nano

nano is a simple text editor for unix systems, with a much smaller learning curve than vi and emacs. It is great for people who are new to the command line, and need to quickly make small changes to files.

$ nano filename

nano comes pre-installed on most linux distributions. If your distribution does not contain nano, you can easily install it with apt.

$ apt-get install nano

Why nano?

nano is perfect for people who need to change files on the command line, but don’t have the time (or patience) to learn the ins and outs of vim/emacs. If you often use an external editor for programming but occasionally need to make changes to config files on a remote server, nano is your best friend.

example image of nano editor layout

In nano, common keyboard shortcuts are displayed at the bottom of the screen. No more forgetting how to save and close, or googling how to search for a keyword - nano has your back!

Command Reference

nano has the benefit of being very beginner-friendly as well as maintaining some powerful features from other editors. Here are some useful commands that are not listed on the main screen.

  • Ctrl+^ aka Ctrl+6 - Set mark for cut/copy (use arrow keys to extend/retract mark)
  • Alt+^ aka Alt+6 - Copy text
  • Alt+U - Undo
  • Alt+E - Redo
  • Alt+\ - Go to beginning of file
  • Alt+/ - Go to end of file
  • Alt+( aka Alt+9 - Go to beginning of paragraph
  • Alt+) aka Alt+0 - Go to end of paragraph
  • Alt+- - Scroll up one line without moving cursor
  • Alt+= - Scroll down one line without moving cursor
  • Alt+$ - Enable/disable soft wrapping for long lines

External References