bse\ber\brn\bna\bam\bme\be (\b(M\bM-\b-~\b~)\b)
74091dd4 3993 Attempt completion on the text before point, treating it as a
17345e5a
JA
3994 username.
3995 p\bpo\bos\bss\bsi\bib\bbl\ble\be-\b-u\bus\bse\ber\brn\bna\bam\bme\be-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bns\bs (\b(C\bC-\b-x\bx ~\b~)\b)
3996 List the possible completions of the text before point, treating
3997 it as a username.
3998 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be-\b-v\bva\bar\bri\bia\bab\bbl\ble\be (\b(M\bM-\b-$\b$)\b)
74091dd4 3999 Attempt completion on the text before point, treating it as a
17345e5a
JA
4000 shell variable.
4001 p\bpo\bos\bss\bsi\bib\bbl\ble\be-\b-v\bva\bar\bri\bia\bab\bbl\ble\be-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bns\bs (\b(C\bC-\b-x\bx $\b$)\b)
4002 List the possible completions of the text before point, treating
4003 it as a shell variable.
4004 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be-\b-h\bho\bos\bst\btn\bna\bam\bme\be (\b(M\bM-\b-@\b@)\b)
74091dd4 4005 Attempt completion on the text before point, treating it as a
17345e5a
JA
4006 hostname.
4007 p\bpo\bos\bss\bsi\bib\bbl\ble\be-\b-h\bho\bos\bst\btn\bna\bam\bme\be-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bns\bs (\b(C\bC-\b-x\bx @\b@)\b)
4008 List the possible completions of the text before point, treating
4009 it as a hostname.
4010 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be-\b-c\bco\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bd (\b(M\bM-\b-!\b!)\b)
74091dd4
CR
4011 Attempt completion on the text before point, treating it as a
4012 command name. Command completion attempts to match the text
4013 against aliases, reserved words, shell functions, shell
17345e5a
JA
4014 builtins, and finally executable filenames, in that order.
4015 p\bpo\bos\bss\bsi\bib\bbl\ble\be-\b-c\bco\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bd-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bns\bs (\b(C\bC-\b-x\bx !\b!)\b)
4016 List the possible completions of the text before point, treating
4017 it as a command name.
4018 d\bdy\byn\bna\bam\bmi\bic\bc-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be-\b-h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by (\b(M\bM-\b-T\bTA\bAB\bB)\b)
74091dd4
CR
4019 Attempt completion on the text before point, comparing the text
4020 against lines from the history list for possible completion
17345e5a
JA
4021 matches.
4022 d\bda\bab\bbb\bbr\bre\bev\bv-\b-e\bex\bxp\bpa\ban\bnd\bd
74091dd4 4023 Attempt menu completion on the text before point, comparing the
17345e5a
JA
4024 text against lines from the history list for possible completion
4025 matches.
4026 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be-\b-i\bin\bnt\bto\bo-\b-b\bbr\bra\bac\bce\bes\bs (\b(M\bM-\b-{\b{)\b)
4027 Perform filename completion and insert the list of possible com-
74091dd4 4028 pletions enclosed within braces so the list is available to the
17345e5a
JA
4029 shell (see B\bBr\bra\bac\bce\be E\bEx\bxp\bpa\ban\bns\bsi\bio\bon\bn above).
4030
4031 K\bKe\bey\byb\bbo\boa\bar\brd\bd M\bMa\bac\bcr\bro\bos\bs
4032 s\bst\bta\bar\brt\bt-\b-k\bkb\bbd\bd-\b-m\bma\bac\bcr\bro\bo (\b(C\bC-\b-x\bx (\b()\b)
74091dd4 4033 Begin saving the characters typed into the current keyboard
17345e5a
JA
4034 macro.
4035 e\ben\bnd\bd-\b-k\bkb\bbd\bd-\b-m\bma\bac\bcr\bro\bo (\b(C\bC-\b-x\bx )\b))\b)
4036 Stop saving the characters typed into the current keyboard macro
4037 and store the definition.
4038 c\bca\bal\bll\bl-\b-l\bla\bas\bst\bt-\b-k\bkb\bbd\bd-\b-m\bma\bac\bcr\bro\bo (\b(C\bC-\b-x\bx e\be)\b)
74091dd4 4039 Re-execute the last keyboard macro defined, by making the char-
17345e5a 4040 acters in the macro appear as if typed at the keyboard.
ac50fbac 4041 p\bpr\bri\bin\bnt\bt-\b-l\bla\bas\bst\bt-\b-k\bkb\bbd\bd-\b-m\bma\bac\bcr\bro\bo (\b()\b)
74091dd4 4042 Print the last keyboard macro defined in a format suitable for
ac50fbac 4043 the _\bi_\bn_\bp_\bu_\bt_\br_\bc file.
17345e5a
JA
4044
4045 M\bMi\bis\bsc\bce\bel\bll\bla\ban\bne\beo\bou\bus\bs
4046 r\bre\be-\b-r\bre\bea\bad\bd-\b-i\bin\bni\bit\bt-\b-f\bfi\bil\ble\be (\b(C\bC-\b-x\bx C\bC-\b-r\br)\b)
74091dd4 4047 Read in the contents of the _\bi_\bn_\bp_\bu_\bt_\br_\bc file, and incorporate any
17345e5a
JA
4048 bindings or variable assignments found there.
4049 a\bab\bbo\bor\brt\bt (\b(C\bC-\b-g\bg)\b)
74091dd4 4050 Abort the current editing command and ring the terminal's bell
17345e5a 4051 (subject to the setting of b\bbe\bel\bll\bl-\b-s\bst\bty\byl\ble\be).
d233b485 4052 d\bdo\bo-\b-l\blo\bow\bwe\ber\brc\bca\bas\bse\be-\b-v\bve\ber\brs\bsi\bio\bon\bn (\b(M\bM-\b-A\bA,\b, M\bM-\b-B\bB,\b, M\bM-\b-_\bx,\b, .\b..\b..\b.)\b)
74091dd4 4053 If the metafied character _\bx is uppercase, run the command that
d233b485
CR
4054 is bound to the corresponding metafied lowercase character. The
4055 behavior is undefined if _\bx is already lowercase.
17345e5a
JA
4056 p\bpr\bre\bef\bfi\bix\bx-\b-m\bme\bet\bta\ba (\b(E\bES\bSC\bC)\b)
4057 Metafy the next character typed. E\bES\bSC\bC f\bf is equivalent to M\bMe\bet\bta\ba-\b-f\bf.
4058 u\bun\bnd\bdo\bo (\b(C\bC-\b-_\b_,\b, C\bC-\b-x\bx C\bC-\b-u\bu)\b)
4059 Incremental undo, separately remembered for each line.
4060 r\bre\bev\bve\ber\brt\bt-\b-l\bli\bin\bne\be (\b(M\bM-\b-r\br)\b)
74091dd4
CR
4061 Undo all changes made to this line. This is like executing the
4062 u\bun\bnd\bdo\bo command enough times to return the line to its initial
17345e5a
JA
4063 state.
4064 t\bti\bil\bld\bde\be-\b-e\bex\bxp\bpa\ban\bnd\bd (\b(M\bM-\b-&\b&)\b)
4065 Perform tilde expansion on the current word.
4066 s\bse\bet\bt-\b-m\bma\bar\brk\bk (\b(C\bC-\b-@\b@,\b, M\bM-\b-<\b<s\bsp\bpa\bac\bce\be>\b>)\b)
74091dd4 4067 Set the mark to the point. If a numeric argument is supplied,
17345e5a
JA
4068 the mark is set to that position.
4069 e\bex\bxc\bch\bha\ban\bng\bge\be-\b-p\bpo\boi\bin\bnt\bt-\b-a\ban\bnd\bd-\b-m\bma\bar\brk\bk (\b(C\bC-\b-x\bx C\bC-\b-x\bx)\b)
74091dd4
CR
4070 Swap the point with the mark. The current cursor position is
4071 set to the saved position, and the old cursor position is saved
17345e5a
JA
4072 as the mark.
4073 c\bch\bha\bar\bra\bac\bct\bte\ber\br-\b-s\bse\bea\bar\brc\bch\bh (\b(C\bC-\b-]\b])\b)
4074 A character is read and point is moved to the next occurrence of
74091dd4
CR
4075 that character. A negative argument searches for previous oc-
4076 currences.
17345e5a 4077 c\bch\bha\bar\bra\bac\bct\bte\ber\br-\b-s\bse\bea\bar\brc\bch\bh-\b-b\bba\bac\bck\bkw\bwa\bar\brd\bd (\b(M\bM-\b-C\bC-\b-]\b])\b)
74091dd4
CR
4078 A character is read and point is moved to the previous occur-
4079 rence of that character. A negative argument searches for sub-
4080 sequent occurrences.
495aee44 4081 s\bsk\bki\bip\bp-\b-c\bcs\bsi\bi-\b-s\bse\beq\bqu\bue\ben\bnc\bce\be
74091dd4
CR
4082 Read enough characters to consume a multi-key sequence such as
4083 those defined for keys like Home and End. Such sequences begin
0001803f 4084 with a Control Sequence Indicator (CSI), usually ESC-[. If this
74091dd4
CR
4085 sequence is bound to "\[", keys producing such sequences will
4086 have no effect unless explicitly bound to a readline command,
4087 instead of inserting stray characters into the editing buffer.
0001803f 4088 This is unbound by default, but usually bound to ESC-[.
17345e5a 4089 i\bin\bns\bse\ber\brt\bt-\b-c\bco\bom\bmm\bme\ben\bnt\bt (\b(M\bM-\b-#\b#)\b)
74091dd4
CR
4090 Without a numeric argument, the value of the readline c\bco\bom\bm-\b-
4091 m\bme\ben\bnt\bt-\b-b\bbe\beg\bgi\bin\bn variable is inserted at the beginning of the current
17345e5a 4092 line. If a numeric argument is supplied, this command acts as a
74091dd4
CR
4093 toggle: if the characters at the beginning of the line do not
4094 match the value of c\bco\bom\bmm\bme\ben\bnt\bt-\b-b\bbe\beg\bgi\bin\bn, the value is inserted, other-
17345e5a 4095 wise the characters in c\bco\bom\bmm\bme\ben\bnt\bt-\b-b\bbe\beg\bgi\bin\bn are deleted from the begin-
74091dd4
CR
4096 ning of the line. In either case, the line is accepted as if a
4097 newline had been typed. The default value of c\bco\bom\bmm\bme\ben\bnt\bt-\b-b\bbe\beg\bgi\bin\bn
4098 causes this command to make the current line a shell comment.
4099 If a numeric argument causes the comment character to be re-
8868edaf 4100 moved, the line will be executed by the shell.
74091dd4
CR
4101 s\bsp\bpe\bel\bll\bl-\b-c\bco\bor\brr\bre\bec\bct\bt-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd (\b(C\bC-\b-x\bx s\bs)\b)
4102 Perform spelling correction on the current word, treating it as
4103 a directory or filename, in the same way as the c\bcd\bds\bsp\bpe\bel\bll\bl shell
4104 option. Word boundaries are the same as those used by
4105 s\bsh\bhe\bel\bll\bl-\b-f\bfo\bor\brw\bwa\bar\brd\bd-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd.
17345e5a 4106 g\bgl\blo\bob\bb-\b-c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd (\b(M\bM-\b-g\bg)\b)
8868edaf
CR
4107 The word before point is treated as a pattern for pathname ex-
4108 pansion, with an asterisk implicitly appended. This pattern is
4109 used to generate a list of matching filenames for possible com-
4110 pletions.
17345e5a 4111 g\bgl\blo\bob\bb-\b-e\bex\bxp\bpa\ban\bnd\bd-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd (\b(C\bC-\b-x\bx *\b*)\b)
8868edaf
CR
4112 The word before point is treated as a pattern for pathname ex-
4113 pansion, and the list of matching filenames is inserted, replac-
4114 ing the word. If a numeric argument is supplied, an asterisk is
4115 appended before pathname expansion.
17345e5a 4116 g\bgl\blo\bob\bb-\b-l\bli\bis\bst\bt-\b-e\bex\bxp\bpa\ban\bns\bsi\bio\bon\bns\bs (\b(C\bC-\b-x\bx g\bg)\b)
d233b485
CR
4117 The list of expansions that would have been generated by
4118 g\bgl\blo\bob\bb-\b-e\bex\bxp\bpa\ban\bnd\bd-\b-w\bwo\bor\brd\bd is displayed, and the line is redrawn. If a
4119 numeric argument is supplied, an asterisk is appended before
17345e5a
JA
4120 pathname expansion.
4121 d\bdu\bum\bmp\bp-\b-f\bfu\bun\bnc\bct\bti\bio\bon\bns\bs
d233b485 4122 Print all of the functions and their key bindings to the read-
17345e5a 4123 line output stream. If a numeric argument is supplied, the out-
d233b485 4124 put is formatted in such a way that it can be made part of an
17345e5a
JA
4125 _\bi_\bn_\bp_\bu_\bt_\br_\bc file.
4126 d\bdu\bum\bmp\bp-\b-v\bva\bar\bri\bia\bab\bbl\ble\bes\bs
4127 Print all of the settable readline variables and their values to
d233b485
CR
4128 the readline output stream. If a numeric argument is supplied,
4129 the output is formatted in such a way that it can be made part
17345e5a
JA
4130 of an _\bi_\bn_\bp_\bu_\bt_\br_\bc file.
4131 d\bdu\bum\bmp\bp-\b-m\bma\bac\bcr\bro\bos\bs
d233b485
CR
4132 Print all of the readline key sequences bound to macros and the
4133 strings they output. If a numeric argument is supplied, the
17345e5a
JA
4134 output is formatted in such a way that it can be made part of an
4135 _\bi_\bn_\bp_\bu_\bt_\br_\bc file.
4136 d\bdi\bis\bsp\bpl\bla\bay\by-\b-s\bsh\bhe\bel\bll\bl-\b-v\bve\ber\brs\bsi\bio\bon\bn (\b(C\bC-\b-x\bx C\bC-\b-v\bv)\b)
a0c0a00f 4137 Display version information about the current instance of b\bba\bas\bsh\bh.
17345e5a
JA
4138
4139 P\bPr\bro\bog\bgr\bra\bam\bmm\bma\bab\bbl\ble\be C\bCo\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bn
d233b485
CR
4140 When word completion is attempted for an argument to a command for
4141 which a completion specification (a _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bp_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc) has been defined using
4142 the c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be builtin (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below), the program-
a0c0a00f 4143 mable completion facilities are invoked.
17345e5a 4144
d233b485
CR
4145 First, the command name is identified. If the command word is the
4146 empty string (completion attempted at the beginning of an empty line),
4147 any compspec defined with the -\b-E\bE option to c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be is used. If a
4148 compspec has been defined for that command, the compspec is used to
0001803f 4149 generate the list of possible completions for the word. If the command
d233b485
CR
4150 word is a full pathname, a compspec for the full pathname is searched
4151 for first. If no compspec is found for the full pathname, an attempt
4152 is made to find a compspec for the portion following the final slash.
4153 If those searches do not result in a compspec, any compspec defined
4154 with the -\b-D\bD option to c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be is used as the default. If there is no
4155 default compspec, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh attempts alias expansion on the command word as
4156 a final resort, and attempts to find a compspec for the command word
4157 from any successful expansion.
17345e5a 4158
ac50fbac
CR
4159 Once a compspec has been found, it is used to generate the list of
4160 matching words. If a compspec is not found, the default b\bba\bas\bsh\bh comple-
17345e5a
JA
4161 tion as described above under C\bCo\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bin\bng\bg is performed.
4162
ac50fbac
CR
4163 First, the actions specified by the compspec are used. Only matches
4164 which are prefixed by the word being completed are returned. When the
4165 -\b-f\bf or -\b-d\bd option is used for filename or directory name completion, the
17345e5a
JA
4166 shell variable F\bFI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE is used to filter the matches.
4167
8868edaf
CR
4168 Any completions specified by a pathname expansion pattern to the -\b-G\bG op-
4169 tion are generated next. The words generated by the pattern need not
ac50fbac 4170 match the word being completed. The G\bGL\bLO\bOB\bBI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE shell variable is not
17345e5a
JA
4171 used to filter the matches, but the F\bFI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE variable is used.
4172
ac50fbac
CR
4173 Next, the string specified as the argument to the -\b-W\bW option is consid-
4174 ered. The string is first split using the characters in the I\bIF\bFS\bS spe-
4175 cial variable as delimiters. Shell quoting is honored. Each word is
4176 then expanded using brace expansion, tilde expansion, parameter and
4177 variable expansion, command substitution, and arithmetic expansion, as
17345e5a
JA
4178 described above under E\bEX\bXP\bPA\bAN\bNS\bSI\bIO\bON\bN. The results are split using the rules
4179 described above under W\bWo\bor\brd\bd S\bSp\bpl\bli\bit\btt\bti\bin\bng\bg. The results of the expansion are
4180 prefix-matched against the word being completed, and the matching words
4181 become the possible completions.
4182
ac50fbac
CR
4183 After these matches have been generated, any shell function or command
4184 specified with the -\b-F\bF and -\b-C\bC options is invoked. When the command or
17345e5a
JA
4185 function is invoked, the C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bP_\b_L\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE, C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bP_\b_P\bPO\bOI\bIN\bNT\bT, C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bP_\b_K\bKE\bEY\bY, and C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bP_\b_T\bTY\bYP\bPE\bE
4186 variables are assigned values as described above under S\bSh\bhe\bel\bll\bl V\bVa\bar\bri\bia\bab\bbl\ble\bes\bs.
ac50fbac
CR
4187 If a shell function is being invoked, the C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bP_\b_W\bWO\bOR\bRD\bDS\bS and C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bP_\b_C\bCW\bWO\bOR\bRD\bD
4188 variables are also set. When the function or command is invoked, the
8868edaf
CR
4189 first argument ($\b$1\b1) is the name of the command whose arguments are be-
4190 ing completed, the second argument ($\b$2\b2) is the word being completed,
ac50fbac
CR
4191 and the third argument ($\b$3\b3) is the word preceding the word being com-
4192 pleted on the current command line. No filtering of the generated com-
4193 pletions against the word being completed is performed; the function or
4194 command has complete freedom in generating the matches.
4195
4196 Any function specified with -\b-F\bF is invoked first. The function may use
4197 any of the shell facilities, including the c\bco\bom\bmp\bpg\bge\ben\bn builtin described
4198 below, to generate the matches. It must put the possible completions
4199 in the C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bPR\bRE\bEP\bPL\bLY\bY array variable, one per array element.
4200
4201 Next, any command specified with the -\b-C\bC option is invoked in an envi-
4202 ronment equivalent to command substitution. It should print a list of
4203 completions, one per line, to the standard output. Backslash may be
17345e5a
JA
4204 used to escape a newline, if necessary.
4205
ac50fbac
CR
4206 After all of the possible completions are generated, any filter speci-
4207 fied with the -\b-X\bX option is applied to the list. The filter is a pat-
4208 tern as used for pathname expansion; a &\b& in the pattern is replaced
4209 with the text of the word being completed. A literal &\b& may be escaped
4210 with a backslash; the backslash is removed before attempting a match.
4211 Any completion that matches the pattern will be removed from the list.
17345e5a 4212 A leading !\b! negates the pattern; in this case any completion not match-
a0c0a00f
CR
4213 ing the pattern will be removed. If the n\bno\boc\bca\bas\bse\bem\bma\bat\btc\bch\bh shell option is
4214 enabled, the match is performed without regard to the case of alpha-
4215 betic characters.
17345e5a
JA
4216
4217 Finally, any prefix and suffix specified with the -\b-P\bP and -\b-S\bS options are
4218 added to each member of the completion list, and the result is returned
4219 to the readline completion code as the list of possible completions.
4220
ac50fbac 4221 If the previously-applied actions do not generate any matches, and the
8868edaf
CR
4222 -\b-o\bo d\bdi\bir\brn\bna\bam\bme\bes\bs option was supplied to c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be when the compspec was de-
4223 fined, directory name completion is attempted.
17345e5a 4224
ac50fbac 4225 If the -\b-o\bo p\bpl\blu\bus\bsd\bdi\bir\brs\bs option was supplied to c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be when the compspec
17345e5a
JA
4226 was defined, directory name completion is attempted and any matches are
4227 added to the results of the other actions.
4228
ac50fbac
CR
4229 By default, if a compspec is found, whatever it generates is returned
4230 to the completion code as the full set of possible completions. The
17345e5a
JA
4231 default b\bba\bas\bsh\bh completions are not attempted, and the readline default of
4232 filename completion is disabled. If the -\b-o\bo b\bba\bas\bsh\bhd\bde\bef\bfa\bau\bul\blt\bt option was sup-
ac50fbac 4233 plied to c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be when the compspec was defined, the b\bba\bas\bsh\bh default com-
17345e5a 4234 pletions are attempted if the compspec generates no matches. If the -\b-o\bo
ac50fbac
CR
4235 d\bde\bef\bfa\bau\bul\blt\bt option was supplied to c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be when the compspec was defined,
4236 readline's default completion will be performed if the compspec (and,
17345e5a
JA
4237 if attempted, the default b\bba\bas\bsh\bh completions) generate no matches.
4238
ac50fbac
CR
4239 When a compspec indicates that directory name completion is desired,
4240 the programmable completion functions force readline to append a slash
4241 to completed names which are symbolic links to directories, subject to
4242 the value of the m\bma\bar\brk\bk-\b-d\bdi\bir\bre\bec\bct\bto\bor\bri\bie\bes\bs readline variable, regardless of the
17345e5a
JA
4243 setting of the m\bma\bar\brk\bk-\b-s\bsy\bym\bml\bli\bin\bnk\bke\bed\bd-\b-d\bdi\bir\bre\bec\bct\bto\bor\bri\bie\bes\bs readline variable.
4244
ac50fbac
CR
4245 There is some support for dynamically modifying completions. This is
4246 most useful when used in combination with a default completion speci-
4247 fied with c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be -\b-D\bD. It's possible for shell functions executed as
4248 completion handlers to indicate that completion should be retried by
4249 returning an exit status of 124. If a shell function returns 124, and
0001803f 4250 changes the compspec associated with the command on which completion is
ac50fbac 4251 being attempted (supplied as the first argument when the function is
0001803f 4252 executed), programmable completion restarts from the beginning, with an
ac50fbac
CR
4253 attempt to find a new compspec for that command. This allows a set of
4254 completions to be built dynamically as completion is attempted, rather
0001803f
CR
4255 than being loaded all at once.
4256
ac50fbac 4257 For instance, assuming that there is a library of compspecs, each kept
8868edaf
CR
4258 in a file corresponding to the name of the command, the following de-
4259 fault completion function would load completions dynamically:
0001803f
CR
4260
4261 _completion_loader()
4262 {
4263 . "/etc/bash_completion.d/$1.sh" >/dev/null 2>&1 && return 124
4264 }
ac50fbac 4265 complete -D -F _completion_loader -o bashdefault -o default
0001803f
CR
4266
4267
17345e5a 4268H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTO\bOR\bRY\bY
ac50fbac 4269 When the -\b-o\bo h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by option to the s\bse\bet\bt builtin is enabled, the shell
17345e5a 4270 provides access to the _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd _\bh_\bi_\bs_\bt_\bo_\br_\by, the list of commands previously
ac50fbac 4271 typed. The value of the H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTS\bSI\bIZ\bZE\bE variable is used as the number of
17345e5a 4272 commands to save in a history list. The text of the last H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTS\bSI\bIZ\bZE\bE com-
ac50fbac
CR
4273 mands (default 500) is saved. The shell stores each command in the
4274 history list prior to parameter and variable expansion (see E\bEX\bXP\bPA\bAN\bNS\bSI\bIO\bON\bN
4275 above) but after history expansion is performed, subject to the values
17345e5a
JA
4276 of the shell variables H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE and H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTC\bCO\bON\bNT\bTR\bRO\bOL\bL.
4277
4278 On startup, the history is initialized from the file named by the vari-
ac50fbac
CR
4279 able H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTF\bFI\bIL\bLE\bE (default _\b~_\b/_\b._\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\b__\bh_\bi_\bs_\bt_\bo_\br_\by). The file named by the value
4280 of H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTF\bFI\bIL\bLE\bE is truncated, if necessary, to contain no more than the
4281 number of lines specified by the value of H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTF\bFI\bIL\bLE\bES\bSI\bIZ\bZE\bE. If H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTF\bFI\bIL\bLE\bE-\b-
4282 S\bSI\bIZ\bZE\bE is unset, or set to null, a non-numeric value, or a numeric value
4283 less than zero, the history file is not truncated. When the history
4284 file is read, lines beginning with the history comment character fol-
d233b485
CR
4285 lowed immediately by a digit are interpreted as timestamps for the fol-
4286 lowing history line. These timestamps are optionally displayed depend-
ac50fbac
CR
4287 ing on the value of the H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTT\bTI\bIM\bME\bEF\bFO\bOR\bRM\bMA\bAT\bT variable. When a shell with
4288 history enabled exits, the last $\b$H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTS\bSI\bIZ\bZE\bE lines are copied from the
4289 history list to $\b$H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTF\bFI\bIL\bLE\bE. If the h\bhi\bis\bst\bta\bap\bpp\bpe\ben\bnd\bd shell option is enabled
4290 (see the description of s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt under S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below), the
4291 lines are appended to the history file, otherwise the history file is
8868edaf
CR
4292 overwritten. If H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTF\bFI\bIL\bLE\bE is unset, or if the history file is un-
4293 writable, the history is not saved. If the H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTT\bTI\bIM\bME\bEF\bFO\bOR\bRM\bMA\bAT\bT variable is
4294 set, time stamps are written to the history file, marked with the his-
4295 tory comment character, so they may be preserved across shell sessions.
