Replace line with double quotes

I want to replace a line with double quotes on OpenBox startup, like:

(sleep 2 && terminator -e "htop") &

with

#(sleep 2 && terminator -e "htop") &

I use this command, but it does not work:

sed -i "s/(sleep 2 && terminator */#(sleep 2 && terminator -e "htop") &/" ~/.config/openbox/autostart

It gives me this error:

`sed: -e expression #1, char : unknown`

Answer

The ampersand in the replacement string recalls the pattern in the search string.

So you can just do this:

sed -i "s/(sleep 2 && terminator */#&/" ~/.config/openbox/autostart

Also, you can use single quotes on the outside, and double quotes on the inside or use ” on the inner double quote.

sed  's/(sleep 2 && terminator -e "htop") &/#(sleep 2 && terminator -e "htop") &/' ~/.config/openbox/autostart

or

sed -i "s/(sleep 2 && terminator -e "htop") &/#(sleep 2 && terminator -e "htop") &/" ~/.config/openbox/autostart