bash - Shell equality operators (=, ==, -eq)

Question

Can someone please explain the difference between =, == and -eq in shell scripting?

Is there any difference between the following?

[ $a = $b ]
[ $a == $b ]
[ $a -eq $b ]

Is it simply that = and == are only used when the variables contain numbers?

Answer 1

It's the other way around: = and == are for string comparisons, -eq is for numeric ones. -eq is in the same family as -lt, -le, -gt, -ge, and -ne, if that helps you remember which is which.

== is a bash-ism, by the way. It's better to use the POSIX =. In bash the two are equivalent, and in plain sh = is the only one guaranteed to work.

$ a=foo
$ [ "$a" = foo ]; echo "$?"       # POSIX sh
0
$ [ "$a" == foo ]; echo "$?"      # bash specific
0
$ [ "$a" -eq foo ]; echo "$?"     # wrong
-bash: [: foo: integer expression expected
2

(Side note: Quote those variable expansions! Do not leave out the double quotes above.)

If you're writing a #!/bin/bash script then I recommend using [[ instead. The doubled form has more features, more natural syntax, and fewer gotchas that will trip you up. Double quotes are no longer required around $a, for one:

$ [[ $a == foo ]]; echo "$?"      # bash specific
0

See also:

• What's the difference between [ and [[ in Bash?