What are the numeric comparison operators in Bash test?

Numbers use letter operators inside [ ]: -eq -ne -gt -ge -lt -le (equal, not-equal, greater, greater-or-equal, less, less-or-equal).

* Integer tests use word operators, string tests use symbols — kept apart so </> stay free for redirection. *

Bash uses these word-like operators for numbers specifically to avoid clashing with the symbols < and >, which inside a command already mean redirection. Writing [ 5 > 3 ] wouldn't compare — it would redirect to a file named 3! So integer tests get -gt, -lt, and friends. These compare integers only; for string equality you use =/!= instead (a separate card).

Examples:

count=10

if [ $count -gt 5 ]; then
    echo "Count is greater than 5"
fi

if [ $count -eq 10 ]; then
    echo "Count is exactly 10"
fi

Check exit code:

[ 1 -eq 1 ]; echo $?    # Output: 0 (true)
[ 1 -eq 2 ]; echo $?    # Output: 1 (false)

Mnemonic: Think of the operators as abbreviations:

• eq = equal, ne = not equal
• gt = greater than, lt = less than
• ge = greater/equal, le = less/equal