| -c--crown-margin | preserve indentation of first two lines |
| -p--prefix | reformat only lines beginning with STRING, reattaching the prefix to reformatted lines |
| -s--split-only | split long lines, but do not refill |
| -t--tagged-paragraph | indentation of first line different from second |
| -u--uniform-spacing | one space between words, two after sentences |
| -w--width | maximum line width (default of 75 columns) |
| -g--goal | goal width (default of 93% of width) |
| --help | display this help and exit |
| --version | output version information and exit |
NAME
fmt - simple optimal text formatter
SYNOPSIS
fmt [-WIDTH] [OPTION]... [FILE]...
DESCRIPTION
Reformat each paragraph in the FILE(s), writing to standard output. The option -WIDTH is an abbreviated form of --width=DIGITS.
With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.
Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.
- -c, --crown-margin
preserve indentation of first two lines
- -p, --prefix=STRING
reformat only lines beginning with STRING, reattaching the prefix to reformatted lines
- -s, --split-only
split long lines, but do not refill
- -t, --tagged-paragraph
indentation of first line different from second
- -u, --uniform-spacing
one space between words, two after sentences
- -w, --width=WIDTH
maximum line width (default of 75 columns)
- -g, --goal=WIDTH
goal width (default of 93% of width)
- --help
display this help and exit
- --version
output version information and exit
AUTHOR
Written by Ross Paterson.
REPORTING BUGS
GNU coreutils online help: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/> Report any translation bugs to <https://translationproject.org/team/>
SEE ALSO
Full documentation <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/fmt> or available locally via: info '(coreutils) fmt invocation'
Packaged by Debian (9.7-3) Copyright © 2025 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>. This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.