column Command on Linux | Aligned Tables

column on Linux turns messy whitespace-separated output into aligned tables — a frequent search after df -h, mount, or custom status scripts that otherwise look ragged in SSH sessions.

See: paste,
cut,
fold.

Table from stdin

-t guesses columns from whitespace runs.

bashtable

printf 'name\tcpu\tram\ndb01\t4\t8G\nweb01\t2\t4G\n' | column -t

Custom separator

-s defines delimiter — often colon for /etc/passwd style (demo only).

bashdelim

column -t -s: /etc/group | head -3

With df or mount

Pipe system commands into column before alerting.

bashdf

df -hP | column -t

Limits

Very wide output may still wrap — combine with terminal width or export to CSV.

NoteDo not expose sensitive columns from /etc files in public posts — use sanitized examples in docs.

Quick Reference

Align: cmd | column -t
Delimiter: column -t -s:
Great for df -h reports

column Command on Linux: Format Output into Aligned Columns