{"id":109422,"date":"2022-05-21T09:00:57","date_gmt":"2022-05-21T03:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/?p=109422"},"modified":"2022-05-21T10:06:40","modified_gmt":"2022-05-21T04:36:40","slug":"cat-command-in-linux","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/cat-command-in-linux\/","title":{"rendered":"Cat Command in Linux with Examples"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this article, you will learn what the Linux cat command is. You will also know why it is used, and the different options used with it. In the end, we will also be going through some of the practical examples of the cat command.<\/p>\n

What is cat command in Linux?<\/h3>\n

The cat command is an abbreviation of concatenate. It is one of the most frequently used commands in Linux-based operating systems as it is highly efficient and improves workflow.<\/p>\n

The cat command is a command-line-based utility that helps in many tasks like reading files, writing in files, viewing the content of files, concatenating files, redirecting output in the terminal and so many more things.<\/p>\n

This command displays the contents of the files you want without having to open the file for editing.<\/p>\n

Syntax of Linux cat command<\/h3>\n

Before we see the practical examples using the cat command, let us look at the general syntax of the cat command.<\/p>\n

cat <options><file><\/pre>\n
Now let us look at how we used this syntax to access the many amazing features of the cat command
\nDisplaying the contents of a files<\/p>\n
To display the contents of the file we simply use the syntax of the cat command with no option: cat <filename><\/p>\n
\"displaying<\/a><\/p>\n
Displaying contents of multiple files<\/h3>\n
To display the contents of more than one file, simply add the filenames separated by space one after the other: cat <file1> <file2> <file 3> and so on.<\/p>\n
\"displaying<\/a><\/p>\n
Creating a file with the cat command<\/h3>\n
If you want to create a file using cat straight in the terminal and not using the GUI, you can do it by using the syntax:<\/p>\n
cat ><filename><\/pre>\n
\"creating<\/a><\/p>\n
Once you enter the command, the cursor will go to the next line and wait for your input. You can enter what you choose to write in the file you just created.<\/p>\n
\"creating<\/a><\/p>\n
After you finish writing, you can press \u201cctrl\u201d + \u201cd\u201d to save your work in the file you just created.<\/p>\n
Displaying line numbers<\/h3>\n
If you want to display the line number of the content in a file, you can do so by using the option \u201c-n\u201d like this:<\/p>\n
cat -n <filename><\/pre>\n
\"displaying<\/a><\/p>\n
Displaying \u201c$\u201d at the end of each sentence<\/h3>\n
If you want to display a dollar symbol at the end of each sentence, you do so do by using the flag \u201c-e\u201d like this :<\/p>\n
cat -e <filename><\/pre>\n
\"displaying<\/a><\/p>\n
The command \u201ccat -e -n ubuntu.txt\u201d will print the line number as well as a \u201c$\u201d at the end of each sentence as shown below:<\/span><\/p>\n
\"displaying<\/a><\/p>\n
Displaying the tab-separated lines<\/h3>\n
To display or highlight the tab spaces in the file with \u201c^I\u201d, use the option \u201c-T\u201d like this: cat -T <filename><\/p>\n
\"displaying<\/a><\/p>\n
Displaying multiple files at once<\/h3>\n
Another way to show the contents of multiple files is to cat each of them individually such that they are separated by a semicolon. Use the following syntax: cat <file1>; cat <file2>; cat <file3> and so on<\/p>\n
\"displaying<\/a><\/p>\n
Using the redirecting operator<\/h3>\n
If you want to write the contents of a specific file to another file (new or existing), you can do so by using the redirection operator (>) in the syntax:<\/p>\n
cat <old file> > <new file><\/pre>\n
\"using<\/a><\/p>\n
If you enter the name of an already existing file and it already had contents in it, cat will override them with no warning, so choose the file name carefully<\/p>\n
Appending with redirecting operator<\/h3>\n
If you want to append the content of 1 file to the contents of another existing file, you can do so by using the \u201c>>\u201d symbol like this:<\/p>\n
cat <file 1> >> <file2><\/pre>\n
This command will append the contents of file one to file 2<\/p>\n
\"appending<\/a><\/p>\n
Redirecting multiple files<\/h3>\n
If you want to combine more than 1 file together in a single new file, you can do it by using the redirecting operator like this:<\/p>\n
cat <file 1> <file 2> <file 3> <file 4> > <new file><\/pre>\n
This command will copy all the files (file 1, file 2, file 3, and file4) into the new file.<\/p>\n
\"redirecting<\/a><\/p>\n
Writing in an already existing file<\/h3>\n
If you want to add some new lines or write in an already existing file, you can do so by using the syntax:<\/p>\n
cat >> <filename><\/pre>\n
\"writing<\/a><\/p>\n
Once you finish writing the text and wnat to save and exit, press \u201cctrl\u201d + \u201cD\u201d<\/p>\n
Displaying content in reverse order<\/h3>\n
To display the contents of a file in reverse order, use the syntax and example as below:<\/p>\n
tac <filename><\/pre>\n
\"displaying<\/a><\/p>\n
Suppressing empty line<\/h3>\n
