52 Useful cut command in Linux/Unix with Examples for Beginners

Table of Contents

SYNOPSIS

cut OPTION... [FILE]...

52 Useful cut command in Linux/Unix with Examples for Beginners 1

Cut command in Linux/Unix with Examples

Also Read: How to Install LEMP (Linux, Nginx, MySQL and PHP) Stack on CentOS 8 Using 12 Best Steps

Example 1: How to Check cut command version

If you want to check cut command version then you need to use cut --version command as shown below. As you can see from below output current installed version is 8.22.

[root@localhost ~]# cut --version
cut (GNU coreutils) 8.22
Copyright (C) 2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

Written by David M. Ihnat, David MacKenzie, and Jim Meyering.

NOTE:

Please note that here I am using root user to run all the below commands.You can use any user with sudo access to run all these commands. For more information Please check Step by Step: How to Add User to Sudoers to provide sudo access to the User.

Example 2: How to Show the nth byte of /etc/passwd file in Linux/Unix

If you want to show the nth byte of /etc/passwd file then you need to use -b option with cut command as shown below. In this example we are trying to cut the 3rd byte from /etc/passwd file using cut -b 3 /etc/passwd command.

[root@localhost ~]# cut -b 3 /etc/passwd
o
n
e
m
:
n
u
l
i
e
m
p

-b : select only these bytes. More info on cut command Man Page.

Example 3: How to Display 1st Field of /etc/passwd file based on colon(:) separator

If you want to show the 1st field of /etc/passwd file based on colon separator then you need to use -d option with cut command as shown below. In this example, we are trying to cut the first field based on colon separator using cut -d ":" -f1 /etc/passwd command.

[root@localhost ~]# cut -d ":" -f1 /etc/passwd
root
bin
daemon
adm
lp
sync
shutdown
halt
mail
operator
games
ftp
nobody
systemd-network
dbus
polkitd
sshd
postfix

-d : use DELIM instead of TAB for field delimiter. More info on cut command Man Page.

-f : select only these fields; also print any line that contains no delimiter character, unless the -s option is specified.

Example 4: How to cut from 1st field to 3rd field based on Colon(:) Separator

If you want to cut 1st field to 3rd field from /etc/passwd file based on Colon(:) separator then you need to use -f1-3 option with cut command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# cut -d ":" -f1-3 /etc/passwd
root:x:0
bin:x:1
daemon:x:2
adm:x:3
lp:x:4
sync:x:5
shutdown:x:6
halt:x:7
mail:x:8
operator:x:11
games:x:12
ftp:x:14
nobody:x:99
systemd-network:x:192
dbus:x:81
polkitd:x:999
sshd:x:74

Example 5: How to Display 1st and 6th Field of /etc/passwd based on Colon(:) Separator

If you want to display 1st and 6th field of /etc/passwd file based on Colon(:) separator then you need to use -f1,6 option with cut command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# cut -d ":" -f1,6 /etc/passwd
root:/root
bin:/bin
daemon:/sbin
adm:/var/adm
lp:/var/spool/lpd
sync:/sbin
shutdown:/sbin
halt:/sbin
mail:/var/spool/mail
operator:/root
games:/usr/games
ftp:/var/ftp
nobody:/
systemd-network:/
dbus:/
polkitd:/
sshd:/var/empty/sshd
postfix:/var/spool/postfix
chrony:/var/lib/chrony

Example 6: How to Display First 20 characters of /etc/ssh/sshd_config file

If you want to display first 20 characters of /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use cut -c -20 /etc/ssh/sshd_config command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# cut -c -20 /etc/ssh/sshd_config
# $OpenBSD: sshd_con

# This is the sshd s
# sshd_config(5) for

# This sshd was comp

# The strategy used
# OpenSSH is to spec
# possible, but leav
# default value.

# If you want to cha
# SELinux about this
# semanage port -a -

-c : select only these characters

Example 7: How to Check all Uncommented or Set Parameters in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file

If you want to check all Uncommented or set parameters in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use --complement option with -d "#" option to ignore all the Lines starting with # as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# cut --complement -d "#" -f1- /etc/ssh/sshd_config

HostKey /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key

HostKey /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key
HostKey /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key

SyslogFacility AUTHPRIV

AuthorizedKeysFile .ssh/authorized_keys

PasswordAuthentication yes

ChallengeResponseAuthentication no

GSSAPIAuthentication yes
GSSAPICleanupCredentials no

UsePAM yes

X11Forwarding yes

--complement : complement the set of selected bytes, characters or fields.

