more - macOS

Overview

more is a command-line utility in macOS that allows you to view the contents of a file or input stream one page at a time. It’s particularly useful for paging through large text files or output from other commands.

Syntax

more [options] [file]

Options/Flags

  • -d: Display line numbers.
  • -n [number]: Specify the number of lines to display per page (default: 24).
  • -s: Squeeze multiple blank lines together.
  • -u: Display all lines, including empty ones. By default, more skips empty lines.
  • +N: Skip to the Nth line of the file.
  • -C: Check if the file has been modified since it was last viewed. If it has, more will display the file again from the beginning.
  • -f: Force more to display the file even if it has not been modified since the last time it was viewed.

Examples

  • Simple usage: Display the contents of a file one page at a time:
more myfile.txt
  • Skip to a specific line: Skip to line 100 in a file:
more +100 myfile.txt
  • Display line numbers: Display line numbers along with the text:
more -d myfile.txt
  • Specify number of lines per page: Display 50 lines per page:
more -n 50 myfile.txt
  • Suppress blank lines: Remove consecutive blank lines from the output:
more -s myfile.txt

Common Issues

  • File not found: Ensure that the specified file exists and is readable.
  • Empty file: If the file is empty, more will display a message and exit.
  • File modified: If the file has been modified since the last time it was viewed, more may not display the correct contents. Use the -C flag to force more to re-read the file.

Integration

More can be used in conjunction with other macOS commands to enhance its functionality. For example:

head -n 10 myfile.txt | more

This command pipes the first 10 lines of myfile.txt to more, allowing you to view them one page at a time.