What Is Dev Null 2 And1 Unix?

2>&1 redirects standard error to standard output. &1 indicates file descriptor (standard output), otherwise (if you use just 1 ) you will redirect standard error to a file named 1 . [any command] >>/dev/null 2>&1 redirects all standard error to standard output, and writes all of that to /dev/null .

What does 2 dev Null mean in Linux?

The N> syntax in Bash means to redirect a file descriptor to somewhere else. 2 is the file descriptor of stderr , and this example redirects it to /dev/null . What this means in simple terms: ignore error output from the command.

What is the meaning of 2 >& 1 in Linux?

&1 is used to reference the value of the file descriptor 1 (stdout). Now to the point 2>&1 means “Redirect the stderr to the same place we are redirecting the stdout”