Source files in a bash script

Question

I am using two versions of ROS next to each other. To use one I have to source some environment variables for the specific version. I would like to create a script that does this. But if I create a script like below the variables are not set, they are probably set in a subshell. How can I source the files to the main terminal shell?

source.sh:

source /opt/ros/fuerte/setup.bash;
source  ~/fuerte_workspace/setup.bash;

Here is how i am calling source.sh:

./source.sh
# This does not echo anything, but I expect it should
echo $ros_config

Update: By sourcing source.sh as suggested in the answer, I can now see the variables being set.

source ./source.sh
# This works now
echo $ros_config

What about sourcing source.sh? This can help you: stackoverflow.com/a/15968190/1983854 — fedorqui
– fedorqui, Commented Apr 15, 2013 at 9:04

MangeshBiradar · Accepted Answer · 2013-04-15 09:11:46Z

161

Execute Shell Script Using . ./ (dot space dot slash)

While executing the shell script using “dot space dot slash”, as shown below, it will execute the script in the current shell without forking a sub shell.

$ . ./setup.bash

In other words, this executes the commands specified in the setup.bash in the current shell, and prepares the environment for you.

answered Apr 15, 2013 at 9:11

MangeshBiradar

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3 Comments

hobs Over a year ago

. is an alias for source when delimited by space (like all bash commands). If you source you'll avoid common bugs associated with using . to mean the current directory, etc.

Douwe van der Leest Over a year ago

Note: source is an alias for . not the other way around.

henrikstroem Over a year ago

This works fine for scripts in the current directory - but what do you do if the script is in /usr/local/bin? That's more convenient because then you don't have to cd to the directory where your script is located.

clusterdude · Accepted Answer · 2017-03-14 01:53:27Z

15

Use dot notation to source in the script file in the current shell i.e. without creating a sub-shell:

. /opt/ros/fuerte/setup.bash
. ~/fuerte_workspace/setup.bash

edited Mar 14, 2017 at 1:53

clusterdude

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answered Apr 15, 2013 at 9:06

anubhava

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3 Comments

user408041 Over a year ago

If I use ./source.sh it does not work. source source.sh does work!

anubhava Over a year ago

SInce you're providing full path to setup.sh here therefore ./ is not needed since ./ means current dir.

clusterdude Over a year ago

"./source.sh" executes the script (in its own shell). ". ./source.sh" (or "source ./source.sh", or "source source.sh") will apply the script contents to the current shell environment.

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