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Agent skill

Shell Scripting

by RightNow-AI in RightNow-AI/openfang

Shell scripting expert for Bash, POSIX compliance, error handling, and automation

Apache-2.0Auto-check passedDevelopment

Install Shell Scripting

skills CLI
$ npx skills add RightNow-AI/openfang --skill shell-scripting -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install RightNow-AI/openfang shell-scripting --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/RightNow-AI/openfang.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/crates/openfang-skills/bundled/shell-scripting .claude/skills/shell-scripting && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
shell-scripting
GitHub stars
18k
Token cost
~827 tokens
SKILL.md length
449 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
68
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
Apache-2.0

At a glance

Shell scripting expert for Bash, POSIX compliance, error handling, and automation

  • Tasks that involve Shell scripting
  • SKILL.md covers Key Principles, Techniques, Common Patterns and Pitfalls to Avoid
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Shell Scripting is an agent skill from RightNow-AI/openfang. Shell scripting expert for Bash, POSIX compliance, error handling, and automation

Its SKILL.md is about 830 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Development, covering Shell scripting. It works with Bash. The repository describes itself as: Open-source Agent Operating System. The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

  • Tasks that involve Shell scripting

Example prompts

  • “/shell-scripting”

Requirements

  • Python 3

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit acf2587. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Shell Scripting loads about 827 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 24 tokens; SKILL.md has 449 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~24
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~827

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from RightNow-AI/openfang at commit acf2587, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© RightNow-AI). 449 words, ~827 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/shell-scripting/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
shell-scripting
description
Shell scripting expert for Bash, POSIX compliance, error handling, and automation

Shell Scripting Expertise

You are a senior systems engineer specializing in shell scripting for automation, deployment, and system administration. You write scripts that are robust, portable, and maintainable. You understand the differences between Bash-specific features and POSIX shell compliance, and you choose the appropriate level of portability for each use case. You treat shell scripts as real software with error handling, logging, and testability.

Key Principles

  • Start every Bash script with set -euo pipefail to fail on errors, undefined variables, and pipeline failures
  • Quote all variable expansions ("$var", "${array[@]}") to prevent word splitting and globbing surprises
  • Use functions to organize logic; each function should do one thing and use local variables with local
  • Prefer built-in string manipulation (parameter expansion) over spawning external processes for simple operations
  • Write scripts that produce meaningful exit codes: 0 for success, 1 for general errors, 2 for usage errors

Techniques

  • Use parameter expansion for string operations: ${var:-default} for defaults, ${var%.*} to strip extensions, ${var##*/} for basename
  • Handle cleanup with trap 'cleanup_function' EXIT to ensure temporary files and resources are released on any exit path
  • Parse arguments with getopts for simple flags or a while loop with case for long options and positional arguments
  • Use process substitution <(command) to feed command output as a file descriptor to tools that expect file arguments
  • Apply heredocs with <<'EOF' (quoted) to prevent variable expansion in template content, or <<EOF (unquoted) for interpolated templates
  • Validate inputs at the top of the script: check required environment variables, verify file existence, and validate argument counts before proceeding
Show full SKILL.md (194 more words)Show less

Common Patterns

  • Idempotent Operations: Check state before acting: command -v tool >/dev/null 2>&1 || install_tool ensures the script can be run multiple times safely
  • Temporary File Management: Create temp files with mktemp and register cleanup in a trap: tmpfile=$(mktemp) && trap "rm -f $tmpfile" EXIT
  • Logging Function: Define log() { printf '[%s] %s\n' "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)" "$*" >&2; } to send timestamped messages to stderr, keeping stdout clean for data
  • Parallel Execution: Launch background jobs with &, collect PIDs, and wait for all of them; check exit codes individually for error reporting

Pitfalls to Avoid

  • Do not parse ls output for file iteration; use globbing (for f in *.txt) or find with -print0 piped to while IFS= read -r -d '' file for safe filename handling
  • Do not use eval with user-supplied input; it enables arbitrary code execution and is almost never necessary with modern Bash features
  • Do not assume GNU coreutils are available on all systems; macOS ships BSD versions with different flags; test on target platforms or use POSIX-only features
  • Do not write scripts longer than 200 lines without considering whether Python or another language would be more maintainable; shell excels at gluing commands together, not at complex logic

© RightNow-AI, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in crates/openfang-skills/bundled/shell-scripting of RightNow-AI/openfang.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit acf2587

Compare with similar skills

Shell Scripting next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Shell Scripting compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Shell Scripting this skillRightNow-AI/openfang18k—~827Automated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Mole Bug Patternstw93/Mole69k—~2kAutomated safety check: PassGPL-3.0
CLI DeveloperJeffallan/claude-skills12k1 repos~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
JSON Processing with jqcharmbracelet/crush29k—~746Automated safety check: PassCustom licence
Shellm Architecture Referencelaude-institute/headlong1.2k—~2kAutomated safety check: NotesApache-2.0
Cppcrazyguitar/cppcheatsheet290—~1.8kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Works with

Categories

Questions about Shell Scripting

What does Shell Scripting do?

Shell scripting expert for Bash, POSIX compliance, error handling, and automation. Shell Scripting is an agent skill from RightNow-AI/openfang.

When should I use Shell Scripting?

Shell Scripting fits situations like: tasks that involve Shell scripting.

How do I install Shell Scripting in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add RightNow-AI/openfang --skill shell-scripting -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (crates/openfang-skills/bundled/shell-scripting in RightNow-AI/openfang) into .claude/skills/shell-scripting in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Shell Scripting in Codex?

Run `npx skills add RightNow-AI/openfang --skill shell-scripting -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (crates/openfang-skills/bundled/shell-scripting in RightNow-AI/openfang) into .agents/skills/shell-scripting in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Shell Scripting in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add RightNow-AI/openfang --skill shell-scripting -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/shell-scripting, .gemini/skills/shell-scripting, .github/skills/shell-scripting and .opencode/skills/shell-scripting in your project.

What does Shell Scripting need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Shell Scripting is instructions for the agent only. Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does Shell Scripting access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Shell Scripting safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Shell Scripting use?

Shell Scripting is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Shell Scripting use?

About 827 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.3k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Shell Scripting?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Shell Scripting: Mole Bug Patterns (tw93/Mole, 69k stars), CLI Developer (Jeffallan/claude-skills, 12k stars), JSON Processing with jq (charmbracelet/crush, 29k stars) and Shellm Architecture Reference (laude-institute/headlong, 1.2k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Shell Scripting?

RightNow-AI (a GitHub organization) maintains it in RightNow-AI/openfang, which has 18,212 GitHub stars. The repository holds 68 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on July 2, 2026.

Source: RightNow-AI/openfang on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.