These docs are under active development and cover the v0.20 Kobicha security model.
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echo

echo prints its arguments, separated by single spaces, followed by a newline.

echo [options] [string...]

$ echo Hello, Peios
Hello, Peios

It is the simplest way to put a line of text on standard output — printing a message, or feeding a fixed string into a pipe.

Options

Option Effect
-n Do not print the trailing newline.
-e Interpret backslash escape sequences in the arguments (see below).
-E Do not interpret escape sequences. This is the default.

Escape sequences

With -e, echo recognises these backslash sequences and prints the character they stand for:

Sequence Character
\\ A literal backslash.
\n Newline.
\t Horizontal tab.
\r Carriage return.
\b Backspace.
\f Form feed.
\v Vertical tab.
\a Alert (the terminal bell).
\e Escape.
\0NNN The byte with octal value NNN.
\xHH The byte with hexadecimal value HH.
\c Stop — produce no further output.

echo and printf

echo is fixed: arguments, spaces, a newline. The moment you need control over the output — columns, padding, a number formatted a particular way, output with no spaces between pieces — reach for printf instead. printf is also more predictable across environments, since echo's handling of escapes and -n varies.

Exit status

echo returns 0 unless it cannot write its output.

See also