The paste command in Linux is a helpful tool for merging lines from multiple files. It takes input from multiple files and pastes the corresponding line together, separated by a delimiter. This command is very useful for merging columns of data from multiple files to a single file for processing further. In this article, I will demonstrate the details of the paste command in Linux with practical examples.
A. Description
The paste command in Linux can merge data from multiple files into a single file.
B. Syntax
The paste command in Linux takes OPTION and FILE (as an argument). The syntax for the paste command is given below.
paste [OPTION]... [FILE]...C. Options
Different options can be added to the syntax of the paste command to modify the command. Here, I have listed some valuable options below. Nevertheless, If you do not find your desired option here, you can look for it on the man (manual) page. To go to the man page, type the following command and press ENTER.
man pasteUseful Options
- -d/–delimiters=LIST: It reuses characters from LIST instead of TABs.
- -s/–serial: It pastes one file at a time instead of in a parallel manner.
- -z/–zero-terminated: This option merges files separated by a NULL character instead of a newline character.
- –help: It displays the help section and then exits.
- –version: It prints version information and exit.
Practical Examples of the “paste” Command in Linux
The paste command is used for working with multiple files. Moreover, the paste command in Linux has many practical applications and a few of them are outlined below. I will work with the following three files in this article: number, country, and currency.
Example 1: Merge Multiple Files in Parallel Using the “paste” Command in Linux
You can merge multiple files parallelly with the paste command in Linux. Here, I will merge the number, country, and currency files parallelly. To do so, follow the below procedures.
Steps to Follow >
➊ At first, open the Ubuntu Terminal.
➋ Then type the following command in the command prompt:
paste number country currency➌ Now, press the ENTER button.
Output >
The following image shows that the paste command has merged the number, country, and currency files parallelly.
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Example 2: Setting a Delimiter for Merging the Files Using the “paste” Command in Linux
You can set the delimiter you want while merging files using the -d option with the paste command in Linux. Here, I will set the delimiter “|” while merging the number, country, and currency files parallelly. To achieve so, follow the steps given below.
Steps to Follow >
➊ At first, open the Ubuntu Terminal.
➋ Then, copy the following command in the terminal.
paste -d "|" number country currency➌ Now, tap the ENTER button.
Output >
The following image shows that the paste command in Linux has merged the number, country, and currency files, parallelly setting the “|” (pipe) sign as a delimiter.
Example 3: Merge Multiple files in a Sequential Manner
By default, the paste command merges multiple files in a parallel manner. But you can easily merge multiple files sequentially using the -s option with the paste command in Linux. Here, I will merge the number, country, and currency files sequentially. To do this task, follow the below procedures.
Steps to Follow >
➊ At first, open the Ubuntu Terminal.
➋ Then, type the following command in the command prompt.
paste -s number country currency➌ Now, press the ENTER button.
Output >
The below image illustrates that I have merged the number, country, and currency files sequentially using the -s option with the paste command in Linux.
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Example 4: Combining Consecutive Lines of a File in a Single Line
You can print some consecutive lines in a single line using the hyphen symbol with the paste command. Besides, the number of hyphens will determine the number of consecutive lines displayed in a single line. Here, I want to print two consecutive lines of the country file in a single line of the terminal. Therefore, I will use two hyphens, “–” after the paste command. To do the same, follow the given instructions.
Steps to Follow >
➊ At first, open the Ubuntu Terminal.
➋ Then, copy the following command in the command prompt:
cat country | paste - -➌ Now, press the ENTER button.
Output >
Two consecutive lines of the country file are printed on the terminal using the double hyphen “–” after the paste command, as depicted in the following image.
Example 5: Combining the “paste” Command With Other Commands in Linux
You can use the paste command in Linux with other commands to increase productivity. Here, I will use the cut command with the paste command. Usually, the paste command needs two files. One file named number is given after the paste command, and a hyphen is mentioned after the number file. It will set the contents of the second file named country after (which will be sent from the cut command through the piping command) the contents of the number file. To do so, follow the below procedures.
Steps to Follow >
➊ At first, open the Ubuntu Terminal.
➋ Then, type the following command in the command prompt:
cut -d " " -f 1 country | paste number -➌ Now, press the ENTER button.
Output >
In the below image, you can see that I have used the paste command along with the cut command.
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Example 6: Display the Version of the “paste” Command in Linux
You can print the version information of the paste command currently running on your system. Here, I will display the version information of the paste command currently running in my system. To achieve so, follow the procedures below.
Steps to Follow >
➊ At first, open the Ubuntu Terminal.
➋ Then, copy the following command in the command prompt:
paste --version➌ Now, press the ENTER button.
Output >
The following image shows that I have displayed the version information of the paste command on the terminal.
Conclusion
In this article, I have demonstrated the process of merging lines from multiple files using the paste command in Linux. Therefore, I hope you’ll be competent enough to explore more things with the help of these practical examples.
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