[SOLVED] Remove leading spaces with sed

Issue

I have file(list6.txt) which looks like:

xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx;

xxxxxx xxxxx PxxxxxxxxFxxxxxx xxxxxxx PxxxxxxxxFxxxxxx {

    @Oxxxxxxx
    xxxxxx Sxxxxx xxxNxxx() {
        xxxxxx "Pxxxx_Pxxxxxxxx";
    }

    @Oxxxxxxx
    xxxxxx Pxxxxxxxx xxxxxxPxxxxxxxx(Cxxxxxx xxx) {
        xxxxxx xxx Pxxxxxxxx(xxx);
    }

}

I am trying to remove all leading spaces with command:

cat list6.txt | sed 's/^[ \t]//'
OR
sed 's/^[ \t]*//' list6.txt

However i cant do it with above 2 commands.

Could someone help me with it.

Thanks

Solution

Use this more portable sed:

sed -i.bak 's/^[[:space:]]*//' file

This works with both gnu-sed and BSD sed as well.

Answered By - anubhava

Answer Checked By - Marilyn (WPSolving Volunteer)