fmt(1) — Linux manual pages

Linux manual pages	Section 1

Name

fmt — simple optimal text formatter

fmt [−WIDTH] [OPTION...] [FILE...]

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

Written by Ross Paterson.