Linux – tee Command

The tee command is used to read from standard input and write to both standard output and files simultaneously. This allows you to view the output of a command while also saving it to a file. It is commonly used in conjunction with other commands in pipelines.



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Initial Example

Using tee to save the output of a command to a file while still displaying it on the terminal:

echo "Hello, world!" | tee output.txt




TEE Parameters

ParameterDescription
-a, --appendAppend the output to the specified files instead of overwriting them.
-i, --ignore-interruptsIgnore interrupt signals during execution.
-pOperate in a more suitable mode when handling pipes.
--output-error[=MODE]Define behavior upon encountering a write error. Options include warn, warn-nopipe, exit, exit-nopipe.
--helpDisplay help information and exit.
--versionShow version information and exit.




Examples

1. Basic Usage

To display the output and save it to a file:

echo "Sample text" | tee file.txt

2. Append to a File

To append the output to a file instead of overwriting it, use the -a option:

echo "Additional text" | tee -a file.txt

3. Using tee with Pipes

To use tee in a pipeline, saving intermediate output to a file while passing it to the next command:

ls -l | tee file.txt | grep "pattern"

4. Writing to Multiple Files

To write the output to multiple files simultaneously:

echo "Multi-file text" | tee file1.txt file2.txt

5. Combining tee with sudo

To write to a file that requires elevated permissions, combine tee with sudo:

echo "Protected text" | sudo tee /protected/file.txt




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