I usually run server scripts like this, with a here-document.
But when I test if a directory exists, the script continues even though the test fails -- why?
ssh $user@$ip /bin/bash <<SCRIPT
if [[ ! -d ~/.debfiles ]];then
echo "Error: debfiles doesnt exist" 2> ~/error.txt
exit 1
fi
SCRIPT
I run this from my local computer and the server in question is a VM.
As Kusalananda noted in his edit, the << syntax you're referring to is called a here document.
As other comments have noted, the intent of your script is somewhat vague, but consider structuring your script something like this:
user=me
ip=myhost
dir=Test
if ssh "$user"@$ip /bin/bash << SCRIPT
[[ ! -d ~/"$dir" ]]
SCRIPT
then
echo "Error: $dir doesnt exist"
exit 1
fi
echo the script continues
That way:
$ ssh me@myhost rm -rf Test
$ ./test.sh
Error: Test doesnt exist
$ ssh me@myhost mkdir Test
$ ./test.sh
the script continues
For a here document as simple as this example, a "here string" would also suffice, provided that $dir doesn't contain any uncooperative characters:
if ssh "$user"@$ip /bin/bash <<< "[[ ! -d ~/$dir ]]"
then
...
if ssh "$user@$ip" [ ! -d ~/$dir ]. There are quoting issues with ~/$dir in either case though: you'd need double quotes to protect it from the local shell but allow the $dir variable to be expanded, and single quotes on the remote to keep whatever it has become. So if ssh "$user@$ip" "[ ! -d ~/'$dir' ]". And this still presupposes your directory name value doesn't contain a single quote
You're running the exit on the remote server. The section running there exits, and so ssh ends and the remainder of whatever's local then continues.
You've not shown any part that "continues even though the test fails", either on the remote host or the local system, so we cannot test with confidence we're trying what you're trying.
if statement, and I could not get both the body of the if statement, with the exit, and my added statement to execute. What would execute the remainder of the script according to you?
ssh <<SCRIPT ... SCRIPT; echo something else, where the OP wouldn't want something else to be output if the exit 1 was triggered, @Kusalananda. (I know the syntax is off; I'm hoping you'll see the intent.)
.debfilesin the user's home directory) because you can see the error message? Note that nothing will be written to theerror.txtfile becauseechowrites to standard output by default and you're redirecting its standard error stream (the file will still be truncated (emptied)).