Beginner-Intermediate|12 hours|21 lessons

Bash & Shell Scripting for Engineers

A free course covering Bash for engineers who copy-paste shell from Stack Overflow and want to stop. Parsing order, quoting, arrays, set -euo pipefail, traps, input handling, ShellCheck, and the Makefile patterns you see in every serious repo.

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Text-based, no videos

7 modules, 21 lessons

No signup required

What you'll learn

How Bash parses a script — word splitting, quoting, expansion order

Parameter expansion — default values, prefix/suffix, case changes

Arrays and associative arrays — when to use each, and the pitfalls

Conditionals with [[ ]] and why it is almost always better than [ ]

Loops that handle filenames with spaces, newlines, and unicode correctly

The set flags — `set -euo pipefail` and when each matters

Traps and cleanup — tempfiles, locks, graceful shutdown

Input handling — getopts, validation, sanitization

Structuring scripts, libraries, and when to switch to Python

Debugging with set -x, PS4, BASH_XTRACEFD, and ShellCheck in CI

Makefiles — the rule model, variables, functions, and the `build/test/lint/ci` conventions you see in every serious repo

Curriculum

7 modules · 21 lessons

How Bash Actually Parses Your Script

The mental model that prevents 80% of shell bugs. Word splitting, quoting, command substitution, and the parsing order that makes quoting feel less arbitrary.

3 lessons

Word Splitting and Why Quotes Matter30 minFREE Command Substitution and Subshells30 minFREE The Parsing Order30 minFREE

Variables, Quoting, and Expansions

Parameter expansion shortcuts senior engineers use every day, arrays done right, and the quoting rules that actually matter.

3 lessons

Parameter Expansion Deep Dive30 minFREE Arrays and Associative Arrays30 minFREE Quoting Rules You Actually Need25 minFREE

Control Flow and Functions

Conditionals, loops, and functions that do not break when input is empty, has spaces, or contains newlines.

3 lessons

Conditionals Done Right30 minFREE Loops That Do Not Break30 minFREE Functions and Scope30 minFREE

Error Handling

The set flags, traps, and exit-code discipline that turn a pile of commands into a reliable script.

3 lessons

The set Flags That Save You30 minFREE Traps and Cleanup30 minFREE Exit Codes and Error Propagation25 minFREE

Production-Ready Scripts

Parsing args, handling files with weird names, structuring larger scripts, and knowing when Bash is the wrong tool.

3 lessons

Handling Inputs Safely30 minFREE Working with Files and Paths30 minFREE Structuring Larger Scripts30 minFREE

Debugging Shell Scripts

The tools and failure modes you need to know — set -x tracing, ShellCheck in CI, and the weird errors that only appear in production.

3 lessons

The Debugging Toolkit30 minFREE Common Production Failures30 minFREE ShellCheck and Linting25 minFREE

Makefiles and Build Automation

The Makefile patterns you see in every professional repo — finally explained. The rule model, variables, functions, and the conventions (build/test/lint/ci) that make `make` a useful task runner.

3 lessons

The Rule Model30 minFREE Variables, Functions, and Patterns30 minFREE Production Makefile Conventions30 minFREE

About the Author

Sharon Sahadevan

AI Infrastructure Engineer

Building production GPU clusters on Kubernetes — H100s, large-scale model serving, and end-to-end ML infrastructure across Azure and AWS.

10+ years designing cloud-native platforms with deep expertise in Kubernetes orchestration, GitOps (Argo CD), Terraform, and MLOps pipelines for LLM deployment.

Author of KubeNatives, a weekly newsletter read by 3,000+ DevOps and ML engineers for production insights on K8s internals, GPU scheduling, and model-serving patterns.

Start learning now — completely free

7 modules, 21 lessons. No signup, no paywall.