The snippet library.
Small, practical examples. Search by task or narrow things down below.
Read a variable whose name is stored in another variable
Bash Scripts: Indirect expansion performs one extra variable-name lookup.
Bash Scripts✓ Tested
Read an optional associative-array entry
Bash Scripts: Use a fallback expansion when a map key may not be present under nounset.
Bash Scripts✓ Tested
Read complete lines into an array
Bash Scripts: Mapfile with -t removes each line terminator but preserves other whitespace.
Bash Scripts✓ Tested
Read fields captured by a Bash regular expression
Bash Scripts: BASH_REMATCH contains the full match followed by capture groups after a successful regex test.
Bash Scripts✓ Tested
Read from a dedicated file descriptor
Bash Scripts: An explicitly opened descriptor keeps the script’s ordinary standard input available.
Bash Scripts✓ Tested
Read null-delimited filenames into an array
Bash Scripts: A null delimiter preserves spaces and embedded newlines in filenames.
Bash Scripts✓ Tested
Read part of a shell string
Bash Scripts: Read part of a shell string with a small standalone Bash program.
Bash Scripts✓ Tested
Read positional parameters in a function
Bash Scripts: Read positional parameters in a function with a small standalone Bash program.
Bash Scripts✓ Tested
Read the first array element
Bash Scripts: Read the first array element with a small standalone Bash program.
Bash Scripts✓ Tested
Read the length of an ASCII string
Bash Scripts: Read the length of an ASCII string with a small standalone Bash program.
Bash Scripts✓ Tested
Redirect an entire group of commands
Bash Scripts: Brace grouping runs in the current shell and shares a single output redirection.
Bash Scripts✓ Tested
Refuse to overwrite an existing file with redirection
Bash Scripts: Noclobber makes a plain greater-than redirection fail when the target already exists.
Bash Scripts✓ Tested