Cut out selected fields of each line of a file.
Syntax
cut [-b] [-c] [-f] list [-n] [-d delim] [-s] [file]
| -b list | The list following -b specifies byte positions (for instance, -b1-72 would pass the first 72 bytes of each line). When -b and -n are used together, list is adjusted so that no multi-byte character is split. If -b is used, the input line should contain 1023 bytes or less. |
| -c list | The list following -c specifies character positions (for instance, -c1-72 would pass the first 72 characters of each line). |
| -f list | The list following -f is a list of fields assumed to be separated in the file by a delimiter character (see -d ); for instance, -f1,7 copies the first and seventh field only. Lines with no field delimiters will be passed through intact (useful for table subheadings), unless -s is specified. If -f is used, the input line should contain 1023 characters or less. |
| list | A comma-separated or blank-character-separated list of integer field numbers (in increasing order), with optional – to indicate ranges (for instance, 1,4,7; 1-3,8; -5,10 (short for 1-5,10); or 3- (short for third through last field)). |
| -n | Do not split characters. When -b list and -n are used together, list is adjusted so that no multi-byte character is split. |
| -d | The character following -d is the field delimiter (-f option only). Default is tab. Space or other characters with special meaning to the shell must be quoted. The delimiter can be a multi-byte character. |
| -s | Suppresses lines with no delimiter characters in case of -f option. Unless specified, lines with no delimiters will be passed through untouched. |
| file | A path name of an input file. If no file operands are specified, or if a file operand is -, the standard input will be used |
Example: Use cut to get your ipv4 IP address:
ifconfig eth0 |grep 'inet addr' |cut -d ':' -f 1,2 | cut -c 21- | cut -c -14