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fedorqui
Asked: 2020-08-10 05:32:33 +0800 CST 2020-08-10 05:32:33 +0800 CST

How can I replace a string in one or many files?

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Replacing strings in files based on certain search criteria is a common task. How I can...

  1. replace the string foowith barin all files in the current directory?
  2. do the same thing recursively on subdirectories?
  3. replace only if filename matches some other string?
  4. replace only if the string is found in a given context?
  5. replace if string is on a given line number?
  6. replace multiple strings with the same replacement?
  7. replace multiple strings with different replacements?

This is an adaptation of the Unix & Linux question How can I replace a string in a file(s)? intended to serve as canon.

bash

1 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    1. Replace the string foowith barin all files in the current directory

    This is the case when you know that the directory contains only regular files and that you want to process all non-hidden files. If this is not the case, use the solutions from point 2.

    All solutions in this answer assume GNU sed. -iIf you're using FreeBSD or OS / X, substitute -i ''. Also, note that use of the switch -ihas security implications for the filesystem and is not recommended in any script you intend to distribute in any way.

    sed -i -- 's/foo/bar/g' *
perl -i -pe 's/foo/bar/g' ./*

    ( the solution in perlwill fail for filenames ending in |or space ).

    If you are using zsh:

    sed -i -- 's/foo/bar/g' **/*(D.)

    (may fail if file list is too large, use zargsas possible workaround).

    Bash cannot directly check if the files are regular. A loop is needed (braces prevent define options globally):

    ( shopt -s globstar dotglob;
    for file in **; do
        if [[ -f $file ]] && [[ -w $file ]]; then
            sed -i -- 's/foo/bar/g' "$file"
        fi
    done
)

    Files are selected when they are actually files ( -f) and can be written ( -w).

    2. Replace the string foowith barin all files in the current directory and its subdirectories

    This is done on all regular files ( including hidden ones ) in this directory and its subdirectories.

        find . -type f -exec sed -i 's/foo/bar/g' {} +

    3. Replace the string foowith baronly if the filename matches some other string / has a certain extension / is of a certain type, etc.

    • Not recursive, only files in this directory:

      sed -i -- 's/foo/bar/g' *baz*    ## todos los ficheros cuyo nombre contiene baz
sed -i -- 's/foo/bar/g' *.baz    ## todos los ficheros cuyo nombre termina en .baz

    • Recursive, regular files in this directory and its subdirectories:

      find . -type f -name "*baz*" -exec sed -i 's/foo/bar/g' {} +

      If you're using Bash (the parentheses avoid setting the options globally):

      ( shopt -s globstar dotglob
    sed -i -- 's/foo/bar/g' **baz*
    sed -i -- 's/foo/bar/g' **.baz
)

      If you use zsh:

      sed -i -- 's/foo/bar/g' **/*baz*(D.)
sed -i -- 's/foo/bar/g' **/*.baz(D.)

    --it is used to tell sedthat no more options are going to be given on the command line. This is useful to protect against filenames starting with -.

    • If the file is of a certain type, for example, executable (read man findto see other options):

      find . -type f -executable -exec sed -i 's/foo/bar/g' {} +

      zsh:

      sed -i -- 's/foo/bar/g' **/*(D*)

    work in progress

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