---
name: "sponge"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "moreutils"
version: "0.70-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/sponge"
---

# sponge(1)

soak up standard input and write to a file

## NAME

sponge - soak up standard input and write to a file

## SYNOPSIS

**sed '...' file \| grep '...' \| sponge \[-a\] file**

## DESCRIPTION

**sponge** reads standard input and writes it out to the specified file. Unlike a shell redirect, **sponge** soaks up all its input before writing the output file. This allows constructing pipelines that read from and write to the same file.

**sponge** preserves the permissions of the output file if it already exists.

When possible, **sponge** creates or updates the output file atomically by renaming a temp file into place. (This cannot be done if TMPDIR is not in the same filesystem.)

If the output file is a special file or symlink, the data will be written to it, non-atomically.

If no file is specified, **sponge** outputs to stdout.

## OPTIONS

- FC**-a**F\[0\]

  Replace the file with a new file that contains the file's original content, with the standard input appended to it. This is done atomically when possible.

## AUTHOR

Colin Watson and Tollef Fog Heen