CUT(1) BSD General Commands Manual CUT(1)
NAME
cut -- select portions of each line of a file
SYNOPSIS
cut -b list [-n] [file ...]
cut -c list [file ...]
cut -f list [-d delim] [-s] [file ...]
DESCRIPTION
The cut utility selects portions of each line (as specified by list) from each file and writes them to the standard output. If no file argu-
ments are specified, or a file argument is a single dash ('-'), cut reads from from the standard input. The items specified by list can be
in terms of column position or in terms of fields delimited by a special character. Column numbering starts from 1.
The list option argument is a comma or whitespace separated set of increasing numbers and/or number ranges. Number ranges consist of a num-
ber, a dash ('-'), and a second number and select the fields or columns from the first number to the second, inclusive. Numbers or number
ranges may be preceded by a dash, which selects all fields or columns from 1 to the first number. Numbers or number ranges may be followed
by a dash, which selects all fields or columns from the last number to the end of the line. Numbers and number ranges may be repeated, over-
lapping, and in any order. It is not an error to select fields or columns not present in the input line.
The options are as follows:
-b list
The list specifies byte positions.
-c list
The list specifies character positions.
-d delim
Use the first character of delim as the field delimiter character instead of the tab character.
-f list
The list specifies fields, delimited in the input by a single tab character. Output fields are separated by a single tab character.
-n Do not split multi-byte characters.
-s Suppress lines with no field delimiter characters. Unless specified, lines with no delimiters are passed through unmodified.
ENVIRONMENT
The LANG, LC_ALL and LC_CTYPE environment variables affect the execution of cut if the -n option is specified. Their effect is described in
environ(7).
EXAMPLES
Extract users' login names and shells from the system passwd(5) file as ``name:shell'' pairs:
cut -d : -f 1,7 /etc/passwd
Show the names and login times of the currently logged in users:
who | cut -c 1-16,26-38
DIAGNOSTICS
The cut utility exits 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs.
SEE ALSO
paste(1)
STANDARDS
The cut utility conforms to IEEE Std 1003.2-1992 (``POSIX.2'').
HISTORY
A cut command appeared in AT&T System III UNIX.
BUGS
The -c option is a synonym for the -b option, which causes incorrect behaviour in locales that support multibyte characters.
When operating on fields (-f option is specified), cut does not recognise multibyte characters, and the delim character is recognised in the
middle of multibyte sequences.
BSD
June 6, 1993 BSD