How to fix echo printing literal \n (backslash newline)

Problem:

You want to echo into a file like this:

echo_example.sh

echo "\ntest\n" > test.txt

echo "\ntest\n" > test.txt

but after doing that, test.txt contains the literal

echo_literal_output.txt

\ntest\n

\ntest\n

Use echo -e (-e means: interpret backslash escapes):

echo_fix.sh

echo -e "\ntest\n" > test.txt

echo -e "\ntest\n" > test.txt

After doing that, test.txt will contain test with a newline before and after.

Check out similar posts by category: Linux

If this post helped you, please consider buying me a coffee or donating via PayPal to support research & publishing of new posts on TechOverflow