Unix and Linux tools
sqx is built to sit in a Unix pipeline, next to tools you may already use. These short guides cover the options you will reach for most, with copy-paste examples and a note on how each one works together with sqx. Every page links to the full official manual.
Linux or macOS? Linux usually ships the GNU versions of these tools and macOS ships the BSD versions. The everyday options on these pages work on both; where they differ, the page says so. Run man <tool> to read the manual for the version you have.
View and slice files
Look at data, take the start or end of it, and count it.
catPrint files and join several into one stream.headShow the first lines of a file or stream.tailShow the last lines of a file, or skip the first ones.wcCount lines, words, characters and bytes.Search and transform text
Find lines, pick columns and rewrite text as it streams past.
grepPrint the lines that match a word or regular expression.sedEdit text as it flows: replace, delete or print lines.awkA small language for splitting lines into fields and acting on them.cutCut out selected fields or character ranges from each line.trReplace, squeeze or delete individual characters.Sort and count
Order lines and collapse duplicates.
sortSort lines alphabetically, numerically or by a column.uniqMerge repeated adjacent lines, optionally counting them.Combine commands
Find files, fan out work and keep copies of a stream.
xargsTurn lines of input into arguments for another command.teeWrite input to a file and to the screen (or the next command) at once.findSearch a directory tree for files by name, type, age or size.Web, JSON and databases
Fetch from the web, reshape JSON and open SQLite files.