sed = filename.txt | sed 'N;s/\n/\t/' > filename_number.txt

3 Responses to “Add Line Numbers”

• 1
  awhan
  July 16th, 2009 23:35

  could you kindly break down the ‘N;s/\n/\t/’ part … i understand you want to substitute \n with \t … what is the N; there for ?
  thanks in advance
• 2
  Binny V A
  July 17th, 2009 00:07

  The thing is – I don’t know either. I get the command from various sources – and if I find them useful, I post it here. Only if I need to change its working do I spend time to study it. I suggest you take a look at the manual pages – you’ll get it.
• 3
  Ian Ferguson
  August 30th, 2009 04:43

  As an easier alternative, you could also use “cat” with the “n” flag.

  cat -n filename > filename_number.txt

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