{"id":286,"date":"2010-11-23T09:49:04","date_gmt":"2010-11-23T09:49:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scmgalaxy.com\/tutorials\/2010\/11\/23\/unix-sed-quick-reference\/"},"modified":"2019-10-20T04:20:18","modified_gmt":"2019-10-20T04:20:18","slug":"unix-sed-quick-reference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/unix-sed-quick-reference\/","title":{"rendered":"Sed command Web References & Cheatsheet"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"unix-sed-quick-reference\"<\/p>\n

UNIX SED Introduction<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00b7<\/span> <\/span><\/span>Sed is a \u201cnon-interactive\u201d stream-oriented editor. Since its an \u201cnon-interactive\u201d it can be used to automate editing.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7<\/span> <\/span><\/span>This allows you to edit multiple files, or to perform common editing operations without opening VI or emacs.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7<\/span> <\/span><\/span>Sed reads from a file or from its standard input and outputs to its standard output.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7<\/span> <\/span><\/span> Sed has two buffers which are called pattern buffer and hold buffer. Both are initially empty.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

UNIX Sed Working Method<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This is called as one execution cycle. Cycle continues till end of file\/input is reached.<\/span><\/p>\n

1.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>Read a entire line from stdin\/file.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

2.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>Removes any trailing newline.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

3.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>Places the line, in its pattern buffer.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

4.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>Modify the pattern buffer according to the supplied commands<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

5.<\/span> <\/span><\/span>Print the pattern buffer to stdout.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Printing Operation in Sed<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Linux Sed command allows you to print only specific lines based on the line number or pattern matches. \u201cp\u201d <\/strong>is a command for printing the data from the pattern buffer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Syntax:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

# sed -n ‘ADDRESS’p filename<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

# sed -n ‘\/PATTERN\/p’ filename<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Create the txt file sample.txt<\/strong> that will be used in all examples below.<\/span><\/p>\n

# cat sample.txt<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

1. Linux – Sysadmin, Scripting etc.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

2. Databases – Oracle, mySQL etc.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

3. Hardware<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

4. Security (Firewall, Network, Online Security etc)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

5. Storage<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

6. Cool gadgets and websites<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

7. Productivity (Too many technologies to explore)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

8. Website Design<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

9. Software Development<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

10.Windows- Sysadmin, reboot etc.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Sed Address Format 1: NUMBER<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This will only match Nth line in the input.<\/span><\/p>\n

#sed \u2013n \u2018N\u2019p filename<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

For example, 3p prints 3rd<\/sup> line of the input file sample.txt as below<\/span><\/p>\n

# sed -n ‘3’p thegeekstuff.txt<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

3. Hardware<\/span><\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n

Sed Address Format 2: NUMBER1~NUMBER2<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

M~N with \u201cp\u201d command prints every Nth line starting from line M.
\n<\/span>
\n# sed -n \u2018M~N\u2019p filename<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

For example, 3~2p prints every 2nd line starting from 3rd line as shown below.<\/span><\/p>\n

