Nano Text Editor Basics

Open file

nano filename.txt

Create new file

nano newfile.txt

Open at specific line

nano +10 filename.txt

Basic navigation

• Arrow keys - Move cursor
• Page Up / Page Down - Scroll page
• Ctrl+A - Beginning of line
• Ctrl+E - End of line
• Ctrl+Y - Page up
• Ctrl+V - Page down

Go to line/column

• Ctrl+_ - Go to line number
• Alt+G - Go to line number (same)

Save file

• Ctrl+O - Write Out (save)
• Enter to confirm filename

Save as

• Ctrl+O - Write Out
• Type new filename
• Enter to save

Exit nano

• Ctrl+X - Exit
• If unsaved changes, it will ask to save

Cut and paste

• Ctrl+K - Cut current line
• Alt+6 - Copy current line
• Ctrl+U - Paste

##Mark text for copy/cut

• Alt+A - Start marking
• Move cursor to select
• Ctrl+K - Cut marked text
• Alt+6 - Copy marked text

Delete

• Ctrl+D - Delete character under cursor
• Backspace - Delete character before cursor
• Ctrl+K - Delete (cut) entire line

Undo/Redo

• Alt+U - Undo
• Alt+E - Redo

Search

• Ctrl+W - Where Is (search)
• Type search term
• Enter to find

Search next

• Ctrl+W then Ctrl+W - Find next
• Alt+W - Find next occurrence

Search and replace

• Ctrl+\ - Replace
• Enter search term
• Enter replacement text
• Choose: Y (yes), N (no), A (all)

Show line numbers

• Alt+# - Toggle line numbers

Enable/disable wrapping

• Alt+L - Toggle line wrapping

Spell check

• Ctrl+T - To Spell
• Requires spell package installed

Help

• Ctrl+G - Get Help

Insert file

• Ctrl+R - Read File (insert file contents)

Cut to end of line

• Ctrl+K - Cut from cursor to end of line

Justify paragraph

• Ctrl+J - Justify current paragraph

Show cursor position

• Ctrl+C - Display cursor position

Refresh screen

• Ctrl+L - Refresh/redraw screen

Enable mouse

nano -m filename.txt

Or in nano: Alt+M

Syntax highlighting

Nano auto-detects file type. Force specific syntax:

nano -Y python script.py

Convert tabs to spaces

nano -E filename.txt

Or set in ~/.nanorc:

set tabstospaces
set tabsize 4

Show all files in open dialog

When doing Ctrl+R, press Ctrl+T to browse files

Edit as sudo

sudo nano /etc/hosts

Configuration file

Create/edit ~/.nanorc:

set linenumbers
set tabsize 4
set tabstospaces
set autoindent
set mouse
set smooth

Common .nanorc options

set linenumbers         # Show line numbers
set tabsize 4          # Tab width
set tabstospaces       # Convert tabs to spaces
set autoindent         # Auto indent new lines
set smooth             # Smooth scrolling
set mouse              # Enable mouse
set nowrap             # Don't wrap long lines
set morespace          # Use blank line below title bar
set suspend            # Allow Ctrl+Z to suspend
set backup             # Create backup~
set backupdir "~/nano_backups"  # Backup directory

Syntax highlighting colors

Add to ~/.nanorc:

include "/usr/share/nano/*.nanorc"

Multi-file editing

nano file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt

Switch between files:

• Alt+< - Previous file
• Alt+> - Next file

Create backup before save

Add to ~/.nanorc:

set backup
set backupdir "~/nano_backups"

Quick shortcuts summary

Ctrl+O - Save
Ctrl+X - Exit
Ctrl+K - Cut line
Ctrl+U - Paste
Ctrl+W - Search
Ctrl+\ - Replace
Ctrl+_ - Go to line
Alt+U  - Undo
Alt+E  - Redo
Alt+A  - Mark text
Ctrl+G - Help

View file readonly

nano -v filename.txt

Convert DOS/Windows line endings

• Alt+D - Toggle DOS format
• Alt+M - Toggle Mac format

Nano vs vim

Nano advantages:

• Easier to learn
• Clear on-screen help
• No modes to manage
• Better for quick edits

Use nano when:

• Quick configuration edits
• New users
• Simple text files
• Remote server work

Emergency recovery

If nano crashes:

• Look for filename.txt.save in same directory
• Contains unsaved changes

Pipe output to nano

ls -la | nano -

Use as diff viewer

diff file1.txt file2.txt | nano -

Quick edit alias

Add to ~/.bashrc:

alias edit='nano'
alias  snano='sudo nano'