Text and processing

The uniq command

Removes consecutive repeated lines and, with -c, counts them.

Syntax

uniq [-c] [archivo]

Most useful options

-cPrefixes each line with its repeat count
-dShows only the repeated ones
-uShows only the ones appearing once

Copy-ready examples

$ printf 'a\na\nb\n' | uniqRemoves adjacent repeats
$ printf 'a\na\nb\n' | uniq -cCounts repeats
$ printf 'b\na\nb\n' | sort | uniq -cCounts everything together

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

Typical mistakes

  • It only groups adjacent repeats: sort first.

Related commands

FAQ

Why does it not remove all duplicates?

Because uniq only looks at adjacent lines: run sort first.

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