2.5 KiB
Executable File
2.5 KiB
Executable File
The split command
The split command in Linux is used to split a file into smaller files.
Examples
- Split a file into a smaller file using file name
split filename.txt
- Split a file named filename into segments of 200 lines beginning with prefix file
split -l 200 filename file
This will create files of the name fileaa, fileab, fileac, filead, etc. of 200 lines.
- Split a file named filename into segments of 40 bytes with prefix file
split -b 40 filename file
This will create files of the name fileaa, fileab, fileac, filead, etc. of 40 bytes.
- Split a file using --verbose to see the files being created.
split filename.txt --verbose
Syntax:
split [options] filename [prefix]
Additional Flags and their Functionalities
| Short Flag | Long Flag | Description |
|---|---|---|
-a |
--suffix-length=N |
Generate suffixes of length N (default 2) |
--additional-suffix=SUFFIX |
Append an additional SUFFIX to file names | |
-b |
--bytes=SIZE |
Put SIZE bytes per output file |
-C |
--line-bytes=SIZE |
Put at most SIZE bytes of records per output file |
-d |
Use numeric suffixes starting at 0, not alphabetic | |
--numeric-suffixes[=FROM] |
Same as -d, but allow setting the start value | |
-x |
Use hex suffixes starting at 0, not alphabetic | |
--hex-suffixes[=FROM] |
Same as -x, but allow setting the start value | |
-e |
--elide-empty-files |
Do not generate empty output files with '-n' |
--filter=COMMAND |
Write to shell COMMAND; file name is $FILE |
|
-l |
--lines=NUMBER |
Put NUMBER lines/records per output file |
-n |
--number=CHUNKS |
Generate CHUNKS output files; see explanation below |
-t |
--separator=SEP |
Use SEP instead of newline as the record separator; '\0' (zero) specifies the NUL character |
-u |
--unbuffered |
Immediately copy input to output with '-n r/...' |
--verbose |
Print a diagnostic just before each output file is opened |
|
--help |
Display this help and exit | |
--version |
Output version information and exit |
The SIZE argument is an integer and optional unit (example: 10K is 10*1024). Units are K,M,G,T,P,E,Z,Y (powers of 1024) or KB,MB,... (powers of 1000).
CHUNKS may be:
| CHUNKS | Description |
|---|---|
N |
Split into N files based on size of input |
K/N |
Output Kth of N to stdout |
l/N |
Split into N files without splitting lines/records |
l/K/N |
Output Kth of N to stdout without splitting lines/records |
r/N |
Like 'l' but use round robin distribution |
r/K/N |
Likewise but only output Kth of N to stdout |