Agent skill · software engineering · wshobson
bash-defensive-patterns
Master defensive Bash programming techniques for production-grade scripts. Use when writing robust shell scripts, CI/CD pipelines, or system utilities requiring fault tolerance and safety.
Why this skill is useful
Codifies best practices for defensive Bash scripting that the AI could infer but now doesn't have to guess.
What it needs
About 1k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-05. 38,570 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Bash Defensive Patterns Comprehensive guidance for writing production-ready Bash scripts using defensive programming techniques, error handling, and safety best practices to prevent common pitfalls and ensure reliability. When to Use This Skill Writing production automation scripts Building CI/CD pipeline scripts Creating system administration utilities Developing error-resilient deployment automation Writing scripts that must handle edge cases safely Building maintainable shell script libraries Implementing comprehensive logging and monitoring Creating scripts that must work across different platforms Detailed patterns and worked examples Detailed pattern documentation lives in references/details.md. Read that file when the navigation tier above is insufficient. Best Practices Summary 1. Always use strict mode - set -Eeuo pipefail 2. Quote all variables - "$variable" prevents word splitting 3. Use [[]] conditionals - More robust than [ ] 4. Implement error trapping - Catch and handle errors gracefully 5. Validate all inputs - Check file existence, permissions, formats 6. Use functions for reusability - Prefix with meaningful names 7. Implement structured logging - Include timestamps and levels 8. Support dry-run mode - Allow users to preview changes 9. Handle temporary files safely - Use mktemp, cleanup with trap 10. Design for idempotency - Scripts should be safe to rerun 11. Document requirements - List dependencies and minimum versions 12. Test error paths - Ensure error handling works correctly 13. Use command -v - Safer than which for checking executables 14. Prefer printf over echo - More predictable across systems
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills wshobson/bash-defensive-patterns