`echo` command

Print text and variables.

Shell & scheduling
Package shell builtin / coreutils
3 options · 6 examples

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Syntax
Common options
Examples
Tips
Guides
Related commands

Syntax

echo [options] [text…]

Provided by the shell builtin / coreutils package. Run man echo for the full manual.

Common options

Option	What it does
`-n`	No newline at the end
`-e`	Interpret escapes like \n and \t
`-E`	Don't interpret escapes (default)

Examples

Print text
```
echo "Hello, world"
```
Print a variable
```
echo "Home is $HOME"
```
No trailing newline
```
echo -n "Enter name: "
```
Escapes
```
echo -e "Line 1\nLine 2"
```
Write to a file
```
echo "export EDITOR=vim" >> ~/.bashrc
```
Print the last exit code
```
echo $?
```

Tips

For exact formatting, printf is more portable than echo -e.

echo guides

echo Command in Linux with Practical Examples Linux Commands · Updated Apr 2025

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