read command in Linux with Examples Last Updated : 25 Sep, 2024 Comments Improve Suggest changes Like Article Like Report read command in the Linux system is used to read from a file descriptor. This command reads up the total number of bytes from the specified file descriptor into the buffer. If the number or count is zero, this command may detect errors. But on success, it returns the number of bytes read. Zero indicates the end of the file. If some errors are found then it returns -1. Let’s look deeper into its usage, syntax, options, and some common examples.SyntaxreadThe read command takes the user's input and stores it into a variable that can be referenced later in the script.Basic read Command ExampleOptions for the read CommandOptionsDescription-pDisplays a prompt before reading input.-tSets a timeout to wait for input.-nLimits the number of characters to read.-sDisables echoing the input (useful for password entry).-dDefines a delimiter other than a newline.read Command Examples in Linuxread command without any option: The read command asks for the user's input and exit once the user provides some input. In the following example we are acquiring the user's name and then showing the user's name with a greeting. echo "what is your name..?";read name;echo "hello $name"ConclusionThe read command's ability to capture user input, read files, and handle input with various options makes it essential for interactive and automated scripts. By mastering this command and its various flags, you can make your shell scripts more dynamic and user-friendly. Comment More infoAdvertise with us R rahulkumarmandal Follow Improve Article Tags : Linux-Unix linux-command Linux-Shell-Commands Similar Reads Paste command in Linux with examples Paste command is one of the useful commands in Unix or Linux operating system. It is used to join files horizontally (parallel merging) by outputting lines consisting of lines from each file specified, separated by tab as delimiter, to the standard output. When no file is specified, or put dash ("-" 6 min read pidof Command in Linux with Examples pidof command is used to find out the process IDs of a specific running program. It is basically an identification number that is automatically assigned to each process when it is created. Syntax: pidof [options] program1 program2 ... programNWorking with Pidof Command 1. 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