Bash 5 reference · Shell Builtins and Syntax

local (Bash builtin)

Declare variables that exist only inside the current function, so they don't overwrite globals with the same name.

Bash 5

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Syntax

local [-a|-A|-i|-r] NAME[=VALUE]...

Parameter	Description
`-a / -A`	Local indexed / associative array.
`-r`	Read-only.

Local versus global

name=global
f() { local name=inside; echo "in f: $name"; }
f
echo "after f: $name"

Output

in f: inside
after f: global

Run this on your computer — see “Get Started” for setup.

An integer local

count() { local -i n=0; for _ in "$@"; do n+=1; done; echo "$n"; }
count a b c

Output

Run this on your computer — see “Get Started” for setup.

function · Group commands into a named function that takes arguments like a script ($1, $@) and returns an exit status.
declare · Declare variables with attributes: arrays, associative arrays, integers, read-only values and exported variables.
Bash Functions · tutorial