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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#### `man`
137`bat` can be used as a pager for `man`. It can be used like this:
138```
139export MANPAGER="sh -c 'col -b | bat -l man -p'"
141man 2 select
142```
144The [Manpage syntax](assets/syntaxes/Manpage.sublime-syntax) is developed in this repository and still needs some work.
146## Installation
148[![Packaging status](https://repology.org/badge/vertical-allrepos/bat.svg)](https://repology.org/project/bat/versions)
150### On Ubuntu
151*... and other Debian-based Linux distributions.*
153Download the latest `.deb` package from the [release page](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat/releases)
154and install it via:
155``` bash
156sudo dpkg -i bat_0.12.1_amd64.deb # adapt version number and architecture
157```
159### On Alpine Linux
161You can install [the `bat` package](https://pkgs.alpinelinux.org/packages?name=bat)
162from the official sources, provided you have the appropriate repository enabled:
164```bash
165apk add bat
166```
168### On Arch Linux
170You can install [the `bat` package](https://www.archlinux.org/packages/community/x86_64/bat/)
171from the official sources:
173```bash
174pacman -S bat
175```
177### On Fedora
179You can install [the `bat` package](https://koji.fedoraproject.org/koji/packageinfo?packageID=27506) from the official [Fedora Modular](https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/modularity/using-modules/) repository.
181```bash
182dnf install bat
183```
185### On Gentoo Linux
187You can install [the `bat` package](https://packages.gentoo.org/packages/sys-apps/bat)
188from the official sources:
190```bash
191emerge sys-apps/bat
192```
194### On Void Linux
196You can install `bat` via xbps-install:
197```
198xbps-install -S bat
199```
201### On FreeBSD
203You can install a precompiled [`bat` package](https://www.freshports.org/textproc/bat) with pkg:
205```bash
206pkg install bat
207```
209or build it on your own from the FreeBSD ports:
211```bash
212cd /usr/ports/textproc/bat
213make install
214```
216### Via nix
218You can install `bat` using the [nix package manager](https://nixos.org/nix):
220```bash
221nix-env -i bat
222```
224### On openSUSE
226You can install `bat` with zypper:
228```
229zypper install bat
230```
232### On macOS
234You can install `bat` with [Homebrew](http://braumeister.org/formula/bat):
236```bash
237brew install bat
238```
240### On Windows
242You can download prebuilt binaries from the [Release page](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat/releases),
243or install it with [scoop](https://scoop.sh/) or [Chocolatey](https://chocolatey.org):
245```bash
246scoop install bat
247```
249```bash
250choco install bat
251```
253[See below](#using-bat-on-windows) for notes.
255### Via Docker
257There is a [Docker image](https://hub.docker.com/r/danlynn/bat/) that you can use to run `bat` in a container:
258```bash
259docker pull danlynn/bat
260alias bat='docker run -it --rm -e BAT_THEME -e BAT_STYLE -e BAT_TABS -v "$(pwd):/myapp" danlynn/bat'
261```
263### Via Ansible
265You can install `bat` with [Ansible](https://www.ansible.com/):
267```bash
268# Install role on local machine
269ansible-galaxy install aeimer.install_bat
270```
272```yaml
273---
274# Playbook to install bat
275- host: all
276 roles:
277 - aeimer.install_bat
278```
280- [Ansible Galaxy](https://galaxy.ansible.com/aeimer/install_bat)
281- [GitHub](https://github.com/aeimer/ansible-install-bat)
283This should work with the following distributions:
284- Debian/Ubuntu
285- ARM (eg. Raspberry PI)
286- Arch Linux
287- Void Linux
288- FreeBSD
289- MacOS
291### From binaries
293Check out the [Release page](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat/releases) for
294prebuilt versions of `bat` for many different architectures. Statically-linked
295binaries are also available: look for archives with `musl` in the file name.
297### From source
299If you want to build `bat` from source, you need Rust 1.35 or
300higher. You can then use `cargo` to build everything:
302```bash
303cargo install bat
304```
306You may have to install `cmake` and the `libz` development package
307(`libz-dev` or `libz-devel`) in order for the build to succeed.
