Linux AWK print function is one of the most commonly used functions, so it’s important to understand it.
awk print $0
➜ echo "test" | awk '{print}'
![](https://www.linuxcommands.site/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/image-16-1024x168.png)
➜ echo "test" | awk '{print $0}'
![](https://www.linuxcommands.site/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/image-17-1024x117.png)
Running results as above:
awk '{print}' == awk '{print $0}'
- $0 : Represents the entire current line
- $1 : First field per line
➜ awk echo "test" | awk '{print $1}'
test
use -F specifies a delimiter
➜ echo "a:B:C:CS:DDDD" | awk -F":" '{print $2}'
![](https://www.linuxcommands.site/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/image-18-1024x161.png)
a : B : C : CS : DDDD
$1 $2 $3 $4 $5
continuous output of $2 and $5
➜ echo "a:B:C:CS:DDDD" | awk -F":" '{print $2 $5}'
![](https://www.linuxcommands.site/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/image-19-1024x163.png)
space output of $2 and $5
ylspiritdeMacBook-Pro:awk ylspirit$ echo "a:B:C:CS:DDDD" | awk -F":" '{print $2,$5}'
B DDDD
custom output of $2 and $5
ylspiritdeMacBook-Pro:awk ylspirit$ echo "a:B:C:CS:DDDD" | awk -F":" '{print $2 ":" $5}'
B:DDDD
ylspiritdeMacBook-Pro:awk ylspirit$ echo "a:B:C:CS:DDDD" | awk -F":" '{print $2 "#" $5}'
B#DDDD
print specific columns
➜ awk '{print $2}' test.txt
![](https://www.linuxcommands.site/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/image-20-1024x279.png)
use NR to print specific rows
➜ awk 'NR==2{print}' test.txt
![](https://www.linuxcommands.site/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/image-21-1024x148.png)
use NF to print the number of fields in the current record
➜ awk 'NF==2 {print $0}' test-1.txt
![](https://www.linuxcommands.site/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/image-22-1024x263.png)
print line number per line
➜ awk '{print NR, $0}' test-1.txt
![linux awk print line number per line](https://www.linuxcommands.site/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/image-23-1024x272.png)
use OFS output specific format
ylspiritdeMacBook-Pro:awk ylspirit$ echo "a:B:C:CS:DDDD" | awk -F":" '{print $2,$5}' OFS="|"
B|DDDD
awk print last field
➜ awk '{print $NF}' test2.txt
![linux awk print last field](https://www.linuxcommands.site/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/image-24-1024x299.png)