Example 8: How to cut only a Single Byte from Input Stream using cut command

If you want to cut only first byte from Input Stream then you need to use -b 1 option with cut command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# echo "This is from CyberIThub" | cut -b 1
T

Example 9: How to cut First 4 Bytes from Input Stream using cut command

If you want to cut only first byte from Input Stream then you need to use -b 1 option with cut command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# echo "This is from CyberIThub" | cut -b 1-4
This

Example 10: How to cut from 5th to 12th bytes from Input Stream using cut command

If you want to cut from 5th byte to 12th byte from Input Stream then you need to use -b 5-12 option with cut command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# echo "This is from CyberIThub" | cut -b 5-12
is from

Example 11: How to cut all the bytes after 5th byte from Input Stream using cut command in Linux

If you want to cut all the bytes after 5th byte from Input Stream then you need to use -b 5- option with cut command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# echo "This is from CyberIThub" | cut -b 5-
is from CyberIThub

Example 12: How to cut all the bytes upto 5th byte from Input Stream using cut command in Linux

If you want to cut all the byte upto 5th byte from Input Stream then you need to use -b -5 option with cut command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# echo "This is from CyberIThub" | cut -b -5
This

Example 13: How to cut all the bytes upto 5th byte from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file

If you want to cut all the bytes up to 5th byte from /etc/ssh/sshd_config then you need to use -b -5 option with cut command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# cut -b -5 /etc/ssh/sshd_config
# $Op

# Thi
# ssh

# Thi

# The
# Ope
# pos
# def

# If
# SEL
# sem

Example 14: How to cut all the bytes after 5th byte from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file

If you want to cut all the bytes after 5th byte from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use -b 5- option with cut command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# cut -b 5- /etc/ssh/sshd_config
penBSD: sshd_config,v 1.100 2016/08/15 12:32:04 naddy Exp $

is is the sshd server system-wide configuration file. See
hd_config(5) for more information.

is sshd was compiled with PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin

e strategy used for options in the default sshd_config shipped with
enSSH is to specify options with their default value where
ssible, but leave them commented. Uncommented options override the
fault value.

you want to change the port on a SELinux system, you have to tell
Linux about this change.
manage port -a -t ssh_port_t -p tcp #PORTNUMBER

t 22
ressFamily any
tenAddress 0.0.0.0
tenAddress ::

Example 15: How to cut 5th to 12th Byte from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file

If you want to cut from 5th to 12th byte from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use -b 5-12 option with cut command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# cut -b 5-12 /etc/ssh/sshd_config
penBSD:

is is th
hd_confi

is sshd

e strate
enSSH is
ssible,
fault va

you wan
Linux ab
manage p

Example 16: How to cut only 4th and 12th byte from Input Stream using cut command in Linux

If you want to cut only 4th and 12th byte from Input Stream then you need to use -b 4,12 option with cut command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# echo "This is from CyberIThub" | cut -b 4,12
sm

Example 17: How to cut only 4th and 12th byte from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

If you want to cut only 4th and 12th byte from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use cut -b 4,12 /etc/ssh/sshd_config command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# cut -b 4,12 /etc/ssh/sshd_config
O

hh
si

h

he
ps
o
ea

fn
Eb
ep

Example 18: How to cut characters from 1st to 5th field of Input Stream using cut command

If you want to cut characters from 1st field to 5th field of Input stream then you need to use -c 1-5 option with cut command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# echo "This is from CyberIThub" | cut -c 1-5
This

Example 19: How to cut 2nd to 10th character from Input Stream using cut command

If you want to cut 2nd to 10th character from Input stream then you need to use -c 2-10 option with cut command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# echo "This is from CyberIThub" | cut -c 2-10
his is fr

Example 20: How to cut all the characters after 5th character from Input Stream

If you want to cut all the characters after 5th character from Input Stream then you need to use -c 5- option with cut command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# echo "This is from CyberIThub" | cut -c 5-
is from CyberIThub

Example 21: How to cut all the characters after 5th character from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file

If you want to cut all the characters after 5th character from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use -c 5- option with cut command as shown below. The only difference you can see in this example as compared to above example is that here input is a file instead of an Input Stream.

