Minishell is a mini Unix shell implemented in C, designed to replicate core functionalities of the /bin/bash shell. This project was a crucial part of the 42 school curriculum, testing both technical and collaborative skills.
From handling user input to executing system commands, this shell covers:
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Custom Prompt built with the readline library.
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Command Parsing including:
- Tokenization of input (respecting quotes and special characters).
- Construction of an execution tree to manage operator precedence and nesting.
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Command Execution:
- Built-in command handling (cd, echo, pwd, export, unset, env, exit).
- Execution of system binaries found via the PATH variable.
- Support for I/O redirections (<, >, <<, >>).
- Full pipe (|) and multi-pipe chaining between commands.
- Expansion of environment variables and special symbols like $?.
Technical Challenges
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Managing process creation and synchronization using fork(), execve(), pipe(), and dup2().
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Custom signal handling for Ctrl+C, Ctrl+D, and Ctrl+.
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Implementing a mini shell from scratch with careful memory management (no leaks).
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Respecting Bash-like behavior with edge cases and proper error handling.
Human Experience
This project wasn't just about coding a shell — it was also a key moment in the curriculum and a first real teamwork experience.
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First time working as a team on a complex codebase.
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Learning to divide responsibilities, merge code, and resolve Git conflicts.
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Making joint technical decisions, communicating ideas clearly, and developing shared conventions.
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Discovering the workflow with Git branches, pull requests, and real project collaboration practices.
What I did here
For this project, I was mainly responsible for the execution logic, including the implementation of built-in commands and the full execution pipeline (handling redirections, pipes, and multiple processes). Looking back at my code today, I can clearly see many things I would improve — in terms of structure, optimization, and clarity.
It was also the first large-scale project of the 42 common core, and the first time working as a team on something this complex. In retrospect, I would definitely organize the collaboration better, especially regarding task division and Git workflow. But as they say, there's a first time for everything — and despite the challenges, I’m proud to say I survived what many call “minihell”, a turning point that tests motivation, discipline, and teamwork.