Text Processing
column
Format input into multiple columns or aligned tables.
Synopsis
syntax
column [OPTION]... [FILE]...
Examples
Format mount output as aligned table
mount | column -t
Format CSV as aligned table
cat data.csv | column -t -s','
Tabulate colon-separated data
echo -e 'a:1:x\nb:2:y' | column -t -s:
Table with named columns
column -t -s'|' -N 'Name,Age,City' data.txt
Common options
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| -t | Create a table |
| -s | Specify delimiter |
| -o | Output column separator |
| -N | Specify column names |
| -J | JSON output |
About column
The `column` command format input into multiple columns or aligned tables. Text processing commands transform, format, and generate text output.
Linux's philosophy of small composable tools shines here — these commands are designed to be piped together to build complex text-processing workflows. They are indispensable for scripting, log analysis, and data transformation tasks.
The command accepts 5 commonly used flags shown above, though the full set of options is available in the man page (`man column`). The 4 examples on this page cover typical real-world usage patterns that you can copy and adapt for your own workflows.
Related commands
More Text Processing Commands
Other commands in the Text Processing category