[SOLVED] How can I source a variable from a shell script and also pipe the output of the script?

Issue

I have a script test.sh:

#!/bin/bash
export VAR1=abc123
echo $VAR1

I want the variable set in test.sh to be set in the shell from which I run this script, so I use source:

$ source test.sh                    
abc123
$ echo $VAR1    
abc123

But let's say I want to do something with the output of test.sh. It seems that if I pipe the output of test.sh, sourcing the variable no longer works:

$ VAR1=xyz
$ source test.sh | sed 's/abc/xyz/g'
xyz123
$ echo $VAR1                        
xyz

As opposed to the expected:

$ VAR1=xyz
$ source test.sh | sed 's/abc/xyz/g'
xyz123
$ echo $VAR1    
abc123

How can I get around this if I want to set a variable and modify the output using one script?

Solution

When you run :

source test.sh | sed 's/abc/xyz/g'

source test.sh is run in a subshell so has no effect on the parent shell.

You need process substitution :

source test.sh > >(sed 's/abc/xyz/g')

Answered By - Philippe

Answer Checked By - Pedro (WPSolving Volunteer)