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user3215
Asked: 2011-03-21 05:09:15 +0800 CST

List top/bottom ten lines of a word matching in a file

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How do I list top or bottom 10 lines from the line that matched the word 'error' in a file.

I'm using grep 'error' /var/log/logfile.log > errors to print and save the lines that matched the word 'error' in to the file called 'errors'. How could I change this to suite my requirement?. Anybody has any idea?

9.10

1 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    Displaying lines before/after/around the match using grep -A, -B and -C

    -A is the option which prints the specified N lines after the match as shown below.

    -B is the option which prints the specified N lines before the match.

    -C is the option which prints the specified N lines before the match. In some occasion you might want the match to be appeared with the lines from both the side. This options shows N lines in both the side(before & after) of match.

    Source: http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2009/03/15-practical-unix-grep-command-examples/ (Also I would recommend you to read the full blog post)

    so, the command should be like grep -C 10 'error'

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