My First Bash Script

What you'll build

You'll create your first Bash script: a file that executes multiple commands automatically. You'll write a simple script that shows system information, and then a more useful one that creates projects with ready structure. When you're done, you'll have reusable scripts you can run with a single command to automate repetitive tasks. It's the foundation for creating your own tools, automating backups, deployments, and any terminal task.

Step 1: Create your first script

# Create the file
touch my-script.sh

# Open in your editor
code my-script.sh  # or nano, vim, etc.

Step 2: Write the script

#!/bin/bash
# My first script

echo "Hello, starting tasks..."
echo "Current date: $(date)"
echo "You are in: $(pwd)"
echo "Files here:"
ls -la
echo "Done!"

Step 3: Make it executable and run it

chmod +x my-script.sh
./my-script.sh

Practical example: Project setup

#!/bin/bash
# setup-project.sh

PROJECT_NAME=$1  # First argument

if [ -z "$PROJECT_NAME" ]; then
    echo "Usage: ./setup-project.sh project-name"
    exit 1
fi

mkdir -p "$PROJECT_NAME"
cd "$PROJECT_NAME"
git init
echo "# $PROJECT_NAME" > README.md
echo "node_modules/" > .gitignore
npm init -y

echo "Project $PROJECT_NAME created!"

Usage: ./setup-project.sh my-app

Variables and conditionals

#!/bin/bash

NAME="User"

if [ -f "config.json" ]; then
    echo "Config found"
else
    echo "Config doesn't exist, creating..."
    echo "{}" > config.json
fi

Loops

#!/bin/bash

# Loop over files
for file in *.txt; do
    echo "Processing: $file"
done

# Loop with counter
for i in {1..5}; do
    echo "Iteration $i"
done

If something failed

Next step

→ Docker Hello World — Basic containers