FOLD(1) | General Commands Manual | FOLD(1)

# NAME

`fold` —
fold long lines for finite width output device

# SYNOPSIS

`fold` | [`-bs`] [`-w` width] [file ...]

# DESCRIPTION

`fold` is a filter which folds the contents of the specified files, or the standard input if no files are specified, breaking the lines to have a maximum of 80 characters.

The options are as follows:

`-b`
  Count width in bytes rather than column positions.
`-s`
  Fold line after the last blank character within the first width column positions (or bytes). If a blank character does not exist within the width, then a longer line will still be split at the width.
`-w` width
  Specifies width to use as a line width, instead of the default 80 characters.

# ENVIRONMENT

`LC_CTYPE`

# EXIT STATUS

The `fold` utility exits 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs.

# SEE ALSO

expand(1), fmt(1)

# STANDARDS

The `fold` utility conforms to IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 (“POSIX.1”).

# HISTORY

The `fold` utility appeared in 1BSD.

# BUGS

If underlining is present it may be messed up by folding.

Width should be a multiple of 8 if tabs are present, or the tabs should be expanded using expand(1) before using `fold`.

May 12, 2012 | NetBSD 10.1