Build Your Own Shell Project
Sagar Malviya
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Posted Jul 14, 2025
Developed a basic Unix shell environment in Java.
Build Your Own Shell
Welcome to the Build Your Own Shell project! In this project, we simulate a basic Unix shell environment, allowing users to run built-in commands, navigate the file system, and execute external commands. It provides a foundation for building more advanced shell functionality and serves as a great introduction to working with processes, file systems, and environment variables in Java.
Features
Basic Shell Commands:
exit — Exit the shellcd <directory> — Change the current working directorypwd — Print the current working directoryecho <message> — Print a message to the terminaltype <command> — Show whether a command is built-in or notls — List all files and subfolders in the current directoryExternal Command Execution: Execute external commands such as
ls, cat, grep, etc., that are available in the system’s PATH.Environment Variables: The shell passes environment variables and the current working directory to the executed commands.
Table of Contents
Project Setup
Prerequisites
To run this project locally, ensure you have the following installed:
Java 17 or later – The shell is implemented in Java. Ensure that
java and javac are available in your terminal.Maven – We use Maven for building the project.