feat(interpreter): implement declare -n nameref variables

crates/bashkit/src/interpreter/mod.rs

@@ -3859,6 +3859,7 @@ impl Interpreter {
         let mut is_array = false;
         let mut is_assoc = false;
         let mut is_integer = false;
+        let mut is_nameref = false;
         let mut names: Vec<&str> = Vec::new();
 
         for arg in args {
@@ -3871,7 +3872,8 @@ impl Interpreter {
                         'a' => is_array = true,
                         'i' => is_integer = true,
                         'A' => is_assoc = true,
-                        'g' | 'l' | 'n' | 'u' | 't' | 'f' | 'F' => {} // ignored
+                        'n' => is_nameref = true,
+                        'g' | 'l' | 'u' | 't' | 'f' | 'F' => {} // ignored
                         _ => {}
                     }
                 }
@@ -4015,6 +4017,10 @@ impl Interpreter {
                             arr.insert(idx, val.trim_matches('"').to_string());
                         }
                     }
+                } else if is_nameref {
+                    // declare -n ref=target: create nameref
+                    self.variables
+                        .insert(format!("_NAMEREF_{}", var_name), value.to_string());
                 } else if is_integer {
                     // Evaluate as arithmetic expression
                     let int_val = self.evaluate_arithmetic_with_assign(value);
@@ -4037,7 +4043,10 @@ impl Interpreter {
                 }
             } else {
                 // Declare without value
-                if is_assoc {
+                if is_nameref {
+                    // declare -n ref (without value) - just mark as nameref
+                    // The target will be set later via assignment
+                } else if is_assoc {
                     // Initialize empty associative array
                     self.assoc_arrays.entry(name.to_string()).or_default();
                 } else if is_array {
@@ -5616,18 +5625,40 @@ impl Interpreter {
     /// If the variable is declared `local` in any active call frame, update that frame.
     /// Otherwise, set in global variables.
     fn set_variable(&mut self, name: String, value: String) {
+        // Resolve nameref: if `name` is a nameref, assign to the target instead
+        let resolved = self.resolve_nameref(&name).to_string();
         for frame in self.call_stack.iter_mut().rev() {
             if let std::collections::hash_map::Entry::Occupied(mut e) =
-                frame.locals.entry(name.clone())
+                frame.locals.entry(resolved.clone())
             {
                 e.insert(value);
                 return;
             }
         }
-        self.variables.insert(name, value);
+        self.variables.insert(resolved, value);
+    }
+
+    /// Resolve nameref chains: if `name` has a `_NAMEREF_<name>` marker,
+    /// follow the chain (up to 10 levels to prevent infinite loops).
+    fn resolve_nameref<'a>(&'a self, name: &'a str) -> &'a str {
+        let mut current = name;
+        for _ in 0..10 {
+            let key = format!("_NAMEREF_{}", current);
+            if let Some(target) = self.variables.get(&key) {
+                // target is owned by the HashMap, so we can return a reference to it
+                // But we need to work with &str. Let's use a different approach.
+                current = target.as_str();
+            } else {
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+        current
     }
 
     fn expand_variable(&self, name: &str) -> String {
+        // Resolve nameref before expansion
+        let name = self.resolve_nameref(name);
+
         // Check for special parameters (POSIX required)
         match name {
             "?" => return self.last_exit_code.to_string(),

crates/bashkit/tests/spec_cases/bash/declare.test.sh

@@ -81,3 +81,65 @@ echo "$myvar"
 ### expect
 hello
 ### end
+
+### nameref_basic
+# declare -n creates a name reference
+x=hello
+declare -n ref=x
+echo "$ref"
+### expect
+hello
+### end
+
+### nameref_assign_through
+# Assigning to nameref assigns to target variable
+x=old
+declare -n ref=x
+ref=new
+echo "$x"
+### expect
+new
+### end
+
+### nameref_chain
+# Nameref can chain through another nameref
+a=value
+declare -n b=a
+declare -n c=b
+echo "$c"
+### expect
+value
+### end
+
+### nameref_in_function
+# Nameref used to pass variable names to functions
+set_via_ref() {
+  declare -n ref=$1
+  ref="set_by_function"
+}
+result=""
+set_via_ref result
+echo "$result"
+### expect
+set_by_function
+### end
+
+### nameref_read_unset
+# Reading through nameref to unset variable returns empty
+declare -n ref=nonexistent_var
+echo "[$ref]"
+### expect
+[]
+### end
+
+### nameref_reassign_target
+# Changing the target variable reflects through the nameref
+x=first
+declare -n ref=x
+echo "$ref"
+x=second
+echo "$ref"
+### expect
+first
+second
+### end

specs/009-implementation-status.md

@@ -107,13 +107,13 @@ Bashkit implements IEEE 1003.1-2024 Shell Command Language. See
 
 | Category | Cases | In CI | Pass | Skip | Notes |
 |----------|-------|-------|------|------|-------|
-| Bash (core) | 887 | Yes | 882 | 5 | `bash_spec_tests` in CI |
+| Bash (core) | 893 | Yes | 888 | 5 | `bash_spec_tests` in CI |
 | AWK | 96 | Yes | 96 | 0 | loops, arrays, -v, ternary, field assign, getline, %.6g |
 | Grep | 76 | Yes | 76 | 0 | -z, -r, -a, -b, -H, -h, -f, -P, --include, --exclude, binary detect |
 | Sed | 75 | Yes | 75 | 0 | hold space, change, regex ranges, -E |
 | JQ | 114 | Yes | 114 | 0 | reduce, walk, regex funcs, --arg/--argjson, combined flags, input/inputs, env |
 | Python | 57 | Yes | 57 | 0 | embedded Python (Monty) |
-| **Total** | **1305** | **Yes** | **1300** | **5** | |
+| **Total** | **1311** | **Yes** | **1306** | **5** | |
 
 ### Bash Spec Tests Breakdown
 
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ Bashkit implements IEEE 1003.1-2024 Shell Command Language. See
 | variables.test.sh | 86 | includes special vars, prefix env, PIPESTATUS, trap EXIT, `${var@Q}`, `\<newline>` line continuation, PWD/HOME/USER/HOSTNAME/BASH_VERSION/SECONDS, `set -x` xtrace, `shopt` builtin, nullglob |
 | wc.test.sh | 35 | word count (5 skipped) |
 | type.test.sh | 15 | `type`, `which`, `hash` builtins |
-| declare.test.sh | 10 | `declare`/`typeset`, `-i`, `-r`, `-x`, `-a`, `-p` |
+| declare.test.sh | 16 | `declare`/`typeset`, `-i`, `-r`, `-x`, `-a`, `-p`, `-n` nameref |
 | ln.test.sh | 5 | `ln -s`, `-f`, symlink creation |
 | eval-bugs.test.sh | 4 | regression tests for eval/script bugs |
 | script-exec.test.sh | 10 | script execution by path, $PATH search, exit codes |