NANO(1) General Commands Manual

NANO(1)

NAME
nano - Nano's ANOther text editor, inspired by Pico

SYNOPSIS
nano [options] [[+line[,column]] file]...

nano [options] [[+[crCR]{/|?}string] file]...

NOTICE
Since version 8.0, to be newcomer friendly, ^F starts a forward search, ^B
starts
a backward search, M-F searches the next occurrence forward, and M-B
searches the
next occurrence backward. If you want those keystrokes to do what they
did be‐
fore version 8.0, add the following lines at the end of your nanorc file:

bind ^F forward main

bind ^B back main
bind M-F formatter main
bind M-B linter main

DESCRIPTION
nano is a small and friendly text editor. It copies the look and feel of
Pico,
but is free software, and implements several features that Pico lacks,
such as:
opening multiple files, scrolling per line, undo/redo, syntax coloring, line
num‐
bering, and soft-wrapping overlong lines.

When giving a filename on the command line, the cursor can be put on a
specific
line by adding the line number with a plus sign (+) before the filename, and
even
in a specific column by adding it with a comma. Negative numbers count
from the
end of the file or line.

The cursor can be put on the first or last occurrence of a specific

string by
specifying that string after +/ or +? before the filename. The string
can be
made case sensitive and/or caused to be interpreted as a regular
expression by
inserting c and/or r after the + sign. These search modes can be explicitly
dis‐
abled by using the uppercase variant of those letters: C and/or R.
When the
string contains spaces, it needs to be enclosed in quotes. To give an
example:
to open a file at the first occurrence of the word "Foo", you would do:

nano +c/Foo file

As a special case: if instead of a filename a dash (-) is given, nano will

read
data from standard input.

EDITING
Entering text and moving around in a file is straightforward: typing the
letters
and using the normal cursor movement keys. Commands are entered by
using the
Control (^) and the Alt or Meta (M-) keys. Typing ^K deletes the current
line
and puts it in the cutbuffer. Consecutive ^Ks put all deleted lines
together in
the cutbuffer. Any cursor movement or executing any other command causes
the
next ^K to overwrite the cutbuffer. A ^U pastes the current contents of the
cut‐
buffer at the current cursor position.

When a more precise piece of text needs to be cut or copied, you can
mark its
start with ^6, move the cursor to its end (the marked text is highlighted),
and
then use ^K to cut it, or M-6 to copy it to the cutbuffer. You can also
save the
marked text to a file with ^O, or spell check it with ^T^T.

On some terminals, text can be selected also by holding down Shift while
using
the arrow keys. Holding down the Ctrl or Alt key too increases the stride.
Any
cursor movement without Shift being held cancels such a selection.

Any valid Unicode code point can be inserted into the buffer by typing M-V
fol‐
lowed by the hexadecimal digits of the code point (concluded with <Space> or
<En‐
ter> when it are fewer than six digits). A literal control code (except ^J)
can
be inserted by typing M-V followed by the pertinent keystroke.

The two lines at the bottom of the screen show some important
commands; the
built-in help (^G) lists all the available ones. The default key bindings
can be
changed via a nanorc file -- see nanorc(5).

OPTIONS
-A, --smarthome
Make the Home key smarter. When Home is pressed anywhere but at the
very
beginning of non-whitespace characters on a line, the cursor jumps to
that
beginning (either forwards or backwards). If the cursor is
already at
that position, it jumps to the true beginning of the line.

-B, --backup
When saving a file, back up the previous version of it, using the
current
 filename suffixed with a tilde (~).

-C directory, --backupdir=directory
Make and keep not just one backup file, but make and keep a uniquely
num‐
bered one every time a file is saved -- when backups are enabled
(-B).
The uniquely numbered files are stored in the specified directory.

-D, --boldtext
For the interface, use bold instead of reverse video. This can be
over‐
ridden for specific elements by setting the options titlecolor,
status‐
color, promptcolor, minicolor, keycolor, numbercolor, and/or
selectedcolor
in your nanorc file. See nanorc(5).

-E, --tabstospaces
Convert each typed tab to spaces -- to the number of spaces that a
tab at
that position would take up. (Note: pasted tabs are not converted.)

