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1<p align="center">
2 <img src="doc/logo-header.svg" alt="bat - a cat clone with wings"><br>
3 <a href="https://travis-ci.org/sharkdp/bat"><img src="https://travis-ci.org/sharkdp/bat.svg?branch=master" alt="Build Status"></a>
4 <a href="https://ci.appveyor.com/project/sharkdp/bat"><img src="https://ci.appveyor.com/api/projects/status/cptsmtbiwbnr2vhf?svg=true"></a>
5 <img src="https://img.shields.io/crates/l/bat.svg" alt="license">
6 <a href="https://crates.io/crates/bat"><img src="https://img.shields.io/crates/v/bat.svg?colorB=319e8c" alt="Version info"></a><br>
7 A <i>cat(1)</i> clone with syntax highlighting and Git integration.
8</p>
10<p align="center">
11 <a href="#syntax-highlighting">Key Features</a> •
12 <a href="#how-to-use">How To Use</a> •
13 <a href="#installation">Installation</a> •
14 <a href="#customization">Customization</a> •
15 <a href="#project-goals-and-alternatives">Project goals, alternatives</a> •
16 Translation [<a href="https://github.com/chinanf-boy/bat-zh">中文</a>][<a href="doc/README-ja.md">日本文</a>]
17</p>
19### Syntax highlighting
21`bat` supports syntax highlighting for a large number of programming and markup
22languages:
24![Syntax highlighting example](https://imgur.com/rGsdnDe.png)
26### Git integration
28`bat` communicates with `git` to show modifications with respect to the index
29(see left side bar):
31![Git integration example](https://i.imgur.com/2lSW4RE.png)
33### Show non-printable characters
35You can use the `-A`/`--show-all` option to show and highlight non-printable
36characters:
38![Non-printable character example](https://i.imgur.com/WndGp9H.png)
40### Automatic paging
42`bat` can pipe its own output to `less` if the output is too large for one screen.
44### File concatenation
46Oh.. you can also use it to concatenate files :wink:. Whenever
47`bat` detects a non-interactive terminal (i.e. when you pipe into another process
48or into a file), `bat` will act as a drop-in replacement for `cat` and
49fall back to printing the plain file contents.
51## How to use
53Display a single file on the terminal
55```bash
56> bat README.md
57```
59Display multiple files at once
61```bash
62> bat src/*.rs
63```
65Read from stdin, determine the syntax automatically
67```bash
68> curl -s https://sh.rustup.rs | bat
69```
71Read from stdin, specify the language explicitly
73```bash
74> yaml2json .travis.yml | json_pp | bat -l json
75```
77Show and highlight non-printable characters:
78```bash
79> bat -A /etc/hosts
80```
82Use it as a `cat` replacement:
84```bash
85bat > note.md # quickly create a new file
87bat header.md content.md footer.md > document.md
89bat -n main.rs # show line numbers (only)
91bat f - g # output 'f', then stdin, then 'g'.
92```
94### Integration with other tools
96#### `find` or `fd`
98You can use the `-exec` option of `find` to preview all search results with `bat`:
99```bash
100find … -exec bat {} +
101```
103If you happen to use [`fd`](https://github.com/sharkdp/fd), you can use the `-X`/`--exec-batch` option to do the same:
104```bash
105fd … -X bat
106```
108#### `tail -f`
110`bat` can be combined with `tail -f` to continuously monitor a given file with syntax highlighting.
111```bash
112tail -f /var/log/pacman.log | bat --paging=never -l log
113```
114Note that we have to switch off paging in order for this to work. We have also specified the syntax
115explicitly (`-l log`), as it can not be auto-detected in this case.
117### `git show`
119You can combine `bat` with `git show` to view an older version of a given file with proper syntax
120highlighting:
121```bash
122git show v0.6.0:src/main.rs | bat -l rs
123```
125#### `xclip`
127The line numbers and Git modification markers in the output of `bat` can make it hard to copy
128the contents of a file. To prevent this, you can call `bat` with the `-p`/`--plain` option or
129simply pipe the output into `xclip`:
130```bash
131bat main.cpp | xclip
132```
133`bat` will detect that the output is being redirected and print the plain file contents.
