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Ensure GNU Getopt is on PATH

Fail unless getopt --test exits 4, which only util-linux GNU getopt does, and point macOS users at brew gnu-getopt instead of BSD getopt.

Language: Shell

Added on: 19th August 2026

Submitted by: Lupraxus

require_gnu_getopt() {
  local status=0

  getopt --test >/dev/null 2>&1 || status=$?
  if (( status == 4 )); then
    return 0
  fi

  if [[ "$(uname -s)" == Darwin ]]; then
    echo "macOS ships BSD getopt. Install GNU getopt (brew install gnu-getopt) and put it first on PATH." >&2
  else
    echo "'getopt --test' failed in this environment - please use GNU getopt." >&2
  fi
  exit 1
}

Caveats

This is the external getopt binary, not bash getopts. Call require_gnu_getopt before parsing long options. brew install gnu-getopt on macOS.