-F, --multibuffer
Read a file into a new buffer by default.

-G, --locking
Use vim-style file locking when editing files.

-H, --historylog
Save the last hundred search strings and replacement strings and
executed
commands, so they can be easily reused in later sessions.

-I, --ignorercfiles
Don't look at the system's nanorc nor at the user's nanorc.

-J number, --guidestripe=number
Draw a vertical stripe at the given column, to help judge the width
of the
text. (The color of the stripe can be changed with set
stripecolor in
your nanorc file.)

-K, --rawsequences
Interpret escape sequences directly, instead of asking ncurses to
trans‐
late them. (If you need this option to get some keys to work
properly, it
means that the terminfo terminal description that is used does not
fully
match the actual behavior of your terminal. This can happen when you
ssh
into a BSD machine, for example.) Using this option disables nano's
mouse
support.

-L, --nonewlines
Don't automatically add a newline when a text does not end with
one.
(This can cause you to save non-POSIX text files.)

-M, --trimblanks
Snip trailing whitespace from the wrapped line when automatic hard-
wrap‐
ping occurs or when text is justified.

-N, --noconvert
Disable automatic conversion of files from DOS/Mac format.

-O, --bookstyle
When justifying, treat any line that starts with whitespace as the
begin‐
ning of a paragraph (unless auto-indenting is on).

-P, --positionlog
For the 200 most recent files, log the last position of the cursor,
and
place it at that position again upon reopening such a file.

-Q "regex", --quotestr="regex"
Set the regular expression for matching the quoting part of a line.
The
default value is "^([ \t]*([!#%:;>|}]|//))+". (Note that \t stands
for an
actual Tab.) This makes it possible to rejustify blocks of quoted
text
when composing email, and to rewrap blocks of line comments when
writing
source code.

-R, --restricted
Restricted mode: don't read or write to any file not specified on the
com‐
mand line. This means: don't read or write history files; don't
allow
suspending; don't allow spell checking; don't allow a file to be
appended
to, prepended to, or saved under a different name if it already has
one;
and don't make backup files. Restricted mode can also be activated
by in‐
voking nano with any name beginning with 'r' (e.g. "rnano").

-S, --softwrap
Display over multiple screen rows lines that exceed the screen's
width.
(You can make this soft-wrapping occur at whitespace instead of
rudely at
the screen's edge, by using also --atblanks.)

-T number, --tabsize=number
Set the size (width) of a tab to number columns. The value of number
must
be greater than 0. The default value is 8.

-U, --quickblank
Make status-bar messages disappear after 1 keystroke instead of
after 20.
Note that option -c (--constantshow) overrides this. When option --
mini‐
bar or --zero is in effect, --quickblank makes a message disappear
after
0.8 seconds instead of after the default 1.5 seconds.

-V, --version
Show the current version number and exit.

-W, --wordbounds
Detect word boundaries differently by treating punctuation
characters as
part of a word.

-X "characters", --wordchars="characters"
Specify which other characters (besides the normal alphanumeric
ones)
should be considered as part of a word. When using this option, you
prob‐
ably want to omit -W (--wordbounds).

-Y name, --syntax=name
Specify the name of the syntax highlighting to use from among the
ones de‐
fined in the nanorc files.

-Z, --zap
Let an unmodified Backspace or Delete erase the marked region
(instead of
a single character, and without affecting the cutbuffer).

-a, --atblanks
When doing soft line wrapping, wrap lines at whitespace instead of
always
at the edge of the screen.

-b, --breaklonglines
Automatically hard-wrap the current line when it becomes overlong.
(This
option is the opposite of -w (--nowrap) -- the last one given
takes ef‐
fect.)

-c, --constantshow
Constantly show the cursor position on the status bar. Note that
this
overrides option -U (--quickblank).

-d, --rebinddelete
Interpret the Delete and Backspace keys differently so that both
Backspace
and Delete work properly. You should only use this option when on
your
system either Backspace acts like Delete or Delete acts like
Backspace.

-e, --emptyline
Do not use the line below the title bar, leaving it entirely blank.
 -f file, --rcfile=file
Read only this file for setting nano's options, instead of reading
both
the system-wide and the user's nanorc files.

