Sed Command in Linux - Append and Insert Lines to a File

This is the second article of the "Super sed' Series", in which we will learn how to append and insert lines to a file using line numbers and regular expressions. In the previous article in the series, we learned to print lines in a file using sed command.

Before we directly jump to the main content, every learner should know what sed is. Here is the brief introduction of the Super sed:

• sed stand for Stream EDitor and it being based on the ed editor, it borrows most of the commands from the ed. It was developed by Lee E. McMahon of Bell Labs.
• sed offers large range of text transformations that include printing lines, deleting lines, editing line in-place, search and replace, appending and inserting lines, etc.
• sed is useful whenever you need to perform common editing operations on multiple lines without using 'vi' editor.
• Whenever sed is executed on an input file or on the contents from stdin, sed reads the file line-by-line and after removing the trailing newline, places it in the "Pattern space", where the commands are executed on them after conditions (as in case of regex matching) are verified, and then printed on the stdout.

Before we start, just remember two points:

1. sed "a" command lets us append lines to a file, based on the line number or regex provided. So, the lines will be added to the file AFTER the line where condition matches.
2.  sed "i" command lets us insert lines in a file, based on the line number or regex provided. So, the lines will be added to the file AT the location where line number matches or BEFORE the line where pattern matches.
3. sed with option -i will edit the file in place, i.e. unless you use the option -i, the changes will not be written to the file. (Explained in later section)

sed - Appending Lines to a File

 For our better understanding, let us have a file sedtest.txt with contents as follows:

$ cat sedtest.txt
This is line #1
This is line #2
This is line #3
This is line #4
This is line #5
This is line #6
This is line #7
This is line #8
This is line #9
This is line #10

1. Append a line after 'N'th line

This will add a line after 'N'th line in the FILE.txt.

Syntax:

sed 'N a <LINE-TO-BE-ADDED>' FILE.txt

Example:
To append a line #This is just a commented line after 1st line,

$ sed '1 a #This is just a commented line' sedtest.txt
This is line #1
#This is just a commented line
This is line #2
This is line #3
This is line #4
This is line #5
This is line #6
This is line #7
This is line #8
This is line #9
This is line #10

While, to append a line after last line,

$ sed '$ a This is the last line' sedtest.txt
This is line #1
This is line #2
This is line #3
This is line #4
This is line #5
This is line #6
This is line #7
This is line #8
This is line #9
This is line #10
This is the last line

If you run above commands and inspect the file sedtest.txt, you would find that, the original contents of that file would not change. In case you wish to append lines in the file and save the changes (i.e. edit the file in place), you will have to use the option -i.

Lets check it for the latest command we have run to append lines after the last line of the file. Has it made any changes to the file?

$ cat sedtest.txt
This is line #1
This is line #2
This is line #3
This is line #4
This is line #5
This is line #6
This is line #7
This is line #8
This is line #9
This is line #10

No, the original file remains the same. But, I wanted to save the changes to the file. So, I should have used the option -i.

$ sed -i '$ a This is the last line' sedtest.txt
$ cat sedtest.txt
This is line #1
This is line #2
This is line #3
This is line #4
This is line #5
This is line #6
This is line #7
This is line #8
This is line #9
This is line #10
This is the last line

Yes, now changes are written to the file. Just remember this.

2. Append Line using Regular Expression/Pattern

This will append the line after the line where pattern match is found.

Syntax:

sed '/PATTERN/ a <LINE-TO-BE-ADDED>' FILE.txt

Example:

$ sed '/5/ a #Next line is the 6th line, not this' sedtest.txt
This is line #1
This is line #2
This is line #3
This is line #4
This is line #5
#Next line is the 6th line, not this
This is line #6
This is line #7
This is line #8
This is line #9
This is line #10

sed - Inserting Lines in a File

1. Insert line using the Line number

This will insert the line before the line at line number 'N'.

Syntax:

sed 'N i <LINE-TO-BE-ADDED>' FILE.txt

Example:

$ sed '4 i #This is the extra line' sedtest.txt
This is line #1
This is line #2
This is line #3
#This is the extra line
This is line #4
This is line #5
This is line #6
This is line #7
This is line #8
This is line #9
This is line #10

While, to insert a line before last line,

$ sed '$ i #Next line will be last line' sedtest.txt
This is line #1
This is line #2
This is line #3
This is line #4
This is line #5
This is line #6
This is line #7
This is line #8
This is line #9
#Next line will be last line
This is line #10

2. Insert lines using Regular expression

This will insert the line before every line where pattern match is found.

Syntax:

sed '/PATTERN/ i <LINE-TO-BE-ADDED>' FILE.txt

Example:

$ sed '/8/ i #This line is inserted using sed' sedtest.txt
This is line #1
This is line #2
This is line #3
This is line #5
This is line #6
This is line #7
#This line is inserted using sed
This is line #8
This is line #9
This is line #10

That's all about the second article on sed command. More articles on sed are coming soon. So, stay tuned. Of course, do not forget to share your feedback in the comment section below.