SED(1)                                                             User Commands                                                            SED(1)

NAME

       sed - stream editor for filtering and transforming text

SYNOPSIS

       sed [OPTION]... {script-only-if-no-other-script} [input-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 pipe-
       line).  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

       -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.

       -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: <http://www.gnu.org/software/sed/>.  General help using GNU software: <http://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  tex-
       info 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  pat-
              tern 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.

       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 
  sequence  in  a  regular  expression
       matches the newline character, and similarly for a, 	, and other sequences.  The -E option switches to using extended regular expressions
       instead; the -E option 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, and Paolo Bonzini.  GNU sed home page:  <http://www.gnu.org/software/sed/>.   General  help
       using GNU software: <http://www.gnu.org/gethelp/>.  E-mail bug reports to: <bug-sed@gnu.org>.

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright (C) 2017 Free Software Foundation, Inc.  License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://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/sed-
       faq.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.

sed 4.4                                                            February 2017                                                            SED(1)