add command substitution $(...)

- $(command) is replaced by the output of command, which runs in a
  subshell (gosh -c), so cd/set in it do not change the shell
- trailing newlines are removed; unquoted the output is split into words
  at blanks and newlines, "$(...)" stays one word; wildcards in the
  output are not expanded
- nested substitutions, quotes and operators inside are handled; the
  list, alias and brace scanners skip $(...) as a whole
- a command that consists only of a substitution has its exit status,
  Ctrl+C in a substitution aborts the command
- $((...)) is reported as not supported

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

README.md

@@ -30,15 +30,22 @@ Features:
     override with $GOSH_HISTFILE); lines starting with a space are not saved
   - Tab completion for commands and file paths
   - Tilde expansion (~, ~/path) at the start of unquoted words
+  - Brace expansion: a{b,c}d -> abd acd, {1..5}, {01..10..2}, {a..e}
   - Wildcards: * ? [abc] [a-z] [!abc] match file names (not hidden files
     unless the pattern starts with a dot); quoted wildcards and values of
     variables are not expanded, a pattern without match is kept as is
-  - Colored prompt (user@host green, red for root; directory blue),
+  - Prompt user@host:dir $, with [N] before the $ if the last command
-    configurable with $GOSH_COLORS, e.g. GOSH_COLORS='user=1;33:path=36'
+    failed with exit status N
-    (keys user, root, path; values are ANSI SGR codes, empty = no color);
+  - Colored prompt (user@host green, red for root; directory blue; exit
-    disabled with $NO_COLOR, TERM=dumb or when output is not a terminal
+    status red), configurable with $GOSH_COLORS, e.g.
+    GOSH_COLORS='user=1;33:path=36' (keys user, root, path, error; values
+    are ANSI SGR codes, empty = no color); disabled with $NO_COLOR,
+    TERM=dumb or when output is not a terminal
   - Environment variable expansion ($VAR, ${VAR}, ${VAR:-default});
     using an unset variable is an error, use ${VAR:-} for an empty default
+  - Command substitution: $(command) is replaced by the output of command
+    (run in a subshell); unquoted it is split into words, "$(command)"
+    stays one word
   - Command lists: a ; b (run both), a && b (b only if a succeeded),
     a || b (b only if a failed); $? is the exit status of the last command
   - Pipes (a | b) and redirections: < file, > file, >> file, 2> file,
@@ -118,6 +125,26 @@ export LANG=de_DE.UTF-8
 export PATH=$HOME/bin:$PATH
 ```
 
+### Befehlsersetzung
+
+`$(befehl)` wird durch die Ausgabe von `befehl` ersetzt:
+
+```
+$ echo "Heute ist $(date +%A)"
+Heute ist Montag
+$ kill $(pgrep -f mein-server)
+$ cd $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
+$ vim $(grep -l TODO *.go)
+$ echo "Dateien: $(ls | wc -l)"
+```
+
+- Der Befehl läuft in einer eigenen Subshell (einem neuen gosh-Prozess): `cd`, `set` oder `export` darin ändern die laufende Shell nicht. Er darf alles enthalten, was gosh kann (Pipes, `;`, `&&`, Umleitungen, verschachtelte `$(...)`), und liest von der gleichen Eingabe, Fehlermeldungen gehen auf stderr.
+- Abschließende Zeilenumbrüche der Ausgabe werden entfernt.
+- Ohne Anführungszeichen wird die Ausgabe an Leerzeichen, Tabs und Zeilenumbrüchen in mehrere Wörter geteilt, `"$(befehl)"` bleibt ein einziges Wort (mit den Zeilenumbrüchen darin).
+- Anders als in `sh` werden Wildcards in der Ausgabe nicht expandiert, und Zeichen wie `;` oder `|` darin sind normaler Text: Die Ausgabe ist immer nur Daten.
+- Besteht ein Befehl nur aus einer Ersetzung (`$(false)`), ist ihr Exit-Status `$?`, sonst zählt der Status des Befehls. Ctrl+C während der Ersetzung bricht die ganze Zeile ab.
+- In `'...'` oder mit `\$(` wird nichts ersetzt. Die alte Schreibweise mit Backticks (`` `befehl` ``) und Arithmetik `$((1+2))` gibt es nicht.
+
 ### Befehlslisten und Exit-Status
 
 Mehrere Befehle in einer Zeile werden wie in `sh` verknüpft:
@@ -142,6 +169,35 @@ Status 127
 
 Schlägt ein Programm fehl, gibt gosh selbst keine Meldung mehr aus (das Programm meldet den Fehler selbst), nur bei Fehlern von gosh, z. B. wenn ein Befehl nicht gefunden wird.
 
+### Klammer-Expansion
+
+Wie in bash erzeugt `{…}` aus einem Wort mehrere Wörter:
+
+| Ausdruck          | ergibt                          |
+|-------------------|---------------------------------|
+| `a{b,c}d`         | `abd acd`                       |
+| `file{,.bak}`     | `file file.bak`                 |
+| `{a,b}{1,2}`      | `a1 a2 b1 b2`                   |
+| `x{a,{b,c}}`      | `xa xb xc` (verschachtelt)      |
+| `{1..5}`          | `1 2 3 4 5`                     |
+| `{5..1}`          | `5 4 3 2 1`                     |
+| `{1..10..3}`      | `1 4 7 10` (Schrittweite)       |
+| `{01..10..4}`     | `01 05 09` (mit führenden Nullen) |
+| `{a..e}`          | `a b c d e`                     |
+
+```
+$ mkdir -p projekt/{src,doc,test}
+$ cp config.yaml{,.bak}          # Sicherungskopie
+$ ls *.{go,md}
+$ touch log-{01..12}.txt
+```
+
+- Die Klammer-Expansion kommt zuerst, die Ergebnisse durchlaufen danach `~`, Variablen und Wildcards: `*.{go,md}` wird zu `*.go *.md`, `{${A},b}` zu `$A b`.
