Bash built-in commands

Updated 14 October 2025

Shell Builtins

Built-in commands are distinct in that they do not require the execution of a child process. They were compiled into the shell and thus become part of its toolkit. There is no external program file to run them.

Bash Built‐In Commands #-B

Command	Description
.	same as source builtin. Reads and executes commands from a designated file in the current shell
&	Starts a job in background mode
((x))	Evaluates the x mathematical expression
not:	Reads and executes commands from a designated file in the current shell.
:	Does nothing, and always exits successfully, same as true builtin
[ t ]	Evaluates the t conditional expression
[[ e ]]	Evaluates the e conditional expression
alias	Defines an alias for the specified command
bg	Resumes a job in background mode
bind	Binds a keyboard sequence to a readline function or macro
break	Exits from a for , while , select , or until loop
builtin	Executes the specified shell built‐in command

Bash Built‐In Commands E-F

echo	Displays the specified string to STDOUT
enable	Enables or disables the specified built‐in shell command
eval	Concatenates the specified arguments into a single command, and executes the command
exec	Replaces the shell process with the specified command
exit	Forces the shell to exit with the specified exit status
export	Sets the specified variables to be available for child shell processes
false	Sets a result to failed status
fc	Selects a list of commands from the history list
fg	Resumes a job in foreground mode
for	Executes set commands for every item in the list
function	Defines a shell script function

Bash Built‐In Commands G-P

getopts	Parses the specified positional parameters
hash	Finds and remembers the full pathname of the specified command
help	Displays a help file
history	Displays the command history
if	Executes set commands based on conditional expression
jobs	Lists the active jobs
kill	Sends a system signal to the specified process ID (PID)
let	Evaluates each argument in a mathematical expression
local	Creates a limited‐scope variable in a function
logout	Exits a login shell
mapfile	Reads STDIN lines and puts them into an indexed array
popd	Removes entries from the directory stack
printf	Displays text using formatted strings
pushd	Adds a directory to the directory stack
pwd	Displays the pathname of the current working directory

Bash Built‐In Commands C-D

caller	Returns the context of any active subroutine call
case	Selectively executes commands based on pattern
cd	Changes the current directory to the specified directory
command	Executes the specified command without the normal shell lookup
compgen	Generates possible completion matches for the specified word
complete	Displays how the specified words would be completed
compopt	Changes options for how the specified words would be completed
continue	Resumes the next iteration of a for , while , select , or until loop
coproc	Executes a coprocess
declare	Declares a variable or variable type
dirs	Displays a list of currently remembered directories
disown	Removes the specified jobs from the jobs table for the process

Bash Built‐In Commands R-#

read	Reads one line of data from STDIN , and assigns it to a variable
readarray	Reads STDIN lines, and puts them into an indexed array
readonly	Reads one line of data from STDIN , and assigns it to a variable that can't be changed
return	Forces a function to exit with a value that can be retrieved by the calling script
select	Displays list of words with numbers allowing selection
set	Sets and displays environment variable values and shell attributes
shift	Rotates positional parameters down one position
shopt	Toggles the values of variables controlling optional shell behavior
source	Reads and executes commands from a designated file in the current shell
suspend	Suspends the execution of the shell until a SIGCONT signal is received
test	Returns an exit status of 0 or 1 based on the specified condition
time	Displays the accumulated real, user, and system times executing command(s)
times	Displays the accumulated user and system shell times
trap	Executes the specified command if the specified system signal is received
true	Sets a result to successful status
type	Displays how the specified word would be interpreted if used as a command
typeset	Declares a variable or variable type
ulimit	Sets a limit on the specified resource for system users
umask	Sets default permissions for newly created files and directories
unalias	Removes the specified alias
unset	Removes the specified environment variable or shell attribute
until	Executes set commands until condition statement returns true
wait	Waits for the specified process to complete, and returns the exit status
while	Executes set commands while condition statement returns true
{ c; }	Group commands to execute within current shell

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🧱Bash built-in commands