Unexpected EOF while looking for matching `)' in a shell script

Question

I have a shell script that contains this command:

  SNAPSHOT_ID=$(bash <<-EOF 
              aws rds create-db-snapshot 
              --db-instance-identifier $RDS_INSTANCE_ID 
              --db-snapshot-identifier $RDS_INSTANCE_ID-manual-$NOW_DATE 
              --query 'DBSnapshot.[DBSnapshotIdentifier]' --output text 
EOF
   )

But I'm receiving this error:

line 191: unexpected EOF while looking for matching `)'

How can I fix this?

Could you check your file for [carriage returns](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/39527571/are-shell-scripts-sensitive-to-encoding-and-line-endings)? — that other guy, Sep 26 '19 at 17:27

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 26 '19 at 15:51

1

You don't need a here-doc to send your command to a new shell (and you're already in a subshell):

snapshot_id=$(aws rds create-db-snapshot \
    --db-instance-identifier "$RDS_INSTANCE_ID" \
    --db-snapshot-identifier "$RDS_INSTANCE_ID-manual-$NOW_DATE" \
    --query 'DBSnapshot.[DBSnapshotIdentifier]' --output text)

You do have to escape your newlines, though.

I've also added quotes around parameter expansions and lowercased the one variable being created, as uppercase variable names are reserved for shell and utilities (see POSIX spec, fourth paragraph).

answered Sep 26 '19 at 15:51

Benjamin W.

46,058
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The command is inside a shell script. Is it possible to use your solution ? – user1297406 Sep 26 '19 at 17:33
@user1297406 Yes. This is the standard way to assign the output of shell command in a shell script. – that other guy Sep 26 '19 at 17:52

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 26 '19 at 15:47

I am not sure if this is your case but if the second EOF does not start from the beginning the line (column 1) you will get such an error. For example:

[root@tsekmanrhel771 ~]# cat eoftest.sh
#!/bin/sh

 SNAPSHOT_ID=$(bash <<-EOF
              aws rds create-db-snapshot 
              --db-instance-identifier $RDS_INSTANCE_ID 
              --db-snapshot-identifier $RDS_INSTANCE_ID-manual-$NOW_DATE 
              --query 'DBSnapshot.[DBSnapshotIdentifier]' --output text 
 EOF
   )
[root@tsekmanrhel771 ~]# ./eoftest.sh
./eoftest.sh: line 3: unexpected EOF while looking for matching `)'
./eoftest.sh: line 10: syntax error: unexpected end of file

score 0 · Answer 3 · edited Sep 26 '19 at 15:49

0

SNAPSHOT_ID=$(bash <<EOF
aws rds create-db-snapshot --db-instance-identifier $RDS_INSTANCE_ID --db-snapshot-identifier $RDS_INSTANCE_ID-manual-$NOW_DATE --query 'DBSnapshot.[DBSnapshotIdentifier]' --output text
EOF
)

problems were with the "-" before EOF and the last ")" seemed to be badly idented, not sure if from copy/paste. Give it a try, if the commands need to be inserted in new lines finish them with "\n".

edited Sep 26 '19 at 15:49

Benjamin W.

46,058
19
106
116

answered Sep 26 '19 at 15:48

tavanez

13
7

`-` before EOF is a Bash feature to trim leading tab indents. – Benjamin W. Sep 26 '19 at 15:49
you're right my bad, even though adjusting EOF and the last ")" it kinda worked for me. I used a random command in my box – tavanez Sep 26 '19 at 15:52

Unexpected EOF while looking for matching `)' in a shell script

3 Answers3