bashinator

Version: 0.1.1

Lightweight Bash validation helpers for common types, formats, and safe text. Designed for CLI scripts, CI/CD jobs, and automation where quick input checks save time and prevent mistakes.

Features

• Type and format checks (integers, UUID, IP, IPv4 CIDR, Base64, date format)
• Safe text validation to reduce shell injection risk
• Small, dependency-free, easy to source
• Clear return codes: 0 pass, 1 fail

About

I use this library in my own projects and decided to share these small helpers with the community. This is my first public library, so feedback and suggestions are welcome.

Install

Clone or copy bashinator.sh into your project.

Usage

source "./bashinator.sh"

if ! IsInteger "$PORT"; then
  printf '%s\n' "PORT must be an integer" >&2
  exit 1
fi

Functions

Each function returns a status code: 0 means valid, 1 means invalid.

Function	Input	Output	Meaning
IsEmpty value	string	status	0 if empty
IsNull value	string	status	0 if value is null
IsBoolean value	string	status	0 if true/false
IsString value	string	status	0 if contains letters
IsInteger value	string	status	0 if signed integer
IsPositiveInteger value	string	status	0 if integer > 0
IsGreaterZero value	string	status	0 if integer >= 0
IsIPv4 value	string	status	0 if valid IPv4
IsIPv6 value	string	status	0 if IPv6 format
IsIPv4CIDR value	string	status	0 if IPv4 CIDR format
IsUUID value	string	status	0 if UUID 8-4-4-4-12
IsBase64 value	string	status	0 if Base64 chars/padding
IsDate value	string	status	0 if YYYY-MM-DD format
IsEnum value values...	value + list	status	0 if match found
ContainsDangerousChars text	string	status	0 if dangerous chars
IsSafeText text [max_len]	string + max	status	0 if safe
IsEmptyOrWhitespace text	string	status	0 if whitespace only
IsValueInArray value array_name	value + array	status	0 if found
WhatIs value	string	stdout	prints type name

Practical examples

Validate env and defaults

source "./bashinator.sh"

if IsEmpty "$API_TOKEN"; then
  printf '%s\n' "API_TOKEN is required" >&2
  exit 1
fi

if ! IsPositiveInteger "$RETRIES"; then
  RETRIES=3
fi

Guard user input before shell usage

if ContainsDangerousChars "$user_input"; then
  printf '%s\n' "Unsafe characters in input" >&2
  exit 1
fi

Route behavior by detected type

case "$(WhatIs "$value")" in
  integer) timeout="$value" ;;
  ipv4) target_ip="$value" ;;
  *) printf '%s\n' "Unknown input type" >&2; exit 1 ;;
esac

Documentation

• English: Doc/bashinator_doc_en.md
• Russian: Doc/bashinator_doc_ru.md

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please follow these simple rules to keep the project consistent and easy to review:

• Open an issue or describe the change in the PR (what/why).
• Keep changes focused and small; avoid mixing refactors with new features.
• Add or update docs when behavior changes.
• Prefer tests or reproducible examples for bug fixes.
• Run formatting and shellcheck if you use it locally.

Code style

Based on the current code style and common Bash repos:

• Use UpperCamelCase for function names, and local for variables.
• Prefer early returns for validation checks.
• Keep functions small and single-purpose.
• Use [[ ... ]] for regex and string tests; quote variables in tests.
• Always return 0 for success and 1 for validation failure.
• Avoid external dependencies unless absolutely necessary.

Notes

• IsDate validates format only (YYYY-MM-DD), not calendar correctness.
• IsIPv6 and IsIPv4CIDR are basic format checks, not deep validation.
• IsIPv4CIDR validates masks 0..32 without leading zeros.
• IsBase64 checks allowed characters and padding only.
• IsInteger accepts signed integers but not + sign or dots.

License

MIT