Redirection is a feature you can use to modify file descriptors of commands. By using redirection, you can execute commands with their standard input/output connected with files or devices other than the terminal.

You can do redirection by adding redirection operators to a command (simple command or compound command) In a simple command, redirection operators may appear anywhere in the command as long as operator tokens are separated from other tokens. In a compound command, redirection operators must appear at the end of the command.

Redirection operators are processed before the command body is executed. More than one redirection operator in a command are processed in the order of appearance. Redirection operators affect only the command in which they appear, except when they appear in an exec built-in without command operands. That is, file descriptors modified by redirection are restored after the command has finished.

A redirection operator starts with < or >. Redirection operators starting with < affects the standard input (file descriptor 0) by default. Redirection operators starting with > affects the standard output (file descriptor 1) by default. To affect another file descriptor, you can prefix a redirection operator with a non-negative integer; the operator will affect the file descriptor specified by the integer. The integer must immediately precede the < or > without any whitespaces in between. The integer must not be quoted, either.

Redirection to files

The most common type of redirection is redirection to files.

Redirection of input

< token

Redirection of output

> token

>| token

>> token

Redirection of input and output

<> token

The token is subject to the four expansions. It is also subject to pathname expansion if the shell is interactive. The expansion result is treated as the pathname of the file to which redirection is performed. If the pathname expansion does not result in a single pathname, it is an error.

In redirection of input, the standard input is replaced with a file descriptor which is open for read-only access to the target file. If the target file cannot be opened for read-only access, it is an error.

In redirection of output, the standard output is replaced with a file descriptor which is open for write-only access to the target file. If the target file cannot be opened for write-only access, it is an error. If the target file does not exist, a new empty file is created and opened. If the target file already exists, the file is opened as follows:

  • For the >| operator, the file is emptied when opened if it is a regular file.

  • For the > operator, the behavior is the same as the >| operator if the clobber option is enabled. If the option is disabled and the file is a regular file, it is treated as an error.

  • For the >> operator, the file is opened for appending; any output to the file descriptor is appended to the end of the file.

In redirection of input and output, the standard input is replaced with a file descriptor which is open for read-and-write access to the target file. If the file does not exist, a new empty file is created and opened.

Socket redirection

If the pathname of the target file is of the form /dev/tcp/host/port or /dev/udp/host/port and the file cannot be opened in the usual manner, a new socket is opened for communication with the port of the host. The redirection replaces the standard input or output with the file descriptor to the socket.

A stream socket is opened for the form /dev/tcp/host/port and a datagram socket for the form /dev/udp/host/port. The protocol actually used for communication is determined by the socket library the shell uses. Typically, stream sockets use TCP and datagram sockets UDP.

In socket redirection, the file descriptor is both readable and writable regardless of the type of the redirection operator used.

Socket redirection is yash’s extension that is not defined in POSIX. Bash as well has socket redirection as extension.

Duplication of file descriptors

Redirection allows duplicating or closing existing file descriptors.

Duplication of file descriptor

<& token

>& token

The token is subject to expansion as in redirection to files, but it is treated as a file descriptor rather than a pathname. Thus the expanded token must be a non-negative integer.

The <& and >& operators duplicate the file descriptor specified by token to the standard input and output, respectively. (The operators can be prefixed with a non-negative integer so that the file descriptor is duplicated to a file descriptor other than the standard input or output.)

If the expanded token is a single hyphen rather than a non-negative integer, the file descriptor is closed rather than duplicated. By default, the <& and >& operators close the standard input and output, respectively, but the operators can be prefixed with a non-negative integer so that another file descriptor is closed.

In the POSIXly-correct mode, a file descriptor must be readable when duplicated by the <& operator and writable when duplicated by the >& operator.

Here documents and here strings

Here document and here string allow redirection to file descriptors that reads strings directly specified in shell commands.

Here document

<< token

<<- token

Here string

<<< token

In a here document or here string, the standard input is replaced with a readable file descriptor. When the command reads from the file descriptor, it will read the contents of the here document/string, which is defined below.

When a here document operator (<< or <<-) appears in a command, the shell reads the contents of the here document starting from the next line. The contents of here documents are not parsed nor executed as commands. The token after the operand specifies a delimiter that indicates the end of the contents. (The token is not subject to any expansion, but quotation is processed.) The contents of the here document is terminated just before the first line containing the token only. When using the <<- operator, all tab characters at the beginning of each line in the here document contents are removed and the delimiter token may be preceded by tab characters.

If there are more than one here document operator on one line, the contents of the here documents are parsed in order: The contents of the first here document starts from the next line and ends before the first line containing the token that followed the first operator. Just after that line, the contents of the second here document starts, and so on.

The contents of here documents are treated literally: whitespaces, tabs, etc. remain as is. The exception is that, when the token is not quoted at all:

In here string, the token after the operator is subject to expansion as in redirection to files. The expansion result becomes the contents of the here string. A newline character is automatically appended to the end of here string contents.

Here string is yash’s extension that is not defined in POSIX. Other shells like bash, ksh, and zsh have the same feature.

Pipeline redirection

Pipeline redirection allows opening pipelines that can be used for arbitrary purposes.

Pipeline redirection

>>| token

The token is subject to expansion as in redirection to files, but it is treated as a file descriptor rather than a pathname. Thus the expanded token must be a non-negative integer.

Pipeline redirection opens a new pipeline. The standard output (or the file descriptor specified before the operator, if any) is replaced with the file descriptor open for writing to the pipeline. The file descriptor specified by token is replaced with the file descriptor open for reading from the pipeline.

Pipeline redirection is yash’s extension that is not defined in POSIX.

Process redirection

Process redirection creates a pipeline connected to another command.

Process redirection

<(command…)

>(command…)

In process redirection, the command specified is executed in a subshell. If the process redirection is of the form <(command…), the standard output of command is connected with a pipeline to the standard input of the command the redirection is associated with. If the process redirection is of the form >(command…), the standard input of command is connected with a pipeline to the standard output of the command the redirection is associated with.

Process redirection is yash’s extension that is not defined in POSIX. Bash and zsh have a feature called process substitution, which uses the same syntax as yash’s process redirection, but incompatibly differs in behavior.