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Document the percent sigil #2167

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fdncred merged 2 commits into from
Jun 2, 2026
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Document the percent sigil #2167

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352aeaa
Add mentions of percent sigils to aliases and string execution
samoylovfp May 31, 2026
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samoylovfp Jun 2, 2026
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9 changes: 9 additions & 0 deletions book/aliases.md
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Expand Up @@ -125,3 +125,12 @@ def ls [
) | sort-by type name -i
}
```

To call the underlying built-in command you can use a percent sigil `%`, e.g.
```nu
def ls [] {
"something else"
}

%ls # <- calls the original ls
```
7 changes: 7 additions & 0 deletions lang-guide/chapters/strings_and_text.md
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Expand Up @@ -40,6 +40,13 @@ let arguments = ["arg1", "-a", "arg2"]

The caret `^` before the string interpolation symbol `$` allows that external command to be executed.

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@Juhan280 Juhan280 May 31, 2026

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Nvm, I didn't expand the diff, and just assumed the wrong thing


The percent sigin `%` can be used to call the built-in command (without arguments).

```nu
let cmd = "ls"
%$cmd
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@fdncred fdncred May 31, 2026 •
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I think it's fine but I'd do something like this just to drive the point home.

# call internal `ls` command
%$cmd
# call external `ls` command
^$cmd

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```

## String Quoting

### Double quotes
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