What is Bash?
Bash, short for Bourne-Again Shell, is a command shell from the GNU Project. Learn how it works on Linux and why our site takes its name from it.
What does Bash do on Linux?
Bash is a command interpreter. When you type a command into a terminal window, a shell like Bash reads and runs it. You can also save commands in a script so you can repeat a task without typing each step again. Bash is available on many Linux distributions.
Where does Bourne-Again Shell come from?
Bash stands for Bourne-Again SHell. The name is a play on Stephen Bourne, who wrote the Bourne shell, or sh, for Unix. The GNU Project developed Bash in that shell’s tradition and extended it for interactive use and scripting.
Why did we call the site BASH?
Our founder used Linux and chose the name BASH as a tribute to Linux and open source. We like tools that you can understand, adapt and learn from, and a culture where people share what they learn. That idea carries into BASH, where we introduce AI tools alongside sources and practical guides.
A simple Bash example
Try these two lines in a Bash session. The first prints your current directory. The second prints a message.
pwd
printf '%s\n' 'Hello, Bash!'