Lesson 3.5: Wildcards and path expansion

Let the shell fill in file names: * ? and [ ] match existing files (globbing), { } builds lists of words, ~ expands to your home; preview any pattern with echo before using it with rm.

15 min

You will learn to

Match files with *, ? and [ ]
Build lists with {a,b} and {1..5}
Explain that the shell expands patterns before the command runs
Preview a pattern with echo or ls before rm

Key terms

Wildcard (glob): A special character in a name pattern that the shell replaces with the matching file names.
* (star): Matches any number of characters, including none. Doesn't match the / between directories or a leading dot.
? (question mark): Matches exactly one character.
[ ] (character set): Matches one character from the list or range inside.
Brace expansion { }: Writes out a list of words from comma-separated parts or a range, whether or not such files exist.
Expansion happens first: The shell replaces patterns before the command runs; the program only sees the final list of names.

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