How to Delete Lines in Files Using sed on Linux

Introduction

In Linux, sed is a powerful text‑processing utility that can delete lines from a file. The following sections demonstrate common ways to remove lines using sed .

Delete a Specific Line

To delete a particular line number, use:

sed 'nd' filename

Replace n with the line number. For example, to delete line 3:

sed '3d' filename

Delete a Range of Lines

To delete a continuous range, specify the start and end line numbers separated by a comma:

sed '3,5d' filename

Delete Empty Lines

To remove all blank lines:

sed '/^$/d' filename

The pattern ^$ matches an empty line, and /pattern/d deletes lines that match the pattern.

Delete Lines Matching a Pattern

To delete any line that contains a specific pattern:

sed '/pattern/d' filename

Replace pattern with the desired regular expression; /pattern/d removes all matching lines.

Modify the Original File In‑Place

By default, sed writes the result to standard output. Use the -i option to edit the file directly:

sed -i 'nd' filename

For example, to delete line 3 in place:

sed -i '3d' filename

Be careful with -i because it overwrites the original file.

Conclusion

These commands cover the basic methods for deleting lines with sed . The tool also offers many advanced features; consult the sed documentation for further capabilities.