Windows
Linux
Terminal & Shell Scripting
Terminal
Windows echo equivalent in Linux
Displays a line of text. Also used in scripts for variable output.
Windows
→
echo
Linux equivalents
echo
echo
echo
Overview
What this command does
Displays a line of text. Also used in scripts for variable output.
Migration tip: Use
echo $VARIABLE to display environment variables. Double quotes preserve spacing; single quotes prevent variable expansion — a subtle but important difference.Practical tasks
Common use cases
Print text to terminal
Displays a line of text. Also used in scripts for variable output.
echo -n
Don't print a trailing newline
echo -e
Enable escape sequences (\n, \t, etc.)
echo $HOME
Print an environment variable
Ready to run
Copyable Linux commands
Review paths, device names, package names and permissions before running any command.
echo "Hello World"
echo $HOME
echo $USER
echo "Done!" > log.txt
echo "More" >> log.txt
Walkthrough
Examples with explanations
# Windows: echo Hello World
echo "Hello World" # print text
echo $HOME # print home directory path
echo $USER # print current username
echo "Done!" > log.txt # write text to a file
echo "More" >> log.txt # append to a fileReference
Common options and variations
| Command or option | Use |
|---|---|
echo -n | Don't print a trailing newline |
echo -e | Enable escape sequences (\n, \t, etc.) |
echo $HOME | Print an environment variable |
echo $PATH | Print your command search path |
Distro differences
Debian/Ubuntu vs Fedora vs Arch
This command is the same on Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora and Arch Linux when the relevant tool is installed.
| Distribution | Package manager / base | Equivalent command | Difference to notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian/Ubuntu | same command | echo |
Same command on this distribution. |
| Fedora | same command | echo |
Same command on this distribution. |
| Arch | same command | echo |
Same command on this distribution. |
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