Skip to content
Joachim Ansorg edited this page Nov 12, 2021 · 2 revisions

Use [ ] to compare values, or remove spaces around = to assign (or quote '=' if literal).

Problematic code:

# Assignment
var = value

# Comparison
if $var = value
then
  echo "Match"
fi

Correct code:

# Assignment
var=value

# Comparison
if [ "$var" = value ]
then
  echo "Match"
fi

Rationale:

ShellCheck found an unquoted = after a word.

If this was supposed to be a comparison, use square brackets: [ "$var" = value ]

If this was supposed to be an assignment, remove spaces around =: var=value

Exceptions:

If the = was meant literally, quote it:

grep '=true' file.cfg

Related resources:

  • Help by adding links to BashFAQ, StackOverflow, man pages, POSIX, etc!

ShellCheck

Each individual ShellCheck warning has its own wiki page like S001. Use GitHub "Pages" feature above to find a specific one, or see Checks.

Clone this wiki locally