135## Installation
137### On Ubuntu
138*... and other Debian-based Linux distributions.*
140Download the latest `.deb` package from the [release page](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat/releases)
141and install it via:
142``` bash
143sudo dpkg -i bat_0.10.0_amd64.deb # adapt version number and architecture
144```
146### On Arch Linux
148You can install [the `bat` package](https://www.archlinux.org/packages/community/x86_64/bat/)
149from the official sources:
151```bash
152pacman -S bat
153```
155### On Fedora
157You can install `bat` from the [Fedora Modular](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/modularity/using-modules/) repository. On Fedora 29 and higher, it is enabled by default. Otherwise, run `dnf install fedora-repos-modular` to set up, and make sure that the `fedora-modular` and `fedora-updates-modular` repos are enabled in `/etc/yum.repos.d`.
159```bash
160dnf module install bat
161```
163### On Void Linux
165You can install `bat` via xbps-install:
166```
167xbps-install -S bat
168```
170### On FreeBSD
172You can install a precompiled [`bat` package](https://www.freshports.org/textproc/bat) with pkg:
174```bash
175pkg install bat
176```
178or build it on your own from the FreeBSD ports:
180```bash
181cd /usr/ports/textproc/bat
182make install
183```
185### Via nix
187You can install `bat` using the [nix package manager](https://nixos.org/nix):
189```bash
190nix-env -i bat
191```
193### On openSUSE
195You can install `bat` with zypper:
197```
198zypper install bat
199```
201### On macOS
203You can install `bat` with [Homebrew](http://braumeister.org/formula/bat):
205```bash
206brew install bat
207```
209### On Windows
211You can download prebuilt binaries from the [Release page](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat/releases),
212or install it with [scoop](https://scoop.sh/):
214```bash
215scoop install bat
216```
218[See below](#using-bat-on-windows) for notes.
220### Via Docker
222There is a [Docker image](https://hub.docker.com/r/danlynn/bat/) that you can use to run `bat` in a container:
223```bash
224docker pull danlynn/bat
225alias bat='docker run -it --rm -e BAT_THEME -e BAT_STYLE -e BAT_TABS -v "$(pwd):/myapp" danlynn/bat'
226```
228### Via Ansible
230You can install `bat` with [Ansible](https://www.ansible.com/):
232```bash
233# Install role on local machine
234ansible-galaxy install aeimer.install_bat
235```
237```yaml
238---
239# Playbook to install bat
240- host: all
241 roles:
242 - aeimer.install_bat
243```
245- [Ansible Galaxy](https://galaxy.ansible.com/aeimer/install_bat)
246- [GitHub](https://github.com/aeimer/ansible-install-bat)
248This should work with the following distributions:
249- Debian/Ubuntu
250- ARM (eg. Raspberry PI)
251- Arch Linux
252- Void Linux
253- FreeBSD
254- MacOS
256### From binaries
258Check out the [Release page](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat/releases) for
259prebuilt versions of `bat` for many different architectures. Statically-linked
260binaries are also available: look for archives with `musl` in the file name.
262### From source
264If you want to build `bat` from source, you need Rust 1.31 or
265higher. You can then use `cargo` to build everything:
267```bash
268cargo install bat
269```
271You may have to install `cmake` and the `libz` development package
272(`libz-dev` or `libz-devel`) in order for the build to succeed.
274## Customization
276### Highlighting theme
278Use `bat --list-themes` to get a list of all available themes for syntax
279highlighting. To select the `TwoDark` theme, call `bat` with the
280`--theme=TwoDark` option or set the `BAT_THEME` environment variable to
281`TwoDark`. Use `export BAT_THEME="TwoDark"` in your shell's startup file to
282make the change permanent. Alternatively, use `bat`s
283[configuration file](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat#configuration-file).
285If you want to preview the different themes on a custom file, you can use
286the following command (you need [`fzf`](https://github.com/junegunn/fzf) for this):
287``` bash
288bat --list-themes | fzf --preview="bat --theme={} --color=always /path/to/file"
289```
291`bat` looks good on a dark background by default. However, if your terminal uses a
292light background, some themes like `GitHub` or `OneHalfLight` will work better for you.
