SPLIT(1)

📦 version 1.053, in alpine 3.24

💖 NAME 💖

okay bestie, this is the SPLIT(1) page — the split(1) manual from the User Contributed Perl Documentation, section 1, and it's literally about one thing: split — split a file into pieces. 🎀

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

split ["-b" byte_count[k|m]] ["-l" line_count] ["-p" pattern] [file [name]]

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

So the split utility reads the given file (or standard input if no file is specified) and breaks it up into files of 1000 lines each. That's the whole vibe. 💅

🌸 OPTIONS 🌸

split accepts these options, and yes, you need all of them:

  • -b byte_count[k|m] — create smaller files byte_count bytes in length. If k is appended to the number, the file is split into byte_count kilobyte pieces. If m is appended to the number, the file is split into byte_count megabyte pieces. 🔥
  • -l line_count[k|m] — create smaller files line_count lines in length. k and m operate as with -b. 💖
  • -p pattern — the file is split whenever an input line matches pattern, which is interpreted as a Perl regular expression. The matching line will be the first line of the next output file. This option is incompatible with the -b and -l options. ⚠️

If additional arguments are specified, the first is used as the name of the input file which is to be split. If a second additional argument is specified, it is used as a prefix for the names of the files into which the file is split. In this case, each file into which the file is split is named by the prefix followed by a lexically ordered suffix in the range of aaa-zzz. 🫶

If the name argument is not specified, the file is split into lexically ordered files named in the range of xaaa-xzzz. 🧚

💀 BUGS 💀

split can only create 17576 files. That's the limit, bestie — no cap, don't try to make it create more. 😭

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

perlre(1) — go read that if you need the Perl regex lore. 🌈

💜 AUTHOR 💜

The Perl implementation of split was written by Rich Lafferty, rich@alcor.concordia.ca. Iconic. ✨

This program is free and open software. You may use, copy, modify, distribute and sell this program (and any modified variants) in any way you wish, provided you do not restrict others to do the same. 💖

okay that's the whole page, bestie — xoxo, your Unix group chat 💅 this is the SPLIT(1) page from perl v5.42.2, dated 2026-02-15 🦋

📦 where this page comes from