Print the command line argument(s), separated by spaces and followed by a newline, forever until killed. When piped into a command, it will continue until the pipe breaks (i.e., the program completes its execution).
Syntax
yes text
yes --help
yes --version
Key
text The text to repeat
--help Display help
--version Display the version no.
If no arguments are given, prints 'y' followed by a newline forever until killed.
yes in conjunction with head can be used to generate large test files. For example, executing
yes 123456789 | head -1000 > file.txt
results in a file with 1000 lines each consisting of 10 characters (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and newline).
Using yes results in 100% processor usage, for this reason it is rarely used other than for testing e.g. to max out a computer’s CPU.
“...I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes...” ~ Molly Bloom
false - Do nothing, unsuccessfully.
true - Do nothing, successfully.
Equivalent Windows command: ECHO Y | command