SC2121.md

Pattern: Use of set to assign variable

Issue: -

Description

set is not used to set or assign variables in Bourne shells. It's used to set shell options and positional parameters.

To assign variables, use var=value with no set or other qualifiers.

Example of incorrect code:

set var=42
set var 42

Example of correct code:

var=42

Exceptions

If you actually do want to set positional parameters, simply quoting them or using -- will make shellcheck stop warning, e.g. set -- var1 var2 or set "foo=bar".

Further Reading

• ShellCheck - SC2121