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sed(1)                            User Commands                           sed(1)




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

       --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''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.

       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
              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///''.

       \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 © 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.


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.



GNU sed 4.9                       November 2022                           sed(1)

sed 4.9 - Generated Thu Nov 10 18:32:29 CST 2022
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