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.\" $OpenBSD: echo.1,v 1.25 2026/02/25 21:57:43 jcs Exp $
.\" $NetBSD: echo.1,v 1.7 1995/03/21 09:04:26 cgd Exp $
.\"
.\" Copyright (c) 1990, 1993
.\" The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
.\"
.\" This code is derived from software contributed to Berkeley by
.\" the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
.\"
.\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
.\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
.\" are met:
.\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
.\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
.\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
.\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
.\" documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
.\" 3. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors
.\" may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
.\" without specific prior written permission.
.\"
.\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
.\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
.\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
.\" ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
.\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
.\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
.\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
.\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
.\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
.\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
.\" SUCH DAMAGE.
.\"
.\" @(#)echo.1 8.1 (Berkeley) 7/22/93
.\"
.Dd $Mdocdate: February 25 2026 $
.Dt ECHO 1
.Os
.Sh NAME
.Nm echo
.Nd write arguments to the standard output
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Nm echo
.Op Fl Een
.Op Ar string ...
.Sh DESCRIPTION
The
.Nm
utility writes any specified operands, separated by single blank
.Pq Sq \ \&
characters and followed by a newline
.Pq Sq \en
character, to the standard
output.
.Pp
When no operands are given, only the newline is written.
The
.Fl \-
operand,
which generally denotes an end to option processing,
is treated as part of
.Ar string .
.Pp
The options are as follows:
.Bl -tag -width Ds
.It Fl E
Disable interpretation of backslash escape sequences (default).
.It Fl e
Enable interpretation of the following backslash escape sequences:
.Pp
.Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact
.It Cm \e\e
A literal backslash.
.It Cm \ea
Alert (BEL).
.It Cm \eb
Backspace.
.It Cm \ec
Suppress further output, including the trailing newline character.
.It Cm \ee
Escape character.
.It Cm \ef
Form feed.
.It Cm \en
Newline.
.It Cm \er
Carriage return.
.It Cm \et
Horizontal tab.
.It Cm \ev
Vertical tab.
.It Cm \e0 Ns Ar nnn
The character whose octal value is
.Ar nnn
(zero to three octal digits).
.It Cm \ex Ns Ar hh
The character whose hexadecimal value is
.Ar hh
(one or two hexadecimal digits).
.El
.It Fl n
Do not print the trailing newline character.
.El
.Sh EXIT STATUS
.Ex -std echo
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr csh 1 ,
.Xr ksh 1 ,
.Xr printf 1
.Sh STANDARDS
The
.Nm
utility is compliant with the
.St -p1003.1-2008
specification.
.Pp
The flags
.Op Fl E ,
.Op Fl e ,
and
.Op Fl n
conflict with the behaviour mandated by the
X/Open System Interfaces option of the
.St -p1003.1-2008
specification,
which says they should be treated as part of
.Ar string .
.Pp
.Nm
also exists as a built-in to
.Xr csh 1
and
.Xr ksh 1 ,
though with a different syntax.
.Pp
Where portability is paramount, use
.Xr printf 1 .
.Sh HISTORY
An
.Nm
utility appeared in
.At v2 .
|