309## Customization
311### Highlighting theme
313Use `bat --list-themes` to get a list of all available themes for syntax
314highlighting. To select the `TwoDark` theme, call `bat` with the
315`--theme=TwoDark` option or set the `BAT_THEME` environment variable to
316`TwoDark`. Use `export BAT_THEME="TwoDark"` in your shell's startup file to
317make the change permanent. Alternatively, use `bat`s
318[configuration file](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat#configuration-file).
320If you want to preview the different themes on a custom file, you can use
321the following command (you need [`fzf`](https://github.com/junegunn/fzf) for this):
322``` bash
323bat --list-themes | fzf --preview="bat --theme={} --color=always /path/to/file"
324```
326`bat` looks good on a dark background by default. However, if your terminal uses a
327light background, some themes like `GitHub` or `OneHalfLight` will work better for you.
328You can also use a custom theme by following the
329['Adding new themes' section below](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat#adding-new-themes).
331### Output style
333You can use the `--style` option to control the appearance of `bat`s output.
334You can use `--style=numbers,changes`, for example, to show only Git changes
335and line numbers but no grid and no file header. Set the `BAT_STYLE` environment
336variable to make these changes permanent or use `bat`s
337[configuration file](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat#configuration-file).
339### Adding new syntaxes / language definitions
341`bat` uses the excellent [`syntect`](https://github.com/trishume/syntect/)
342library for syntax highlighting. `syntect` can read any
343[Sublime Text `.sublime-syntax` file](https://www.sublimetext.com/docs/3/syntax.html)
344and theme. To add new syntax definitions, do the following.
346Create a folder with syntax definition files:
348```bash
349mkdir -p "$(bat --config-dir)/syntaxes"
350cd "$(bat --config-dir)/syntaxes"
352# Put new '.sublime-syntax' language definition files
353# in this folder (or its subdirectories), for example:
354git clone https://github.com/tellnobody1/sublime-purescript-syntax
355```
357Now use the following command to parse these files into a binary cache:
359```bash
360bat cache --build
361```
363Finally, use `bat --list-languages` to check if the new languages are available.
365If you ever want to go back to the default settings, call:
367```bash
368bat cache --clear
369```
371### Adding new themes
373This works very similar to how we add new syntax definitions.
375First, create a folder with the new syntax highlighting themes:
376```bash
377mkdir -p "$(bat --config-dir)/themes"
378cd "$(bat --config-dir)/themes"
380# Download a theme in '.tmTheme' format, for example:
381git clone https://github.com/greggb/sublime-snazzy
383# Update the binary cache
384bat cache --build
385```
387Finally, use `bat --list-themes` to check if the new themes are available.
389### Using a different pager
391`bat` uses the pager that is specified in the `PAGER` environment variable. If this variable is not
392set, `less` is used by default. If you want to use a different pager, you can either modify the
393`PAGER` variable or set the `BAT_PAGER` environment variable to override what is specified in
394`PAGER`.
396If you want to pass command-line arguments to the pager, you can also set them via the
397`PAGER`/`BAT_PAGER` variables:
399```bash
400export BAT_PAGER="less -RF"
401```
403Instead 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).
405**Note**: By default, if the pager is set to `less` (and no command-line options are specified),
406`bat` will pass the following command line
407options to the pager: `-R`/`--RAW-CONTROL-CHARS`, `-F`/`--quit-if-one-screen` and `-X`/`--no-init`.
408The first (`-R`) is needed to interpret ANSI colors correctly. The second option (`-F`) instructs
409less to exit immediately if the output size is smaller than the vertical size of the terminal.
410This is convenient for small files because you do not have to press `q` to quit the pager. The
411third option (`-X`) is needed to fix a bug with the `--quit-if-one-screen` feature in old versions
412of `less`. Unfortunately, it also breaks mouse-wheel support in `less`. If you want to enable
413mouse-wheel scrolling, you can either pass just `-R` (as in the example above, this will disable
414the quit-if-one-screen feature), or you can use a recent version of `less` and pass `-RF` which
415will hopefully enable both quit-if-one-screen and mouse-wheel scrolling.
417If scrolling still doesn't work for you, you can try to pass the `-S` option in addition.
