more(1)
Display text files one screen at a time with pagination.
Synopsis
more [OPTION]... [FILE]...Description
more displays the contents of files page by page, pausing after each screen to let you read. It's useful for viewing long files in the terminal without overwhelming your display. Press space to advance, or other keys to navigate.
When multiple files are specified, more displays them sequentially. It automatically detects your terminal height and adjusts pagination accordingly.
Common options
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
-d | Display helpful prompt with available commands; shows "(Next file: FILE)" |
-f | Count logical lines instead of screen lines (for files with long wrapped lines) |
-l | Don't pause after form-feed characters (^L) |
-p | Suppress scrolling; clear screen and display from top instead |
-c | Repaint screen from top instead of scrolling (similar to -p) |
-s | Squeeze multiple blank lines into a single blank line |
-u | Suppress underlining of text (useful for terminal compatibility) |
+NUM | Start displaying at line NUM instead of the beginning |
+/PATTERN | Start at the first line matching PATTERN |
Examples
View system log file page by page with default pagination
more /var/log/syslogDisplay passwd file with descriptive prompts and available commands shown
more -d /etc/passwdPipe output from another command through more for pagination
cat longfile.txt | moreStart viewing the file at line 50, useful for skipping headers
more +50 largefile.logJump to the first line containing ERROR in the log file
more +/ERROR /var/log/app.logView file while compressing multiple blank lines into single blanks
more -s file.txtDisplay three files sequentially, pausing between each
more file1.txt file2.txt file3.txtPaginate the output of a directory listing
ls -la /home | more