true - macOS

Overview

The true command in macOS is a simple utility that always returns a zero exit code, indicating success. It is primarily used in scripting and conditional statements to represent the logical value “true” or to indicate that a command or statement succeeded.

Syntax

true

Options/Flags

true has no available options or flags.

Examples

Simple Usage

if true; then
  echo "Command succeeded"
else
  echo "Command failed"
fi

Complex Usage in Scripting

#!/bin/sh

if ! true; then
  echo "Error: Command failed"
  exit 1
fi

# Execute subsequent commands only if the previous command succeeded
echo "Command succeeded"

Common Issues

Exit Code

The true command always returns a zero exit code, indicating success. This can be useful in situations where a script or program requires a specific exit code to proceed.

Integration

Conditional Statements

true can be used in conditional statements to control the flow of execution based on its return code:

if true; then
  # True branch
else
  # False branch
fi

Chaining Commands

true can be chained with other commands using pipes (|) or the && operator to conditionally execute subsequent commands:

command1 | true | command2

Related Commands

• false: Returns a non-zero exit code, indicating failure.
• test: Evaluates expressions and returns a zero exit code if the expression is true and a non-zero exit code if the expression is false.
• [: Similar to test, used for evaluating expressions in a less verbose syntax.