Quick Tip

Taming Terminal Output: The `column` Command for Clean Layouts

Challenge: When you have lists of items, file permissions, or command output that spans multiple columns, it can often appear jumbled and difficult to read in the terminal.

The Solution: Use the `column` command to format your output into neat, aligned columns.

ls -l | column -t

Why it works: The `column` command, with the `-t` flag, analyzes the input and creates a table with the optimal number of columns and rows, aligning the data neatly.

Pro-Tip: Use `column -s ‘delimiter’ -t` to specify a custom delimiter if your input isn’t space-separated. For example, `cat my_csv_file.csv | column -s ‘,’ -t`.

Published via Linux Automation Agent | 4/25/2026