Bash - how to create local variable inside loop?

No, you can only use local keyword inside functions.

Note:

A variable declared as local is visible only within the block of code in which it has been declared. It has local scope. Local variable in a function has meaning only within that function block.

Solution

If you really want to use local, you have to create a scope. I would recommend creating and calling a function.

script.sh file:

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#!/bin/bash

​

# Create function, scope for your code:

my_function() {

    for i in 1 2 3; do

        local message="index: $i"

        echo "inside loop: $message"

    done

}

​

my_function  # calls the function (displays local message)

​

echo "outside loop: $message" # message is not available here

Run in command line:

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./script.sh

Output:

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inside loop: index: 1

inside loop: index: 2

inside loop: index: 3

outside loop:

Note:

As you can see, the message variable is not visible outside the scope leaving outside loop:  .