How can I remove all text after a character in bash?

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In Bash (and ksh, zsh, dash, etc.), you can use parameter expansion with % which will remove characters from the end of the string or # which will remove characters from the beginning of the string. If you use a single one of those characters, the smallest matching string will be removed. If you double the character, the longest will be removed.

$ a="hello:world"

$ b=${a%:*}
$ echo "$b"
hello

$ a="hello:world:of:tomorrow"

$ echo "${a%:*}"
hello:world:of

$ echo "${a%%:*}"
hello

$ echo "${a#*:}"
world:of:tomorrow

$ echo "${a##*:}"
tomorrow

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