{"nodes":{"dash":{"id":"dash","text":"<p>dash (Debian Almquist shell) is a <a class=\"detached\" title=\"\" href=\"/node/port\">port</a> of <a class=\"detached\" title=\"\" href=\"/node/ash\">ash</a> to <a class=\"detached\" title=\"\" href=\"/node/Debian\">Debian</a>.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"Line\"> Line editing</h2>\n\n<p>Despite the man page describing <a class=\"detached\" title=\"\" href=\"/node/line editing\">line editing</a> as a feature and including options <code>-V</code> and <code>-E</code> for <a class=\"detached\" title=\"\" href=\"/node/vi\">vi</a> and <a class=\"detached\" title=\"\" href=\"/node/emacs\">emacs</a> command line editors, dash as made available in the Debian repository is not actually compiled with support for line editing as of <a class=\"detached\" title=\"\" href=\"/node/Trixie\">Trixie</a>.</p>\n\n<p>A workaround for this issue is using packages <code>rlwrap</code>, <code>ledit</code> or <code>rlfe</code>, both of which provide wrappers capable of giving line editing capabilities to several CLI utilities, dash included.</p>\n\n<p>In my testing, <code>rlfe</code> made everything bold, whereas <code>rlwrap</code> kept formatting unchanged. <code>rlwrap</code> is <a class=\"detached\" title=\"\" href=\"/node/actively maintained\">actively maintained</a> as of 2026, while <code>ledit</code>'s last version is from'<code>2018</code>. <code>rlfe</code> is part of readline itself, which is also actively maintained.</p>\n\n<h2 id=\"History\"> History</h2>\n\n<p>In <code>dash(1)</code>, the History section states:</p>\n\n\n<blockquote>\ndash is a POSIX-compliant implementation of /bin/sh that aims to be as small\nas possible. dash is a direct descendant of the NetBSD version of ash (the\nAlmquist SHell), ported to Linux in early 1997. It was renamed to dash in 2002.\n</blockquote>\n","summary":"dash (Debian Almquist shell) is a port of ash to Debian.","title":"dash","links":[],"redirect":"","hidden":false,"connections":{"port":{"to":"port","from":"dash","detached":true},"emacs":{"to":"emacs","from":"dash","detached":true},"ash":{"to":"ash","from":"dash","detached":true},"vi":{"to":"vi","from":"dash","detached":true},"Debian":{"to":"Debian","from":"dash","detached":true},"line editing":{"to":"line editing","from":"dash","detached":true},"Trixie":{"to":"Trixie","from":"dash","detached":true},"actively maintained":{"to":"actively maintained","from":"dash","detached":true}},"stats":{"outgoing":0,"incoming":0}},"Technology":{"id":"Technology","text":"<p>A technology is knowledge that allows one to produce similar effects given the right resources and conditions.</p>","summary":"A technology is knowledge that allows one to produce similar effects given the right resources and conditions.","title":"Technology","links":[],"redirect":"","hidden":false,"connections":{},"stats":{"outgoing":0,"incoming":0}}},"root_node":"","incoming":{"line editing":[{"to":"line editing","from":"dash","detached":true}],"actively maintained":[{"to":"actively maintained","from":"dash","detached":true}],"Debian":[{"to":"Debian","from":"dash","detached":true}],"vi":[{"to":"vi","from":"dash","detached":true}],"emacs":[{"to":"emacs","from":"dash","detached":true}],"Trixie":[{"to":"Trixie","from":"dash","detached":true}],"ash":[{"to":"ash","from":"dash","detached":true}],"port":[{"to":"port","from":"dash","detached":true}]},"lowercase_keymap":{"technology":"Technology","dash":"dash"},"meta":{"config":{"_private":true,"about":true,"about_text":"","ascii_dom_ids":false,"content_language":"","error_poem":false,"footer":true,"footer_credits":true,"footer_date":true,"footer_version":true,"footer_text":"","index_node_count":8,"index_node_list":true,"index_root_node":true,"index_search":true,"node_selector":true,"navbar_search":true,"raw":true,"raw_json":true,"raw_toml":true,"serve_fonts":true,"site_description":"","site_title":"","tree":true,"tree_node_summary":false},"version":{"major":0,"minor":4,"patch":0,"qualifier":"alpha"},"messages":[],"malformed":false},"stats":{"detached":{"vi":1,"line editing":1,"ash":1,"actively maintained":1,"emacs":1,"Trixie":1,"port":1,"Debian":1},"detached_total":8}}