awk

--- name: awk description: > Expert GNU awk (gawk) one-liner generation and transformation. Use this skill whenever the user asks to process text fields, extract columns, compute sums or aggregates, filter structured output, reformat CSV/TSV, parse logs, generate reports, or do any record/field processing task. Trigger on keywords like "awk", "extract column", "sum a field", "count occurrences", "print field N", "filter by column", "reformat output", "aggregate log data", "process CSV", "TSV", or any request that maps to a field-oriented text transformation. When in doubt, use this skill — awk is often the right tool when sed isn't enough. --- # GNU awk (gawk) Skill All output assumes **gawk** (`awk --version` shows GNU Awk). POSIX awk compatibility is not a goal; gawk extensions are used freely where they help. --- ## Core Principles 1. **Prefer one-liners.** Multi-line awk scripts only when a one-liner becomes unreadable. 2. **Use `-F` to set the field separator** explicitly. Never assume space. 3. **Dry-run friendly by default.** awk reads and prints; it never edits files in-place. Redirect explicitly (`> out && mv out in`) when the user wants in-place behavior. 4. **Use `BEGIN`/`END` blocks** for setup and summary output. 5. **Chain with pipes** when awk alone isn't the cleanest tool. 6. **Never use awk to parse JSON or XML.** Redirect to `jq` / `xmllint` and say why. --- ## Mental Model ``` awk 'BEGIN { setup } /pattern/ { action } END { summary }' file ``` - awk reads input **line by line** (records, split by `RS`, default `\n`). - Each record is split into **fields** by `FS` (default: any whitespace). - `$0` = entire record. `$1`, `$2`, ... `$NF` = individual fields. `NF` = number of fields. `NR` = current record number. `FNR` = record number within current file. --- ## Flags | Flag | Meaning | |--------------|----------------------------------------------| | `-F SEP` | Set field separator (string or regex) | | `-v VAR=VAL` | Set a variable before execution | | `-f FILE` | Read awk program from a file | | `--sandbox` | Disable `system()`, `getline`, pipe (safe) | --- ## Command Quick Reference ### Print specific fields ```bash # Print fields 1 and 3 awk '{print $1, $3}' file.txt # Print last field awk '{print $NF}' file.txt # Print second-to-last awk '{print $(NF-1)}' file.txt # Custom output separator awk '{print $1 "," $2}' file.txt ``` ### Filter lines ```bash # Lines where field 3 > 100 awk '$3 > 100' file.txt # Lines matching a regex awk '/error/' file.txt # Lines where field 2 matches a pattern awk '$2 ~ /timeout/' file.txt # Negate match awk '$2 !~ /debug/' file.txt # Multiple conditions awk '$1 == "GET" && $9 >= 500' access.log ``` ### Aggregation ```bash # Sum a column awk '{sum += $3} END {print sum}' file.txt # Count matching lines awk '/error/ {count++} END {print count}' file.txt # Average awk '{sum += $2; n++} END {print sum/n}' file.txt # Min / max awk 'NR==1 || $3 < min {min=$3} END {print min}' file.txt awk 'NR==1 || $3 > max {max=$3} END {print max}' file.txt ``` ### Frequency / histogram ```bash # Count occurrences of each value in field 1 awk '{count[$1]++} END {for (k in count) print count[k], k}' file.txt | sort -rn # Top 10 IPs in nginx log awk '{print $1}' access.log | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -10 # Pure awk alternative: awk '{c[$1]++} END {for (ip in c) print c[ip], ip}' access.log | sort -rn | head -10 ``` ### Field reformat / transform ```bash # Swap fields 1 and 2 awk '{print $2, $1}' file.txt # Prepend a string to field 1 awk '{$1 = "prefix_" $1; print}' file.txt # Change field separator in output (OFS) awk 'BEGIN{OFS=","} {print $1,$2,$3}' file.txt # Remove a field (shift left from field 3) awk '{out=""; for (i=1;i<=NF;i++) if (i!=2) out = out (out?OFS:"") $i; print out}' file.txt ``` ### Line ranges ```bash # Print lines 5 to 15 awk 'NR>=5 && NR<=15' file.txt # Print between two patterns (inclusive) awk '/START/,/END/' file.txt # Skip the header line awk 'NR > 1' file.txt # Print only the header awk 'NR == 1' file.txt ``` ### CSV / TSV processing ```bash # TSV: print columns 1 and 4 awk -F'\t' '{print $1, $4}' data.tsv # CSV (simple, no quoted commas): sum column 3 awk -F',' 'NR>1 {sum+=$3} END {print sum}' data.csv # Add a computed column to CSV awk -F',' 'BEGIN{OFS=","} NR>1 {$4=$2*$3; print}' data.csv # Filter CSV rows where column 2 > 50 awk -F',' '$2 > 50' data.csv # Convert TSV to CSV awk 'BEGIN{FS="\t"; OFS=","} {$1=$1; print}' data.tsv ``` > For CSV with quoted fields containing commas, use `gawk` with a proper CSV > library or switch to `miller` (`mlr`) / `csvkit`. ### Log processing ```bash # Extract HTTP 5xx lines from nginx access log awk '$9 >= 500 && $9 < 