Bash For Loop to List MP3 Files

A simple for loop in bash to print all .mp3 file names to a text file is:

for file in *.mp3; do
  echo "$file" >> music_list.txt
done

Here’s a breakdown of what each part does:

• for file in *.mp3; do: This starts the loop.

  • for file: This creates a variable named file that will hold the name of each file one by one.
  • in *.mp3: This tells the loop to look for all files ending with .mp3 in the current directory.
  • do: This marks the beginning of the commands to be executed for each file.

• echo "$file" >> music_list.txt: This is the command that gets run for each file.

  • echo "$file": The echo command prints the value of the file variable, which is the current mp3’s name. The quotes around $file are important because they prevent issues with file names that have spaces.
  • >> music_list.txt: This part is called “redirection.” The >> operator appends the output of the echo command to a file named music_list.txt. If the file doesn’t exist, it will be created. If you use a single > instead, it will overwrite the file each time.

• done: This marks the end of the loop.

This script will go through every .mp3 file in your directory, print its name, and add it as a new line to the music_list.txt file.