4296 This uses the history comment character to distinguish timestamps from
4297 other history lines. After saving the history, the history file is
4298 truncated to contain no more than H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTF\bFI\bIL\bLE\bES\bSI\bIZ\bZE\bE lines. If H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTF\bFI\bIL\bLE\bES\bSI\bIZ\bZE\bE
4299 is unset, or set to null, a non-numeric value, or a numeric value less
4300 than zero, the history file is not truncated.
17345e5a
JA
4301
4302 The builtin command f\bfc\bc (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below) may be used
4303 to list or edit and re-execute a portion of the history list. The h\bhi\bis\bs-\b-
8868edaf
CR
4304 t\bto\bor\bry\by builtin may be used to display or modify the history list and ma-
4305 nipulate the history file. When using command-line editing, search
17345e5a
JA
4306 commands are available in each editing mode that provide access to the
4307 history list.
4308
4309 The shell allows control over which commands are saved on the history
4310 list. The H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTC\bCO\bON\bNT\bTR\bRO\bOL\bL and H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE variables may be set to cause the
4311 shell to save only a subset of the commands entered. The c\bcm\bmd\bdh\bhi\bis\bst\bt shell
4312 option, if enabled, causes the shell to attempt to save each line of a
4313 multi-line command in the same history entry, adding semicolons where
4314 necessary to preserve syntactic correctness. The l\bli\bit\bth\bhi\bis\bst\bt shell option
4315 causes the shell to save the command with embedded newlines instead of
4316 semicolons. See the description of the s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt builtin below under S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL
8868edaf
CR
4317 B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS for information on setting and unsetting shell op-
4318 tions.
17345e5a
JA
4319
4320H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTO\bOR\bRY\bY E\bEX\bXP\bPA\bAN\bNS\bSI\bIO\bON\bN
4321 The shell supports a history expansion feature that is similar to the
d233b485 4322 history expansion in c\bcs\bsh\bh. This section describes what syntax features
17345e5a
JA
4323 are available. This feature is enabled by default for interactive
4324 shells, and can be disabled using the +\b+H\bH option to the s\bse\bet\bt builtin com-
4325 mand (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS below). Non-interactive shells do not
4326 perform history expansion by default.
4327
4328 History expansions introduce words from the history list into the input
4329 stream, making it easy to repeat commands, insert the arguments to a
4330 previous command into the current input line, or fix errors in previous
4331 commands quickly.
4332
4333 History expansion is performed immediately after a complete line is
d233b485 4334 read, before the shell breaks it into words, and is performed on each
8868edaf
CR
4335 line individually without taking quoting on previous lines into ac-
4336 count. It takes place in two parts. The first is to determine which
d233b485
CR
4337 line from the history list to use during substitution. The second is
4338 to select portions of that line for inclusion into the current one.
4339 The line selected from the history is the _\be_\bv_\be_\bn_\bt, and the portions of
4340 that line that are acted upon are _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd_\bs. Various _\bm_\bo_\bd_\bi_\bf_\bi_\be_\br_\bs are avail-
4341 able to manipulate the selected words. The line is broken into words
4342 in the same fashion as when reading input, so that several _\bm_\be_\bt_\ba_\bc_\bh_\ba_\br_\ba_\bc_\b-
4343 _\bt_\be_\br-separated words surrounded by quotes are considered one word. His-
4344 tory expansions are introduced by the appearance of the history expan-
4345 sion character, which is !\b! by default. Only backslash (\\b\) and single
8868edaf
CR
4346 quotes can quote the history expansion character, but the history ex-
4347 pansion character is also treated as quoted if it immediately precedes
4348 the closing double quote in a double-quoted string.
d233b485
CR
4349
4350 Several characters inhibit history expansion if found immediately fol-
4351 lowing the history expansion character, even if it is unquoted: space,
4352 tab, newline, carriage return, and =\b=. If the e\bex\bxt\btg\bgl\blo\bob\bb shell option is
17345e5a
JA
4353 enabled, (\b( will also inhibit expansion.
4354
d233b485 4355 Several shell options settable with the s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt builtin may be used to
8868edaf
CR
4356 tailor the behavior of history expansion. If the h\bhi\bis\bst\btv\bve\ber\bri\bif\bfy\by shell op-
4357 tion is enabled (see the description of the s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt builtin below), and
d233b485
CR
4358 r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be is being used, history substitutions are not immediately
4359 passed to the shell parser. Instead, the expanded line is reloaded
0001803f 4360 into the r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be editing buffer for further modification. If r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be
d233b485
CR
4361 is being used, and the h\bhi\bis\bst\btr\bre\bee\bed\bdi\bit\bt shell option is enabled, a failed
4362 history substitution will be reloaded into the r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be editing buffer
4363 for correction. The -\b-p\bp option to the h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by builtin command may be
4364 used to see what a history expansion will do before using it. The -\b-s\bs
0001803f 4365 option to the h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by builtin may be used to add commands to the end of
d233b485 4366 the history list without actually executing them, so that they are
0001803f 4367 available for subsequent recall.
17345e5a 4368
d233b485 4369 The shell allows control of the various characters used by the history
17345e5a 4370 expansion mechanism (see the description of h\bhi\bis\bst\btc\bch\bha\bar\brs\bs above under S\bSh\bhe\bel\bll\bl
d233b485 4371 V\bVa\bar\bri\bia\bab\bbl\ble\bes\bs). The shell uses the history comment character to mark his-
17345e5a
JA
4372 tory timestamps when writing the history file.
4373
4374 E\bEv\bve\ben\bnt\bt D\bDe\bes\bsi\big\bgn\bna\bat\bto\bor\brs\bs
d233b485
CR
4375 An event designator is a reference to a command line entry in the his-
4376 tory list. Unless the reference is absolute, events are relative to
495aee44 4377 the current position in the history list.
17345e5a 4378
d233b485
CR
4379 !\b! Start a history substitution, except when followed by a b\bbl\bla\ban\bnk\bk,
4380 newline, carriage return, = or ( (when the e\bex\bxt\btg\bgl\blo\bob\bb shell option
17345e5a
JA
4381 is enabled using the s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt builtin).
4382 !\b!_\bn Refer to command line _\bn.
495aee44 4383 !\b!-\b-_\bn Refer to the current command minus _\bn.
17345e5a
JA
4384 !\b!!\b! Refer to the previous command. This is a synonym for `!-1'.
4385 !\b!_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg
d233b485 4386 Refer to the most recent command preceding the current position
495aee44 4387 in the history list starting with _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg.
17345e5a 4388 !\b!?\b?_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg[\b[?\b?]\b]
d233b485
CR
4389 Refer to the most recent command preceding the current position
4390 in the history list containing _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg. The trailing ?\b? may be
8868edaf
CR
4391 omitted if _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg is followed immediately by a newline. If
4392 _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg is missing, the string from the most recent search is
4393 used; it is an error if there is no previous search string.
17345e5a 4394 ^\b^_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg_\b1^\b^_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg_\b2^\b^
d233b485 4395 Quick substitution. Repeat the previous command, replacing
8868edaf 4396 _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg_\b1 with _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg_\b2. Equivalent to ``!!:s^_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg_\b1^_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg_\b2^''
495aee44 4397 (see M\bMo\bod\bdi\bif\bfi\bie\ber\brs\bs below).
17345e5a
JA
4398 !\b!#\b# The entire command line typed so far.
4399
4400 W\bWo\bor\brd\bd D\bDe\bes\bsi\big\bgn\bna\bat\bto\bor\brs\bs
d233b485
CR
4401 Word designators are used to select desired words from the event. A :\b:
4402 separates the event specification from the word designator. It may be
4403 omitted if the word designator begins with a ^\b^, $\b$, *\b*, -\b-, or %\b%. Words
4404 are numbered from the beginning of the line, with the first word being
4405 denoted by 0 (zero). Words are inserted into the current line sepa-
17345e5a
JA
4406 rated by single spaces.
4407
4408 0\b0 (\b(z\bze\ber\bro\bo)\b)
4409 The zeroth word. For the shell, this is the command word.
4410 _\bn The _\bnth word.
4411 ^\b^ The first argument. That is, word 1.
8868edaf
CR
4412 $\b$ The last word. This is usually the last argument, but will ex-
4413 pand to the zeroth word if there is only one word in the line.
4414 %\b% The first word matched by the most recent `?_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg?' search, if
4415 the search string begins with a character that is part of a
4416 word.
17345e5a 4417 _\bx-\b-_\by A range of words; `-_\by' abbreviates `0-_\by'.
d233b485
CR
4418 *\b* All of the words but the zeroth. This is a synonym for `_\b1_\b-_\b$'.
4419 It is not an error to use *\b* if there is just one word in the
17345e5a
JA
4420 event; the empty string is returned in that case.
4421 x\bx*\b* Abbreviates _\bx_\b-_\b$.
8868edaf
CR
4422 x\bx-\b- Abbreviates _\bx_\b-_\b$ like x\bx*\b*, but omits the last word. If x\bx is miss-
4423 ing, it defaults to 0.
17345e5a 4424
8868edaf 4425 If a word designator is supplied without an event specification, the
17345e5a
JA
4426 previous command is used as the event.
4427
4428 M\bMo\bod\bdi\bif\bfi\bie\ber\brs\bs
8868edaf
CR
4429 After the optional word designator, there may appear a sequence of one
4430 or more of the following modifiers, each preceded by a `:'. These mod-
4431 ify, or edit, the word or words selected from the history event.
17345e5a 4432
ac50fbac
CR
4433 h\bh Remove a trailing filename component, leaving only the head.
4434 t\bt Remove all leading filename components, leaving the tail.
17345e5a
JA
4435 r\br Remove a trailing suffix of the form _\b._\bx_\bx_\bx, leaving the basename.
4436 e\be Remove all but the trailing suffix.
4437 p\bp Print the new command but do not execute it.
4438 q\bq Quote the substituted words, escaping further substitutions.
d233b485 4439 x\bx Quote the substituted words as with q\bq, but break into words at
8868edaf
CR
4440 b\bbl\bla\ban\bnk\bks\bs and newlines. The q\bq and x\bx modifiers are mutually exclu-
4441 sive; the last one supplied is used.
17345e5a 4442 s\bs/\b/_\bo_\bl_\bd/\b/_\bn_\be_\bw/\b/
8868edaf
CR
4443 Substitute _\bn_\be_\bw for the first occurrence of _\bo_\bl_\bd in the event
4444 line. Any character may be used as the delimiter in place of /.
4445 The final delimiter is optional if it is the last character of
4446 the event line. The delimiter may be quoted in _\bo_\bl_\bd and _\bn_\be_\bw with
4447 a single backslash. If & appears in _\bn_\be_\bw, it is replaced by _\bo_\bl_\bd.
4448 A single backslash will quote the &. If _\bo_\bl_\bd is null, it is set
4449 to the last _\bo_\bl_\bd substituted, or, if no previous history substi-
4450 tutions took place, the last _\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg in a !\b!?\b?_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg[\b[?\b?]\b] search.
4451 If _\bn_\be_\bw is null, each matching _\bo_\bl_\bd is deleted.
17345e5a
JA
4452 &\b& Repeat the previous substitution.
4453 g\bg Cause changes to be applied over the entire event line. This is
d233b485
CR
4454 used in conjunction with `:\b:s\bs' (e.g., `:\b:g\bgs\bs/\b/_\bo_\bl_\bd/\b/_\bn_\be_\bw/\b/') or `:\b:&\b&'.
4455 If used with `:\b:s\bs', any delimiter can be used in place of /, and
4456 the final delimiter is optional if it is the last character of
17345e5a 4457 the event line. An a\ba may be used as a synonym for g\bg.
8868edaf
CR
4458 G\bG Apply the following `s\bs' or `&\b&' modifier once to each word in the
4459 event line.
17345e5a
JA
4460
4461S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL B\bBU\bUI\bIL\bLT\bTI\bIN\bN C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bDS\bS
4462 Unless otherwise noted, each builtin command documented in this section
4463 as accepting options preceded by -\b- accepts -\b--\b- to signify the end of the
d233b485
CR
4464 options. The :\b:, t\btr\bru\bue\be, f\bfa\bal\bls\bse\be, and t\bte\bes\bst\bt/[\b[ builtins do not accept options
4465 and do not treat -\b--\b- specially. The e\bex\bxi\bit\bt, l\blo\bog\bgo\bou\but\bt, r\bre\bet\btu\bur\brn\bn, b\bbr\bre\bea\bak\bk, c\bco\bon\bn-\b-
4466 t\bti\bin\bnu\bue\be, l\ble\bet\bt, and s\bsh\bhi\bif\bft\bt builtins accept and process arguments beginning
4467 with -\b- without requiring -\b--\b-. Other builtins that accept arguments but
4468 are not specified as accepting options interpret arguments beginning
4469 with -\b- as invalid options and require -\b--\b- to prevent this interpreta-
a0c0a00f 4470 tion.
17345e5a 4471 :\b: [_\ba_\br_\bg_\bu_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\bs]
d233b485 4472 No effect; the command does nothing beyond expanding _\ba_\br_\bg_\bu_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\bs
a0c0a00f
CR
4473 and performing any specified redirections. The return status is
4474 zero.
17345e5a
JA
4475
4476 .\b. _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be [_\ba_\br_\bg_\bu_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\bs]
4477 s\bso\bou\bur\brc\bce\be _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be [_\ba_\br_\bg_\bu_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\bs]
8868edaf
CR
4478 Read and execute commands from _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be in the current shell en-
4479 vironment and return the exit status of the last command exe-
d233b485
CR
4480 cuted from _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be. If _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be does not contain a slash,
4481 filenames in P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH are used to find the directory containing
74091dd4
CR
4482 _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be, but _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be does not need to be executable. The file
4483 searched for in P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH need not be executable. When b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is not
4484 in _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be, it searches the current directory if no file is
4485 found in P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH. If the s\bso\bou\bur\brc\bce\bep\bpa\bat\bth\bh option to the s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt builtin
4486 command is turned off, the P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH is not searched. If any _\ba_\br_\bg_\bu_\b-
4487 _\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\bs are supplied, they become the positional parameters when
4488 _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is executed. Otherwise the positional parameters are
4489 unchanged. If the -\b-T\bT option is enabled, .\b. inherits any trap on
4490 D\bDE\bEB\bBU\bUG\bG; if it is not, any D\bDE\bEB\bBU\bUG\bG trap string is saved and restored
4491 around the call to .\b., and .\b. unsets the D\bDE\bEB\bBU\bUG\bG trap while it exe-
4492 cutes. If -\b-T\bT is not set, and the sourced file changes the D\bDE\bEB\bBU\bUG\bG
4493 trap, the new value is retained when .\b. completes. The return
4494 status is the status of the last command exited within the
4495 script (0 if no commands are executed), and false if _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is
4496 not found or cannot be read.
17345e5a
JA
4497
4498 a\bal\bli\bia\bas\bs [-\b-p\bp] [_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[=_\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be] ...]
4499 A\bAl\bli\bia\bas\bs with no arguments or with the -\b-p\bp option prints the list of
d233b485
CR
4500 aliases in the form a\bal\bli\bia\bas\bs _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be=_\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be on standard output. When
4501 arguments are supplied, an alias is defined for each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be whose
4502 _\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be is given. A trailing space in _\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be causes the next word
17345e5a 4503 to be checked for alias substitution when the alias is expanded.
d233b485 4504 For each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be in the argument list for which no _\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be is sup-
8868edaf
CR
4505 plied, the name and value of the alias is printed. A\bAl\bli\bia\bas\bs re-
4506 turns true unless a _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is given for which no alias has been
17345e5a
JA
4507 defined.
4508
4509 b\bbg\bg [_\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc ...]
d233b485 4510 Resume each suspended job _\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc in the background, as if it
17345e5a 4511 had been started with &\b&. If _\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc is not present, the shell's
d233b485
CR
4512 notion of the _\bc_\bu_\br_\br_\be_\bn_\bt _\bj_\bo_\bb is used. b\bbg\bg _\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc returns 0 unless
4513 run when job control is disabled or, when run with job control
4514 enabled, any specified _\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc was not found or was started
17345e5a
JA
4515 without job control.
4516
ac50fbac 4517 b\bbi\bin\bnd\bd [-\b-m\bm _\bk_\be_\by_\bm_\ba_\bp] [-\b-l\blp\bps\bsv\bvP\bPS\bSV\bVX\bX]
17345e5a
JA
4518 b\bbi\bin\bnd\bd [-\b-m\bm _\bk_\be_\by_\bm_\ba_\bp] [-\b-q\bq _\bf_\bu_\bn_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn] [-\b-u\bu _\bf_\bu_\bn_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn] [-\b-r\br _\bk_\be_\by_\bs_\be_\bq]
4519 b\bbi\bin\bnd\bd [-\b-m\bm _\bk_\be_\by_\bm_\ba_\bp] -\b-f\bf _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be
4520 b\bbi\bin\bnd\bd [-\b-m\bm _\bk_\be_\by_\bm_\ba_\bp] -\b-x\bx _\bk_\be_\by_\bs_\be_\bq:_\bs_\bh_\be_\bl_\bl_\b-_\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd
4521 b\bbi\bin\bnd\bd [-\b-m\bm _\bk_\be_\by_\bm_\ba_\bp] _\bk_\be_\by_\bs_\be_\bq:_\bf_\bu_\bn_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b-_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be
a0c0a00f 4522 b\bbi\bin\bnd\bd [-\b-m\bm _\bk_\be_\by_\bm_\ba_\bp] _\bk_\be_\by_\bs_\be_\bq:_\br_\be_\ba_\bd_\bl_\bi_\bn_\be_\b-_\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd
74091dd4 4523 b\bbi\bin\bnd\bd _\br_\be_\ba_\bd_\bl_\bi_\bn_\be_\b-_\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd_\b-_\bl_\bi_\bn_\be
d233b485
CR
4524 Display current r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be key and function bindings, bind a key
4525 sequence to a r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be function or macro, or set a r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be
8868edaf 4526 variable. Each non-option argument is a command as it would ap-
74091dd4
CR
4527 pear in a r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be initialization file such as _\b._\bi_\bn_\bp_\bu_\bt_\br_\bc, but
4528 each binding or command must be passed as a separate argument;
4529 e.g., '"\C-x\C-r": re-read-init-file'. Options, if supplied,
4530 have the following meanings:
17345e5a
JA
4531 -\b-m\bm _\bk_\be_\by_\bm_\ba_\bp
4532 Use _\bk_\be_\by_\bm_\ba_\bp as the keymap to be affected by the subsequent
4533 bindings. Acceptable _\bk_\be_\by_\bm_\ba_\bp names are _\be_\bm_\ba_\bc_\bs_\b, _\be_\bm_\ba_\bc_\bs_\b-_\bs_\bt_\ba_\bn_\b-
74091dd4
CR
4534 _\bd_\ba_\br_\bd_\b, _\be_\bm_\ba_\bc_\bs_\b-_\bm_\be_\bt_\ba_\b, _\be_\bm_\ba_\bc_\bs_\b-_\bc_\bt_\bl_\bx_\b, _\bv_\bi_\b, _\bv_\bi_\b-_\bm_\bo_\bv_\be_\b, _\bv_\bi_\b-_\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd,
4535 and _\bv_\bi_\b-_\bi_\bn_\bs_\be_\br_\bt. _\bv_\bi is equivalent to _\bv_\bi_\b-_\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd (_\bv_\bi_\b-_\bm_\bo_\bv_\be
4536 is also a synonym); _\be_\bm_\ba_\bc_\bs is equivalent to _\be_\bm_\ba_\bc_\bs_\b-_\bs_\bt_\ba_\bn_\b-
a0c0a00f 4537 _\bd_\ba_\br_\bd.
17345e5a 4538 -\b-l\bl List the names of all r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be functions.
74091dd4 4539 -\b-p\bp Display r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be function names and bindings in such a
17345e5a
JA
4540 way that they can be re-read.
4541 -\b-P\bP List current r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be function names and bindings.
74091dd4
CR
4542 -\b-s\bs Display r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be key sequences bound to macros and the
4543 strings they output in such a way that they can be re-
17345e5a 4544 read.
74091dd4 4545 -\b-S\bS Display r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be key sequences bound to macros and the
17345e5a 4546 strings they output.
74091dd4 4547 -\b-v\bv Display r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be variable names and values in such a way
17345e5a
JA
4548 that they can be re-read.
4549 -\b-V\bV List current r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be variable names and values.
4550 -\b-f\bf _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be
4551 Read key bindings from _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be.
4552 -\b-q\bq _\bf_\bu_\bn_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn
4553 Query about which keys invoke the named _\bf_\bu_\bn_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn.
4554 -\b-u\bu _\bf_\bu_\bn_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn
4555 Unbind all keys bound to the named _\bf_\bu_\bn_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn.
4556 -\b-r\br _\bk_\be_\by_\bs_\be_\bq
4557 Remove any current binding for _\bk_\be_\by_\bs_\be_\bq.
4558 -\b-x\bx _\bk_\be_\by_\bs_\be_\bq:\b:_\bs_\bh_\be_\bl_\bl_\b-_\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd
8868edaf 4559 Cause _\bs_\bh_\be_\bl_\bl_\b-_\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd to be executed whenever _\bk_\be_\by_\bs_\be_\bq is en-
74091dd4
CR
4560 tered. When _\bs_\bh_\be_\bl_\bl_\b-_\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd is executed, the shell sets
4561 the R\bRE\bEA\bAD\bDL\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE_\b_L\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE variable to the contents of the r\bre\bea\bad\bd-\b-
8868edaf 4562 l\bli\bin\bne\be line buffer and the R\bRE\bEA\bAD\bDL\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE_\b_P\bPO\bOI\bIN\bNT\bT and R\bRE\bEA\bAD\bDL\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE_\b_M\bMA\bAR\bRK\bK
74091dd4
CR
4563 variables to the current location of the insertion point
4564 and the saved insertion point (the mark), respectively.
4565 The shell assigns any numeric argument the user supplied
4566 to the R\bRE\bEA\bAD\bDL\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE_\b_A\bAR\bRG\bGU\bUM\bME\bEN\bNT\bT variable. If there was no argu-
4567 ment, that variable is not set. If the executed command
4568 changes the value of any of R\bRE\bEA\bAD\bDL\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE_\b_L\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE, R\bRE\bEA\bAD\bD-\b-
4569 L\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE_\b_P\bPO\bOI\bIN\bNT\bT, or R\bRE\bEA\bAD\bDL\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE_\b_M\bMA\bAR\bRK\bK, those new values will be
4570 reflected in the editing state.
8868edaf
CR
4571 -\b-X\bX List all key sequences bound to shell commands and the
4572 associated commands in a format that can be reused as in-
4573 put.
4574
4575 The return value is 0 unless an unrecognized option is given or
17345e5a
JA
4576 an error occurred.
4577
4578 b\bbr\bre\bea\bak\bk [_\bn]
8868edaf
CR
4579 Exit from within a f\bfo\bor\br, w\bwh\bhi\bil\ble\be, u\bun\bnt\bti\bil\bl, or s\bse\bel\ble\bec\bct\bt loop. If _\bn is
4580 specified, break _\bn levels. _\bn must be >= 1. If _\bn is greater
4581 than the number of enclosing loops, all enclosing loops are ex-
4582 ited. The return value is 0 unless _\bn is not greater than or
17345e5a
JA
4583 equal to 1.
4584
4585 b\bbu\bui\bil\blt\bti\bin\bn _\bs_\bh_\be_\bl_\bl_\b-_\bb_\bu_\bi_\bl_\bt_\bi_\bn [_\ba_\br_\bg_\bu_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\bs]
8868edaf 4586 Execute the specified shell builtin, passing it _\ba_\br_\bg_\bu_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\bs, and
17345e5a 4587 return its exit status. This is useful when defining a function
8868edaf 4588 whose name is the same as a shell builtin, retaining the func-
17345e5a 4589 tionality of the builtin within the function. The c\bcd\bd builtin is
8868edaf 4590 commonly redefined this way. The return status is false if
17345e5a
JA
4591 _\bs_\bh_\be_\bl_\bl_\b-_\bb_\bu_\bi_\bl_\bt_\bi_\bn is not a shell builtin command.
4592
4593 c\bca\bal\bll\ble\ber\br [_\be_\bx_\bp_\br]
4594 Returns the context of any active subroutine call (a shell func-
495aee44 4595 tion or a script executed with the .\b. or s\bso\bou\bur\brc\bce\be builtins). With-
17345e5a 4596 out _\be_\bx_\bp_\br, c\bca\bal\bll\ble\ber\br displays the line number and source filename of
8868edaf 4597 the current subroutine call. If a non-negative integer is sup-
17345e5a 4598 plied as _\be_\bx_\bp_\br, c\bca\bal\bll\ble\ber\br displays the line number, subroutine name,
8868edaf
CR
4599 and source file corresponding to that position in the current
4600 execution call stack. This extra information may be used, for
4601 example, to print a stack trace. The current frame is frame 0.
