1SED(1) User Commands SED(1)
2
6 sed - stream editor for filtering and transforming text
7
9 sed [OPTION]... {script-only-if-no-other-script} [input-file]...
10
12 Sed is a stream editor. A stream editor is used to perform basic text
13 transformations on an input stream (a file or input from a pipeline).
14 While in some ways similar to an editor which permits scripted edits
15 (such as ed), sed works by making only one pass over the input(s), and
16 is consequently more efficient. But it is sed's ability to filter text
17 in a pipeline which particularly distinguishes it from other types of
18 editors.
19 -n, --quiet, --silent
21 suppress automatic printing of pattern space
23 -e script, --expression=script
25 add the script to the commands to be executed
27 -f script-file, --file=script-file
29 add the contents of script-file to the commands to be executed
31 --follow-symlinks
33 follow symlinks when processing in place
35 -i[SUFFIX], --in-place[=SUFFIX]
37 edit files in place (makes backup if SUFFIX supplied)
39 -c, --copy
41 use copy instead of rename when shuffling files in -i mode
43 -b, --binary
45 does nothing; for compatibility with WIN32/CYGWIN/MSDOS/EMX (
47 open files in binary mode (CR+LFs are not treated specially))
48 -l N, --line-length=N
50 specify the desired line-wrap length for the `l' command
52 --posix
54 disable all GNU extensions.
56 -r, --regexp-extended
58 use extended regular expressions in the script.
60 -s, --separate
62 consider files as separate rather than as a single continuous
64 long stream.
65 -u, --unbuffered
67 load minimal amounts of data from the input files and flush the
69 output buffers more often
70 -z, --null-data
72 separate lines by NUL characters
74 --help
76 display this help and exit
78 --version
80 output version information and exit
82 If no -e, --expression, -f, or --file option is given, then the first
84 non-option argument is taken as the sed script to interpret. All
85 remaining arguments are names of input files; if no input files are
86 specified, then the standard input is read.
87 GNU sed home page: <http://www.gnu.org/software/sed/>. General help
89 using GNU software: <http://www.gnu.org/gethelp/>. E-mail bug reports
90 to: <bug-sed@gnu.org>. Be sure to include the word ``sed'' somewhere
91 in the ``Subject:'' field.
92
94 This is just a brief synopsis of sed commands to serve as a reminder to
95 those who already know sed; other documentation (such as the texinfo
96 document) must be consulted for fuller descriptions.
97 Zero-address ``commands''
99 : label
100 Label for b and t commands.
101 #comment
103 The comment extends until the next newline (or the end of a -e
104 script fragment).
105 } The closing bracket of a { } block.
107 Zero- or One- address commands
109 = Print the current line number.
110 a \
112 text Append text, which has each embedded newline preceded by a back‐
114 slash.
115 i \
117 text Insert text, which has each embedded newline preceded by a back‐
119 slash.
120 q [exit-code]
122 Immediately quit the sed script without processing any more
123 input, except that if auto-print is not disabled the current
124 pattern space will be printed. The exit code argument is a GNU
125 extension.
126 Q [exit-code]
128 Immediately quit the sed script without processing any more
129 input. This is a GNU extension.
130 r filename
132 Append text read from filename.
133 R filename
135 Append a line read from filename. Each invocation of the com‐
136 mand reads a line from the file. This is a GNU extension.
137 Commands which accept address ranges
139 { Begin a block of commands (end with a }).
140 b label
142 Branch to label; if label is omitted, branch to end of script.
143 c \
145 text Replace the selected lines with text, which has each embedded
147 newline preceded by a backslash.
148 d Delete pattern space. Start next cycle.
150 D If pattern space contains no newline, start a normal new cycle
152 as if the d command was issued. Otherwise, delete text in the
153 pattern space up to the first newline, and restart cycle with
154 the resultant pattern space, without reading a new line of
155 input.
156 h H Copy/append pattern space to hold space.
158 g G Copy/append hold space to pattern space.
160 l List out the current line in a ``visually unambiguous'' form.
162 l width
164 List out the current line in a ``visually unambiguous'' form,
165 breaking it at width characters. This is a GNU extension.
166 n N Read/append the next line of input into the pattern space.
168 p Print the current pattern space.
170 P Print up to the first embedded newline of the current pattern
172 space.
