[linux] Append text to file from command line without using io redirection

How can we append text in a file via a one-line command without using io redirection?

This question is related to linux command-line file-io

The answer is


You can use the --append feature of tee:

cat file01.txt | tee --append bothFiles.txt 
cat file02.txt | tee --append bothFiles.txt 

Or shorter,

cat file01.txt file02.txt | tee --append bothFiles.txt 

I assume the request for no redirection (>>) comes from the need to use this in xargs or similar. So if that doesn't count, you can mute the output with >/dev/null.


You can use Vim in Ex mode:

ex -sc 'a|BRAVO' -cx file
  1. a append text

  2. x save and close


If you just want to tack something on by hand, then the sed answer will work for you. If instead the text is in file(s) (say file1.txt and file2.txt):

Using Perl:

perl -e 'open(OUT, ">>", "outfile.txt"); print OUT while (<>);' file*.txt

N.B. while the >> may look like an indication of redirection, it is just the file open mode, in this case "append".


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