Unexpected EOF in .bashrc alias

Question

I am getting an unexpected end of file error after including this line in my .bashrc

alias domsrv01='echo -e ?HT_R8\'% | xclip ; ssh 10.50.0.35'

The desired exit from echo to xclip is:

?HT_R8'%

As you may guess, it's a password and I can't change it so:

How can I escape the single quote character from inside the password to fix the EOF error?

Also, I'm not sure if the single quote is the only issue here, can "?" and "%" be interpreted in funny ways too?

Answer 1

You cannot directly escape singe quotes within single quotes in bash. However, since bash concatenates adjacent strings, you can use this construct instead 'text'"'"'moretest'. You actually end the single quoted string with a single quote, and immediately add a double quoted single quote, followed by the remaining of the string (in single quotes). In your specific example, the command would look like this:

alias domsrv01='echo -e ?HT_R8\'"'"'% | xclip ; ssh 10.50.0.35'

More discussion on the topic can be fount here: How to escape single-quotes within single-quoted strings?

Edited: Added the missing backlash noticed by @GordonDavisson

Answer 2

Aliases are intended for short text replacements, not full blown shell commands. Use a function:

domsrv01 () {
    echo -e ?HT_R8\'% | xclip ; ssh 10.50.0.35
}