sed
Stream editor for filtering and transforming text using pattern-based rules.
Synopsis
sed [OPTION]... 'SCRIPT' [FILE]...
Examples
sed 's/old/new/g' file.txt
sed -i 's/foo/bar/g' *.txt
sed -n '10,20p' file.txt
sed '/^#/d' config.txt
sed -E 's/[0-9]+/NUM/g' file.txt
Common options
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| -i | Edit files in place |
| -n | Suppress automatic output |
| -e | Add script expression |
| -E, -r | Use extended regex |
| -f | Read script from file |
About sed
The `sed` command stream editor for filtering and transforming text using pattern-based rules. Text viewing and editing commands are fundamental tools in any Linux user's toolkit.
Linux treats almost everything as a file, so the ability to quickly inspect, filter, transform, and edit file contents from the command line is critical. These commands are regularly combined with pipes and redirects to build powerful data-processing pipelines.
The command accepts 5 commonly used flags shown above, though the full set of options is available in the man page (`man sed`). The 5 examples on this page cover typical real-world usage patterns that you can copy and adapt for your own workflows.
Related commands
More File Viewing & Editing Commands
Other commands in the File Viewing & Editing category