csplit(1)

CSPLIT(1)

User Commands

CSPLIT(1)

NAME

csplit - split a file into sections determined by context lines

SYNOPSIS

csplit [OPTION]... FILE PATTERN...

DESCRIPTION

Output pieces of FILE separated by PATTERN(s) to files 'xx00', 'xx01', ..., and output byte counts of each piece to standard output.

Read standard input if FILE is -

Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.

-b, --suffix-format=FORMAT: use sprintf FORMAT instead of %02d
-f, --prefix=PREFIX: use PREFIX instead of 'xx'
-k, --keep-files: do not remove output files on errors
--suppress-matched: suppress the lines matching PATTERN
-n, --digits=DIGITS: use specified number of digits instead of 2
-s, --quiet, --silent: do not print counts of output file sizes
-z, --elide-empty-files: suppress empty output files
--help: display this help and exit
--version: output version information and exit

Each PATTERN may be:

INTEGER: copy up to but not including specified line number
/REGEXP/[OFFSET]: copy up to but not including a matching line
%REGEXP%[OFFSET]: skip to, but not including a matching line
{INTEGER}: repeat the previous pattern specified number of times
{*}: repeat the previous pattern as many times as possible

A line OFFSET is an integer optionally preceded by '+' or '-'

AUTHOR

Written by Stuart Kemp and David MacKenzie.

Report bugs to: <bug-coreutils@gnu.org>.
Report any translation bugs to: <https://translationproject.org/team/>.
GNU coreutils home page: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
General help using GNU software: <https://www.gnu.org/gethelp/>

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2026 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.