echo(1)
Display a line of text or variables to standard output.
Synopsis
echo [OPTION]... [STRING]...Description
The echo command prints its arguments separated by spaces, followed by a newline. It's commonly used to display text, variable values, or create simple output in scripts.
By default, echo interprets backslash escape sequences only if the -e flag is used. Different shells and systems may have slightly different built-in behavior, so /bin/echo may behave differently from the shell's built-in.
Common options
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
-n | suppress the trailing newline |
-e | enable interpretation of backslash escapes (\n, \t, \\, etc.) |
-E | explicitly disable interpretation of backslash escapes (default) |
Examples
Print a simple string with a newline
echo "Hello, World!"Display the value of the HOME environment variable
echo $HOMEPrint without newline, then continue on the same line after a delay
echo -n "Loading..." && sleep 2 && echo " done!"Print three lines using \n for newlines
echo -e "Line 1\nLine 2\nLine 3"Include script arguments in output
echo "Name: $1, Age: $2"Print colored output using ANSI escape codes
echo -e "\033[1;32mGreen text\033[0m"Use echo in a loop to print multiple lines
for i in {1..3}; do echo "Item $i"; done