Comprehensive List of PV Commands with Descriptions

[Sneakyone]

Comprehensive List of PV Commands with Descriptions

**pv** (Pipe Viewer) is a command-line utility used to monitor the progress of data through a pipeline, providing real-time visual feedback on data transfer rates, time elapsed, estimated time remaining, and more. Below is a detailed list of PV commands, along with descriptions and examples.

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1. Basic Data Transfer Monitoring
Description: Monitors the progress of data transfer through a pipeline.

Code:

pv [InputFile] > [OutputFile]

Example: To monitor the copying of `inputfile` to `outputfile`:

Code:

pv inputfile > outputfile

2. Limiting Data Transfer Rate
Description: Limits the data transfer rate to a specified number of bytes per second.

Code:

pv -L [Rate] [InputFile] > [OutputFile]

Example: To limit the data transfer rate to 1MB per second:

Code:

pv -L 1m inputfile > outputfile

3. Showing the Progress Bar Only
Description: Displays only the progress bar, suppressing other output.

Code:

pv -p [InputFile] > [OutputFile]

Example: To show just the progress bar during file transfer:

Code:

pv -p inputfile > outputfile

4. Showing ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival)
Description: Displays the estimated time of arrival (ETA) for the data transfer.

Code:

pv -e [InputFile] > [OutputFile]

Example: To display ETA while copying a file:

Code:

pv -e inputfile > outputfile

5. Displaying Data Transfer Rate
Description: Displays the data transfer rate during the pipeline operation.

Code:

pv -r [InputFile] > [OutputFile]

Example: To show the data transfer rate:

Code:

pv -r inputfile > outputfile

6. Displaying Timer Information
Description: Displays the elapsed time since the start of the data transfer.

Code:

pv -t [InputFile] > [OutputFile]

Example: To display the elapsed time during file transfer:

Code:

pv -t inputfile > outputfile

7. Combining Options
Description: Combines multiple display options, such as showing progress, ETA, rate, and timer.

Code:

pv -pet [InputFile] > [OutputFile]

Example: To display progress, ETA, and elapsed time together:

Code:

pv -pet inputfile > outputfile

8. Using PV in a Pipeline with Other Commands
Description: Monitors data passing through a pipeline that involves multiple commands.

Code:

command1 | pv | command2

Example: To monitor the compression of a file:

Code:

cat inputfile | pv | gzip > outputfile.gz

9. Displaying Average Data Transfer Rate
Description: Displays the average data transfer rate for the entire operation.

Code:

pv -a [InputFile] > [OutputFile]

Example: To display the average transfer rate while copying a file:

Code:

pv -a inputfile > outputfile

10. Showing Byte Count in Human-Readable Format
Description: Displays the total byte count in a human-readable format, such as KB, MB, or GB.

Code:

pv -h [InputFile] > [OutputFile]

Example: To display the total bytes transferred in a readable format:

Code:

pv -h inputfile > outputfile

11. Writing Output to Multiple Destinations
Description: Writes the output to multiple destinations simultaneously.

Code:

pv [InputFile] | tee [OutputFile1] > [OutputFile2]

Example: To write output to two files simultaneously:

Code:

pv inputfile | tee outputfile1 > outputfile2

12. Displaying Help Information
Description: Displays help information for the PV command, listing all available options and their descriptions.

Code:

pv --help

Example: To display help information for PV:

Code:

pv --help

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Conclusion

The **PV** command is a powerful utility for monitoring data transfer through pipelines, making it an essential tool for anyone working with large file transfers or data processing tasks in Unix-like systems. By mastering these commands, you can effectively monitor and manage data pipelines, ensuring efficient and transparent data handling.

Happy Monitoring!