How do I print a newline in Bash?

To print a newline in Bash, you have several methods depending on your use case. Below are the most common and reliable approaches:

1. Using echo with -e (Interpret Escape Sequences)

echo -e "First line\nSecond line"

Output:

First line
Second line

Note:

• The -e flag enables interpretation of escape characters like \n.
• Behavior of echo can vary between shells. Use printf for more consistency (see below).

2. Using printf (Recommended for Portability)

printf "First line\nSecond line\n"

Output:

First line
Second line

Advantages:

• printf handles escape sequences by default (no flags needed).
• More consistent across shells/OSes compared to echo.
• Add \n at the end to avoid trailing % symbols in some shells.

3. Using ANSI-C Quoting ($'...' Syntax)

echo $'First line\nSecond line'

Output:

First line
Second line

Note:

• The $'...' syntax interprets escape sequences automatically (no -e required).
• Works in Bash, Zsh, and other modern shells.

4. Store Newline in a Variable

newline=$'\n'
echo "Hello${newline}World"

Output:

Hello
World

Key Differences Between echo and printf

Method	Escape Handling	Portability	Auto Newline?
echo -e	Requires -e flag	Varies between shells	Yes (by default)
printf	Default	Highly portable	No (add \n explicitly)
$'...'	No flags needed	Bash/Zsh only	Depends on command

Examples in Context

Multi-line String

printf "Line 1\nLine 2\nLine 3\n"

Combine Variables with Newlines

name="Alice"
message="Hello, $name!\nWelcome to Bash."
printf "$message\n"

Write to a File

printf "First line\nSecond line\n" > output.txt

Troubleshooting

• If your echo command prints \n literally, use -e or switch to printf.
• For scripts targeting POSIX compliance, use printf to avoid shell-specific quirks.
• Avoid echo -e if your script needs to run in shells where -e is unsupported (e.g., older/dash-based systems).

Summary

• Best Practice: Use printf for cross-shell compatibility.
• Quick Fix: echo -e or $'...' syntax for simple cases.
• Avoid: echo "text\n" without -e or $'...', as it will print \n literally.