Visual text pipeline
Stack simple text steps, inspect the line count after each one, copy the result, and learn the equivalent shell pipeline.
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How to use it
- Paste a line-based list or delimited text into the input.
- Choose a step type, add it, and edit its options. Use the up and down buttons to change execution order.
- Check the line count after every stage and copy the final result. Expand the shell command to learn an equivalent command-line pipeline.
Examples
Build a clean unique list
Stack trim → remove blank lines → sort → unique to produce a readable deduplicated list.
- Input
pear \nApple\n\napple\npear
- Result
Apple\napple\npear
Cut and filter a delimited list
Select the second comma-delimited field and add an include filter to visualize a flow similar to cut followed by grep.
Details
Visual Text Pipeline replaces one opaque regular expression with small, explainable steps that run from top to bottom. Combine sorting, deduplication, blank-line removal, trimming, case conversion, literal or regular-expression replacement, delimited field selection, include or exclude filters, numbering, joining and splitting.
Every card reports the number of lines after that stage. Order changes meaning: converting case before deduplication can merge Apple and apple, while deduplicating first may preserve both. Intermediate counts make that difference visible before you copy the final result.
The generated shell pipeline is educational and useful as a starting point. Browser and operating-system versions of sort, sed, awk, grep, cut, tr and paste can differ in locale sorting, Unicode case handling and regular-expression syntax. Test important automation with representative data. Input stays in this tab and is not saved or sent over the network.
Frequently asked questions
Does step order matter?
Yes. Each step consumes the previous step's output. Move cards up and down and compare their intermediate line counts.
What happens when a regular expression is invalid?
The pipeline stops at that step, shows an error, and preserves the result from the preceding stage.
Will the shell command always produce identical output?
Not always. Locale sorting, Unicode case conversion and sed implementations vary, so treat it as an educational starting point.
Is my input stored?
No. It is processed in memory in this tab and is not put into URLs, browser storage or analytics events.