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less — page through a long file with search

cheat sheet · Ubuntu 24.04 · less 590 https://lab.dimsanych.ru/en/wiki/less/

Cheat sheet

less /var/log/syslog open a file; q to quit
less -N app.conf with line numbers
less -S access.log don't wrap long lines
less +G app.log open at the end
less +F app.log follow the end, like tail -f
ps aux | less page through command output
inside: Space/b — screen forward/back, g/G — start/end,
/word — search, n/N — next/previous match, q — quit

Options

Startup options can be toggled from inside as well: type -N in an open less, and line numbers appear. Full list — man less.