How to add a new element to an array without specifying the index in Bash?

How to Add a New Element to an Array in Bash Without Specifying the Index

In Bash, you can append elements to an array without manually specifying the index by using the += operator. Below is a simple example of how to do this:

#!/usr/bin/env bash

# Declare an array with some initial elements
my_array=("apple" "banana" "cherry")

# Append a new element without specifying the index
my_array+=("date")

# Print the entire array
echo "Array elements: ${my_array[@]}"
# Output: Array elements: apple banana cherry date

How This Works

• my_array=("apple" "banana" "cherry") initializes an array with three elements.
• my_array+=("date") appends "date" to the array without you manually providing an index.
• ${my_array[@]} expands all elements in the array, which is a common way to display or iterate over them.

Alternative: Using the Array’s Length

Another method is to use the current length of the array (i.e., number of elements) as the index. But typically, += is cleaner:

my_array[${#my_array[@]}]="date"

This manually sets the new element at the next available index by using the array’s current length.

Useful Tips

• Iterating: You can iterate over the array elements using:

  for item in "${my_array[@]}"; do
    echo "$item"
  done

• Getting the Length: The expression ${#my_array[@]} returns the number of elements in my_array.
• Declaring Arrays: In older Bash versions, you might need to explicitly declare an array with declare -a my_array before assigning values.

Bottom Line
To add elements without specifying an index, simply use the += operator with parentheses around the new value, like my_array+=("date"). This makes it easy to build an array dynamically in a Bash script.