How to Check if a String is Empty in Bash Scripts

This short article will demonstrate how to check whether a string variable is empty in Bash and other Shell scripts in Linux, with examples.

Bash Operators

Bash operators are the symbols and expressions that perform comparisons, assignments, and arithmetic.

The -z Bash Operator

The -z operator returns true if a string variable is null or empty.

How the use the -z Bash Operator

After declaring a string variable, use the -z operator in an if statement to check whether a string is empty or not:

MY_STRING=""

if [ -z $MYSTRING ]
then
    echo "String is empty"
else
    echo "String is not empty"
fi

For more Shell scripting tips, check out or Bash/Shell scripting articles!