Single Line Bash Script Split Hack

green_script_1

This post lists a simple sed script that will split a bash script written in a single line.

Note: this script is a hack; it can produce some wrong output. I’ve posted it because I’ve found it helpful in splitting apart bash scripts that have been squashed into a single line. Its also written simply so you can change and extend it easily.

The Script

# re-indent bash
# call with sed -f sedscript <old >new
# http://www.grymoire.com/Unix/Sed.html#uh-16
s/ function /\n\nfunction /g
s/ fi /\nfi\n\n/g
s/ if \[ /\n\nif [ /g
s/; then /; then\n/g
s/ else / \nelse /g
s/ \([[:alnum:]_]\+\)=/\n\n\1=/g
s/export/\nexport/g
s/# /\n# /g
s/ for/\nfor/g
s/ while /\nwhile /g
s/ read /\nread /g
s/ trap /\ntrap /g
s/ sed /\nsed /g
s/ rm /\nrm /g
s/ chmod /\nchmod /g

Copy this and save it as sedscript. Call with sed -f sedscript <oneline.sh >multiline.sh

References

HTML Escape / Unescape at [link]