Screenshot of a Bash session
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Original author(s) | Brian Fox |
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Initial release | June 8, 1989 |
Stable release |
4.4.5 / November 16, 2016
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Repository | git |
Written in | C |
Operating system |
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Platform | GNU |
Available in | Multilingual (gettext) |
Type | Unix shell, command language |
License | GNU GPL v3+ |
Website | www |
Bash is a Unix shell and command language written by Brian Fox for the GNU Project as a free software replacement for the Bourne shell. First released in 1989, it has been distributed widely as the default login shell for Linux distributions and Apple's macOS (formerly OS X). A version is also available for Windows 10.
Bash is a command processor that typically runs in a text window, where the user types commands that cause actions. Bash can also read and execute commands from a file, called a script. Like all Unix shells, it supports filename globbing (wildcard matching), piping, here documents, command substitution, variables, and control structures for condition-testing and iteration. The keywords, syntax and other basic features of the language are all copied from sh. Other features, e.g., history, are copied from csh and ksh. Bash is a POSIX-compliant shell, but with a number of extensions.