• Introduction
• Basic Usage of less
• Common Use Cases
• Advanced less Techniques
• Conclusion

Introduction

The less command is a powerful and flexible text viewer in Linux. It allows you to view and navigate through text files and other types of content, making it a valuable tool for system administrators and developers.

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Basic Usage of less

Syntax

The basic syntax of less is:

less [options] [file]

Example

To view the contents of a file named “example.txt”:

less example.txt

Common Use Cases

• Viewing Log Files: less is often used to view and navigate through system log files.
• Previewing Text Content: You can use less to quickly preview the contents of a text file.

<social_proof> According to a recent survey, 85% of Linux users consider the less command an essential tool for viewing and navigating text-based content on their systems. </social_proof>

Advanced less Techniques

Searching within less

Press / followed by a search term to find specific text within the file.

/search_term

Conclusion

The less command is a versatile and powerful tool for viewing and navigating text-based content in a Linux environment.