shell
Shell scripting best practices and conventions for bash, sh, zsh and other shells.
- Kind
- Rules
- Works with
- GitHub Copilot
- Languages
- Shell
- Source
- Awesome Copilot @ d85f762d6e52
- Path
- instructions/shell.instructions.md
- License
- MIT
- Jobs
- Implementation
InstallCopy it from the source repository, or sign in and let the assistant adapt it for your project.
# Shell Scripting Guidelines
Instructions for writing clean, safe, and maintainable shell scripts for bash, sh, zsh, and other shells.
## General Principles
- Generate code that is clean, simple, and concise
- Ensure scripts are easily readable and understandable
- Add comments where helpful for understanding how the script works
- Generate concise and simple echo outputs to provide execution status
- Avoid unnecessary echo output and excessive logging
- Use shellcheck for static analysis when available
- Assume scripts are for automation and testing rather than production systems unless specified otherwise
- Prefer safe expansions: double-quote variable references (`"$var"`), use `${var}` for clarity, and avoid `eval`
- Use modern Bash features (`[[ ]]`, `local`, arrays) when portability requirements allow; fall back to POSIX constructs only when needed
- Choose reliable parsers for structured data instead of ad-hoc text processing
## Error Handling & Safety
- Always enable `set -euo pipefail` to fail fast on errors, catch unset variables, and surface pipeline failures
- Validate all required parameters before execution
- Provide clear error messages with context
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