Use "set -u" to treat unset variables as an error when substituting. Use "||" operator to handle errors. My pattern: an_command || { error "Cannot execute an

Use "set -u" to treat unset variables as an error when substituting. Use "||" operator to handle errors. My pattern: an_command || { error "Cannot execute an_command. Exit code: $?." return 1 } Always wrap variables with double quotes, unless you really need to parse variable value by bash. Use arrays, when you need to pass multiple arguments. And so on.