Bash - check if file is writable

In this article, we would like to show you how to check if file is writable in Bash.

In this example, we use -w operator with specified path to check if file under the path is writable inside if statement.

script.sh file:

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#!/bin/bash

​

path="/path/to/file.txt"

​

if [ -w "$path" ]; then

    echo "The file is writable."

fi

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

Run in command line:

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./script.sh

Output:

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The file is writable.

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#!/bin/bash

​

path="/path/to/file.txt"

​

if test -w "$path"; then

    echo "The file is writable."

fi

Note: [ ] notation is shorthand of test command.

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#!/bin/bash

​

path="/path/to/file.txt"

​

if [[ -w "$path" ]]; then

    echo "The file is writable."

fi

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

1. Bash - check if file is executable

2. Bash - check if file is readable

3. Bash - check if file is socket

4. Bash - check if file is not zero size