packages icon



 SED(1)                          GNU sed 4.9                          SED(1)
 User Commands                                                 User Commands

                                November 2022



 NAME
      sed - stream editor for filtering and transforming text

 SYNOPSIS
      sed [-V] [--version] [--help] [-n] [--quiet] [--silent]
          [-l N] [--line-length=N] [-u] [--unbuffered]
          [-E] [-r] [--regexp-extended]
          [-e script] [--expression=script]
          [-f script-file] [--file=script-file]
          [script-if-no-other-script]
          [file...]

 DESCRIPTION
      Sed is a stream editor.  A stream editor is used to perform basic text
      transformations on an input stream (a file or input from a pipeline).
      While in some ways similar to an editor which permits scripted edits
      (such as ed), sed works by making only one pass over the input(s), and
      is consequently more efficient.  But it is sed's ability to filter
      text in a pipeline which particularly distinguishes it from other
      types of editors.

      -n, --quiet, --silent

           suppress automatic printing of pattern space

      --debug

           annotate program execution

      -e script, --expression=,script/

           add the script to the commands to be executed

      -f script-file, --file=,script-file/

           add the contents of script-file to the commands to be executed

      --follow-symlinks

           follow symlinks when processing in place

      -i[SUFFIX], --in-place[=,SUFFIX/]

           edit files in place (makes backup if SUFFIX supplied)

      -l N, --line-length=,N/

           specify the desired line-wrap length for the `l' command




                                    - 1 -        Formatted:  October 7, 2024






 SED(1)                          GNU sed 4.9                          SED(1)
 User Commands                                                 User Commands

                                November 2022



      --posix

           disable all GNU extensions.

      -E, -r, --regexp-extended

           use extended regular expressions in the script (for portability
           use POSIX -E).

      -s, --separate

           consider files as separate rather than as a single, continuous
           long stream.

      --sandbox

           operate in sandbox mode (disable e/r/w commands).

      -u, --unbuffered

           load minimal amounts of data from the input files and flush the
           output buffers more often

      -z, --null-data

           separate lines by NUL characters

      --help
           display this help and exit

      --version
           output version information and exit

      If no -e, --expression, -f, or --file option is given, then the first
      non-option argument is taken as the sed script to interpret.  All
      remaining arguments are names of input files; if no input files are
      specified, then the standard input is read.

      GNU sed home page: <https://www.gnu.org/software/sed/>.  General help
      using GNU software: <https://www.gnu.org/gethelp/>.  E-mail bug
      reports to: <bug-sed@gnu.org>.

 COMMAND SYNOPSIS
      This is just a brief synopsis of sed commands to serve as a reminder
      to those who already know sed; other documentation (such as the
      texinfo document) must be consulted for fuller descriptions.


      Zero-address ``commands''



                                    - 2 -        Formatted:  October 7, 2024






 SED(1)                          GNU sed 4.9                          SED(1)
 User Commands                                                 User Commands

                                November 2022



      : label
           Label for b and t commands.

      #comment
           The comment extends until the next newline (or the end of a -e
           script fragment).

      }    The closing bracket of a { } block.


      Zero- or One- address commands

      =    Print the current line number.

      a \

      text Append text, which has each embedded newline preceded by a
           backslash.

      i \

      text Insert text, which has each embedded newline preceded by a
           backslash.

      q [exit-code]
           Immediately quit the sed script without processing any more
           input, except that if auto-print is not disabled the current
           pattern space will be printed.  The exit code argument is a GNU
           extension.

      Q [exit-code]
           Immediately quit the sed script without processing any more
           input.  This is a GNU extension.

      r filename
           Append text read from filename.

      R filename
           Append a line read from filename.  Each invocation of the command
           reads a line from the file.  This is a GNU extension.


      Commands which accept address ranges

      {    Begin a block of commands (end with a }).

      b label
           Branch to label; if label is omitted, branch to end of script.




                                    - 3 -        Formatted:  October 7, 2024






 SED(1)                          GNU sed 4.9                          SED(1)
 User Commands                                                 User Commands

                                November 2022



      c \

      text Replace the selected lines with text, which has each embedded
           newline preceded by a backslash.

      d    Delete pattern space.  Start next cycle.

      D    If pattern space contains no newline, start a normal new cycle as
           if the d command was issued.  Otherwise, delete text in the
           pattern space up to the first newline, and restart cycle with the
           resultant pattern space, without reading a new line of input.

      h H  Copy/append pattern space to hold space.

      g G  Copy/append hold space to pattern space.

      l    List out the current line in a ``visually unambiguous'' form.

      l width
           List out the current line in a ``visually unambiguous'' form,
           breaking it at width characters.  This is a GNU extension.

      n N  Read/append the next line of input into the pattern space.

      p    Print the current pattern space.

