Bash if statement [: missing `]' error [duplicate]

Question

I am having trouble with bash. I am trying to put a command in an if statement and then compare it to a string.

This works perfectly.

echo $(ipcs | grep Shared | awk '{print $2}')

When I put it in an if statement I get some problems.

$ if [ "$(ipcs | grep Shared | awk '{print $2}')" -eq "Shared"]; then
  echo expression evaluated as true;
else
  echo expression evaluated as false;
fi
bash: [: missing `]'
expression evaluated as false

$ if [ "$(ipcs | grep Shared | awk '{print $2}')" = "Shared"]; then
  echo expression evaluated as true;
else
  echo expression evaluated as false;
fi
bash: [: missing `]'
expression evaluated as false

$ if [ "$(ipcs | grep Shared | awk '{print $2}')" == "Shared"]; then
  echo expression evaluated as true;
else
  echo expression evaluated as false;
fi
bash: [: missing `]'
expression evaluated as false

I tried ==, =, and -eq because I wasn't sure which one to use.

Answer 1

Your missing ]' error is because you need a space at the inbetween "Shared" and ], so the line should be if [ "$(ipcs | grep Shared | awk '{print $2}')" == "Shared" ]; then.