-g, --showcursor
Make the cursor visible in the file browser (putting it on the
highlighted
item) and in the help viewer. Useful for braille users and people
with
poor vision.

-h, --help
Show a summary of the available command-line options and exit.

-i, --autoindent
Automatically indent a newly created line to the same number of
tabs
and/or spaces as the previous line (or as the next line if the
previous
line is the beginning of a paragraph).

-j, --jumpyscrolling
Scroll the buffer contents per half-screen instead of per line.

-k, --cutfromcursor
Make the 'Cut Text' command (normally ^K) cut from the current cursor
po‐
sition to the end of the line, instead of cutting the entire line.

-l, --linenumbers
Display line numbers to the left of the text area. (Any line with
an an‐
chor additionally gets a mark in the margin.)

-m, --mouse
Enable mouse support, if available for your system. When enabled,
mouse
clicks can be used to place the cursor, set the mark (with a
double
click), and execute shortcuts. The mouse works in the X Window
System,
and on the console when gpm is running. Text can still be
selected
through dragging by holding down the Shift key.

-n, --noread
Treat any name given on the command line as a new file. This allows
nano
to write to named pipes: it starts with a blank buffer, and writes
to the
pipe when the user saves the "file". This way nano can be used as an
edi‐
tor in combination with for instance gpg without having to write
sensitive
data to disk first.

-o directory, --operatingdir=directory
 Set the operating directory. This makes nano set up something
similar to
a chroot.

-p, --preserve
Preserve the XOFF and XON sequences (^S and ^Q) so that they are
caught by
the terminal (stopping and resuming the output). Note that
option -/
(--modernbindings) overrides this.

-q, --indicator
Display a "scrollbar" on the righthand side of the edit window. It
shows
the position of the viewport in the buffer and how much of the
buffer is
covered by the viewport.

-r number, --fill=number
Set the target width for justifying and automatic hard-wrapping at
this
number of columns. If the value is 0 or less, wrapping occurs
at the
width of the screen minus number columns, allowing the wrap point to
vary
along with the width of the screen if the screen is resized. The
default
value is -8.

-s "program [argument ...]", --speller="program [argument ...]"

Use this command to perform spell checking and correcting, instead of
us‐
ing the built-in corrector that calls hunspell(1) or spell(1).

-t, --saveonexit
Save a changed buffer without prompting (when exiting with ^X).

-u, --unix
Save a file by default in Unix format. This overrides nano's
default be‐
havior of saving a file in the format that it had. (This option
has no
effect when you also use --noconvert.)

-v, --view
Just view the file and disallow editing: read-only mode. This mode
allows
the user to open also other files for viewing, unless --
restricted is
given too.

-w, --nowrap
Do not automatically hard-wrap the current line when it becomes
overlong.
This is the default. (This option is the opposite of -b (--
breaklong‐
lines) -- the last one given takes effect.)

-x, --nohelp
 Don't show the two help lines at the bottom of the screen.

-y, --afterends
Make Ctrl+Right and Ctrl+Delete stop at word ends instead of
beginnings.

-z, --listsyntaxes
List the names of the available syntaxes and exit.

-!, --magic
When neither the file's name nor its first line give a clue, try
using
libmagic to determine the applicable syntax.

-@, --colonparsing
When a filename given on the command line ends in a colon plus
digits and
this filename does not exist, then snip the colon plus digits and
under‐
stand the digits as a line number. If the trimmed filename does not
exist
either, then repeat the process and understand the obtained two
numbers as
line and column number. But if the doubly trimmed filename does not
exist
either, then forget the trimming and accept the original filename
as is.
To disable this colon parsing for some file, use +1 or similar before
the
relevant filename.

-%, --stateflags
Use the top-right corner of the screen for showing some state
flags: I
when auto-indenting, M when the mark is on, L when hard-wrapping
(breaking
long lines), R when recording a macro, and S when soft-wrapping.
When the
buffer is modified, a star (*) is shown after the filename in the
center
of the title bar.

