# If you'd like to omit non-matching lines from the result; add ';d' to the end of the expression.
sed -E 's/\]\s*(?:\d+|[a-zA-Z]+)\.\s*/] /gm;t' <<< "[ 1.1 ] 1. A method of providing a master
[ 12.1 ] 12. An apparatus for providing
[ 39.3 ] b. one or more control point applications
[ 39.8 ] iv. a server application programming interface
[ 30.2 ] a. a client application programming
[ 1.2 ] an RFID device provided"
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for SED, please visit: https://www.gnu.org/software/sed/manual/html_node/The-_0022s_0022-Command.html