CSPLIT(1) General Commands Manual CSPLIT(1)

# [NAME](#NAME)

csplit - Split a file into sections determined by context lines

# [SYNOPSIS](#SYNOPSIS)

**csplit** \[OPTION]... FILE PATTERN...

# [DESCRIPTION](#DESCRIPTION)

Split a file into sections determined by context lines

# [OPTIONS](#OPTIONS)

[**-b**, **--suffix-format** *<FORMAT>*](#b)

use sprintf FORMAT instead of %02d

[**-f**, **--prefix** *<PREFIX>*](#f)

use PREFIX instead of 'xx'

[**-k**, **--keep-files**](#k)

do not remove output files on errors

[**--suppress-matched**](#suppress)

suppress the lines matching PATTERN

[**-n**, **--digits** *<DIGITS>*](#n)

use specified number of digits instead of 2

[**-q**, **--quiet**](#q)

do not print counts of output file sizes

[**-z**, **--elide-empty-files**](#z)

remove empty output files

[**-h**, **--help**](#h)

Print help

[**-V**, **--version**](#V)

Print version

# [EXTRA](#EXTRA)

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

# [VERSION](#VERSION)

v(uutils coreutils) 0.12.0

2026-09-17

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Document: csplit(1) from uutils 0.12.0-r0 (Chainguard OS)
Source: https://github.com/uutils/coreutils