173 s/regexp/replacement/
175 Attempt to match regexp against the pattern space. If success‐
176 ful, replace that portion matched with replacement. The
177 replacement may contain the special character & to refer to that
178 portion of the pattern space which matched, and the special
179 escapes \1 through \9 to refer to the corresponding matching
180 sub-expressions in the regexp.
181 t label
183 If a s/// has done a successful substitution since the last
184 input line was read and since the last t or T command, then
185 branch to label; if label is omitted, branch to end of script.
186 T label
188 If no s/// has done a successful substitution since the last
189 input line was read and since the last t or T command, then
190 branch to label; if label is omitted, branch to end of script.
191 This is a GNU extension.
192 w filename
194 Write the current pattern space to filename.
195 W filename
197 Write the first line of the current pattern space to filename.
198 This is a GNU extension.
199 x Exchange the contents of the hold and pattern spaces.
201 y/source/dest/
203 Transliterate the characters in the pattern space which appear
204 in source to the corresponding character in dest.
205
207 Sed commands can be given with no addresses, in which case the command
208 will be executed for all input lines; with one address, in which case
209 the command will only be executed for input lines which match that
210 address; or with two addresses, in which case the command will be exe‐
211 cuted for all input lines which match the inclusive range of lines
212 starting from the first address and continuing to the second address.
213 Three things to note about address ranges: the syntax is addr1,addr2
214 (i.e., the addresses are separated by a comma); the line which addr1
215 matched will always be accepted, even if addr2 selects an earlier line;
216 and if addr2 is a regexp, it will not be tested against the line that
217 addr1 matched.
218 After the address (or address-range), and before the command, a ! may
220 be inserted, which specifies that the command shall only be executed if
221 the address (or address-range) does not match.
222 The following address types are supported:
224 number Match only the specified line number (which increments cumula‐
226 tively across files, unless the -s option is specified on the
227 command line).
228 first~step
230 Match every step'th line starting with line first. For example,
231 ``sed -n 1~2p'' will print all the odd-numbered lines in the
232 input stream, and the address 2~5 will match every fifth line,
233 starting with the second. first can be zero; in this case, sed
234 operates as if it were equal to step. (This is an extension.)
235 $ Match the last line.
237 /regexp/
239 Match lines matching the regular expression regexp.
240 \cregexpc
242 Match lines matching the regular expression regexp. The c may
243 be any character.
244 GNU sed also supports some special 2-address forms:
246 0,addr2
248 Start out in "matched first address" state, until addr2 is
249 found. This is similar to 1,addr2, except that if addr2 matches
250 the very first line of input the 0,addr2 form will be at the end
251 of its range, whereas the 1,addr2 form will still be at the
252 beginning of its range. This works only when addr2 is a regular
253 expression.
254 addr1,+N
256 Will match addr1 and the N lines following addr1.
257 addr1,~N
259 Will match addr1 and the lines following addr1 until the next
260 line whose input line number is a multiple of N.
261
263 POSIX.2 BREs should be supported, but they aren't completely because of
264 performance problems. The \n sequence in a regular expression matches
265 the newline character, and similarly for \a, \t, and other sequences.
266
268 E-mail bug reports to bug-sed@gnu.org. Also, please include the output
269 of ``sed --version'' in the body of your report if at all possible.
270
272 Written by Jay Fenlason, Tom Lord, Ken Pizzini, and Paolo Bonzini. GNU
273 sed home page: <http://www.gnu.org/software/sed/>. General help using
274 GNU software: <http://www.gnu.org/gethelp/>. E-mail bug reports to:
275 <bug-sed@gnu.org>. Be sure to include the word ``sed'' somewhere in
276 the ``Subject:'' field.
277
279 Copyright © 2012 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU
280 GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
281 This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
282 There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
283
285 awk(1), ed(1), grep(1), tr(1), perlre(1), sed.info, any of various
286 books on sed, the sed FAQ (http://sed.sf.net/grabbag/tutorials/sed‐
287 faq.txt), http://sed.sf.net/grabbag/.
288 The full documentation for sed is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If
290 the info and sed programs are properly installed at your site, the com‐
291 mand
292 info sed
294 should give you access to the complete manual.
296sed 4.2.2 June 2014 SED(1)