---
name: "break"
section: "1p"
platform: "linux"
package: "man-pages"
version: "6.19-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/break/1p"
---

# break(1p)

exit from for, while, or until loop

## PROLOG

This manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual. The Linux implementation of this interface may differ (consult the corresponding Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may not be implemented on Linux.

## NAME

break — exit from for, while, or until loop

## SYNOPSIS

```
break [n]
```

## DESCRIPTION

If *n* is specified, the *break* utility shall exit from the *n*th enclosing **for**, **while**, or **until** loop. If *n* is not specified, *break* shall behave as if *n* was specified as 1. Execution shall continue with the command immediately following the exited loop. The value of *n* is a positive decimal integer. If *n* is greater than the number of enclosing loops, the outermost enclosing loop shall be exited. If there is no enclosing loop, the behavior is unspecified.

A loop shall enclose a *break* or *continue* command if the loop lexically encloses the command. A loop lexically encloses a *break* or *continue* command if the command is:

- \*

  Executing in the same execution environment (see *Section 2.12*, *Shell Execution Environment*) as the compound-list of the loop's do-group (see *Section 2.10.2*, *Shell Grammar Rules*), and

- \*

  Contained in a compound-list associated with the loop (either in the compound-list of the loop's do-group or, if the loop is a **while** or **until** loop, in the compound-list following the **while** or **until** reserved word), and

- \*

  Not in the body of a function whose function definition command (see *Section 2.9.5*, *Function Definition Command*) is contained in a compound-list associated with the loop.

If *n* is greater than the number of lexically enclosing loops and there is a non-lexically enclosing loop in progress in the same execution environment as the *break* or *continue* command, it is unspecified whether that loop encloses the command.

## OPTIONS

None.

## OPERANDS

See the DESCRIPTION.

## STDIN

Not used.

## INPUT FILES

None.

## ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

None.

## ASYNCHRONOUS EVENTS

Default.

## STDOUT

Not used.

## STDERR

The standard error shall be used only for diagnostic messages.

## OUTPUT FILES

None.

## EXTENDED DESCRIPTION

None.

## EXIT STATUS

- 0

  Successful completion.

- \>0

  The *n* value was not an unsigned decimal integer greater than or equal to 1.

## CONSEQUENCES OF ERRORS

Default.

*The following sections are informative.*

## APPLICATION USAGE

None.

## EXAMPLES

```
for i in *
do
    if test -d "$i"
    then break
    fi
done
```

The results of running the following example are unspecified: there are two loops in progress when the *break* command is executed, and they are in the same execution environment, but neither loop is lexically enclosing the *break* command. (There are no loops lexically enclosing the *continue* commands, either.)

```
foo() {
    for j in 1 2; do
        echo 'break 2' >/tmp/do_break
        echo "  sourcing /tmp/do_break ($j)..."
        # the behavior of the break from running the following command
        # results in unspecified behavior:
        . /tmp/do_break
```

        do\_continue() { continue 2; }\
         echo "  running do\_continue ($j)..."\
         \# the behavior of the continue in the following function call\
         \# results in unspecified behavior (if execution reaches this\
         \# point):\
         do\_continue

        trap 'continue 2' USR1\
         echo "  sending SIGUSR1 to self ($j)..."\
         \# the behavior of the continue in the trap invoked from the\
         \# following signal results in unspecified behavior (if\
         \# execution reaches this point):\
         kill -s USR1 $$\
         sleep 1\
     done } for i in 1 2; do\
     echo "running foo ($i)..."\
     foo done

## RATIONALE

In early proposals, consideration was given to expanding the syntax of *break* and *continue* to refer to a label associated with the appropriate loop as a preferable alternative to the *n* method. However, this volume of POSIX.1‐2017 does reserve the name space of command names ending with a \<colon\>. It is anticipated that a future implementation could take advantage of this and provide something like:

```
outofloop: for i in a b c d e
do
    for j in 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    do
        if test -r "${i}${j}"
        then break outofloop
        fi
    done
done
```

and that this might be standardized after implementation experience is achieved.

## FUTURE DIRECTIONS

None.

## SEE ALSO

*Section 2.14*, *Special Built-In Utilities*

## COPYRIGHT

Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1-2017, Standard for Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7, 2018 Edition, Copyright (C) 2018 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .

Any typographical or formatting errors that appear in this page are most likely to have been introduced during the conversion of the source files to man page format. To report such errors, see https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting\_bugs.html .