Calling and passing variables values between shell scripts [duplicate]

Question

OS: Ubuntu 18.04
Bash

I am trying to get one shell script to pass variables to another script and execute it. Here's what I tried:

mainscript.sh

#!/bin/bash
# Master script
SUBSCRIPT1_PATH=~/subscript1.sh
test_string="The cat ate the canary"
(exec "$SUBSCRIPT1_PATH")

subscript1.sh:

#!/bin/bash
# subscript1.sh
echo $test_string

But, when I do:

bash mainscript.sh

I get nothing. Any ideas on how to do this?

(exec "$SUBSCRIPT1_PATH") is equivalent to "$SUBSCRIPT1_PATH" — that other guy
– that other guy, Commented Sep 12, 2019 at 17:23
The parentheses are not needed around your exec statement, by the way. — Mark Setchell
– Mark Setchell, Commented Sep 12, 2019 at 17:26

John Kugelman · Accepted Answer · 2019-09-12 17:33:47Z

2

Shell variables are by default not visible in child processes. To pass them to children use the export keyword:

#!/bin/bash
# Master script
SUBSCRIPT1_PATH=~/subscript1.sh
export test_string="The cat ate the canary"
(exec "$SUBSCRIPT1_PATH")

John Kugelman

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answered Sep 12, 2019 at 17:22

Pacifist

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