Setting directory as variable in Shell script

Question

What I am trying to do is to count all the files in a directory using shell script.

For example, when execute the program,

./test.sh project

it should count all the files in the folder called "project".

But I am having trouble with the directory part.

What I have done so far is,

#!/bin/bash

directory=$1
count=ls $directory | wc -l
echo "$folder has $count files"

but it does not work... Can anyone blow up my confusion please?

Thanks!

It's called command substitution. If you are using bash, you should also familiarize yourself with process substitution. — David C. Rankin
– David C. Rankin, Commented Mar 18, 2018 at 11:06

Inian · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-18 11:10:22Z

1

You have an incorrect syntax while setting the count, for running nested commands in bash you need to use command-substitution using $(..) which runs the commands in a sub-shell and returns the restult

count=$(ls -- "$directory" | wc -l)

But never parse ls output in scripts for any purpose, use the more general purpose find command

find "$1" -maxdepth 1 -type f  | wc -l

Check more about what $(..) form Wiki Bash Hackers - Command substitution

edited Mar 18, 2018 at 11:10

answered Mar 18, 2018 at 10:46

Inian

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8 Comments

melpomene Over a year ago

That should be ls -- "$directory" in case you're dealing with a directory whose name starts with -.

Inian Over a year ago

@melpomene: Not something I'm recommending as per my update, but will make the edit still

Yoo SungKyung Over a year ago

Thank you so much Inian, btw could you please tell me what "$" is? Why do we put $ in front of (ls.....)?

Inian Over a year ago

@YooSungKyung: You should go through the link I shared

Yoo SungKyung Over a year ago

Thanks! When I use count=$(ls -- "$directory" | wc -l), the counted files are 4 but it should be 3, does it also count any hidden files?

|

Guru · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-18 14:19:08Z

0

#!/bin/bash

directory=$1
count=`ls $directory | wc -l`

echo "$folder has $count files"

answered Mar 18, 2018 at 14:19

Guru

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