Error in simple shell script

Question

I'm a beginner to shell scripts, and wrote below script but it keeps returning that "done" is not recognized token.

I know this is a super simple script, but I am too novice to debug this.. could anyone explain why this is not working? Thanks!

  #!/bin/sh

    for file in `ls`
    do
    if [ -f $file ]
            echo $file + " exists"
    fi
    done

comment: added fi, but still has an error: syntax error near unexpected token `fi'

Also, I don't think $file + " exists" will output what you expect, as it will print a literal "+" sign. You can simply write: echo $file exists. Or, if you want to make the message more explicit: echo "$file exists". — dsetton
– dsetton, Commented Jul 27, 2015 at 2:06
@pandagrammer You may find shellcheck useful. It tries to give more helpful error messages for these things. — that other guy
– that other guy, Commented Jul 27, 2015 at 3:41

U. Windl · Accepted Answer · 2019-01-28 08:22:18Z

2

You miss the then (and your echo statement is probably malformed). Try:

#!/bin/sh

for file in `ls`
do
  if [ -f $file ]
  then
    echo "$file exists"
  fi
done

U. Windl

4,75839 silver badges65 bronze badges

answered Jul 27, 2015 at 9:51

jderefinko

6674 silver badges6 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Answer 1