Agent skill

Shell Scripting

by sammcj in sammcj/agentic-coding

Practical bash scripting guidance emphasising defensive programming, ShellCheck compliance, and simplicity.

Apache-2.0Auto-check: notesDevelopment

Install Shell Scripting

skills CLI
$ npx skills add sammcj/agentic-coding --skill shell-scripting -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install sammcj/agentic-coding 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/sammcj/agentic-coding.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/Skills/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
162
Token cost
~3.5k tokens
SKILL.md length
708 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
65
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
Apache-2.0

At a glance

Practical bash scripting guidance emphasising defensive programming, ShellCheck compliance, and simplicity.

  • Works in 4 steps: Proper Shebang → Strict Mode → ShellCheck Compliance → …
  • Writing shell scripts that need to be reliable and maintainable
  • SKILL.md covers When to Use Shell (and When…, Mandatory Foundations, Core Safety Patterns and Essential Patterns, plus 2 more sections
  • Calls make, shellcheck and jq

What it does

Shell Scripting is an agent skill from sammcj/agentic-coding. Practical bash scripting guidance emphasising defensive programming, ShellCheck compliance, and simplicity. Use when writing shell scripts that need to be reliable and maintainable.

Its SKILL.md is about 3.5k 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: Agentic Coding Rules, Templates etc... The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

  • Writing shell scripts that need to be reliable and maintainable
  • Tasks that involve Shell scripting

Example prompts

  • “/shell-scripting”

Requirements

  • Python 3
  • Docker

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Proper Shebang
  2. Strict Mode
  3. ShellCheck Compliance
  4. Basic Script Structure

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 415ac71. 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

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • make
    • shellcheck
    • jq
    • docker

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

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use docker, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.

    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 3.5k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 49 tokens; SKILL.md has 708 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~49
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~3.5k

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: notes

The automated check noted patterns worth knowing about, such as sudo or a known installer.

  • NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:105
    URL:?DATABASE_URL is required. Set it in .env}"

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 sammcj/agentic-coding at commit 415ac71, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© sammcj). 708 words, ~3,480 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/shell-scripting/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
shell-scripting
description
Practical bash scripting guidance emphasising defensive programming, ShellCheck compliance, and simplicity. Use when writing shell scripts that need to be reliable and maintainable.

Bash Scripting Best Practices

Guidance for writing reliable, maintainable bash scripts following modern best practices. Emphasises simplicity, automated tooling, and defensive programming without over-engineering.

When to Use Shell (and When Not To)

Use Shell For:
  • Small utilities and simple wrapper scripts (<100 lines)
  • Orchestrating other programmes and tools
  • Simple automation tasks
  • Build/deployment scripts with straightforward logic
  • Quick data transformation pipelines
Do NOT Use Shell For:
  • Complex business logic or data structures
  • Performance-critical code
  • Scripts requiring extensive error handling
  • Anything over ~100 lines or with non-straightforward control flow
  • When you need proper data structures beyond arrays

If a script passes ~100 lines or gets complex, offer to rewrite it in Python or Go before it becomes unmaintainable.

Mandatory Foundations

Every bash script must have these elements:

1. Proper Shebang
bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash

Why: Portable across systems where bash may not be at /bin/bash (e.g., macOS, BSD, NixOS).

Alternative: #!/bin/bash if you know the script only runs on Linux and prefer explicit paths.

2. Strict Mode
bash
set -euo pipefail

What each flag does:

  • -e: Exit immediately if any command fails (non-zero exit)
  • -u: Treat unset variables as errors
  • -o pipefail: Pipe fails if ANY command in pipeline fails (not just the last)

When to add -x: Only for debugging, not in production scripts (makes output noisy).

3. ShellCheck Compliance

Run ShellCheck on EVERY script before committing:

bash
shellcheck script.sh

Fix all warnings. ShellCheck catches:

  • Unquoted variables
  • Deprecated syntax
  • Common bugs and pitfalls
  • Portability issues
4. Basic Script Structure
bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

# Brief description of what this script does

# Simple error reporting
die() {
    echo "Error: ${1}" >&2
    exit 1
}

# Your code here

Core Safety Patterns

Always Quote Variables

Why: Prevents word splitting and globbing disasters.

