How to Delete Lines From a Particular File Using the sed Command

The delete command removes lines from the current input file without opening the content. There are five sed scripts available:

       
• Deleting a particular line of input using the d subcommand:
   

sed '#d' samplefile.txt

For example, to remove the first line from the cities.txt file, run the following:

sed '1d' cities.txt

       
• Deleting multiple lines within a specific range:
   

sed '#,#d' samplefile.txt

Replace the # symbols with the start and end of the line range. For example, to delete the first, second, and third line from the cars.txt file, enter the following:

sed '1,3d' cars.txt

       
• Deleting a file content’s last line:
   

sed '$d' samplefile.txt

For example, to remove the last line from the computers.txt file, run the following:

sed '$d' computers.txt

       
• Deleting from the nth to the last line:
   

sed 'nth,$d' samplefile.txt

For example, to remove the second to the last input line from the books.txt file, enter:

sed '2,$d' books.txt

       
• Deleting the pattern matching line:
   

sed '/pattern/d' samplefile.txt

For example, to remove the “oabo” pattern from the filestrings.txt file, run:

sed '/oabo/d' filestrings.txt