+- Ohne Komma (und ohne gültige Folge) bleiben Klammern stehen: `{a}`, `{}`, `{a..1}`. Auch `${VAR}` wird nicht angefasst.
+- In Anführungszeichen oder mit `\` davor sind die Zeichen normale Zeichen: `"{a,b}"`, `\{a,b\}`. Ein Komma lässt sich mit `\,` schützen: `{a\,b,c}` ergibt `a,b c`.
+- Bei einer Umleitung muss genau ein Wort herauskommen, `> {a,b}` meldet `ambiguous redirect`.
+- Ein Wort darf höchstens 100 000 Wörter erzeugen.
+
 ### Wildcards
 
 Wörter mit `*`, `?` oder `[...]` werden durch die passenden Dateinamen ersetzt, sortiert:
@@ -259,6 +315,22 @@ $ bg %2                       # oder: angehaltenen Job im Hintergrund weiterlauf
 - Wird ein angehaltener Job von außen fortgesetzt (`kill -CONT`), zeigt `jobs` ihn weiter als `Stopped`, bis er endet oder erneut angehalten wird; `fg` und `bg` funktionieren trotzdem.
 - Einen Job beenden lässt sich mit `kill` über die Prozess-ID (z. B. `kill 12345`); `kill %1` versteht gosh noch nicht.
 
+### Prompt
+
+Der Prompt zeigt Benutzer, Rechner und Verzeichnis. Ist der letzte Befehl fehlgeschlagen, steht sein Exit-Status in eckigen Klammern davor, bis wieder ein Befehl erfolgreich war:
+
+```
+flow@host:~/src $ false
+flow@host:~/src [1] $ gibtsnicht
+gosh: gibtsnicht: command not found
+flow@host:~/src [127] $ sleep 100     # mit Ctrl+C abgebrochen
+^C
+flow@host:~/src [130] $ true
+flow@host:~/src $
+```
+
+Typische Werte: `1` allgemeiner Fehler, `2` Syntaxfehler, `126` nicht ausführbar, `127` Befehl nicht gefunden, `128+n` durch Signal `n` beendet (`130` = Ctrl+C, `148` = mit Ctrl+Z angehalten unter Linux). Eine leere Eingabe ändert den Status nicht.
+
 ### Farben
 
 Der Prompt wird über die Umgebungsvariable `GOSH_COLORS` eingefärbt. Sie besteht aus durch `:` getrennten Einträgen `schlüssel=code`:
@@ -268,6 +340,7 @@ Der Prompt wird über die Umgebungsvariable `GOSH_COLORS` eingefärbt. Sie beste
 | `user`    | `user@host`                    | `1;32` (fett grün)  |
 | `root`    | `user@host`, wenn man root ist | `1;31` (fett rot)   |
 | `path`    | aktuelles Verzeichnis          | `1;34` (fett blau)  |
+| `error`   | Exit-Status `[N]` nach einem Fehler | `1;31` (fett rot) |
 
 Die Werte sind [ANSI-SGR-Codes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANSI_escape_code#SGR_(Select_Graphic_Rendition)_parameters), mehrere werden mit `;` kombiniert:
 
@@ -305,6 +378,9 @@ GOSH_COLORS='user=1;38;2;136;192;208:path=38;2;216;222;233'
 # Ozean: türkis und kursiv blau
 GOSH_COLORS='user=1;96:path=3;94'
 
+# Fehler-Status gelb auf rotem Hintergrund
+GOSH_COLORS='error=1;33;41'
+
 # Root-Warnung: weiß auf rotem Hintergrund
 GOSH_COLORS='root=1;97;41'
 

alias.go

@@ -96,6 +96,16 @@ func expandAliasesIn(line string, active map[string]bool) string {
 			}
 		}
 
+		if quote != '\'' && !escaped && isSubstStart(line, i) {
+			// $(...) is copied as it is; the subshell does not expand
+			// aliases
+			if end := substEnd(line, i); end >= 0 {
+				out.WriteString(line[i : end+1])
+				i = end
+				continue
+			}
+		}
+
 		out.WriteByte(ch)
 		switch {
 		case escaped:

brace.go

@@ -0,0 +1,279 @@
+package main
+
+// Brace expansion like in bash: a{b,c}d becomes abd acd, {1..5} becomes
+// 1 2 3 4 5. It happens first, on the text of the command line, so that the
+// resulting words go through the other expansions (~, variables, wildcards).
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// maxBraceWords limits the number of words a single word may expand to.
+const maxBraceWords = 100000
+
+// expandBraceWords applies brace expansion to every word of a command (the
+// text of a pipeline). Quoted or escaped braces, ${...} and $(...) are left
+// alone.
+// A redirection target must expand to a single word.
