Shell by Example

Shell by Example is a hands-on introduction to shell scripting using annotated example programs. Check out the first example or browse the full list below.

Examples marked with POSIX work in any POSIX-compliant shell (sh, dash, bash, zsh, etc.). Examples marked with Bash require Bash-specific features.

Hello World POSIX
Comments POSIX
Variables POSIX
Quoting POSIX
Command Substitution POSIX
If Statements POSIX
Case Statements POSIX
For Loops POSIX
While Loops POSIX
Functions POSIX
Arrays Bash
Here Documents POSIX
Exit Codes POSIX
Traps POSIX
Command Line Arguments POSIX
Getopts POSIX
Environment Variables POSIX
Reading Files POSIX
Writing Files POSIX
File Paths POSIX
Directories POSIX
Temporary Files POSIX
Arithmetic POSIX
String Manipulation POSIX
Printf POSIX
Regular Expressions POSIX
Line Filters POSIX
Sorting POSIX
Spawning Processes POSIX
Background Jobs POSIX
Dates And Times POSIX
Json POSIX
Http Requests POSIX
Checksums POSIX
Random Numbers POSIX