293You can also use a custom theme by following the
294['Adding new themes' section below](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat#adding-new-themes).
296### Output style
298You can use the `--style` option to control the appearance of `bat`s output.
299You can use `--style=numbers,changes`, for example, to show only Git changes
300and line numbers but no grid and no file header. Set the `BAT_STYLE` environment
301variable to make these changes permanent or use `bat`s
302[configuration file](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat#configuration-file).
304### Adding new syntaxes / language definitions
306`bat` uses the excellent [`syntect`](https://github.com/trishume/syntect/)
307library for syntax highlighting. `syntect` can read any
308[Sublime Text `.sublime-syntax` file](https://www.sublimetext.com/docs/3/syntax.html)
309and theme. To add new syntax definitions, do the following.
311Create a folder with syntax definition files:
313```bash
314mkdir -p "$(bat --config-dir)/syntaxes"
315cd "$(bat --config-dir)/syntaxes"
317# Put new '.sublime-syntax' language definition files
318# in this folder (or its subdirectories), for example:
319git clone https://github.com/tellnobody1/sublime-purescript-syntax
320```
322Now use the following command to parse these files into a binary cache:
324```bash
325bat cache --build
326```
328Finally, use `bat --list-languages` to check if the new languages are available.
330If you ever want to go back to the default settings, call:
332```bash
333bat cache --clear
334```
336### Adding new themes
338This works very similar to how we add new syntax definitions.
340First, create a folder with the new syntax highlighting themes:
341```bash
342mkdir -p "$(bat --config-dir)/themes"
343cd "$(bat --config-dir)/themes"
345# Download a theme in '.tmTheme' format, for example:
346git clone https://github.com/greggb/sublime-snazzy
348# Update the binary cache
349bat cache --build
350```
352Finally, use `bat --list-themes` to check if the new themes are available.
354### Using a different pager
356`bat` uses the pager that is specified in the `PAGER` environment variable. If this variable is not
357set, `less` is used by default. If you want to use a different pager, you can either modify the
358`PAGER` variable or set the `BAT_PAGER` environment variable to override what is specified in
359`PAGER`.
361If you want to pass command-line arguments to the pager, you can also set them via the
362`PAGER`/`BAT_PAGER` variables:
364```bash
365export BAT_PAGER="less -RF"
366```
368Instead of using environment variables, you can also use `bat`s [configuration file](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat#configuration-file) to configure the pager (`--pager` option).
370**Note**: By default, if the pager is set to `less` (and no command-line options are specified),
371`bat` will pass the following command line
372options to the pager: `-R`/`--RAW-CONTROL-CHARS`, `-F`/`--quit-if-one-screen` and `-X`/`--no-init`.
373The first (`-R`) is needed to interpret ANSI colors correctly. The second option (`-F`) instructs
374less to exit immediately if the output size is smaller than the vertical size of the terminal.
375This is convenient for small files because you do not have to press `q` to quit the pager. The
376third option (`-X`) is needed to fix a bug with the `--quit-if-one-screen` feature in old versions
377of `less`. Unfortunately, it also breaks mouse-wheel support in `less`. If you want to enable
378mouse-wheel scrolling, you can either pass just `-R` (as in the example above, this will disable
379the quit-if-one-screen feature), or you can use a recent version of `less` and pass `-RF` which
380will hopefully enable both quit-if-one-screen and mouse-wheel scrolling.
382If scrolling still doesn't work for you, you can try to pass the `-S` option in addition.
384## Configuration file
386`bat` can also be customized with a configuration file. The location of the file is dependent
387on your operating system. To get the default path for your system, call
388```
389bat --config-file
390```
392Alternatively, you can use the `BAT_CONFIG_PATH` environment variable to point `bat` to a
393non-default location of the configuration file:
394```bash
395export BAT_CONFIG_PATH="/path/to/bat.conf"
396```
398### Format
400The configuration file is a simple list of command line arguments. Use `bat --help` to see a full list of possible options and values. In addition, you can add comments by prepending a line with the `#` character.