+func expandBraceWords(input string) (string, error) {
+	var (
+		out           strings.Builder
+		afterRedirect bool // the next word is the target of a redirection
+	)
+
+	for i := 0; i < len(input); {
+		ch := input[i]
+		switch {
+		case ch == ' ' || ch == '\t' || ch == '\n':
+			out.WriteByte(ch)
+			i++
+		case strings.IndexByte(";&|<>", ch) >= 0:
+			if ch == '<' || ch == '>' {
+				afterRedirect = true
+			}
+			out.WriteByte(ch)
+			i++
+		case ch == '#':
+			// A comment, until the end of the line
+			out.WriteString(input[i:])
+			return out.String(), nil
+		default:
+			end := wordEnd(input, i)
+			words, err := expandBraces(input[i:end])
+			if err != nil {
+				return "", err
+			}
+			if afterRedirect && len(words) > 1 {
+				return "", fmt.Errorf("%s: ambiguous redirect", sanitize(input[i:end]))
+			}
+			afterRedirect = false
+			out.WriteString(strings.Join(words, " "))
+			i = end
+		}
+	}
+	return out.String(), nil
+}
+
+// wordEnd returns the end of the word starting at i: the next unquoted blank
+// or operator character.
+func wordEnd(s string, i int) int {
+	var quote byte
+	for ; i < len(s); i++ {
+		ch := s[i]
+		switch {
+		case quote == '\'':
+			if ch == '\'' {
+				quote = 0
+			}
+		case ch == '\\':
+			i++
+		case isSubstStart(s, i):
+			if j := substEnd(s, i); j >= 0 {
+				i = j
+			}
+		case ch == '$' && i+1 < len(s) && s[i+1] == '{':
+			if j := strings.IndexByte(s[i:], '}'); j >= 0 {
+				i += j
+			}
+		case quote == '"':
+			if ch == '"' {
+				quote = 0
+			}
+		case ch == '"' || ch == '\'':
+			quote = ch
+		case strings.IndexByte(" \t\n;&|<>", ch) >= 0:
+			return i
+		}
+	}
+	return len(s)
+}
+
+// braceScan calls fn for every unquoted, unescaped character of s that is
+// not part of a ${...} reference, with its index and the brace depth.
+// Scanning stops when fn returns false.
+func braceScan(s string, fn func(i, depth int) bool) {
+	var quote byte
+	depth := 0
+	for i := 0; i < len(s); i++ {
+		ch := s[i]
+		switch {
+		case quote == '\'':
+			if ch == '\'' {
+				quote = 0
+			}
+			continue
+		case ch == '\\':
+			i++
+			continue
+		case isSubstStart(s, i):
+			// The subshell does its own brace expansion
+			if j := substEnd(s, i); j >= 0 {
+				i = j
+			}
+			continue
+		case ch == '$' && i+1 < len(s) && s[i+1] == '{':
+			if j := strings.IndexByte(s[i:], '}'); j >= 0 {
+				i += j
+			}
+			continue
+		case quote == '"':
+			if ch == '"' {
+				quote = 0
+			}
+			continue
+		case ch == '"' || ch == '\'':
+			quote = ch
+			continue
+		}
+		if ch == '}' {
+			depth--
+		}
+		if !fn(i, depth) {
+			return
+		}
+		if ch == '{' {
+			depth++
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// expandBraces expands the first valid brace expression of a word and then
+// recursively the results: a{b,c}d -> abd acd, x{1..3} -> x1 x2 x3. A brace
+// expression is valid if it contains an unquoted comma at its top level or
+// is a sequence; other braces ({}, {a}, ${x}) are kept as they are.
+func expandBraces(word string) ([]string, error) {
+	// Find the candidates: unquoted { with their matching }
+	var opens []int
+	pairs := map[int]int{}
+	braceScan(word, func(i, depth int) bool {
+		switch word[i] {
+		case '{':
+			opens = append(opens, i)
+		case '}':
+			if len(opens) > 0 {
+				pairs[opens[len(opens)-1]] = i
+				opens = opens[:len(opens)-1]
+			}
+		}
+		return true
+	})
+
+	for start := 0; start < len(word); start++ {
+		end, ok := pairs[start]
+		if !ok {
+			continue
+		}
+		inner := word[start+1 : end]
+		alternatives := splitTopLevelCommas(inner)
+		if len(alternatives) < 2 {
+			seq, ok, err := braceSequence(inner)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+			if !ok {
+				continue
+			}
+			alternatives = seq
+		}
+
+		prefix, suffix := word[:start], word[end+1:]
+		var words []string
+		for _, alt := range alternatives {
+			expanded, err := expandBraces(prefix + alt + suffix)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+			words = append(words, expanded...)
+			if len(words) > maxBraceWords {
+				return nil, errors.New("brace expansion: too many words")
+			}
+		}
+		return words, nil
+	}
+	return []string{word}, nil
+}
+
+// splitTopLevelCommas splits s at its unquoted commas that are not inside
+// nested braces.
+func splitTopLevelCommas(s string) []string {
+	var parts []string
+	last := 0
+	braceScan(s, func(i, depth int) bool {
+		if s[i] == ',' && depth == 0 {
+			parts = append(parts, s[last:i])
+			last = i + 1
+		}
+		return true
+	})
+	return append(parts, s[last:])
+}
+
+// braceSequence expands a sequence expression: x..y or x..y..step with
+// integers (zero-padded to the same width if one of them has a leading zero)
+// or single letters. ok is false if s is no sequence.
+func braceSequence(s string) (words []string, ok bool, err error) {
+	parts := strings.Split(s, "..")
