less (Opposite of more)

less is a powerful and fast terminal pager used to view the contents of a text file. Unlike cat or vi, less does not need to read the entire file before starting, resulting in much faster load times for large files. It also allows for both forward and backward navigation.

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1. Basic Usage

less [filename]

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2. Navigation & Essential Shortcuts

Key	Action	Description
Space / f	Page Down	Scrolls forward one full screen.
b	Page Up	Scrolls backward one full screen.
j / k	Line Down/Up	Moves down or up by exactly one line.
G	End of File	Jumps to the very last line of the file.
g	Top of File	Jumps to the very first line of the file.
/pattern	Search Forward	Searches for a string from the current position downwards.
?pattern	Search Backward	Searches for a string from the current position upwards.
n / N	Next / Previous	Moves to the next (n) or previous (N) search match.
q	Quit	Exits the less pager.

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3. Practical Examples

① Viewing huge log files

Perfect for files that are too large for standard text editors.

less /var/log/auth.log

② Opening multiple files

You can open several files and switch between them using :n (next) and :p (previous).

less file1.txt file2.txt

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4. [Tip] Why we say "Less is More"

In Linux, there's a pun: "less is more, but more than more." This refers to less being a replacement for the older more utility with significantly improved navigation and performance features.