The Linux cut Command: Extracting Columns Precisely

I had a 10GB CSV file and needed just column 5. Loading into Excel wasn't an option. "Use cut," my colleague said. Three minutes later, I had my data. Let me share what I learned.

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First cut Commands

Extract by character

cut -c 1-10 file.txt

Characters 1-10.

Extract by field

cut -f 1 file.txt

First field (tab-separated).

Delimiter

cut -d',' -f 1 file.csv

First field, comma-separated.

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cut Commands That Work

Multiple fields

cut -d',' -f 1,3,5 file.csv

Fields 1, 3, 5.

Range

cut -d',' -f 1-3 file.csv

Fields 1 through 3.

Suppress no delimiter

cut -s -d',' -f 1 file.csv

Skip lines without delimiter.

Output delimiter

cut -d',' -f 1,2 --output-delimiter='|' file.csv

Replace output delimiter.

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The cut Command Builder

Building cut commands—the cut Command Builder:

• Field selector
• Delimiter options
• Output separator

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Quick Reference

Flag	What It Does
-c	Character
-f	Field
-d	Delimiter
-s	Suppress
--output-delimiter	Output sep

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Conclusion: cut Is Column Extractor

cut is perfect for CSV, TSV data extraction.

The cut Command Builder makes selection visual.

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Further Reading

• cut Manual
• cut Command Builder