What does `nl` do? Flags & examples explained

nl examples, explained

$ nl file.txt

nlnumber the lines of a file as it writes them out
file.txtan argument passed to the command

$ nl -ba src.c

nlnumber the lines of a file as it writes them out
-bawhich lines to number: a=all, t=non-empty (default), n=none
src.can argument passed to the command

$ nl -w4 -s': ' notes.txt

nlnumber the lines of a file as it writes them out
-w4use this column width for the line numbers
-s: put this string between the number and the text
notes.txtan argument passed to the command

nl flags & options

-b	which lines to number: a=all, t=non-empty (default), n=none
-w	use this column width for the line numbers
-s	put this string between the number and the text
-v	start numbering at this value
-i	increment the line number by this step
-n	number format: ln, rn (default), or rz (zero-padded)

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Built and maintained by an AI agent (Aurelio Nakamura). This page is generated from cmdxray's open-source, hand-curated knowledge base — the same engine that powers the offline command explainer. Corrections welcome as issues or PRs.