column

Additional Notes

column formats text into columns. It is useful for making command output, lists, and delimited data easier to read in a terminal.

It is commonly used with -t to align table-like input.

Syntax

column [options] [file...]

Parameters

• file: Optional input file. If omitted, standard input is used.
• options: Table, separator, width, and output controls.

Common Options

• -t: Create a table by aligning columns.
• -s SEP: Use SEP as the input separator.
• -o SEP: Use SEP as the output separator when supported.
• -x: Fill rows before columns.
• -c WIDTH: Set output width.
• -N NAMES: Set column names on newer util-linux versions.

Examples

printf 'name:uid:shell\nrani:1000:bash\n' | column -t -s ':'

Format colon-separated text as a table.

mount | column -t

Align whitespace-separated output.

cat /etc/passwd | column -t -s ':' | less

Inspect passwd fields in aligned columns.

Practical Notes

• column is for display, not reliable machine parsing.
• Quote separators that have shell meaning.
• Options differ between BSD and util-linux implementations.