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UAdapter
Asked: 2011-11-23 03:06:20 +0800 CST

How do I combine multiple grep commands?

  • 772

I have a command like this:

| grep -v @param | grep -v @return | grep -v @Test | grep -v @throws

And it's getting bigger. Is there a way to make this neater?

bash

3 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    Another option:

    ... | grep -v -e @param -e @return -e @Test -e @throws
    • 18

  2. You can use:

    ... | grep -v "\(@param\|@return\|@Test\|@throws\)"

    or you can use the -E flag to enable extended regular expressions, which will allow you to avoid escaping the parentheses and pipe characters:

    ... | grep -Ev '(@param|@return|@Test|@throws)'
    • 10

  3. Alternatively, you can place all your patterns in a file, one pattern per line, and use

    ... | grep -v -f matches.txt

    Would make things easier if you use the patterns regularly

    • 8