Nano/Basics Guide
This guide Article description::covers basic operations in nano, and is meant to be very concise. For more information about nano check out: https://www.nano-editor.org.
Nano basics
Opening and creating files
For opening and creating files type:
root #nano filenameNano is a modeless editor so you can start typing immediately to insert text. If you are editing a configuration file like /etc/fstab use the -w switch to disable wrapping on long lines as it might render the configuration file unparseable by whatever tools depend on it. For example:
root #nano -w /etc/fstabIt is very, very important that you use the
-w switch when opening a config file. Failure to do so may keep your system from booting or cause other bad things.Saving and exiting
If you want to save the changes you've made, press Ctrl + O. To exit nano, type Ctrl + X. If you ask nano to exit from a modified file, it will ask you if you want to save it. Just press N in case you don't, or Y in case you do. It will then ask you for a filename. Just type it in and press Enter.
If you accidentally confirmed that you want to save the file but you actually don't, you can always cancel by pressing Ctrl + C when you're prompted for a filename.
Cutting and pasting
To cut a single line, you use Ctrl + K (hold down Ctrl and then press K). The line disappears. To paste it, you simply move the cursor to where you want to paste it and punch Ctrl + U. The line reappears. To move multiple lines, simply cut them with several Ctrl + K in a row, then paste them with a single Ctrl + U. The whole paragraph appears wherever you want it.
If you need a little more fine-grained control, then you have to mark the text. Move the cursor to the beginning of the text you want to cut. Hit Ctrl + 6 (or Alt + A). Now move your cursor to the end of the text you want to cut: the marked text gets highlighted. If you need to cancel your text marking, simply hit Ctrl + 6 again. Press Ctrl + K to cut the marked text. Use Ctrl + U to paste it.
Searching for text
Searching for a string is easy as long as you think "WhereIs" instead of "Search". Simply hit Ctrl + W, type in your search string, and press Enter. To search for the same string again, hit Alt + W.
In nano's help texts the Ctrl is represented by a caret (
^), so Ctrl + W is shown as ^W, and so on. The Alt key is represented by an M (from "Meta"), so Alt + W is shown as M-W.More options
If you're interested in tweaking nano, be sure to read /etc/nanorc.
Wrap up
Thanks to kiyose and quazion from #gentoo.
This page is based on a document formerly found on our main website gentoo.org.
The following people contributed to the original document: Sherman Boyd
They are listed here because wiki history does not allow for any external attribution. If you edit the wiki article, please do not add yourself here; your contributions are recorded on each article's associated history page.