SPspudlyo·Dec 28, 2018
Shellcheck[0] is the Haskell program I use the most.
[0]: https://github.com/koalaman/shellcheck
In Please do not attempt to simplify this codekoalaman
shellcheck
Haskell2013–2025
koalaman / shellcheck
shellcheck
ShellCheck, a static analysis tool for shell scripts
92Distinct people
100Mentions
5Explicit recommenders
40.3KGitHub stars
What to know before exploring
What it is
ShellCheck, a static analysis tool for shell scripts
GitHub
Where it is used
- GitLab — GitLab uses ShellCheck to lint its shell scripts. It also prescribes a GitLab CI/CD job configuration to run it across projects. Source
- ShellCheck for Visual Studio Code — ShellCheck for Visual Studio Code bundles the ShellCheck tool and uses it to lint shell scripts, showing ShellCheck warnings in the editor and the Problems view. Source
What people are saying
One of my favorite things about Shellcheck is that the error messages come with a link to a wiki page about the problem. Does anyone know other programs that have a similar…
ufo used a recommendation phrase. 5 indexed comments match. This is a phrase match, not a verdict.
No classified warning is attached to this page. Read the discussions before treating silence as approval.
Also in these discussions
- mvdan/sh · linked in 3 of the same discussions
- bash-lsp/bash-language-server · linked in 2 of the same discussions
- hadolint/hadolint · linked in 2 of the same discussions
Mentioned in the same Hacker News threads. That is not proof they are substitutes.
This week on Hacker News
Nov 8–Nov 15 UTC · Direct repository links and separately labeled related project stories. Indexed through 11/15/2026, 4:01:40 AM UTC.
No direct repository links were found in the indexed HN discussions over the past seven days. Older discussions are available below.
Mentions over time
HN mentions by year100 dated mentions
Observed mentions: 2013-11-18 12:25:12 UTC to 2025-12-30 22:10:57 UTC.
Counts come from the repository’s dated source evidence. Index cutoff: 2026-11-02 08:16:59 UTC.
View mention counts and date ranges
| Period | Start (UTC) | End (exclusive, UTC) | Mentions | Submissions | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 2013-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2014-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2014 | 2014-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2015-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| 2015 | 2015-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2016 | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 8 | 2 | 6 |
| 2017 | 2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 9 | 2 | 7 |
| 2018 | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 10 | 1 | 9 |
| 2019 | 2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 6 | 1 | 5 |
| 2020 | 2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 13 | 1 | 12 |
| 2021 | 2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 13 | 2 | 11 |
| 2022 | 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 15 | 2 | 13 |
| 2023 | 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 2024 | 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 2025 | 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2026-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 3 | 1 | 2 |
What Hacker News says
10 sourcesIf you do any bash/sh programming, I highly recommend shellcheck: https://github.com/koalaman/shellcheck
In Ask HN: Best Command-Line Applications?This is one of the many things that would be called out if you run your shell script through shellcheck [1] source [2]
[1] - https://www.shellcheck.net/
[2] - https://github.com/koalaman/shellcheck
Shellcheck is also in several yum repos such as EPEL and in homebrew for Mac.
You can add a comment in your script to exclude / ignore specific warnings. Examples are in the man page.
In Here's Why You Should Quote Your Variables in BashJust a note that defining a function using the keyword "function" is a BASHism, not generalizable to every POSIX-compliant shell.
In BASH, as well as any POSIX shell, you can define a function with function_name () and just remove the "function" from the front.
one of the many things I learned by using Shellcheck for static analysis https://github.com/koalaman/shellcheck
In Something about functions in Bash (2017)What are some examples of beautiful shell code?
Bash---and, in general, shell---gets a lot of flack for being a bad programming language. I understand the sentiment, but after writing a few klocs, with copious support from shellcheck[0], that feeling changed for me. I think bash, and even POSIX shell, can be reasonable languages, well-suited to certain problems.
Without providing rigid metrics, I'm curious about scripts HN has encountered (or produced!) that you consider high-quality.
[0]:https://github.com/koalaman/shellcheck
10 points · Open discussionI would be remiss if I didn't mention shellcheck, which will also warn you against doing stupid things.
Very useful when debugging.
https://github.com/koalaman/shellcheck
In Shell Style GuideA straw man question. That's not the problem with which.
* https://github.com/koalaman/shellcheck/wiki/SC2230
* https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/85249/
In Safe ways to do things in bashNot only does it make suggestions, almost all of the 'error codes' have extensive documentation on why something is wrong and often multiple alternative solutions for each use case (eg: https://github.com/koalaman/shellcheck/wiki/SC2086). I learned more bash from Shellcheck than all tutorials and references combined.
In Safe ways to do things in bashHighly recommend shellcheck[1]. There is a SublimeLinter plugin[2] that automatically checks your shell scripts as you code them. It generally makes best practice suggestions including quoting.
[1] https://github.com/koalaman/shellcheck
[2] https://github.com/SublimeLinter/SublimeLinter-shellcheck
In Safe ways to do things in bashThis is also my number one thing I wish I'd known about Bash. It saves on so many trivial bugs.
The documentation is especially great, for ever problem it detects you get an unique reference which you can lookup on the wiki eg: https://github.com/koalaman/shellcheck/wiki/SC2086
It then not only describes the problem but also shows different ways of solving it with some great examples and reasoning.
I think I learned more Bash from Shellcheck than anywhere else.
In Things I Wish I'd Known About Bash