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# Print line at number

To print a line at a given position (say, line 10) within a file, we can use this invocation of `sed`:

```bash
sed '10q;d' file
```

`d` means every line will be removed from the output, except for line 10, where the deletion is short-circuited by quitting `q`. The result is that only line 10 is printed, and the rest of the file isn't processed.

An alternative is:

```bash
sed -n '10p' file
```

It is somewhat more intuitive, using `-n` to avoid printing lines, except for line 10 which is explicitly printed. The drawback is that the entire file is processed. Keep this in mind if performance is a priority.

[Source](https://stackoverflow.com/a/6022431)