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+ 
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+ A cat(1) clone with syntax highlighting and Git integration. +
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+
+ A cat(1) clone with syntax highlighting and Git integration.
+
+ Key Features • + How To Use • + Installation • + Customization • + Project goals, alternatives • + Translation [中文] +
+ +### Syntax highlighting + +`bat` supports syntax highlighting for a large number of programming and markup +languages: + + + +### Git integration + +`bat` communicates with `git` to show modifications with respect to the index +(see left side bar): + + + +### Show non-printable characters + +You can use the `-A`/`--show-all` option to show and highlight non-printable +characters: + + + +### Automatic paging + +`bat` can pipe its own output to `less` if the output is too large for one screen. + +### File concatenation + +Oh.. you can also use it to concatenate files :wink:. Whenever +`bat` detects a non-interactive terminal (i.e. when you pipe into another process +or into a file), `bat` will act as a drop-in replacement for `cat` and +fall back to printing the plain file contents. + +## How to use + +Display a single file on the terminal + +```bash +> bat README.md +``` + +Display multiple files at once + +```bash +> bat src/*.rs +``` + +Read from stdin, determine the syntax automatically + +```bash +> curl -s https://sh.rustup.rs | bat +``` + +Read from stdin, specify the language explicitly + +```bash +> yaml2json .travis.yml | json_pp | bat -l json +``` + +Show and highlight non-printable characters: +```bash +> bat -A /etc/hosts +``` + +Use it as a `cat` replacement: + +```bash +bat > note.md # quickly create a new file + +bat header.md content.md footer.md > document.md + +bat -n main.rs # show line numbers (only) + +bat f - g # output 'f', then stdin, then 'g'. +``` + +## Installation + +### On Ubuntu +*... and other Debian-based Linux distributions.* + +Download the latest `.deb` package from the [release page](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat/releases) +and install it via: +``` bash +sudo dpkg -i bat_0.9.0_amd64.deb # adapt version number and architecture +``` + +### On Arch Linux + +You can install [the `bat` package](https://www.archlinux.org/packages/community/x86_64/bat/) +from the official sources: + +```bash +pacman -S bat +``` + +### On Void Linux + +You can install `bat` via xbps-install: +``` +xbps-install -S bat +``` + +### On FreeBSD + +You can install a precompiled [`bat` package](https://www.freshports.org/textproc/bat) with pkg: + +```bash +pkg install bat +``` + +or build it on your own from the FreeBSD ports: + +```bash +cd /usr/ports/textproc/bat +make install +``` + +### Via nix + +You can install `bat` using the [nix package manager](https://nixos.org/nix): + +```bash +nix-env -i bat +``` + +### On openSUSE + +You can install `bat` with zypper: + +``` +zypper install bat +``` + +### On macOS + +You can install `bat` with [Homebrew](http://braumeister.org/formula/bat): + +```bash +brew install bat +``` + +### On Windows + +You can download prebuilt binaries from the [Release page](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat/releases), +or install it with [scoop](https://scoop.sh/): + +```bash +scoop install bat +``` + +[See below](#using-bat-on-windows) for notes. + +### Via Docker + +There is a [Docker image](https://hub.docker.com/r/danlynn/bat/) that you can use to run `bat` in a container: +```bash +docker pull danlynn/bat +alias bat='docker run -it --rm -e BAT_THEME -e BAT_STYLE -e BAT_TABS -v "$(pwd):/myapp" danlynn/bat' +``` + +### Via Ansible + +You can install `bat` with [Ansible](https://www.ansible.com/): + +```bash +# Install role on local machine +ansible-galaxy install aeimer.install_bat +``` + +```yaml +--- +# Playbook to install bat +- host: all + roles: + - aeimer.install_bat +``` + +- [Ansible Galaxy](https://galaxy.ansible.com/aeimer/install_bat) +- [GitHub](https://github.com/aeimer/ansible-install-bat) + +This should work with the following distributions: +- Debian/Ubuntu +- ARM (eg. Raspberry PI) +- Arch Linux +- Void Linux +- FreeBSD +- MacOS + +### From binaries + +Check out the [Release page](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat/releases) for +prebuilt versions of `bat` for many different architectures. Statically-linked +binaries are also available: look for archives with `musl` in the file name. + +### From source + +If you want to build `bat` from source, you need Rust 1.29 or +higher. You can then use `cargo` to