uutils/sed

rejects address ranges for i and a commands (GNU accepts them)

Open

#248 opened on Jan 11, 2026

View on GitHub
 (2 comments) (0 reactions) (0 assignees)Rust (23 forks)github user discovery
good first issue

Repository metrics

Stars
 (91 stars)
PR merge metrics
 (Avg merge 6d 9h) (25 merged PRs in 30d)

Description

Rust (incorrect - returns error)

  $ echo -e "a\nb\nc" | cargo run --quiet -- -e '1,2i\text'
  # Error: sed: <script argument 1>:1:4: error: command i expects up to 1 address(es), found 2
  # Exit code: 1

GNU (correct)

  $ echo -e "a\nb\nc" | /usr/bin/sed -e '1,2i\text'
  # Output:
  # text
  # a
  # text
  # b
  # c
  # Exit code: 0

Additional test case for a (append) command:

Rust (incorrect - returns error)

  $ echo -e "a\nb\nc" | cargo run --quiet -- -e '1,2a\text'
  # Error: sed: <script argument 1>:1:4: error: command a expects up to 1 address(es), found 2
  # Exit code: 1

GNU (correct)


  $ echo -e "a\nb\nc" | /usr/bin/sed -e '1,2a\text'
  # Output:
  # a
  # text
  # b
  # text
  # c
  # Exit code: 0

Bug Found by Fuzzer

Contributor guide

Research direction
Inspect the address validation logic for commands 'i' and 'a'. Currently it limits to 1 address. Modify to allow ranges (2 addresses) as GNU sed does. Check the parser and command execution.
Tech stack
rust
Domain
clibackend
Issue type
Bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
2
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Fresh
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
Rust
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
75