Quick Tip

Taming Terminal Output with `column` for Tidy Layouts

Challenge: When dealing with commands that produce output in multiple columns, it can often appear jumbled and difficult to read, especially when the column widths are inconsistent.

The Solution: The `column` command is a simple yet powerful utility that can reformat your command output into neat, aligned columns.

your_command | column -t

Why it works: The `-t` option for `column` creates a table, aligning the output based on detected delimiters (usually whitespace). This makes it incredibly easy to visually parse information from commands like `ls -l` or `ps aux`.

Pro-Tip: Use `column -s ‘delimiter’ -t` to specify a custom delimiter if your output isn’t whitespace-separated.

Linux Tips & Tricks | © ngelinux.com | 6/2/2026