


Bash scripts handle command line parameters through special variables. Use $1, $2, etc. to get positional parameters, where $0 represents the script name; iterates through "$@" or "$*", the former retains space separation, and the latter is merged into a single string; use getopts to parse options with parameters (such as -a, -b:value), where the option is added to indicate the parameter value; at the same time, pay attention to referring to variables, using shift to move the parameter list, and obtaining the total number of parameters through $#.
Handling command line arguments in Bash might seem a bit tricky if you're new to shell scripting, but once you understand the basics, it becomes pretty straightforward. The main idea is that when you run a Bash script with arguments, those values are automatically assigned to special variables like $1
, $2
, and so on.
Here's how you can work with them effectively:
Basic Usage: Accessing Positional Arguments
In any Bash script, the first argument you pass is stored in $1
, the second in $2
, and so on. For example:
#!/bin/bash echo "First argument: $1" echo "Second argument: $2"
If you run this script like this:
./script.sh hello world
It will output:
First argument: hello Second argument: world
This is the most basic way to access arguments. Just keep in mind:
-
$0
refers to the script name itself. - If you reference an argument beyond what was provided (like
$4
when only two were given), it will return empty.
Handling Multiple or Unknown Arguments with $@
and $*
Sometimes you don't know how many arguments someone will pass. In these cases, $@
and $*
come in handy.
Both represent all the positional arguments, but behave slightly differently when quoted:
-
"$@"
treats each argument as a separate word — ideal for preserving spaces in arguments. -
"$*"
treats all arguments as one single word.
Here's a simple loop using $@
to print all arguments:
for arg in "$@" do echo "Argument: $arg" done
Try running it with:
./script.sh apple banana "pear orange"
You'll get:
Argument: apple Argument: banana Argument: pear orange
This method is especially useful when writing scripts that need to handle user input flexible.
Using getopts
for Parsing Options and Flags
If your script needs to accept options like -a
, -b
, or even combined ones like -abc
, getopts
is your best bet.
Here's a quick example:
while getopts "ab:c" opt; do case $opt in a) echo "Option -a triggered" ;; b) echo "Option -b with argument: $OPTARG" ;; c) echo "Option -c triggered" ;; \?) echo "Invalid option: -$OPTARG" ;; esac done
Run it like this:
./script.sh -a -b value -c
And you'll see:
Option -a triggered Option -b with argument: value Option -c triggered
A few things to note:
- The colon after
b
in"ab:c"
means-b
expects an argument. -
OPTARG
holds the value of an option that requires one. -
getopts
stops processing at the first non-option argument.
A Few Tips and Gotchas
There are some small details that can trip you up:
- Always quote your variables (
"$1"
,"$@"
) to prevent issues with spaces in filenames or paths. - Use
shift
to move through arguments if you're dealing with variable-length input. - You can check how many arguments were passed using
$#
.
For example:
echo "Number of arguments: $#"
Also, remember that Bash doesn't support long options (like --option
) natively. You'll need to handle those manually or use tools like getopt
(not getopts
).
That's basically it. It's not complicated once you get used to it, but easy to mess up if you overlook quoting or index numbers.
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