Linux echo Command

The echo command in Linux is used to display a line of text or string passed as an argument. It is commonly used in shell scripts and batch files to output text or variables.

Syntax

echo [OPTION]... [STRING]...

Options

• -n: Do not output the trailing newline.
• -e: Enable interpretation of backslash escapes.
• -E: Disable interpretation of backslash escapes (default).

Variable set

• var1='this is simple text': this will store a simple testdata in 'val1'
• var2="this is simple text $HOSTNAME": this will store a simple testdata in 'val2' also store a command
• var3="this is simple text $(date)": this will store a simple testdata in 'val3' also store a command output
• var4="this is simple text `date`": this will store a simple testdata in 'val4' also store a command output
• var5="this is simple text \$(date)": this will store a simple testdata in 'val5' also store a command output but with backslash escape

Backslash Escapes (used with -e)

• \\: Backslash
• \a: Alert (bell)
• \b: Backspace
• \c: Suppress trailing newline
• \f: Form feed
• \n: New line
• \r: Carriage return
• \t: Horizontal tab
• \v: Vertical tab

Examples

1. Display a simple message

echo "Hello, World!"

Output:

Hello, World!

2. Suppress the trailing newline

echo -n "Hello, World!"

Output:

Hello, World!

3. Enable interpretation of backslash escapes

echo -e "Line1\nLine2"

Output:

Line1
Line2

4. Display a variable

name="Linux"
echo "Welcome to $name"

Output:

Welcome to Linux

5. Disable interpretation of backslash escapes

echo -E "Line1\nLine2"

Output:

Line1\nLine2

5. Color output Display

echo -e "\e[31mThis is red text\e[0m"

Output:

This is red text

some colors are:

• \e[31m: Red
• \e[32m: Green
• \e[33m: Yellow
• \e[34m: Blue
• \e[35m: Magenta
• \e[36m: Cyan
• \e[0m: Reset color

6. Display a message with special characters

echo -e "This is a backslash: \\"

Output:

This is a backslash: \

7. Display a message with a tab space

echo -e "Column1\tColumn2"

Output:

Column1    Column2

8. Display a message with a bell sound

echo -e "This will ring the bell\a"

Output: This will ring the bell (you may hear a sound depending on your terminal settings).

9. Display a message with a form feed

echo -e "This is a form feed\f"

Output: This is a form feed (the output may not be visible in all terminals).

10. Display a message with a vertical tab

echo -e "This is a vertical tab\v"

Output: This is a vertical tab (the output may not be visible in all terminals).

11. Display a message with a carriage return

echo -e "This is a carriage return\rNew Line"

Output: This is a carriage return New Line (the output will overwrite the previous line).

12. Display a message with multiple lines

echo -e "Line1\nLine2\nLine3"

Output:

Line1
Line2
Line3

13. Display a message with a variable and special characters

greeting="Hello"
echo -e "$greeting, World!\nThis is a test with a tab:\tEnd of line."

Output:

Hello, World!
This is a test with a tab:    End of line.

14. Display a message with a variable and color

color="\e[32m"
echo -e "${color}This is green text\e[0m"

Output:

This is green text

15. Display a message with a variable and backslash escape

path="/home/user"
echo -e "The path is: $path\nThis is a backslash: \\"

Output:

The path is: /home/user
This is a backslash: \

16. Display a message with a variable and multiple backslash escapes

message="Hello\nWorld"
echo -e "Message:\n$message\nThis is a tab:\tEnd of line."

Output:

Message:
Hello
World   
This is a tab:    End of line.

17. Display a message with a variable and multiple colors

color1="\e[34m"
color2="\e[31m"
echo -e "${color1}This is blue text${color2} and this is red text\e[0m"

Output:

This is blue text and this is red text

18. Display a message with a variable and special characters in a loop

for i in {1..3}; do
    echo -e "Iteration $i: Hello\nWorld"
done

Output:

Iteration 1: Hello
World
Iteration 2: Hello
World
Iteration 3: Hello
World