Windows Linux Terminal & Shell Scripting Expanded guide Terminal

Windows `rem / ::` equivalent in Linux

Adds human-readable comments to shell scripts that are ignored during execution.

Reference maintained by Win-Linux.com · How mappings are evaluated

Windows rem / ::

→

Linux equivalents

Debian/Ubuntu same command

#

Fedora same command

#

Arch same command

#

Overview

What this command does

On Windows, "rem / ::" is used to add comments to scripts. On Linux, the closest practical mapping shown here is "#". Adds human-readable comments to shell scripts that are ignored during execution. This reference is grouped under Terminal & Shell Scripting → Terminal.

Migration tip: In bash, <strong>#</strong> comments out the rest of the line. The first line of every script should be a <strong>shebang</strong>: <code>#!/bin/bash</code> — this tells the OS which interpreter to use.

Windows → Linux context

What changes when you use this on Linux?

Equivalent task, different tool

Windows rem / :: maps to # for this task. Treat this as a workflow mapping rather than a character-for-character syntax translation.

Portable across the compared distros

The Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora and Arch rows use the same command in this mapping. Package availability or defaults can still vary, so check the installed tool version when an option behaves differently.

For the broader concept behind this mapping, read Linux command-line basics.

Practical tasks

Common use cases

Add comments to scripts

Adds human-readable comments to shell scripts that are ignored during execution.

# comment

Single line comment

#!/bin/bash

Shebang — interpreter declaration (line 1)

: ' ... '

Multi-line comment workaround

Ready to run

Copyable Linux commands

Review paths, device names, package names and permissions before running any command.

./backup.sh

Walkthrough

Examples with explanations

#!/bin/bash
# This is a comment
# Author: John Smith

# Run backup
./backup.sh   # inline comment

Reference

Common options and variations

Command or option	Use
`# comment`	Single line comment
`#!/bin/bash`	Shebang — interpreter declaration (line 1)
`: ' ... '`	Multi-line comment workaround

Distro differences

Debian/Ubuntu vs Fedora vs Arch

Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora and Arch all use "#" for this mapping. The command syntax shown here is portable across the three rows, although installed versions and system defaults can still vary.

Distribution	Package manager / base	Equivalent command	Difference to notice
Debian/Ubuntu	same command	`#`	Same command on this distribution.
Fedora	same command	`#`	Same command on this distribution.
Arch	same command	`#`	Same command on this distribution.

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