4602 The return value is 0 unless the shell is not executing a sub-
4603 routine call or _\be_\bx_\bp_\br does not correspond to a valid position in
17345e5a
JA
4604 the call stack.
4605
ac50fbac 4606 c\bcd\bd [-\b-L\bL|[-\b-P\bP [-\b-e\be]] [-@]] [_\bd_\bi_\br]
8868edaf 4607 Change the current directory to _\bd_\bi_\br. if _\bd_\bi_\br is not supplied,
74091dd4
CR
4608 the value of the H\bHO\bOM\bME\bE shell variable is the default. The vari-
4609 able C\bCD\bDP\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH defines the search path for the directory containing
4610 _\bd_\bi_\br: each directory name in C\bCD\bDP\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH is searched for _\bd_\bi_\br. Alter-
4611 native directory names in C\bCD\bDP\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH are separated by a colon (:).
4612 A null directory name in C\bCD\bDP\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH is the same as the current di-
4613 rectory, i.e., ``.\b.''. If _\bd_\bi_\br begins with a slash (/), then C\bCD\bD-\b-
4614 P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH is not used. The -\b-P\bP option causes c\bcd\bd to use the physical
4615 directory structure by resolving symbolic links while traversing
4616 _\bd_\bi_\br and before processing instances of _\b._\b. in _\bd_\bi_\br (see also the
4617 -\b-P\bP option to the s\bse\bet\bt builtin command); the -\b-L\bL option forces sym-
4618 bolic links to be followed by resolving the link after process-
4619 ing instances of _\b._\b. in _\bd_\bi_\br. If _\b._\b. appears in _\bd_\bi_\br, it is pro-
4620 cessed by removing the immediately previous pathname component
4621 from _\bd_\bi_\br, back to a slash or the beginning of _\bd_\bi_\br. If the -\b-e\be
4622 option is supplied with -\b-P\bP, and the current working directory
4623 cannot be successfully determined after a successful directory
4624 change, c\bcd\bd will return an unsuccessful status. On systems that
4625 support it, the -\b-@\b@ option presents the extended attributes asso-
4626 ciated with a file as a directory. An argument of -\b- is con-
4627 verted to $\b$O\bOL\bLD\bDP\bPW\bWD\bD before the directory change is attempted. If
4628 a non-empty directory name from C\bCD\bDP\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH is used, or if -\b- is the
4629 first argument, and the directory change is successful, the ab-
4630 solute pathname of the new working directory is written to the
4631 standard output. If the directory change is successful, c\bcd\bd sets
4632 the value of the P\bPW\bWD\bD environment variable to the new directory
4633 name, and sets the O\bOL\bLD\bDP\bPW\bWD\bD environment variable to the value of
4634 the current working directory before the change. The return
4635 value is true if the directory was successfully changed; false
4636 otherwise.
17345e5a
JA
4637
4638 c\bco\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bd [-\b-p\bpV\bVv\bv] _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd [_\ba_\br_\bg ...]
74091dd4 4639 Run _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd with _\ba_\br_\bg_\bs suppressing the normal shell function
a0c0a00f 4640 lookup. Only builtin commands or commands found in the P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH are
74091dd4
CR
4641 executed. If the -\b-p\bp option is given, the search for _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd is
4642 performed using a default value for P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH that is guaranteed to
4643 find all of the standard utilities. If either the -\b-V\bV or -\b-v\bv op-
4644 tion is supplied, a description of _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd is printed. The -\b-v\bv
4645 option causes a single word indicating the command or filename
17345e5a 4646 used to invoke _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd to be displayed; the -\b-V\bV option produces a
74091dd4
CR
4647 more verbose description. If the -\b-V\bV or -\b-v\bv option is supplied,
4648 the exit status is 0 if _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd was found, and 1 if not. If
17345e5a 4649 neither option is supplied and an error occurred or _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd can-
74091dd4 4650 not be found, the exit status is 127. Otherwise, the exit sta-
17345e5a
JA
4651 tus of the c\bco\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bd builtin is the exit status of _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd.
4652
4653 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpg\bge\ben\bn [_\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn] [_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd]
74091dd4
CR
4654 Generate possible completion matches for _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd according to the
4655 _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bns, which may be any option accepted by the c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be
4656 builtin with the exception of -\b-p\bp and -\b-r\br, and write the matches
4657 to the standard output. When using the -\b-F\bF or -\b-C\bC options, the
4658 various shell variables set by the programmable completion fa-
8868edaf 4659 cilities, while available, will not have useful values.
17345e5a 4660
a0c0a00f
CR
4661 The matches will be generated in the same way as if the program-
4662 mable completion code had generated them directly from a comple-
74091dd4 4663 tion specification with the same flags. If _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd is specified,
a0c0a00f 4664 only those completions matching _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd will be displayed.
17345e5a 4665
74091dd4 4666 The return value is true unless an invalid option is supplied,
17345e5a
JA
4667 or no matches were generated.
4668
74091dd4 4669 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be [-\b-a\bab\bbc\bcd\bde\bef\bfg\bgj\bjk\bks\bsu\buv\bv] [-\b-o\bo _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bp_\b-_\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn] [-\b-D\bDE\bEI\bI] [-\b-A\bA _\ba_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn] [-\b-G\bG _\bg_\bl_\bo_\bb_\b-
8868edaf 4670 _\bp_\ba_\bt] [-\b-W\bW _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd_\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt]
74091dd4 4671 [-\b-F\bF _\bf_\bu_\bn_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn] [-\b-C\bC _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd] [-\b-X\bX _\bf_\bi_\bl_\bt_\be_\br_\bp_\ba_\bt] [-\b-P\bP _\bp_\br_\be_\bf_\bi_\bx] [-\b-S\bS _\bs_\bu_\bf_\b-
8868edaf 4672 _\bf_\bi_\bx] _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be [_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be _\b._\b._\b.]
d233b485 4673 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be -\b-p\bpr\br [-\b-D\bDE\bEI\bI] [_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be ...]
74091dd4
CR
4674 Specify how arguments to each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be should be completed. If the
4675 -\b-p\bp option is supplied, or if no options are supplied, existing
4676 completion specifications are printed in a way that allows them
17345e5a 4677 to be reused as input. The -\b-r\br option removes a completion spec-
74091dd4 4678 ification for each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be, or, if no _\bn_\ba_\bm_\bes are supplied, all com-
d233b485 4679 pletion specifications. The -\b-D\bD option indicates that other sup-
74091dd4
CR
4680 plied options and actions should apply to the ``default'' com-
4681 mand completion; that is, completion attempted on a command for
4682 which no completion has previously been defined. The -\b-E\bE option
4683 indicates that other supplied options and actions should apply
4684 to ``empty'' command completion; that is, completion attempted
4685 on a blank line. The -\b-I\bI option indicates that other supplied
4686 options and actions should apply to completion on the initial
4687 non-assignment word on the line, or after a command delimiter
4688 such as ;\b; or |\b|, which is usually command name completion. If
4689 multiple options are supplied, the -\b-D\bD option takes precedence
d233b485 4690 over -\b-E\bE, and both take precedence over -\b-I\bI. If any of -\b-D\bD, -\b-E\bE, or
74091dd4 4691 -\b-I\bI are supplied, any other _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be arguments are ignored; these
d233b485 4692 completions only apply to the case specified by the option.
17345e5a 4693
74091dd4
CR
4694 The process of applying these completion specifications when
4695 word completion is attempted is described above under P\bPr\bro\bog\bgr\bra\bam\bm-\b-
a0c0a00f 4696 m\bma\bab\bbl\ble\be C\bCo\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bn.
17345e5a 4697
74091dd4
CR
4698 Other options, if specified, have the following meanings. The
4699 arguments to the -\b-G\bG, -\b-W\bW, and -\b-X\bX options (and, if necessary, the
4700 -\b-P\bP and -\b-S\bS options) should be quoted to protect them from expan-
17345e5a
JA
4701 sion before the c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be builtin is invoked.
4702 -\b-o\bo _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bp_\b-_\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn
74091dd4
CR
4703 The _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bp_\b-_\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn controls several aspects of the comp-
4704 spec's behavior beyond the simple generation of comple-
17345e5a
JA
4705 tions. _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bp_\b-_\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn may be one of:
4706 b\bba\bas\bsh\bhd\bde\bef\bfa\bau\bul\blt\bt
4707 Perform the rest of the default b\bba\bas\bsh\bh completions
4708 if the compspec generates no matches.
74091dd4 4709 d\bde\bef\bfa\bau\bul\blt\bt Use readline's default filename completion if
17345e5a
JA
4710 the compspec generates no matches.
4711 d\bdi\bir\brn\bna\bam\bme\bes\bs
74091dd4 4712 Perform directory name completion if the comp-
17345e5a
JA
4713 spec generates no matches.
4714 f\bfi\bil\ble\ben\bna\bam\bme\bes\bs
74091dd4
CR
4715 Tell readline that the compspec generates file-
4716 names, so it can perform any filename-specific
4717 processing (like adding a slash to directory
4718 names, quoting special characters, or suppress-
4719 ing trailing spaces). Intended to be used with
17345e5a 4720 shell functions.
74091dd4
CR
4721 n\bno\boq\bqu\buo\bot\bte\be Tell readline not to quote the completed words
4722 if they are filenames (quoting filenames is the
ac50fbac 4723 default).
74091dd4 4724 n\bno\bos\bso\bor\brt\bt Tell readline not to sort the list of possible
a0c0a00f 4725 completions alphabetically.
74091dd4
CR
4726 n\bno\bos\bsp\bpa\bac\bce\be Tell readline not to append a space (the de-
4727 fault) to words completed at the end of the
17345e5a
JA
4728 line.
4729 p\bpl\blu\bus\bsd\bdi\bir\brs\bs
74091dd4 4730 After any matches defined by the compspec are
8868edaf
CR
4731 generated, directory name completion is at-
4732 tempted and any matches are added to the results
4733 of the other actions.
17345e5a 4734 -\b-A\bA _\ba_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn
74091dd4 4735 The _\ba_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn may be one of the following to generate a
17345e5a
JA
4736 list of possible completions:
4737 a\bal\bli\bia\bas\bs Alias names. May also be specified as -\b-a\ba.
4738 a\bar\brr\bra\bay\byv\bva\bar\br
4739 Array variable names.
4740 b\bbi\bin\bnd\bdi\bin\bng\bg R\bRe\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be key binding names.
74091dd4 4741 b\bbu\bui\bil\blt\bti\bin\bn Names of shell builtin commands. May also be
17345e5a
JA
4742 specified as -\b-b\bb.
4743 c\bco\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bd Command names. May also be specified as -\b-c\bc.
4744 d\bdi\bir\bre\bec\bct\bto\bor\bry\by
4745 Directory names. May also be specified as -\b-d\bd.
4746 d\bdi\bis\bsa\bab\bbl\ble\bed\bd
4747 Names of disabled shell builtins.
4748 e\ben\bna\bab\bbl\ble\bed\bd Names of enabled shell builtins.
74091dd4 4749 e\bex\bxp\bpo\bor\brt\bt Names of exported shell variables. May also be
17345e5a
JA
4750 specified as -\b-e\be.
4751 f\bfi\bil\ble\be File names. May also be specified as -\b-f\bf.
4752 f\bfu\bun\bnc\bct\bti\bio\bon\bn
4753 Names of shell functions.
4754 g\bgr\bro\bou\bup\bp Group names. May also be specified as -\b-g\bg.
4755 h\bhe\bel\blp\bpt\bto\bop\bpi\bic\bc
4756 Help topics as accepted by the h\bhe\bel\blp\bp builtin.
4757 h\bho\bos\bst\btn\bna\bam\bme\be
74091dd4 4758 Hostnames, as taken from the file specified by
17345e5a 4759 the H\bHO\bOS\bST\bTF\bFI\bIL\bLE\bE shell variable.
74091dd4 4760 j\bjo\bob\bb Job names, if job control is active. May also
17345e5a 4761 be specified as -\b-j\bj.
74091dd4 4762 k\bke\bey\byw\bwo\bor\brd\bd Shell reserved words. May also be specified as
17345e5a
JA
4763 -\b-k\bk.
4764 r\bru\bun\bnn\bni\bin\bng\bg Names of running jobs, if job control is active.
4765 s\bse\ber\brv\bvi\bic\bce\be Service names. May also be specified as -\b-s\bs.
74091dd4 4766 s\bse\bet\bto\bop\bpt\bt Valid arguments for the -\b-o\bo option to the s\bse\bet\bt
17345e5a 4767 builtin.
74091dd4 4768 s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt Shell option names as accepted by the s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt
17345e5a
JA
4769 builtin.
4770 s\bsi\big\bgn\bna\bal\bl Signal names.
4771 s\bst\bto\bop\bpp\bpe\bed\bd Names of stopped jobs, if job control is active.
4772 u\bus\bse\ber\br User names. May also be specified as -\b-u\bu.
4773 v\bva\bar\bri\bia\bab\bbl\ble\be
4774 Names of all shell variables. May also be spec-
4775 ified as -\b-v\bv.
17345e5a 4776 -\b-C\bC _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd
74091dd4
CR
4777 _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd is executed in a subshell environment, and its
4778 output is used as the possible completions. Arguments
4779 are passed as with the -\b-F\bF option.
17345e5a 4780 -\b-F\bF _\bf_\bu_\bn_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn
a0c0a00f
CR
4781 The shell function _\bf_\bu_\bn_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn is executed in the current
4782 shell environment. When the function is executed, the
8868edaf
CR
4783 first argument ($\b$1\b1) is the name of the command whose ar-
4784 guments are being completed, the second argument ($\b$2\b2) is
4785 the word being completed, and the third argument ($\b$3\b3) is
4786 the word preceding the word being completed on the cur-
4787 rent command line. When it finishes, the possible com-
4788 pletions are retrieved from the value of the C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bPR\bRE\bEP\bPL\bLY\bY
4789 array variable.
495aee44 4790 -\b-G\bG _\bg_\bl_\bo_\bb_\bp_\ba_\bt
a0c0a00f 4791 The pathname expansion pattern _\bg_\bl_\bo_\bb_\bp_\ba_\bt is expanded to
495aee44 4792 generate the possible completions.
17345e5a 4793 -\b-P\bP _\bp_\br_\be_\bf_\bi_\bx
a0c0a00f 4794 _\bp_\br_\be_\bf_\bi_\bx is added at the beginning of each possible com-
17345e5a
JA
4795 pletion after all other options have been applied.
4796 -\b-S\bS _\bs_\bu_\bf_\bf_\bi_\bx
4797 _\bs_\bu_\bf_\bf_\bi_\bx is appended to each possible completion after all
4798 other options have been applied.
495aee44 4799 -\b-W\bW _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd_\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt
a0c0a00f
CR
4800 The _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd_\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt is split using the characters in the I\bIF\bFS\bS
4801 special variable as delimiters, and each resultant word
d233b485
CR
4802 is expanded. Shell quoting is honored within _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd_\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt,
4803 in order to provide a mechanism for the words to contain
4804 shell metacharacters or characters in the value of I\bIF\bFS\bS.
4805 The possible completions are the members of the resul-
4806 tant list which match the word being completed.
495aee44 4807 -\b-X\bX _\bf_\bi_\bl_\bt_\be_\br_\bp_\ba_\bt
a0c0a00f 4808 _\bf_\bi_\bl_\bt_\be_\br_\bp_\ba_\bt is a pattern as used for pathname expansion.
495aee44 4809 It is applied to the list of possible completions gener-
a0c0a00f
CR
4810 ated by the preceding options and arguments, and each
4811 completion matching _\bf_\bi_\bl_\bt_\be_\br_\bp_\ba_\bt is removed from the list.
4812 A leading !\b! in _\bf_\bi_\bl_\bt_\be_\br_\bp_\ba_\bt negates the pattern; in this
4813 case, any completion not matching _\bf_\bi_\bl_\bt_\be_\br_\bp_\ba_\bt is removed.
495aee44
CR
4814
4815 The return value is true unless an invalid option is supplied,
4816 an option other than -\b-p\bp or -\b-r\br is supplied without a _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be argu-
4817 ment, an attempt is made to remove a completion specification
17345e5a
JA
4818 for a _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be for which no specification exists, or an error occurs
4819 adding a completion specification.
4820
d233b485 4821 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpo\bop\bpt\bt [-\b-o\bo _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn] [-\b-D\bDE\bEI\bI] [+\b+o\bo _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn] [_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be]
8868edaf
CR
4822 Modify completion options for each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be according to the _\bo_\bp_\b-
4823 _\bt_\bi_\bo_\bns, or for the currently-executing completion if no _\bn_\ba_\bm_\bes are
4824 supplied. If no _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bns are given, display the completion op-
4825 tions for each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be or the current completion. The possible
4826 values of _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn are those valid for the c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be builtin de-
4827 scribed above. The -\b-D\bD option indicates that other supplied op-
4828 tions should apply to the ``default'' command completion; that
495aee44 4829 is, completion attempted on a command for which no completion
d233b485
CR
4830 has previously been defined. The -\b-E\bE option indicates that other
4831 supplied options should apply to ``empty'' command completion;
4832 that is, completion attempted on a blank line. The -\b-I\bI option
4833 indicates that other supplied options should apply to completion
8868edaf 4834 on the initial non-assignment word on the line, or after a com-
d233b485
CR
4835 mand delimiter such as ;\b; or |\b|, which is usually command name
4836 completion.
0001803f 4837
495aee44
CR
4838 The return value is true unless an invalid option is supplied,
4839 an attempt is made to modify the options for a _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be for which no
4840 completion specification exists, or an output error occurs.
17345e5a
JA
4841
4842 c\bco\bon\bnt\bti\bin\bnu\bue\be [_\bn]
4843 Resume the next iteration of the enclosing f\bfo\bor\br, w\bwh\bhi\bil\ble\be, u\bun\bnt\bti\bil\bl, or
495aee44 4844 s\bse\bel\ble\bec\bct\bt loop. If _\bn is specified, resume at the _\bnth enclosing
8868edaf
CR
4845 loop. _\bn must be >= 1. If _\bn is greater than the number of en-
4846 closing loops, the last enclosing loop (the ``top-level'' loop)
4847 is resumed. The return value is 0 unless _\bn is not greater than
4848 or equal to 1.
17345e5a 4849
8868edaf
CR
4850 d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be [-\b-a\baA\bAf\bfF\bFg\bgi\biI\bIl\bln\bnr\brt\btu\bux\bx] [-\b-p\bp] [_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[=_\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be] ...]
4851 t\bty\byp\bpe\bes\bse\bet\bt [-\b-a\baA\bAf\bfF\bFg\bgi\biI\bIl\bln\bnr\brt\btu\bux\bx] [-\b-p\bp] [_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[=_\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be] ...]
495aee44
CR
4852 Declare variables and/or give them attributes. If no _\bn_\ba_\bm_\bes are
4853 given then display the values of variables. The -\b-p\bp option will
17345e5a 4854 display the attributes and values of each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be. When -\b-p\bp is used
ac50fbac
CR
4855 with _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be arguments, additional options, other than -\b-f\bf and -\b-F\bF,
4856 are ignored. When -\b-p\bp is supplied without _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be arguments, it
4857 will display the attributes and values of all variables having
4858 the attributes specified by the additional options. If no other
8868edaf
CR
4859 options are supplied with -\b-p\bp, d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be will display the at-
4860 tributes and values of all shell variables. The -\b-f\bf option will
4861 restrict the display to shell functions. The -\b-F\bF option inhibits
4862 the display of function definitions; only the function name and
4863 attributes are printed. If the e\bex\bxt\btd\bde\beb\bbu\bug\bg shell option is enabled
4864 using s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt, the source file name and line number where each
4865 _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is defined are displayed as well. The -\b-F\bF option implies
4866 -\b-f\bf. The -\b-g\bg option forces variables to be created or modified at
4867 the global scope, even when d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be is executed in a shell func-
4868 tion. It is ignored in all other cases. The -\b-I\bI option causes
4869 local variables to inherit the attributes (except the _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\br_\be_\bf
4870 attribute) and value of any existing variable with the same _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be
4871 at a surrounding scope. If there is no existing variable, the
4872 local variable is initially unset. The following options can be
4873 used to restrict output to variables with the specified attri-
4874 bute or to give variables attributes:
0001803f 4875 -\b-a\ba Each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is an indexed array variable (see A\bAr\brr\bra\bay\bys\bs
17345e5a 4876 above).
0001803f 4877 -\b-A\bA Each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is an associative array variable (see A\bAr\brr\bra\bay\bys\bs
17345e5a
JA
4878 above).
4879 -\b-f\bf Use function names only.
4880 -\b-i\bi The variable is treated as an integer; arithmetic evalua-
0001803f
CR
4881 tion (see A\bAR\bRI\bIT\bTH\bHM\bME\bET\bTI\bIC\bC E\bEV\bVA\bAL\bLU\bUA\bAT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN above) is performed when
4882 the variable is assigned a value.
4883 -\b-l\bl When the variable is assigned a value, all upper-case
4884 characters are converted to lower-case. The upper-case
17345e5a 4885 attribute is disabled.
ac50fbac
CR
4886 -\b-n\bn Give each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be the _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\br_\be_\bf attribute, making it a name
4887 reference to another variable. That other variable is
a0c0a00f
CR
4888 defined by the value of _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be. All references, assign-
4889 ments, and attribute modifications to _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be, except those
4890 using or changing the -\b-n\bn attribute itself, are performed
4891 on the variable referenced by _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be's value. The nameref
4892 attribute cannot be applied to array variables.
17345e5a
JA
4893 -\b-r\br Make _\bn_\ba_\bm_\bes readonly. These names cannot then be assigned
4894 values by subsequent assignment statements or unset.
8868edaf
CR
4895 -\b-t\bt Give each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be the _\bt_\br_\ba_\bc_\be attribute. Traced functions in-
4896 herit the D\bDE\bEB\bBU\bUG\bG and R\bRE\bET\bTU\bUR\bRN\bN traps from the calling shell.
4897 The trace attribute has no special meaning for variables.
4898 -\b-u\bu When the variable is assigned a value, all lower-case
4899 characters are converted to upper-case. The lower-case
17345e5a 4900 attribute is disabled.
8868edaf
CR
4901 -\b-x\bx Mark _\bn_\ba_\bm_\bes for export to subsequent commands via the en-
4902 vironment.
17345e5a 4903
8868edaf
CR
4904 Using `+' instead of `-' turns off the attribute instead, with
4905 the exceptions that +\b+a\ba and +\b+A\bA may not be used to destroy array
4906 variables and +\b+r\br will not remove the readonly attribute. When
d233b485 4907 used in a function, d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be and t\bty\byp\bpe\bes\bse\bet\bt make each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be local, as
8868edaf
CR
4908 with the l\blo\boc\bca\bal\bl command, unless the -\b-g\bg option is supplied. If a
4909 variable name is followed by =_\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be, the value of the variable
4910 is set to _\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be. When using -\b-a\ba or -\b-A\bA and the compound assign-
4911 ment syntax to create array variables, additional attributes do
4912 not take effect until subsequent assignments. The return value
d233b485
CR
4913 is 0 unless an invalid option is encountered, an attempt is made
4914 to define a function using ``-f foo=bar'', an attempt is made to
8868edaf
CR
4915 assign a value to a readonly variable, an attempt is made to as-
4916 sign a value to an array variable without using the compound as-
4917 signment syntax (see A\bAr\brr\bra\bay\bys\bs above), one of the _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\bs is not a
4918 valid shell variable name, an attempt is made to turn off read-
4919 only status for a readonly variable, an attempt is made to turn
ac50fbac
CR
4920 off array status for an array variable, or an attempt is made to
4921 display a non-existent function with -\b-f\bf.
4922
4923 d\bdi\bir\brs\bs [\b[-\b-c\bcl\blp\bpv\bv]\b] [\b[+\b+_\bn]\b] [\b[-\b-_\bn]\b]
8868edaf
CR
4924 Without options, displays the list of currently remembered di-
4925 rectories. The default display is on a single line with direc-
4926 tory names separated by spaces. Directories are added to the
4927 list with the p\bpu\bus\bsh\bhd\bd command; the p\bpo\bop\bpd\bd command removes entries
4928 from the list. The current directory is always the first direc-
4929 tory in the stack.
4930 -\b-c\bc Clears the directory stack by deleting all of the en-
4931 tries.
4932 -\b-l\bl Produces a listing using full pathnames; the default
ac50fbac 4933 listing format uses a tilde to denote the home directory.
17345e5a 4934 -\b-p\bp Print the directory stack with one entry per line.
8868edaf 4935 -\b-v\bv Print the directory stack with one entry per line, pre-
17345e5a 4936 fixing each entry with its index in the stack.
ac50fbac
CR
4937 +\b+_\bn Displays the _\bnth entry counting from the left of the list
4938 shown by d\bdi\bir\brs\bs when invoked without options, starting with
4939 zero.
8868edaf 4940 -\b-_\bn Displays the _\bnth entry counting from the right of the
ac50fbac
CR
4941 list shown by d\bdi\bir\brs\bs when invoked without options, starting
4942 with zero.
17345e5a 4943
8868edaf 4944 The return value is 0 unless an invalid option is supplied or _\bn
17345e5a
JA
4945 indexes beyond the end of the directory stack.