-_, --minibar
Suppress the title bar and instead show information about the
current
buffer at the bottom of the screen, in the space for the status bar.
In
this "mini bar" the filename is shown on the left, followed by an
asterisk
if the buffer has been modified. On the right are displayed the
current
line and column number, the code of the character under the cursor
(in
Unicode format: U+xxxx), the same flags as are shown by --
stateflags, and
a percentage that expresses how far the cursor is into the
file
(linewise). When a file is loaded or saved, and also when
switching be‐
 tween buffers, the number of lines in the buffer is displayed after
the
filename. This number is cleared upon the next keystroke, or
replaced
with an [i/n] counter when multiple buffers are open. The line plus
col‐
umn numbers and the character code are displayed only when --
constantshow
is used, and can be toggled on and off with M-C. The state flags are
dis‐
played only when --stateflags is used.

-0, --zero
Hide all elements of the interface (title bar, status bar, and help
lines)
and use all rows of the terminal for showing the contents of the
buffer.
The status bar appears only when there is a significant message, and
dis‐
appears after 1.5 seconds or upon the next keystroke. With M-Z the
title
bar plus status bar can be toggled. With M-X the help lines.

-/, --modernbindings
Use key bindings similar to the ones that most modern programs
use: ^X
cuts, ^C copies, ^V pastes, ^Z undoes, ^Y redoes, ^F searches
forward, ^G
searches next, ^S saves, ^O opens a file, ^Q quits, and (when the
terminal
permits) ^H shows help. Furthermore, ^A sets the mark, ^R makes
replace‐
ments, ^D searches previous, ^P shows the position, ^T goes to a
line, ^W
writes out a file, and ^E executes a command. Note that this
overrides
option -p (--preserve).

TOGGLES
Several of the above options can be switched on and off also while nano is
run‐
ning. For example, M-L toggles the hard-wrapping of long lines, M-S
toggles
soft-wrapping, M-N toggles line numbers, M-M toggles the mouse, M-I auto-
indenta‐
tion, and M-X the help lines. See at the end of the ^G help text for a
complete
list.

The M-X toggle is special: it works in all menus except the help viewer
and the
linter. All other toggles work in the main menu only.

FILES
When --rcfile is given, nano reads just the specified file for setting its
op‐
tions and syntaxes and key bindings. Without that option, nano reads two
config‐
uration files: first the system's nanorc (if it exists), and then the
user's
nanorc (if it exists), either ~/.nanorc or
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/nano/nanorc or
~/.config/nano/nanorc, whichever is encountered first. See nanorc(5) for
more
information on the possible contents of those files.

See /usr/share/nano/ and /usr/share/nano/extra/ for available syntax-

coloring de‐
finitions.

NOTES
Suspension is enabled by default, reachable via ^T^Z. (If you want a plain
^Z to
suspend nano, add bind ^Z suspend main to your nanorc.)

At a Yes-No prompt, ^Y can be used for "Yes", ^N for "No", and ^A for
"All".
These unlisted bindings work in any locale.

When you want to copy marked text from nano to the system's clipboard, see
one of
the examples in the nanorc(5) man page.

If no alternative spell checker command is specified on the command line

nor in
one of the nanorc files, nano checks the SPELL environment variable for one.

In some cases nano tries to dump the buffer into an emergency file. This
happens
mainly if nano receives a SIGHUP or SIGTERM or runs out of memory. It
writes the
buffer into a file named nano.save if the buffer didn't have a name
already, or
adds a ".save" suffix to the current filename. If an emergency file with
that
name already exists in the current directory, it adds ".save" plus a number
(e.g.
".save.1") to the current filename in order to make it unique. In
multibuffer
mode, nano writes all open buffers to their respective emergency files.

If you have any question about how to use nano in some specific
situation, you
can ask on [email protected].

BUGS
The recording and playback of keyboard macros works correctly only on a
terminal
emulator, not on a Linux console (VT), because the latter does not by
default
distinguish modified from unmodified arrow keys.

Please report any other bugs that you encounter via:

https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?group=nano.

When nano crashes, it saves any modified buffers to emergency .save files.
If
you are able to reproduce the crash and you want to get a backtrace,
define the
environment variable NANO_NOCATCH.

HOMEPAGE
https://nano-editor.org/

SEE ALSO
nanorc(5)

/usr/share/doc/nano/ (or equivalent on your system)

September 2024 version 8.2

NANO(1)