Text and processing

The paste command

Joins lines from several files into one, sticking them side by side separated by a tab.

Syntax

paste [-d lista] archivo1 archivo2

Most useful options

-d LISTADelimiters to use between columns

Copy-ready examples

$ printf 'a\nb\n' > p1.txt && printf '1\n2\n' > p2.txt && paste p1.txt p2.txtPaste two files

You can try them in the browser terminal: it does not touch your computer.

Typical mistakes

  • The default separator is a tab, which may not look clear on screen.

Related commands

cutcolumnjoin

FAQ

What if the files have a different number of lines?

It pads with empty up to the longest.

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