In Bash script, how do I print a string with characters and a number variable in a way that the variable is formatted with comma separation?

Question

Using a bash script, I need to print to the terminal a string that uses a variable that's storing a number, but for the variable to print with comma separation if it needs it.

So for example, if I had a variable with a value of 1000, I would want to print to the terminal something like:

"Count is equal to 1,000"

I'm trying to figure out if I can do this with a single printf command. Is there a formatting option for printf that can do this, or is there a way to manipulate the variable such that I can turn it into a string with comma separation?

Answer 1

Try this:

printf "%'d" $MYVAR

If you need a new line at the end, do:

printf "%'d\n" $MYVAR

All together:

printf "Count is equal to %'d\n" $MYVAR

If you're on a Mac, you might need to install coreutils . I'd suggest doing that with Homebrew : brew install coreutils .

Per @KamilCuk, it's important to note that comma/decimal separation with numbers is based on your localization. If you'd like to change that, you can do so per this answer: https://stackoverflow.com/a/12845640/6246128