4946
a0c0a00f 4947 d\bdi\bis\bso\bow\bwn\bn [-\b-a\bar\br] [-\b-h\bh] [_\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc ... | _\bp_\bi_\bd ... ]
8868edaf
CR
4948 Without options, remove each _\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc from the table of active
4949 jobs. If _\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc is not present, and neither the -\b-a\ba nor the -\b-r\br
4950 option is supplied, the _\bc_\bu_\br_\br_\be_\bn_\bt _\bj_\bo_\bb is used. If the -\b-h\bh option
4951 is given, each _\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc is not removed from the table, but is
4952 marked so that S\bSI\bIG\bGH\bHU\bUP\bP is not sent to the job if the shell re-
4953 ceives a S\bSI\bIG\bGH\bHU\bUP\bP. If no _\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc is supplied, the -\b-a\ba option means
4954 to remove or mark all jobs; the -\b-r\br option without a _\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc ar-
4955 gument restricts operation to running jobs. The return value is
4956 0 unless a _\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc does not specify a valid job.
17345e5a
JA
4957
4958 e\bec\bch\bho\bo [-\b-n\bne\beE\bE] [_\ba_\br_\bg ...]
8868edaf
CR
4959 Output the _\ba_\br_\bgs, separated by spaces, followed by a newline.
4960 The return status is 0 unless a write error occurs. If -\b-n\bn is
ac50fbac 4961 specified, the trailing newline is suppressed. If the -\b-e\be option
8868edaf
CR
4962 is given, interpretation of the following backslash-escaped
4963 characters is enabled. The -\b-E\bE option disables the interpreta-
4964 tion of these escape characters, even on systems where they are
4965 interpreted by default. The x\bxp\bpg\bg_\b_e\bec\bch\bho\bo shell option may be used
4966 to dynamically determine whether or not e\bec\bch\bho\bo expands these es-
4967 cape characters by default. e\bec\bch\bho\bo does not interpret -\b--\b- to mean
4968 the end of options. e\bec\bch\bho\bo interprets the following escape se-
4969 quences:
17345e5a
JA
4970 \\b\a\ba alert (bell)
4971 \\b\b\bb backspace
4972 \\b\c\bc suppress further output
495aee44
CR
4973 \\b\e\be
4974 \\b\E\bE an escape character
17345e5a
JA
4975 \\b\f\bf form feed
4976 \\b\n\bn new line
4977 \\b\r\br carriage return
4978 \\b\t\bt horizontal tab
4979 \\b\v\bv vertical tab
4980 \\b\\\b\ backslash
8868edaf 4981 \\b\0\b0_\bn_\bn_\bn the eight-bit character whose value is the octal value
17345e5a 4982 _\bn_\bn_\bn (zero to three octal digits)
8868edaf 4983 \\b\x\bx_\bH_\bH the eight-bit character whose value is the hexadecimal
17345e5a 4984 value _\bH_\bH (one or two hex digits)
8868edaf 4985 \\b\u\bu_\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH the Unicode (ISO/IEC 10646) character whose value is the
495aee44
CR
4986 hexadecimal value _\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH (one to four hex digits)
4987 \\b\U\bU_\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH
8868edaf 4988 the Unicode (ISO/IEC 10646) character whose value is the
495aee44 4989 hexadecimal value _\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH_\bH (one to eight hex digits)
17345e5a
JA
4990
4991 e\ben\bna\bab\bbl\ble\be [-\b-a\ba] [-\b-d\bdn\bnp\bps\bs] [-\b-f\bf _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be] [_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be ...]
8868edaf 4992 Enable and disable builtin shell commands. Disabling a builtin
17345e5a 4993 allows a disk command which has the same name as a shell builtin
8868edaf
CR
4994 to be executed without specifying a full pathname, even though
4995 the shell normally searches for builtins before disk commands.
4996 If -\b-n\bn is used, each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is disabled; otherwise, _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\bs are en-
4997 abled. For example, to use the t\bte\bes\bst\bt binary found via the P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH
4998 instead of the shell builtin version, run ``enable -n test''.
4999 The -\b-f\bf option means to load the new builtin command _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be from
17345e5a 5000 shared object _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be, on systems that support dynamic loading.
74091dd4
CR
5001 Bash will use the value of the B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_L\bLO\bOA\bAD\bDA\bAB\bBL\bLE\bES\bS_\b_P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH variable as a
5002 colon-separated list of directories in which to search for _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\b-
5003 _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be. The default is system-dependent. The -\b-d\bd option will
5004 delete a builtin previously loaded with -\b-f\bf. If no _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be argu-
5005 ments are given, or if the -\b-p\bp option is supplied, a list of
5006 shell builtins is printed. With no other option arguments, the
5007 list consists of all enabled shell builtins. If -\b-n\bn is supplied,
5008 only disabled builtins are printed. If -\b-a\ba is supplied, the list
5009 printed includes all builtins, with an indication of whether or
5010 not each is enabled. If -\b-s\bs is supplied, the output is re-
5011 stricted to the POSIX _\bs_\bp_\be_\bc_\bi_\ba_\bl builtins. If no options are sup-
5012 plied and a _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is not a shell builtin, e\ben\bna\bab\bbl\ble\be will attempt to
5013 load _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be from a shared object named _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be, as if the command
5014 were ``enable -f _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be . The return value is 0 unless a
5015 _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is not a shell builtin or there is an error loading a new
5016 builtin from a shared object.
17345e5a
JA
5017
5018 e\bev\bva\bal\bl [_\ba_\br_\bg ...]
8868edaf
CR
5019 The _\ba_\br_\bgs are read and concatenated together into a single com-
5020 mand. This command is then read and executed by the shell, and
5021 its exit status is returned as the value of e\bev\bva\bal\bl. If there are
17345e5a
JA
5022 no _\ba_\br_\bg_\bs, or only null arguments, e\bev\bva\bal\bl returns 0.
5023
5024 e\bex\bxe\bec\bc [-\b-c\bcl\bl] [-\b-a\ba _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be] [_\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd [_\ba_\br_\bg_\bu_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\bs]]
8868edaf
CR
5025 If _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd is specified, it replaces the shell. No new process
5026 is created. The _\ba_\br_\bg_\bu_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\bs become the arguments to _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd. If
17345e5a 5027 the -\b-l\bl option is supplied, the shell places a dash at the begin-
8868edaf
CR
5028 ning of the zeroth argument passed to _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd. This is what _\bl_\bo_\b-
5029 _\bg_\bi_\bn(1) does. The -\b-c\bc option causes _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd to be executed with
5030 an empty environment. If -\b-a\ba is supplied, the shell passes _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be
17345e5a 5031 as the zeroth argument to the executed command. If _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd can-
8868edaf
CR
5032 not be executed for some reason, a non-interactive shell exits,
5033 unless the e\bex\bxe\bec\bcf\bfa\bai\bil\bl shell option is enabled. In that case, it
5034 returns failure. An interactive shell returns failure if the
5035 file cannot be executed. A subshell exits unconditionally if
5036 e\bex\bxe\bec\bc fails. If _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd is not specified, any redirections take
5037 effect in the current shell, and the return status is 0. If
d233b485 5038 there is a redirection error, the return status is 1.
17345e5a
JA
5039
5040 e\bex\bxi\bit\bt [_\bn]
8868edaf 5041 Cause the shell to exit with a status of _\bn. If _\bn is omitted,
17345e5a
JA
5042 the exit status is that of the last command executed. A trap on
5043 E\bEX\bXI\bIT\bT is executed before the shell terminates.
5044
5045 e\bex\bxp\bpo\bor\brt\bt [-\b-f\bfn\bn] [_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[=_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd]] ...
5046 e\bex\bxp\bpo\bor\brt\bt -\b-p\bp
8868edaf
CR
5047 The supplied _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\bs are marked for automatic export to the envi-
5048 ronment of subsequently executed commands. If the -\b-f\bf option is
5049 given, the _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\bs refer to functions. If no _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\bs are given, or
5050 if the -\b-p\bp option is supplied, a list of names of all exported
5051 variables is printed. The -\b-n\bn option causes the export property
ac50fbac
CR
5052 to be removed from each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be. If a variable name is followed by
5053 =_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd, the value of the variable is set to _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd. e\bex\bxp\bpo\bor\brt\bt returns
5054 an exit status of 0 unless an invalid option is encountered, one
8868edaf 5055 of the _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\bs is not a valid shell variable name, or -\b-f\bf is sup-
ac50fbac 5056 plied with a _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be that is not a function.
17345e5a
JA
5057
5058 f\bfc\bc [-\b-e\be _\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be] [-\b-l\bln\bnr\br] [_\bf_\bi_\br_\bs_\bt] [_\bl_\ba_\bs_\bt]
5059 f\bfc\bc -\b-s\bs [_\bp_\ba_\bt=_\br_\be_\bp] [_\bc_\bm_\bd]
8868edaf
CR
5060 The first form selects a range of commands from _\bf_\bi_\br_\bs_\bt to _\bl_\ba_\bs_\bt
5061 from the history list and displays or edits and re-executes
5062 them. _\bF_\bi_\br_\bs_\bt and _\bl_\ba_\bs_\bt may be specified as a string (to locate
5063 the last command beginning with that string) or as a number (an
5064 index into the history list, where a negative number is used as
5065 an offset from the current command number). When listing, a
5066 _\bf_\bi_\br_\bs_\bt or _\bl_\ba_\bs_\bt of 0 is equivalent to -1 and -0 is equivalent to
5067 the current command (usually the f\bfc\bc command); otherwise 0 is
5068 equivalent to -1 and -0 is invalid. If _\bl_\ba_\bs_\bt is not specified,
5069 it is set to the current command for listing (so that ``fc -l
5070 -10'' prints the last 10 commands) and to _\bf_\bi_\br_\bs_\bt otherwise. If
5071 _\bf_\bi_\br_\bs_\bt is not specified, it is set to the previous command for
5072 editing and -16 for listing.
17345e5a 5073
d233b485
CR
5074 The -\b-n\bn option suppresses the command numbers when listing. The
5075 -\b-r\br option reverses the order of the commands. If the -\b-l\bl option
5076 is given, the commands are listed on standard output. Other-
5077 wise, the editor given by _\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is invoked on a file containing
5078 those commands. If _\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is not given, the value of the F\bFC\bCE\bED\bDI\bIT\bT
5079 variable is used, and the value of E\bED\bDI\bIT\bTO\bOR\bR if F\bFC\bCE\bED\bDI\bIT\bT is not set.
5080 If neither variable is set, _\bv_\bi is used. When editing is com-
17345e5a
JA
5081 plete, the edited commands are echoed and executed.
5082
d233b485
CR
5083 In the second form, _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd is re-executed after each instance
5084 of _\bp_\ba_\bt is replaced by _\br_\be_\bp. _\bC_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd is interpreted the same as
5085 _\bf_\bi_\br_\bs_\bt above. A useful alias to use with this is ``r="fc -s"'',
5086 so that typing ``r cc'' runs the last command beginning with
ac50fbac 5087 ``cc'' and typing ``r'' re-executes the last command.
17345e5a 5088
8868edaf
CR
5089 If the first form is used, the return value is 0 unless an in-
5090 valid option is encountered or _\bf_\bi_\br_\bs_\bt or _\bl_\ba_\bs_\bt specify history
d233b485 5091 lines out of range. If the -\b-e\be option is supplied, the return
17345e5a
JA
5092 value is the value of the last command executed or failure if an
5093 error occurs with the temporary file of commands. If the second
d233b485
CR
5094 form is used, the return status is that of the command re-exe-
5095 cuted, unless _\bc_\bm_\bd does not specify a valid history line, in
17345e5a
JA
5096 which case f\bfc\bc returns failure.
5097
5098 f\bfg\bg [_\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc]
d233b485 5099 Resume _\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc in the foreground, and make it the current job.
17345e5a 5100 If _\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc is not present, the shell's notion of the _\bc_\bu_\br_\br_\be_\bn_\bt _\bj_\bo_\bb
d233b485
CR
5101 is used. The return value is that of the command placed into
5102 the foreground, or failure if run when job control is disabled
17345e5a 5103 or, when run with job control enabled, if _\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc does not spec-
d233b485 5104 ify a valid job or _\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc specifies a job that was started
17345e5a
JA
5105 without job control.
5106
8868edaf 5107 g\bge\bet\bto\bop\bpt\bts\bs _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be [_\ba_\br_\bg _\b._\b._\b.]
d233b485
CR
5108 g\bge\bet\bto\bop\bpt\bts\bs is used by shell procedures to parse positional parame-
5109 ters. _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg contains the option characters to be recog-
8868edaf
CR
5110 nized; if a character is followed by a colon, the option is ex-
5111 pected to have an argument, which should be separated from it by
5112 white space. The colon and question mark characters may not be
5113 used as option characters. Each time it is invoked, g\bge\bet\bto\bop\bpt\bts\bs
d233b485 5114 places the next option in the shell variable _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be, initializing
17345e5a
JA
5115 _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be if it does not exist, and the index of the next argument to
5116 be processed into the variable O\bOP\bPT\bTI\bIN\bND\bD. O\bOP\bPT\bTI\bIN\bND\bD is initialized to
8868edaf
CR
5117 1 each time the shell or a shell script is invoked. When an op-
5118 tion requires an argument, g\bge\bet\bto\bop\bpt\bts\bs places that argument into the
5119 variable O\bOP\bPT\bTA\bAR\bRG\bG. The shell does not reset O\bOP\bPT\bTI\bIN\bND\bD automatically;
5120 it must be manually reset between multiple calls to g\bge\bet\bto\bop\bpt\bts\bs
5121 within the same shell invocation if a new set of parameters is
5122 to be used.
17345e5a 5123
8868edaf
CR
5124 When the end of options is encountered, g\bge\bet\bto\bop\bpt\bts\bs exits with a re-
5125 turn value greater than zero. O\bOP\bPT\bTI\bIN\bND\bD is set to the index of the
5126 first non-option argument, and _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is set to ?.
17345e5a 5127
d233b485 5128 g\bge\bet\bto\bop\bpt\bts\bs normally parses the positional parameters, but if more
8868edaf
CR
5129 arguments are supplied as _\ba_\br_\bg values, g\bge\bet\bto\bop\bpt\bts\bs parses those in-
5130 stead.
5131
5132 g\bge\bet\bto\bop\bpt\bts\bs can report errors in two ways. If the first character
5133 of _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg is a colon, _\bs_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\bt error reporting is used. In
5134 normal operation, diagnostic messages are printed when invalid
5135 options or missing option arguments are encountered. If the
5136 variable O\bOP\bPT\bTE\bER\bRR\bR is set to 0, no error messages will be dis-
17345e5a
JA
5137 played, even if the first character of _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg is not a colon.
5138
5139 If an invalid option is seen, g\bge\bet\bto\bop\bpt\bts\bs places ? into _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be and, if
8868edaf
CR
5140 not silent, prints an error message and unsets O\bOP\bPT\bTA\bAR\bRG\bG. If
5141 g\bge\bet\bto\bop\bpt\bts\bs is silent, the option character found is placed in O\bOP\bP-\b-
5142 T\bTA\bAR\bRG\bG and no diagnostic message is printed.
5143
5144 If a required argument is not found, and g\bge\bet\bto\bop\bpt\bts\bs is not silent,
5145 a question mark (?\b?) is placed in _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be, O\bOP\bPT\bTA\bAR\bRG\bG is unset, and a
5146 diagnostic message is printed. If g\bge\bet\bto\bop\bpt\bts\bs is silent, then a
5147 colon (:\b:) is placed in _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be and O\bOP\bPT\bTA\bAR\bRG\bG is set to the option
17345e5a
JA
5148 character found.
5149
8868edaf 5150 g\bge\bet\bto\bop\bpt\bts\bs returns true if an option, specified or unspecified, is
17345e5a
JA
5151 found. It returns false if the end of options is encountered or
5152 an error occurs.
5153
5154 h\bha\bas\bsh\bh [-\b-l\blr\br] [-\b-p\bp _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be] [-\b-d\bdt\bt] [_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be]
495aee44 5155 Each time h\bha\bas\bsh\bh is invoked, the full pathname of the command _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be
8868edaf 5156 is determined by searching the directories in $\b$P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH and remem-
495aee44
CR
5157 bered. Any previously-remembered pathname is discarded. If the
5158 -\b-p\bp option is supplied, no path search is performed, and _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be
8868edaf
CR
5159 is used as the full filename of the command. The -\b-r\br option
5160 causes the shell to forget all remembered locations. The -\b-d\bd op-
5161 tion causes the shell to forget the remembered location of each
5162 _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be. If the -\b-t\bt option is supplied, the full pathname to which
5163 each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be corresponds is printed. If multiple _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be arguments
5164 are supplied with -\b-t\bt, the _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is printed before the hashed full
5165 pathname. The -\b-l\bl option causes output to be displayed in a for-
5166 mat that may be reused as input. If no arguments are given, or
5167 if only -\b-l\bl is supplied, information about remembered commands is
5168 printed. The return status is true unless a _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is not found
5169 or an invalid option is supplied.
17345e5a
JA
5170
5171 h\bhe\bel\blp\bp [-\b-d\bdm\bms\bs] [_\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn]
8868edaf
CR
5172 Display helpful information about builtin commands. If _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn
5173 is specified, h\bhe\bel\blp\bp gives detailed help on all commands matching
5174 _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn; otherwise help for all the builtins and shell control
17345e5a
JA
5175 structures is printed.
5176 -\b-d\bd Display a short description of each _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn
0001803f 5177 -\b-m\bm Display the description of each _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn in a manpage-like
17345e5a
JA
5178 format
5179 -\b-s\bs Display only a short usage synopsis for each _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn
ac50fbac
CR
5180
5181 The return status is 0 unless no command matches _\bp_\ba_\bt_\bt_\be_\br_\bn.
17345e5a
JA
5182
5183 h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by [\b[_\bn]\b]
5184 h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by -\b-c\bc
5185 h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by -\b-d\bd _\bo_\bf_\bf_\bs_\be_\bt
d233b485 5186 h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by -\b-d\bd _\bs_\bt_\ba_\br_\bt-_\be_\bn_\bd
17345e5a
JA
5187 h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by -\b-a\ban\bnr\brw\bw [_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be]
5188 h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by -\b-p\bp _\ba_\br_\bg [_\ba_\br_\bg _\b._\b._\b.]
5189 h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by -\b-s\bs _\ba_\br_\bg [_\ba_\br_\bg _\b._\b._\b.]
5190 With no options, display the command history list with line num-
5191 bers. Lines listed with a *\b* have been modified. An argument of
8868edaf
CR
5192 _\bn lists only the last _\bn lines. If the shell variable H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTT\bTI\bIM\bME\bE-\b-
5193 F\bFO\bOR\bRM\bMA\bAT\bT is set and not null, it is used as a format string for
5194 _\bs_\bt_\br_\bf_\bt_\bi_\bm_\be(3) to display the time stamp associated with each dis-
5195 played history entry. No intervening blank is printed between
5196 the formatted time stamp and the history line. If _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is
5197 supplied, it is used as the name of the history file; if not,
5198 the value of H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTF\bFI\bIL\bLE\bE is used. Options, if supplied, have the
17345e5a
JA
5199 following meanings:
5200 -\b-c\bc Clear the history list by deleting all the entries.
5201 -\b-d\bd _\bo_\bf_\bf_\bs_\be_\bt
8868edaf 5202 Delete the history entry at position _\bo_\bf_\bf_\bs_\be_\bt. If _\bo_\bf_\bf_\bs_\be_\bt
d233b485
CR
5203 is negative, it is interpreted as relative to one greater
5204 than the last history position, so negative indices count
8868edaf 5205 back from the end of the history, and an index of -1
d233b485
CR
5206 refers to the current h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by -\b-d\bd command.
5207 -\b-d\bd _\bs_\bt_\ba_\br_\bt-_\be_\bn_\bd
74091dd4
CR
5208 Delete the range of history entries between positions
5209 _\bs_\bt_\ba_\br_\bt and _\be_\bn_\bd, inclusive. Positive and negative values
5210 for _\bs_\bt_\ba_\br_\bt and _\be_\bn_\bd are interpreted as described above.
8868edaf
CR
5211 -\b-a\ba Append the ``new'' history lines to the history file.
5212 These are history lines entered since the beginning of
a0c0a00f 5213 the current b\bba\bas\bsh\bh session, but not already appended to the
17345e5a 5214 history file.
8868edaf
CR
5215 -\b-n\bn Read the history lines not already read from the history
5216 file into the current history list. These are lines ap-
5217 pended to the history file since the beginning of the
17345e5a 5218 current b\bba\bas\bsh\bh session.
8868edaf 5219 -\b-r\br Read the contents of the history file and append them to
ac50fbac
CR
5220 the current history list.
5221 -\b-w\bw Write the current history list to the history file, over-
5222 writing the history file's contents.
8868edaf
CR
5223 -\b-p\bp Perform history substitution on the following _\ba_\br_\bg_\bs and
5224 display the result on the standard output. Does not
5225 store the results in the history list. Each _\ba_\br_\bg must be
17345e5a 5226 quoted to disable normal history expansion.
8868edaf
CR
5227 -\b-s\bs Store the _\ba_\br_\bg_\bs in the history list as a single entry.
5228 The last command in the history list is removed before
17345e5a
JA
5229 the _\ba_\br_\bg_\bs are added.
5230
8868edaf
CR
5231 If the H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTT\bTI\bIM\bME\bEF\bFO\bOR\bRM\bMA\bAT\bT variable is set, the time stamp informa-
5232 tion associated with each history entry is written to the his-
5233 tory file, marked with the history comment character. When the
5234 history file is read, lines beginning with the history comment
5235 character followed immediately by a digit are interpreted as
a0c0a00f
CR
5236 timestamps for the following history entry. The return value is
5237 0 unless an invalid option is encountered, an error occurs while
74091dd4
CR
5238 reading or writing the history file, an invalid _\bo_\bf_\bf_\bs_\be_\bt or range
5239 is supplied as an argument to -\b-d\bd, or the history expansion sup-
5240 plied as an argument to -\b-p\bp fails.
17345e5a
JA
5241
5242 j\bjo\bob\bbs\bs [-\b-l\bln\bnp\bpr\brs\bs] [ _\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc ... ]
5243 j\bjo\bob\bbs\bs -\b-x\bx _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd [ _\ba_\br_\bg_\bs ... ]
5244 The first form lists the active jobs. The options have the fol-
5245 lowing meanings:
5246 -\b-l\bl List process IDs in addition to the normal information.
8868edaf 5247 -\b-n\bn Display information only about jobs that have changed
a0c0a00f 5248 status since the user was last notified of their status.
8868edaf 5249 -\b-p\bp List only the process ID of the job's process group
495aee44 5250 leader.
ac50fbac
CR
5251 -\b-r\br Display only running jobs.
5252 -\b-s\bs Display only stopped jobs.
17345e5a 5253
8868edaf
CR
5254 If _\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc is given, output is restricted to information about
5255 that job. The return status is 0 unless an invalid option is
17345e5a
JA
5256 encountered or an invalid _\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc is supplied.
5257
5258 If the -\b-x\bx option is supplied, j\bjo\bob\bbs\bs replaces any _\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc found in
8868edaf
CR
5259 _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd or _\ba_\br_\bg_\bs with the corresponding process group ID, and ex-
5260 ecutes _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd passing it _\ba_\br_\bg_\bs, returning its exit status.
17345e5a
JA
5261
5262 k\bki\bil\bll\bl [-\b-s\bs _\bs_\bi_\bg_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc | -\b-n\bn _\bs_\bi_\bg_\bn_\bu_\bm | -\b-_\bs_\bi_\bg_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc] [_\bp_\bi_\bd | _\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc] ...
a0c0a00f 5263 k\bki\bil\bll\bl -\b-l\bl|-\b-L\bL [_\bs_\bi_\bg_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc | _\be_\bx_\bi_\bt_\b__\bs_\bt_\ba_\bt_\bu_\bs]
8868edaf
CR
5264 Send the signal named by _\bs_\bi_\bg_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc or _\bs_\bi_\bg_\bn_\bu_\bm to the processes
5265 named by _\bp_\bi_\bd or _\bj_\bo_\bb_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc. _\bs_\bi_\bg_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc is either a case-insensitive
5266 signal name such as S\bSI\bIG\bGK\bKI\bIL\bLL\bL (with or without the S\bSI\bIG\bG prefix) or
5267 a signal number; _\bs_\bi_\bg_\bn_\bu_\bm is a signal number. If _\bs_\bi_\bg_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc is not
5268 present, then S\bSI\bIG\bGT\bTE\bER\bRM\bM is assumed. An argument of -\b-l\bl lists the
5269 signal names. If any arguments are supplied when -\b-l\bl is given,
5270 the names of the signals corresponding to the arguments are
17345e5a 5271 listed, and the return status is 0. The _\be_\bx_\bi_\bt_\b__\bs_\bt_\ba_\bt_\bu_\bs argument to
8868edaf
CR
5272 -\b-l\bl is a number specifying either a signal number or the exit
5273 status of a process terminated by a signal. The -\b-L\bL option is
5274 equivalent to -\b-l\bl. k\bki\bil\bll\bl returns true if at least one signal was
5275 successfully sent, or false if an error occurs or an invalid op-
5276 tion is encountered.
17345e5a
JA
5277
5278 l\ble\bet\bt _\ba_\br_\bg [_\ba_\br_\bg ...]
