Why use the safety header set -euo pipefail?

It ensures scripts stop immediately on errors, treat unset variables as failures, and detect errors within piped commands, preventing silent script failures.

Is this applicable to standard POSIX sh?

While primarily focused on Bash 4+, it includes guidance and fallbacks for maximum portability in POSIX-compliant shell environments.

Does it help with testing shell scripts?

Yes, it provides idiomatic patterns for integrating bats-core, the standard framework for unit testing and verifying Bash script behavior.

How are temporary files handled safely?

The skill utilizes mktemp for unique naming and registers 'cleanup' functions with Bash traps to ensure temporary resources are deleted regardless of how the script exits.

Does this skill support macOS development?

Yes, it includes specific patterns to handle the differences between BSD tools on macOS and GNU tools on Linux, such as sed, date, and stat.

Bash Development Patterns

Name: Bash Development Patterns
Author: flatrick

byflatrick

0•

Deployment & DevOps

Implements safe, portable, and idiomatic Bash scripting standards to ensure robust automation and system tooling.

This skill equips Claude with a comprehensive set of best practices for shell scripting, focusing on safety headers, variable quoting, and rigorous error handling. It enables the creation of maintainable, production-ready scripts that work consistently across Linux and macOS environments. By providing patterns for argument parsing, secure temporary file management, and unit testing with bats-core, it transforms fragile shell scripts into hardened, professional automation tools.

Key Features

01Standardized safety headers (set -euo pipefail) to prevent silent failures

02Secure temporary file management using mktemp and automatic cleanup traps

03Automated shell script testing integration with bats-core framework

04Robust argument parsing and validation using getopts and positional logic

050 GitHub stars

06Cross-platform compatibility patterns for Linux (GNU) and macOS (BSD) utilities

Use Cases

01Scaffolding new, production-grade Bash utilities with professional logging and error handling

02Refactoring legacy shell scripts to improve security, portability, and maintainability

03Hardening existing CI/CD pipelines and DevOps automation scripts

What are Skills?·How to Install

Install with 🐟 Skill.Fish

npx skillfish add flatrick/mdt bash-patterns

For use in Claude.ai and ChatGPT