SPLIT(1) User Commands SPLIT(1)
NAME
split - split a file into pieces
SYNOPSIS
split [OPTION]... [INPUT [PREFIX]]
DESCRIPTION
Output fixed-size pieces of INPUT to PREFIXaa, PREFIXab, ...; default size is 1000 lines, and default PREFIX
is 'x'. With no INPUT, or when INPUT is -, read standard input.
Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.
-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 lines per output file
-d, --numeric-suffixes[=FROM]
use numeric suffixes instead of alphabetic; FROM changes the start value (default 0)
-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 per output file
-n, --number=CHUNKS
generate CHUNKS output files; see explanation below
-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
SIZE is an integer and optional unit (example: 10M is 10*1024*1024). Units are K, M, G, T, P, E, Z, Y (powers
of 1024) or KB, MB, ... (powers of 1000).
CHUNKS may be: 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 l/K/N output Kth of N to stdout without splitting lines r/N
like 'l' but use round robin distribution r/K/N likewise but only output Kth of N to stdout
SEE ALSO
The full documentation for split is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If the info and split programs are prop‐
erly installed at your site, the command
info coreutils 'split invocation'
should give you access to the complete manual.
GNU coreutils 8.22 November 2016 SPLIT(1)
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