[root@localhost ~]# cut -c 5- /etc/ssh/sshd_config
penBSD: sshd_config,v 1.100 2016/08/15 12:32:04 naddy Exp $

is is the sshd server system-wide configuration file. See
hd_config(5) for more information.

is sshd was compiled with PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin

e strategy used for options in the default sshd_config shipped with
enSSH is to specify options with their default value where
ssible, but leave them commented. Uncommented options override the
fault value.

you want to change the port on a SELinux system, you have to tell
Linux about this change.
manage port -a -t ssh_port_t -p tcp #PORTNUMBER

t 22
ressFamily any
tenAddress 0.0.0.0
tenAddress ::

Example 22: How to cut 2nd to 10th character from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file

If you want to cut 2nd to 10th character from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use -c 2-10 option with cut command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# cut -c 2-10 /etc/ssh/sshd_config
$OpenBSD

This is
sshd_con

This ssh

The stra
OpenSSH
possible
default

If you w
SELinux
semanage

Port 22
AddressFa

Example 23: How to cut 1st to 5th characters from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

If you want to cut 1st to 5th characters from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use -c 1-5 option with cut command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# cut -c 1-5 /etc/ssh/sshd_config
# $Op

# Thi
# ssh

# Thi

# The
# Ope
# pos
# def

# If
# SEL
# sem
#
#Port
#Addr

Example 24: How to check the value of "PasswordAuthentication" parameter in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

If you want to check the value of PasswordAuthentication Parameter in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to cut out the second field after grepping the parameter from the file.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i PasswordAuthentication /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2

yes

Example 25: How to check if "PermitEmptyPasswords" value is set or not in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

If you want to check some Parameter value is set or not in /etc/ssh/sshd_config then you can use below cut command with grep command to filter out the values. If you do not see any value in output then it means this value is either not set or it is a commented Parameter.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i PermitEmptyPasswords /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2

Example 26: How to check the value of "UsePAM" Parameter in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

If you want to check the value of UsePAM parameter from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use below cut command.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i UsePAM /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2

yes

Example 27: How to check the value of "ChallengeResponseAuthentication" in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

If you want to check the value of ChallengeResponseAuthentication parameter in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use below cut command.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i ChallengeResponseAuthentication /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2

no

Example 28: How to check the value of "SyslogFacility" in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

If you want to check the value of SyslogFacility parameter in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use below cut command.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i SyslogFacility /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2

AUTHPRIV

Example 29: How to sort the value of "SyslogFacility" Parameter in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

If you sort the cut command output then you can use sort command with cut command as shown below. In this example, we are getting multiple output of SyslogFacility parameter from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file which is then sorted with the help of sort command.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i SyslogFacility /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2 | sort -rn
AUTHPRIV

Example 30: How to save cut command output in a File using redirection Operator

You can also save the cut command output in a file by using redirection operator as shown below. Here we are checking the value of SyslogFacility parameter from /etc/ssh/sshd_config and redirecting the output to output.txt file.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i SyslogFacility /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2 | sort -rn >> output.txt
[root@localhost ~]# cat output.txt
AUTHPRIV

Example 31: How to remove the duplicate value of "X11DisplayOffset" from the output

If you want to remove the duplicate value of X11DisplayOffset parameter from the output then you need to use uniq command with cut command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i X11DisplayOffset /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2 | uniq
10

Example 32: How to check the value of "PermitTTY" in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

If you want to check the value of PermitTTY in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use below cut command in Linux/UNIX.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i PermitTTY /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2
yes

Example 33: How to check the value of "TCPKeepAlive" in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

You can also check TCPKeepAlive parameter value using below cut command in Linux.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i TCPKeepAlive /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2
yes

Example 34: How to check the value of "UseLogin" in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

Sometimes you might need to check the value UseLogin parameter in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file. You can simply use below cut command to determine the value of 2nd field after grepping UseLogin parameter from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i UseLogin /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2
no

Example 35: How to check the value of "PermitTunnel" from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

Like above example, if you want to check the value of PermitTunnel parameter from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use below cut command.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i PermitTunnel /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2
no

Example 36: How to check the value of "PidFile" in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

If you want to check the value of PidFile parameter in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use below cut command.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i PidFile /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2
/var/run/sshd.pid

Example 37: How to check the value of "MaxStartups" in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

If you want to check the value of MaxStartups parameter in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use below cut command.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i MaxStartups /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2
10:30:100

Example 38: How to check the value of "PrintMotd" in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

If you want to check the value of PrintMotd parameter in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use below cut command.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i PrintMotd /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2
yes

Example 39: How to check the value of "X11UseLocalhost" in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

If you want to check the value of X11UseLocalhost parameter in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use below cut command.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i X11UseLocalhost /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2 | uniq
yes

Example 40: How to use cut command with sed command to replace Colon(:) with Tab in the Output

If you want to replace colon(:) of /etc/passwd file with Tab(\t) and cut out only the first field then you can use below cut command with sed command.

[root@localhost ~]# sed 's/:/\t/g' /etc/passwd | cut -f 1
root
bin
daemon
adm
lp
sync
shutdown

Example 41: How to Replace Colon(:) with Tab using sed command and cut the output from 1st field to 3rd field.

If you want to replace colon(:) of /etc/passwd file with Tab and cut out from 1st field to 3rd field then you can use below cut command with sed command.