If you don\u2019t want the empty lines in your file to be shown in your output, you can suppress them by using the \u201c-s\u201d option like this:<\/p>\n
cat -s <file name><\/pre>\n
Below is the example of file with many empty lines:<\/p>\n
\"suppressing<\/a><\/p>\n
Below is the example of \u201ccat -s ubuntu.txt\u201d to suppress the empty lines in the file:<\/p>\n
\"suppressing<\/a><\/p>\n
Marking the end of the file<\/h3>\n
To mark the end of the file with \u201cEOF\u201d (End Of File), you can use the syntax:<\/p>\n
cat > <filename> << EOF<\/pre>\n
Removing blank lines<\/h3>\n
To completely remove and not suppress the blank lines in your file, you can use the \u201c-b\u201d option like this:<\/p>\n
cat -b <file name><\/pre>\n
Managing large content<\/h3>\n
If the content of the file is really big and it is not fitting in the terminal, you can manage it by using \u201c| more\u201d like this:<\/p>\n
cat <filname> | more<\/pre>\n
Similarly, if your document is too small then you can use \u201c| less\u201d like this:<\/p>\n
Cat <filename> | less<\/pre>\n
Opening a dashed file<\/h3>\n
If you want to open dashed files in the linux terminal, you can use the cat command followed by 2 hyphens \u201c–\u201d and the name of the dashfile you want to open. Use the following syntax:<\/p>\n
cat -- \u201c-dashfile\u201d<\/pre>\n
This command will display the contents of the dashfile you specified.<\/p>\n
A brief summary of the options used with the cat command<\/h3>\n
We have already look at most of the options in the above examples, nonetheless, let us look at all of them in brief.<\/p>\n
1. -A<\/h4>\n
This option is exactly the same as -vET. Instead of using all the 3 options, you could just use \u201c-A\u201d<\/p>\n
2. -b<\/h4>\n
This option numbers non-empty output lines. In other words, it gets rid or neglects the empty lines in the file
\n3. e<\/h4>\n
This option prints \u201c$\u201d at the end of eacj line.<\/p>\n
4. -n<\/h4>\n
This option numbers all the lines of the file.<\/p>\n
5. -s<\/h4>\n
This option supresses repeated empty output lines<\/p>\n
6. -T<\/h4>\n
This option displays TAB charectars as ^I<\/p>\n
7. -t<\/h4>\n
This option is eqvivalengt to \u201c-vT\u201d<\/p>\n
8. -v<\/h4>\n
This option uses ^ and M- notation, except for LFD and TAB.<\/p>\n
9. –help<\/h4>\n
This option shows all the information about the cat command like the syntax, options and a few examples<\/p>\n
10. –version<\/h4>\n
This option shows the version information of the cat tool you are using.<\/p>\n
Summary<\/h3>\n
As you have seen, the cat command is a really simple yet hoghly efficient tool that helsp in various tasks like reading files, writing in files, viewing the content of files, concatenating files, redirecting output in the terminal and so many more things.<\/p>\n
You have learned what cat command is, the syntax it is used in, its option and also many practical examples of the cat command.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In this article, you will learn what the Linux cat command is. You will also know why it is used, and the different options used with it. In the end, we will also be...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":109522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[26895,26896,26897],"class_list":["post-109422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-linux","tag-cat-command-in-linux","tag-linux-cat-command-examples","tag-linux-cat-command-options"],"yoast_head":"\nCat Command in Linux with Examples - DataFlair<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn what is the cat command in Linux. See why it is used, and the different options used with it with their syntax and examples.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/cat-command-in-linux\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cat Command in Linux with Examples - DataFlair\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn what is the cat command in Linux. See why it is used, and the different options used with it with their syntax and examples.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/cat-command-in-linux\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DataFlair\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DataFlairWS\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-05-21T03:30:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-05-21T04:36:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/cat-command-in-linux.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"DataFlair Team\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@DataFlairWS\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@DataFlairWS\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"DataFlair Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cat Command in Linux with Examples - DataFlair","description":"Learn what is the cat command in Linux. See why it is used, and the different options used with it with their syntax and examples.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/cat-command-in-linux\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Cat Command in Linux with Examples - DataFlair","og_description":"Learn what is the cat command in Linux. See why it is used, and the different options used with it with their syntax and examples.","og_url":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/cat-command-in-linux\/","og_site_name":"DataFlair","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DataFlairWS\/","article_published_time":"2022-05-21T03:30:57+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-05-21T04:36:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/cat-command-in-linux.