Bash Style Guide

What it does

This skill provides guidance on adhering to best practices for writing Bash scripts. It helps ensure scripts are readable, maintainable, and less prone to errors through consistent formatting and style conventions. The skill aims to improve script quality by enforcing rules around indentation, quoting, variable naming, and more.

When to use it

• Reviewing existing Bash scripts: Use this skill to automatically check a script for stylistic issues before deployment or sharing with others.
• Generating new Bash scripts: Employ the skill during development to ensure newly written scripts follow established style guidelines from the outset.
• Refactoring legacy Bash code: Apply the skill's recommendations when modernizing older, less structured Bash scripts.
• Training junior developers: Use this skill as a learning tool for individuals new to Bash scripting and best practices.

Key capabilities

• Enforces consistent indentation and spacing.
• Provides guidance on quoting conventions.
• Suggests improvements to variable naming.
• Offers recommendations for error handling style.

Example prompts

• "Check this script for style violations: [paste Bash script here]"
• "Generate a Bash script that lists files in the current directory, formatted according to best practices."
• "Refactor this script to improve readability and maintainability: [paste Bash script here]"

Tips & gotchas

The skill's effectiveness depends on having a clear understanding of standard Bash style conventions. It is recommended to review existing style guides (e.g., Google Bash Style Guide) for context before using the skill.