Bash-scriptingHow-ToBeginner · 3 min read

How to Use continue in Bash: Syntax and Examples

In bash, use the continue statement inside loops to skip the remaining commands in the current iteration and move to the next iteration immediately. It works with for, while, and until loops to control flow efficiently.

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Syntax

The continue statement is used inside loops to skip the rest of the current iteration and start the next one. You can optionally specify a number to skip multiple nested loops.

continue: skips the current loop iteration.
continue N: skips the rest of the current iteration of the Nth enclosing loop.

bash

continue
continue N

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Example

This example shows a for loop that prints numbers from 1 to 5 but skips printing the number 3 using continue.

bash

#!/bin/bash
for i in {1..5}; do
  if [ "$i" -eq 3 ]; then
    continue
  fi
  echo "Number: $i"
done

Output

Number: 1 Number: 2 Number: 4 Number: 5

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Common Pitfalls

One common mistake is using continue outside of loops, which causes an error. Another is forgetting that continue only skips the current iteration, not the entire loop. Also, when using nested loops, continue without a number affects only the innermost loop.

bash

# Wrong: continue outside loop
# continue

# Correct usage inside loop
for i in {1..3}; do
  if [ "$i" -eq 2 ]; then
    continue
  fi
  echo "$i"
done

Output

1 3

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Quick Reference

Usage	Description
continue	Skip rest of current loop iteration and start next
continue N	Skip rest of current iteration of Nth enclosing loop
Used inside loops only	Causes error if used outside loops
Works with for, while, until	Controls loop flow efficiently

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Key Takeaways

Use continue inside loops to skip the rest of the current iteration and proceed to the next.

You can specify a number with continue to skip iterations in outer loops when nested.

Never use continue outside of loops as it causes errors.

Remember continue affects only the current iteration, not the entire loop.

Works with all loop types: for, while, and until.