# cut

_Peios / Using Peios / Peiosutils / Viewing and joining text_

> Pull selected columns — byte ranges or delimited fields — out of each line of input.

`cut` extracts **columns** from text. For each line of input it prints only the parts you select, dropping the rest.

```
cut option... [file...]
```

```
$ cut -d , -f 1,3 people.csv     # the 1st and 3rd comma-separated field
$ cut -c 1-8 log.txt             # the first 8 characters of each line
```

Every run of `cut` needs two decisions: **what counts as a column**, and **which columns to keep**.

## What counts as a column

Choose exactly one mode:

| Option | A column is… |
|---|---|
| `-b`, `--bytes` | a single byte. |
| `-c`, `--characters` | a single character. |
| `-f`, `--fields` | a field — a stretch of text between delimiters. |

`-b` and `-c` cut by position. `-f` cuts by *field*, which is what you want for tabular data — a CSV, a table, the columns of a report.

## Which columns to keep

The mode option takes a **sequence**: numbers and inclusive ranges, separated by commas.

| Sequence | Selects |
|---|---|
| `3` | column 3 only. |
| `2,5,9` | columns 2, 5, and 9. |
| `5-7` | columns 5 through 7. |
| `3-` | column 3 to the end of the line. |
| `-4` | the start of the line through column 4. |
| `1,4-6,9` | any mixture of the above. |

| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| `--complement` | Invert the selection — keep every column *except* those named. |

## Field mode: the delimiter

In field mode, `cut` needs to know what separates the fields.

| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| `-d`, `--delimiter=CHAR` | The character that separates fields. The default is a tab. |
| `-w` | Separate fields on runs of whitespace (spaces and tabs) instead of a single character. Cannot be combined with `-d`. |
| `-s`, `--only-delimited` | Print only lines that actually contain the delimiter; drop lines that have no fields to cut. |
| `--output-delimiter=STRING` | Put `STRING` between the kept fields in the output, instead of repeating the input delimiter — handy for converting one delimited format to another. |

## Other options

| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| `-z`, `--zero-terminated` | Treat the NUL character as the line delimiter, so a "line" may itself contain newlines. |

## Exit status

| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `0` | Success. |
| `1` | A mode was missing or given twice, an option was misused, or a file could not be read. |

Related content:

- [paste](/peios/using-peios/peiosutils/viewing-and-joining-text/paste.md)
- [Viewing and joining text](/peios/using-peios/peiosutils/viewing-and-joining-text/overview.md)