Update README to reflect current feature set and installer

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Cametendo
2026-05-26 13:06:02 +02:00
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README.md
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# bash-for-windows
A fully functional bash shell for Windows, written in Go. Run bash commands and scripts natively on Windows without WSL, Cygwin, or MSYS2.
A bash-compatible shell for Windows, written in Go. Runs natively as a single `.exe` — no WSL, Cygwin, or MSYS2 required.
## Install
1. Download the latest release zip and extract it.
2. Double-click **`install.bat`**.
That's it. The installer:
- Copies `bash.exe` to `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\BashForWindows\`
- Adds it to your user **PATH**
- Registers a **"Bash for Windows"** profile in Windows Terminal so it shows up in the `+` dropdown
```powershell
# Optional flags
.\install.ps1 -InstallDir "C:\Tools\bash" # custom install path
.\install.ps1 -NoTerminal # skip Windows Terminal profile
.\install.ps1 -Uninstall # clean removal
```
## Features
- **Interactive shell** with prompt (`bash$`)
- **Built-in commands**: cd, pwd, echo, exit, export, source, alias, type
- **Built-in coreutils**: ls, cat, grep, sort, wc, head, find, cp, mv, rm, mkdir, touch, clear
- **Command chaining**: `&&`, `||`, `;`
- **Pipes**: `|` between commands
- **Variable expansion**: `$NAME`, `${NAME}`
- **Variable assignment**: `NAME=VALUE command`
- **Single & double quotes**: `'literal'`, `"$variable"`
- **Script execution**: `bash-windows script.sh` or `-c 'commands'`
- **No dependencies** — single `.exe` file, runs on any Windows x86-64
### Shell language
- **Control flow** — `if/elif/else/fi`, `for/do/done`, `while/until`
- **Functions** — `name() { ... }` and `function name { ... }`, with `local`/`return`
- **Arithmetic** — `$(( expr ))`, `$((i + 1))`, `$((n % 2))`
- **Command substitution** — `$(cmd)`, including pipelines: `x=$(echo foo | tr a-z A-Z)`
- **Variable expansion**`$VAR`, `${VAR}`, `${VAR:-default}`, `${VAR:=val}`, `${#VAR}`, `${VAR%suffix}`, `${VAR#prefix}`
- **Glob expansion** — `*.txt`, `src/**`
- **Tilde expansion** — `~/Documents`
- **Quotes** — single `'literal'`, double `"with $vars"`, backslash escapes
- **Inline comments** — `echo hello # this is ignored`
### I/O
- **Pipelines** — `cmd1 | cmd2 | cmd3`
- **Redirection** — `>`, `>>`, `<`, `2>`, `2>&1`, `&>`
- **Background jobs** — `cmd &`
- **Command chaining** — `&&`, `||`, `;`
### Interactive
- **Command history** with arrow keys (saved to `~/.bash_history`)
- **Tab completion** for commands and file paths
- **Multi-line input** — `if`/`for`/`while`/functions continue on the next line
- **Prompt** shows current directory and last exit code when non-zero
### Built-in commands
| Category | Commands |
|----------|----------|
| Shell | `cd`, `pwd`, `echo`, `exit`, `export`, `set`, `unset`, `source`/`.`, `alias`, `unalias`, `type`, `command`, `which`, `env` |
| Control | `true`, `false`, `test`/`[`, `break`, `continue`, `return`, `shift`, `read`, `printf` |
| Variables | `declare`, `local` |
| Files | `ls`, `cat`, `cp`, `mv`, `rm`, `mkdir`, `touch`, `find`, `stat`, `basename`, `dirname` |
| Text | `grep`, `sed`, `awk`, `sort`, `uniq`, `wc`, `head`, `tail`, `cut`, `tr`, `tee`, `xargs` |
| System | `date`, `sleep`, `clear`, `jobs` |
## Usage
```
bash-windows # Interactive mode
bash-windows -c 'echo hello'
bash-windows script.sh
bash # interactive shell
bash -c 'echo hello' # run a command string
bash script.sh # run a script file
bash script.sh arg1 # pass arguments ($1, $2, ...)
```
### Examples
```
bash$ echo "Hello from bash-for-windows!"
bash$ ls -la
bash$ cd /tmp && pwd
bash$ cat file.txt | grep pattern | wc -l
bash$ name="Luffy" && echo $name
bash$ mkdir -p project/src && touch project/src/main.go
```bash
# Variables and arithmetic
name="World"
echo "Hello $name"
echo $((40 + 2))
# Loops and functions
is_even() {
if [ $(($1 % 2)) -eq 0 ]; then return 0; else return 1; fi
}
for n in 1 2 3 4 5 6; do
if is_even $n; then echo "$n is even"; fi
done
# Pipelines and redirection
cat /etc/hosts | grep localhost | wc -l
find . -name "*.go" | xargs grep -l "TODO" > todo_files.txt
echo "result=$(date)" >> log.txt
```
## Building
## Build from source
Requires Go 1.21+.
```bash
# Linux
./build.sh
# Manual
go build -o build/bash-windows .
# Windows cross-compile
GOOS=windows GOARCH=amd64 CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -o build/bash-windows.exe .
./build.sh # builds Linux debug + Windows .exe into build/
./build.sh --release # also creates release/ folder ready to distribute
```
## Project Structure
```bash
# Manual cross-compile
GOOS=windows GOARCH=amd64 CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o bash.exe .
```
## Project layout
```
cmd/bash/ - Shell entry point
internal/shell/ - Shell engine (parser, executor, builtins, coreutils)
build/ - Compiled binaries
cmd/bash/ entry point, readline REPL
internal/shell/
shell.go Execute, parseBlocks, splitStatements, IsIncomplete
expand.go expandWord, tokenize, arithmetic, glob
exec.go pipelines, redirections, external commands
control.go if/for/while/until, function define/call
builtins.go all built-in commands and coreutils
install.ps1 Windows installer (PATH + Windows Terminal profile)
install.bat double-click wrapper for install.ps1
build.sh build script
```
## License