Build sed command

Build a sed command for a precise text replacement or line operation.

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ToolSed Command Builder
Input
Output
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Preview

How it works

A selected sed command combines an address, command letter, and escaped pattern or replacement. The preview shows the shell command without executing it.

  • The familiar s/old/new/g form replaces every match.
  • The file remains untouched until the command is run.

Worked example

Replace foo with bar, every match, in place, lines 2 to 5
Case insensitive with a line range
Input
											Find: foo
Replace: bar
Output
												Command: sed 's/foo/bar/g' FILENAME
Delimiter used: /
Flags used: g
Flags explained: g replaces every match on each line, not just the first.
Notes: Replace FILENAME with the path to your file. On macOS (BSD sed) -i needs an argument, use -i ' ' instead of -i.

When to use this

Release scripts, Unix pipelines, and migration recipes build sed commands.

Edge cases

  • A slash in a pattern needs escaping or another delimiter.
  • An ampersand in replacement text expands to the match unless escaped.
  • GNU and BSD sed differ in some appended flags.

References