+	if len(parts) != 2 && len(parts) != 3 {
+		return nil, false, nil
+	}
+	step := 1
+	if len(parts) == 3 {
+		step, err = strconv.Atoi(parts[2])
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, false, nil
+		}
+		if step < 0 {
+			step = -step
+		}
+		if step == 0 {
+			step = 1
+		}
+	}
+
+	from, errFrom := strconv.Atoi(parts[0])
+	to, errTo := strconv.Atoi(parts[1])
+	isLetter := func(p string) bool {
+		return len(p) == 1 && (p[0] >= 'a' && p[0] <= 'z' || p[0] >= 'A' && p[0] <= 'Z')
+	}
+	format := func(n int) string { return strconv.Itoa(n) }
+	switch {
+	case errFrom == nil && errTo == nil:
+		// {01..10}: pad to the width of the longer number
+		if hasLeadingZero(parts[0]) || hasLeadingZero(parts[1]) {
+			width := max(len(parts[0]), len(parts[1]))
+			format = func(n int) string {
+				if n < 0 {
+					return fmt.Sprintf("-%0*d", width-1, -n)
+				}
+				return fmt.Sprintf("%0*d", width, n)
+			}
+		}
+	case isLetter(parts[0]) && isLetter(parts[1]):
+		from, to = int(parts[0][0]), int(parts[1][0])
+		format = func(n int) string { return string(rune(n)) }
+	default:
+		return nil, false, nil
+	}
+
+	count := (max(from, to)-min(from, to))/step + 1
+	if count > maxBraceWords {
+		return nil, false, errors.New("brace expansion: too many words")
+	}
+	if to < from {
+		step = -step
+	}
+	for n := from; (step > 0 && n <= to) || (step < 0 && n >= to); n += step {
+		words = append(words, format(n))
+	}
+	return words, true, nil
+}
+
+// hasLeadingZero reports whether a number is written with a leading zero
+// (01, -05), which makes a sequence zero-padded.
+func hasLeadingZero(s string) bool {
+	s = strings.TrimPrefix(s, "-")
+	return len(s) > 1 && s[0] == '0'
+}

brace_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"reflect"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestExpandBraces(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		word string
+		want []string
+	}{
+		{"a{b,c}d", []string{"abd", "acd"}},
+		{"{a,b}{1,2}", []string{"a1", "a2", "b1", "b2"}},
+		{"x{a,{b,c}}y", []string{"xay", "xby", "xcy"}},
+		{"file{,.bak}", []string{"file", "file.bak"}},
+		{"{1..5}", []string{"1", "2", "3", "4", "5"}},
+		{"{3..1}", []string{"3", "2", "1"}},
+		{"{1..10..3}", []string{"1", "4", "7", "10"}},
+		{"{10..1..-4}", []string{"10", "6", "2"}},
+		{"{01..10..4}", []string{"01", "05", "09"}},
+		{"{8..010..1}", []string{"008", "009", "010"}},
+		{"{-2..2}", []string{"-2", "-1", "0", "1", "2"}},
+		{"{-01..1}", []string{"-01", "000", "001"}},
+		{"{a..e}", []string{"a", "b", "c", "d", "e"}},
+		{"{C..A}", []string{"C", "B", "A"}},
+		{"*.{go,md}", []string{"*.go", "*.md"}},
+		{`{"a b",c}`, []string{`"a b"`, "c"}},
+		{`{a\,b,c}`, []string{`a\,b`, "c"}},
+		{"{$HOME,~}/x", []string{"$HOME/x", "~/x"}},
+		// Not expanded: quoted, escaped, no comma, ${...}, invalid sequences
+		{`"{a,b}"`, []string{`"{a,b}"`}},
+		{`'{a,b}'`, []string{`'{a,b}'`}},
+		{`\{a,b\}`, []string{`\{a,b\}`}},
+		{"{a}", []string{"{a}"}},
+		{"{}", []string{"{}"}},
+		{"{a,b", []string{"{a,b"}},
+		{"a,b}", []string{"a,b}"}},
+		{"${HOME}", []string{"${HOME}"}},
+		{"${X:-a,b}", []string{"${X:-a,b}"}},
+		{"{a..1}", []string{"{a..1}"}},
+		{"{1..2..x}", []string{"{1..2..x}"}},
+		{"{ab..cd}", []string{"{ab..cd}"}},
+		// An invalid brace before a valid one
+		{"{a}{b,c}", []string{"{a}b", "{a}c"}},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		got, err := expandBraces(tc.word)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Errorf("expandBraces(%q) returned error: %v", tc.word, err)
+			continue
+		}
+		if !reflect.DeepEqual(got, tc.want) {
+			t.Errorf("expandBraces(%q) = %q, want %q", tc.word, got, tc.want)
+		}
+	}
+
+	if _, err := expandBraces("{1..1000000}"); err == nil {
+		t.Error("expected an error for a too large sequence")
+	}
+	if _, err := expandBraces("{1..11}{1..100}{1..100}"); err == nil {
+		t.Error("expected an error for too many words")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestExpandBraceWords(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		input, want string
+	}{
+		{"echo a{b,c} d", "echo ab ac d"},
+		{"echo {1..3}|wc -w", "echo 1 2 3|wc -w"},
+		{"echo a > {f}", "echo a > {f}"},
+		{"echo {a,b} 2>&1", "echo a b 2>&1"},
+		{"echo x # {a,b}", "echo x # {a,b}"},
+		{`echo "{a,b} c" {d,e}`, `echo "{a,b} c" d e`},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		got, err := expandBraceWords(tc.input)
+		if err != nil || got != tc.want {
+			t.Errorf("expandBraceWords(%q) = %q, %v; want %q", tc.input, got, err, tc.want)
+		}
+	}
+
+	for _, input := range []string{"echo a > {f,g}", "cat < x{1..2}", "echo a 2>> {a,b}"} {
