shell - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: shell description: Google's official Shell scripting style guide. Covers Bash scripting, naming conventions, error handling, portability, and shell best practices.

Google Shell Style Guide

Official Google Shell scripting standards for consistent, maintainable Bash scripts.

Quick Reference

Golden Rules

Use #!/bin/bash — specify interpreter
Quote variables — "$var" not $var
Check exit codes — set -e or explicit checks
Use functions — organize code logically
Avoid parsing ls — use globs or find
Use [[ over [ — more features, fewer gotchas
ShellCheck for linting — catch common mistakes

Naming Conventions (Preview)

Element	Convention	Example
Functions	lowercase_with_underscores	`get_user_count`
Variables	lowercase_with_underscores	`user_count`
Constants	UPPER_SNAKE_CASE	`MAX_RETRIES`
Environment vars	UPPER_SNAKE_CASE	`PATH`

Basic Patterns (Preview)

#!/bin/bash
# ✓ CORRECT

set -euo pipefail  # Exit on error, undefined vars, pipe failures

readonly SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"

function main() {
  local user_count="$1"
  
  if [[ -z "${user_count}" ]]; then
    echo "Error: user_count required" >&2
    return 1
  fi
  
  echo "Processing ${user_count} users"
}

main "$@"

When to Use This Guide

Writing new shell scripts
Refactoring existing scripts
Code reviews
Setting up ShellCheck
Onboarding new team members

Install

npx skills add testdino-hq/google-styleguides-skills/shell

Full Guide

See shell.md for complete details, examples, and edge cases.