1NANO(1)                     General Commands Manual                    NANO(1)
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NAME

6       nano - Nano's ANOther editor, inspired by Pico
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SYNOPSIS

10       nano [options] [[+line[,column]] file]...
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NOTICE

14       Starting  with  version 4.0, nano no longer hard-wraps an overlong line
15       by default, uses smooth scrolling by default, and by default makes  use
16       of the line below the title bar.
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18       If  you want the old, Pico behavior back, you can use --breaklonglines,
19       --jumpyscrolling, and --emptyline (or -bje for short).
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21

DESCRIPTION

23       nano is a small and friendly editor.  It copies the look  and  feel  of
24       Pico,  but  is free software, and implements several features that Pico
25       lacks, such as: opening multiple files, scrolling per line,  undo/redo,
26       syntax coloring, line numbering, and soft-wrapping overlong lines.
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28       When  giving a filename on the command line, the cursor can be put on a
29       specific line by adding the line number with a plus sign (+) before the
30       filename, and even in a specific column by adding it with a comma.
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32       As  a  special case: if instead of a filename a dash (-) is given, nano
33       will read data from standard input.
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EDITING

37       Entering text and moving around in a file  is  straightforward:  typing
38       the  letters  and  using the normal cursor movement keys.  Commands are
39       entered by using the Control (^) and the Alt or Meta (M-) keys.  Typing
40       ^K  deletes the current line and puts it in the cutbuffer.  Consecutive
41       ^Ks will put all deleted lines together in the cutbuffer.   Any  cursor
42       movement or executing any other command will cause the next ^K to over‐
43       write the cutbuffer.  A ^U will paste the current contents of the  cut‐
44       buffer at the current cursor position.
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46       When  a  more  precise piece of text needs to be cut or copied, one can
47       mark its start with ^6, move the cursor to its  end  (the  marked  text
48       will  be  highlighted), and then use ^K to cut it, or M-6 to copy it to
49       the cutbuffer.  One can also save the marked text to a file with ^O, or
50       spell check it with ^T.
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52       On  some  terminals,  text  can  be selected also by holding down Shift
53       while using the arrow keys.  Holding down the Ctrl or Alt key too  will
54       increase the stride.  Any cursor movement without Shift being held will
55       cancel such a selection.
56
57       The two lines at the bottom of the screen show some important commands;
58       the  built-in  help (^G) lists all the available ones.  The default key
59       bindings can be changed via a nanorc file -- see nanorc(5).
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OPTIONS

