This repo is intended to be a resource for Northcoders mentors interested in shell scripting. It's divided into sections each covering some of the basics.
Once you've tackled all the tasks I encourage you to make up your own scripts, especially if you find yourself regularly doing repetitive tasks that could be automated 🤖
Also big thanks to Sam Parry for adding a section on how to create shell scripts with JavaScript! Have a look at the creating-scripts-with-js.
First thing's first here's a few tools I REALLY recommend using:
- trash CLI - The
rmcommand can be pretty dangerous as it permanently removes files. Using this instead will move them to the trash which is much safer and reversible! - Shellcheck - Can be used from the command line or by pasting a shell script into their website. They also have a VS-Code extension!
And some additional materials that are good for reference:
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explainshell : If you find a piece of code you don't understand just paste it in here and for a detailed breakdown of what it does.
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tldr-pages : The tldr-pages project is a collection of community-maintained help pages for command-line tools, that aims to be a simpler, more approachable complement to traditional man pages.
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Bash Guide : Tons of bash commands and how to use them!
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Bash scripting cheatsheet : Exactly what it says on the tin.
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Google Shell Style Guide : Guidance for best practices when shell scripting - dense reading but useful if you want to check something specific.
Each of the following sections (except the warmup section) will have an exercise for you to complete in the supplied file.
- Warmup: Aliases
- Part 1: Creating and Running a Shell Script
- Part 2: Using Shell Variables
- Part 3: Conditional Execution
- Part 4: Looping in the Shell
- Part 5: String Manipulation
- Part 6: Maths
- Part 7: Functions
Coming Soon:
- STDIN / STDOUT / STDERR
- Useful commands
- Piping
- Debugging