Bash - check if file is not zero size

In this article, we would like to show you how to check if file is not zero size in Bash.

Practical example

In this example, we use -s operator with specified path to check if file under the path is not zero size inside if statement.

script.sh file:

#!/bin/bash

path="/path/to/not/empty/file.txt"

if [ -s "$path" ]; then
    echo "The file is not zero size."
fi

Note: this approach should be used in POSIX shells where other solutions may not work.

Run in command line:

./script.sh

Output:

The file is not zero size.

Altermative notation

1. test based solution

#!/bin/bash

path="/path/to/not/empty/file.txt"

if test -s "$path"; then
    echo "The file is not zero size."
fi

Note: [ ] notation is shorthand of test command.

2. [[ ]] based solution

#!/bin/bash

path="/path/to/not/empty/file.txt"

if [[ -s "$path" ]]; then
    echo "The file is not zero size."
fi

Note: [[ ]] notation is like extended test command, adding additional features (e.g. regular expressions).

See also

1. Bash - check if file is executable

2. Bash - check if file is writable

3. Bash - check if file is readable

4. Bash - check if file is socket