How to Assign Bash Command to Variable

In bash shell or scripting it is possible to assign a command to a variable using command the below simple syntax.

Syntax:

variable="command"

Examples:

# mylist="ls -ltrha"

# $mylist
total 0
-rw-r--r--@  1 c2ctech  staff     0B May  4 21:46 Annual-Queries-2023.xlsx
-rw-r--r--@  1 c2ctech  staff     0B May  4 21:46 ToDo-List.txt
-rw-r--r--   1 c2ctech  staff     0B May  4 21:48 prod-script.py
-rw-r--r--   1 c2ctech  staff     0B May  4 21:48 satge-script.py
-rw-r--r--   1 c2ctech  staff     0B May  4 21:50 .secret-records.csv
-rw-r--r--   1 c2ctech  staff     0B May  4 21:50 .config
drwxr-xr-x   2 c2ctech  staff    64B May  4 21:50 .unclassified
drwxr-xr-x@  5 c2ctech  staff   160B May  4 22:00 Archive-2010-2020
drwxr-xr-x@  4 c2ctech  staff   128B May  4 22:01 Archive-2020-2030
drwxr-xr-x@ 12 c2ctech  staff   384B May  4 22:11 .
drwx------@ 19 c2ctech  staff   608B May  4 22:13 ..
drwxr-xr-x   7 c2ctech  staff   224B May  4 22:20 myfiles

As you can see in the above example, we have assigned the ls command with options to the mylist variable, next when we execute the variable using a $ prefix, our command stored in the variable gets executed.

Example - Store and Execute Bash Command in a Variable

Though there is a command called as alias specifically for it, but you can make use of the variable approach and save a complex (with piping) commands and execute them with ease.

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