600' access.log # Sum bytes transferred (field 10) per status code (field 9) awk '{bytes[$9]+=$10} END {for (s in bytes) print s, bytes[s]}' access.log | sort # Requests per minute (timestamp in field 4, format [DD/Mon/YYYY:HH:MM:SS]) awk '{match($4, /[0-9]{2}\/[A-Za-z]+\/[0-9]{4}:[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}/, m); c[m[0]]++} END {for (t in c) print t, c[t]}' access.log | sort # Strip log prefix, print only message awk '{$1=$2=$3=""; print substr($0,4)}' app.log ``` ### Multi-file processing ```bash # Print filename alongside each line awk '{print FILENAME, $0}' *.log # Process file 1 as a lookup table, file 2 as data awk 'NR==FNR {map[$1]=$2; next} {print $0, map[$1]}' lookup.txt data.txt ``` ### In-place editing ```bash # Portable awk has no in-place edit; prefer a temp file awk '{gsub(/foo/, "bar"); print}' file.txt > file.tmp && mv file.tmp file.txt # gawk-only in-place edit gawk -i inplace '{gsub(/foo/, "bar"); print}' file.txt # All .rb files for f in src/**/*.rb; do awk '{gsub(/OldClass/, "NewClass"); print}' "$f" > "$f.tmp" && mv "$f.tmp" "$f" done ``` --- ## Built-in Functions ### String | Function | Description | |---------------------------|----------------------------------------| | `length(s)` | String length | | `substr(s, start, len)` | Substring (1-indexed) | | `index(s, t)` | Position of t in s (0 = not found) | | `split(s, arr, sep)` | Split s into arr by sep, returns count | | `gsub(re, rep, s)` | Global replace in s (default: `$0`) | | `sub(re, rep, s)` | First replace in s | | `match(s, re, arr)` | Match re in s; fills arr with groups | | `sprintf(fmt, ...)` | Format string (like printf) | | `tolower(s)` / `toupper(s)` | Case conversion | | `gensub(re, rep, how, s)` | gawk: replace with back-references (`\1`) | ### Math | Function | Description | |-------------------|--------------------| | `int(x)` | Truncate to integer | | `sqrt(x)` | Square root | | `log(x)` / `exp(x)` | Natural log / e^x | | `sin(x)` / `cos(x)` | Trig (radians) | | `rand()` | Random [0,1) | | `srand(seed)` | Seed RNG | --- ## gawk Extensions Worth Knowing ```bash # OFMT: control float output precision awk 'BEGIN{OFMT="%.2f"} {print $1 * 1.15}' prices.txt # Pipe to a command per line awk '{print $0 | "mail -s alert [email protected]"}' alerts.txt # Time functions awk 'BEGIN{print strftime("%Y-%m-%d", systime())}' # Two-way pipe (gawk only): close the writer before reading from sort awk 'BEGIN{cmd="sort"} {print $0 |& cmd} END{close(cmd, "to"); while ((cmd |& getline line) > 0) print line}' file.txt # Built-in CSV parsing (gawk 5.3+) gawk --csv '{print $2}' data.csv # Legacy/simple CSV only: FPAT misses empty fields and escaped quotes awk 'BEGIN{FPAT="([^,]+)|(\"[^\"]+\")"} {print $2}' data.csv ``` --- ## Combining with Other Tools ```bash # awk + sort: frequency table awk '{print $1}' file.txt | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn # awk + sed: awk extracts, sed cleans awk '/error/ {print $5}' app.log | sed 's/[^a-z0-9]//g' # awk + xargs: act on extracted values awk '$3 > 1000 {print $1}' jobs.txt | xargs kill # awk as a replacement for cut + grep pipeline # Instead of: grep 'GET' access.log | cut -d' ' -f7 awk '$6 ~ /GET/ {print $7}' access.log ``` --- ## Output Format When responding to an awk request: 1. **Show the one-liner** in a code block, ready to copy-paste. 2. Add a **one-line comment** per non-obvious part. 3. If the task fits a multi-step pipeline better, show that pipeline. 4. If the task is better served by `jq`, `mlr` (miller), `python`, or `perl`, say so briefly and optionally show that alternative too. --- ## Gotchas - **Portable awk has no in-place editing.** Use `> tmp && mv tmp original` unless you intentionally depend on gawk's `-i inplace` extension. - **Field assignment triggers rebuild of `$0`** using `OFS`. Set `OFS` in `BEGIN` if you rely on this. - **Arrays are associative only** (hash maps). There are no integer-indexed arrays with guaranteed order; iterate with `for (k in arr)` (order is undefined). Use a separate key list + `asort()`/`asorti()` (gawk) when order matters. - **Rebuilding vs re-splitting.** Assigning to a field rebuilds `$0` from fields using `OFS` (`$1=$1` is the common idiom). Assigning to `$0`, or `sub()`/`gsub()` on `$0`, re-splits fields using the current `FS`. - **Regex constants vs strings.** `/foo/` is a regex literal; `"foo"` is a string. `$1 ~ /foo/` is correct; `$1 ~ "foo"` also works but avoids the literal syntax. - **Integer division.** `5/2` returns `2.5` in awk (unlike shell). Use `int(5/2)` for truncation. - **macOS ships BSD/one-true-awk**, not gawk. `gawk` must be installed via Homebrew. `FPAT`, `gensub()`, `strftime()`, and `|&` are gawk-only.