bash
# Wrong - dangerous
cp $source $destination
rm -rf $prefix/bin

# Correct - safe
cp "${source}" "${destination}"
rm -rf "${prefix}/bin"

# Special case: Always use braces with variables
echo "${var}"      # Good
echo "$var"        # Acceptable but less consistent
echo $var          # Bad - unquoted
Check Required Variables
bash
# Fail fast if required variables aren't set
: "${REQUIRED_VAR:?REQUIRED_VAR must be set}"

# Or with custom message
: "${DATABASE_URL:?DATABASE_URL is required. Set it in .env}"
Validate Inputs
bash
# Check file exists before operating on it
[[ -f "${config_file}" ]] || die "Config file not found: ${config_file}"

# Check command exists before using it
command -v jq >/dev/null 2>&1 || die "jq is required but not installed"

# Validate directory before cd
[[ -d "${target_dir}" ]] || die "Directory does not exist: ${target_dir}"

Essential Patterns

Pattern 1: Simple Script Template

Use this for straightforward scripts:

bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

# Description: Process log files and extract errors

die() {
    echo "Error: ${1}" >&2
    exit 1
}

# Check dependencies
command -v jq >/dev/null 2>&1 || die "jq required"

# Validate arguments
[[ $# -eq 1 ]] || die "Usage: ${0} <logfile>"
logfile="${1}"
[[ -f "${logfile}" ]] || die "File not found: ${logfile}"

# Main logic
grep ERROR "${logfile}" | jq -r '.message'
Pattern 2: Cleanup on Exit

Use trap for guaranteed cleanup:

bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

# Create temp directory and ensure cleanup
tmpdir=$(mktemp -d)
trap 'rm -rf "${tmpdir}"' EXIT

# Now use tmpdir safely - cleanup happens automatically
echo "Working in: ${tmpdir}"
Pattern 3: Safe Function Definition

Functions should be simple and focused:

bash
# Good: Simple, single-purpose function
check_dependency() {
    local cmd="${1}"
    command -v "${cmd}" >/dev/null 2>&1 || die "${cmd} not installed"
}

# Good: Local variables, clear purpose
process_file() {
    local file="${1}"
    local output="${2}"

    [[ -f "${file}" ]] || die "Input file missing: ${file}"

    # Do processing
    sed 's/foo/bar/g' "${file}" > "${output}"
}

Important: Declare and set variables from command substitution separately to catch errors:

bash
# Wrong - hides errors
local result="$(failing_command)"

# Correct - catches errors
local result
result="$(failing_command)"  # Will fail properly with set -e
Pattern 4: Safe Array Handling

Arrays are useful for handling lists with spaces:

bash
# Create array
declare -a files=("file one.txt" "file two.txt" "file three.txt")

# Iterate safely - always quote with [@]
for file in "${files[@]}"; do
    echo "Processing: ${file}"
done

# Build command arguments safely
declare -a flags=(--verbose --output "${output_file}")
mycommand "${flags[@]}" "${input}"

# Read command output into array
mapfile -t lines < <(grep pattern "${file}")
Pattern 5: Conditional Testing

Use [[ ]] for bash (safer and more features):

bash
# File tests
[[ -f "${file}" ]]          # File exists
[[ -d "${dir}" ]]           # Directory exists
[[ -r "${file}" ]]          # File readable
[[ -w "${file}" ]]          # File writable
[[ -x "${binary}" ]]        # File executable

# String tests
[[ -z "${var}" ]]           # String is empty
[[ -n "${var}" ]]           # String is not empty
[[ "${a}" == "${b}" ]]      # String equality (use ==, not =)

# Numeric comparison (use (( )) for numbers)
(( count > 0 ))
(( total >= minimum ))

# Combined conditions
[[ -f "${file}" && -r "${file}" ]] || die "File not readable: ${file}"
Pattern 6: Simple Argument Handling

For simple scripts, prefer positional arguments:

bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

# For 1-3 arguments, just use positional parameters
[[ $# -eq 2 ]] || die "Usage: ${0} <source> <dest>"

source="${1}"
dest="${2}"

[[ -f "${source}" ]] || die "Source not found: ${source}"

For scripts needing flags, keep it simple:

bash
# Use environment variables instead of complex flag parsing
VERBOSE="${VERBOSE:-false}"
DRY_RUN="${DRY_RUN:-false}"

