cut

cut is a command-line utility used to extract sections from each line of input, usually from a file. It is commonly used to extract specific columns or fields from text files.

Basic Syntax

cut [options] [file...]

Commonly Used Options

-b list: Select only the bytes specified in list.
-c list: Select only the characters specified in list.
-d delim: Use delim as the field delimiter character instead of the default tab.
-f list: Select only the fields specified in list.
-n: Do not split multi-byte characters (used with -b).
--complement: Complement the selection, i.e., select all bytes, characters, or fields except those specified.
--output-delimiter=string: Use string as the output delimiter.

Examples

Basic Usage

Extract the first 10 characters of each line in a file:

cut -c 1-10 file.txt

Extract Specific Fields

Extract the second and third fields from a file, using a comma as the field delimiter:

cut -d ',' -f 2,3 file.csv

Extract Specific Bytes

Extract the first 5 bytes of each line in a file:

cut -b 1-5 file.txt

Complement Selection

Extract all fields except the first and second, using a tab as the field delimiter:

cut -d $'\t' --complement -f 1,2 file.txt

Using Output Delimiter

Extract the first and third fields and use a semicolon as the output delimiter:

cut -d ',' -f 1,3 --output-delimiter=';' file.csv

Extract Fields with Multiple Delimiters

Extract the first field using a space as the delimiter:

cut -d ' ' -f 1 file.txt

Extract Fields from Standard Input

Extract the second field from the input provided by echo:

echo "one two three" | cut -d ' ' -f 2

Conclusion

cut is a versatile tool for extracting specific sections from lines of text files. Understanding its options allows for efficient and powerful text extraction directly from the command line.

Last modified: 14 December 2024