Bash is the GNU Project’s Bourne Again SHell, a complete implementation of the IEEE POSIX and Open Group shell specification.
This is an sh-compatible shell that incorporates useful features from the Korn shell (ksh) and the C shell (csh). It is intended to conform to the IEEE POSIX P1003.2/ISO 9945.2 Shell and Tools standard. It offers functional improvements over sh for both programming and interactive use. In addition, most sh scripts can be run by Bash without modification.
bash is free and open source features.
Improvements added by bash include:
- Command-line editing.
- Unlimited size command history.
- Job control.
- Shell functions and aliases.
- Indexed arrays of unlimited size.
- Integer arithmetic in any base from two to sixty-four.
Website: www.gnu.org/software/bash
Support: FAQ
Developer: Originally written by Brian Fox. The current developer and maintainer is Chet Ramey.
License: GNU General Public License v3.0
bash is written in C. Learn C with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| Shells | |
|---|---|
| zsh | Advanced and programmable command interpreter |
| Nushell | Adopts the Unix philosophy of shells where pipes connect command together |
| fish | Smart and user-friendly command line shell |
| Xonsh | Python-powered, cross-platform shell language and command prompt |
| bash | sh-compatible command language interpreter |
| Murex | Intuitive, typed and content aware shell |
| PowerShell | Cross-platform automation and configuration framework |
| Elvsh | Expressive programming language and a versatile interactive shell |
| Oils | Billed as an upgrade to bash. Written in Python. |
| DASH | POSIX-compliant implementation of sh that aims to be as small as possible |
| sh | Shell parser, formatter, and interpreter |
| tcsh | C shell with file name completion and command line editing |
| mksh | MirBSD Korn shell |
| ksh | Unix shell which was developed by David Korn at Bell Labs |
| brush | POSIX- and bash compatible shell |
| Rash | Language, library, and shell REPL for Racket. |
| ion | Modern system shell that features a simple, yet powerful, syntax |
| Yash | Yet another shell |
| oksh | Portable OpenBSD ks |
| es | Extensible shell with higher-order functio |
| dune | A shell by the beach |
| cosh | Concatenative command-line she |
| gsh | POSIX-compatible generative shell |
| arsh | Statically typed scripting language with shell-like features |
| Sushi shell | Bash clone shell implemented in Rust |
| fortsh | Shell written in Fortran |
| hsh | Slightly different take on your shell |
| ReShell | Modern shell |
| rash | Rudimentary shell |
| Dax | Custom Unix shell implementation |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
 Explore our comprehensive directory of recommended free and open source software. Our carefully curated collection spans every major software category.This directory is part of our ongoing series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. It features hundreds of detailed reviews, along with open source alternatives to proprietary solutions from major corporations such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. You’ll also find interesting projects to try, hardware coverage, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. Discovered a useful open source Linux program that we haven’t covered yet? Let us know by completing this form. |