# Run like: VERBOSE=true DRY_RUN=true ./script.sh input.txt
Pattern 7: Process Substitution Over Temp Files

Avoid creating temporary files when possible:

bash
# Instead of:
first_command > /tmp/output.txt
second_command < /tmp/output.txt
rm /tmp/output.txt

# Use process substitution:
second_command <(first_command)

# For multiple inputs:
diff <(sort file1.txt) <(sort file2.txt)
Pattern 8: Prefer Builtins Over External Commands

Builtins are faster and more reliable:

bash
# Use bash parameter expansion over sed/awk for simple cases
filename="${path##*/}"           # basename
dirname="${path%/*}"             # dirname
extension="${filename##*.}"      # get extension
name="${filename%.*}"            # remove extension

# Use (( )) for arithmetic over expr
count=$(( count + 1 ))           # Not: count=$(expr ${count} + 1)

# Use [[ ]] over [ ] or test
[[ -f "${file}" ]]               # Not: test -f "${file}"

# Use ${#var} for string length
length="${#string}"              # Not: length=$(echo "${string}" | wc -c)

Intermediate Patterns

Pattern 9: Structured Logging

Keep logging simple and consistent:

bash
log() {
    echo "[$(date +'%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')] ${1}" >&2
}

error() {
    echo "[$(date +'%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')] ERROR: ${1}" >&2
}

# Usage
log "Starting process"
error "Failed to connect to database"
Pattern 10: Main Function Pattern

For longer scripts (50+ lines), use a main function:

bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

setup() {
    # Dependency checks, variable initialisation
    command -v jq >/dev/null 2>&1 || die "jq required"
}

process() {
    # Main logic here
    log "Processing data"
}

cleanup() {
    # Cleanup if needed
    log "Cleanup complete"
}

main() {
    setup
    process
    cleanup
}

# Call main with all script arguments
main "${@}"
Pattern 11: Idempotent Operations

Scripts should be safe to run multiple times:

bash
# Check before creating
if [[ ! -d "${target_dir}" ]]; then
    mkdir -p "${target_dir}"
fi

# Check before writing config
if [[ ! -f "${config_file}" ]]; then
    echo "DEFAULT_VALUE=true" > "${config_file}"
fi

# Use atomic operations
mv "${source}" "${dest}"  # Atomic on same filesystem
Pattern 12: Safe While Loop Reading

Don't pipe to while (creates subshell):

bash
# Wrong - variables modified in subshell are lost
count=0
cat file.txt | while read -r line; do
    (( count++ ))
done
echo "${count}"  # Will be 0!

# Correct - use process substitution
count=0
while read -r line; do
    (( count++ ))
done < <(cat file.txt)
echo "${count}"  # Correct count

# Or use mapfile for simple cases
mapfile -t lines <file.txt
count="${#lines[@]}"

Style Guidelines

Show full SKILL.md (289 more words)Show less
Formatting
  • Indentation: 4 spaces, never tabs
  • Line length: Maximum 120 characters
  • Long strings: Use here-documents or embedded newlines
bash
# Long command - break at logical points
docker run \
    --name my-container \
    --volume "${PWD}:/data" \
    --env "FOO=bar" \
    my-image:latest

# Long string - use here-doc
cat <<EOF
This is a long message
that spans multiple lines
and is more readable this way.
EOF
Naming Conventions
bash
# Functions: lowercase with underscores
check_dependencies() { ... }
process_files() { ... }

# Local variables: lowercase with underscores
local input_file="${1}"
local line_count=0

# Constants/environment variables: UPPERCASE with underscores
readonly MAX_RETRIES=3
readonly CONFIG_DIR="/etc/myapp"

# Source files: lowercase with underscores
# my_library.sh
File Extensions
  • Executables: .sh extension OR no extension (prefer no extension for user-facing commands)
  • Libraries: Always .sh extension and NOT executable

Function Documentation

Document functions that aren't obvious:

bash
# Good: Simple function, no comment needed (name says it all)
check_file_exists() {
    [[ -f "${1}" ]]
}

# Good: Complex function, documented
# Processes log files and extracts error messages
# Arguments:
#   $1 - Input log file path
#   $2 - Output directory
# Returns:
#   0 on success, 1 on failure
process_logs() {
    local logfile="${1}"
    local output_dir="${2}"
    # Implementation
}

What to Avoid

Don't Use These
bash
# Don't use backticks - use $()
output=`command`          # Old style
output=$(command)         # Correct

