Merging files is a common task in various computing environments, including macOS. Whether you are a developer combining code files, a data analyst merging datasets, or a writer consolidating text documents, knowing how to merge files efficiently can save you time and effort. In the Apple environment, particularly macOS, the Terminal application provides powerful command-line tools to perform file merging operations. This article will guide you through the process of merging text files using Terminal commands on macOS.

Examples:

Example 1: Merging Text Files Using the cat Command

The cat command is a versatile utility in Unix-based systems, including macOS, that can be used to concatenate and display file contents. To merge multiple text files into a single file, you can use the following command:

cat file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt > mergedfile.txt

This command reads the contents of file1.txt, file2.txt, and file3.txt and writes them into a new file called mergedfile.txt.

Example 2: Merging Files with awk

The awk command is another powerful text-processing tool that can be used for merging files. Here’s an example of how to merge two CSV files:

awk 'FNR==1 && NR!=1 {next;}{print}' file1.csv file2.csv > mergedfile.csv

This command ensures that the header from the second file is not duplicated in the merged output.

Example 3: Merging PDF Files Using pdfunite

For merging PDF files, macOS users can install the pdfunite utility via Homebrew. First, install Homebrew if you haven't already:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Then, install poppler which includes pdfunite:

brew install poppler

Now, you can merge PDF files using the following command:

pdfunite file1.pdf file2.pdf file3.pdf mergedfile.pdf

This command combines file1.pdf, file2.pdf, and file3.pdf into a single PDF file named mergedfile.pdf.