bash: syntax error near unexpected token `;;'

Question

I have a github project, where inside my directory there is a file called "app;;settings.dat".

When I want to add this file to commit, I write the following command:

git add app;;settings.dat

but it gives me the following error:

bash: syntax error near unexpected token `;;'

Any ideas why?

Answer 1

; is special character bash. You have to escape it.

Try

git add app\;\;settings.dat

Answer 2

; is a special character in Bash (it's used to separate commands on a single line). Try this:

git add "app;;settings.dat"

(And more generally, try to avoid using ; in filenames!)