XARGS(1L) XARGS(1L) NNAAMMEE xargs - build and execute command lines from standard input SSYYNNOOPPSSIISS xxaarrggss [-0prtx] [-e[eof-str]] [-i[replace-str]] [-l[max- lines]] [-n max-args] [-s max-chars] [-P max-procs] [--null] [--eof[=eof-str]] [--replace[=replace-str]] [--max-lines[=max-lines]] [--interactive] [--max- chars=max-chars] [--verbose] [--exit] [--max-procs=max- procs] [--max-args=max-args] [--no-run-if-empty] [command [initial-arguments]] DDEESSCCRRIIPPTTIIOONN This manual page documents the GNU version of xxaarrggss. xxaarrggss reads arguments from the standard input, delimited by blanks (which can be protected with double or single quotes or a backslash) or newlines, and executes the _c_o_m_- _m_a_n_d (default is /bin/echo) one or more times with any _i_n_i_t_i_a_l_-_a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t_s followed by arguments read from standard input. Blank lines on the standard input are ignored. xxaarrggss exits with the following status: 0 if it succeeds 123 if any invocation of the command exited with status 1-125 124 if the command exited with status 255 125 if the command is killed by a signal 126 if the command cannot be run 127 if the command is not found 1 if some other error occurred. OOPPTTIIOONNSS _-_-_n_u_l_l_, _-_0 Input filenames are terminated by a null character instead of by whitespace, and the quotes and back- slash are not special (every character is taken literally). However, any end of file string is still recognized. Useful with the GNU find -print0 option when filenames might contain white space, quote marks, or backslashes. _-_-_e_o_f_[_=_e_o_f_-_s_t_r_]_, _-_e_[_e_o_f_-_s_t_r_] Set the end of file string to _e_o_f_-_s_t_r. If the end of file string occurs as a line of input, the rest of the input is ignored. If _e_o_f_-_s_t_r is omitted, there is no end of file string. If this option is not given, the end of file string defaults to "_". _-_-_r_e_p_l_a_c_e_[_=_r_e_p_l_a_c_e_-_s_t_r_]_, _-_i_[_r_e_p_l_a_c_e_-_s_t_r_] Replace occurences of _r_e_p_l_a_c_e_-_s_t_r in the initial arguments with names read from standard input. If _r_e_p_l_a_c_e_-_s_t_r is omitted, it defaults to "{}" (like for `find -exec'). Implies _-_x and _-_l _1. 1 XARGS(1L) XARGS(1L) _-_-_m_a_x_-_l_i_n_e_s_[_=_m_a_x_-_l_i_n_e_s_]_, _-_l_[_m_a_x_-_l_i_n_e_s_] Use at most _m_a_x_-_l_i_n_e_s nonblank input lines per com- mand line; _m_a_x_-_l_i_n_e_s defaults to 1 if omitted. Trailing blanks cause an input line to be logically continued on the next input line. Implies _-_x. _-_-_m_a_x_-_a_r_g_s_=_m_a_x_-_a_r_g_s_, _-_n _m_a_x_-_a_r_g_s Use at most _m_a_x_-_a_r_g_s arguments per command line. Fewer than _m_a_x_-_a_r_g_s arguments will be used if the size (see the -s option) is exceeded, unless the -x option is given, in which case xxaarrggss will exit. _-_-_i_n_t_e_r_a_c_t_i_v_e_, _-_p Prompt the user about whether to run each command line and read a line from the terminal. Only run the command line if the response starts with `y' or `Y'. Implies _-_t. _-_-_n_o_-_r_u_n_-_i_f_-_e_m_p_t_y_, _-_r If the standard input does not contain any non- blanks, do not run the command. Normally, the com- mand is run once even if there is no input. _-_-_m_a_x_-_c_h_a_r_s_=_m_a_x_-_c_h_a_r_s_, _-_s _m_a_x_-_c_h_a_r_s Use at most _m_a_x_-_c_h_a_r_s characters per command line, including the command and initial arguments. The default is as large as possible, up to 20k charac- ters. _-_-_v_e_r_b_o_s_e_, _-_t Print the command line on the standard error output before executing it. _-_-_e_x_i_t_, _-_x Exit if the size (see the _-_s option) is exceeded. _-_-_m_a_x_-_p_r_o_c_s_=_m_a_x_-_p_r_o_c_s_, _-_P _m_a_x_-_p_r_o_c_s Run up to _m_a_x_-_p_r_o_c_s processes at a time; the default is 1. If _m_a_x_-_p_r_o_c_s is 0, xxaarrggss will run as many processes as possible at a time. Use the _-_n option with _-_P; otherwise chances are that only one exec will be done. The long-named options can be introduced with `+' as well as `--', for compatibility with previous releases. Even- tually support for `+' will be removed, because it is incompatible with the POSIX.2 standard. 2 .