120 lines
3.9 KiB
Markdown
120 lines
3.9 KiB
Markdown
# bash-for-windows
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A bash-compatible shell for Windows, written in Go. Runs natively as a single `.exe` — no WSL, Cygwin, or MSYS2 required.
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## Install
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1. Download the latest release zip and extract it.
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2. Double-click **`install.bat`**.
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That's it. The installer:
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- Copies `bash.exe` to `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\BashForWindows\`
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- Adds it to your user **PATH**
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- Registers a **"Bash for Windows"** profile in Windows Terminal so it shows up in the `+` dropdown
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```powershell
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# Optional flags
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.\install.ps1 -InstallDir "C:\Tools\bash" # custom install path
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.\install.ps1 -NoTerminal # skip Windows Terminal profile
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.\install.ps1 -Uninstall # clean removal
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```
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## Features
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### Shell language
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- **Control flow** — `if/elif/else/fi`, `for/do/done`, `while/until`
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- **Functions** — `name() { ... }` and `function name { ... }`, with `local`/`return`
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- **Arithmetic** — `$(( expr ))`, `$((i + 1))`, `$((n % 2))`
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- **Command substitution** — `$(cmd)`, including pipelines: `x=$(echo foo | tr a-z A-Z)`
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- **Variable expansion** — `$VAR`, `${VAR}`, `${VAR:-default}`, `${VAR:=val}`, `${#VAR}`, `${VAR%suffix}`, `${VAR#prefix}`
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- **Glob expansion** — `*.txt`, `src/**`
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- **Tilde expansion** — `~/Documents`
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- **Quotes** — single `'literal'`, double `"with $vars"`, backslash escapes
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- **Inline comments** — `echo hello # this is ignored`
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### I/O
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- **Pipelines** — `cmd1 | cmd2 | cmd3`
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- **Redirection** — `>`, `>>`, `<`, `2>`, `2>&1`, `&>`
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- **Background jobs** — `cmd &`
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- **Command chaining** — `&&`, `||`, `;`
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### Interactive
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- **Command history** with arrow keys (saved to `~/.bash_history`)
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- **Tab completion** for commands and file paths
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- **Multi-line input** — `if`/`for`/`while`/functions continue on the next line
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- **Prompt** shows current directory and last exit code when non-zero
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### Built-in commands
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| Category | Commands |
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|----------|----------|
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| Shell | `cd`, `pwd`, `echo`, `exit`, `export`, `set`, `unset`, `source`/`.`, `alias`, `unalias`, `type`, `command`, `which`, `env` |
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| Control | `true`, `false`, `test`/`[`, `break`, `continue`, `return`, `shift`, `read`, `printf` |
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| Variables | `declare`, `local` |
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| Files | `ls`, `cat`, `cp`, `mv`, `rm`, `mkdir`, `touch`, `find`, `stat`, `basename`, `dirname` |
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| Text | `grep`, `sed`, `awk`, `sort`, `uniq`, `wc`, `head`, `tail`, `cut`, `tr`, `tee`, `xargs` |
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| System | `date`, `sleep`, `clear`, `jobs` |
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## Usage
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```
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bash # interactive shell
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bash -c 'echo hello' # run a command string
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bash script.sh # run a script file
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bash script.sh arg1 # pass arguments ($1, $2, ...)
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```
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### Examples
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```bash
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# Variables and arithmetic
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name="World"
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echo "Hello $name"
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echo $((40 + 2))
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# Loops and functions
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is_even() {
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if [ $(($1 % 2)) -eq 0 ]; then return 0; else return 1; fi
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}
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for n in 1 2 3 4 5 6; do
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if is_even $n; then echo "$n is even"; fi
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done
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# Pipelines and redirection
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cat /etc/hosts | grep localhost | wc -l
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find . -name "*.go" | xargs grep -l "TODO" > todo_files.txt
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echo "result=$(date)" >> log.txt
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```
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## Build from source
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Requires Go 1.21+.
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```bash
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./build.sh # builds Linux debug + Windows .exe into build/
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./build.sh --release # also creates release/ folder ready to distribute
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```
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```bash
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# Manual cross-compile
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GOOS=windows GOARCH=amd64 CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o bash.exe .
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```
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## Project layout
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```
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cmd/bash/ entry point, readline REPL
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internal/shell/
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shell.go Execute, parseBlocks, splitStatements, IsIncomplete
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expand.go expandWord, tokenize, arithmetic, glob
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exec.go pipelines, redirections, external commands
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control.go if/for/while/until, function define/call
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builtins.go all built-in commands and coreutils
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install.ps1 Windows installer (PATH + Windows Terminal profile)
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install.bat double-click wrapper for install.ps1
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build.sh build script
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```
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## License
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MIT
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