test

Before running this

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Syntax

UPPERCASE words are placeholders to replace. Brackets in the syntax line describe optional arguments; do not type those brackets literally.

test EXPRESSION

Example

if test -f note.txt; then printf "%s\n" "file exists"; fi

Expected result

Prints file exists when note.txt is a regular file.

Notes and traps

The [ form requires spaces and a closing ]. Bash [[ … ]] has different parsing rules.

Related commands

• PowerShell: Test-Path
• CMD: if

Related tasks may need different flags and have different semantics. Check the entry before translating a command between shells.

Updated 13 September 2026. Examples describe the expected behavior; not every platform is available for execution testing.