4 Best Ways to echo a New Line in Bash

Written by

Ojash

Reviewed by

Akshat

Last updated: July 24, 2024

Expert verified

Messy outputs in your Bash scripts can be frustrating, but there’s a simple solution: echoing new lines. In this post, I’ll show you how to add new lines to clarify and organize your scripts. You’ll learn simple methods, advanced techniques, and practical tips for using echo effectively. By the end, you’ll have a solid understanding of how to make your Bash scripts more readable and professional. Let’s tidy up those scripts!

Why and When You Need to Echo a New Line in Bash

Adding new lines in Bash scripts is crucial for creating clear and readable outputs. Whether you are formatting output, generating reports, or writing log files, using new lines can significantly enhance the organization and readability of your script’s output. Here are some common situations where echoing a new line is necessary:

• Improving Readability: When writing scripts, it’s often helpful to separate different sections of output. Adding new lines makes the output easier to read.

Example:

echo "Starting the process..." 
echo -e "\nProcess complete."

• Formatting Output: If you want to display multiple pieces of information in a structured way, you need new lines to keep things organized.

Example:

echo "Name: John Doe" 
echo -e "Age: 30\nLocation: New York"

• Generating Reports: When creating reports from scripts, you need to format the data neatly. New lines help in presenting the data clearly.

Example:

echo "Report Summary" 
echo -e "\nTotal Sales: $5000\nTotal Customers: 150"

• User Prompts and Messages: When prompting users for input or displaying multiple messages, new lines make the interaction clearer and more user-friendly.

Example:

echo "Enter your name:" read name 
echo -e "\nHello, $name!"

• Log Files: When writing logs, separating each entry with a new line ensures that the log file remains readable and organized.

Example:

echo "$(date): Script started" >> script.log 
echo -e "$(date): Script finished\n" >> script.log

How to echo a New Line in Bash

Here’s the detailed guide for each of these methods:

1. echo Command

To echo a new line using the echo command in Bash shell scripts, you should follow these steps:

1. In the command prompt, create a new bash shell script with the touch command:

touch myscript1.sh

2. Within the Terminal app, open the file by using the nano command:

nano myscript1.sh

3. Type the following code to create a new line using the echo command in Bash shell scripts:

echo "This is the first line."

echo "This is the second line."

4. Press Ctrl + O and Enter to save. Then, press Ctrl + X to exit the editor. Then, make the script executable with the command:

chmod +x myscript1.sh

5. Run the script by entering the following command in the Terminal:

/myscript1.sh

6. The output should show the two lines, each on a separate line, with a new line character.

2. Use the -e Option

Another way is to add the -e option to echo in Bash scripts to display a new line. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Use the touch command to create a new file in the Terminal:

touch myscript2.sh

2. Open the file in a text editor such as nano or vi:

nano myscript2.sh

3. Type the following code into the file:

#!/bin/bash

echo -e “This is the first line.\nThis is the second line.”

4. Save the file with Ctrl + O and exit the text editor with Ctrl + X.
5. Make the file executable using the chmod command:

chmod +x myscript2.sh

6. Run the script using the ./ operator:

./myscript2.sh

7. The output should be:

3. Use the $’string’ Syntax

The use of $'string' syntax lets you echo a new line with multiple lines with \n in a string variable. To do so, follow the steps below:

1. In the Linux command prompt, execute the following:

echo $'\n'

2. The Terminal will output a new line character.

3. Alternatively, you can run the following command:

echo $'This is the first line.\nThis is the second line.'

4. The Terminal will output:

4. Use a Variable Containing a New Line

You can also use a variable with the string value and new line special characters to get output in different lines. Here’s how to do it:

1. In the Terminal app, declare a variable containing a string that includes a new line character:

str="Hello\nworld"

2. Use the echo command with the -e option to interpret escape sequences, including the new line character:

echo -e $str

3. The Terminal will display the following output:

2 Alternative Ways to Display New Lines in Linux

While echo in Bash scripts is a common and effective method for creating new lines, alternative commands and techniques exist. Some of the most common alternative methods include printf and heredoc. Let’s have a closer on how to use them here:

1. printf Command

printf offers better control over output formatting than echo in Bash scripts. It allows you to format and print data using format specifiers, making it useful for creating new lines and more complex text formatting in Bash shell scripts.

Script File Code:

#!/bin/bash

printf "%s\n" "This is the first line." "This is the second line."

printf "This is the third line.\nThis is the fourth line.\n"

Output:

2. Here Document (heredoc)

heredoc is a powerful way to create multi-line input for commands. It makes it easy to print multiple lines without using the escape sequences or echo in Bash scripts. They also support variable expansion and command substitution, offering flexibility and versatility for shell scripting.

Script File Code:

#!/bin/bash

cat << 'EOF'

This is the first line.

This is the second line.

This is the third line.

This is the fourth line.

EOF

Output:

Quick 5 Tips to Optimize echo in Bash Scripts

Follow these five best practices if you want to optimize the use of echo in Bash scripts and improve your code’s output readability:

• 🌍 Environment Variables: Use environment variables to store text and data directly in your scripts. It allows for greater flexibility and easier maintenance. Moreover, this approach replaces hard-coding values directly in your scripts, which makes them more adaptable and efficient.
• 📋 -e Option: Add the -e option with echo in Bash scripts to enable the interpretation of backslash escapes. It makes sure to process the escape sequences like \n correctly and not treat them as plain text.
• 🔄 Alternative Methods: In some cases where more complex formatting is needed, consider alternative methods like the printf command. This versatile command allows for intricate output formatting and variable inclusion, providing more control over the final output.
• 📚 Understanding Escape Sequences: Master common escape sequences such as \n (new line), \t (tab), and \e (escape) to create more sophisticated output with echo in Bash scripts. Familiarity with these sequences lets you change output colors or add other formatting effects.
• 🧪 Test Scripts: Always test your scripts after making changes to ensure accurate output. Thorough testing helps identify potential errors or unexpected results, safeguarding your scripts’ reliability in production environments.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, echoing a new line in Bash is key for making your scripts clear and readable. You can use the basic echo command, the -e option, $'string' syntax, and variables with new line characters. For more control, try printf and heredoc.

If you found this helpful, explore more about bash by reading these articles:

• Find techniques to split strings in Bash for better data manipulation.
• Discover how to run a shell script in Linux to automate your tasks effortlessly.
• Learn methods to clear Bash history to keep your work secure and private.

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