Separator unmatched when using example hash

[meow]

Quoting only needs to happen on the outside of the string:



'blah$blah$blah'

So I guess this is why I see so many people use a file for hash input, even if they only have a single hash to work on.

At one point, I did actually try enclosing the whole string in double quotes rather than single quotes (coming from a Windows world). That was very close, but not quite adequate. So I went on to read about single vs. double quotes and why my method failed, and I came across this explanation at GeeksForGeeks.org:

Single quotes:

Enclosing characters in single quotation marks (‘) holds onto the literal value of each character within the quotes.  In simpler words, the shell will interpret the enclosed text within single quotes literally and will not interpolate anything including variables, backticks, certain \ escapes, etc. No character in the single quote has special meaning. This is convenient when you do not want to use the escape characters to change the way the bash interprets the input string.

Double quotes:

Double quotes are similar to single quotes except that it allows the shell to interpret dollar sign ($), backtick(`), backslash(\) and exclamation mark(!). The characters have special meaning when used with double quotes, and before display, they are evaluated. A double quote may be used within double quotes by preceding it with a backslash.

Today I learned something that goes well beyond the realm of Hashcat. Much appreciated. Thank you!