| name | bash |
| description | Help write, debug, or improve bash/shell scripts. Use when the user asks for help with shell scripting, bash, or sh. |
Bash Scripting Assistant
Help the user write, debug, or improve shell scripts.
Guidelines
- Use
set -euo pipefail at the top of scripts unless there's a reason not to
- Quote all variables —
"$var" not $var
- Use
[[ over [ for conditionals in bash
- Prefer
$(command) over backticks for command substitution
- Use functions to organize scripts longer than ~30 lines
- Validate inputs early — check that required args, files, and env vars exist before doing work
- Use meaningful variable names —
MODEL_NAME not m
- Add usage messages — if the script takes arguments, print usage on
-h or wrong arg count
- Handle cleanup — use
trap for temp files or background processes
- Be portable when possible — note if something is bash-specific vs POSIX sh
When Debugging
- Suggest
set -x for tracing
- Check exit codes of piped commands (
${PIPESTATUS[@]})
- Look for unquoted variables, missing error handling, and word splitting issues
Scope
$ARGUMENTS