63       -A, --smarthome
64              Make the Home key smarter.  When Home is pressed anywhere but at
65              the  very  beginning of non-whitespace characters on a line, the
66              cursor will jump to that beginning  (either  forwards  or  back‐
67              wards).  If the cursor is already at that position, it will jump
68              to the true beginning of the line.
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70       -B, --backup
71              When saving a file, back up the previous version  of  it,  using
72              the current filename suffixed with a tilde (~).
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74       -C directory, --backupdir=directory
75              Make  and  keep  not  just  one backup file, but make and keep a
76              uniquely numbered one every time a file is saved -- when backups
77              are enabled (-B).  The uniquely numbered files are stored in the
78              specified directory.
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80       -D, --boldtext
81              Use bold text instead of reverse video text.
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83       -E, --tabstospaces
84              Convert typed tabs to spaces.
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86       -F, --multibuffer
87              Read a file into a new buffer by default.
88
89       -G, --locking
90              Use vim-style file locking when editing files.
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92       -H, --historylog
93              Save the last hundred search strings and replacement strings and
94              executed  commands,  so  they can be easily reused in later ses‐
95              sions.
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97       -I, --ignorercfiles
98              Don't look at the system's nanorc nor at the user's nanorc.
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100       -J number, --guidestripe=number
101              Draw a vertical stripe at the given column, to  help  judge  the
102              width of the text.  (The color of the stripe can be changed with
103              set stripecolor in your nanorc file.)
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105       -K, --rawsequences
106              Interpret escape sequences directly (instead of  asking  ncurses
107              to  translate  them).   If you need this option to get your key‐
108              board to work properly, please report a bug.  Using this  option
109              disables nano's mouse support.
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111       -L, --nonewlines
112              Don't  automatically add a newline when a file does not end with
113              one.
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115       -M, --trimblanks
116              Snip trailing whitespace from the wrapped  line  when  automatic
117              hard-wrapping occurs or when text is justified.
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119       -N, --noconvert
120              Disable automatic conversion of files from DOS/Mac format.
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122       -O, --morespace
123              Obsolete  and ignored option, since the line below the title bar
124              is included into the editing space by default.  If you prefer to
125              keep this line blank, use -e or --emptyline.
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127       -P, --positionlog
128              For the 200 most recent files, log the last position of the cur‐
129              sor, and place it at that position again upon reopening  such  a
130              file.
131
132       -Q "regex", --quotestr="regex"
133              Set  the  regular  expression for matching the quoting part of a
134              line.   The  default  value  is  "^([ \t]*([!#%:;>|}]|//|--))+".
135              (Note that \t stands for an actual Tab.)  This makes it possible
136              to rejustify blocks of quoted text when composing email, and  to
137              rewrap blocks of line comments when writing source code.
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139       -R, --restricted
140              Restricted  mode:  don't read or write to any file not specified
141              on the command line.  This means: don't read  or  write  history
142              files; don't allow suspending; don't allow spell checking; don't
143              allow a file to be appended to, prepended to, or saved  under  a
144              different  name  if  it  already  has one; and don't make backup
145              files.  Restricted mode can also be activated by  invoking  nano
146              with any name beginning with 'r' (e.g. "rnano").
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148       -S, --smooth
149              Obsolete  and  ignored option, since smooth scrolling has become
150              the default.  If you prefer the chunk-by-chunk scrolling  behav‐
151              ior, use -j or --jumpyscrolling.
152
153       -T number, --tabsize=number
154              Set  the  size (width) of a tab to number columns.  The value of
155              number must be greater than 0.  The default value is 8.
156
157       -U, --quickblank
158              Do quick status-bar blanking: status-bar messages will disappear
159              after  1  keystroke  instead of 25.  Note that option -c (--con‐
160              stantshow) overrides this.
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162       -V, --version
163              Show the current version number and exit.
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165       -W, --wordbounds
166              Detect word boundaries differently by treating punctuation char‐
167              acters as part of a word.
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169       -X "characters", --wordchars="characters"
170              Specify  which other characters (besides the normal alphanumeric
171              ones) should be considered as part of a  word.   This  overrides
172              option -W (--wordbounds).
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174       -Y name, --syntax=name
175              Specify  the  name  of the syntax highlighting to use from among
176              the ones defined in the nanorc files.
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178       -Z, --zap
179              Let an unmodified Backspace or Delete erase  the  marked  region
180              (instead  of  a single character, and without affecting the cut‐
181              buffer).
182
183       -a, --atblanks
184              When doing soft line wrapping, wrap lines at whitespace  instead
185              of always at the edge of the screen.
186
187       -b, --breaklonglines
188              Automatically  hard-wrap  the current line when it becomes over‐
189              long.  (This option is the opposite of -w (--nowrap) -- the last
190              one given takes effect.)
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192       -c, --constantshow
193              Constantly  show  the  cursor  position on the status bar.  Note
194              that this overrides option -U (--quickblank).
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196       -d, --rebinddelete
197              Interpret the Delete and Backspace keys differently so that both
198              Backspace  and  Delete  work properly.  You should only use this
199              option when on your system either Backspace acts like Delete  or
200              Delete acts like Backspace.
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202       -e, --emptyline
203              Do  not  use  the  line below the title bar, leaving it entirely
204              blank.
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206       -g, --showcursor
207              Make the cursor visible in the file browser (putting it  on  the
208              highlighted  item)  and  in the help viewer.  Useful for braille
209              users and people with poor vision.
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211       -h, --help
212              Show a summary of the available command-line options and exit.
213
214       -i, --autoindent
215              Automatically indent a newly created line to the same number  of
216              tabs  and/or spaces as the previous line (or as the next line if
217              the previous line is the beginning of a paragraph).
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219       -j, --jumpyscrolling
220              Scroll the buffer contents per half-screen instead of per line.
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222       -k, --cutfromcursor
223              Make the 'Cut Text' command (normally ^K) cut from  the  current
224              cursor  position  to the end of the line, instead of cutting the
225              entire line.
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227       -l, --linenumbers
228              Display line numbers to the left of the text area.
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230       -m, --mouse
231              Enable mouse  support,  if  available  for  your  system.   When
232              enabled,  mouse  clicks can be used to place the cursor, set the
233              mark (with a double click), and execute  shortcuts.   The  mouse
234              will work in the X Window System, and on the console when gpm is
235              running.  Text can still be selected through dragging by holding
236              down the Shift key.
237
238       -n, --noread
239              Treat  any  name  given on the command line as a new file.  This
240              allows nano to write to named pipes: it will start with a  blank
241              buffer,  and  will  write  to  the  pipe when the user saves the
242              "file".  This way nano can be used as an editor  in  combination
243              with  for instance gpg without having to write sensitive data to
244              disk first.
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246       -o directory, --operatingdir=directory
247              Set the operating directory.  This makes nano set  up  something
248              similar to a chroot.
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250       -p, --preserve
251              Preserve  the XON and XOFF sequences (^Q and ^S) so they will be
252              caught by the terminal.
253
254       -r number, --fill=number
255              Set the target width for justifying and automatic  hard-wrapping
256              at  this number of columns.  If the value is 0 or less, wrapping
257              will occur at the width of  the  screen  minus  number  columns,
258              allowing  the  wrap  point  to  vary along with the width of the
259              screen if the screen is resized.  The default value is -8.
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261       -s program, --speller=program
262              Use this alternative spell checker command.
263
264       -t, --tempfile
265              Save a changed buffer without prompting (when exiting with ^X).
266
267       -u, --unix
268              Save a file by default in Unix format.   This  overrides  nano's
269              default  behavior  of  saving  a file in the format that it had.
270              (This option has no effect when you also use --noconvert.)
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272       -v, --view
273              Just view the file and disallow editing: read-only  mode.   This
274              mode  allows  the  user  to  open  also other files for viewing,
275              unless --restricted is given too.
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277       -w, --nowrap
278              Do not automatically hard-wrap the current line when it  becomes
279              overlong.  This is the default.  (This option is the opposite of
280              -b (--breaklonglines) -- the last one given takes effect.)
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283       -x, --nohelp
284              Don't show the two help lines at the bottom of the screen.
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286       -y, --afterends
287              Make Ctrl+Right stop at word ends instead of beginnings.
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289       -z, --suspend
290              Enable the suspend ability.
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292       -$, --softwrap
293              Enable 'soft wrapping'.  This will make nano attempt to  display
294              the  entire  contents of any line, even if it is longer than the
295              screen width, by  continuing  it  over  multiple  screen  lines.
296              Since  '$'  normally refers to a variable in the Unix shell, you
297              should specify this option last when using other  options  (e.g.
298              'nano -wS$') or pass it separately (e.g. 'nano -wS -$').
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300