+		if _, err := expandBraceWords(input); err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "ambiguous redirect") {
+			t.Errorf("expandBraceWords(%q): %v, want ambiguous redirect", input, err)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestExecInput_BraceExpansion(t *testing.T) {
+	origDir, _ := os.Getwd()
+	defer os.Chdir(origDir)
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	os.Chdir(dir)
+
+	if err := execInput("mkdir -p d/{x,y}/{1..2} && touch d/x/1/f{a,b}.txt"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for _, path := range []string{"d/x/1", "d/x/2", "d/y/1", "d/y/2", "d/x/1/fa.txt", "d/x/1/fb.txt"} {
+		if _, err := os.Stat(path); err != nil {
+			t.Errorf("%s was not created", path)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Brace expansion comes before wildcards and variables
+	t.Setenv("GOSH_BRACE", "v")
+	execInput("echo d/x/1/*.{txt,go} {${GOSH_BRACE},w}1 > out")
+	if got, _ := os.ReadFile("out"); string(got) != "d/x/1/fa.txt d/x/1/fb.txt d/x/1/*.go v1 w1\n" {
+		t.Errorf("out = %q", got)
+	}
+
+	if err := execInput("echo a > {f,g}"); err == nil || lastStatus != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("ambiguous redirect: %v, $? = %d", err, lastStatus)
+	}
+}

main.go

@@ -131,6 +131,8 @@ type token struct {
 //   - '...' is taken literally, nothing is expanded inside
 //   - "..." expands $VAR and ${VAR}; \ only escapes $ " \ and `
 //   - outside quotes \ escapes any character
+//   - $(command) is replaced by the output of command (see commandSubst);
+//     unquoted, the output is split into words at blanks and newlines
 //   - $VAR, ${VAR} and ${VAR:-default} are expanded outside single quotes;
 //     an unset variable is an error, so that e.g. "rm -rf $DIR/x" never runs
 //     with an empty $DIR
@@ -190,6 +192,32 @@ func tokenize(input string) ([]token, error) {
 		case ch == '\\':
 			startRaw(i)
 			escaped = true
+		case isSubstStart(input, i):
+			startRaw(i)
+			end := substEnd(input, i)
+			if end < 0 {
+				return nil, errors.New("missing ) in command substitution")
+			}
+			out, err := commandSubst(input[i+2 : end])
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+			if quote == '"' {
+				literal(out)
+				inWord = true
+			} else {
+				// Unquoted, the output is split into words at blanks and
+				// newlines (but, unlike in sh, wildcards in it are not
+				// expanded)
+				for k, field := range strings.Fields(out) {
+					if k > 0 {
+						endWord()
+					}
+					literal(field)
+					inWord = true
+				}
+			}
+			i = end
 		case ch == '$':
 			startRaw(i)
 			value, n, err := expandVar(input[i:])
@@ -612,7 +640,7 @@ func getPrompt() string {
 		c := parseColors(os.Getenv("GOSH_COLORS"))
 		colors = &c
 	}
-	return buildPrompt(username, hostname, wd, os.Geteuid() == 0, colors)
+	return buildPrompt(username, hostname, wd, os.Geteuid() == 0, lastStatus, colors)
 }
 
 // promptColors holds the SGR parameters (e.g. "1;32") for the parts of the
@@ -621,12 +649,14 @@ type promptColors struct {
 	user  string // user@host
 	root  string // user@host when running as root
 	path  string // working directory
+	error string // exit status of the last command, if it failed
 }
 
-// defaultColors: bold green user, bold red root, bold blue directory
+// defaultColors: bold green user, bold red root, bold blue directory, bold
-var defaultColors = promptColors{user: "1;32", root: "1;31", path: "1;34"}
+// red exit status
+var defaultColors = promptColors{user: "1;32", root: "1;31", path: "1;34", error: "1;31"}
 
-// parseColors reads a GOSH_COLORS value like "user=1;33:root=1;31:path=36"
+// parseColors reads a GOSH_COLORS value like "user=1;33:path=36:error=31"
 // and overrides the corresponding defaults. Unknown keys and values that are
 // not plain SGR parameters (digits and ';') are ignored, so the variable
 // cannot be used to write arbitrary escape sequences to the terminal.
@@ -644,6 +674,8 @@ func parseColors(spec string) promptColors {
 			colors.root = value
 		case "path":
 			colors.path = value
+		case "error":
+			colors.error = value
 		}
 	}
 	return colors
@@ -669,20 +701,28 @@ func colorize(text, sgr string) string {
 	return "\x1b[" + sgr + "m" + text + "\x1b[0m"
 }
 
-// buildPrompt formats the prompt as user@host:path $. The parts are sanitized
+// buildPrompt formats the prompt as user@host:path $, or user@host:path [N] $
+// if the last command failed with exit status N. The parts are sanitized
 // before the color codes are added, so only our own escape sequences end up
 // in the prompt. colors == nil disables colors.
