bash Quick Reference

Name

exec

Synopsis

exec [command args …]
exec [-a name] [-cl] [command args … ]

Execute command in place of the current process (instead of creating a new process). exec is also useful for opening, closing, or copying file descriptors.

Options

-a

Use name for the value of argv[0].

-c

Clear the environment before executing the program.

-l

Place a minus sign at the front of argv[0], just as login(1) does.

Examples

trap ′exec 2>&-′ 0		Close standard error when shell script exits (signal 0)

$ exec /bin/csh		Replace shell with C shell
$ exec < infile		Reassign standard input to infile