> ## Documentation Index
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> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Bash Redirect Output
The `>` operator is a shell redirection control operator that instructs the Bash shell to redirect the standard output (stdout, file descriptor `1`) of a command into a specified file. When evaluated, the shell opens the target file for writing, creating the file if it does not exist, or truncating it to zero length if it already exists.
## Syntax
```bash theme={"dark"}
command > filename
```
Because stdout is the default file descriptor for this operator, the above is syntactically identical to explicitly declaring file descriptor `1`:
```bash theme={"dark"}
command 1> filename
```
## Technical Mechanics
* **Execution Order:** Redirection is handled entirely by the shell *before* the command is executed. The shell performs an `open()` system call on the target file with the flags `O_WRONLY | O_CREAT | O_TRUNC`. Consequently, if you redirect to an existing file, its contents are destroyed before the command even begins processing.
* **Empty Commands:** Because the shell processes the redirection first, executing `> filename` with no preceding command is a valid, highly efficient way to truncate an existing file to zero bytes or create an empty file.
* **File Descriptor Isolation:** The `>` operator strictly redirects stdout. Standard error (stderr, file descriptor `2`) remains attached to the controlling terminal unless explicitly redirected.
## Variations and Modifiers
The `>` operator serves as the foundation for several other redirection constructs in Bash:
* **Specific File Descriptors:** Prepending a number redirects that specific file descriptor.
```bash theme={"dark"}
command 2> filename # Redirects stderr only
```
* **Combined Output:** Bash provides syntax to redirect both stdout and stderr to the same file simultaneously.
```bash theme={"dark"}
command &> filename
# Equivalent POSIX-compliant syntax:
command > filename 2>&1
```
* **Clobber Override (`>|`):** Bash includes a shell option called `noclobber` (`set -o noclobber` or `set -C`). When enabled, the shell will refuse to truncate an existing file using the standard `>` operator, returning an error instead. The `>|` operator forces the redirection, bypassing the `noclobber` restriction and truncating the file anyway.
```bash theme={"dark"}
command >| filename
```
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