402Example configuration file:
403```bash
404# Set the theme to "TwoDark"
405--theme="TwoDark"
407# Show line numbers, Git modifications and file header (but no grid)
408--style="numbers,changes,header"
410# Use italic text on the terminal (not supported on all terminals)
411--italic-text=always
413# Add mouse scrolling support in less (does not work with older
414# versions of "less")
415--pager="less -FR"
417# Use C++ syntax (instead of C) for .h header files
418--map-syntax h:cpp
420# Use "gitignore" highlighting for ".ignore" files
421--map-syntax .ignore:.gitignore
422```
424## Using `bat` on Windows
426`bat` mostly works out-of-the-box on Windows, but a few features may need extra configuration.
428### Paging
430Windows only includes a very limited pager in the form of `more`. You can download a Windows binary
431for `less` [from its homepage](http://www.greenwoodsoftware.com/less/download.html) or [through
432Chocolatey](https://chocolatey.org/packages/Less). To use it, place the binary in a directory in
433your `PATH` or [define an environment variable](#using-a-different-pager).
435### Colors
437Windows 10 natively supports colors in both `conhost.exe` (Command Prompt) and PowerShell since
438[v1511](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_10_version_history#Version_1511_(November_Update)), as
439well as in newer versions of bash. On earlier versions of Windows, you can use
440[Cmder](http://cmder.net/), which includes [ConEmu](https://conemu.github.io/).
442**Note:** The Git and MSYS versions of `less` do not correctly interpret colors on Windows. If you
443don’t have any other pagers installed, you can disable paging entirely by passing `--paging=never`
444or by setting `BAT_PAGER` to an empty string.
446### Cygwin
448`bat` on Windows does not natively support Cygwin's unix-style paths (`/cygdrive/*`). When passed an absolute cygwin path as an argument, `bat` will encounter the following error: `The system cannot find the path specified. (os error 3)`
450This can be solved by creating a wrapper or adding the following function to your `.bash_profile` file:
452```shell
453bat() {
454 local index
455 local args=("$@")
456 for index in $(seq 0 ${#args[@]}) ; do
457 case "${args[index]}" in
458 -*) continue;;
459 *) [ -e "${args[index]}" ] && args[index]="$(cygpath --windows "${args[index]}")";;
460 esac
461 done
462 command bat "${args[@]}"
464```
466## Troubleshooting
468### Terminals & colors
470`bat` handles terminals *with* and *without* truecolor support. However, the colors in the syntax
471highlighting themes are not optimized for 8-bit colors and it is therefore strongly recommended
472that you use a terminal with 24-bit truecolor support (`terminator`, `konsole`, `iTerm2`, ...).
473See [this article](https://gist.github.com/XVilka/8346728) for more details and a full list of
474terminals with truecolor support.
476Make sure that your truecolor terminal sets the `COLORTERM` variable to either `truecolor` or
477`24bit`. Otherwise, `bat` will not be able to determine whether or not 24-bit escape sequences
478are supported (and fall back to 8-bit colors).
480### Line numbers and grid are hardly visible
482Please try a different theme (see `bat --list-themes` for a list). The `OneHalfDark` and
483`OneHalfLight` themes provide grid and line colors that are brighter.
485## Development
487```bash
488# Recursive clone to retrieve all submodules
489git clone --recursive https://github.com/sharkdp/bat
491# Build (debug version)
492cd bat
493cargo build
495# Run unit tests and integration tests
496cargo test
498# Install (release version)
499cargo install
501# Build a bat binary with modified syntaxes and themes
502bash assets/create.sh
503cargo install -f
504```
506## Project goals and alternatives
508`bat` tries to achieve the following goals:
510- Provide beautiful, advanced syntax highlighting
511- Integrate with Git to show file modifications
512- Be a drop-in replacement for (POSIX) `cat`
513- Offer a user-friendly command-line interface
515There are a lot of alternatives, if you are looking for similar programs. See
516[this document](doc/alternatives.md) for a comparison.