Bash
Unix shell · 1989Actively developedUnix shell scripting for command composition and system automation.
Procedural
Links
- Reference / standard
- https://www.gnu.org/s/bash/manual/html_node/index.html
- Bug / development mailing list
- https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-bash/
- Wikipedia (English)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bash_(Unix_shell)
Tracked release
- Version
- 5.3
- Artifact
- Shell release
- Published
- 2025-07
- Source checked
- 2026-10-22
Use & ecosystem
- Suited for
- CLI tools / automation
- Family / tradition
- Dynamic scripting, Shell
- Maturity
- Established
- Ecosystem breadth
- Focused
A stable shell with pervasive independent operational use is Established. Its ecosystem is focused on command-line composition and Unix administration.
Industry & practical use
Build scripts, deployment glue, interactive work and system automation are its natural roles. Large application logic quickly exposes shell-specific quoting and error-handling complexity.
Compilers, libraries & tooling
Bash works with existing command-line tools rather than a conventional application package library. Linters and shell test tools complement the interpreter.
Platforms & deployment
- General toolchains
- Linux, macOS
- Specialized tooling
- Windows
- Native cross-compilation
- Not the usual deployment model
Unix-like systems are the conventional environment. Windows use generally relies on WSL, MSYS2 or another compatibility environment.
Shell scripts run through an interpreter and external commands on the target; cross-compiling Bash itself is a separate operation.
Project health & support
GNU maintains Bash and publishes releases and patches. Distribution support and bundled versions differ; macOS’s bundled Bash is not the same as a current separately installed version.
Use, ecosystem & platform assessment reviewed 2026-10-22 · Sources below
History & origin
Brian Fox wrote Bash for the GNU Project, with its first release in 1989. It extends the Bourne-shell tradition with interactive features and scripting facilities.
- Creators
- Brian Fox, GNU Project
- Origin
- 1989 — First public release.
Influences & descendants
Influenced by
- Not yet documented in this catalogue.
Influenced in this catalogue
- No linked entries yet.
Language features
- Typing
- Dynamic
- Execution
- Interpreted
- Block structure
- Explicit delimiters
- Semicolons
- Optional
- Lexical closures
- No
- Namespaced modules
- No
- Pattern matching
- No
- Macro system
- Aliases (command-word substitution), not syntactic macros
Implementation notes
- Shell globbing and case patterns are not structural pattern matching. Functions do not form ordinary lexical closures.
Sources & references
- Project overview
- https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/
- Language / implementation reference
- https://www.gnu.org/s/bash/manual/html_node/index.html
Use, ecosystem & platform sources
- Project overview
- https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/
- Language / implementation reference
- https://www.gnu.org/s/bash/manual/html_node/index.html
See the classification definitions for implementation-dependent features. Influence links cover the entries documented here.