gvfs-cat

gvfs-cat [OPTION...] LOCATION...

LOCATION
    One or more GVFS URIs specifying the file(s) to read. Examples include sftp://user@host/path/to/file, smb://server/share/file.txt, or mtp://[bus-id]:[device-id]/Internal storage/file.mp3.

--help
    Displays a help message and exits.

--version
    Shows version information and exits.

The gvfs-cat command is a utility within the GNOME Virtual File System (GVFS) framework. GVFS is a userspace virtual filesystem that provides a unified way for applications to access various remote and local file systems, including FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, SMB/CIFS, MTP, and even content inside archive files, as if they were standard local files.

Similar to the traditional cat command for local files, gvfs-cat reads the content of files specified by a GVFS Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) and prints them to standard output. This makes it possible to view or pipe the content of files residing on remote servers or virtual locations without needing to explicitly mount them beforehand or use specific client tools for each protocol. It is particularly useful in scripting contexts for automating tasks involving non-local data.

GVFS Daemon: gvfs-cat relies on the GVFS daemon being active and running. This is typically the case in GNOME desktop environments.
URI Format: Strict adherence to GVFS URI syntax is crucial. Incorrect URIs will result in errors.
Authentication: Accessing remote resources may require authentication (e.g., passwords, SSH keys). gvfs-cat will often prompt for credentials or rely on the GVFS daemon's authentication mechanisms.
Permissions: The user running the command must have the necessary permissions to access the specified remote or virtual resource.

Understanding the correct GVFS URI syntax is key. Common schemes include:
sftp://user@host/path/to/file (SFTP)
ftp://user:password@host/path/to/file (FTP)
smb://server/share/path/to/file (SMB/CIFS)
dav://host/path/to/file (WebDAV)
mtp://[bus-id]:[device-id]/Storage/path/to/file (MTP devices)
archive://path/to/archive.zip/path/inside/archive.txt (Content inside archives)

gvfs-cat leverages the GIO library, which is GNOME's modern input/output API. This means it benefits from GIO's asynchronous I/O capabilities, cancellation support, and robust handling of various file system types and network protocols. The gio cat command is often an alias or functionally identical way to achieve the same result, as gio is the primary command-line interface for GIO operations.

gvfs-cat is part of the GVFS (GNOME Virtual File System) project, which was developed to succeed the older GNOME VFS. The primary motivation for GVFS was to provide a more robust, flexible, and modular virtual filesystem architecture built upon the GIO (Gnome Input/Output) library. GVFS integrates deeply with the GNOME desktop, offering seamless access to various network protocols and local archives from standard file managers and applications. gvfs-cat, along with other gvfs-* utilities, was introduced as a command-line interface to interact with this powerful virtual filesystem layer, making its capabilities accessible directly from the terminal for scripting and administrative tasks.

cat(1), gvfs-mount(1), gvfs-ls(1), gvfs-copy(1), gvfs-move(1), gvfs-rm(1), gvfs-info(1), gio(1)