-func buildPrompt(username, hostname, path string, root bool, colors *promptColors) string {
+func buildPrompt(username, hostname, path string, root bool, status int, colors *promptColors) string {
 	userHost := sanitize(username + "@" + hostname)
 	path = sanitize(path)
+	var failed string
+	if status != 0 {
+		failed = " [" + strconv.Itoa(status) + "]"
+	}
 	if colors == nil {
-		return userHost + ":" + path + " $ "
+		return userHost + ":" + path + failed + " $ "
 	}
 	userColor := colors.user
 	if root {
 		userColor = colors.root
 	}
-	return colorize(userHost, userColor) + ":" + colorize(path, colors.path) + " $ "
+	if failed != "" {
+		failed = " " + colorize(failed[1:], colors.error)
+	}
+	return colorize(userHost, userColor) + ":" + colorize(path, colors.path) + failed + " $ "
 }
 
 // useColor reports whether the prompt should be colored: stdout must be a
@@ -815,7 +855,7 @@ func currentWord(s string) (word string, start int, quote byte) {
 func escapeWord(s string) string {
 	var b strings.Builder
 	for _, r := range s {
-		if strings.ContainsRune(" \t\\'\";|&<>*?[$", r) {
+		if strings.ContainsRune(" \t\\'\";|&<>*?[${", r) {
 			b.WriteByte('\\')
 		}
 		b.WriteRune(r)
@@ -1275,6 +1315,11 @@ scan:
 			}
 		case ch == '\\':
 			escaped = true
+		case isSubstStart(input, i):
+			// Skip $(...) as a whole, its ; | & belong to the subshell
+			if j := substEnd(input, i); j >= 0 {
+				i = j
+			}
 		case ch == '$' && i+1 < len(input) && input[i+1] == '{':
 			// Skip ${...} as a whole, like expandVar does
 			if j := strings.IndexByte(input[i:], '}'); j >= 0 {
@@ -1354,11 +1399,21 @@ func execInput(input string) error {
 // execCommand executes a pipeline of simple commands with redirections, in
 // the background if background is set.
 func execCommand(input string, background bool) error {
+	// Brace expansion comes first, so that its results are expanded further
+	substStatus = 0
+	input, err := expandBraceWords(input)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	// Split the input into words and operators, expanding variables and ~ on
 	// the way.
 	tokens, err := tokenize(input)
-	var synErr syntaxError
+	var (
-	if errors.As(err, &synErr) {
+		synErr    syntaxError
+		statusErr statusError
+	)
+	if errors.As(err, &synErr) || errors.As(err, &statusErr) {
 		return err
 	}
 	if err != nil {
@@ -1369,6 +1424,10 @@ func execCommand(input string, background bool) error {
 		return err
 	}
 	if len(stages) == 0 {
+		// A command that consists only of $(...) has its status
+		if substStatus != 0 {
+			return statusError(substStatus)
+		}
 		return nil
 	}
 	// "exit" with stopped jobs only warns, unless it is repeated right away
@@ -1783,15 +1842,22 @@ Features:
     override with $GOSH_HISTFILE); lines starting with a space are not saved
   - Tab completion for commands and file paths
   - Tilde expansion (~, ~/path) at the start of unquoted words
+  - Brace expansion: a{b,c}d -> abd acd, {1..5}, {01..10..2}, {a..e}
   - Wildcards: * ? [abc] [a-z] [!abc] match file names (not hidden files
     unless the pattern starts with a dot); quoted wildcards and values of
     variables are not expanded, a pattern without match is kept as is
-  - Colored prompt (user@host green, red for root; directory blue),
+  - Prompt user@host:dir $, with [N] before the $ if the last command
-    configurable with $GOSH_COLORS, e.g. GOSH_COLORS='user=1;33:path=36'
+    failed with exit status N
-    (keys user, root, path; values are ANSI SGR codes, empty = no color);
+  - Colored prompt (user@host green, red for root; directory blue; exit
-    disabled with $NO_COLOR, TERM=dumb or when output is not a terminal
+    status red), configurable with $GOSH_COLORS, e.g.
+    GOSH_COLORS='user=1;33:path=36' (keys user, root, path, error; values
+    are ANSI SGR codes, empty = no color); disabled with $NO_COLOR,
+    TERM=dumb or when output is not a terminal
   - Environment variable expansion ($VAR, ${VAR}, ${VAR:-default});
     using an unset variable is an error, use ${VAR:-} for an empty default
+  - Command substitution: $(command) is replaced by the output of command
+    (run in a subshell); unquoted it is split into words, "$(command)"
+    stays one word
   - Command lists: a ; b (run both), a && b (b only if a succeeded),
     a || b (b only if a failed); $? is the exit status of the last command
   - Pipes (a | b) and redirections: < file, > file, >> file, 2> file,

main_test.go

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package main
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"errors"
+	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
@@ -892,6 +893,11 @@ func TestMain(m *testing.M) {
 	// Never read the system's startup files; tests that read the user's
 	// files set $HOME themselves
 	sysConfDir = filepath.Join(dir, "etc")
+	// Command substitution runs gosh, not the test binary
+	subshellPath = filepath.Join(dir, "gosh")
+	if out, err := exec.Command("go", "build", "-o", subshellPath, ".").CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+		panic(fmt.Sprintf("building gosh: %v\n%s", err, out))
+	}
 	code := m.Run()
 	os.RemoveAll(dir)
 	os.Exit(code)
@@ -1054,24 +1060,24 @@ func TestGetPrompt_EscapesControlCharacters(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestBuildPrompt_Color(t *testing.T) {
-	got := buildPrompt("flow", "host", "~/src", false, &defaultColors)
