Learn Shell Scripting with Generative AI
Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Understand and build practical shell scripts faster using AI tools
Course outcomes
- Confidently handle any shell scripts you encounter
- Write robust professional-level scripts that can trap exit codes and catch failures gracefully
- Quickly debug and diagnose problems using GenAI
- Speed up your scripts significantly by using little-known shell features
Course description
Shells are used on a daily basis by almost all software engineers working on a Mac or Linux machine. Often taken for granted as a skill, shell scripting is useful in myriad software contexts.
Join expert Ian Miell to get comfortable with shell concepts and shell scripting through real-world tasks. You’ll solve problems using GenAI tools in guided exercises and examine the key scripting techniques and pitfalls exemplified in the generated code. You’ll also discover how GenAI is used by experienced engineers to develop skills on the job, understand its benefits and limitations, and explore useful prompting techniques.
What you’ll learn and how you can apply it
- Understand shell fundamentals such as variables and functions
- Learn shell scripting concepts such as exit codes, looping, tests and substitutions
- Write your own shell scripts confidently
- Use AI to solve your shell scripting challenges
This live event is for you because...
- You’re a software engineer.
- You work with the command line.
- You want to become a senior engineer.
Prerequisites
- Beginner-level familiarity with the command line
- Access to a bash shell via any standard terminal program
- Credentials for a free generative text LLM capable of producing scripts, such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Perplexity, Gemini, or Claude.
Recommended preparation:
- Make note of tasks you’d like to solve using a bash shell, or shell features or applications of particular interest
Recommended follow-up:
- Read Learning the bash Shell, third edition (book)
- Read “Use Gemini for Shell Scripts” (shortcut)
- Read bash Idioms (book)
Schedule
The time frames are only estimates and may vary according to how the class is progressing.
GenAI for coding (15 minutes)
- Presentation: Using GenAI to code (ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude, Gemini)
- Group discussion: Do you have experience using AI?; What questions do you have about it?
Shell scripting basics (60 minutes)
- Presentation: Creating and running a script; variables; exit codes and tests; if/else; script arguments; essential commands
- Hands-on exercise: Solve practical tasks using GenAI
- Group discussion: Task solutions
- Q&A
- Break
Advanced topics I (50 minutes)
- Presentation: Pipes; redirects; stdout/stderr; functions; most-used commands
- Hands-on exercise: Solve practical tasks using GenAI
- Discussion: Task solutions
- Break
Advanced topics II (55 minutes)
- Presentation: Loops; globs and regexps; system commands; advanced commands
- Hands-on exercise: Solve practical tasks using GenAI
- Group discussion: Task solutions
- Q&A
Your Instructor
Ian Miell
Ian Miell has over 25 years of experience consulting on, writing, running, architecting, and maintaining software and infrastructure for dozens of businesses from large to small. He’s also the author of Docker in Practice (Manning), Learn Bash the Hard Way (Leanpub) as well as various training courses for O'Reilly Media and others. He now focuses on helping organizations make changes to their tech and management stacks from the bottom up.