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Hectal
Phase 6Intermediate7 of 9 in Linux

Shell Scripting

Turn a sequence of commands you keep retyping into a saved, reliable script — variables, conditionals, loops, and functions, all in bash.

Every manual investigation you've done so far — checking a process, tailing a log, restarting a service — becomes something you can automate once you know how to write a shell script. This phase covers the core building blocks of bash scripting: variables, conditionals, loops, functions, and the error-handling habits that separate a fragile one-off script from one you can actually trust to run unattended.

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4 topics ~56 min 8 code blocks & diagrams
Start with the first topic
1
6.1

Your First Script

A shell script is just a text file of commands you'd otherwise type one by one — the shebang line, execute permission, and running it are the entire ceremony required to turn any command sequence into a saved, reusable tool.

13 min 2 code practice

2
6.2

Variables, Conditionals & Loops

Variables store values, conditionals make decisions, and loops repeat work — the same three building blocks every programming language has, expressed in bash's own (occasionally quirky) syntax.

14 min 2 code practice

3
6.3

Functions & Script Arguments

Functions let you name and reuse a block of logic within a script, and positional arguments ($1, $2, ...) let a script accept input from whoever runs it — together they turn a rigid, hardcoded script into a genuinely reusable tool.

14 min 1 code practice

4
6.4

Error Handling & Debugging Scripts

set -e, set -u, and checking exit codes are what separate a script that silently plows ahead after something breaks from one that fails loudly and immediately — and bash -x is how you watch a broken script's every step.

15 min 1 diagram 2 code practice