I'm building a one liner in bash.If making a script or writing temp files were an option, I wouldn't need to ask.I need to assign a variable in the middle of a set of pipes to use down the line.    cat list | awk '{print $1.modifications_to_name' | (capture $NAME and pass $NAME down pipe) \    | checkStatus | grep pertinentinfo | cleanupFormatOfPertinentInfo | sendAlert $NAME
How to assign a variable within a pipe
bash;shell script;pipe;environment variables
Disregarding that your awk is missing a brace, and assuming list contains a single line, why not: NAME=$( cat list | awk '{print $1.modifications_to_name') && checkStatus | grep pertinentinfo | cleanupFormatOfPertinentInfo | sendAlert $NAMEIf you want to iterate through a list with multiple lines and have name evaluate to something different each time:while read NAME; do checkStatus | grep pertinentinfo | cleanupFormatOfPertinentInfo | sendAlert $NAME ; done < <(cat list | awk '{print $1.modifications_to_name')This seems like an X Y question though.