If you’re working in the Linux command line, there are a few ways to view the contents of a text file. In this article, we’ll show you four methods for viewing text files: cat, less, head, and tail.
Table of Contents
How to View the Contents of a Text File from the Linux Command Line
Step-by-step guide
Step 1:
Open a terminal window. You can do this by pressing CTRL + ALT + T on your keyboard.
Step 2:
Navigate to the directory where the text file is located. You can do this by using the ‘cd’ command.
Step 3:
Type ‘cat’ followed by the name of the text file. For example, if the text file is called ‘file.txt’, you would type ‘cat file.txt’.
Step 4:
Press Enter. The contents of the text file will be displayed in the terminal window.
Tips and Tricks
There are a few different ways that you can view the contents of a text file from the Linux command line. The most common way is to use the “cat” command. For example, if you wanted to view the contents of the file “myfile.txt”, you would type the following at the command prompt:
cat myfile.txt
This would print the contents of the file to the screen.
If you just want to view the contents of the file without printing it to the screen, you can use the “less” command. For example:
less myfile.txt
This will allow you to scroll through the file using the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard. To exit the less command, just press the “q” key.
If you want to view only a certain section of the file, you can use the “head” or “tail” commands. For example, if you only wanted to see the first 10 lines of the file, you would type the following:
head -n 10 myfile.txt
If you wanted to see the last 10 lines of the file, you would type the following:
tail -n 10 myfile.txt
These are just a few of the ways that you can view the contents of a text file from the Linux command line. Experiment with the different commands to find the one that best suits your needs.
Useful Resources
If you want to learn more about working with the Linux command line, there are a few resources that can be helpful.
First, The Linux Command Line by William E. Shotts is a great book that can teach you a lot about working with the command line.
Another resource is the website How to Geek. They have a section dedicated to the command line, with articles that cover a variety of topics.
Finally, the website Linux Handbook also has a section on the command line, with articles that go into detail about various commands.
Must Read
1. To view the contents of a text file from the Linux command line, use the cat command.
2. The cat command will print the contents of the file to the standard output (usually your screen).
3. If the file is too long to fit on one screen, you can use the less command to view it one page at a time.
4. To search for a particular string of text in a file, use the grep command.
5. To edit a text file from the command line, use the vi or nano editor.
Conclusion
There are a few different ways that you can view the contents of a text file from the Linux command line. The most common way is to use the “cat” command. This command will print the contents of a file to the terminal window. Another way to view the contents of a file is to use the “less” command. This command will allow you to scroll through the file one page at a time. You can also use the “head” and “tail” commands to view the beginning and end of a file respectively.