+	got := buildPrompt("flow", "host", "~/src", false, 0, &defaultColors)
 	want := "\x1b[1;32mflow@host\x1b[0m:\x1b[1;34m~/src\x1b[0m $ "
 	if got != want {
 		t.Errorf("buildPrompt() = %q, want %q", got, want)
 	}
 
-	got = buildPrompt("root", "host", "/", true, &defaultColors)
+	got = buildPrompt("root", "host", "/", true, 0, &defaultColors)
 	if !strings.HasPrefix(got, "\x1b[1;31mroot@host") {
 		t.Errorf("expected red user for root, got %q", got)
 	}
 
-	got = buildPrompt("flow", "host", "~/src", false, nil)
+	got = buildPrompt("flow", "host", "~/src", false, 0, nil)
 	if got != "flow@host:~/src $ " {
 		t.Errorf("buildPrompt() without color = %q", got)
 	}
 
 	colors := promptColors{user: "38;5;208", path: ""}
-	got = buildPrompt("flow", "host", "~/src", false, &colors)
+	got = buildPrompt("flow", "host", "~/src", false, 0, &colors)
 	if got != "\x1b[38;5;208mflow@host\x1b[0m:~/src $ " {
 		t.Errorf("buildPrompt() with custom colors = %q", got)
 	}
@@ -1083,13 +1089,14 @@ func TestParseColors(t *testing.T) {
 		want promptColors
 	}{
 		{"", defaultColors},
-		{"user=1;33", promptColors{user: "1;33", root: "1;31", path: "1;34"}},
+		{"user=1;33", promptColors{user: "1;33", root: "1;31", path: "1;34", error: "1;31"}},
-		{"user=33:root=41;97:path=38;5;208", promptColors{user: "33", root: "41;97", path: "38;5;208"}},
+		{"user=33:root=41;97:path=38;5;208", promptColors{user: "33", root: "41;97", path: "38;5;208", error: "1;31"}},
-		{"path=", promptColors{user: "1;32", root: "1;31", path: ""}},
+		{"error=33", promptColors{user: "1;32", root: "1;31", path: "1;34", error: "33"}},
+		{"path=", promptColors{user: "1;32", root: "1;31", path: "", error: "1;31"}},
 		{"path=0m\x1b[2J", defaultColors}, // escape sequences are rejected
 		{"path=red", defaultColors},       // only numeric codes
 		{"foo=1:user", defaultColors},     // unknown key, missing value
-		{"user=35::path=36", promptColors{user: "35", root: "1;31", path: "36"}},
+		{"user=35::path=36", promptColors{user: "35", root: "1;31", path: "36", error: "1;31"}},
 	}
 	for _, tc := range tests {
 		if got := parseColors(tc.spec); got != tc.want {
@@ -1098,8 +1105,27 @@ func TestParseColors(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestBuildPrompt_Status(t *testing.T) {
+	if got := buildPrompt("flow", "host", "~", false, 0, nil); got != "flow@host:~ $ " {
+		t.Errorf("status 0: %q", got)
+	}
+	if got := buildPrompt("flow", "host", "~", false, 127, nil); got != "flow@host:~ [127] $ " {
+		t.Errorf("status 127 without color: %q", got)
+	}
+	got := buildPrompt("flow", "host", "~", false, 1, &defaultColors)
+	want := "\x1b[1;32mflow@host\x1b[0m:\x1b[1;34m~\x1b[0m \x1b[1;31m[1]\x1b[0m $ "
+	if got != want {
+		t.Errorf("status 1 with color = %q, want %q", got, want)
+	}
+	colors := defaultColors
+	colors.error = ""
+	if got := buildPrompt("flow", "host", "~", false, 2, &colors); !strings.HasSuffix(got, " [2] $ ") {
+		t.Errorf("status without error color = %q", got)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestBuildPrompt_ColorEscapesControlCharacters(t *testing.T) {
-	got := buildPrompt("flow", "host", "evil\x1b[2J\x07", false, &defaultColors)
+	got := buildPrompt("flow", "host", "evil\x1b[2J\x07", false, 0, &defaultColors)
 	if strings.Contains(got, "\x1b[2J") || strings.Contains(got, "\x07") {
 		t.Errorf("prompt contains control characters from path: %q", got)
 	}

subst.go

@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+package main
+
+// Command substitution: $(command) is replaced by the output of command,
+// which runs in a subshell (a new gosh process), so that cd, set etc. in it
+// do not change the shell.
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"errors"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"strings"
+	"syscall"
+)
+
+// subshellPath is the gosh binary used for command substitution; empty means
+// the running executable. Tests set it, since there the running executable is
+// the test binary.
+var subshellPath string
+
+// substStatus is the exit status of the last command substitution of the
+// current command (a command that consists only of a substitution has this
+// status, like in sh).
+var substStatus int
+
+// isSubstStart reports whether a command substitution $( starts at s[i].
+func isSubstStart(s string, i int) bool {
+	return s[i] == '$' && i+1 < len(s) && s[i+1] == '('
+}
+
+// substEnd returns the index of the ) that ends the command substitution
+// starting with $( at s[i], or -1 if it is not terminated. Quotes, escapes
+// and nested substitutions inside are taken into account.
+func substEnd(s string, i int) int {
+	depth := 0
+	var quote byte
+	for j := i + 1; j < len(s); j++ {
+		ch := s[j]
+		switch {
+		case quote == '\'':
+			if ch == '\'' {
+				quote = 0
+			}
+		case ch == '\\':
+			j++
+		case quote == '"':
+			if ch == '"' {
+				quote = 0
+			} else if isSubstStart(s, j) {
+				end := substEnd(s, j)
+				if end < 0 {
+					return -1
+				}
+				j = end
+			}
+		case ch == '"' || ch == '\'':
+			quote = ch
+		case ch == '(':
+			depth++
+		case ch == ')':
+			depth--
+			if depth == 0 {
+				return j
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return -1
+}
+
+// commandSubst runs command in a subshell and returns its output without
+// trailing newlines. stdin and stderr are those of the shell.
