paste

Merge corresponding or subsequent lines of files

Syntax
       paste [-s] [-d list] file ...

Options
     -d list     Use one or more of the provided characters to replace the
                 newline characters instead of the default tab.  The charac-
                 ters in list are used circularly, i.e., when list is exhaust-
                 ed the first character from list is reused.  This continues
                 until a line from the last input file (in default operation)
                 or the last line in each file (using the -s option) is dis-
                 played, at which time paste begins selecting characters from
                 the beginning of list again.

                 The following special characters can also be used in list:

                 \n    newline character
                 \t    tab character
                 \\    backslash character
                 \0    Empty string (not a null character).

                 Any other character preceded by a backslash is equivalent to
                 the character itself.

     -s          Concatenate all of the lines of each separate input file in
                 command line order.  The newline character of every line ex-
                 cept the last line in each input file is replaced with the
                 tab character, unless otherwise specified by the -d option.

If '-' is specified for one or more of the input files, the standard input is used; standard input is read one line at a time, circularly, for each instance of '-'.

paste exits 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs.

Examples

Combines the lines from two files:

$ paste file1.txt file2.txt > result.txt

List the files in the current directory in three columns:

ls | paste - - -

Combine pairs of lines from a file into single lines:

paste -s -d '\t\n' myfile

Number the lines in a file, similar to nl:

sed = myfile | paste -s -d '\t\n' - -

Create a colon-separated list of directories named bin, suitable for use in the PATH environment variable:

find / -name bin -type d | paste -s -d : -

“I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine marriage and a career” ~ Gloria Steinem

Related macOS commands

cut - Divide a file into several parts.
fmt - Reformat paragraph text.
fold - Wrap input lines to fit in specified width.
head - Output the first part of file(s).
join - Join lines on a common field.


 
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