bash-shell-scripting SKILL.md skillA
bash-shell-scripting from d-padmanabhan/agent-engineering-handbook is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add d-padmanabhan/agent-engineering-handbook/bash-shell-scripting@git:20260819.d23bb73Pins git:20260819.d23bb73 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- d-padmanabhan/agent-engineering-handbook
- Path
skills/bash-shell-scripting/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 5
- Latest version
- git:20260819.d23bb73, committed Aug 19, 2026
- First version recorded
- Feb 7, 2026
- Size
- 9,168 bytes
- Repository stars
- 20
- License
- MIT
Bash scripting best practices for production-grade scripts, CLI tools, and Makefiles. Covers strict mode, error handling, portability, performance patterns, and argument parsing. Use when working with .sh files, Makefiles, shell scripts, or when asking about Bash, shell scripting, CLI design, or command-line tools.
Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.
What the file says
# Bash & Shell Scripting
Mandatory gates are owned by the Bash rule (`${HANDBOOK_ROOT}/rules/140-bash.mdc`). This skill owns procedures and examples.
## Core Principles
- **DRY**: Don't Repeat Yourself
- **KISS**: Keep It Simple
- **Fail Fast**: Exit on errors immediately
- **Zero Warnings**: Must pass shellcheck
## Quick Reference
```bash
set -euo pipefail # Strict mode (fail-fast)
set -uo pipefail # Controlled mode (explicit error handling)
set -Euo pipefail # Strict + ERR trap propagation
command -v cmd >/dev/null # Check if command exists (portable)
trap 'cleanup' EXIT # Always cleanup
flock -n 200 || exit 1 # Prevent concurrent runs
readonly VAR="value" # Immutable constant
local var="value" # Function-local variable
```
## Core Standards
| Aspect | Standard |
|--------|----------|
| **Shebang** | `#!/usr/bin/env bash` or `#!/bin/bash` |
| **Safety Mode** | `set -euo pipefail` (strict) or `set -uo pipefail` (controlled) |
| **Linting** | Must pass `shellcheck` with 0 errors/warnings |
| **Formatting** | Must pass `shfmt -i 2 -ci -sr -bn`; prefer ~100-character lines |
| **Extension** | `.sh` for scripts |
…Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add d-padmanabhan/agent-engineering-handbook/bash-shell-scripting@sha256:e3744feebada82c7The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260819.d23bb73, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.
[](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_h3bqcywcvnzw4xca)
6 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 5 versions of this file, between Feb 7, 2026 and Aug 19, 2026, about one every 48 days.
| version | committed | commit | size | audit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| git:20260819.d23bb73 latest | 2026-08-19 | d23bb73 | 9,168 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260812.4160717 | 2026-08-12 | 4160717 | 9,468 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260607.cd1b06d | 2026-06-07 | cd1b06d | 8,856 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260601.480fbf0 | 2026-06-01 | 480fbf0 | 8,489 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260207.963c258 | 2026-02-07 | 963c258 | 4,819 B | A | view |
Audit of the latest version
- pass: Frontmatter block present
- pass: Frontmatter declares a name
- pass: Frontmatter declares a description
- pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (9168 bytes)
- pass: No zero-width or bidi control characters
- pass: No instruction hidden inside an HTML comment
- pass: No link to an exfiltration or paste host
- pass: No credential-shaped string
- pass: No instruction to send local credentials anywhere
- pass: No text hidden with inline styles
- pass: No prompt-injection phrasing
- pass: No curl or wget piped into a shell
- pass: No recursive delete of root, home or parent
- pass: No instruction to read or print local credentials
- pass: No base64 blob over 200 characters
- pass: No link to a raw IP address
- pass: No script tag
Source
d-padmanabhan/agent-engineering-handbook · 20 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-10-30 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_h3bqcywcvnzw4xca GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=d-padmanabhan/agent-engineering-handbook/bash-shell-scripting GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/e3744feebada82c7442f8bfb813d4d010a93e62df571b39bbef14b178488fc25
Your AI assistant does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.
Guides: the SKILL.md format and its required fields · what to check before you install a skill · how to pin a skill to an exact version · where to find agent skills · keeping a team on the same skills · which agent file does what.