sh
A Go library and toolset for parsing, formatting, and interpreting POSIX Shell, Bash, and Zsh scripts.
What is sh?
sh is a Go library and toolset for parsing, formatting, and interpreting shell scripts. It provides a robust parser that supports POSIX Shell, Bash, Zsh, and mksh, enabling developers to analyze and manipulate shell code programmatically. The project includes `shfmt`, a widely used formatter that ensures consistent code style, and an interpreter for running scripts within Go applications.
Developers and DevOps engineers who work extensively with shell scripts and need tools for static analysis, automated formatting, or embedding shell interpretation in Go applications. It's particularly useful for teams maintaining large codebases of shell scripts.
It offers a comprehensive, pure-Go solution for shell script processing, combining parsing, formatting, and interpretation in a single library. Unlike ad-hoc scripting or basic linters, it provides a structured AST and reliable formatting with multi-shell support, making shell code more maintainable and less error-prone.
Overview
A shell parser, formatter, and interpreter with bash and zsh support; includes shfmt
Use Cases
Best For
- Automatically formatting shell scripts to enforce team coding standards
- Building static analysis tools for shell script codebases
- Embedding a shell interpreter within a Go application
- Programmatically manipulating or generating shell scripts
- Integrating shell script formatting into CI/CD pipelines
- Developing IDE plugins or editor integrations for shell languages
Not Ideal For
- Systems requiring accurate process forking and PID management in shell interpretation
- Teams that need customizable formatting options or exclusion of specific code blocks
- Projects not written in Go that require a lightweight, native shell interpreter
Pros & Cons
Pros
Statically parses POSIX Shell, Bash, Zsh, and mksh into an abstract syntax tree, enabling detailed code analysis and manipulation.
Includes shfmt, which enforces a uniform code style across scripts, reducing manual formatting effort and improving team collaboration.
Pure Go implementation makes it portable and easy to embed in Go applications for parsing, formatting, or interpreting shell scripts.
Provides high-level operations for shell expansions via the shell package, useful for programmatic string manipulation.
Cons
Has known issues with Bash associative array indexing and $(( ambiguity, requiring workarounds or code adjustments.
Due to pure Go, subshells use goroutines instead of real processes, limiting compatibility with scripts relying on PIDs or file descriptors.
Cannot disable formatting for specific lines or blocks, and options are minimal, which may frustrate users with unique style preferences.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Projects
the-art-of-command-lineMaster the command line, in one page
shellcheckShellCheck, a static analysis tool for shell scripts
bash-guideA guide to learn bash
bats-coreBash Automated Testing System
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