5279 Each _\ba_\br_\bg is an arithmetic expression to be evaluated (see A\bAR\bRI\bIT\bTH\bH-\b-
8868edaf 5280 M\bME\bET\bTI\bIC\bC E\bEV\bVA\bAL\bLU\bUA\bAT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN above). If the last _\ba_\br_\bg evaluates to 0, l\ble\bet\bt
0001803f 5281 returns 1; 0 is returned otherwise.
17345e5a 5282
a0c0a00f 5283 l\blo\boc\bca\bal\bl [_\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn] [_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[=_\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be] ... | - ]
8868edaf
CR
5284 For each argument, a local variable named _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is created, and
5285 assigned _\bv_\ba_\bl_\bu_\be. The _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn can be any of the options accepted
17345e5a 5286 by d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be. When l\blo\boc\bca\bal\bl is used within a function, it causes the
8868edaf
CR
5287 variable _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be to have a visible scope restricted to that func-
5288 tion and its children. If _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is -, the set of shell options
5289 is made local to the function in which l\blo\boc\bca\bal\bl is invoked: shell
5290 options changed using the s\bse\bet\bt builtin inside the function are
5291 restored to their original values when the function returns.
5292 The restore is effected as if a series of s\bse\bet\bt commands were exe-
5293 cuted to restore the values that were in place before the func-
5294 tion. With no operands, l\blo\boc\bca\bal\bl writes a list of local variables
5295 to the standard output. It is an error to use l\blo\boc\bca\bal\bl when not
5296 within a function. The return status is 0 unless l\blo\boc\bca\bal\bl is used
5297 outside a function, an invalid _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is supplied, or _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is a
5298 readonly variable.
17345e5a
JA
5299
5300 l\blo\bog\bgo\bou\but\bt Exit a login shell.
5301
8868edaf 5302 m\bma\bap\bpf\bfi\bil\ble\be [-\b-d\bd _\bd_\be_\bl_\bi_\bm] [-\b-n\bn _\bc_\bo_\bu_\bn_\bt] [-\b-O\bO _\bo_\br_\bi_\bg_\bi_\bn] [-\b-s\bs _\bc_\bo_\bu_\bn_\bt] [-\b-t\bt] [-\b-u\bu _\bf_\bd] [-\b-C\bC
a0c0a00f
CR
5303 _\bc_\ba_\bl_\bl_\bb_\ba_\bc_\bk] [-\b-c\bc _\bq_\bu_\ba_\bn_\bt_\bu_\bm] [_\ba_\br_\br_\ba_\by]
5304 r\bre\bea\bad\bda\bar\brr\bra\bay\by [-\b-d\bd _\bd_\be_\bl_\bi_\bm] [-\b-n\bn _\bc_\bo_\bu_\bn_\bt] [-\b-O\bO _\bo_\br_\bi_\bg_\bi_\bn] [-\b-s\bs _\bc_\bo_\bu_\bn_\bt] [-\b-t\bt] [-\b-u\bu _\bf_\bd] [-\b-C\bC
5305 _\bc_\ba_\bl_\bl_\bb_\ba_\bc_\bk] [-\b-c\bc _\bq_\bu_\ba_\bn_\bt_\bu_\bm] [_\ba_\br_\br_\ba_\by]
8868edaf
CR
5306 Read lines from the standard input into the indexed array vari-
5307 able _\ba_\br_\br_\ba_\by, or from file descriptor _\bf_\bd if the -\b-u\bu option is sup-
5308 plied. The variable M\bMA\bAP\bPF\bFI\bIL\bLE\bE is the default _\ba_\br_\br_\ba_\by. Options, if
0001803f 5309 supplied, have the following meanings:
8868edaf
CR
5310 -\b-d\bd The first character of _\bd_\be_\bl_\bi_\bm is used to terminate each
5311 input line, rather than newline. If _\bd_\be_\bl_\bi_\bm is the empty
d233b485
CR
5312 string, m\bma\bap\bpf\bfi\bil\ble\be will terminate a line when it reads a NUL
5313 character.
8868edaf 5314 -\b-n\bn Copy at most _\bc_\bo_\bu_\bn_\bt lines. If _\bc_\bo_\bu_\bn_\bt is 0, all lines are
17345e5a 5315 copied.
8868edaf 5316 -\b-O\bO Begin assigning to _\ba_\br_\br_\ba_\by at index _\bo_\br_\bi_\bg_\bi_\bn. The default
17345e5a
JA
5317 index is 0.
5318 -\b-s\bs Discard the first _\bc_\bo_\bu_\bn_\bt lines read.
8868edaf 5319 -\b-t\bt Remove a trailing _\bd_\be_\bl_\bi_\bm (default newline) from each line
a0c0a00f 5320 read.
8868edaf 5321 -\b-u\bu Read lines from file descriptor _\bf_\bd instead of the stan-
17345e5a 5322 dard input.
8868edaf 5323 -\b-C\bC Evaluate _\bc_\ba_\bl_\bl_\bb_\ba_\bc_\bk each time _\bq_\bu_\ba_\bn_\bt_\bu_\bm lines are read. The
17345e5a 5324 -\b-c\bc option specifies _\bq_\bu_\ba_\bn_\bt_\bu_\bm.
8868edaf 5325 -\b-c\bc Specify the number of lines read between each call to
17345e5a
JA
5326 _\bc_\ba_\bl_\bl_\bb_\ba_\bc_\bk.
5327
8868edaf 5328 If -\b-C\bC is specified without -\b-c\bc, the default quantum is 5000.
17345e5a 5329 When _\bc_\ba_\bl_\bl_\bb_\ba_\bc_\bk is evaluated, it is supplied the index of the next
495aee44 5330 array element to be assigned and the line to be assigned to that
8868edaf 5331 element as additional arguments. _\bc_\ba_\bl_\bl_\bb_\ba_\bc_\bk is evaluated after
495aee44 5332 the line is read but before the array element is assigned.
17345e5a 5333
8868edaf
CR
5334 If not supplied with an explicit origin, m\bma\bap\bpf\bfi\bil\ble\be will clear _\ba_\br_\b-
5335 _\br_\ba_\by before assigning to it.
17345e5a 5336
8868edaf
CR
5337 m\bma\bap\bpf\bfi\bil\ble\be returns successfully unless an invalid option or option
5338 argument is supplied, _\ba_\br_\br_\ba_\by is invalid or unassignable, or if
0001803f 5339 _\ba_\br_\br_\ba_\by is not an indexed array.
17345e5a
JA
5340
5341 p\bpo\bop\bpd\bd [-n\bn] [+_\bn] [-_\bn]
74091dd4
CR
5342 Removes entries from the directory stack. The elements are num-
5343 bered from 0 starting at the first directory listed by d\bdi\bir\brs\bs.
5344 With no arguments, p\bpo\bop\bpd\bd removes the top directory from the
5345 stack, and changes to the new top directory. Arguments, if sup-
5346 plied, have the following meanings:
5347 -\b-n\bn Suppresses the normal change of directory when removing
8868edaf
CR
5348 directories from the stack, so that only the stack is ma-
5349 nipulated.
74091dd4
CR
5350 +\b+_\bn Removes the _\bnth entry counting from the left of the list
5351 shown by d\bdi\bir\brs\bs, starting with zero, from the stack. For
5352 example: ``popd +0'' removes the first directory, ``popd
5353 +1'' the second.
17345e5a 5354 -\b-_\bn Removes the _\bnth entry counting from the right of the list
8868edaf
CR
5355 shown by d\bdi\bir\brs\bs, starting with zero. For example: ``popd
5356 -0'' removes the last directory, ``popd -1'' the next to
17345e5a
JA
5357 last.
5358
74091dd4
CR
5359 If the top element of the directory stack is modified, and the
5360 _\b-_\bn option was not supplied, p\bpo\bop\bpd\bd uses the c\bcd\bd builtin to change
5361 to the directory at the top of the stack. If the c\bcd\bd fails, p\bpo\bop\bpd\bd
5362 returns a non-zero value.
5363
5364 Otherwise, p\bpo\bop\bpd\bd returns false if an invalid option is encoun-
5365 tered, the directory stack is empty, or a non-existent directory
5366 stack entry is specified.
5367
5368 If the p\bpo\bop\bpd\bd command is successful, bash runs d\bdi\bir\brs\bs to show the
5369 final contents of the directory stack, and the return status is
5370 0.
17345e5a
JA
5371
5372 p\bpr\bri\bin\bnt\btf\bf [-\b-v\bv _\bv_\ba_\br] _\bf_\bo_\br_\bm_\ba_\bt [_\ba_\br_\bg_\bu_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\bs]
74091dd4
CR
5373 Write the formatted _\ba_\br_\bg_\bu_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\bs to the standard output under the
5374 control of the _\bf_\bo_\br_\bm_\ba_\bt. The -\b-v\bv option causes the output to be
5375 assigned to the variable _\bv_\ba_\br rather than being printed to the
495aee44
CR
5376 standard output.
5377
74091dd4
CR
5378 The _\bf_\bo_\br_\bm_\ba_\bt is a character string which contains three types of
5379 objects: plain characters, which are simply copied to standard
5380 output, character escape sequences, which are converted and
5381 copied to the standard output, and format specifications, each
5382 of which causes printing of the next successive _\ba_\br_\bg_\bu_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt. In
495aee44
CR
5383 addition to the standard _\bp_\br_\bi_\bn_\bt_\bf(1) format specifications, p\bpr\bri\bin\bnt\btf\bf
5384 interprets the following extensions:
5385 %\b%b\bb causes p\bpr\bri\bin\bnt\btf\bf to expand backslash escape sequences in the
a0c0a00f 5386 corresponding _\ba_\br_\bg_\bu_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt in the same way as e\bec\bch\bho\bo -\b-e\be.
74091dd4 5387 %\b%q\bq causes p\bpr\bri\bin\bnt\btf\bf to output the corresponding _\ba_\br_\bg_\bu_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt in a
495aee44 5388 format that can be reused as shell input.
74091dd4
CR
5389 %\b%Q\bQ like %\b%q\bq, but applies any supplied precision to the _\ba_\br_\bg_\bu_\b-
5390 _\bm_\be_\bn_\bt before quoting it.
495aee44 5391 %\b%(\b(_\bd_\ba_\bt_\be_\bf_\bm_\bt)\b)T\bT
8868edaf
CR
5392 causes p\bpr\bri\bin\bnt\btf\bf to output the date-time string resulting
5393 from using _\bd_\ba_\bt_\be_\bf_\bm_\bt as a format string for _\bs_\bt_\br_\bf_\bt_\bi_\bm_\be(3).
495aee44 5394 The corresponding _\ba_\br_\bg_\bu_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt is an integer representing the
8868edaf
CR
5395 number of seconds since the epoch. Two special argument
5396 values may be used: -1 represents the current time, and
5397 -2 represents the time the shell was invoked. If no ar-
5398 gument is specified, conversion behaves as if -1 had been
5399 given. This is an exception to the usual p\bpr\bri\bin\bnt\btf\bf behav-
5400 ior.
5401
5402 The %b, %q, and %T directives all use the field width and preci-
5403 sion arguments from the format specification and write that many
5404 bytes from (or use that wide a field for) the expanded argument,
5405 which usually contains more characters than the original.
495aee44 5406
d233b485 5407 Arguments to non-string format specifiers are treated as C con-
495aee44 5408 stants, except that a leading plus or minus sign is allowed, and
d233b485 5409 if the leading character is a single or double quote, the value
495aee44 5410 is the ASCII value of the following character.
17345e5a 5411
d233b485 5412 The _\bf_\bo_\br_\bm_\ba_\bt is reused as necessary to consume all of the _\ba_\br_\bg_\bu_\b-
17345e5a 5413 _\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\bs. If the _\bf_\bo_\br_\bm_\ba_\bt requires more _\ba_\br_\bg_\bu_\bm_\be_\bn_\bt_\bs than are supplied,
d233b485
CR
5414 the extra format specifications behave as if a zero value or
5415 null string, as appropriate, had been supplied. The return
17345e5a
JA
5416 value is zero on success, non-zero on failure.
5417
5418 p\bpu\bus\bsh\bhd\bd [-\b-n\bn] [+_\bn] [-_\bn]
5419 p\bpu\bus\bsh\bhd\bd [-\b-n\bn] [_\bd_\bi_\br]
d233b485
CR
5420 Adds a directory to the top of the directory stack, or rotates
5421 the stack, making the new top of the stack the current working
74091dd4
CR
5422 directory. With no arguments, p\bpu\bus\bsh\bhd\bd exchanges the top two ele-
5423 ments of the directory stack. Arguments, if supplied, have the
5424 following meanings:
d233b485
CR
5425 -\b-n\bn Suppresses the normal change of directory when rotating
5426 or adding directories to the stack, so that only the
a0c0a00f 5427 stack is manipulated.
d233b485
CR
5428 +\b+_\bn Rotates the stack so that the _\bnth directory (counting
5429 from the left of the list shown by d\bdi\bir\brs\bs, starting with
17345e5a 5430 zero) is at the top.
d233b485
CR
5431 -\b-_\bn Rotates the stack so that the _\bnth directory (counting
5432 from the right of the list shown by d\bdi\bir\brs\bs, starting with
17345e5a 5433 zero) is at the top.
74091dd4
CR
5434 _\bd_\bi_\br Adds _\bd_\bi_\br to the directory stack at the top
5435
5436 After the stack has been modified, if the -\b-n\bn option was not sup-
5437 plied, p\bpu\bus\bsh\bhd\bd uses the c\bcd\bd builtin to change to the directory at
5438 the top of the stack. If the c\bcd\bd fails, p\bpu\bus\bsh\bhd\bd returns a non-zero
5439 value.
5440
5441 Otherwise, if no arguments are supplied, p\bpu\bus\bsh\bhd\bd returns 0 unless
5442 the directory stack is empty. When rotating the directory
5443 stack, p\bpu\bus\bsh\bhd\bd returns 0 unless the directory stack is empty or a
5444 non-existent directory stack element is specified.
17345e5a 5445
74091dd4
CR
5446 If the p\bpu\bus\bsh\bhd\bd command is successful, bash runs d\bdi\bir\brs\bs to show the
5447 final contents of the directory stack.
17345e5a
JA
5448
5449 p\bpw\bwd\bd [-\b-L\bLP\bP]
d233b485 5450 Print the absolute pathname of the current working directory.
17345e5a
JA
5451 The pathname printed contains no symbolic links if the -\b-P\bP option
5452 is supplied or the -\b-o\bo p\bph\bhy\bys\bsi\bic\bca\bal\bl option to the s\bse\bet\bt builtin command
d233b485
CR
5453 is enabled. If the -\b-L\bL option is used, the pathname printed may
5454 contain symbolic links. The return status is 0 unless an error
8868edaf
CR
5455 occurs while reading the name of the current directory or an in-
5456 valid option is supplied.
17345e5a 5457
0001803f
CR
5458 r\bre\bea\bad\bd [-\b-e\ber\brs\bs] [-\b-a\ba _\ba_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be] [-\b-d\bd _\bd_\be_\bl_\bi_\bm] [-\b-i\bi _\bt_\be_\bx_\bt] [-\b-n\bn _\bn_\bc_\bh_\ba_\br_\bs] [-\b-N\bN _\bn_\bc_\bh_\ba_\br_\bs] [-\b-p\bp
5459 _\bp_\br_\bo_\bm_\bp_\bt] [-\b-t\bt _\bt_\bi_\bm_\be_\bo_\bu_\bt] [-\b-u\bu _\bf_\bd] [_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be ...]
8868edaf
CR
5460 One line is read from the standard input, or from the file de-
5461 scriptor _\bf_\bd supplied as an argument to the -\b-u\bu option, split into
5462 words as described above under W\bWo\bor\brd\bd S\bSp\bpl\bli\bit\btt\bti\bin\bng\bg, and the first
5463 word is assigned to the first _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be, the second word to the sec-
5464 ond _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be, and so on. If there are more words than names, the
a0c0a00f 5465 remaining words and their intervening delimiters are assigned to
d233b485
CR
5466 the last _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be. If there are fewer words read from the input
5467 stream than names, the remaining names are assigned empty val-
5468 ues. The characters in I\bIF\bFS\bS are used to split the line into
8868edaf
CR
5469 words using the same rules the shell uses for expansion (de-
5470 scribed above under W\bWo\bor\brd\bd S\bSp\bpl\bli\bit\btt\bti\bin\bng\bg). The backslash character
a0c0a00f 5471 (\\b\) may be used to remove any special meaning for the next char-
d233b485 5472 acter read and for line continuation. Options, if supplied,
a0c0a00f 5473 have the following meanings:
17345e5a
JA
5474 -\b-a\ba _\ba_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be
5475 The words are assigned to sequential indices of the array
5476 variable _\ba_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be, starting at 0. _\ba_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is unset before any
8868edaf
CR
5477 new values are assigned. Other _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be arguments are ig-
5478 nored.
17345e5a 5479 -\b-d\bd _\bd_\be_\bl_\bi_\bm
8868edaf
CR
5480 The first character of _\bd_\be_\bl_\bi_\bm is used to terminate the in-
5481 put line, rather than newline. If _\bd_\be_\bl_\bi_\bm is the empty
d233b485
CR
5482 string, r\bre\bea\bad\bd will terminate a line when it reads a NUL
5483 character.
17345e5a 5484 -\b-e\be If the standard input is coming from a terminal, r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be
d233b485
CR
5485 (see R\bRE\bEA\bAD\bDL\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE above) is used to obtain the line. Read-
5486 line uses the current (or default, if line editing was
74091dd4 5487 not previously active) editing settings, but uses read-
d233b485 5488 line's default filename completion.
17345e5a 5489 -\b-i\bi _\bt_\be_\bx_\bt
ac50fbac 5490 If r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be is being used to read the line, _\bt_\be_\bx_\bt is
17345e5a
JA
5491 placed into the editing buffer before editing begins.
5492 -\b-n\bn _\bn_\bc_\bh_\ba_\br_\bs
ac50fbac 5493 r\bre\bea\bad\bd returns after reading _\bn_\bc_\bh_\ba_\br_\bs characters rather than
a0c0a00f 5494 waiting for a complete line of input, but honors a delim-
ac50fbac 5495 iter if fewer than _\bn_\bc_\bh_\ba_\br_\bs characters are read before the
0001803f
CR
5496 delimiter.
5497 -\b-N\bN _\bn_\bc_\bh_\ba_\br_\bs
ac50fbac
CR
5498 r\bre\bea\bad\bd returns after reading exactly _\bn_\bc_\bh_\ba_\br_\bs characters
5499 rather than waiting for a complete line of input, unless
5500 EOF is encountered or r\bre\bea\bad\bd times out. Delimiter charac-
5501 ters encountered in the input are not treated specially
5502 and do not cause r\bre\bea\bad\bd to return until _\bn_\bc_\bh_\ba_\br_\bs characters
a0c0a00f
CR
5503 are read. The result is not split on the characters in
5504 I\bIF\bFS\bS; the intent is that the variable is assigned exactly
5505 the characters read (with the exception of backslash; see
5506 the -\b-r\br option below).
17345e5a
JA
5507 -\b-p\bp _\bp_\br_\bo_\bm_\bp_\bt
5508 Display _\bp_\br_\bo_\bm_\bp_\bt on standard error, without a trailing new-
5509 line, before attempting to read any input. The prompt is
5510 displayed only if input is coming from a terminal.
5511 -\b-r\br Backslash does not act as an escape character. The back-
a0c0a00f 5512 slash is considered to be part of the line. In particu-
d233b485
CR
5513 lar, a backslash-newline pair may not then be used as a
5514 line continuation.
17345e5a
JA
5515 -\b-s\bs Silent mode. If input is coming from a terminal, charac-
5516 ters are not echoed.
5517 -\b-t\bt _\bt_\bi_\bm_\be_\bo_\bu_\bt
a0c0a00f
CR
5518 Cause r\bre\bea\bad\bd to time out and return failure if a complete
5519 line of input (or a specified number of characters) is
5520 not read within _\bt_\bi_\bm_\be_\bo_\bu_\bt seconds. _\bt_\bi_\bm_\be_\bo_\bu_\bt may be a deci-
5521 mal number with a fractional portion following the deci-
5522 mal point. This option is only effective if r\bre\bea\bad\bd is
5523 reading input from a terminal, pipe, or other special
5524 file; it has no effect when reading from regular files.
ac50fbac 5525 If r\bre\bea\bad\bd times out, r\bre\bea\bad\bd saves any partial input read into
8868edaf
CR
5526 the specified variable _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be. If _\bt_\bi_\bm_\be_\bo_\bu_\bt is 0, r\bre\bea\bad\bd re-
5527 turns immediately, without trying to read any data. The
5528 exit status is 0 if input is available on the specified
74091dd4
CR
5529 file descriptor, or the read will return EOF, non-zero
5530 otherwise. The exit status is greater than 128 if the
5531 timeout is exceeded.
17345e5a
JA
5532 -\b-u\bu _\bf_\bd Read input from file descriptor _\bf_\bd.
5533
74091dd4
CR
5534 If no _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\bs are supplied, the line read, without the ending de-
5535 limiter but otherwise unmodified, is assigned to the variable
5536 R\bRE\bEP\bPL\bLY\bY. The exit status is zero, unless end-of-file is encoun-
5537 tered, r\bre\bea\bad\bd times out (in which case the status is greater than
5538 128), a variable assignment error (such as assigning to a read-
8868edaf
CR
5539 only variable) occurs, or an invalid file descriptor is supplied
5540 as the argument to -\b-u\bu.
ac50fbac
CR
5541
5542 r\bre\bea\bad\bdo\bon\bnl\bly\by [-\b-a\baA\bAf\bf] [-\b-p\bp] [_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be[=_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd] ...]
74091dd4
CR
5543 The given _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\bs are marked readonly; the values of these _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\bs
5544 may not be changed by subsequent assignment. If the -\b-f\bf option
5545 is supplied, the functions corresponding to the _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\bs are so
5546 marked. The -\b-a\ba option restricts the variables to indexed ar-
5547 rays; the -\b-A\bA option restricts the variables to associative ar-
8868edaf 5548 rays. If both options are supplied, -\b-A\bA takes precedence. If no
74091dd4 5549 _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be arguments are given, or if the -\b-p\bp option is supplied, a
ac50fbac 5550 list of all readonly names is printed. The other options may be
74091dd4
CR
5551 used to restrict the output to a subset of the set of readonly
5552 names. The -\b-p\bp option causes output to be displayed in a format
5553 that may be reused as input. If a variable name is followed by
5554 =_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd, the value of the variable is set to _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd. The return
5555 status is 0 unless an invalid option is encountered, one of the
ac50fbac
CR
5556 _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\bs is not a valid shell variable name, or -\b-f\bf is supplied with
5557 a _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be that is not a function.
17345e5a
JA
5558
5559 r\bre\bet\btu\bur\brn\bn [_\bn]
74091dd4
CR
5560 Causes a function to stop executing and return the value speci-
5561 fied by _\bn to its caller. If _\bn is omitted, the return status is
5562 that of the last command executed in the function body. If r\bre\be-\b-
8868edaf 5563 t\btu\bur\brn\bn is executed by a trap handler, the last command used to de-
74091dd4
CR
5564 termine the status is the last command executed before the trap
5565 handler. If r\bre\bet\btu\bur\brn\bn is executed during a D\bDE\bEB\bBU\bUG\bG trap, the last
5566 command used to determine the status is the last command exe-
5567 cuted by the trap handler before r\bre\bet\btu\bur\brn\bn was invoked. If r\bre\bet\btu\bur\brn\bn
5568 is used outside a function, but during execution of a script by
5569 the .\b. (s\bso\bou\bur\brc\bce\be) command, it causes the shell to stop executing
5570 that script and return either _\bn or the exit status of the last
5571 command executed within the script as the exit status of the
8868edaf 5572 script. If _\bn is supplied, the return value is its least signif-
74091dd4
CR
5573 icant 8 bits. The return status is non-zero if r\bre\bet\btu\bur\brn\bn is sup-
5574 plied a non-numeric argument, or is used outside a function and
5575 not during execution of a script by .\b. or s\bso\bou\bur\brc\bce\be. Any command
8868edaf
CR
5576 associated with the R\bRE\bET\bTU\bUR\bRN\bN trap is executed before execution re-
5577 sumes after the function or script.
17345e5a 5578
74091dd4
CR
5579 s\bse\bet\bt [-\b-a\bab\bbe\bef\bfh\bhk\bkm\bmn\bnp\bpt\btu\buv\bvx\bxB\bBC\bCE\bEH\bHP\bPT\bT] [-\b-o\bo _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b-_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be] [-\b--\b-] [-\b-] [_\ba_\br_\bg ...]
5580 s\bse\bet\bt [+\b+a\bab\bbe\bef\bfh\bhk\bkm\bmn\bnp\bpt\btu\buv\bvx\bxB\bBC\bCE\bEH\bHP\bPT\bT] [+\b+o\bo _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b-_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be] [-\b--\b-] [-\b-] [_\ba_\br_\bg ...]
5581 Without options, display the name and value of each shell vari-
5582 able in a format that can be reused as input for setting or re-
5583 setting the currently-set variables. Read-only variables cannot
5584 be reset. In _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be, only shell variables are listed. The
5585 output is sorted according to the current locale. When options
5586 are specified, they set or unset shell attributes. Any argu-
5587 ments remaining after option processing are treated as values
5588 for the positional parameters and are assigned, in order, to $\b$1\b1,
5589 $\b$2\b2, .\b..\b..\b. $\b$_\bn. Options, if specified, have the following mean-
5590 ings:
a0c0a00f 5591 -\b-a\ba Each variable or function that is created or modified is
74091dd4 5592 given the export attribute and marked for export to the
a0c0a00f 5593 environment of subsequent commands.
