Computer Hope
computerhope.com › unix › ubreak.htm
Linux Break and Continue Functions
June 1, 2025 - On Unix-like operating systems, break and continue are built-in shell functions which escape from or advance within a while, for, foreach or until loop. This page covers the bash versions of break and continue.
GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › linux-unix › break-command-in-linux-with-examples
break command in Linux with examples - GeeksforGeeks
September 15, 2023 - In this aarticle we have discussed about `break` command in Linux which exits loops based on conditions. It's versatile across loop types, including nested ones, and uses syntax like break [n]. Whether ending for, while, or until loops, break streamlines scripting. Plus, break --help offers easy access to help information. Comment · Article Tags: Article Tags: Technical Scripter · Linux-Unix ·
TutorialsPoint
tutorialspoint.com › unix_commands › break.htm
break Command in Linux
#!/bin/bash #breaksample i=0 while :; do echo "Number: $i" ((i++)) if [ $i -eq 5 ]; then break # Exits the loop when i equals 5 fi done echo "Infinite loop terminated" Save the changes and make the script executable using the following command −
What is the difference between `break` and `exit`?
`break` exits only the current loop and continues executing the rest of the script. `exit` terminates the entire script immediately.
linuxize.com
linuxize.com › home › bash › bash break and continue statements
Bash break and continue Statements | Linuxize
Do `break` and `continue` work in `select` loops?
Yes. Both statements work in `select` loops the same way they work in `for`, `while`, and `until` loops.
linuxize.com
linuxize.com › home › bash › bash break and continue statements
Bash break and continue Statements | Linuxize
Can I use `break` and `continue` in the same loop?
Yes. You can use both statements in the same loop. For example, `continue` to skip certain iterations and `break` to exit when a condition is met.
linuxize.com
linuxize.com › home › bash › bash break and continue statements
Bash break and continue Statements | Linuxize
Linuxize
linuxize.com › home › bash › bash break and continue statements
Bash break and continue Statements | Linuxize
May 2, 2026 - The break exits that subshell, not the script that started the pipeline. Read from the file directly with redirection, for example while read line; do ...; break; done < file.txt. If the input comes from another command, use process substitution instead of a pipe.
Linux Man Pages
man7.org › linux › man-pages › man1 › break.1p.html
break(1p) - Linux manual page
If n is specified, the break utility shall exit from the nth enclosing for, while, or until loop. If n is not specified, break shall behave as if n was specified as 1. Execution shall continue with the command immediately following the exited loop. The value of n is a positive decimal integer.
CyberCiti
bash.cyberciti.biz › guide › Break_statement
Break statement - Linux Bash Shell Scripting Tutorial Wiki
← Exit select loop • Home • Continue statement → · Use the break statement to exit from within a FOR, WHILE or UNTIL loop i.e. stop loop execution
TutorialsPoint
tutorialspoint.com › unix › unix-loop-control.htm
Unix / Linux - Shell Loop Control
The break statement is used to terminate the execution of the entire loop, after completing the execution of all of the lines of code up to the break statement.
NYU
cns.nyu.edu › unix › UNIXhelp1.3 › Pages › scrpt › scrpt2.6.4.html
The break and continue statements
The break command terminates the execution of the innermost enclosing loop, causing execution to resume after the nearest done statement.
Network World
networkworld.com › home › blogs › unix as a second language
Using ‘break’ and ‘continue’ to exit loops in bash | Network World
September 23, 2022 - They allow you to exit a loop early or skip the remaining commands in the loop and return to the beginning. Both the break and the continue commands are meant to be used only in for, while and until loops.
PhoenixNAP
phoenixnap.com › home › kb › devops and development › bash break: how to exit from a loop
Bash break: How to Exit From a Loop
December 11, 2025 - Although the until loop contains an end condition ($i -gt 10), the loop body contains another condition ($i -eq 2). Since the second condition happens before the first, the program enters the if statement's body, which contains a Bash break statement to exit from the loop. Running the script demonstrates that the program ends when the variable i reaches the value 2. The select command creates menus and behaves like an infinite loop, even though it's not one of the primary loop constructs.
GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › break-and-continue-keywords-in-linux-with-examples
Break and Continue Keywords in Linux with Examples | GeeksforGeeks
December 24, 2020 - It is used within loops to alter the flow of the loop and terminate the loop or skip the current iteration. break The break statement is used to terminate the loop and can be used within a while, ... Shell scripting is a powerful tool used to ...
