[Linux] Bash sleep Usage: Pause for a specified duration

Overview

The sleep command in Bash is used to pause the execution of a script or command for a specified amount of time. This can be useful in various scenarios, such as waiting for a process to complete or introducing delays in automated scripts.

Usage

The basic syntax of the sleep command is as follows:

sleep [options] [duration]

Where [duration] can be specified in seconds, or with a suffix to indicate minutes (m), hours (h), or days (d).

Common Options

• -h, --help: Display help information about the command.
• -V, --version: Show the version of the sleep command.

Common Examples

1. Pause for 5 seconds:

   sleep 5
   

2. Pause for 2 minutes:

   sleep 2m
   

3. Pause for 1 hour:

   sleep 1h
   

4. Pause for 3 days:

   sleep 3d
   

5. Using sleep in a loop:

   for i in {1..5}; do
       echo "Iteration $i"
       sleep 1
   done
   

Tips

• Use sleep to create delays between commands in scripts, especially when waiting for resources to become available.
• Combine sleep with other commands in a script to manage timing effectively, such as in automated testing or deployment scripts.
• Be mindful of the duration specified; using excessively long sleep times can lead to unresponsive scripts.