SEQ(1)

📦
version 9.12 · 27 versions
, in arch rolling

💖 seq(1) — bestie's guide to printing number sequences 💖

okay so. you opened the manual for seq, from the User Commands corner of your system (that's section 1, iykyk), and honestly? you're about to have the best time printing numbers. this is the tool for "give me a list of numbers and make it pretty." let's go 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

seq — print a sequence of numbers. that's it. that's the whole job. and she eats every single time. 👑

🌈 SYNOPSIS 🌈

seq [OPTION]... LAST
seq [OPTION]... FIRST LAST
seq [OPTION]... FIRST INCREMENT LAST

three ways in, bestie. one number, two numbers, or three. pick your fighter. 💅

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

Print numbers from FIRST to LAST, in steps of INCREMENT. literally that's the vibe. you give her a start, a jump size, and an end, and she hands you back the whole little parade of numbers. ✨

💡 heads up: mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too. so if the long version needs a value, the short version does too. no exceptions, no cap.

🫶 the options (yes, every single one)

  • -f, --format=FORMAT — use printf style floating-point FORMAT. so you can style your numbers however you want. 💖
  • -s, --separator=STRING — use STRING to separate numbers (default: \n). default is a newline, so one number per line, but you can change it to whatever your heart desires. 🌸
  • -w, --equal-width — equalize width by padding with leading zeroes. so everything lines up all neat and tidy. iconic. ✨
  • --help — display this help and exit. your girl is helpful. 🥰
  • --version — output version information and exit. 🎀

🧚 the rules of the game (read these, fr fr)

  • If FIRST or INCREMENT is omitted, it defaults to 1.
  • That is, an omitted INCREMENT defaults to 1 even when LAST is smaller than FIRST. yes really. it still defaults to 1. 😌
  • The sequence of numbers ends when the sum of the current number and INCREMENT would become greater than LAST. so she doesn't overshoot. she's polite like that. 💅
  • FIRST, INCREMENT, and LAST are interpreted as floating point values.
  • INCREMENT is usually positive if FIRST is smaller than LAST, and usually negative if FIRST is greater than LAST. (usually! not always! she's flexible.)
  • > ⚠️ INCREMENT must not be 0. like, zero steps? that's not a sequence, that's a situation. also: none of FIRST, INCREMENT and LAST may be NaN. hard no on NaN.
  • FORMAT must be suitable for printing one argument of type double. it defaults to %.PRECf if FIRST, INCREMENT, and LAST are all fixed point decimal numbers with maximum precision PREC, and to %g otherwise. so she picks a sensible default for you. thoughtful queen. 👑

💜 AUTHOR 💜

Written by Ulrich Drepper. thank you for your service, legend. 🫡💖

😭 REPORTING BUGS 😭

found a bug? spill it here:

Copyright © 2026 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. (like, literally none. she's free but she's not liable, yk?)

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

and that's the whole page, bestie!! 🎀 this was GNU coreutils 9.12, dated September 2026, and it lives in section 1 of your manual — so the next time you need a list of numbers, you know exactly who to call. go print a sequence and slay. 💅✨🦋

📦 where this page comes from