The Linux Documentation Project
tldp.org › LDP › Bash-Beginners-Guide › html › sect_09_05.html
9.5. Break and continue
In nested loops, break allows for specification of which loop to exit. See the Bash info pages for more. The continue statement resumes iteration of an enclosing for, while, until or select loop. When used in a for loop, the controlling variable takes on the value of the next element in the list. When used in a while or until construct, on the other hand, execution resumes with TEST-COMMAND ...
Top answer 1 of 4
5
For Bash:
$ help break
break: break [n]
Exit for, while, or until loops.
Exit a FOR, WHILE or UNTIL loop. If N is specified, break N enclosing
loops.
Exit Status:
The exit status is 0 unless N is not greater than or equal to 1.
The error message you are seeing is issued by Bash. What is the context in which you are trying to understand "break"?
In C, break is a keyword. See this wikibook for more information. In part, it says:
A break statement will immediately exit the enclosing loop.
2 of 4
1
If I got your question right, what you are after is:
man bash
alternatively you can also issue:
man bash | grep -C5 "break [n]"
EDIT: Sorry, I missed your note about not being the bash break. :-| However I can't reproduce the error message you get. I get instead:
bash: break: only meaningful in a `for', `while', or `until' loop
What version of ubuntu do you use? What version of bash? Mine is version 4.0.33(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)... I am asking just in case the two different messages are both from bash but from different versions...
What does
which break
output to you? If it is a standalone program you will get the directory where the executable is located and thus probably be able to understand what installation is part of. If it is a bash (ot other shell) command it will silently fail (no output).
GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › linux-unix › break-command-in-linux-with-examples
break command in Linux with examples - GeeksforGeeks
September 15, 2023 - In this aarticle we have discussed about `break` command in Linux which exits loops based on conditions. It's versatile across loop types, including nested ones, and uses syntax like break [n]. Whether ending for, while, or until loops, break ...
TecMint
tecmint.com › home › bash shell › how to use break and continue statements in shell scripts
How to Use Break and Continue Statements in Shell Scripts
March 24, 2021 - In this article, we will take a look at how to use a break and continue in bash scripts. In bash, we have three main loop constructs (for, while, until). Break and continue statements are bash builtin and used to alter the flow of your loops.
Unix Community
community.unix.com › shell programming and scripting
how to break cat - Shell Programming and Scripting - Unix Linux Community
November 29, 2009 - Greetings. cat $name[tab]$telephonenumber >> telephonebook.txt I would like to break cat with the command 'break'. Pretty hard to understand huh? So to clarify it: echo "If you want to stop adding datas to your telephonebook please type 'break' if [ $name = break ] #this part is probably not good then echo "the program is shutting down..."
Top answer 1 of 3
1
The optional argument to break tells it which loop to break out of. If the argument is omitted, it breaks out of the innermost loop. With an argument n it breaks out of the nth enclosing loop.
So break 2 breaks out of the for var1 loop, because it's the 2nd enclosing loop. If you change it to break, it just breaks out of the for var2 loop, so it goes to the next iteration of for var1.
2 of 3
0
To summarize the comments, there were two issues:
- Why is
3 0printed after abreak, but not afterbreak 2?
This was because the condition ([ $var1 -eq 2 -a $var2 -eq 0 ]) checked for equality rather than -ge, greater or equal. With -ge there will be no echos where both numbers are greater.
The break 2 instead exited both loops, thereby giving the same effect in this particular case. If the loop had been for var1 in 1 2 0, break 2 would have also prevented 0 0 from showing up since both loops would have been stopped.
- Why is
2 5not printed after abrake?
This is because the entire inner loop stops on a break, so no other iterations will have their chance to echo. To instead skip the current iteration and immediately try the next one, use continue.
Belaran
belaran.github.io › free-docs › unix-initiation › node129.html
Les commandes « break », « continue » et « exit »
La commande « break » provoquera la fin de la boucle et le saut à la première commande suivant « done ».
GNU
gnu.org › software › screen › manual › html_node › Break.html
Break (Screen User’s Manual)
Next: Bumpleft, Previous: At, Up: Miscellaneous commands [Contents][Index] ... (C-a b, C-a C-b) Send a break signal for duration*0.25 seconds to this window. For non-Posix systems the time interval is rounded up to full seconds. Most useful if a character device is attached to the window rather than a shell process (see Window Types).
SS64
ss64.com › bash › break.html
break Man Page - Linux
for myloop in 1 2 3 4 5 do echo -n "$myloop" if [ "$myloop" -eq 3 ] then break # This line will break out of the loop fi done · “Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It’s already tomorrow in Australia” ~ Charles Schultz · for - Expand words, and execute commands select - Accept keyboard input.