Integer expression expected error in shell script [duplicate]

Question

I'm a newbie to shell scripts so I have a question. What Im doing wrong in this code?

#!/bin/bash
echo " Write in your age: "
read age
if [ "$age" -le "7"] -o [ "$age" -ge " 65" ]
then
echo " You can walk in for free "
elif [ "$age" -gt "7"] -a [ "$age" -lt "65"]
then
echo " You have to pay for ticket "
fi

When I'm trying to open this script it asks me for my age and then it says

./bilet.sh: line 6: [: 7]: integer expression expected
./bilet.sh: line 9: [: missing `]'

I don't have any idea what I'm doing wrong. If someone could tell me how to fix it I would be thankful, sorry for my poor English I hope you guys can understand me.

Aren't you normally supposed to have whitespace between a command's arguments? Why did you omit it? — Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams
– Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams, Commented Oct 21, 2013 at 21:43
this page explains a lot about the various bash comparison syntaxes. — Stuart Mclean
– Stuart Mclean, Commented May 9, 2018 at 19:21

kamituel · Accepted Answer · 2013-10-21 21:43:48Z

54

You can use this syntax:

#!/bin/bash

echo " Write in your age: "
read age

if [[ "$age" -le 7 || "$age" -ge 65 ]] ; then
    echo " You can walk in for free "
elif [[ "$age" -gt 7 && "$age" -lt 65 ]] ; then
    echo " You have to pay for ticket "
fi

answered Oct 21, 2013 at 21:43

kamituel

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2 Comments

Braden Best Over a year ago

And when I do that I get test.sh: line 3: [[: 109 test: syntax error in expression (error token is "test")

Bhavya Arora Over a year ago

@BradenBest , others : I am having a similar problem with: <br/> while [ "$COUNTER+1" -lt "$array_length" ]; do <br/> It gives me: Can someone please help me.

Mr-IDE · Accepted Answer · 2018-04-05 10:58:41Z

17

This error can also happen if the variable you are comparing has hidden characters that are not numbers/digits.

For example, if you are retrieving an integer from a third-party script, you must ensure that the returned string does not contain hidden characters, like "\n" or "\r".

For example:

#!/bin/bash

# Simulate an invalid number string returned
# from a script, which is "1234\n"
a='1234
'

if [ "$a" -gt 1233 ] ; then
    echo "number is bigger"
else
    echo "number is smaller"
fi

This will result in a script error : integer expression expected because $a contains a non-digit newline character "\n". You have to remove this character using the instructions here: How to remove carriage return from a string in Bash

So use something like this:

#!/bin/bash

# Simulate an invalid number string returned
# from a script, which is "1234\n"
a='1234
'

# Remove all new line, carriage return, tab characters
# from the string, to allow integer comparison
a="${a//[$'\t\r\n ']}"

if [ "$a" -gt 1233 ] ; then
    echo "number is bigger"
else
    echo "number is smaller"
fi

You can also use set -xv to debug your bash script and reveal these hidden characters. See https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-newbie-8/bash-script-error-integer-expression-expected-934465/

edited Apr 5, 2018 at 10:58

answered Feb 9, 2018 at 11:56

Mr-IDE

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1 Comment

Alexey Vol Over a year ago

Perfect! I got 93, (with comma), that lead to this error.

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 12:26:20Z

15

If you are using -o (or -a), it needs to be inside the brackets of the test command:

if [ "$age" -le "7" -o "$age" -ge " 65" ]

However, their use is deprecated, and you should use separate test commands joined by || (or &&) instead:

if [ "$age" -le "7" ] || [ "$age" -ge " 65" ]

Make sure the closing brackets are preceded with whitespace, as they are technically arguments to [, not simply syntax.

In bash and some other shells, you can use the superior [[ expression as shown in kamituel's answer. The above will work in any POSIX-compliant shell.

edited May 23, 2017 at 12:26

CommunityBot

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answered Oct 21, 2013 at 21:45

chepner

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1 Comment

kamituel Over a year ago

Yes, looking at shebang, I assume OP's using bash. Good to point to POSIX solution, though, +1.

Dan Lowe · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-11 14:54:16Z

7

./bilet.sh: line 6: [: 7]: integer expression expected

Be careful with " "

./bilet.sh: line 9: [: missing `]'

This is because you need to have space between brackets like:

if [ "$age" -le 7 ] -o [ "$age" -ge 65 ]

look: added space, and no " "

edited May 11, 2017 at 14:54

Dan Lowe

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answered May 11, 2017 at 14:28

circassia_ai

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Comments

Paul · Accepted Answer · 2025-02-21 19:24:59Z

1

Try this:

if [ $a -lt 4 ] || [ $a -gt 64 ] ; then \n
     Something something \n
elif [ $a -gt 4 ] || [ $a -lt 64 ] ; then \n
     Something something \n
else \n
    Yes it works for me :) \n

edited Feb 21 at 19:24

Paul

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answered Jul 10, 2017 at 8:24

Harry1992

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1 Comment

Harry1992 Over a year ago

It work for me dont use combian or dont use -o -a These are not working for me

markfree · Accepted Answer · 2020-04-27 16:37:46Z

0

If you are just comparing numbers, I think there's no need to change syntax, just correct those lines, lines 6 and 9 brackets.

Line 6 before: if [ "$age" -le "7"] -o [ "$age" -ge " 65" ]

After: if [ "$age" -le "7" -o "$age" -ge "65" ]

Line 9 before: elif [ "$age" -gt "7"] -a [ "$age" -lt "65"]

After: elif [ "$age" -gt "7" -a "$age" -lt "65" ]

answered Apr 27, 2020 at 16:37

markfree

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