PRINTF(1) User Commands PRINTF(1)

printf - format and print data

printf FORMAT [ARGUMENT]...
printf OPTION

Print ARGUMENT(s) according to FORMAT, or execute according to OPTION:

display this help and exit
output version information and exit

FORMAT controls the output as in C printf. Interpreted sequences are:

\"
double quote
\\
backslash
alert (BEL)
backspace
produce no further output
escape
form feed
new line
carriage return
horizontal tab
vertical tab
byte with octal value NNN (1 to 3 digits)
byte with hexadecimal value HH (1 to 2 digits)
Unicode (ISO/IEC 10646) character with hex value HHHH (4 digits)
Unicode character with hex value HHHHHHHH (8 digits)
%%
a single %
%b
ARGUMENT as a string with '\' escapes interpreted, except that octal escapes are of the form \0 or \0NNN
%q
ARGUMENT is printed in a format that can be reused as shell input, escaping non-printable characters with the proposed POSIX $'' syntax.

and all C format specifications ending with one of diouxXfeEgGcs, with ARGUMENTs converted to proper type first. Variable widths are handled.

NOTE: your shell may have its own version of printf, which usually supersedes the version described here. Please refer to your shell's documentation for details about the options it supports.

Written by David MacKenzie.

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Copyright © 2023 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

printf(3)

Full documentation https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/printf
or available locally via: info '(coreutils) printf invocation'

January 2024 GNU coreutils 9.4