In Unix, how do I combine several text files into a single file?

To combine several text files into a single file in Unix, use the cat command:

Replace file1, file2, and file3 with the names of the files you wish to combine, in the order you want them to appear in the combined document. Replace newfile with a name for your newly combined single file.

If you want to add one or more files to an existing document, use the format:

This command will add file1, file2, and file3 (in that order) to the end of destfile.

Note: If you use > instead of >>, you will overwrite destfile rather than add to it.

At Indiana University, to get support for personal or departmental Linux or Unix systems, see At IU, how do I get support for Linux or Unix?

Also see:

• In Unix, what is tar, and how do I use it?
• In Mac OS and Mac OS X, how can I concatenate a multi-part text file?
• In Unix, how can I split large files into a number of smaller files?
• Introduction to Unix commands