I have a shell script with some functionalities. I want to convert it to an executable file. Any idea if this is possible?
Thanks
Add the following line at the very top of your script:
#!/bin/sh
This is known as a shebang. It indicates which program to invoke the shell script with when you execute it. You could change it to anything. Eg, to run a zsh script you would use #!/bin/zsh, which is the path to the zsh interpreter on my machine.
Then you need to mark the file as executable using chmod. You can do this as follows:
chmod +x myscript
You can now run the script like this:
/full/path/to/myscript
Or, if you're in the directory the script is in:
./myscript
The '.' expands to the path of your current working directory.
If you want to be able to run the script from anywhere, stick it somewhere in your path. Eg.
mv myscript /usr/bin
You can now run the script from anywhere by typing in just the name.
Related
I'd like to make some files to put in my /usr/bin folder (Mac OS) and be able to run them by typing the name to the terminal, like the commands gcc, cd, or vim (those are all in that folder). When I open such a file as text, it appears encrypted, so I'm not sure how to create one or what extension to use. Thank you.
The files you see in /usr/bin are not encrypted - they're compiled code in machine language different from bash scripts. You can however have scripts also in the /usr/bin location and have them run exactly as you are expecting.
In order to do that, you will have to create an executable script file. In unix, scripts are not identified by file extension but by 2 things:
executable bit set on the file permission level
Script interpreter header, such as #!/bin/bash
For a bash script, you can do the following:
Make a new file with the following content:
#!/bin/bash
echo "Hello world - My first bash script."
Save the file as hello.sh (the .sh is just convention, it could be any file name).
Then run chmod +x hello.sh and you will be able to run this file as an executable.
Move this file to /usr/local/bin and you should be able to run hello.sh from command line and it should execute your program.
You can create scripts, for example in bash, make the file executable with chmod and put the file path in your $PATH.
Example:
Create a new file called myscript.sh, you can use vi or any editor you prefer.
Add the content below on it:
#!/bin/bash
echo "Hello world!"
Now make it executable:
chmod u+x my script.sh
You can run your script like this ./myscript.sh or add it to your path:
export PATH=$PATH:$PWD
Now you can just run with the name, like myscript.sh
Programs such as gcc and cd are not encrypted, but compiled; however, if you create a shell script (without .sh as suffix; the .sh file extension for a shell script is optional) and place it in /usr/bin or any PATH location, and you chmod +x <script-path> (to give execute permission) then you can directly use that as a command.
Note: use shebang to mention the script interpreter, e.g. #!/usr/bin/env bash or equivalent for korn shell, python, etc.
I wrote a shell script which opens some directories and runs some script, I run this bash file by terminal (bash filename.sh), how can I make it clickable?
You need to add the following shebang line to the top of your code.
#!/bin/bash
You also need to ensure that the script has executable permissions by running:
chmod a+x <filename>.sh
You first need to start your script with
'#!/bin/bash '
and save it as <filename>.sh Also make sure that you keep the permissions as a+x i.e all users can execute the script.
I'm trying to make a script that can be invoked in the following fashion:
"run foo"
The script will run with the command line argument foo. Can this even be done with a shell script? The best I can do is "sh run.sh foo". Thanks for the help!
Make the file run a copy of, or link to, your run.sh (or simply move run.sh to run).
Make the file run executable (chmod 755 run or more restrictive, but the owner permissions must be at least 5).
Make sure run is in a directory on your PATH (e.g. $HOME/bin if that is on your PATH; if you don't have $HOME/bin on your PATH, create the directory and add it to your PATH in your profile or other startup scripts).
Then you can type:
run foo
Note that if you want the script run with /bin/sh, make sure the first line of run is #!/bin/sh.
Name the script run and place it into a directory in $PATH. Also make sure it has executable permissions and shebang.
$PATH is a special variable that holds the path the shell will search when executing a command without path.
mv run.sh /usr/local/bin/run
run foo
How do I write a simple Python script that is globally executable via a simple command (such as cd or pwd)?
I know the file has to be executable and in my $PATH. I know I can omit the python prefix when calling the file by specifying the interpreter. But then I still have to call the script using the ./script syntax.
I basically want to create a bunch of Python CLI programs stored ~/bin and have them behaving the same way as Bash scripts like cd and pwd.
You just need to add ~/bin to your PATH. For example, you could add something like this to your ~/.bashrc file:
export PATH="$HOME/bin:$PATH"
To see the changes in the current shell, you can then do . ~/.bashrc. The path should automatically be added in all new shells that you open. You can check by doing echo "$PATH" - you should see that it starts with /home_directory/bin:....
I have a bash script like:
#!/bin/bash
echo Hello world!
How do I execute this in Terminal?
Yet another way to execute it (this time without setting execute permissions):
bash /path/to/scriptname
$prompt: /path/to/script and hit enter. Note you need to make sure the script has execute permissions.
cd to the directory that contains the script, or put it in a bin folder that is in your $PATH
then type
./scriptname.sh
if in the same directory or
scriptname.sh
if it's in the bin folder.