+func commandSubst(command string) (string, error) {
+	if strings.HasPrefix(command, "(") {
+		return "", errors.New("arithmetic expansion $((...)) is not supported")
+	}
+	path := subshellPath
+	if path == "" {
+		var err error
+		if path, err = os.Executable(); err != nil {
+			return "", err
+		}
+	}
+
+	var out bytes.Buffer
+	cmd := exec.Command(path, "-c", command)
+	cmd.Stdin, cmd.Stdout, cmd.Stderr = os.Stdin, &out, os.Stderr
+	err := cmd.Run()
+	substStatus = exitStatus(err)
+	if substStatus == 128+int(syscall.SIGINT) {
+		// Ctrl+C aborts the whole command, like in bash
+		return "", statusError(substStatus)
+	}
+	var exitErr *exec.ExitError
+	if err != nil && !errors.As(err, &exitErr) {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	return strings.TrimRight(out.String(), "\n"), nil
+}

subst_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"reflect"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestSubstEnd(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		s    string
+		want int
+	}{
+		{"$(echo a)", 8},
+		{"$(echo a) b", 8},
+		{"$(echo $(date))x", 14},
+		{`$(echo ")")`, 10},
+		{`$(echo ')')`, 10},
+		{`$(echo \))`, 9},
+		{`$(echo "$(echo ")")")`, 20},
+		{"$(echo (a))", 10},
+		{"$(echo a", -1},
+		{`$(echo ")`, -1},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		if got := substEnd(tc.s, 0); got != tc.want {
+			t.Errorf("substEnd(%q) = %d, want %d", tc.s, got, tc.want)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestSplitList_SkipsSubstitution(t *testing.T) {
+	got, err := splitList(`echo $(a; b && c | d) "$(e || f)" & g`)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	want := []listItem{{"", `echo $(a; b && c | d) "$(e || f)" `, true}, {";", " g", false}}
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(got, want) {
+		t.Errorf("splitList = %+v, want %+v", got, want)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestExpandAliasesAndBraces_SkipSubstitution(t *testing.T) {
+	withAliases(t, map[string]string{"ll": "ls -l"})
+	if got := expandAliases("echo $(ll; ll) && ll"); got != "echo $(ll; ll) && ls -l" {
+		t.Errorf("expandAliases = %q", got)
+	}
+	got, err := expandBraceWords("echo $(echo {a,b}) {c,d}")
+	if err != nil || got != "echo $(echo {a,b}) c d" {
+		t.Errorf("expandBraceWords = %q, %v", got, err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestExecInput_CommandSubstitution(t *testing.T) {
+	origDir, _ := os.Getwd()
+	defer os.Chdir(origDir)
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	os.Chdir(dir)
+	os.WriteFile("a.go", nil, 0644)
+	os.WriteFile("b.go", nil, 0644)
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		input string
+		want  string
+	}{
+		{"echo $(echo hello) > out", "hello\n"},
+		// Unquoted, the output is split into words
+		{"printf '[%s]' $(printf 'a b\\nc\\n\\n') > out", "[a][b][c]"},
+		{"printf '[%s]' x$(echo a b)y > out", "[xa][by]"},
+		// Quoted, it is a single word, only trailing newlines are removed
+		{`printf '[%s]' "$(printf 'a  b\nc\n\n')" > out`, "[a  b\nc]"},
+		{`printf '[%s]' "$(true)" > out`, "[]"},
+		{"printf '[%s]' $(true) x > out", "[x]"},
+		// Nested, with quotes and operators inside
+		{"echo $(echo $(echo nested)) > out", "nested\n"},
+		{`echo "$(echo "a;b|c")" > out`, "a;b|c\n"},
+		{"echo $(echo a | tr a-z A-Z) > out", "A\n"},
+		// Wildcards in the output are not expanded, in the command they are
+		{`echo $(echo "*") > out`, "*\n"},
+		{"echo $(echo *.go) > out", "a.go b.go\n"},
+		// Quoted or escaped, $( is literal
+		{`echo '$(echo a)' \$(echo b) > out`, "$(echo a) $(echo b)\n"},
+		// The subshell does not change the shell
+		{"echo $(cd /; pwd) > out; pwd >> out", "/\n" + dir + "\n"},
+		{"set GOSH_SUBST=$(echo value); echo $GOSH_SUBST > out", "value\n"},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		if err := execInput(tc.input); err != nil {
+			t.Errorf("%q: %v", tc.input, err)
+		}
+		if got, _ := os.ReadFile("out"); string(got) != tc.want {
+			t.Errorf("%q: out = %q, want %q", tc.input, got, tc.want)
+		}
+	}
+	os.Unsetenv("GOSH_SUBST")
+
+	// A command that consists only of a substitution has its status
+	execInput("$(sh -c 'exit 3')")
+	if lastStatus != 3 {
+		t.Errorf("$? = %d after $(exit 3), want 3", lastStatus)
+	}
+	// Otherwise the status of the command counts
+	execInput("echo $(false) > out")
+	if lastStatus != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("$? = %d after echo $(false), want 0", lastStatus)
+	}
+
+	for input, wantErr := range map[string]string{
+		"echo $(echo a":  "invalid input: missing ) in command substitution",
+		"echo $((1 + 2))": "invalid input: arithmetic expansion $((...)) is not supported",
+	} {
+		if err := execInput(input); err == nil || err.Error() != wantErr {
+			t.Errorf("%q: error %v, want %q", input, err, wantErr)
+		}
+	}
+}