Bash scripting is a powerful tool used to automate a lot of tedious and repetitive tasks on Linux. It allows users to execute multiple commands at once in a particular sequence. In this article, we will discuss the steps to create and execute Bash Scripts in Linux.

Creating a Bash Script

Before creating a Bash script, you should understand the basic structure of the script. A Bash script always begins with a shebang line that informs the system which shell should be used to execute the script. The shebang line is followed by the actual commands that you want to execute.

The basic syntax for creating a Bash script is as follows:

#!/bin/bash

command 1

command 2

command 3

.

Here, the shebang line tells the system to use the Bash shell to execute the script. The script then executes command 1, command 2, and so on.

At first, create a file and save it with the .sh extension. For instance, you may create a file named myscript.sh. You can use any text editor, including the default Linux text editor, vi, Emacs, or any other GUI-based text editor.

The next step is to make the script executable by running the following command:

chmod +x myscript.sh

This command changes the permissions on the script, allowing you to execute it.

Executing a Bash Script

After creating a Bash script, you can execute it in different ways depending on your requirements.

The simplest way to execute a Bash script is to run the following command in the terminal:

bash myscript.sh

This will execute the script and display the output on your terminal.

If your Bash script is located in the current directory, you can execute it by running the following command:

./myscript.sh

You can also execute a Bash script by including the full path to the script. For instance, if your script is located in the /home/user/scripts directory, you can execute it by running the following command:

/home/user/scripts/myscript.sh

Passing Arguments to a Bash Script

You can also pass arguments to a Bash script when executing it. These arguments are processed by the script and used to determine the behavior of the script.

To pass an argument to a Bash script, simply include it on the command line when executing the script. For instance, if you want to pass an argument named “value” to a script, you can run the following command:

./myscript.sh value

Inside your Bash script, you can access this argument by using the $1 variable. For instance, you can print the value of this variable by using the following command:

echo $1