419## Configuration file
421`bat` can also be customized with a configuration file. The location of the file is dependent
422on your operating system. To get the default path for your system, call
423```
424bat --config-file
425```
427Alternatively, you can use the `BAT_CONFIG_PATH` environment variable to point `bat` to a
428non-default location of the configuration file:
429```bash
430export BAT_CONFIG_PATH="/path/to/bat.conf"
431```
433### Format
435The 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.
437Example configuration file:
438```bash
439# Set the theme to "TwoDark"
440--theme="TwoDark"
442# Show line numbers, Git modifications and file header (but no grid)
443--style="numbers,changes,header"
445# Use italic text on the terminal (not supported on all terminals)
446--italic-text=always
448# Add mouse scrolling support in less (does not work with older
449# versions of "less")
450--pager="less -FR"
452# Use C++ syntax (instead of C) for .h header files
453--map-syntax h:cpp
455# Use "gitignore" highlighting for ".ignore" files
456--map-syntax .ignore:.gitignore
457```
459## Using `bat` on Windows
461`bat` mostly works out-of-the-box on Windows, but a few features may need extra configuration.
463### Paging
465Windows only includes a very limited pager in the form of `more`. You can download a Windows binary
466for `less` [from its homepage](http://www.greenwoodsoftware.com/less/download.html) or [through
467Chocolatey](https://chocolatey.org/packages/Less). To use it, place the binary in a directory in
468your `PATH` or [define an environment variable](#using-a-different-pager). The [Chocolatey package](#on-windows) installs `less` automatically.
470### Colors
472Windows 10 natively supports colors in both `conhost.exe` (Command Prompt) and PowerShell since
473[v1511](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_10_version_history#Version_1511_(November_Update)), as
474well as in newer versions of bash. On earlier versions of Windows, you can use
475[Cmder](http://cmder.net/), which includes [ConEmu](https://conemu.github.io/).
477**Note:** The Git and MSYS versions of `less` do not correctly interpret colors on Windows. If you
478don’t have any other pagers installed, you can disable paging entirely by passing `--paging=never`
479or by setting `BAT_PAGER` to an empty string.
481### Cygwin
483`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)`
485This can be solved by creating a wrapper or adding the following function to your `.bash_profile` file:
487```shell
488bat() {
489 local index
490 local args=("$@")
491 for index in $(seq 0 ${#args[@]}) ; do
492 case "${args[index]}" in
493 -*) continue;;
494 *) [ -e "${args[index]}" ] && args[index]="$(cygpath --windows "${args[index]}")";;
495 esac
496 done
497 command bat "${args[@]}"
499```
501## Troubleshooting
503### Terminals & colors
505`bat` handles terminals *with* and *without* truecolor support. However, the colors in the syntax
506highlighting themes are not optimized for 8-bit colors and it is therefore strongly recommended
507that you use a terminal with 24-bit truecolor support (`terminator`, `konsole`, `iTerm2`, ...).
508See [this article](https://gist.github.com/XVilka/8346728) for more details and a full list of
509terminals with truecolor support.
511Make sure that your truecolor terminal sets the `COLORTERM` variable to either `truecolor` or
512`24bit`. Otherwise, `bat` will not be able to determine whether or not 24-bit escape sequences
513are supported (and fall back to 8-bit colors).
515### Line numbers and grid are hardly visible
517Please try a different theme (see `bat --list-themes` for a list). The `OneHalfDark` and
518`OneHalfLight` themes provide grid and line colors that are brighter.
520## Development
522```bash
523# Recursive clone to retrieve all submodules
524git clone --recursive https://github.com/sharkdp/bat
526# Build (debug version)
527cd bat
528cargo build
530# Run unit tests and integration tests
531cargo test
533# Install (release version)
534cargo install
536# Build a bat binary with modified syntaxes and themes
537bash assets/create.sh
538cargo install -f
539```
541## Maintainers
543- [sharkdp](https://github.com/sharkdp)
544- [eth-p](https://github.com/eth-p)
546## Project goals and alternatives
548`bat` tries to achieve the following goals:
550- Provide beautiful, advanced syntax highlighting
551- Integrate with Git to show file modifications
552- Be a drop-in replacement for (POSIX) `cat`
553- Offer a user-friendly command-line interface
555There are a lot of alternatives, if you are looking for similar programs. See
556[this document](doc/alternatives.md) for a comparison.