Bash line continuation. To improve the readability of my code, I want to go to a new line in the code but I do not want the compiler to treat is as a different line of command. Because I want to have lines within 80 characters, how can I split this on different lines? Does always need continuation character \\ ? (( cval != What is the difference between a line break and a carriage return? How do line endings differ between Windows and Linux? What is the significance of line endings in shell scripting? Does the execution of a bash script change if new lines are present? How do new lines affect bash scripts? What is the importance of new lines in bash scripts? Does exist the way, binding line continuation action to specific key in the bash? That is, instead pressing two keys \ and Enter, one after another, press two keys simultaneously, for example Alt + Enter. node. However, there are cases where commands are implicitly continued, namely when the line ends with a token than cannot legally terminate a command. There's been a long standing Unix convention of breaking long lines with a '\' to make them easier to read. bash multi line command with comments after the continuation character Ask Question Asked 14 years, 6 months ago Modified 3 years, 5 months ago How can i split my long string constant over multiple lines? I realize that you can do this: echo "continuation \\ lines" >continuation lines However, if you have indented code, it doe I think you can't change it. Here, too, trailing whitespace is important, the line continuation only works if the backslash is immediately followed by a newline, not if there are spaces in between. I don't know how to do this in the termi What is the simplest way to parse line continuation characters? This seems like such a basic action that I'm surprised there's no basic command for doing this. sx asking for more details, bash multi line command with comments after the continuation character. The <backslash> and <newline> By 'no continuation' I mean there is no backslash at the end of that line that would make a boolean and operation having a second term. How do I do this? python file_a. It is possible to continue a line comment onto another line with backslash-newline. In your code there are spaces after few backslashes. I have seen some bash/shell comments use the notation # Some comment block that starts on line 1, but then #+ continues on line 2 with this silly plus sign. Thanks for the explanation. In Bash, newline plays an essential role in breaking long lines or codes into shorter ones to make it more convenient for the developers. I've opened a question on unix. This method is popular and used in others shells and languages. Oct 4, 2025 · The most common and direct way to continue a command on the next line in Unix-like shell environments (such as Bash, Zsh, or Ksh) is by using the backslash (\) character. In Bash scripting, you can continue a line onto the next line by using the backslash () character at the end of the line that is being continued. H ow do I continue in a for or while loop in Bash under UNIX or Linux operating systems? The continue statement is used to resume the next iteration of the enclosing FOR, WHILE or UNTIL loop. 0 So you use \ followed by the newline character. You'd almost always see this in files like /etc/printcap, but there are plenty of other places where this convention is used. Examples of Command Continuation Command continuation can be used in a variety of ways. Learn how to use the break and continue statements in Bash to control loop execution, including nested loops, practical examples, and common patterns. Took me a minute to realize this is a plain ol' bash heredoc, ________ is the delimiter, and the line continuation ('\') lets you declare the delimiter on its own line. -B build-mac \\ -G Xcode \\ -DCMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES="Debug;Release" \\ -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX= Master the Linux continue command! Learn how to skip iterations in loops for efficient shell scripting. name=node1 -b 0. Every new line means the start of a new command. This concise guide will show you how to streamline your scripts with ease and clarity. From the bash man page: A non-quoted backslash ‘\’ is the Bash escape character. The \ character at the end of the line is interpreted as a line continuation character in bash that tells bash to expect a continuation of the command on the next line unless: I know how to write a multi-line command in a Bash script, but how can I add a comment for each line in a multiline command? CommandName InputFiles \\ # This is the comment for the 1st line this is a might long line and should be broken & up by inserting the continuation charater '&' a& nd newline. Master the art of the bash multiline command. executed line by line. It preserves the literal value of the next character that follows, removing any special meaning it has, with the exception of newline. Discover its secrets and subtle nuances for cleaner, more efficient code. If a \newline pair appears, and the backslash itself is not quoted, the \newline is treated as a line continuation (that is, it Any lines that end a line continuation (form part of a continuation but do not themselves continue on the next line), which are printed with leading whitespace removed, due to the modification performed by the first action. Nov 9, 2011 · H ow do I tell bash to continue the command on the next line when commands are so large and can not fit on a single line under Unix like operating systems? You need to use the \ character i. /jboss/bin/standalone. 1 Escape Character ¶ A non-quoted backslash ‘ \ ’ is the Bash escape character. Then, the next line should be indented with spaces or tabs (typically 2-4 spaces) and start with a continuation character which is represented by a caret (^) followed by a number that represents the Read this tutorial to learn how to use the Bash continue statement through example scripts to control the flow of Bash loops. 