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I'm trying to source (bash-parlance) a file in dash using . file as specified by the man page:

 . file
        The commands in the specified file are read and executed by the
        shell.

But I get an error even though the file is there:

$ ls
defaults.sh  run.sh
$ cat run.sh 
#!/bin/sh

. defaults.sh

echo "VAR: $VAR"
$ cat defaults.sh 
VAR=abc
$ bash run.sh 
VAR: abc
$ dash run.sh 
run.sh: 3: .: defaults.sh: not found

The same thing happens when I try . defaults.sh in an interactive dash.

Where am I going wrong here?

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2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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For some shells, you need to put ./ or an absolute path in front:

. ./defaults.sh

Note, that you might want to add the absolute path of the run.sh script, otherwise defaults.sh will be sourced from the user's location:

SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
. "$SCRIPT_DIR"/defaults.sh
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1

Attempt to add $PWD to your PATH if running "dash run.sh" from the directory where the run.sh and defaults.sh file exists.

In my test I saw these results:

# dash run.sh
run.sh: 3: .: defaults.sh: not found

I then took this step:

# echo $PATH
/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
# export PATH=$PATH:$PWD

Results after added $PWD to the PATH:

# dash run.sh
VAR: abc
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2
  • 1
    Changing PATH to source a file is not a very good idea I think but might be a last resort if you have a script you cannot change. Commented Apr 27, 2022 at 8:25
  • @pLumo Thnak you for that information. I will keep that information and the solution you provided in my knowledge base as I'm sure I'll see this problem again soon. Commented Apr 29, 2022 at 9:30

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