Miscellaneous
true
Do nothing and return a success (zero) exit status.
Synopsis
syntax
true
Examples
Always prints 'success'
true && echo 'success'
Infinite loop
while true; do echo tick; sleep 1; done
Exit code is always 0
true; echo $?
About true
The `true` command do nothing and return a success (zero) exit status. Utility commands cover a broad range of everyday tasks from date manipulation and arithmetic to terminal control and system documentation.
These tools fill in the gaps between major categories and are frequently used in shell scripts, cron jobs, and interactive sessions. The command accepts 0 commonly used flags shown above, though the full set of options is available in the man page (`man true`).
The 3 examples on this page cover typical real-world usage patterns that you can copy and adapt for your own workflows.
Related commands
More Miscellaneous Commands
Other commands in the Miscellaneous category