You could do:
sh scriptname.sh
This is an old thread, but I happened across it and I'm surprised nobody has put up a complete answer yet. So here goes...
The Executing a Command Line Script Tutorial!
Q: How do I execute this in Terminal?
The answer is below, but first ... if you are asking this question, here are a few other tidbits to help you on your way:
Confusions and Conflicts:
The Path
Understanding The Path (added by tripleee for completeness) is important. The "path" sounds like a Zen-like hacker koan or something, but it is simply a list of directories (folders) that are searched automatically when an unknown command is typed in at the command prompt. Some commands, like ls may be built-in's, but most commands are actually separate small programs. (This is where the "Zen of Unix" comes in ... "(i) Make each program do one thing well.")
Extensions
Unlike the old DOS command prompts that a lot of people remember, you do not need an 'extension' (like .sh or .py or anything else), but it helps to keep track of things. It is really only there for humans to use as a reference and most command lines and programs will not care in the least. It won't hurt. If the script name contains an extension, however, you must use it. It is part of the filename.
Changing directories
You do not need to be in any certain directory at all for any reason. But if the directory is not on the path (type echo $PATH to see), then you must include it. If you want to run a script from the current directory, use ./ before it. This ./ thing means 'here in the current directory.'
Typing the program name
You do not need to type out the name of the program that runs the file (BASH or Python or whatever) unless you want to. It won't hurt, but there are a few times when you may get slightly different results.
SUDO
You do not need sudo to do any of this. This command is reserved for running commands as another user or a 'root' (administrator) user. Running scripts with sudo allows much greater danger of screwing things up. So if you don't know the exact reason for using sudo, don't use it. Great post here.
Script location ...
A good place to put your scripts is in your ~/bin folder.
You can get there by typing
# A good place to put your scripts is in your ~/bin folder.
> cd ~/bin # or cd $HOME/bin
> ls -l
You will see a listing with owners and permissions. You will notice that you 'own' all of the files in this directory. You have full control over this directory and nobody else can easily modify it.
If it does not exist, you can create one:
> mkdir -p ~/bin && cd ~/bin
> pwd
/Users/Userxxxx/bin
A: To "execute this script" from the terminal on a Unix/Linux type system, you have to do three things:
1. Tell the system the location of the script. (pick one)
# type the name of the script with the full path
> /path/to/script.sh
# execute the script from the directory it is in
> ./script.sh
# place the script in a directory that is on the PATH
> script.sh
# ... to see the list of directories in the path, use:
> echo $PATH
/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
# ... or for a list that is easier to read:
> echo -e ${PATH//:/\\n}
# or
> printf "%b" "${PATH//:/\\n}"
/usr/local/sbin
/usr/local/bin
/usr/sbin
/usr/bin
/sbin
/bin
2. Tell the system that the script has permission to execute. (pick one)
# set the 'execute' permissions on the script
> chmod +x /path/to/script.sh
# using specific permissions instead
# FYI, this makes these scripts inaccessible by ANYONE but an administrator
> chmod 700 /path/to/script.sh
# set all files in your script directory to execute permissions
> chmod +x ~/bin/*
There is a great discussion of permissions with a cool chart here.
3. Tell the system the type of script. (pick one)
Type the name of the program before the script. (Note: when using this method, the execute(chmod thing above) is not required
> bash /path/to/script.sh
...
> php /path/to/script.php
...
> python3 /path/to/script.py
...
Use a shebang, which I see you have (#!/bin/bash) in your example. If you have that as the first line of your script, the system will use that program to execute the script. No need for typing programs or using extensions.
Use a "portable" shebang. You can also have the system choose the version of the program that is first in the PATH by using #!/usr/bin/env followed by the program name (e.g. #!/usr/bin/env bash or #!/usr/bin/env python3). There are pros and cons as thoroughly discussed here.
Note: This "portable" shebang may not be as portable as it seems. As with anything over 50 years old and steeped in numerous options that never work out quite the way you expect them ... there is a heated debate. The most recent one I saw that is actually quite different from most ideas is the "portable" perl-bang:
#!/bin/sh
exec perl -x "$0" "$#"
#!perl
Firstly you have to make it executable using: chmod +x name_of_your_file_script.
After you made it executable, you can run it using ./same_name_of_your_file_script
Change your directory to where script is located by using cd command
Then type
bash program-name.sh
And yet one more way
. /path/to/script
What is the meaning of the dot?
If you are in a directory or folder where the script file is available then simply change the file permission in executable mode by doing
chmod +x your_filename.sh
After that you will run the script by using the following command.
$ sudo ./your_filename.sh
Above the "." represent the current directory.
Note!
If you are not in the directory where the bash script file is present then you change the directory where the file is located by using
cd Directory_name/write the complete path
command. Otherwise your script can not run.