# Don't use eval - almost always wrong
eval "${user_input}"      # Dangerous!

# Don't use expr - use (( ))
result=$(expr 5 + 3)      # Old style
result=$(( 5 + 3 ))       # Correct

# Don't use [ ] when [[ ]] is available
[ -f "${file}" ]          # POSIX compatible, less features
[[ -f "${file}" ]]        # Bash, safer and more features

# Don't use $[ ] for arithmetic - deprecated
result=$[5 + 3]           # Deprecated
result=$(( 5 + 3 ))       # Correct

# Don't use function keyword unnecessarily
function foo() { ... }    # Redundant
foo() { ... }             # Cleaner
Anti-Patterns
bash
# Don't glob or split unquoted
rm ${files}               # DANGEROUS
rm "${files}"             # Safe

# Don't use ls output in scripts
for file in $(ls); do     # Breaks with spaces
for file in *; do         # Correct

# Don't pipe yes to commands
yes | risky-command       # Bypasses important prompts

# Don't ignore error codes
make build                # Did it work?
make build || die "Build failed"  # Better

Complexity Warning Signs

If your script has any of these, consider rewriting in Python/Go:

  • More than 100 lines
  • Complex data structures beyond simple arrays
  • Nested loops over arrays of arrays
  • Heavy string manipulation logic
  • Complex state management
  • Mathematical calculations beyond basic arithmetic
  • Need for unit testing individual functions
  • JSON/YAML parsing beyond simple jq queries

Advanced: Dry-Run Pattern

For scripts that modify things:

bash
DRY_RUN="${DRY_RUN:-false}"

run() {
    if [[ "${DRY_RUN}" == "true" ]]; then
        echo "[DRY RUN] ${*}" >&2
        return 0
    fi
    "${@}"
}

# Usage
run cp "${source}" "${dest}"
run rm -f "${old_file}"

# Run script: DRY_RUN=true ./script.sh

Quick Reference Checklist

Before considering a bash script complete:

  • ShellCheck passes with no warnings
  • Has proper shebang (#!/usr/bin/env bash)
  • Has strict mode (set -euo pipefail)
  • All variables quoted ("${var}")
  • Required dependencies checked
  • Proper error messages to stderr
  • Cleanup trap if using temp files
  • Script is idempotent where possible
  • Under 100 lines (or has strong justification)
  • Uses command -v not which
  • Arrays used for lists with spaces
  • No eval, ls parsing, or backticks
  • Functions have local variables

Summary

  1. Start simple: Don't over-engineer. Most scripts should be <50 lines.
  2. Use ShellCheck: It catches most problems automatically.
  3. Quote everything: "${var}" not $var.
  4. Fail fast: set -euo pipefail and validate inputs.
  5. Know when to stop: If it's getting complex, use a real language.
  6. Compose don't complicate: Use pipes and process substitution.
  7. Be idempotent: Scripts should be safe to run multiple times.
  8. Test error paths: Make sure your script fails safely.

Remember: Shell scripts are for gluing things together, not building complex logic. Keep them simple, safe, and focused.

© sammcj, 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 Skills/shell-scripting of sammcj/agentic-coding.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 415ac71

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
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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?

Practical bash scripting guidance emphasising defensive programming, ShellCheck compliance, and simplicity. Shell Scripting is an agent skill from sammcj/agentic-coding. Practical bash scripting guidance emphasising defensive programming, ShellCheck compliance, and simplicity.

When should I use Shell Scripting?

Shell Scripting fits situations like: writing shell scripts that need to be reliable and maintainable; tasks that involve Shell scripting.

How do I install Shell Scripting in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add sammcj/agentic-coding --skill shell-scripting -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (Skills/shell-scripting in sammcj/agentic-coding) 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 sammcj/agentic-coding --skill shell-scripting -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (Skills/shell-scripting in sammcj/agentic-coding) 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 sammcj/agentic-coding --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?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Shell Scripting needs the command-line tools its instructions call (make, shellcheck, jq and docker). Our summary lists: Python 3; Docker.

Does Shell Scripting access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Its commands use docker, which can reach the network depending on how they are called. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Shell Scripting safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found notes only (mentions a .env file), nothing it rates as a warning. 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 3.5k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 14k 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?

sammcj (a GitHub user) maintains it in sammcj/agentic-coding, which has 162 GitHub stars. The repository holds 65 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 5, 2026.

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