# sed -n '3~2'p thegeekstuff.txt<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
3. Hardware<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
5. Storage<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
7. Productivity (Too many technologies to explore)<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
9. Software Development<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
Sed Address Format 3: START,END<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
M,N with \u201cp\u201d command prints Mth line to Nth line.
\n<\/span>
\n# sed -n \u2018M,N\u2019p filename<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
For example, 4,8p prints from 4th line to 8th line from input file thegeekstuff.txt<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
# sed -n ‘4,8’p thegeekstuff.txt<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
4. Security (Firewall, Network, Online Security etc)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
5. Storage<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
6. Cool gadgets and websites<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
7. Productivity (Too many technologies to explore)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
8. Website Design<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
Sed Address Format 4: \u2018$\u2019 Last Line<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
$ with \u201cp\u201d command matches only the last line from the input.
\n<\/span>
\n# sed -n \u2018$\u2019p filename<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
For example, $p prints only the last line as shown below.<\/span><\/p>\n
# sed -n '\n\n
10.Windows- Sysadmin, reboot etc.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
 <\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
Sed Address Format 5: NUMBER,$<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
N,$ with \u201cp\u201d command prints from Nth line to end of file.
\n<\/span>
\n# sed -n \u2018N,$p\u2019 filename<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
For example 4,$p prints from 4th line to end of file.<\/span><\/p>\n
# sed -n '4,$p' thegeekstuff.txt<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
4. Security (Firewall, Network, Online Security etc)<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
5. Storage<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
6. Cool gadgets and websites<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
7. Productivity (Too many technologies to explore)<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
8. Website Design<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
9. Software Development<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
10.Windows- Sysadmin, reboot etc.<\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
Sed Pattern Format 1: PATTERN<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
PATTERN could be unix regular expression. The below command prints only the line which matches the given pattern.
\n<\/span>
\n# sed -n \/PATTERN\/p filename<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
For example, following prints the line only which matches the pattern \u201cSysadmin\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n
# sed -n \/Sysadmin\/p thegeekstuff.txt<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
1. Linux - Sysadmin, Scripting etc.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
10.Windows- Sysadmin, reboot etc.<\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
Sed Pattern Format 2: \/PATTERN\/,ADDRESS<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
# sed -n \u2018\/PATTERN\/,Np\u2019 filename<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
For example, following prints lines which matches the pattern to Nth line, from input. 3rd line matches the pattern \u201cHardware\u201d, so it prints from 3rd line to 6th line.<\/span><\/p>\n
# sed -n '\/Hardware\/,6p' thegeekstuff.txt<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
3. Hardware<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
4. Security (Firewall, Network, Online Security etc)<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
5. Storage<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
6. Cool gadgets and websites<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
Sed Pattern Format 3: ADDRESS,\/PATTERN\/<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
It prints from the Nth line of the input, to the line which matches the pattern. If the pattern doesnt match, it prints upto end of the input.
\n<\/span>
\n# sed -n \u2018N,\/PATTERN\/p\u2019 filename<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
For example, 4th line matches the pattern \u201cSecurity\u201d, so it prints from 3rd line to 4th line.<\/span><\/p>\n
# sed -n '3,\/Security\/p' thegeekstuff.txt<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
3. Hardware<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
4. Security (Firewall, Network, Online Security etc)<\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
Sed Pattern Format 4: \/PATTERN\/,$<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
It prints from the line matches the given pattern to end of file.
\n<\/span>
\n# sed -n \u2018\/PATTERN\/,$p\u2019 filename<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
# sed -n '\/Website\/,$p' thegeekstuff.txt<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
8. Website Design<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
9. Software Development<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
10.Windows- Sysadmin, reboot etc.<\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
Sed Pattern Format 5: \/PATTERN\/,+N<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
It prints the lines which matches the pattern and next N lines following the matched line.
\n<\/span>
\n# sed -n \u2018\/PATTERN\/,+Np\u2019 filename<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
For example, following prints the 5th line which matches the pattern \/Storage\/ and next two lines following \/Storage\/.<\/span><\/p>\n
# sed -n '\/Storage\/,+2p' thegeekstuff.txt<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
5. Storage<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
6. Cool gadgets and websites<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
7. Productivity (Too many technologies to explore)<\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
Sed Pattern Format 6: \/PATTERN\/,\/PATTERN\/<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
Prints the section of file between two regular expression (including the matched line ).
\n<\/span>
\n# sed -n \u2018\/P1\/,\/P2\/p\u2019 filename<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
For example, 5th line matches \u201cStorage\u201d and 8th line matches \u201cDesign\u201d, so it prints 5th to 8th.<\/span><\/p>\n
# sed -n '\/Storage\/,\/Design\/p' thegeekstuff.txt<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
5. Storage<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
6. Cool gadgets and websites<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
7. Productivity (Too many technologies to explore)<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
8. Website Design<\/span><\/em><\/pre>\n
Delete File Lines Using Address and pattern in Sed<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
\u201cp\u201d command prints the buffer (Remember to use \u201c-n\u201d option with \u201cp\u201d)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cd\u201d command is just opposite, it\u2019s for deletion. \u201cd\u201d will delete the pattern space buffer and immediately starts the next cycle.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Syntax:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
# sed 'ADDRESS'd filename<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
# sed \/PATTERN\/d filename<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
Delete the Nth line.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
