What does xargs mean in Linux?

eXtended ARGuments
xargs (short for “eXtended ARGuments”) is a command on Unix and most Unix-like operating systems used to build and execute commands from standard input. It converts input from standard input into arguments to a command.

What is bash xargs?

Xargs is a great command that reads streams of data from standard input, then generates and executes command lines; meaning it can take output of a command and passes it as argument of another command. If no command is specified, xargs executes echo by default.

How use xargs command in Linux?

xargs command in Linux with examples

1. xargs options :
2. -0 : input items are terminated by null character instead of white spaces.
3. -a file : read items from file instead of standard input.
4. –delimiter = delim : input items are terminated by a special character.
5. -E eof-str : set the end of file string to eof-str.

What is the purpose of xargs?

Build and execute command lines from standard input
xargs/Function

When to use the xargs command in Linux?

It is one of the most important usage of xargs command. When you need to find certain type of files and perform certain actions on them (most popular being the delete action). The xargs command is very effective when we combine with other commands.

What happens when you execute xargs without an argument?

The xargs command (by default) expects the input from stdin, and executes /bin/echo command over the input. The following is what happens when you execute xargs without any argument, or when you execute it without combining with any other commands.

How are blank lines ignored in xargs ( 1 )?

Blank lines on the standard input are ignored. The command line for command is built up until it reaches a system-defined limit (unless the -n and -L options are used). The specified command will be invoked as many times as necessary to use up the list of input items.

Which is the output of xargs Echo ABCD?

In the following example, type “abcd” as the input for the xargs -t command. Press ctrl-d to complete the above xargs -t command, which will display the command that xargs really executes before displaying the output. In this case, the command that xargs executes is “/bin/echo abcd”, which is displayed here.