Have you ever stared at your terminal, wondering if there’s a faster way to automate repetitive tasks? Bash scripting is the key to unlocking your inner command-line wizard. Let’s take a dive into the basics of bash scripting and why it’s a skill worth learning.

What is Bash?

Bash (Bourne Again SHell) is a command-line interpreter used on Unix-like systems. It lets you interact with your system, execute commands, and create scripts to automate tasks. Bash scripting is writing a sequence of commands in a file and running it as a program.

Getting Started with a Bash Script

1. Create a File

Create a new file with the .sh extension:

touch my_script.sh
2. Add the Shebang

The first line of a bash script is the shebang, which tells your system which interpreter to use, in this case we are using bash:

#!/bin/bash
3. Write Your Commands

Add the commands you’d usually type into the terminal:

#!/bin/bash
echo "Hello, World!"
4. Make It Executable

Give your script execution permissions (this is done in the terminal, not the .sh file):

chmod +x my_script.sh
5. Run the Script

Execute your script like this:

./my_script.sh