•Arnošt Havelka
Reading Files with cat
Use cat to quickly view file contents in the terminal.
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Reading Files with cat
The cat command reads and displays file contents. It's the fastest way to peek at what's inside a file.
View a Single File
Use cat followed by a filename to see its entire contents.
Usage:catfilename
cat
Concatenate and display - shows file contents to the terminal.
See what's inside:
Command Prompt
C:\Users\User>cat notes.txt
View Multiple Files
Combine multiple files to see them all at once.
Usage:catfile1file2
file1 file2
Multiple files - cat displays them one after another.
Merge files on screen:
Command Prompt
C:\Users\User>cat intro.txt content.txt
Quick Tips
catis perfect for small files- For long files, use
less(page through with space/arrow keys) catshows everything at once - it won't pause if the file is long
Knowledge Check
1 / 3What does cat do?
References
These Microsoft Learn and Windows documentation links provide authoritative details for the commands used in this article.