TOGGLES

302       Several of the above options can be switched on and off also while nano
303       is running.  For example, M-L toggles the hard-wrapping of long  lines,
304       M-S  toggles  soft-wrapping,  M-N toggles line numbers, M-M toggles the
305       mouse, M-I auto-indentation, and M-X the help lines.  See at the end of
306       the ^G help text for a complete list.
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FILES

310       nano  will  read two configuration files: first the system's nanorc (if
311       it exists), and then the user's nanorc (if it exists), either ~/.nanorc
312       or  $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/nano/nanorc or ~/.config/nano/nanorc, whichever is
313       encountered first.  See nanorc(5) for more information on the  possible
314       contents of those files.
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NOTES

318       If  no  alternative  spell  checker command is specified on the command
319       line nor in one of the nanorc files, nano will check the SPELL environ‐
320       ment variable for one.
321
322       In  some cases nano will try to dump the buffer into an emergency file.
323       This will happen mainly if nano receives a SIGHUP or  SIGTERM  or  runs
324       out of memory.  It will write the buffer into a file named nano.save if
325       the buffer didn't have a name already, or will add a ".save" suffix  to
326       the  current  filename.   If  an  emergency file with that name already
327       exists in the current directory, it will  add  ".save"  plus  a  number
328       (e.g.  ".save.1")  to  the current filename in order to make it unique.
329       In multibuffer mode, nano will write all  the  open  buffers  to  their
330       respective emergency files.
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332

BUGS

334       The recording and playback of keyboard macros works correctly only on a
335       terminal emulator, not on a Linux console (VT), because the latter does
336       not by default distinguish modified from unmodified arrow keys.
337
338       Please report any other bugs that you encounter via:
339       https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?group=nano.
340
341       When nano crashes, it will save any modified buffers to emergency .save
342       files.  If you are able to reproduce the crash and you want  to  get  a
343       backtrace, define the environment variable NANO_NOCATCH.
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HOMEPAGE

347       https://nano-editor.org/
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SEE ALSO

351       nanorc(5)
352
353       /usr/share/doc/nano/ (or equivalent on your system)
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357April 2019                        version 4.2                          NANO(1)
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