What does the pipe symbol do on the command line?

It connects the standard output of one command to the standard input of the next, so ls | grep .txt feeds the file listing directly into grep for filtering.

What is the pipe symbol called?

Formally it is the vertical bar or vertical line. "Pipe" is the common nickname from Unix shells, where the character connects commands like sections of pipe.

How do I type the pipe symbol on a UK keyboard?

Press Shift plus the extra key next to the left Shift key (the ISO key that also has \ on it). This is a different physical key than the US backslash/pipe key.

What is the difference between | and || in code?

A single | is usually bitwise OR or regex alternation between characters or groups. A double || is logical OR, evaluating to true if either side is true, and it short-circuits in most languages.

What is the broken bar (¦)?

It is a legacy variant of the vertical bar, Unicode U+00A6, printed as two short segments instead of one continuous line. Some older keyboards and terminal fonts rendered the pipe key this way; modern systems almost always use the solid | instead.

What is the Unicode code point for the pipe symbol?

The standard | is U+007C. The broken bar variant is U+00A6 (¦).

Pipe Symbol

Name: Pipe Symbol
Availability: InStock
Author: Nham Vu

Copy the pipe symbol (|) and find its Alt code, Unicode value, and keyboard shortcut for any keyboard layout.

Pipe Symbol

Click the symbol to copy it

Formats

Character |

Unicode U+007C

HTML entity |

HTML decimal |

CSS escape \007C

URL encoded %7C

Click any row to copy that exact string.

Keyboard Shortcuts

System / layout	Shortcut	Notes
Windows (Alt code)		Hold Alt, type 124 on the numeric keypad.
Windows (Unicode)		Same result using the 4-digit code.
US keyboard (Win/Mac)		Shift plus the backslash key, top-right of the letter block.
UK keyboard		Uses the extra ISO key next to the left Shift, not the US backslash key.
German keyboard		QWERTZ layout: the <>\| key sits to the left of the Y key.
French AZERTY keyboard		The 6 key doubles as the pipe with AltGr held.
Linux (GTK)		Type the hex code, then press Enter or Space.
Microsoft Word		Type 007C then press Alt+X to convert it.

Try it

Turn a comma-separated list into a regex alternation group and copy the result.

(cat|dog|bird)

Copied!

Summary

Copy the pipe symbol (|) and find its Alt code, Unicode value, and keyboard shortcut for any keyboard layout.

How it works

Click the large | symbol to copy the plain character to your clipboard.
Or click any row in the Formats list to copy that exact encoded form (Unicode, HTML entity, URL encoding).
Switch to the Broken bar tab to copy the legacy ¦ variant instead.
Check the keyboard shortcut table for your OS and keyboard layout — the pipe key moves around by country.
Use the "Try it" box to turn a comma-separated list into a regex alternation group and copy the result.

Use cases

Chain shell commands together, such as ls | grep or ps aux | less.
Write a regex alternation like cat|dog|bird to match any of several words.
Delimit columns in a plain-text or Markdown table.
Type the pipe on a keyboard layout where it is not Shift+backslash, such as German or French.
Insert the HTML entity | when a raw | gets stripped by a text filter.
Look up the Alt code for pasting into legacy software that blocks copy-paste.
Build a quick alternation group for a regex without leaving the browser.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-07-22 · Reviewed by Nham Vu