xargs

Additional Notes

xargs is a shell command used to build command lines from standard input. It converts standard input into arguments for another command, enabling batch processing and parallel execution.

Use -0 with null-separated input (from find -print0) to handle filenames with spaces. Use -P N for parallel execution with N processes.

Syntax

xargs [arguments]

Parameters

• options: Flags that change how xargs behaves.
• arguments: Values consumed by the shell builtin or script command.
• command: Command line to run, test, wrap, or control.

Common Options

• -0: Read null-separated input.
• -n N: Use N arguments per command.
• -I {}: Replace a placeholder with each input item.
• -r: Do not run if input is empty.

Examples

printf "%s\n" one two | xargs echo
find . -name "*.log" -print0 | xargs -0 rm
printf "%s\n" app db | xargs -I {} echo "restart {}"

Practical Notes

Use null-separated input with find -print0 and xargs -0 when filenames may contain spaces or newlines.