Wrong BASH-Variable return from a bash script

Question

I'd like to check the value of $HISTFILE (or any similar BASH-Variable) by a bash script. On the command console 'echo $HISTFILE' is the way I normally go, but from inside a bash script, which only includes:

    #!/bin/bash
    echo $HISTFILE

gives an empty line instead of showing $HOME/$USER/.bash_history (or similar return values). My questions are:

What is the reason for doing so (since I never had such trouble using bash scripts) and
how can I check the value of BASH-Variables like $HISTFILE from inside a bash script?

Many thanks in advance. Cheers, M.

chepner · Accepted Answer · 2015-09-14 13:28:26Z

1

HISTFILE is only set in interactive shells; scripts run in non-interactive shells. Compare

$ bash -c 'echo $HISTFILE' # non-interactive, no output

$ bash -ic 'echo $HISTFILE' # interactive, produces output
/home/me/.bash_history

However, forcing the script to run in an interactive shell will also cause your .bashrc file to be sourced, which may or may not be desirable.

answered Sep 14, 2015 at 13:28

chepner

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