Minishell

📌 Description

Minishell is a simplified Unix shell written in C as part of the 42 curriculum. The goal of this project is to understand how a shell works by recreating its core functionalities, including command execution, environment variables, pipes, and redirections.

This project focuses on process management, file descriptors, signals, and parsing.

🚀 Features

Minishell implements the following features:

• Display a prompt and wait for user input

• Execute commands with absolute or relative paths

• Handle environment variables ($VAR)

• Built-in commands:

  • echo (with -n)
  • cd
  • pwd
  • export
  • unset
  • env
  • exit

• Pipes (|)

• Redirections:

  • Input <
  • Output >
  • Append >>
  • Heredoc <<

• Signal handling:

  • Ctrl-C
  • Ctrl-D
  • Ctrl-\

• Proper error handling and exit status management

⚙️ Installation & Compilation

Clone the repository and compile the project:

git clone https://github.com/minicube707/C--Minishell.git
cd minishell
make

This will generate the executable:

./minishell

🧪 Usage

Once launched, Minishell behaves like a basic shell:

Minishell> echo Hello World
Hello World

Minishell> ls -l | grep minishell

To exit:

Minishell> exit

🧪 Tests

A file containing multiple execution examples and test cases is available at: doc/execution-exemple.txt

⭐ Bonus

• Wildcards (*) limited to the current working directory
• Logical operators (&&, ||)
• Environment variable expansion inside double quotes (") and single quotes (')

🌟 Extra-Bonus

• Wildcards (*) behaving like in Bash
• Subshell management with parentheses ()

📚 What We Learned

• How shells manage processes and file descriptors
• Parsing complex user input
• Implementing built-in commands
• Handling Unix signals correctly
• Memory management and error handling in C

🧑‍🎓 Authors

• fmotte

  • -> Execution
  • -> Built-in
  • -> $ expand
  • -> * expand
  • -> Manage fd

• lupayet

  • -> Parsing
  • -> Lexing
  • -> Built-in
  • -> Manage signal

✅ Status

⭐ Project validated: 125 / 125

📜 License

This project is part of the 42 School curriculum and is intended for educational purposes only.