Name

substitute

Synopsis

[address] s [/pattern/replacement/] [options] [count]

Replace the first instance of pattern on each of the specified lines with replacement. If pattern and replacement are omitted, repeat last substitution. count specifies the number of lines on which to substitute, starting with address. See additional examples in Chapter 7. (Spelling out the command name does not work in Solaris vi.)

Options

c

Prompt for confirmation before each change.

g

Substitute all instances of pattern on each line (global).

p

Print the last line on which a substitution was made.

Examples

:1,10s/yes/no/g              Substitute on first 10 lines
:%s/[Hh]ello/Hi/gc           Confirm global substitutions
:s/Fortran/\U&/ 3            Uppercase "Fortran" on next three
                                                                                 lines
:g/^[0-9][0-9]*/s//Line &:/  For every line beginning with one or
more digits, add "Line" and a colon

Get Unix in a Nutshell, 4th Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial