7 Linux Tips for Displaying Contents of File in Linux

 

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7 Linux Tips for Showing File Contents in Unix / Linux

Linux Tips

Here you can find several tips for displaying file contents in unix / linux terminal with examples. They are

1. Using cat command
2. Using head command
3. Using tail command
4. Using more command
5. Using less command
6. Using nl command
7. Using nano command (pico command)

1. Using cat Command

• This command will take a file as an input and display it on the standard output which is the terminal output.

Syntax

        cat filename

Example

2. Using head Command

• This command will take a file as an input and display the top ten lines by default on the terminal.

Syntax

        head filename

Example

3. Using tail Command

• This command will take a file as an input and display the bottom ten lines by default on the terminal.

Syntax

        tail filename

Example

4. Using more Command

• This command will take a file as an input and display the file contents in pager form, displaying one screen at a time in case the file is too large.

Syntax

        more filename

Example

5. Using less Command

• This command will take a file as an input and display the file contents in pager form
• To exit, press q symbol from keyboard.

Syntax

        less filename

Example

6. Using nl Command

• This command will take a file as an input and display the file contents with line numbers

Syntax

        nl filename

Example

7. Using nano Command (Nano Editor)

• This is actually editor used in linux terminal
• This command will take a file as an input and display the file contents in its terminal window.
• To exit from this editor, press CTRL + X key.

Syntax

        nano filename

Example

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