How do I syntax check a Bash script without running it?

bash -n scriptname

Perhaps an obvious caveat: this validates syntax but won't check if your bash script tries to execute a command that isn't in your path, like ech hello instead of echo hello.

Time changes everything. Here is a web site which provide online syntax checking for shell script.

I found it is very powerful detecting common errors.

About ShellCheck

ShellCheck is a static analysis and linting tool for sh/bash scripts. It's mainly focused on handling typical beginner and intermediate level syntax errors and pitfalls where the shell just gives a cryptic error message or strange behavior, but it also reports on a few more advanced issues where corner cases can cause delayed failures.

Haskell source code is available on GitHub!

I also enable the 'u' option on every bash script I write in order to do some extra checking:

set -u 

This will report the usage of uninitialized variables, like in the following script 'check_init.sh'

#!/bin/shset -umessage=helloecho $mesage

Running the script :

$ check_init.sh

Will report the following :

./check_init.sh[4]: mesage: Parameter not set.

Very useful to catch typos