How to implement "Press any key to continue" in bash?

10th Oct 2013 Tags: #bash #development

If you need a pause in your bash script, like "PAUSE" does in DOS, you may implement it with read command:

  #!/bin/bash
  read -n 1 -r -s -p "Press any key to continue..." key

The -n 1 : specifies that it only waits for a single character.
The -r : puts it into raw mode, which is necessary because otherwise, if you press something like backslash, it doesn't register until you hit the next key.
Tht -s : Silent mode. If input is coming from a terminal, characters are not echoed.
The -p : specifies the prompt, which must be quoted if it contains spaces. The prompt is displayed only if input is coming from a terminal.
The key : argument is only necessary if you want to know which key they pressed, in which case you can access it through $key.