Bash less

05 September 2021

Bash provides several commands to show a file, like cat, but frequently I also use less command.

Less is a command wrote by Mark Nudelman initially during 1983–85, in the need of a version of more able to do backward scrolling of the displayed text. (From wikipedia)

Note: all example below could be execute in a container:

docker run -it  ubuntu /bin/bash
# apt update && apt install -y less

Display line number and jump to a specific line

$ less -N /etc/gai.conf

Then press 34g

Go to beginning or end o a file

$ less -N /etc/gai.conf

Then press G to go to the end of a file
Then press g to go to the begin of a file

Search a string (using regex)

$ less -N /etc/gai.conf

Then press / followed by a string (regex) to search, example: /label [a-z0-9]
To navigate through use n next match and N previous match.

References