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"DataFlair Team","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@DataFlairWS","twitter_site":"@DataFlairWS","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"DataFlair Team","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/cat-command-in-linux\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/cat-command-in-linux\/"},"author":{"name":"DataFlair Team","@id":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/#\/schema\/person\/b49855299264df5e27e3ec6c2cd9fde9"},"headline":"Cat Command in Linux with Examples","datePublished":"2022-05-21T03:30:57+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-21T04:36:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/cat-command-in-linux\/"},"wordCount":1141,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/cat-command-in-linux\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/cat-command-in-linux.webp","keywords":["Cat Command in Linux","Linux cat command examples","Linux cat command options"],"articleSection":["Linux Tutorials"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/cat-command-in-linux\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/cat-command-in-linux\/","url":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/cat-command-in-linux\/","name":"Cat Command in Linux with Examples - DataFlair","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/cat-command-in-linux\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/cat-command-in-linux\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/cat-command-in-linux.webp","datePublished":"2022-05-21T03:30:57+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-21T04:36:40+00:00","description":"Learn what is the cat command in Linux. See why it is used, and the different options used with it with their syntax and examples.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/cat-command-in-linux\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/cat-command-in-linux\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/cat-command-in-linux\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/cat-command-in-linux.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/cat-command-in-linux.webp","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"cat command in linux"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/cat-command-in-linux\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog Home","item":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Linux Tutorials","item":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/category\/linux\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Cat Command in Linux with Examples"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/#website","url":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/","name":"DataFlair","description":"Learn Today. Lead Tomorrow.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/#organization","name":"DataFlair","url":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/07\/Data-Flair.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/07\/Data-Flair.png","width":106,"height":48,"caption":"DataFlair"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DataFlairWS\/","https:\/\/x.com\/DataFlairWS","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/dataflair-web-services-pvt-ltd\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/DataFlairWS"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/#\/schema\/person\/b49855299264df5e27e3ec6c2cd9fde9","name":"DataFlair Team","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ef46b745ddad2fad690af626c6ef29b91809ad0a9f5ef398d07817d8cad042f5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ef46b745ddad2fad690af626c6ef29b91809ad0a9f5ef398d07817d8cad042f5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ef46b745ddad2fad690af626c6ef29b91809ad0a9f5ef398d07817d8cad042f5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"DataFlair Team"},"description":"DataFlair Team is a group of passionate educators and industry experts dedicated to providing high-quality online learning resources on programming, Java, Python, C++, DSA, AI, ML, data Science, Android, Flutter, MERN, Web Development, and technology. With years of experience in the field, the team aims to simplify complex topics and help learners advance their careers. At DataFlair, we believe in empowering students and professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in today\u2019s fast-paced tech industry. Follow us for Free courses, expert insights, tutorials, and practical tips to boost your learning journey.","url":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/author\/datafbdad\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109422"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109521,"href":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109422\/revisions\/109521"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/data-flair.training\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}