How to use a Shebang in Linux In Linux
You can use a shebang to tell Linux which interpreter is needed to run the script. For instance, in the case of a Python file, you will need the python executable. Usually, this is located in /usr/bin. You will need the complete path to the executable.
To know the path to the executable, you can use the following command in Linux.:
which
To use a shebang, you need to know where the interpreter is located in your computer. For the Python interpreter, you will need the location of the Python executable. Once you know this, the Shebang command is simple :
#!<path-to-interpreter>
For instance, if your Python interpreter is located in /usr/bin/python like ours is, then your shebang is:
#!/usr/bin/python
The next thing to remember is to write your Shebang in the first line of the Python script, even before any other line. So the overall Python code for the earlier file square.py becomes:
#!/usr/bin/python
number = int(input())
print(number * number)
The last step is to set the executable flag for the Python script. To do this, we need to run the command
chmod +x square.py
And we are ready to run square.py as an executable.
Note: The Shebang does not make your file executable by itself. It simply tells Bash (the shell) where to find the interpreter to run it. You will still need to have the interpreter installed.
Using Shebang in Linux
Imagine you’re working on a Linux computer and have a recipe with instructions written in different languages. But your computer only understands English! That’s where the shebang comes in. It’s like a tiny label at the beginning of the recipe that tells your computer which “translator” to use for each language. This magic symbol, #!
, followed by the interpreter’s path, is the key to understanding and running all sorts of scripts on your system.