Interactive Prompts

Prompt Default

Use a Fallback

Interactive scripts often suggest a default when the user presses enter. Modeling the response as a variable keeps the replay deterministic while showing the defaulting pattern.

Program

Play the script to choose an entered project name and see how the fallback is applied.

prompt_default_value.sh 
#!/usr/bin/env bash

prompt="Project name"
answer=
project="${answer:-demo}"
echo "$prompt: $project"

#!/usr/bin/env bash

prompt="Project name"
answer=
project="${answer:-demo}"
echo "$prompt: $project"
prompt A prompt is the text shown before asking for input.
empty answer An empty answer can mean the user accepted the default.
default expansion `${answer:-demo}` uses `demo` when `answer` is empty.