Tip: How to Place Pause in Bash Scripts

Rai    Linux     auto, bash, delete, Linux, pause, script

There some scripts that need human interaction from time to time from confirming certain actions or to warn users that they are about to do something stupid ( “ rm -rf / “, perhaps?). In any case, putting a pause break in a Bash script is a very nifty trick to learn.

This is an example of how to use the Bash built-in command read to put pauses in scripts:

#!/bin/bash

find /home -type f -name "*.txt"
read -p "Press [enter] key to delete *.txt files in /home or CTRL+C to exit"
find /home -type f -name "*.txt" | xargs rm -v

This example script will run the find command and display the results. If user presses the Enter key, the script will remove all files that were found, while pressing CTRL+C will terminate the script.

Here is another variation of the the script:

#!/bin/bash

find /home -type f -name "*.txt"
echo "Press [enter] key to delete *.txt files in /home or CTRL+C to exit"
read contscr
find /home -type f -name "*.txt" | xargs rm -v