Extract comma-delimited fields
Print the first and third fields from a CSV-like file.
bashANYcutcsvfields
bash
cut -d, -f1,3 users.csvNotes
`cut` is fast and simple for delimited text when quoting rules are uncomplicated.
Linux cut, sort, uniq, tr, paste, join, and comm Cheat Sheet
Column extraction, sorting, deduplication, character translation, file combining, and list comparison.
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Copy the compact sheet, download it, or print it.
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`D` dense toggle · `C` copy all
cut and paste
Extract and assemble delimited fields.
bash
cut -c1-8 ids.txtNotes
Character mode is handy for fixed-width text formats.
bash
cut -d, --complement -f2 users.csvNotes
Useful when one noisy column needs to be removed.
bash
paste names.txt emails.txtNotes
The nth line of each file is merged into a single output row.
bash
paste -d, names.txt emails.txtNotes
Useful for building ad hoc CSV-like output.
sort and uniq
Sort text and collapse duplicate lines.
bash
sort names.txtNotes
`sort` is often the first step before `uniq` or `comm`.
bash
sort -r names.txtNotes
Common when listing highest values or newest versions first.
bash
sort -n numbers.txtNotes
Without `-n`, numbers are compared lexicographically as strings.
bash
sort -h sizes.txtNotes
Great for commands like `du -h` and capacity reports.
bash
sort -k2,2 file.txtNotes
Field sorting is essential for tabular command output.
bash
sort -u names.txtNotes
Equivalent in effect to `sort | uniq` for many workflows.
bash
sort access.log | uniq -cNotes
Remember that `uniq` only collapses adjacent duplicates, so sorting first is common.
bash
sort file.txt | uniq -dNotes
Great for spotting repeated entries or duplicates in lists.
tr Translation and Character Operations
Translate, delete, and normalize characters.
Convert lowercase to uppercase
Translate characters from lower to upper case.
bashANYtrcaseuppercase
bash
tr '[:lower:]' '[:upper:]' < input.txtNotes
Character classes make case conversions portable.
bash
tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]' < input.txtNotes
Useful for normalization before comparison or counting.
bash
tr -d '0-9' < file.txtNotes
Character deletion is useful for quick sanitization tasks.
bash
tr '
' ' ' < lines.txtNotes
Useful when flattening simple lists into a single line of text.
bash
tr -s '
' < file.txtNotes
Can help normalize output before diffing or exporting.
join and comm
Compare two sorted files and merge common keys.
Join two files on a common field
Merge records based on matching first fields.
bashANYjoinmergesorted-files
bash
join users.txt departments.txtNotes
Both input files should usually be sorted on the join field first.
bash
join -1 2 -2 1 left.txt right.txtNotes
Use `-1` and `-2` to choose the join field in each file.
Show common lines between sorted files
Print only lines present in both files.
bashANYcommcomparecommon-lines
bash
comm -12 <(sort file1.txt) <(sort file2.txt)Notes
`comm` compares two sorted inputs and can suppress selected columns.
bash
comm -23 <(sort file1.txt) <(sort file2.txt)Notes
Useful for simple set-difference operations in shell scripts.
Show lines only in the second file
List lines unique to the second sorted file.
bashANYcommdifference
bash
comm -13 <(sort file1.txt) <(sort file2.txt)Notes
Great for comparing inventories, exports, or generated lists.
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