batcat

View documentation for the original command

$ tldr bat

bat - a cat(1) clone with syntax highlighting and Git integration.

bat [OPTIONS] [FILE]...

bat <SUBCOMMAND>

General remarks

Command-line options like '-l'/'--language' that take values can be specified as either '--language value', '--language=value', '-l value' or '-lvalue'.

-l, --language <language>

Explicitly set the language for syntax highlighting. The language can be specified as a name (like 'C++' or 'LaTeX') or possible file extension (like 'cpp', 'hpp' or 'md'). Use '--list-languages' to show all supported language names and file extensions.

-L, --list-languages

Display a list of supported languages for syntax highlighting.

-m, --map-syntax <from:to>...

Map a file extension or file name to an existing syntax. For example, to highlight *.conf files with the INI syntax, use '-m conf:ini'. To highlight files named '.myignore' with the Git Ignore syntax, use '-m .myignore:gitignore'.

--theme <theme>

Set the theme for syntax highlighting. Use '--list-themes' to see all available themes. To set a default theme, add the '--theme="..."' option to the configuration file or export the BAT_THEME environment variable (e.g.: export BAT_THEME="...").

--list-themes

Display a list of supported themes for syntax highlighting.

--style <style-components>

Configure which elements (line numbers, file headers, grid borders, Git modifications, ..) to display in addition to the file contents. The argument is a comma-separated list of components to display (e.g. 'numbers,changes,grid') or a pre-defined style ('full'). To set a default style, add the '--style=".."' option to the configuration file or export the BAT_STYLE environment variable (e.g.: export BAT_STYLE=".."). Possible values: *auto*, full, plain, changes, header, grid, numbers, snip.

-p, --plain

Only show plain style, no decorations. This is an alias for '--style=plain'. When '-p' is used twice ('-pp'), it also disables automatic paging (alias for '--style=plain --pager=never').

-n, --number

Only show line numbers, no other decorations. This is an alias for '--style=numbers'

-A, --show-all

Show non-printable characters like space, tab or newline. Use '--tabs' to control the width of the tab-placeholders.

-r, --line-range <N:M>...

Only print the specified range of lines for each file. For example:

--line-range 30:40

prints lines 30 to 40

--line-range :40

prints lines 1 to 40

--line-range 40:

prints lines 40 to the end of the file

-H, --highlight-line <N>...

Highlight the N-th line with a different background color

--color <when>

Specify when to use colored output. The automatic mode only enables colors if an interactive terminal is detected. Possible values: *auto*, never, always.

--italic-text <when>

Specify when to use ANSI sequences for italic text in the output. Possible values: always, *never*.

--decorations <when>

Specify when to use the decorations that have been specified via '--style'. The automatic mode only enables decorations if an interactive terminal is detected. Possible values: *auto*, never, always.

--paging <when>

Specify when to use the pager. To control which pager is used, set the PAGER or BAT_PAGER environment variables (the latter takes precedence) or use the '--pager' option. To disable the pager permanently, set BAT_PAGER to an empty string or set '--paging=never' in the configuration file. Possible values: *auto*, never, always.

--pager <command>

Determine which pager is used. This option will overwrite the PAGER and BAT_PAGER environment variables. The default pager is 'less'. To disable the pager completely, use the '--paging' option. Example: '--pager "less -RF"'.

--wrap <mode>

Specify the text-wrapping mode (*auto*, never, character). The '--terminal-width' option can be used in addition to control the output width.

--tabs <T>

Set the tab width to T spaces. Use a width of 0 to pass tabs through directly

-u, --unbuffered

This option exists for POSIX-compliance reasons ('u' is for 'unbuffered'). The output is always unbuffered - this option is simply ignored.

--terminal-width <width>

Explicitly set the width of the terminal instead of determining it automatically. If prefixed with '+' or '-', the value will be treated as an offset to the actual terminal width. See also: '--wrap'.

-h, --help

Print this help message.

-V, --version

Show version information.

<FILE>...

File(s) to print / concatenate. Use a dash ('-') or no argument at all to read from standard input.

cache Modify the syntax-definition and theme cache