10 and want to run a set of commands in the terminal, and from what i see in the instructions, these commands each start on a new line. Read the full guide and discover how to optimize your Linux workflows. Line continuation + line comment, on the same line? [duplicate] Asked 11 years, 5 months ago Modified 11 years, 5 months ago Viewed 748 times When creating shell scripts using pipelines, and using the backslash to continue lines, I want to insert comments on separate lines, in a robust, readable and portable fashion. Crafting complex bash commands and scripts is part of your daily life. sh --server-config=standalone-full. The line ends with `&&`` and the next line is empty. Discover how to split commands smoothly and enhance your scripting skills. The line-continuation will fail if you have whitespace (spaces or tab characters¹) after the backslash and before the newline. This has often resulted in hard to spot bugs in my code. Also, it prevents me from putting a comment at the end of the line. So, a new line needs to be "escaped". So, there might be some other options here: 15 Quoteth the bash man page If a \<newline> pair appears, and the backslash is not itself quoted, the \<newline> is treated as a line continuation (that is, it is removed from the input stream and effectively ignored). Read line 1: echo abc <- there's supposed to be a trailing space here, but Reddit keeps eating it Got a line continuation, so drop it and continue Read line 2: echo abc <- here too Got a line continuation, so drop it and continue Read line 3: echo abc # What the heck?!?! \ -> echo abc Oh hey, we have a complete command. Basically, commands or bash scripts are "interpreted", i. Master the bash line break to enhance your scripting finesse. In bash history, you don't see the continuation characters as it removes all of these onto a single line (very difficult to read and edit). In the Linux operating system, the concept of the next line is fundamental to various operations, especially when dealing with command-line interfaces, scripting, and text processing. May 6, 2016 · If the statement would be correct without continuation, you need to use \. With no such whitespace, your example works fine for me: Multiline String in Bash is a block of text or strings that spans across multiple lines and avoids the complex escaping. 'while read' and 'while read -r' lo The Backslash-newline is used for line continuation to split ovely long lines: A backslash at the end of a line in a shell script makes the shell ignore the newline for the purposes of executing the script. I got a shell script and inside I got the command as below #!/bin/sh sh . Is there a safer way to do line-continuations? Update: The suggestions in the comments are about making the editor detect the trailing When you use a command continuation, the backslash “\” at the end of the line tells the shell that the command is not finished yet, and that the next line should be considered part of the command. Advanced Bash Scripting Techniques with Break and Continue. But this line should stay intact Of course, this is not a right way to do it and& you should stick with awk or sed solution But look! This is so tricky and fun! Escape Character (Bash Reference Manual) 3. I'm trying to create a configuration script that runs a multiline cmake command. I have the following with && and ||. Jun 17, 2025 · In Bash, wrapping the query in single quotes should allow you to enter a "line continuation" mode where Enter will start a new line until the closing quote is entered. In the terminal, when you press Enter, you get a prompt to run a new command. Rules for line continuation in bash code? Asked 10 years, 10 months ago Modified 10 years, 10 months ago Viewed 277 times You can continue a command in the next line with backslash (\), but only if the backslash is immediately before the newline character terminating the line. The easiest way to break up a long line in a Linux shell script is to use the \ character. Beware line continuations like that (with \ followed by newline), works inside or outside double quotes, or in here documents, but not inside single quotes nor here-documents with a quoted delimiter. Edit to clarify my question: POSIX says: If a <newline> follows the (unquoted) <backslash>, the shell shall interpret this as line continuation. You have to use `` to inform bash that there is continuation in next line. Understanding how to manage and use the next line effectively can significantly enhance a user The main use of line continuation in C is for macro definitions that would be inconveniently long for a single line (see Macros). 2. Indentation And line-continuation for Linux command line by OnWorks free hosting provider, the solution that allows to run your workstations Linux online, Windows online emulator or MACOS online emulator only using your web browser. But we‘ve all been there – struggling to make sense of a dense one-liner bash command spanning half the terminal! While bash happily handles long single-line commands, they become difficult to read, understand, […] I have the following script I wrote by searching Google, and it backs up my Linux system to an archive: #!/bin/bash # init DATE=$(date +20%y%m%d) tar -cvpzf /share Examples of line continuation characters in Bash, Batch, and PowerShell. py unix line continuations edited Oct 8, 2018 at 22:13 John Kugelman 365k70555600 asked Oct 8, 2018 at 20:27 AMS_1989 132 1 Answer Sorted by: 0 I am using Ubuntu 12. For example, given Line continuation in an extended string in a bash script [duplicate] Asked 10 years ago Modified 10 years ago Viewed 3k times Line continuation in an extended string in a bash script [duplicate] Asked 10 years ago Modified 10 years ago Viewed 3k times As a Linux system administrator, you live in the terminal. xml -Djboss. . # And this is another comment line t bash line continuation and comments Asked 7 years, 6 months ago Modified 7 years, 6 months ago Viewed 1k times 1 Line continuation in bash with \ doesn't work if there is a space after the \. Breaking and Continuing in Loops and Switch Statements in Bash. Therefore, the following works without a backslash, as you can't end a command with a &&: Mar 11, 2025 · Learn how to effectively continue commands on the next line in Bash, especially when working with Git. e. cmake -S . Master the art of bash line continuation with our concise guide. This method explicitly tells the shell that the command is not yet complete and should continue on the subsequent line. Jan 8, 2013 · In general, you can use a backslash at the end of a line in order for the command to continue on to the next line. EXECUTE! Unlock the secrets of the bash multiline comment. This character is known as the line continuation character, and it tells the shell to treat the following line as if it were part of the same command. py file_b. 130 Something I have noticed in Ubuntu for a long time that has been frustrating to me is when I am typing a command at the command line that gets longer (wider) than the terminal width, instead of wrapping to a new line, it goes back to column 1 on the same line and starts over-writing the beginning of my command line. This is normally used to split long lines in a script file into multiple text lines, which will be handeled as a single script line by the To continue a command on the next line in Unix, you primarily use the backslash (\) character. The next line is closely related to how commands are structured, how text is formatted, and how scripts are written. e a backslash. Discover techniques to streamline your scripting and enhance your command line efficiency. 1. This article covers various methods including backslashes, parentheses, and semicolons to enhance the readability and organization of your Bash scripts. v1wn, wvza, xoyu, nqvgag, xxuif, dv0fda, go4n, 645dez, ed3w, otci,