copy the contents of a variable in a text file

Question

I want to know how I can put the contents of a variable in a text file. This variable is a string that I want the code with the base64 command.But this command only works on files. I wonder if there are other possibilities for this task

Answer 1

You don't need a text file, you can use this:

base64 <<< "$var"

or

echo "$var" | base64

Example:

var="abcde"
base64 <<< "$var"

results

YWJjZGUK

Answer 2

You can use Here Strings. It is supported by bash, zsh and other common shells.

Example: The grep command only work with files but here we are passing a variable using Here Strings to be searched for pattern by grep.

$ str="this is a test line"
$ grep -o "test" <<< "$str"
test

As far as your command is concerned you can use:

$ base64 <<< "$str"

Answer 3

Your question suggests that you want to base64 encode the content of a variable:

$ TEXT=test
$ ENCODED=$(echo "$TEXT" | base64)
$ echo "$ENCODED"
dGVzdAo=