Split a string using bash script – Code Example

In this article we will provide you bash script code to split a string using a delimiter. You can use this code as it is in your existing projects. Common delimiters are , space _ - $ # etc.

Code Example –

1. split() function

#!/bin/bash

split() {
   IFS=$'\n' read -d "" -ra arr <<< "${1//$2/$'\n'}"
   echo "${arr[@]}"
}

sanitized_string=$(split "apples,oranges,pears,grapes" ",")

echo $sanitized_string

# Output: 
# apples oranges pears grapes

2. If delimiter is _

split "Ironman_Thor_Hulk_Captain America" "_"

# Output
# Ironman Thor Hulk Captain America

3. If delimiter is $ – You will need to escape \$

split "Elon\$Jeff\$Bill\$Ambani\$Mark" "$"

# Output: 
# Elon Jeff Bill Ambani Mark

4. To print items in separate lines

#!/bin/bash

nl_split() {
   IFS=$'\n' read -d "" -ra arr <<< "${1//$2/$'\n'}"
   printf '%s\n' "${arr[@]}"
}

nl_split "All words will print in separate lines" " "

# Output -
# All
# words
# will
# print
# in
# separate
# lines