I have a multi-step check before deciding whether to execute some code. In words: “The code should be executed, if a guard file does not exist, and there are no files newer than a guard file.”

I tried to express this as follows:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -e -E -u -o pipefail
if (
    test -e ".guard"
    echo "Checking for changed source files..."
    find src -newer ".guard" -exec false ; -quit 
) then
    echo Building...
fi

set -e means, that the first failing command should fail the shell. set -E means, that subshells should inherit the behavior. And yet, even when .guard does not exist, the echo is executed.

Even more so, set -e seems to be ignored even if set in the condition-subshell.

>>> if(set -e; echo 0; false; echo 1;); then echo 2; else echo 3; fi
0
1
2

Why does this happen?