2.4. Inspecting Files

2.4.1. cat

One quick way to display the contents of a regular file to standard output is using the cat (concatenate [to standard output]) command, supplying a path to the file you want to view as a command-line argument.

cd ~/cs1302-unix/books

cat sherlock_holmes.txt
../../_images/cat-demo.svg

2.4.2. less

The cat command displays the entire contents of a file all at once, which may not be desirable for large files. To display the contents of a regular file one page (or screen) at a time, use the less command and supply a path to the file you want to view as a command-line argument. To quit out of less, press the q key. To move up and down one page (screen) at a time, use the C-v and M-v shortcuts, respectively.

cd

less cs1302-unix/books/moby_dick.txt
../../_images/less-demo.svg

Try this!

We have not discussed the head and tail commands. Try them alongside the cat and less examples to discover what they do. If you can’t figure out based on what you see, consider using some commands to get help directly in the terminal.