title: How can I split a shell command over multiple lines when using an IF statement?
body: <p>How can I split a command over multiple lines in the shell, when the command is part of an <code>if</code> statement?</p>
  
  <p>This works: </p>
  
  <pre><code>if ! fab --fabfile=.deploy/fabfile.py --forward-agent --disable-known-hosts deploy:$target; then rc=1                                                                       
  fi
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>This doesn't work: </p>
  
  <pre><code># does not work:
  if ! fab --fabfile=.deploy/fabfile.py \ 
    --forward-agent \
    --disable-known-hosts deploy:$target; then   
    rc=1
  fi
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Instead of the whole command executing, I get:</p>
  
  <pre><code>./script.sh: line 73: --forward-agent: command not found
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>More importantly, what is missing from my understanding of Bash that will help me understand this and similar issues in the future?</p>