The Bash Built-in Commands

This article provides a concise guide to allow you to quickly look up a feature or command that you can use from the bash command line or from a bash shell script.

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Built-in Commands the bash shell includes many popular commands built into the shell. This provides for faster processing times when using these commands.

Command	Description
alias	Define an alias for the specified command.
bg	Resume a job in background mode.
bind	Bind a keyboard sequence to a redline function or macro.
break	Exit from a for, while, select, or until loop.
builtin	Execute the specified shell built-in command.
cd	Change the current directory to the specified directory.
caller	Return the context of any active subroutine call.
command	Execute the specified command without the normal shell lookup.
compgen	Generate possible completion matches for the specified word.
complete	Display how the specified words would be completed.
continue	Resume the next iteration of a for, while, select, or until loop.
declare	Declare a variable or variable type.
dirs	Display a list of currently remembered directories.
disown	Remove the specified jobs from the jobs table for the process.
echo	Display the specified string to STDOUT.
enable	Enable or disable the specified built-in shell command.
eval	Concatenate the specified arguments into a single command, and then execute the Command.
exec	Replace the shell process with the specified command.
exit	Force the shell to exit with the specified exit status.
export	Set the specified variables to be available for child shell processes.
fc	Select a list of commands from the history list.
fg	Resume a job in foreground mode.
getopts	Parse the specified positional parameters.
hash	Find and remember the full pathname of the specified command.
help	Display a help file.
history	Display the command history.
jobs	List the active jobs.
kill	Send a system signal to the specified process ID (PID).
let	Evaluate each argument in a mathematical expression.
local	Create a limited-scope variable in a function.
logout	Exit a login shell.
popd	Remove entries from the directory stack.
printf	Display text using formatted strings.
pushd	Add a directory to the directory stack.
pwd	Display the pathname of the current working directory.
read	Read one line of data from STDIN and assign it to a variable.
readonly	Read one line of data from STDIN and assign it to a variable that can’t be changed.
return	Force a function to exit with a value that can be retrieved by the calling script.
set	Set and display environment variable values and shell attributes.
shift	Rotate positional parameters down one position.
shopt	Toggle the values of variables controlling optional shell behavior.
suspend	Suspend the execution of the shell until a SIGCONT signal is received.
test	Return an exit status of O or 1 based on the specified condition.
times	Display the accumulated user and system
trap	Execute the specified command if the specified system signal is received.
type	Display how the specified word would be interpreted if used as a command.
ulimit	Set a limit on the specified resource for system users.
umask	Set default permissions for newly created files and directories.
unalias	Remove the specified alias.
unset	Remove the specified environment variable or shell attribute.
wait	Wait for the specified process to complete, and return the exit status.

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