False (Unix)

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In Unix-like operating systems, false is the command that always returns the value 1, which is regarded by the shell as the logical value false.

This program takes no parameters.

It can be used to make a sequence of otherwise useful commands fail, as in the example:

make … && false

Setting a user's login shell to false, in /etc/passwd, effectively denies them access to an interactive shell, but their account may still be valid for other services, such as FTP.

See also

• true (Unix)
• List of Unix programs

References

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008)

External links

• false: return false value – Commands & Utilities Reference, The Single UNIX® Specification, Issue 6 from The Open Group

Manual pages

• false(1): Do nothing, unsuccessfully – GNU Coreutils reference
• false(1): Do nothing, unsuccessfully – Linux man page