      P    Print up to the first embedded newline of the current pattern
           space.

      s/regexp/replacement/
           Attempt to match regexp against the pattern space.  If
           successful, replace that portion matched with replacement.  The
           replacement may contain the special character & to refer to that
           portion of the pattern space which matched, and the special
           escapes \1 through \9 to refer to the corresponding matching
           sub-expressions in the regexp.

      t label
           If a s/// has done a successful substitution since the last input
           line was read and since the last t or T command, then branch to
           label; if label is omitted, branch to end of script.

      T label
           If no s/// has done a successful substitution since the last
           input line was read and since the last t or T command, then
           branch to label; if label is omitted, branch to end of script.
           This is a GNU extension.

      w filename



                                    - 4 -        Formatted:  October 7, 2024






 SED(1)                          GNU sed 4.9                          SED(1)
 User Commands                                                 User Commands

                                November 2022



           Write the current pattern space to filename.

      W filename
           Write the first line of the current pattern space to filename.
           This is a GNU extension.

      x    Exchange the contents of the hold and pattern spaces.

      y/source/dest/
           Transliterate the characters in the pattern space which appear in
           source to the corresponding character in dest.


      Addresses Sed commands can be given with no addresses, in which case
      the command will be executed for all input lines; with one address, in
      which case the command will only be executed for input lines which
      match that address; or with two addresses, in which case the command
      will be executed for all input lines which match the inclusive range
      of lines starting from the first address and continuing to the second
      address.  Three things to note about address ranges: the syntax is
      addr1,addr2 (i.e., the addresses are separated by a comma); the line
      which addr1 matched will always be accepted, even if addr2 selects an
      earlier line; and if addr2 is a regexp, it will not be tested against
      the line that addr1 matched.

      After the address (or address-range), and before the command, a ! may
      be inserted, which specifies that the command shall only be executed
      if the address (or address-range) does not match.

      The following address types are supported:

      number
           Match only the specified line number (which increments
           cumulatively across files, unless the -s option is specified on
           the command line).

      first~step
           Match every step'th line starting with line first.  For example,
           ``sed -n 1~2p'' will print all the odd-numbered lines in the
           input stream, and the address 2~5 will match every fifth line,
           starting with the second.  first can be zero; in this case, sed
           operates as if it were equal to step.  (This is an extension.)

      $    Match the last line.

      /regexp/
           Match lines matching the regular expression regexp.  Matching is
           performed on the current pattern space, which can be modified
           with commands such as ``s///''.



                                    - 5 -        Formatted:  October 7, 2024






 SED(1)                          GNU sed 4.9                          SED(1)
 User Commands                                                 User Commands

                                November 2022



      \cregexpc
           Match lines matching the regular expression regexp.  The c may be
           any character.

      GNU sed also supports some special 2-address forms:

      0,addr2
           Start out in "matched first address" state, until addr2 is found.
           This is similar to 1,addr2, except that if addr2 matches the very
           first line of input the 0,addr2 form will be at the end of its
           range, whereas the 1,addr2 form will still be at the beginning of
           its range.  This works only when addr2 is a regular expression.

      addr1,+N
           Will match addr1 and the N lines following addr1.

      addr1,~N
           Will match addr1 and the lines following addr1 until the next
           line whose input line number is a multiple of N.

 REGULAR EXPRESSIONS
      POSIX.2 BREs should be supported, but they aren't completely because
      of performance problems.  The \n sequence in a regular expression
      matches the newline character, and similarly for \a, \t, and other
      sequences.  The -E option switches to using extended regular
      expressions instead; it has been supported for years by GNU sed, and
      is now included in POSIX.

 BUGS
      E-mail bug reports to bug-sed@gnu.org.  Also, please include the
      output of ``sed --version'' in the body of your report if at all
      possible.

 AUTHOR
      Written by Jay Fenlason, Tom Lord, Ken Pizzini, Paolo Bonzini, Jim
      Meyering, and Assaf Gordon.

      This sed program was built without SELinux support.

      GNU sed home page: <https://www.gnu.org/software/sed/>.  General help
      using GNU software: <https://www.gnu.org/gethelp/>.  E-mail bug
      reports to: <bug-sed@gnu.org>.

 COPYRIGHT
      Copyright c 2022 Free Software Foundation, Inc.  License GPLv3+: GNU
      GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
      This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
      There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.




                                    - 6 -        Formatted:  October 7, 2024






 SED(1)                          GNU sed 4.9                          SED(1)
 User Commands                                                 User Commands

                                November 2022



 SEE ALSO
      awk(1), ed(1), grep(1), tr(1), perlre(1), sed.info, any of various
      books on sed, the sed FAQ
      (http://sed.sf.net/grabbag/tutorials/sedfaq.txt),
      http://sed.sf.net/grabbag/.

      The full documentation for sed is maintained as a Texinfo manual.  If
      the info and sed programs are properly installed at your site, the
      command

           info sed

      should give you access to the complete manual.







































                                    - 7 -        Formatted:  October 7, 2024