Linux nl Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to nl on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including line numbering, text numbering, and file line counting.

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Table of Contents

1. nl Basics
2. Line Numbering
3. Number Format
4. Selective Numbering
5. Troubleshooting

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nl Basics

Number Lines

Basic usage:

# Number lines
nl file.txt

# Numbers all lines

From Input

Pipe input:

# Number from input
cat file.txt | nl

# Numbers piped input

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Line Numbering

All Lines

Number all:

# Number all lines
nl file.txt

# Numbers every line

Starting Number

Start from:

# Start from number
nl -v 10 file.txt

# -v = start value (starts from 10)

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Number Format

Format String

Custom format:

# Custom format
nl -n ln file.txt

# -n = number format (ln = left, no zero padding)

Format Options

Format types:

# ln = left, no padding
nl -n ln file.txt

# rn = right, no padding
nl -n rn file.txt

# rz = right, zero padded
nl -n rz file.txt

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Selective Numbering

Only Numbered Lines

Number only body:

# Number only body lines
nl -b a file.txt

# -b = body numbering (a = all lines)

Skip Empty Lines

Skip blanks:

# Skip empty lines
nl -b t file.txt

# -b t = skip empty lines

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Troubleshooting

nl Not Found

Check installation:

# nl is part of coreutils
# Usually pre-installed

# Check nl
which nl

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Summary

This guide covered nl usage, line numbering, and text numbering for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions.

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Next Steps

• cat Guide - Display files
• head Guide - View file beginnings
• Text Processing - Text manipulation
• nl Documentation: man nl

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This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. For distribution-specific details, refer to your distribution's documentation.