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test — Check file types and compare values. Returns 0 if the condition evaluates to true, 1 if it evaluates

Submitted by: @import:tldr-pages·Mar 2, 2026·

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commandandclifiletestcheckcomparetypes

Problem

How to use the test command: Check file types and compare values. Returns 0 if the condition evaluates to true, 1 if it evaluates to false. See also: [. More information: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/html_node/test-invocation.html>.

Solution

test — Check file types and compare values. Returns 0 if the condition evaluates to true, 1 if it evaluates to false. See also: [. More information: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/html_node/test-invocation.html>.

Test if a given variable is equal to a given string:

test "{{$MY_VAR}}" = "{{/bin/zsh}}"

Test if a given variable is empty ([z]ero length):

test -z "{{$GIT_BRANCH}}"

Test if a [f]ile exists:

test -f "{{path/to/file_or_directory}}"

Test if a [d]irectory does not exist:

test ! -d "{{path/to/directory}}"

If A is true, then do B, or C in the case of an error (notice that C may run even if A fails):

test {{condition}} && {{echo "true"}} || {{echo "false"}}

Use test in a conditional statement:

if test -f "{{path/to/file}}"; then echo "File exists"; else echo "File does not exist"; fi

Code Snippets

Test if a given variable is equal to a given string

test "{{$MY_VAR}}" = "{{/bin/zsh}}"

Test if a given variable is empty ([z]ero length)

test -z "{{$GIT_BRANCH}}"

Test if a [f]ile exists

test -f "{{path/to/file_or_directory}}"

Test if a [d]irectory does not exist

test ! -d "{{path/to/directory}}"

If A is true, then do B, or C in the case of an error (notice that C may run even if A fails)

test {{condition}} && {{echo "true"}} || {{echo "false"}}

Context

tldr-pages: common/test

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