I'm trying to store the output the which command. Here's what I've tried:
OUT=$(which gsutil)
echo "$(OUT)"
But it doesn't work and prints an empty line.
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mokiliii Lo
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1`echo "${OUT}"` – User123 Mar 17 '22 at 15:50
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still doesn't work – mokiliii Lo Mar 17 '22 at 15:51
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1`"$(OUT)"` thinks `OUT` as a command, not a variable. You might be mistaking with `${}`: `echo "${OUT}"` – 0stone0 Mar 17 '22 at 15:54
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@0stone0 the link doesn't help, I'm doing exactly the same and it doesn't work – mokiliii Lo Mar 17 '22 at 15:57
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`echo "${OUT}"` still doesn't work – mokiliii Lo Mar 17 '22 at 15:58
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No no no no, you're not doing the same; he is doing `echo "${OUTPUT}"` Note the `{}` **and not** `()` – 0stone0 Mar 17 '22 at 15:58
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that still doesn't solve the problem – mokiliii Lo Mar 17 '22 at 15:59
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2what's the output of : `which gsutil` ? – User123 Mar 17 '22 at 16:00
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@User123 `/home/miki/.local/bin/gsutil` – mokiliii Lo Mar 17 '22 at 16:01
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`echo "$(OUT)"` should produce an error, unless there's really a file named `OUT` in `$PATH`. Do you really run the above commands exactly? Spaces are significant in bash – phuclv Mar 17 '22 at 16:38
1 Answers
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The which command is a broken heritage from the C-Shell and is better left alone in Bourne-like shells.
Instead use command -v:
OUT=$(command -v gsutil)
echo "${OUT}"
SikorskyS60
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But of course, storing the standard output only so you can immediately `echo` it to standard output is a [useless use of `echo`](https://www.iki.fi/era/unix/award.html#echo) – tripleee Mar 18 '22 at 08:58
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It is. I sure hope that the variable will be used differently by the questioneer. – SikorskyS60 Mar 19 '22 at 09:24