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Afaik this is common syntax for if/else based only on the the initial condition; I can't remember where it's documented but I think it requires the do_this part

• jolmg 7y ago
  > Afaik this is common syntax for if/else based only on the the initial condition You're right that it's common, but you're wrong saying that it's based only on the initial condition: $ true && cat nonexistent.txt || echo "shouldn't have run" cat: nonexistent.txt: No such file or directory should't have run > I can't remember where it's documented but I think it requires the do_this part to be a single expression It's not documented like you said because it's a hack. &&/|| aren't meant to simulate if/else. These aren't expressions either. And they aren't really limited either: $ true && { echo "true condition ran"; cat nonexistent.txt; } || echo "false condition ran" true condition ran cat: nonexistent.txt: No such file or directory false condition ran > However, bash pitfalls recommends against using && and || except for very basic logic. The fact that people end up thinking that it's an ok substitute for if/else syntax is the reason why it's recommended against.