Nano is a simple and intuitive command-line text editor, perfect for quick editing of configuration files.
📂 Launch & Files
| 📌 Action | 🧠 Command |
|---|
| ✍️ Open a file | nano file.txt |
| ➕ Open multiple files | nano file1.txt file2.txt |
| 📄 Open at a specific line | nano +42 file.txt |
| 🔒 Open in read-only mode | nano -v file.txt |
| 📏 Show line numbers | nano -l file.txt |
⌨️ Movement & Navigation
| 📌 Action | 🧠 Shortcut |
|---|
| ↖️ Beginning of line | Ctrl + A |
| ↘️ End of line | Ctrl + E |
| 🔝 Beginning of file | Ctrl + Y |
| 🔚 End of file | Ctrl + V |
| 🔎 Go to line | Ctrl + _ then number |
| 📄 Next page | Ctrl + V |
| 📄 Previous page | Ctrl + Y |
📝 Text Editing
| 📌 Action | 🧠 Shortcut |
|---|
| ✂️ Cut line | Ctrl + K |
| 📋 Paste | Ctrl + U |
| 📌 Mark selection start | Ctrl + ^ |
| 🗂️ Copy selection | Alt + 6 |
| ❌ Delete character | Ctrl + D |
| ↩️ Undo | Alt + U |
| 🔁 Redo | Alt + E |
| 📝 Indent line | Alt + } |
| 📝 Unindent line | Alt + { |
🔍 Search & Replace
| 📌 Action | 🧠 Shortcut |
|---|
| 🔍 Search | Ctrl + W |
| ⏭️ Find next | Alt + W |
| ⏮️ Find previous | Alt + Q |
| 🔄 Search & replace | Ctrl + \ |
| 🔄 Replace all | Ctrl + \ then A |
💾 Save & Exit
| 📌 Action | 🧠 Shortcut |
|---|
| 💾 Save | Ctrl + O |
| 💾 Save as | Ctrl + O then new name |
| ❌ Quit | Ctrl + X |
| 🔒 Quit without saving | Ctrl + X then N |
| ✅ Save and quit | Ctrl + X then Y |
🛠️ Useful Functions
| 📌 Action | 🧠 Shortcut |
|---|
| 🔢 Show/Hide line numbers | Alt + N |
| 📖 Justify paragraph | Ctrl + J |
| 🧮 Spell check | Ctrl + T |
| 🪟 New buffer | Ctrl + R |
| ↔️ Next buffer | Alt + > |
| ↔️ Previous buffer | Alt + < |
| ℹ️ Help | Ctrl + G |
🔧 Launch Options
# Edit with line numbering
nano -l file.txt
# Edit with automatic backup
nano -B file.txt
# Create backup with custom extension
nano -B -S .bak file.txt
# Read-only mode
nano -v file.txt
# Disable word wrap
nano -w file.txt
💡 Practical Tips
🔍 Search with regex
# Enable regex in search
Alt + R (in search prompt)
📋 Advanced copy/paste
# Mark a zone then copy
Ctrl + ^ → select → Alt + 6 → Ctrl + U (paste)
🎯 Multi-file editing
# Open multiple files
nano file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt
# Navigate between files
Alt + > (next) or Alt + < (previous)
Syspirit