Read a variable in bash with a default value

Question

I need to read a value from the terminal in a bash script. I would like to be able to provide a default value that the user can change.

# Please enter your          


        

Answer 1

Code:

IN_PATH_DEFAULT="/tmp/input.txt"
read -p "Please enter IN_PATH [$IN_PATH_DEFAULT]: " IN_PATH
IN_PATH="${IN_PATH:-$IN_PATH_DEFAULT}"

OUT_PATH_DEFAULT="/tmp/output.txt"
read -p "Please enter OUT_PATH [$OUT_PATH_DEFAULT]: " OUT_PATH
OUT_PATH="${OUT_PATH:-$OUT_PATH_DEFAULT}"

echo "Input: $IN_PATH Output: $OUT_PATH"

Sample run:

Please enter IN_PATH [/tmp/input.txt]: 
Please enter OUT_PATH [/tmp/output.txt]: ~/out.txt
Input: /tmp/input.txt Output: ~/out.txt