74091dd4 5594 -\b-b\bb Report the status of terminated background jobs immedi-
17345e5a
JA
5595 ately, rather than before the next primary prompt. This
5596 is effective only when job control is enabled.
74091dd4
CR
5597 -\b-e\be Exit immediately if a _\bp_\bi_\bp_\be_\bl_\bi_\bn_\be (which may consist of a
5598 single _\bs_\bi_\bm_\bp_\bl_\be _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd), a _\bl_\bi_\bs_\bt, or a _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bp_\bo_\bu_\bn_\bd _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd
a0c0a00f 5599 (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL G\bGR\bRA\bAM\bMM\bMA\bAR\bR above), exits with a non-zero status.
74091dd4
CR
5600 The shell does not exit if the command that fails is
5601 part of the command list immediately following a w\bwh\bhi\bil\ble\be
5602 or u\bun\bnt\bti\bil\bl keyword, part of the test following the i\bif\bf or
5603 e\bel\bli\bif\bf reserved words, part of any command executed in a
5604 &\b&&\b& or |\b||\b| list except the command following the final &\b&&\b&
a0c0a00f 5605 or |\b||\b|, any command in a pipeline but the last, or if the
74091dd4
CR
5606 command's return value is being inverted with !\b!. If a
5607 compound command other than a subshell returns a non-
5608 zero status because a command failed while -\b-e\be was being
5609 ignored, the shell does not exit. A trap on E\bER\bRR\bR, if
5610 set, is executed before the shell exits. This option
0001803f 5611 applies to the shell environment and each subshell envi-
74091dd4 5612 ronment separately (see C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bD E\bEX\bXE\bEC\bCU\bUT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN E\bEN\bNV\bVI\bIR\bRO\bON\bNM\bME\bEN\bNT\bT
0001803f
CR
5613 above), and may cause subshells to exit before executing
5614 all the commands in the subshell.
ac50fbac 5615
74091dd4
CR
5616 If a compound command or shell function executes in a
5617 context where -\b-e\be is being ignored, none of the commands
5618 executed within the compound command or function body
5619 will be affected by the -\b-e\be setting, even if -\b-e\be is set
5620 and a command returns a failure status. If a compound
5621 command or shell function sets -\b-e\be while executing in a
5622 context where -\b-e\be is ignored, that setting will not have
5623 any effect until the compound command or the command
ac50fbac 5624 containing the function call completes.
17345e5a 5625 -\b-f\bf Disable pathname expansion.
74091dd4 5626 -\b-h\bh Remember the location of commands as they are looked up
17345e5a 5627 for execution. This is enabled by default.
74091dd4
CR
5628 -\b-k\bk All arguments in the form of assignment statements are
5629 placed in the environment for a command, not just those
17345e5a 5630 that precede the command name.
74091dd4
CR
5631 -\b-m\bm Monitor mode. Job control is enabled. This option is
5632 on by default for interactive shells on systems that
5633 support it (see J\bJO\bOB\bB C\bCO\bON\bNT\bTR\bRO\bOL\bL above). All processes run
ac50fbac
CR
5634 in a separate process group. When a background job com-
5635 pletes, the shell prints a line containing its exit sta-
5636 tus.
17345e5a 5637 -\b-n\bn Read commands but do not execute them. This may be used
74091dd4 5638 to check a shell script for syntax errors. This is ig-
8868edaf 5639 nored by interactive shells.
17345e5a
JA
5640 -\b-o\bo _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b-_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be
5641 The _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b-_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be can be one of the following:
5642 a\bal\bll\ble\bex\bxp\bpo\bor\brt\bt
5643 Same as -\b-a\ba.
5644 b\bbr\bra\bac\bce\bee\bex\bxp\bpa\ban\bnd\bd
5645 Same as -\b-B\bB.
74091dd4 5646 e\bem\bma\bac\bcs\bs Use an emacs-style command line editing inter-
17345e5a
JA
5647 face. This is enabled by default when the shell
5648 is interactive, unless the shell is started with
74091dd4 5649 the -\b--\b-n\bno\boe\bed\bdi\bit\bti\bin\bng\bg option. This also affects the
17345e5a 5650 editing interface used for r\bre\bea\bad\bd -\b-e\be.
0001803f 5651 e\ber\brr\bre\bex\bxi\bit\bt Same as -\b-e\be.
17345e5a
JA
5652 e\ber\brr\brt\btr\bra\bac\bce\be
5653 Same as -\b-E\bE.
5654 f\bfu\bun\bnc\bct\btr\bra\bac\bce\be
5655 Same as -\b-T\bT.
17345e5a
JA
5656 h\bha\bas\bsh\bha\bal\bll\bl Same as -\b-h\bh.
5657 h\bhi\bis\bst\bte\bex\bxp\bpa\ban\bnd\bd
5658 Same as -\b-H\bH.
5659 h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by Enable command history, as described above under
5660 H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTO\bOR\bRY\bY. This option is on by default in inter-
5661 active shells.
5662 i\big\bgn\bno\bor\bre\bee\beo\bof\bf
74091dd4
CR
5663 The effect is as if the shell command ``IG-
5664 NOREEOF=10'' had been executed (see S\bSh\bhe\bel\bll\bl V\bVa\bar\bri\bi-\b-
8868edaf 5665 a\bab\bbl\ble\bes\bs above).
17345e5a
JA
5666 k\bke\bey\byw\bwo\bor\brd\bd Same as -\b-k\bk.
5667 m\bmo\bon\bni\bit\bto\bor\br Same as -\b-m\bm.
5668 n\bno\boc\bcl\blo\bob\bbb\bbe\ber\br
5669 Same as -\b-C\bC.
5670 n\bno\boe\bex\bxe\bec\bc Same as -\b-n\bn.
5671 n\bno\bog\bgl\blo\bob\bb Same as -\b-f\bf.
5672 n\bno\bol\blo\bog\bg Currently ignored.
5673 n\bno\bot\bti\bif\bfy\by Same as -\b-b\bb.
5674 n\bno\bou\bun\bns\bse\bet\bt Same as -\b-u\bu.
5675 o\bon\bne\bec\bcm\bmd\bd Same as -\b-t\bt.
5676 p\bph\bhy\bys\bsi\bic\bca\bal\bl
5677 Same as -\b-P\bP.
5678 p\bpi\bip\bpe\bef\bfa\bai\bil\bl
74091dd4
CR
5679 If set, the return value of a pipeline is the
5680 value of the last (rightmost) command to exit
5681 with a non-zero status, or zero if all commands
5682 in the pipeline exit successfully. This option
17345e5a 5683 is disabled by default.
74091dd4
CR
5684 p\bpo\bos\bsi\bix\bx Change the behavior of b\bba\bas\bsh\bh where the default
5685 operation differs from the POSIX standard to
5686 match the standard (_\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be). See S\bSE\bEE\bE A\bAL\bLS\bSO\bO
ac50fbac
CR
5687 below for a reference to a document that details
5688 how posix mode affects bash's behavior.
17345e5a
JA
5689 p\bpr\bri\biv\bvi\bil\ble\beg\bge\bed\bd
5690 Same as -\b-p\bp.
5691 v\bve\ber\brb\bbo\bos\bse\be Same as -\b-v\bv.
74091dd4 5692 v\bvi\bi Use a vi-style command line editing interface.
17345e5a
JA
5693 This also affects the editing interface used for
5694 r\bre\bea\bad\bd -\b-e\be.
5695 x\bxt\btr\bra\bac\bce\be Same as -\b-x\bx.
5696 If -\b-o\bo is supplied with no _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b-_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be, the values of the
74091dd4
CR
5697 current options are printed. If +\b+o\bo is supplied with no
5698 _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn_\b-_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be, a series of s\bse\bet\bt commands to recreate the
5699 current option settings is displayed on the standard
17345e5a 5700 output.
74091dd4
CR
5701 -\b-p\bp Turn on _\bp_\br_\bi_\bv_\bi_\bl_\be_\bg_\be_\bd mode. In this mode, the $\b$E\bEN\bNV\bV and
5702 $\b$B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_E\bEN\bNV\bV files are not processed, shell functions are
5703 not inherited from the environment, and the S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bLO\bOP\bPT\bTS\bS,
5704 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bHO\bOP\bPT\bTS\bS, C\bCD\bDP\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH, and G\bGL\bLO\bOB\bBI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE variables, if they ap-
5705 pear in the environment, are ignored. If the shell is
5706 started with the effective user (group) id not equal to
5707 the real user (group) id, and the -\b-p\bp option is not sup-
0001803f 5708 plied, these actions are taken and the effective user id
74091dd4
CR
5709 is set to the real user id. If the -\b-p\bp option is sup-
5710 plied at startup, the effective user id is not reset.
5711 Turning this option off causes the effective user and
0001803f 5712 group ids to be set to the real user and group ids.
74091dd4
CR
5713 -\b-r\br Enable restricted shell mode. This option cannot be un-
5714 set once it has been set.
17345e5a 5715 -\b-t\bt Exit after reading and executing one command.
0001803f 5716 -\b-u\bu Treat unset variables and parameters other than the spe-
74091dd4
CR
5717 cial parameters "@" and "*", or array variables sub-
5718 scripted with "@" or "*", as an error when performing
5719 parameter expansion. If expansion is attempted on an
5720 unset variable or parameter, the shell prints an error
5721 message, and, if not interactive, exits with a non-zero
0001803f 5722 status.
17345e5a 5723 -\b-v\bv Print shell input lines as they are read.
74091dd4 5724 -\b-x\bx After expanding each _\bs_\bi_\bm_\bp_\bl_\be _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd, f\bfo\bor\br command, c\bca\bas\bse\be
17345e5a 5725 command, s\bse\bel\ble\bec\bct\bt command, or arithmetic f\bfo\bor\br command, dis-
74091dd4 5726 play the expanded value of P\bPS\bS4\b4, followed by the command
17345e5a 5727 and its expanded arguments or associated word list.
74091dd4 5728 -\b-B\bB The shell performs brace expansion (see B\bBr\bra\bac\bce\be E\bEx\bxp\bpa\ban\bns\bsi\bio\bon\bn
17345e5a 5729 above). This is on by default.
74091dd4
CR
5730 -\b-C\bC If set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh does not overwrite an existing file with
5731 the >\b>, >\b>&\b&, and <\b<>\b> redirection operators. This may be
17345e5a
JA
5732 overridden when creating output files by using the redi-
5733 rection operator >\b>|\b| instead of >\b>.
5734 -\b-E\bE If set, any trap on E\bER\bRR\bR is inherited by shell functions,
74091dd4
CR
5735 command substitutions, and commands executed in a sub-
5736 shell environment. The E\bER\bRR\bR trap is normally not inher-
17345e5a
JA
5737 ited in such cases.
5738 -\b-H\bH Enable !\b! style history substitution. This option is on
5739 by default when the shell is interactive.
74091dd4
CR
5740 -\b-P\bP If set, the shell does not resolve symbolic links when
5741 executing commands such as c\bcd\bd that change the current
17345e5a
JA
5742 working directory. It uses the physical directory
5743 structure instead. By default, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh follows the logical
74091dd4 5744 chain of directories when performing commands which
17345e5a 5745 change the current directory.
74091dd4 5746 -\b-T\bT If set, any traps on D\bDE\bEB\bBU\bUG\bG and R\bRE\bET\bTU\bUR\bRN\bN are inherited by
8868edaf 5747 shell functions, command substitutions, and commands ex-
74091dd4 5748 ecuted in a subshell environment. The D\bDE\bEB\bBU\bUG\bG and R\bRE\bET\bTU\bUR\bRN\bN
8868edaf 5749 traps are normally not inherited in such cases.
74091dd4 5750 -\b--\b- If no arguments follow this option, then the positional
17345e5a 5751 parameters are unset. Otherwise, the positional parame-
74091dd4 5752 ters are set to the _\ba_\br_\bgs, even if some of them begin
17345e5a 5753 with a -\b-.
74091dd4 5754 -\b- Signal the end of options, cause all remaining _\ba_\br_\bgs to
17345e5a
JA
5755 be assigned to the positional parameters. The -\b-x\bx and -\b-v\bv
5756 options are turned off. If there are no _\ba_\br_\bgs, the posi-
5757 tional parameters remain unchanged.
5758
74091dd4
CR
5759 The options are off by default unless otherwise noted. Using +
5760 rather than - causes these options to be turned off. The op-
8868edaf 5761 tions can also be specified as arguments to an invocation of the
74091dd4
CR
5762 shell. The current set of options may be found in $\b$-\b-. The re-
5763 turn status is always true unless an invalid option is encoun-
17345e5a
JA
5764 tered.
5765
5766 s\bsh\bhi\bif\bft\bt [_\bn]
74091dd4
CR
5767 The positional parameters from _\bn+1 ... are renamed to $\b$1\b1 .\b..\b..\b..\b.
5768 Parameters represented by the numbers $\b$#\b# down to $\b$#\b#-_\bn+1 are un-
5769 set. _\bn must be a non-negative number less than or equal to $\b$#\b#.
5770 If _\bn is 0, no parameters are changed. If _\bn is not given, it is
8868edaf 5771 assumed to be 1. If _\bn is greater than $\b$#\b#, the positional param-
74091dd4 5772 eters are not changed. The return status is greater than zero
8868edaf 5773 if _\bn is greater than $\b$#\b# or less than zero; otherwise 0.
17345e5a
JA
5774
5775 s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt [-\b-p\bpq\bqs\bsu\bu] [-\b-o\bo] [_\bo_\bp_\bt_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be ...]
74091dd4
CR
5776 Toggle the values of settings controlling optional shell behav-
5777 ior. The settings can be either those listed below, or, if the
ac50fbac
CR
5778 -\b-o\bo option is used, those available with the -\b-o\bo option to the s\bse\bet\bt
5779 builtin command. With no options, or with the -\b-p\bp option, a list
74091dd4 5780 of all settable options is displayed, with an indication of
d233b485 5781 whether or not each is set; if _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\bs are supplied, the output
74091dd4
CR
5782 is restricted to those options. The -\b-p\bp option causes output to
5783 be displayed in a form that may be reused as input. Other op-
8868edaf 5784 tions have the following meanings:
17345e5a
JA
5785 -\b-s\bs Enable (set) each _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be.
5786 -\b-u\bu Disable (unset) each _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be.
74091dd4 5787 -\b-q\bq Suppresses normal output (quiet mode); the return status
17345e5a 5788 indicates whether the _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is set or unset. If multi-
74091dd4
CR
5789 ple _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be arguments are given with -\b-q\bq, the return sta-
5790 tus is zero if all _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\bs are enabled; non-zero other-
17345e5a 5791 wise.
74091dd4 5792 -\b-o\bo Restricts the values of _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be to be those defined for
17345e5a
JA
5793 the -\b-o\bo option to the s\bse\bet\bt builtin.
5794
74091dd4
CR
5795 If either -\b-s\bs or -\b-u\bu is used with no _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be arguments, s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt
5796 shows only those options which are set or unset, respectively.
5797 Unless otherwise noted, the s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt options are disabled (unset)
ac50fbac 5798 by default.
17345e5a 5799
74091dd4
CR
5800 The return status when listing options is zero if all _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\bs
5801 are enabled, non-zero otherwise. When setting or unsetting op-
5802 tions, the return status is zero unless an _\bo_\bp_\bt_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is not a
17345e5a
JA
5803 valid shell option.
5804
5805 The list of s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt options is:
5806
d233b485 5807 a\bas\bss\bso\boc\bc_\b_e\bex\bxp\bpa\ban\bnd\bd_\b_o\bon\bnc\bce\be
74091dd4
CR
5808 If set, the shell suppresses multiple evaluation of as-
5809 sociative array subscripts during arithmetic expression
5810 evaluation, while executing builtins that can perform
5811 variable assignments, and while executing builtins that
8868edaf 5812 perform array dereferencing.
74091dd4
CR
5813 a\bau\but\bto\boc\bcd\bd If set, a command name that is the name of a directory
5814 is executed as if it were the argument to the c\bcd\bd com-
17345e5a
JA
5815 mand. This option is only used by interactive shells.
5816 c\bcd\bda\bab\bbl\ble\be_\b_v\bva\bar\brs\bs
74091dd4
CR
5817 If set, an argument to the c\bcd\bd builtin command that is
5818 not a directory is assumed to be the name of a variable
17345e5a
JA
5819 whose value is the directory to change to.
5820 c\bcd\bds\bsp\bpe\bel\bll\bl If set, minor errors in the spelling of a directory com-
74091dd4 5821 ponent in a c\bcd\bd command will be corrected. The errors
17345e5a 5822 checked for are transposed characters, a missing charac-
74091dd4
CR
5823 ter, and one character too many. If a correction is
5824 found, the corrected filename is printed, and the com-
5825 mand proceeds. This option is only used by interactive
17345e5a
JA
5826 shells.
5827 c\bch\bhe\bec\bck\bkh\bha\bas\bsh\bh
5828 If set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh checks that a command found in the hash ta-
74091dd4
CR
5829 ble exists before trying to execute it. If a hashed
5830 command no longer exists, a normal path search is per-
17345e5a
JA
5831 formed.
5832 c\bch\bhe\bec\bck\bkj\bjo\bob\bbs\bs
5833 If set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh lists the status of any stopped and running
74091dd4 5834 jobs before exiting an interactive shell. If any jobs
17345e5a 5835 are running, this causes the exit to be deferred until a
74091dd4 5836 second exit is attempted without an intervening command
8868edaf
CR
5837 (see J\bJO\bOB\bB C\bCO\bON\bNT\bTR\bRO\bOL\bL above). The shell always postpones ex-
5838 iting if any jobs are stopped.
17345e5a 5839 c\bch\bhe\bec\bck\bkw\bwi\bin\bns\bsi\biz\bze\be
74091dd4
CR
5840 If set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh checks the window size after each external
5841 (non-builtin) command and, if necessary, updates the
5842 values of L\bLI\bIN\bNE\bES\bS and C\bCO\bOL\bLU\bUM\bMN\bNS\bS. This option is enabled by
d233b485 5843 default.
74091dd4
CR
5844 c\bcm\bmd\bdh\bhi\bis\bst\bt If set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh attempts to save all lines of a multiple-
5845 line command in the same history entry. This allows
5846 easy re-editing of multi-line commands. This option is
5847 enabled by default, but only has an effect if command
d233b485 5848 history is enabled, as described above under H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTO\bOR\bRY\bY.
17345e5a 5849 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt3\b31\b1
0001803f 5850 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt3\b32\b2
0001803f 5851 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt4\b40\b0
495aee44 5852 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt4\b41\b1
ac50fbac 5853 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt4\b42\b2
a0c0a00f 5854 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt4\b43\b3
d233b485 5855 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt4\b44\b4
74091dd4
CR
5856 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt5\b50\b0
5857 These control aspects of the shell's compatibility mode
8868edaf
CR
5858 (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bPA\bAT\bTI\bIB\bBI\bIL\bLI\bIT\bTY\bY M\bMO\bOD\bDE\bE below).
5859
ac50fbac 5860 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be_\b_f\bfu\bul\bll\blq\bqu\buo\bot\bte\be
74091dd4
CR
5861 If set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh quotes all shell metacharacters in file-
5862 names and directory names when performing completion.
ac50fbac 5863 If not set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh removes metacharacters such as the dol-
74091dd4
CR
5864 lar sign from the set of characters that will be quoted
5865 in completed filenames when these metacharacters appear
5866 in shell variable references in words to be completed.
5867 This means that dollar signs in variable names that ex-
5868 pand to directories will not be quoted; however, any
5869 dollar signs appearing in filenames will not be quoted,
5870 either. This is active only when bash is using back-
5871 slashes to quote completed filenames. This variable is
5872 set by default, which is the default bash behavior in
ac50fbac 5873 versions through 4.2.
8868edaf 5874
ac50fbac 5875 d\bdi\bir\bre\bex\bxp\bpa\ban\bnd\bd
74091dd4
CR
5876 If set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh replaces directory names with the results
5877 of word expansion when performing filename completion.
5878 This changes the contents of the readline editing buf-
5879 fer. If not set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh attempts to preserve what the
ac50fbac 5880 user typed.
8868edaf 5881
17345e5a 5882 d\bdi\bir\brs\bsp\bpe\bel\bll\bl
74091dd4
CR
5883 If set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh attempts spelling correction on directory
5884 names during word completion if the directory name ini-
17345e5a 5885 tially supplied does not exist.
8868edaf 5886
74091dd4
CR
5887 d\bdo\bot\btg\bgl\blo\bob\bb If set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh includes filenames beginning with a `.' in
5888 the results of pathname expansion. The filenames `\b``\b`.\b.'\b''\b'
5889 and `\b``\b`.\b..\b.'\b''\b' must always be matched explicitly, even if
d233b485 5890 d\bdo\bot\btg\bgl\blo\bob\bb is set.
8868edaf 5891
17345e5a
JA
5892 e\bex\bxe\bec\bcf\bfa\bai\bil\bl
5893 If set, a non-interactive shell will not exit if it can-
74091dd4
CR
5894 not execute the file specified as an argument to the
5895 e\bex\bxe\bec\bc builtin command. An interactive shell does not
17345e5a 5896 exit if e\bex\bxe\bec\bc fails.
8868edaf 5897
17345e5a 5898 e\bex\bxp\bpa\ban\bnd\bd_\b_a\bal\bli\bia\bas\bse\bes\bs
74091dd4 5899 If set, aliases are expanded as described above under
17345e5a
JA
5900 A\bAL\bLI\bIA\bAS\bSE\bES\bS. This option is enabled by default for interac-
5901 tive shells.
8868edaf 5902
17345e5a 5903 e\bex\bxt\btd\bde\beb\bbu\bug\bg
74091dd4 5904 If set at shell invocation, or in a shell startup file,
8868edaf 5905 arrange to execute the debugger profile before the shell
74091dd4
CR
5906 starts, identical to the -\b--\b-d\bde\beb\bbu\bug\bgg\bge\ber\br option. If set af-
5907 ter invocation, behavior intended for use by debuggers
8868edaf
CR
5908 is enabled:
5909
17345e5a
JA
5910 1\b1.\b. The -\b-F\bF option to the d\bde\bec\bcl\bla\bar\bre\be builtin displays the
5911 source file name and line number corresponding to
5912 each function name supplied as an argument.
8868edaf 5913
74091dd4
CR
5914 2\b2.\b. If the command run by the D\bDE\bEB\bBU\bUG\bG trap returns a
5915 non-zero value, the next command is skipped and
17345e5a 5916 not executed.
8868edaf 5917
74091dd4
CR
5918 3\b3.\b. If the command run by the D\bDE\bEB\bBU\bUG\bG trap returns a
5919 value of 2, and the shell is executing in a sub-
5920 routine (a shell function or a shell script exe-
5921 cuted by the .\b. or s\bso\bou\bur\brc\bce\be builtins), the shell
a0c0a00f 5922 simulates a call to r\bre\bet\btu\bur\brn\bn.
8868edaf 5923
74091dd4
CR
5924 4\b4.\b. B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_A\bAR\bRG\bGC\bC and B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_A\bAR\bRG\bGV\bV are updated as described
5925 in their descriptions above).
8868edaf 5926
74091dd4 5927 5\b5.\b. Function tracing is enabled: command substitu-
17345e5a
JA
5928 tion, shell functions, and subshells invoked with
5929 (\b( _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd )\b) inherit the D\bDE\bEB\bBU\bUG\bG and R\bRE\bET\bTU\bUR\bRN\bN traps.
8868edaf 5930
74091dd4
CR
5931 6\b6.\b. Error tracing is enabled: command substitution,
5932 shell functions, and subshells invoked with (\b(
495aee44 5933 _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd )\b) inherit the E\bER\bRR\bR trap.
8868edaf 5934
17345e5a
JA
5935 e\bex\bxt\btg\bgl\blo\bob\bb If set, the extended pattern matching features described
5936 above under P\bPa\bat\bth\bhn\bna\bam\bme\be E\bEx\bxp\bpa\ban\bns\bsi\bio\bon\bn are enabled.
8868edaf 5937
17345e5a 5938 e\bex\bxt\btq\bqu\buo\bot\bte\be
74091dd4
CR
5939 If set, $\b$'_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg' and $\b$"_\bs_\bt_\br_\bi_\bn_\bg" quoting is performed
5940 within $\b${\b{_\bp_\ba_\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\bt_\be_\br}\b} expansions enclosed in double
17345e5a 5941 quotes. This option is enabled by default.
8868edaf 5942
17345e5a 5943 f\bfa\bai\bil\blg\bgl\blo\bob\bb
74091dd4 5944 If set, patterns which fail to match filenames during
17345e5a 5945 pathname expansion result in an expansion error.
8868edaf 5946
17345e5a 5947 f\bfo\bor\brc\bce\be_\b_f\bfi\big\bgn\bno\bor\bre\be
74091dd4
CR
5948 If set, the suffixes specified by the F\bFI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE shell
5949 variable cause words to be ignored when performing word
17345e5a 5950 completion even if the ignored words are the only possi-
74091dd4
CR
5951 ble completions. See S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL V\bVA\bAR\bRI\bIA\bAB\bBL\bLE\bES\bS above for a de-
5952 scription of F\bFI\bIG\bGN\bNO\bOR\bRE\bE. This option is enabled by de-
8868edaf
CR
5953 fault.
