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Using Nano Text Editor Commands in Linux

Updated Originally authored by Linode
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GNU nano is a popular command-line text editor that is included in most Linux distributions. The interface is comparable to GUI-based text editors, which makes nano a popular choice for those who find vi or emacs commands non-intuitive. This guide shows you how to use Nano Text Editor Commands in Linux.

Why Edit Files in Linux Using Nano?

Editing files in Linux using Nano is a popular option. Compared to other editors such as Vim, Nano’s GUI makes it very easy to edit, save and interact with the files. On other editors such as Vim, you have to change to edit mode to input text.

Installing the Nano Text Editor in Linux

Nano is included with many Linux distributions by default. However, some users may need to install Nano on Linux using the package management tool of the distribution.

Debian/Ubuntu:

apt install nano

CentOS/Fedora:

yum install nano

Nano Command Keys

When using nano commands, control characters (CTRL) are represented by a carat (^). For example, if you wish to cut a line of text, you would use the CTRL key followed by the K key. This sequence of commands is represented as ^K in nano. Some commands use the Alt key in order to function, which is represented by the letter M.

A command represented as M-R in nano is performed by pressing the Alt key followed by the R key. Mac users may need to use the Escape (Esc) key instead of the Alt key to use these commands.

Using Nano to Create And Open Files in Linux

Create a New File using Nano

Typing nano in the terminal without any arguments opens a blank file for editing:

nano

A blank new file in the terminal similar to the following appears:

You can make changes to the file using the Nano editor. You may exit the file by pressing Ctrl + X. It prompts you to save the file and name it before you exit.

Note
Nano only prompts you if actual changes were made to the file. If you didn’t make any changes, you simply exit the editor and you get no prompts.

When prompted, select press Y and then write the name of the file.

After you enter a filename, press the Enter key to save the file. In this guide, the file is saved as a tutorial.txt with the following content:

Open an Existing File Using Nano

To open a file, provide the filename as an argument in the following command:

nano <filename>

The editor opens an existing file in the current working directory.

To practice, use the file in the current working directory that was created earlier: tutorial.txt.

nano  tutorial.txt

If you wish to open a file in a different directory, you can provide a path instead. To do that, provide the path to the file relative to your current working directory. For instance, if the path to tutorial.txt is /nano-text-editor-tutorial/tutorial.txt, you could use the following command:

nano /nano-text-editor-tutorial/tutorial.txt

If tutorial.txt does not exist in /nano-text-editor-tutorial/, nano creates a file named tutorial.txt in the directory.

You can also open files at a specific line or column number:

nano +LINE,COLUMN /nano-text-editor-tutorial/tutorial.txt

For example, to open the tutorial.txt file at Line 2:

nano +2 /nano-text-editor-tutorial/tutorial.txt

To open a file as read-only:

nano -v myfile.txt

Open Configuration Files Using Nano

When editing files used to configure applications or system utilities, start nano with the -w flag:

nano -w /etc/mysql/my.cnf

This flag prevents nano from wrapping lines that are too long to fit on the screen. Wrapping lines can create problems if configuration directives are saved across multiple lines.

Edit Files Using Nano Text Editor in Linux

Type nano to enter nano text editor. Use the arrow keys to move the cursor. A partial menu of available nano editor commands appear at the bottom of the terminal window.

Cut and Paste Lines of Text Using Nano

To cut a line of text, use ^K. To paste, move the cursor where you want the text to be placed and use ^U. To cut multiple lines, use a series of ^K commands until all lines you wish to cut have been removed. When you paste them back with ^U, the lines are pasted at once.

Valid Shortcuts in Nano Text Editor

To open up a list of Nano’s commands in Linux, for example, in the tutorial.txt file, use Ctrl+G.

Nano help menu appears and displays the following commands:

Below is an abbreviated list of commands:

Keyboard ShortcutAlternative Command KeyDescription
^GF1Display this help text
^XF2Close the current file buffer / Exit from nano
^OF3Write the current file to disk
^RF5Insert another file into the current one
^WF6Search forward for a string or a regular expression
^|M-RReplace a string or a regular expression
^KF9Cut the current line and store it in the cut buffer
^UF10Uncut from the cut buffer into the current line
^JF4Justify the current paragraph
^TF12Invoke the spell checker, if available
^CF11Display the position of the cursor
^_M-GGo to line and column number
M-UUndo the last operation
M-ERedo the last undone operation
M-A^6Mark text starting from the cursor position
M-6M-^Copy the current line and store it in the cut buffer
M-]Go to the matching bracket
M-WF16Repeat the last search
M-▲Search next occurrence backward
M-▼Search next occurrence forward
^B◀Go back one character
^F▶Go forward one character
^◀M-SpaceGo back one word
^▶^SpaceGo forward one word
^AHomeGo to beginning of current line
^EEndGo to end of current line

Search Text Using Nano

To search for a specific text in the document, use ^W The editor opens a search prompt and a submenu of search-specific commands.

Search Option CommandCommand Description
^GGet Help
^YFirst Line
^TGo To Line
^WBeginning of Paragraph
M-JFull Justify
M-BBackwards
^CCancel
^VLast Line
^RReplace
^OEnd of Paragraph
M-CCase Sensitive
M-RRegexp

For example, make some changes to the existing tutorial.txt file and save it with the following text in it:

File: tutorial.txt
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

test 1

test 2

test 3

test 4

Linode1

Linode2

Linode3

Linode4

Linode-end

Search for any word that contains end. To do so, use Ctrl+W and the editor opens an option to search that appears at the bottom of the editor.

Type end in the search option and press enter to see the text that contains “end” in it. In this case, the editor highlights Linode-end. If there were multiple words that had end in them, move to other search results by using Alt+W to see the next match.

Go to Line Number

To go to a line number, enter ^T at the search prompt and enter the line number.

Find and Replace Text

At the search menu, enter Alt+R. Type the text to be replaced and press Enter, then type the replacement text. You are prompted to confirm the replacement for each instance found, or to select All to confirm all instances.

Now try that with end in the tutorial.txt file. The goal is to find end in the tutorial.txt file and replace it with launch. To get started, press Alt+R and the following menu appears:

Next, type the text you want to replace. In this case, it is end. And, then press Enter. search for the text end

Nano prompts you to enter the replacement text for end now. Replace end with launch, so type it here. Nano highlights the text to be replaced and prompts you to confirm. Press Y and replace end with launch.

confirm to replace the text

Spell Check Using Nano

Nano has a built-in spell checking feature, but you need to install the spell package. Issue the following command depending on what distribution you are using.

Debian/Ubuntu:

apt install spell

CentOS/Fedora:

yum install spell

After you have installed spell, you can use the spell-checking feature by using ^T while editing a file.

Save Your Work Using Nano

To save your work, use ^O or WriteOut. This saves the document and leaves nano open for you to continue working.

Save with Backups

Nano can create backups of files when you exit. These backups can be placed in a directory of your choice. By default, they are placed in the same directory as the modified file.

Using the -B option when starting nano creates backups of the file for you. Using the -C option allows you to specify the directory to place backup files in.

nano -BC ~/backups index.php

The command listed above creates a backup copy of index.php in the backups folder in the current user’s home directory.

Exit Commands for Nano Text Editor

Use ^X to exit nano. If you have not saved your work, you are prompted to save the changes or cancel the exit routine.

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