\u201cNd\u201d delete the Nth line and prints the other lines.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
For example, 3d deletes 3rd<\/sup> line and prints other lines.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
 $sed 3d sample.txt<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Delete Starting from 3rd<\/sup> line and every 2nd<\/sup> line from there.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
 $sed \u20183~2d\u2019 sample.txt<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Delete from 4ht to 8th<\/sup> line from file<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
 $sed \u20184,8d\u2019 sample.txt<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Delete the last line from input<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
 $sed \u2018$d\u2019 sample.txt<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Delete the line which matches the given pattern from input<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
 $sed \/Sysadmin\/d sample.txt <\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Delete the line from which matches the given pattern to end of the file<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
 $sed \u2018\/Website\/ ,$d\u2019 sample.txt<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Delete the line from which matches the given pattern and 2 lines next to that<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
 $sed \u2018Storage\/ ,+2d\u2019 sample.txt<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Delete blank line from a file using sed.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
 $sed \u2018\/^$\/d\u2019 sample.txt<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
p thegeekstuff.txt<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
Sed Address Format 5: NUMBER,$<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
N,$ with \u201cp\u201d command prints from Nth line to end of file.
\n<\/span>
\n# sed -n \u2018N,$p\u2019 filename<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
For example 4,$p prints from 4th line to end of file.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
Sed Pattern Format 1: PATTERN<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
PATTERN could be unix regular expression. The below command prints only the line which matches the given pattern.
\n<\/span>
\n# sed -n \/PATTERN\/p filename<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
For example, following prints the line only which matches the pattern \u201cSysadmin\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
Sed Pattern Format 2: \/PATTERN\/,ADDRESS<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
# sed -n \u2018\/PATTERN\/,Np\u2019 filename<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
For example, following prints lines which matches the pattern to Nth line, from input. 3rd line matches the pattern \u201cHardware\u201d, so it prints from 3rd line to 6th line.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
Sed Pattern Format 3: ADDRESS,\/PATTERN\/<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
It prints from the Nth line of the input, to the line which matches the pattern. If the pattern doesnt match, it prints upto end of the input.
\n<\/span>
\n# sed -n \u2018N,\/PATTERN\/p\u2019 filename<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
For example, 4th line matches the pattern \u201cSecurity\u201d, so it prints from 3rd line to 4th line.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
Sed Pattern Format 4: \/PATTERN\/,$<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
It prints from the line matches the given pattern to end of file.
\n<\/span>
\n# sed -n \u2018\/PATTERN\/,$p\u2019 filename<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
Sed Pattern Format 5: \/PATTERN\/,+N<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
It prints the lines which matches the pattern and next N lines following the matched line.
\n<\/span>
\n# sed -n \u2018\/PATTERN\/,+Np\u2019 filename<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
For example, following prints the 5th line which matches the pattern \/Storage\/ and next two lines following \/Storage\/.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
Sed Pattern Format 6: \/PATTERN\/,\/PATTERN\/<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
Prints the section of file between two regular expression (including the matched line ).
\n<\/span>
\n# sed -n \u2018\/P1\/,\/P2\/p\u2019 filename<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
For example, 5th line matches \u201cStorage\u201d and 8th line matches \u201cDesign\u201d, so it prints 5th to 8th.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
<\/pre>\n
Delete File Lines Using Address and pattern in Sed<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
\u201cp\u201d command prints the buffer (Remember to use \u201c-n\u201d option with \u201cp\u201d)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cd\u201d command is just opposite, it\u2019s for deletion. \u201cd\u201d will delete the pattern space buffer and immediately starts the next cycle.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Syntax:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
# sed ‘ADDRESS’d filename<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
# sed \/PATTERN\/d filename<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
Delete the Nth line.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
\u201cNd\u201d delete the Nth line and prints the other lines.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
For example, 3d deletes 3rd<\/sup> line and prints other lines.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
 $sed 3d sample.txt<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Delete Starting from 3rd<\/sup> line and every 2nd<\/sup> line from there.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
 $sed \u20183~2d\u2019 sample.txt<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Delete from 4ht to 8th<\/sup> line from file<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
 $sed \u20184,8d\u2019 sample.txt<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Delete the last line from input<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
 $sed \u2018$d\u2019 sample.txt<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Delete the line which matches the given pattern from input<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
 $sed \/Sysadmin\/d sample.txt <\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Delete the line from which matches the given pattern to end of the file<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
 $sed \u2018\/Website\/ ,$d\u2019 sample.txt<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Delete the line from which matches the given pattern and 2 lines next to that<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
 $sed \u2018Storage\/ ,+2d\u2019 sample.txt<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Delete blank line from a file using sed.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
 $sed \u2018\/^$\/d\u2019 sample.txt<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNIX SED Introduction \u00b7 Sed is a \u201cnon-interactive\u201d stream-oriented editor. Since its an \u201cnon-interactive\u201d it can be used to automate editing. \u00b7 This allows you to edit multiple files, or… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[4957],"tags":[4084,2540,938,4080,169,4081,4088,4086,4082,4085,4083,4087],"class_list":["post-286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-linux","tag-introduction-of-unix-sed","tag-quick","tag-reference","tag-sed","tag-unix","tag-unix-sed","tag-unix-sed-command","tag-unix-sed-guide","tag-unix-sed-introduction","tag-unix-sed-overview","tag-unix-sed-working-method","tag-what-is-unix-sed"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7247,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286\/revisions\/7247"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}