5954
ac50fbac 5955 g\bgl\blo\bob\bba\bas\bsc\bci\bii\bir\bra\ban\bng\bge\bes\bs
74091dd4
CR
5956 If set, range expressions used in pattern matching
5957 bracket expressions (see P\bPa\bat\btt\bte\ber\brn\bn M\bMa\bat\btc\bch\bhi\bin\bng\bg above) behave
5958 as if in the traditional C locale when performing com-
5959 parisons. That is, the current locale's collating se-
5960 quence is not taken into account, so b\bb will not collate
5961 between A\bA and B\bB, and upper-case and lower-case ASCII
8868edaf
CR
5962 characters will collate together.
5963
74091dd4
CR
5964 g\bgl\blo\bob\bbs\bsk\bki\bip\bpd\bdo\bot\bts\bs
5965 If set, pathname expansion will never match the file-
5966 names `\b``\b`.\b.'\b''\b' and `\b``\b`.\b..\b.'\b''\b', even if the pattern begins with
5967 a `\b``\b`.\b.'\b''\b'. This option is enabled by default.
5968
17345e5a 5969 g\bgl\blo\bob\bbs\bst\bta\bar\br
0001803f 5970 If set, the pattern *\b**\b* used in a pathname expansion con-
74091dd4
CR
5971 text will match all files and zero or more directories
5972 and subdirectories. If the pattern is followed by a /\b/,
ac50fbac 5973 only directories and subdirectories match.
8868edaf 5974
17345e5a
JA
5975 g\bgn\bnu\bu_\b_e\ber\brr\brf\bfm\bmt\bt
5976 If set, shell error messages are written in the standard
5977 GNU error message format.
8868edaf 5978
17345e5a 5979 h\bhi\bis\bst\bta\bap\bpp\bpe\ben\bnd\bd
74091dd4 5980 If set, the history list is appended to the file named
8868edaf
CR
5981 by the value of the H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTF\bFI\bIL\bLE\bE variable when the shell ex-
5982 its, rather than overwriting the file.
5983
17345e5a 5984 h\bhi\bis\bst\btr\bre\bee\bed\bdi\bit\bt
74091dd4 5985 If set, and r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be is being used, a user is given the
17345e5a 5986 opportunity to re-edit a failed history substitution.
8868edaf 5987
17345e5a 5988 h\bhi\bis\bst\btv\bve\ber\bri\bif\bfy\by
74091dd4
CR
5989 If set, and r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be is being used, the results of his-
5990 tory substitution are not immediately passed to the
5991 shell parser. Instead, the resulting line is loaded
17345e5a
JA
5992 into the r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be editing buffer, allowing further modi-
5993 fication.
8868edaf 5994
17345e5a
JA
5995 h\bho\bos\bst\btc\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bte\be
5996 If set, and r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be is being used, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh will attempt to
74091dd4
CR
5997 perform hostname completion when a word containing a @\b@
5998 is being completed (see C\bCo\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bin\bng\bg under R\bRE\bEA\bAD\bDL\bLI\bIN\bNE\bE
17345e5a 5999 above). This is enabled by default.
8868edaf 6000
17345e5a
JA
6001 h\bhu\bup\bpo\bon\bne\bex\bxi\bit\bt
6002 If set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh will send S\bSI\bIG\bGH\bHU\bUP\bP to all jobs when an inter-
6003 active login shell exits.
8868edaf 6004
a0c0a00f 6005 i\bin\bnh\bhe\ber\bri\bit\bt_\b_e\ber\brr\bre\bex\bxi\bit\bt
74091dd4
CR
6006 If set, command substitution inherits the value of the
6007 e\ber\brr\bre\bex\bxi\bit\bt option, instead of unsetting it in the subshell
6008 environment. This option is enabled when _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be is
a0c0a00f 6009 enabled.
8868edaf 6010
17345e5a
JA
6011 i\bin\bnt\bte\ber\bra\bac\bct\bti\biv\bve\be_\b_c\bco\bom\bmm\bme\ben\bnt\bts\bs
6012 If set, allow a word beginning with #\b# to cause that word
74091dd4
CR
6013 and all remaining characters on that line to be ignored
6014 in an interactive shell (see C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bME\bEN\bNT\bTS\bS above). This op-
8868edaf
CR
6015 tion is enabled by default.
6016
495aee44 6017 l\bla\bas\bst\btp\bpi\bip\bpe\be
74091dd4 6018 If set, and job control is not active, the shell runs
495aee44
CR
6019 the last command of a pipeline not executed in the back-
6020 ground in the current shell environment.
8868edaf 6021
74091dd4 6022 l\bli\bit\bth\bhi\bis\bst\bt If set, and the c\bcm\bmd\bdh\bhi\bis\bst\bt option is enabled, multi-line
17345e5a
JA
6023 commands are saved to the history with embedded newlines
6024 rather than using semicolon separators where possible.
8868edaf 6025
d233b485
CR
6026 l\blo\boc\bca\bal\blv\bva\bar\br_\b_i\bin\bnh\bhe\ber\bri\bit\bt
6027 If set, local variables inherit the value and attributes
6028 of a variable of the same name that exists at a previous
8868edaf
CR
6029 scope before any new value is assigned. The nameref at-
6030 tribute is not inherited.
6031
d233b485 6032 l\blo\boc\bca\bal\blv\bva\bar\br_\b_u\bun\bns\bse\bet\bt
74091dd4
CR
6033 If set, calling u\bun\bns\bse\bet\bt on local variables in previous
6034 function scopes marks them so subsequent lookups find
6035 them unset until that function returns. This is identi-
6036 cal to the behavior of unsetting local variables at the
d233b485 6037 current function scope.
8868edaf 6038
17345e5a 6039 l\blo\bog\bgi\bin\bn_\b_s\bsh\bhe\bel\bll\bl
74091dd4
CR
6040 The shell sets this option if it is started as a login
6041 shell (see I\bIN\bNV\bVO\bOC\bCA\bAT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN above). The value may not be
17345e5a 6042 changed.
8868edaf 6043
17345e5a 6044 m\bma\bai\bil\blw\bwa\bar\brn\bn
74091dd4
CR
6045 If set, and a file that b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is checking for mail has
6046 been accessed since the last time it was checked, the
6047 message ``The mail in _\bm_\ba_\bi_\bl_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be has been read'' is dis-
17345e5a 6048 played.
8868edaf 6049
17345e5a 6050 n\bno\bo_\b_e\bem\bmp\bpt\bty\by_\b_c\bcm\bmd\bd_\b_c\bco\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bn
74091dd4
CR
6051 If set, and r\bre\bea\bad\bdl\bli\bin\bne\be is being used, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh will not at-
6052 tempt to search the P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH for possible completions when
17345e5a 6053 completion is attempted on an empty line.
8868edaf 6054
17345e5a 6055 n\bno\boc\bca\bas\bse\beg\bgl\blo\bob\bb
74091dd4 6056 If set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh matches filenames in a case-insensitive
17345e5a
JA
6057 fashion when performing pathname expansion (see P\bPa\bat\bth\bhn\bna\bam\bme\be
6058 E\bEx\bxp\bpa\ban\bns\bsi\bio\bon\bn above).
8868edaf 6059
17345e5a 6060 n\bno\boc\bca\bas\bse\bem\bma\bat\btc\bch\bh
74091dd4 6061 If set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh matches patterns in a case-insensitive
17345e5a 6062 fashion when performing matching while executing c\bca\bas\bse\be or
a0c0a00f 6063 [\b[[\b[ conditional commands, when performing pattern substi-
74091dd4 6064 tution word expansions, or when filtering possible com-
a0c0a00f 6065 pletions as part of programmable completion.
8868edaf 6066
74091dd4
CR
6067 n\bno\boe\bex\bxp\bpa\ban\bnd\bd_\b_t\btr\bra\ban\bns\bsl\bla\bat\bti\bio\bon\bn
6068 If set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh encloses the translated results of $"..."
6069 quoting in single quotes instead of double quotes. If
6070 the string is not translated, this has no effect.
6071
17345e5a 6072 n\bnu\bul\bll\blg\bgl\blo\bob\bb
74091dd4
CR
6073 If set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh allows patterns which match no files (see
6074 P\bPa\bat\bth\bhn\bna\bam\bme\be E\bEx\bxp\bpa\ban\bns\bsi\bio\bon\bn above) to expand to a null string,
17345e5a 6075 rather than themselves.
8868edaf 6076
74091dd4
CR
6077 p\bpa\bat\bts\bsu\bub\bb_\b_r\bre\bep\bpl\bla\bac\bce\bem\bme\ben\bnt\bt
6078 If set, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh expands occurrences of &\b& in the replacement
6079 string of pattern substitution to the text matched by
6080 the pattern, as described under P\bPa\bar\bra\bam\bme\bet\bte\ber\br E\bEx\bxp\bpa\ban\bns\bsi\bio\bon\bn
6081 above. This option is enabled by default.
6082
17345e5a
JA
6083 p\bpr\bro\bog\bgc\bco\bom\bmp\bp
6084 If set, the programmable completion facilities (see P\bPr\bro\bo-\b-
6085 g\bgr\bra\bam\bmm\bma\bab\bbl\ble\be C\bCo\bom\bmp\bpl\ble\bet\bti\bio\bon\bn above) are enabled. This option is
6086 enabled by default.
8868edaf 6087
d233b485
CR
6088 p\bpr\bro\bog\bgc\bco\bom\bmp\bp_\b_a\bal\bli\bia\bas\bs
6089 If set, and programmable completion is enabled, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh
6090 treats a command name that doesn't have any completions
6091 as a possible alias and attempts alias expansion. If it
8868edaf
CR
6092 has an alias, b\bba\bas\bsh\bh attempts programmable completion us-
6093 ing the command word resulting from the expanded alias.
6094
17345e5a
JA
6095 p\bpr\bro\bom\bmp\bpt\btv\bva\bar\brs\bs
6096 If set, prompt strings undergo parameter expansion, com-
8868edaf
CR
6097 mand substitution, arithmetic expansion, and quote re-
6098 moval after being expanded as described in P\bPR\bRO\bOM\bMP\bPT\bTI\bIN\bNG\bG
17345e5a 6099 above. This option is enabled by default.
8868edaf 6100
17345e5a 6101 r\bre\bes\bst\btr\bri\bic\bct\bte\bed\bd_\b_s\bsh\bhe\bel\bll\bl
8868edaf
CR
6102 The shell sets this option if it is started in re-
6103 stricted mode (see R\bRE\bES\bST\bTR\bRI\bIC\bCT\bTE\bED\bD S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL below). The value
6104 may not be changed. This is not reset when the startup
6105 files are executed, allowing the startup files to dis-
17345e5a 6106 cover whether or not a shell is restricted.
8868edaf 6107
17345e5a 6108 s\bsh\bhi\bif\bft\bt_\b_v\bve\ber\brb\bbo\bos\bse\be
8868edaf 6109 If set, the s\bsh\bhi\bif\bft\bt builtin prints an error message when
17345e5a
JA
6110 the shift count exceeds the number of positional parame-
6111 ters.
8868edaf 6112
17345e5a 6113 s\bso\bou\bur\brc\bce\bep\bpa\bat\bth\bh
74091dd4 6114 If set, the .\b. (s\bso\bou\bur\brc\bce\be) builtin uses the value of P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH to
8868edaf 6115 find the directory containing the file supplied as an
17345e5a 6116 argument. This option is enabled by default.
8868edaf 6117
74091dd4
CR
6118 v\bva\bar\brr\bre\bed\bdi\bir\br_\b_c\bcl\blo\bos\bse\be
6119 If set, the shell automatically closes file descriptors
6120 assigned using the _\b{_\bv_\ba_\br_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\b} redirection syntax (see R\bRE\bE-\b-
6121 D\bDI\bIR\bRE\bEC\bCT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN above) instead of leaving them open when the
6122 command completes.
6123
17345e5a 6124 x\bxp\bpg\bg_\b_e\bec\bch\bho\bo
74091dd4 6125 If set, the e\bec\bch\bho\bo builtin expands backslash-escape se-
8868edaf 6126 quences by default.
ac50fbac 6127
17345e5a 6128 s\bsu\bus\bsp\bpe\ben\bnd\bd [-\b-f\bf]
74091dd4
CR
6129 Suspend the execution of this shell until it receives a S\bSI\bIG\bGC\bCO\bON\bNT\bT
6130 signal. A login shell, or a shell without job control enabled,
6131 cannot be suspended; the -\b-f\bf option can be used to override this
6132 and force the suspension. The return status is 0 unless the
6133 shell is a login shell or job control is not enabled and -\b-f\bf is
6134 not supplied.
ac50fbac 6135
17345e5a
JA
6136 t\bte\bes\bst\bt _\be_\bx_\bp_\br
6137 [\b[ _\be_\bx_\bp_\br ]\b]
ac50fbac
CR
6138 Return a status of 0 (true) or 1 (false) depending on the evalu-
6139 ation of the conditional expression _\be_\bx_\bp_\br. Each operator and op-
8868edaf
CR
6140 erand must be a separate argument. Expressions are composed of
6141 the primaries described above under C\bCO\bON\bND\bDI\bIT\bTI\bIO\bON\bNA\bAL\bL E\bEX\bXP\bPR\bRE\bES\bSS\bSI\bIO\bON\bNS\bS.
6142 t\bte\bes\bst\bt does not accept any options, nor does it accept and ignore
ac50fbac
CR
6143 an argument of -\b--\b- as signifying the end of options.
6144
8868edaf
CR
6145 Expressions may be combined using the following operators,
6146 listed in decreasing order of precedence. The evaluation de-
6147 pends on the number of arguments; see below. Operator prece-
495aee44 6148 dence is used when there are five or more arguments.
17345e5a
JA
6149 !\b! _\be_\bx_\bp_\br True if _\be_\bx_\bp_\br is false.
6150 (\b( _\be_\bx_\bp_\br )\b)
8868edaf 6151 Returns the value of _\be_\bx_\bp_\br. This may be used to override
17345e5a
JA
6152 the normal precedence of operators.
6153 _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\b1 -a\ba _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\b2
6154 True if both _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\b1 and _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\b2 are true.
6155 _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\b1 -o\bo _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\b2
6156 True if either _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\b1 or _\be_\bx_\bp_\br_\b2 is true.
6157
6158 t\bte\bes\bst\bt and [\b[ evaluate conditional expressions using a set of rules
6159 based on the number of arguments.
6160
6161 0 arguments
6162 The expression is false.
6163 1 argument
6164 The expression is true if and only if the argument is not
6165 null.
6166 2 arguments
6167 If the first argument is !\b!, the expression is true if and
8868edaf
CR
6168 only if the second argument is null. If the first argu-
6169 ment is one of the unary conditional operators listed
6170 above under C\bCO\bON\bND\bDI\bIT\bTI\bIO\bON\bNA\bAL\bL E\bEX\bXP\bPR\bRE\bES\bSS\bSI\bIO\bON\bNS\bS, the expression is
17345e5a
JA
6171 true if the unary test is true. If the first argument is
6172 not a valid unary conditional operator, the expression is
6173 false.
6174 3 arguments
495aee44 6175 The following conditions are applied in the order listed.
8868edaf 6176 If the second argument is one of the binary conditional
17345e5a
JA
6177 operators listed above under C\bCO\bON\bND\bDI\bIT\bTI\bIO\bON\bNA\bAL\bL E\bEX\bXP\bPR\bRE\bES\bSS\bSI\bIO\bON\bNS\bS, the
6178 result of the expression is the result of the binary test
8868edaf
CR
6179 using the first and third arguments as operands. The -\b-a\ba
6180 and -\b-o\bo operators are considered binary operators when
6181 there are three arguments. If the first argument is !\b!,
6182 the value is the negation of the two-argument test using
17345e5a
JA
6183 the second and third arguments. If the first argument is
6184 exactly (\b( and the third argument is exactly )\b), the result
8868edaf 6185 is the one-argument test of the second argument. Other-
17345e5a
JA
6186 wise, the expression is false.
6187 4 arguments
74091dd4 6188 The following conditions are applied in the order listed.
17345e5a 6189 If the first argument is !\b!, the result is the negation of
74091dd4
CR
6190 the three-argument expression composed of the remaining
6191 arguments. the two-argument test using the second and
6192 third arguments. If the first argument is exactly (\b( and
6193 the fourth argument is exactly )\b), the result is the two-
6194 argument test of the second and third arguments. Other-
6195 wise, the expression is parsed and evaluated according to
6196 precedence using the rules listed above.
17345e5a 6197 5 or more arguments
8868edaf 6198 The expression is parsed and evaluated according to
17345e5a
JA
6199 precedence using the rules listed above.
6200
8868edaf 6201 When used with t\bte\bes\bst\bt or [\b[, the <\b< and >\b> operators sort lexico-
495aee44
CR
6202 graphically using ASCII ordering.
6203
8868edaf 6204 t\bti\bim\bme\bes\bs Print the accumulated user and system times for the shell and
17345e5a
JA
6205 for processes run from the shell. The return status is 0.
6206
6207 t\btr\bra\bap\bp [-\b-l\blp\bp] [[_\ba_\br_\bg] _\bs_\bi_\bg_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc ...]
8868edaf
CR
6208 The command _\ba_\br_\bg is to be read and executed when the shell re-
6209 ceives signal(s) _\bs_\bi_\bg_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc. If _\ba_\br_\bg is absent (and there is a sin-
6210 gle _\bs_\bi_\bg_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc) or -\b-, each specified signal is reset to its origi-
6211 nal disposition (the value it had upon entrance to the shell).
6212 If _\ba_\br_\bg is the null string the signal specified by each _\bs_\bi_\bg_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc
6213 is ignored by the shell and by the commands it invokes. If _\ba_\br_\bg
6214 is not present and -\b-p\bp has been supplied, then the trap commands
6215 associated with each _\bs_\bi_\bg_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc are displayed. If no arguments are
6216 supplied or if only -\b-p\bp is given, t\btr\bra\bap\bp prints the list of com-
6217 mands associated with each signal. The -\b-l\bl option causes the
6218 shell to print a list of signal names and their corresponding
6219 numbers. Each _\bs_\bi_\bg_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc is either a signal name defined in <_\bs_\bi_\bg_\b-
6220 _\bn_\ba_\bl_\b._\bh>, or a signal number. Signal names are case insensitive
6221 and the S\bSI\bIG\bG prefix is optional.
6222
6223 If a _\bs_\bi_\bg_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc is E\bEX\bXI\bIT\bT (0) the command _\ba_\br_\bg is executed on exit
6224 from the shell. If a _\bs_\bi_\bg_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc is D\bDE\bEB\bBU\bUG\bG, the command _\ba_\br_\bg is exe-
6225 cuted before every _\bs_\bi_\bm_\bp_\bl_\be _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bm_\ba_\bn_\bd, _\bf_\bo_\br command, _\bc_\ba_\bs_\be command,
6226 _\bs_\be_\bl_\be_\bc_\bt command, every arithmetic _\bf_\bo_\br command, and before the
6227 first command executes in a shell function (see S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL G\bGR\bRA\bAM\bMM\bMA\bAR\bR
6228 above). Refer to the description of the e\bex\bxt\btd\bde\beb\bbu\bug\bg option to the
0001803f
CR
6229 s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt builtin for details of its effect on the D\bDE\bEB\bBU\bUG\bG trap. If a
6230 _\bs_\bi_\bg_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc is R\bRE\bET\bTU\bUR\bRN\bN, the command _\ba_\br_\bg is executed each time a shell
6231 function or a script executed with the .\b. or s\bso\bou\bur\brc\bce\be builtins fin-
6232 ishes executing.
6233
8868edaf 6234 If a _\bs_\bi_\bg_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc is E\bER\bRR\bR, the command _\ba_\br_\bg is executed whenever a
ac50fbac
CR
6235 pipeline (which may consist of a single simple command), a list,
6236 or a compound command returns a non-zero exit status, subject to
8868edaf 6237 the following conditions. The E\bER\bRR\bR trap is not executed if the
ac50fbac 6238 failed command is part of the command list immediately following
8868edaf 6239 a w\bwh\bhi\bil\ble\be or u\bun\bnt\bti\bil\bl keyword, part of the test in an _\bi_\bf statement,
ac50fbac 6240 part of a command executed in a &\b&&\b& or |\b||\b| list except the command
8868edaf
CR
6241 following the final &\b&&\b& or |\b||\b|, any command in a pipeline but the
6242 last, or if the command's return value is being inverted using
6243 !\b!. These are the same conditions obeyed by the e\ber\brr\bre\bex\bxi\bit\bt (-\b-e\be) op-
6244 tion.
0001803f 6245
8868edaf
CR
6246 Signals ignored upon entry to the shell cannot be trapped or re-
6247 set. Trapped signals that are not being ignored are reset to
0001803f 6248 their original values in a subshell or subshell environment when
8868edaf 6249 one is created. The return status is false if any _\bs_\bi_\bg_\bs_\bp_\be_\bc is
0001803f 6250 invalid; otherwise t\btr\bra\bap\bp returns true.
17345e5a
JA
6251
6252 t\bty\byp\bpe\be [-\b-a\baf\bft\btp\bpP\bP] _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be [_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be ...]
8868edaf 6253 With no options, indicate how each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be would be interpreted if
17345e5a 6254 used as a command name. If the -\b-t\bt option is used, t\bty\byp\bpe\be prints a
8868edaf
CR
6255 string which is one of _\ba_\bl_\bi_\ba_\bs, _\bk_\be_\by_\bw_\bo_\br_\bd, _\bf_\bu_\bn_\bc_\bt_\bi_\bo_\bn, _\bb_\bu_\bi_\bl_\bt_\bi_\bn, or
6256 _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be if _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is an alias, shell reserved word, function,
6257 builtin, or disk file, respectively. If the _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is not found,
6258 then nothing is printed, and an exit status of false is re-
6259 turned. If the -\b-p\bp option is used, t\bty\byp\bpe\be either returns the name
6260 of the disk file that would be executed if _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be were specified
6261 as a command name, or nothing if ``type -t name'' would not re-
6262 turn _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be. The -\b-P\bP option forces a P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH search for each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be,
17345e5a 6263 even if ``type -t name'' would not return _\bf_\bi_\bl_\be. If a command is
ac50fbac 6264 hashed, -\b-p\bp and -\b-P\bP print the hashed value, which is not necessar-
8868edaf
CR
6265 ily the file that appears first in P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH. If the -\b-a\ba option is
6266 used, t\bty\byp\bpe\be prints all of the places that contain an executable
ac50fbac
CR
6267 named _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be. This includes aliases and functions, if and only if
6268 the -\b-p\bp option is not also used. The table of hashed commands is
8868edaf 6269 not consulted when using -\b-a\ba. The -\b-f\bf option suppresses shell
ac50fbac
CR
6270 function lookup, as with the c\bco\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bd builtin. t\bty\byp\bpe\be returns true
6271 if all of the arguments are found, false if any are not found.
17345e5a 6272
8868edaf
CR
6273 u\bul\bli\bim\bmi\bit\bt [-\b-H\bHS\bS] -\b-a\ba
6274 u\bul\bli\bim\bmi\bit\bt [-\b-H\bHS\bS] [-\b-b\bbc\bcd\bde\bef\bfi\bik\bkl\blm\bmn\bnp\bpq\bqr\brs\bst\btu\buv\bvx\bxP\bPR\bRT\bT [_\bl_\bi_\bm_\bi_\bt]]
6275 Provides control over the resources available to the shell and
6276 to processes started by it, on systems that allow such control.
17345e5a 6277 The -\b-H\bH and -\b-S\bS options specify that the hard or soft limit is set
8868edaf
CR
6278 for the given resource. A hard limit cannot be increased by a
6279 non-root user once it is set; a soft limit may be increased up
6280 to the value of the hard limit. If neither -\b-H\bH nor -\b-S\bS is speci-
17345e5a
JA
6281 fied, both the soft and hard limits are set. The value of _\bl_\bi_\bm_\bi_\bt
6282 can be a number in the unit specified for the resource or one of
6283 the special values h\bha\bar\brd\bd, s\bso\bof\bft\bt, or u\bun\bnl\bli\bim\bmi\bit\bte\bed\bd, which stand for the
8868edaf
CR
6284 current hard limit, the current soft limit, and no limit, re-
6285 spectively. If _\bl_\bi_\bm_\bi_\bt is omitted, the current value of the soft
6286 limit of the resource is printed, unless the -\b-H\bH option is given.
