Quickly combine columns from multiple text files on the command line and reshape data with simple options. 16.11.2025 | reading time: 2 min Need to merge columns from several text files into a single table? The `paste` command joins files column-wise, using a tab by default, and is the fastest way to produce side-by-side columns on the shell. A concrete example Create two simple files and run `paste` to see how it lines up columns: ```\n$ cat file1.txt\na\nb\nc\n$ cat file2.txt\n1\n2\n3\n$ paste file1.txt file2.txt\na\t1\nb\t2\nc\t3\n``` Tweaks and twists Change delimiters, handle uneven line counts or concatenate serially: `paste -d ',' file1 file2` swaps the tab for a comma; `paste -s file1` joins lines of a single file serially; when files have different lengths `paste` fills missing fields with empty strings, which makes it easy to combine logs or CSV fragments without pre-sorting. Also useful in the toolkit For field extraction and logic use `cut` to select columns, `awk` for conditional formatting and arithmetic, and `join` when you need SQL-like key joins rather than simple column alignment; combine these tools in pipelines to transform raw text into usable tables. A clear next step Try merging real CSV fragments from a log export, then replace tabs with commas and feed the result into `awk` for aggregation; mastering these small pipelines sharpens daily Linux skills and helps prepare for certifications like CompTIA Linux+ or LPIC-1 with intensive exam preparation at bitsandbytes.academy. Join Bits & Bytes Academy First class LINUX exam preparation. utilities scripting filesystem
