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The > operator is a shell redirection control operator that instructs the Bash shell to redirect the standard output (stdout, file descriptor 1) of a command into a specified file. When evaluated, the shell opens the target file for writing, creating the file if it does not exist, or truncating it to zero length if it already exists.

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Syntax

command > filename
Because stdout is the default file descriptor for this operator, the above is syntactically identical to explicitly declaring file descriptor 1: 
command 1> filename

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Technical Mechanics

  • Execution Order: Redirection is handled entirely by the shell before the command is executed. The shell performs an open() system call on the target file with the flags O_WRONLY | O_CREAT | O_TRUNC. Consequently, if you redirect to an existing file, its contents are destroyed before the command even begins processing.
  • Empty Commands: Because the shell processes the redirection first, executing > filename with no preceding command is a valid, highly efficient way to truncate an existing file to zero bytes or create an empty file.
  • File Descriptor Isolation: The > operator strictly redirects stdout. Standard error (stderr, file descriptor 2) remains attached to the controlling terminal unless explicitly redirected.

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Variations and Modifiers

The > operator serves as the foundation for several other redirection constructs in Bash:
  • Specific File Descriptors: Prepending a number redirects that specific file descriptor.
command 2> filename  # Redirects stderr only
  • Combined Output: Bash provides syntax to redirect both stdout and stderr to the same file simultaneously.
command &> filename
# Equivalent POSIX-compliant syntax:
command > filename 2>&1
  • Clobber Override (>|): Bash includes a shell option called noclobber (set -o noclobber or set -C). When enabled, the shell will refuse to truncate an existing file using the standard > operator, returning an error instead. The >| operator forces the redirection, bypassing the noclobber restriction and truncating the file anyway.
command >| filename
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