6287 When more than one resource is specified, the limit name and
6288 unit, if appropriate, are printed before the value. Other op-
6289 tions are interpreted as follows:
6290 -\b-a\ba All current limits are reported; no limits are set
17345e5a
JA
6291 -\b-b\bb The maximum socket buffer size
6292 -\b-c\bc The maximum size of core files created
6293 -\b-d\bd The maximum size of a process's data segment
6294 -\b-e\be The maximum scheduling priority ("nice")
8868edaf 6295 -\b-f\bf The maximum size of files written by the shell and its
17345e5a
JA
6296 children
6297 -\b-i\bi The maximum number of pending signals
a0c0a00f 6298 -\b-k\bk The maximum number of kqueues that may be allocated
17345e5a 6299 -\b-l\bl The maximum size that may be locked into memory
8868edaf 6300 -\b-m\bm The maximum resident set size (many systems do not honor
0001803f 6301 this limit)
17345e5a
JA
6302 -\b-n\bn The maximum number of open file descriptors (most systems
6303 do not allow this value to be set)
6304 -\b-p\bp The pipe size in 512-byte blocks (this may not be set)
6305 -\b-q\bq The maximum number of bytes in POSIX message queues
6306 -\b-r\br The maximum real-time scheduling priority
6307 -\b-s\bs The maximum stack size
6308 -\b-t\bt The maximum amount of cpu time in seconds
8868edaf 6309 -\b-u\bu The maximum number of processes available to a single
17345e5a 6310 user
8868edaf 6311 -\b-v\bv The maximum amount of virtual memory available to the
495aee44 6312 shell and, on some systems, to its children
17345e5a 6313 -\b-x\bx The maximum number of file locks
a0c0a00f 6314 -\b-P\bP The maximum number of pseudoterminals
8868edaf
CR
6315 -\b-R\bR The maximum time a real-time process can run before
6316 blocking, in microseconds
17345e5a
JA
6317 -\b-T\bT The maximum number of threads
6318
ac50fbac
CR
6319 If _\bl_\bi_\bm_\bi_\bt is given, and the -\b-a\ba option is not used, _\bl_\bi_\bm_\bi_\bt is the
6320 new value of the specified resource. If no option is given,
6321 then -\b-f\bf is assumed. Values are in 1024-byte increments, except
8868edaf
CR
6322 for -\b-t\bt, which is in seconds; -\b-R\bR, which is in microseconds; -\b-p\bp,
6323 which is in units of 512-byte blocks; -\b-P\bP, -\b-T\bT, -\b-b\bb, -\b-k\bk, -\b-n\bn, and
6324 -\b-u\bu, which are unscaled values; and, when in posix mode, -\b-c\bc and
6325 -\b-f\bf, which are in 512-byte increments. The return status is 0
6326 unless an invalid option or argument is supplied, or an error
6327 occurs while setting a new limit.
17345e5a
JA
6328
6329 u\bum\bma\bas\bsk\bk [-\b-p\bp] [-\b-S\bS] [_\bm_\bo_\bd_\be]
6330 The user file-creation mask is set to _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be. If _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be begins with
8868edaf
CR
6331 a digit, it is interpreted as an octal number; otherwise it is
6332 interpreted as a symbolic mode mask similar to that accepted by
6333 _\bc_\bh_\bm_\bo_\bd(1). If _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be is omitted, the current value of the mask is
6334 printed. The -\b-S\bS option causes the mask to be printed in sym-
6335 bolic form; the default output is an octal number. If the -\b-p\bp
17345e5a
JA
6336 option is supplied, and _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be is omitted, the output is in a form
6337 that may be reused as input. The return status is 0 if the mode
8868edaf 6338 was successfully changed or if no _\bm_\bo_\bd_\be argument was supplied,
17345e5a
JA
6339 and false otherwise.
6340
6341 u\bun\bna\bal\bli\bia\bas\bs [-a\ba] [_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be ...]
8868edaf
CR
6342 Remove each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be from the list of defined aliases. If -\b-a\ba is
6343 supplied, all alias definitions are removed. The return value
17345e5a
JA
6344 is true unless a supplied _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is not a defined alias.
6345
ac50fbac 6346 u\bun\bns\bse\bet\bt [-f\bfv\bv] [-n\bn] [_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be ...]
8868edaf 6347 For each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be, remove the corresponding variable or function.
ac50fbac 6348 If the -\b-v\bv option is given, each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be refers to a shell variable,
8868edaf
CR
6349 and that variable is removed. Read-only variables may not be
6350 unset. If -\b-f\bf is specified, each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be refers to a shell func-
6351 tion, and the function definition is removed. If the -\b-n\bn option
6352 is supplied, and _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is a variable with the _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be_\br_\be_\bf attribute,
6353 _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be will be unset rather than the variable it references. -\b-n\bn
6354 has no effect if the -\b-f\bf option is supplied. If no options are
6355 supplied, each _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be refers to a variable; if there is no vari-
6356 able by that name, a function with that name, if any, is unset.
6357 Each unset variable or function is removed from the environment
6358 passed to subsequent commands. If any of B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_A\bAL\bLI\bIA\bAS\bSE\bES\bS,
6359 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_A\bAR\bRG\bGV\bV0\b0, B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_C\bCM\bMD\bDS\bS, B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_C\bCO\bOM\bMM\bMA\bAN\bND\bD, B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_S\bSU\bUB\bBS\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL, B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bHP\bPI\bID\bD,
6360 C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bP_\b_W\bWO\bOR\bRD\bDB\bBR\bRE\bEA\bAK\bKS\bS, D\bDI\bIR\bRS\bST\bTA\bAC\bCK\bK, E\bEP\bPO\bOC\bCH\bHR\bRE\bEA\bAL\bLT\bTI\bIM\bME\bE, E\bEP\bPO\bOC\bCH\bHS\bSE\bEC\bCO\bON\bND\bDS\bS, F\bFU\bUN\bNC\bC-\b-
6361 N\bNA\bAM\bME\bE, G\bGR\bRO\bOU\bUP\bPS\bS, H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTC\bCM\bMD\bD, L\bLI\bIN\bNE\bEN\bNO\bO, R\bRA\bAN\bND\bDO\bOM\bM, S\bSE\bEC\bCO\bON\bND\bDS\bS, or S\bSR\bRA\bAN\bND\bDO\bOM\bM are
ac50fbac
CR
6362 unset, they lose their special properties, even if they are sub-
6363 sequently reset. The exit status is true unless a _\bn_\ba_\bm_\be is read-
74091dd4 6364 only or may not be unset.
ac50fbac 6365
8868edaf 6366 w\bwa\bai\bit\bt [-\b-f\bfn\bn] [-\b-p\bp _\bv_\ba_\br_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be] [_\bi_\bd _\b._\b._\b.]
ac50fbac 6367 Wait for each specified child process and return its termination
8868edaf
CR
6368 status. Each _\bi_\bd may be a process ID or a job specification; if
6369 a job spec is given, all processes in that job's pipeline are
6370 waited for. If _\bi_\bd is not given, w\bwa\bai\bit\bt waits for all running
6371 background jobs and the last-executed process substitution, if
6372 its process id is the same as $\b$!\b!, and the return status is zero.
6373 If the -\b-n\bn option is supplied, w\bwa\bai\bit\bt waits for a single job from
6374 the list of _\bi_\bds or, if no _\bi_\bds are supplied, any job, to complete
6375 and returns its exit status. If none of the supplied arguments
6376 is a child of the shell, or if no arguments are supplied and the
6377 shell has no unwaited-for children, the exit status is 127. If
6378 the -\b-p\bp option is supplied, the process or job identifier of the
6379 job for which the exit status is returned is assigned to the
6380 variable _\bv_\ba_\br_\bn_\ba_\bm_\be named by the option argument. The variable
6381 will be unset initially, before any assignment. This is useful
6382 only when the -\b-n\bn option is supplied. Supplying the -\b-f\bf option,
6383 when job control is enabled, forces w\bwa\bai\bit\bt to wait for _\bi_\bd to ter-
6384 minate before returning its status, instead of returning when it
6385 changes status. If _\bi_\bd specifies a non-existent process or job,
74091dd4
CR
6386 the return status is 127. If w\bwa\bai\bit\bt is interrupted by a signal,
6387 the return status will be greater than 128, as described under
6388 S\bSI\bIG\bGN\bNA\bAL\bLS\bS above. Otherwise, the return status is the exit status
6389 of the last process or job waited for.
8868edaf
CR
6390
6391S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bPA\bAT\bTI\bIB\bBI\bIL\bLI\bIT\bTY\bY M\bMO\bOD\bDE\bE
74091dd4
CR
6392 Bash-4.0 introduced the concept of a _\bs_\bh_\be_\bl_\bl _\bc_\bo_\bm_\bp_\ba_\bt_\bi_\bb_\bi_\bl_\bi_\bt_\by _\bl_\be_\bv_\be_\bl, speci-
6393 fied as a set of options to the shopt builtin ( c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt3\b31\b1, c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt3\b32\b2,
6394 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt4\b40\b0, c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt4\b41\b1, and so on). There is only one current compatibil-
6395 ity level -- each option is mutually exclusive. The compatibility
6396 level is intended to allow users to select behavior from previous ver-
6397 sions that is incompatible with newer versions while they migrate
6398 scripts to use current features and behavior. It's intended to be a
6399 temporary solution.
8868edaf
CR
6400
6401 This section does not mention behavior that is standard for a particu-
6402 lar version (e.g., setting c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt3\b32\b2 means that quoting the rhs of the
6403 regexp matching operator quotes special regexp characters in the word,
74091dd4 6404 which is default behavior in bash-3.2 and subsequent versions).
8868edaf
CR
6405
6406 If a user enables, say, c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt3\b32\b2, it may affect the behavior of other
6407 compatibility levels up to and including the current compatibility
6408 level. The idea is that each compatibility level controls behavior
6409 that changed in that version of b\bba\bas\bsh\bh, but that behavior may have been
6410 present in earlier versions. For instance, the change to use locale-
6411 based comparisons with the [\b[[\b[ command came in bash-4.1, and earlier
6412 versions used ASCII-based comparisons, so enabling c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt3\b32\b2 will enable
6413 ASCII-based comparisons as well. That granularity may not be suffi-
6414 cient for all uses, and as a result users should employ compatibility
6415 levels carefully. Read the documentation for a particular feature to
6416 find out the current behavior.
6417
6418 Bash-4.3 introduced a new shell variable: B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bPA\bAT\bT. The value as-
6419 signed to this variable (a decimal version number like 4.2, or an inte-
6420 ger corresponding to the c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt_\bN_\bN option, like 42) determines the com-
6421 patibility level.
6422
6423 Starting with bash-4.4, Bash has begun deprecating older compatibility
6424 levels. Eventually, the options will be removed in favor of B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_C\bCO\bOM\bM-\b-
6425 P\bPA\bAT\bT.
6426
6427 Bash-5.0 is the final version for which there will be an individual
6428 shopt option for the previous version. Users should use B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bPA\bAT\bT on
6429 bash-5.0 and later versions.
6430
6431 The following table describes the behavior changes controlled by each
6432 compatibility level setting. The c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt_\bN_\bN tag is used as shorthand for
6433 setting the compatibility level to _\bN_\bN using one of the following mecha-
6434 nisms. For versions prior to bash-5.0, the compatibility level may be
6435 set using the corresponding c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt_\bN_\bN shopt option. For bash-4.3 and
6436 later versions, the B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_C\bCO\bOM\bMP\bPA\bAT\bT variable is preferred, and it is re-
6437 quired for bash-5.1 and later versions.
6438
6439 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt3\b31\b1
6440 +\bo quoting the rhs of the [\b[[\b[ command's regexp matching oper-
6441 ator (=~) has no special effect
6442
6443 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt3\b32\b2
6444 +\bo interrupting a command list such as "a ; b ; c" causes
6445 the execution of the next command in the list (in
6446 bash-4.0 and later versions, the shell acts as if it re-
6447 ceived the interrupt, so interrupting one command in a
6448 list aborts the execution of the entire list)
6449
6450 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt4\b40\b0
6451 +\bo the <\b< and >\b> operators to the [\b[[\b[ command do not consider
6452 the current locale when comparing strings; they use ASCII
6453 ordering. Bash versions prior to bash-4.1 use ASCII col-
6454 lation and _\bs_\bt_\br_\bc_\bm_\bp(3); bash-4.1 and later use the current
6455 locale's collation sequence and _\bs_\bt_\br_\bc_\bo_\bl_\bl(3).
6456
6457 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt4\b41\b1
6458 +\bo in _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx mode, t\bti\bim\bme\be may be followed by options and still
6459 be recognized as a reserved word (this is POSIX interpre-
6460 tation 267)
6461 +\bo in _\bp_\bo_\bs_\bi_\bx mode, the parser requires that an even number of
6462 single quotes occur in the _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd portion of a double-
6463 quoted parameter expansion and treats them specially, so
6464 that characters within the single quotes are considered
6465 quoted (this is POSIX interpretation 221)
6466
6467 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt4\b42\b2
6468 +\bo the replacement string in double-quoted pattern substitu-
6469 tion does not undergo quote removal, as it does in ver-
6470 sions after bash-4.2
6471 +\bo in posix mode, single quotes are considered special when
6472 expanding the _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd portion of a double-quoted parameter
6473 expansion and can be used to quote a closing brace or
6474 other special character (this is part of POSIX interpre-
6475 tation 221); in later versions, single quotes are not
6476 special within double-quoted word expansions
6477
6478 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt4\b43\b3
6479 +\bo the shell does not print a warning message if an attempt
6480 is made to use a quoted compound assignment as an argu-
74091dd4
CR
6481 ment to declare (e.g., declare -a foo='(1 2)'). Later
6482 versions warn that this usage is deprecated
8868edaf
CR
6483 +\bo word expansion errors are considered non-fatal errors
6484 that cause the current command to fail, even in posix
6485 mode (the default behavior is to make them fatal errors
6486 that cause the shell to exit)
6487 +\bo when executing a shell function, the loop state
6488 (while/until/etc.) is not reset, so b\bbr\bre\bea\bak\bk or c\bco\bon\bnt\bti\bin\bnu\bue\be in
6489 that function will break or continue loops in the calling
6490 context. Bash-4.4 and later reset the loop state to pre-
6491 vent this
6492
6493 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt4\b44\b4
6494 +\bo the shell sets up the values used by B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_A\bAR\bRG\bGV\bV and
6495 B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_A\bAR\bRG\bGC\bC so they can expand to the shell's positional
6496 parameters even if extended debugging mode is not enabled
6497 +\bo a subshell inherits loops from its parent context, so
6498 b\bbr\bre\bea\bak\bk or c\bco\bon\bnt\bti\bin\bnu\bue\be will cause the subshell to exit.
6499 Bash-5.0 and later reset the loop state to prevent the
6500 exit
6501 +\bo variable assignments preceding builtins like e\bex\bxp\bpo\bor\brt\bt and
6502 r\bre\bea\bad\bdo\bon\bnl\bly\by that set attributes continue to affect variables
6503 with the same name in the calling environment even if the
6504 shell is not in posix mode
6505
6506 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt5\b50\b0
6507 +\bo Bash-5.1 changed the way $\b$R\bRA\bAN\bND\bDO\bOM\bM is generated to intro-
6508 duce slightly more randomness. If the shell compatibility
6509 level is set to 50 or lower, it reverts to the method
6510 from bash-5.0 and previous versions, so seeding the ran-
6511 dom number generator by assigning a value to R\bRA\bAN\bND\bDO\bOM\bM will
6512 produce the same sequence as in bash-5.0
6513 +\bo If the command hash table is empty, bash versions prior
6514 to bash-5.1 printed an informational message to that ef-
6515 fect, even when producing output that can be reused as
6516 input. Bash-5.1 suppresses that message when the -\b-l\bl op-
6517 tion is supplied.
17345e5a 6518
74091dd4
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6519 c\bco\bom\bmp\bpa\bat\bt5\b51\b1
6520 +\bo The u\bun\bns\bse\bet\bt builtin treats attempts to unset array sub-
6521 scripts @\b@ and *\b* differently depending on whether the ar-
6522 ray is indexed or associative, and differently than in
6523 previous versions.
6524
17345e5a
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6525R\bRE\bES\bST\bTR\bRI\bIC\bCT\bTE\bED\bD S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL
6526 If b\bba\bas\bsh\bh is started with the name r\brb\bba\bas\bsh\bh, or the -\b-r\br option is supplied at
74091dd4
CR
6527 invocation, the shell becomes restricted. A restricted shell is used
6528 to set up an environment more controlled than the standard shell. It
6529 behaves identically to b\bba\bas\bsh\bh with the exception that the following are
17345e5a
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6530 disallowed or not performed:
6531
6532 +\bo changing directories with c\bcd\bd
6533
74091dd4 6534 +\bo setting or unsetting the values of S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bL, P\bPA\bAT\bTH\bH, H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTF\bFI\bIL\bLE\bE, E\bEN\bNV\bV,
8868edaf 6535 or B\bBA\bAS\bSH\bH_\b_E\bEN\bNV\bV
17345e5a
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6536
6537 +\bo specifying command names containing /\b/
6538
74091dd4 6539 +\bo specifying a filename containing a /\b/ as an argument to the .\b.
17345e5a
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6540 builtin command
6541
74091dd4 6542 +\bo specifying a filename containing a slash as an argument to the
8868edaf
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6543 h\bhi\bis\bst\bto\bor\bry\by builtin command
6544
74091dd4 6545 +\bo specifying a filename containing a slash as an argument to the
17345e5a
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6546 -\b-p\bp option to the h\bha\bas\bsh\bh builtin command
6547
74091dd4 6548 +\bo importing function definitions from the shell environment at
17345e5a
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6549 startup
6550
74091dd4 6551 +\bo parsing the value of S\bSH\bHE\bEL\bLL\bLO\bOP\bPT\bTS\bS from the shell environment at
17345e5a
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6552 startup
6553
6554 +\bo redirecting output using the >, >|, <>, >&, &>, and >> redirect-
6555 ion operators
6556
6557 +\bo using the e\bex\bxe\bec\bc builtin command to replace the shell with another
6558 command
6559
74091dd4 6560 +\bo adding or deleting builtin commands with the -\b-f\bf and -\b-d\bd options
17345e5a
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6561 to the e\ben\bna\bab\bbl\ble\be builtin command
6562
74091dd4 6563 +\bo using the e\ben\bna\bab\bbl\ble\be builtin command to enable disabled shell
17345e5a
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6564 builtins
6565
6566 +\bo specifying the -\b-p\bp option to the c\bco\bom\bmm\bma\ban\bnd\bd builtin command
6567
74091dd4
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6568 +\bo turning off restricted mode with s\bse\bet\bt +\b+r\br or s\bsh\bho\bop\bpt\bt -\b-u\bu r\bre\be-\b-
6569 s\bst\btr\bri\bic\bct\bte\bed\bd_\b_s\bsh\bhe\bel\bll\bl.
17345e5a
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6570
6571 These restrictions are enforced after any startup files are read.
6572
6573 When a command that is found to be a shell script is executed (see C\bCO\bOM\bM-\b-
d233b485 6574 M\bMA\bAN\bND\bD E\bEX\bXE\bEC\bCU\bUT\bTI\bIO\bON\bN above), r\brb\bba\bas\bsh\bh turns off any restrictions in the shell
17345e5a
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6575 spawned to execute the script.
6576
6577S\bSE\bEE\bE A\bAL\bLS\bSO\bO
6578 _\bB_\ba_\bs_\bh _\bR_\be_\bf_\be_\br_\be_\bn_\bc_\be _\bM_\ba_\bn_\bu_\ba_\bl, Brian Fox and Chet Ramey
6579 _\bT_\bh_\be _\bG_\bn_\bu _\bR_\be_\ba_\bd_\bl_\bi_\bn_\be _\bL_\bi_\bb_\br_\ba_\br_\by, Brian Fox and Chet Ramey
6580 _\bT_\bh_\be _\bG_\bn_\bu _\bH_\bi_\bs_\bt_\bo_\br_\by _\bL_\bi_\bb_\br_\ba_\br_\by, Brian Fox and Chet Ramey
d233b485 6581 _\bP_\bo_\br_\bt_\ba_\bb_\bl_\be _\bO_\bp_\be_\br_\ba_\bt_\bi_\bn_\bg _\bS_\by_\bs_\bt_\be_\bm _\bI_\bn_\bt_\be_\br_\bf_\ba_\bc_\be _\b(_\bP_\bO_\bS_\bI_\bX_\b) _\bP_\ba_\br_\bt _\b2_\b: _\bS_\bh_\be_\bl_\bl _\ba_\bn_\bd _\bU_\bt_\bi_\bl_\bi_\b-
ac50fbac
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6582 _\bt_\bi_\be_\bs, IEEE --
6583 http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/
6584 http://tiswww.case.edu/~chet/bash/POSIX -- a description of posix mode
17345e5a
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6585 _\bs_\bh(1), _\bk_\bs_\bh(1), _\bc_\bs_\bh(1)
6586 _\be_\bm_\ba_\bc_\bs(1), _\bv_\bi(1)
6587 _\br_\be_\ba_\bd_\bl_\bi_\bn_\be(3)
6588
6589F\bFI\bIL\bLE\bES\bS
6590 _\b/_\bb_\bi_\bn_\b/_\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh
6591 The b\bba\bas\bsh\bh executable
6592 _\b/_\be_\bt_\bc_\b/_\bp_\br_\bo_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
6593 The systemwide initialization file, executed for login shells
6594 _\b~_\b/_\b._\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\b__\bp_\br_\bo_\bf_\bi_\bl_\be
6595 The personal initialization file, executed for login shells
6596 _\b~_\b/_\b._\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\br_\bc
6597 The individual per-interactive-shell startup file
6598 _\b~_\b/_\b._\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\b__\bl_\bo_\bg_\bo_\bu_\bt
d233b485 6599 The individual login shell cleanup file, executed when a login
17345e5a 6600 shell exits
74091dd4
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6601 _\b~_\b/_\b._\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\b__\bh_\bi_\bs_\bt_\bo_\br_\by
6602 The default value of H\bHI\bIS\bST\bTF\bFI\bIL\bLE\bE, the file in which bash saves the
6603 command history
17345e5a
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6604 _\b~_\b/_\b._\bi_\bn_\bp_\bu_\bt_\br_\bc
6605 Individual _\br_\be_\ba_\bd_\bl_\bi_\bn_\be initialization file
6606
6607A\bAU\bUT\bTH\bHO\bOR\bRS\bS
6608 Brian Fox, Free Software Foundation
6609 bfox@gnu.org
6610
6611 Chet Ramey, Case Western Reserve University
0001803f 6612 chet.ramey@case.edu
17345e5a
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6613
6614B\bBU\bUG\bG R\bRE\bEP\bPO\bOR\bRT\bTS\bS
6615 If you find a bug in b\bba\bas\bsh\bh,\b, you should report it. But first, you should
74091dd4
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6616 make sure that it really is a bug, and that it appears in the latest
6617 version of b\bba\bas\bsh\bh. The latest version is always available from
6618 _\bf_\bt_\bp_\b:_\b/_\b/_\bf_\bt_\bp_\b._\bg_\bn_\bu_\b._\bo_\br_\bg_\b/_\bp_\bu_\bb_\b/_\bg_\bn_\bu_\b/_\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\b/ and _\bh_\bt_\bt_\bp_\b:_\b/_\b/_\bg_\bi_\bt_\b._\bs_\ba_\bv_\ba_\bn_\b-
6619 _\bn_\ba_\bh_\b._\bg_\bn_\bu_\b._\bo_\br_\bg_\b/_\bc_\bg_\bi_\bt_\b/_\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\b._\bg_\bi_\bt_\b/_\bs_\bn_\ba_\bp_\bs_\bh_\bo_\bt_\b/_\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\b-_\bm_\ba_\bs_\bt_\be_\br_\b._\bt_\ba_\br_\b._\bg_\bz.
495aee44 6620
d233b485
CR
6621 Once you have determined that a bug actually exists, use the _\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\bb_\bu_\bg
6622 command to submit a bug report. If you have a fix, you are encouraged
6623 to mail that as well! Suggestions and `philosophical' bug reports may
6624 be mailed to _\bb_\bu_\bg_\b-_\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\b@_\bg_\bn_\bu_\b._\bo_\br_\bg or posted to the Usenet newsgroup
17345e5a
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6625 g\bgn\bnu\bu.\b.b\bba\bas\bsh\bh.\b.b\bbu\bug\bg.
6626
6627 ALL bug reports should include:
6628
6629 The version number of b\bba\bas\bsh\bh
6630 The hardware and operating system
6631 The compiler used to compile
6632 A description of the bug behaviour
6633 A short script or `recipe' which exercises the bug
6634
d233b485 6635 _\bb_\ba_\bs_\bh_\bb_\bu_\bg inserts the first three items automatically into the template
17345e5a
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6636 it provides for filing a bug report.
6637
6638 Comments and bug reports concerning this manual page should be directed
ac50fbac 6639 to _\bc_\bh_\be_\bt_\b._\br_\ba_\bm_\be_\by_\b@_\bc_\ba_\bs_\be_\b._\be_\bd_\bu.
17345e5a
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6640
6641B\bBU\bUG\bGS\bS
6642 It's too big and too slow.
6643
6644 There are some subtle differences between b\bba\bas\bsh\bh and traditional versions
6645 of s\bsh\bh, mostly because of the P\bPO\bOS\bSI\bIX\bX specification.
6646
6647 Aliases are confusing in some uses.
6648
6649 Shell builtin commands and functions are not stoppable/restartable.
6650
6651 Compound commands and command sequences of the form `a ; b ; c' are not
d233b485
CR
6652 handled gracefully when process suspension is attempted. When a
6653 process is stopped, the shell immediately executes the next command in
6654 the sequence. It suffices to place the sequence of commands between
6655 parentheses to force it into a subshell, which may be stopped as a
17345e5a
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6656 unit.
6657
6658 Array variables may not (yet) be exported.
6659
6660 There may be only one active coprocess at a time.
6661
6662
6663
74091dd4 6664GNU Bash 5.2 2022 September 19 BASH(1)