You could check syntax of the whole file (even the unreachable parts) with the -n option. But that's not bulletproof; consider this code (adapted from <https:/

You could check syntax of the whole file (even the unreachable parts) with the -n option. But that's not bulletproof; consider this code (adapted from <https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01513750/document https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01513750/document>): if [ $(date +%u) -eq 5 ] then alias maybe='' else alias maybe=: fi maybe for x in; do :; done "sh -n" always reports syntax error, even thought the script syntax is correct on Fridays.