[root@localhost ~]# sed 's/:/\t/g' /etc/passwd | cut -f 1-3
root x 0
bin x 1
daemon x 2
adm x 3
lp x 4
sync x 5

Example 42: How to Replace Colon(:) with Tab using sed command and cut everything from the output after 3rd Field

You can also use cut command with sed command in Linux. For example, let's say if you want to replace colon field of /etc/passwd file with tab in the output then you can use 's/:/\t/g' expression with sed command and feed the output to cut command to cut everything after 3rd field using cut -f 3- command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# sed 's/:/\t/g' /etc/passwd | cut -f 3-
0 0 root /root /bin/bash
1 1 bin /bin /sbin/nologin
2 2 daemon /sbin /sbin/nologin
3 4 adm /var/adm /sbin/nologin
4 7 lp /var/spool/lpd /sbin/nologin
5 0 sync /sbin /bin/sync
6 0 shutdown /sbin /sbin/shutdown
7 0 halt /sbin /sbin/halt
8 12 mail /var/spool/mail /sbin/nologin
11 0 operator /root /sbin/nologin
12 100 games /usr/games /sbin/nologin

Example 43: How to check the value of All /etc/ssh/sshd_config file parameters using cut command in Linux

If you want to check the value of all the set parameters of /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to cut out the 2nd field based of space delimiter as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# cat /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2 | uniq

22

/etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key

/etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key
/etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key

AUTHPRIV

2m
yes

AuthorizedKeysFile .ssh/authorized_keys

yes

no

yes
no

Example 44: How to check the value of GatewayPorts in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

If you want to check the value of GatewayPorts parameter from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use below cut command.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i GatewayPorts /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2 | uniq
no

Example 45: How to check the value of AllowTcpForwarding in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

If you want to check the value of AllowTcpForwarding parameter from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use below cut command.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i AllowTcpForwarding /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2 | uniq
yes

Example 46: How to check the value of UsePrivilegeSeparation in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

If you want to check the value of UsePrivilegeSeparation parameter from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use below cut command.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i UsePrivilegeSeparation /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2 | uniq
sandbox

Example 47: How to check the value of UseDNS in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

if you want to check the value of UseDNS parameter from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use below cut command.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i UseDNS /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2 | uniq
yes

Example 48: How to check the value of Compression in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

If you want to check the value of Compression parameter from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use below cut command.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i Compression /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2 | uniq
delayed

Example 49: How to check the value of PrintLastLog in /etc/ssh/sshd_config file using cut command

If you want to check the value of PrintLastLog parameter from /etc/ssh/sshd_config file then you need to use below cut command.

[root@localhost ~]# grep -i PrintLastLog /etc/ssh/sshd_config | cut --complement -d "#" -f1- | cut -d " " -f2 | uniq
yes

Example 50: How to check all the Other Options of cut command in Linux.

If you want to check all the other options available with cut command in Linux then you need to use cut --help command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# cut --help
Usage: cut OPTION... [FILE]...
Print selected parts of lines from each FILE to standard output.

Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.
-b, --bytes=LIST select only these bytes
-c, --characters=LIST select only these characters
-d, --delimiter=DELIM use DELIM instead of TAB for field delimiter
-f, --fields=LIST select only these fields; also print any line
that contains no delimiter character, unless
the -s option is specified
-n with -b: don't split multibyte characters
--complement complement the set of selected bytes, characters
or fields
-s, --only-delimited do not print lines not containing delimiters
--output-delimiter=STRING use STRING as the output delimiter
the default is to use the input delimiter
--help display this help and exit
--version output version information and exit

Example 51: How to check man page of cut command in Linux/Unix

If you want to check man page of cut command in Linux then you need to use man cut command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# man cut
CUT(1) User Commands CUT(1)

NAME
cut - remove sections from each line of files

SYNOPSIS
cut OPTION... [FILE]...

DESCRIPTION
Print selected parts of lines from each FILE to standard output.

Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.

-b, --bytes=LIST
select only these bytes

-c, --characters=LIST
select only these characters

-d, --delimiter=DELIM
use DELIM instead of TAB for field delimiter

Example 52: How to Replace Colon(:) with Tab using sed command and cut the output upto 5th field

As shown in above examples, you can replace the Colon(:) with Tab(\t) using sed command and cut out the 5th field from the output using cut -f -5 command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# sed 's/:/\t/g' /etc/passwd | cut -f -5
root x 0 0 root
bin x 1 1 bin
daemon x 2 2 daemon
adm x 3 4 adm
lp x 4 7 lp
sync x 5 0 sync
shutdown x 6 0 shutdown
halt x 7 0 halt
mail x 8 12 mail
operator x 11 0 operator

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