build everything: + +```bash +cargo install bat +``` + +You may have to install `cmake` and the `libz` development package +(`libz-dev` or `libz-devel`) in order for the build to succeed. + +## Customization + +### Highlighting theme + +Use `bat --list-themes` to get a list of all available themes for syntax +highlighting. To select the `TwoDark` theme, call `bat` with the +`--theme=TwoDark` option or set the `BAT_THEME` environment variable to +`TwoDark`. Use `export BAT_THEME="TwoDark"` in your shell's startup file to +make the change permanent. Alternatively, use `bat`s +[configuration file](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat#configuration-file). + +If you want to preview the different themes on a custom file, you can use +the following command (you need [`fzf`](https://github.com/junegunn/fzf) for this): +``` bash +bat --list-themes | fzf --preview="bat --theme={} --color=always /path/to/file" +``` + +`bat` looks good on a dark background by default. However, if your terminal uses a +light background, some themes like `GitHub` or `OneHalfLight` will work better for you. +You can also use a custom theme by following the +['Adding new themes' section below](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat#adding-new-themes). + +### Output style + +You can use the `--style` option to control the appearance of `bat`s output. +You can use `--style=numbers,changes`, for example, to show only Git changes +and line numbers but no grid and no file header. Set the `BAT_STYLE` environment +variable to make these changes permanent or use `bat`s +[configuration file](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat#configuration-file). + +### Adding new syntaxes / language definitions + +`bat` uses the excellent [`syntect`](https://github.com/trishume/syntect/) +library for syntax highlighting. `syntect` can read any +[Sublime Text `.sublime-syntax` file](https://www.sublimetext.com/docs/3/syntax.html) +and theme. To add new syntax definitions, do the following. + +Create a folder with syntax definition files: + +```bash +BAT_CONFIG_DIR="$(bat cache --config-dir)" + +mkdir -p "$BAT_CONFIG_DIR/syntaxes" +cd "$BAT_CONFIG_DIR/syntaxes" + +# Put new '.sublime-syntax' language definition files +# in this folder (or its subdirectories), for example: +git clone https://github.com/tellnobody1/sublime-purescript-syntax +``` + +Now use the following command to parse these files into a binary cache: + +```bash +bat cache --init +``` + +Finally, use `bat --list-languages` to check if the new languages are available. + +If you ever want to go back to the default settings, call: + +```bash +bat cache --clear +``` + +### Adding new themes + +This works very similar to how we add new syntax definitions. + +First, create a folder with the new syntax highlighting themes: +```bash +BAT_CONFIG_DIR="$(bat cache --config-dir)" + +mkdir -p "$BAT_CONFIG_DIR/themes" +cd "$BAT_CONFIG_DIR/themes" + +# Download a theme in '.tmTheme' format, for example: +git clone https://github.com/greggb/sublime-snazzy + +# Update the binary cache +bat cache --init +``` + +Finally, use `bat --list-themes` to check if the new themes are available. + +### Using a different pager + +`bat` uses the pager that is specified in the `PAGER` environment variable. If this variable is not +set, `less` is used by default. If you want to use a different pager, you can either modify the +`PAGER` variable or set the `BAT_PAGER` environment variable to override what is specified in +`PAGER`. + +If you want to pass command-line arguments to the pager, you can also set them via the +`PAGER`/`BAT_PAGER` variables: + +```bash +export BAT_PAGER="less -RF" +``` + +Instead of using environment variables, you can also use `bat`s [configuration file](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat#configuration-file) to configure the pager (`--pager` option). + +**Note**: By default, if the pager is set to `less` (any no command-line options are specified), +`bat` will pass the following command line +options to the pager: `-R`/`--RAW-CONTROL-CHARS`, `-F`/`--quit-if-one-screen` and `-X`/`--no-init`. +The first (`-R`) is needed to interpret ANSI colors correctly. The second option (`-F`) instructs +less to exit immediately if the output size is smaller than the vertical size of the terminal. +This is convenient for small files because you do not have to press `q` to quit the pager. The +third option (`-X`) is needed to fix a bug with the `--quit-if-one-screen` feature in old versions +of `less`. Unfortunately, it also breaks mouse-wheel support in `less`. If you want to enable +mouse-wheel scrolling, you can either pass just `-R` (as in the example above, this will disable +the quit-if-one-screen feature), or you can use a recent version of `less` and pass `-RF` which +will hopefully enable both quit-if-one-screen and mouse-wheel scrolling. + +If scrolling still doesn't work for you, you can try to pass the `-S` option in addition. + +## Configuration file + +`bat` can also be customized with a configuration file. The location of the file is dependent +on your operating system. To get the default path for your system, call +``` +bat --config-file +``` + +Alternatively, you can use the `BAT_CONFIG_PATH` environment variable to point `bat` to a +non-default location of the configuration file: +```bash +export BAT_CONFIG_PATH="/path/to/bat.conf" +``` + +### Format + +The configuration file is a simple list of command line arguments. Use `bat --help` to see a full list of possible options and values. In addition, you can add comments by prepending a line with the `#` character. + +Example configuration file: +```bash +# Set the theme to "TwoDark" +--theme="TwoDark" + +# Show line numbers, Git modifications and file header (but no grid) +--style="numbers,changes,header" + +# Use italic text on the terminal (not supported on all terminals) +--italic-text=always + +# Add mouse scrolling support in less (does not work with older +# versions of "less") +--pager="less -FR" + +# Use C++ syntax (instead of C) for .h header files +--map-syntax h:cpp + +# Use "gitignore" highlighting for ".ignore" files +--map-syntax .ignore:.gitignore +``` + +## Using `bat` on Windows + +`bat` mostly works out-of-the-box on Windows, but a few features may need extra configuration. + +### Paging + +Windows only includes a very limited pager in the form of `more`. You can download a Windows binary +for `less` [from its homepage](http://www.greenwoodsoftware.com/less/download.html) or [through +Chocolatey](https://chocolatey.org/packages/Less). To use it, place the binary in a directory in +your `PATH` or [define an environment variable](#using-a-different-pager). + +### Colours + +Windows 10 natively supports colours in both `conhost.exe` (Command Prompt) and PowerShell since +[v1511](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_10_version_history#Version_1511_(November_Update)), as +well as in newer versions of bash. On earlier versions of Windows, you can use +[Cmder](http://cmder.net/), which includes [ConEmu](https://conemu.github.io/). + +**Note:** The Git and MSYS versions of `less` do not correctly interpret colours on Windows. If you +don’t have any other pagers installed, you can disable paging entirely by passing `--paging=never` +or by setting `BAT_PAGER` to an empty string. + +### Cygwin + +`bat` on Windows does not natively support Cygwin's unix-style paths (`/cygdrive/*`). When passed an absolute cygwin path as an argument, `bat` will encounter the following error: `The system cannot find the path specified. (os error 3)` + +This can be solved by creating a wrapper or adding the following function to your `.bash_profile` file: + +```shell +bat() { + local index + local args=("$@") + for index in $(seq 0 ${#args[@]}) ; do + case "${args[index]}" in + -*) continue;; + *) [ -e "${args[index]}" ] && args[index]="$(cygpath --windows "${args[index]}")";; + esac + done + command bat "${args[@]}" +} +``` + +## Troubleshooting + +### Terminals & colors + +`bat` handles terminals *with* and *without* truecolor support. However, the colors in the syntax +highlighting themes are not optimized for 8-bit colors and it is therefore strongly recommended +that you use a terminal with 24-bit truecolor support (`terminator`, `konsole`, `iTerm2`, ...). +See [this article](https://gist.github.com/XVilka/8346728) for more details and a full list of +terminals with truecolor support. + +Make sure that your truecolor terminal sets the `COLORTERM` variable to either `truecolor` or +`24bit`. Otherwise, `bat` will not be able to determine whether or not 24-bit escape sequences +are supported (and fall back to 8-bit colors). + +### Line numbers and grid are hardly visible + +Please try a different theme (see `bat --list-themes` for a list). The `OneHalfDark` and +`OneHalfLight` themes provide grid and line colors that are brighter. + +## Development + +```bash +# Recursive clone to retrieve all submodules +git clone --recursive https://github.com/sharkdp/bat + +# Build (debug version) +cd bat +cargo build + +# Run unit tests and integration tests +cargo test + +# Install (release version) +cargo install + +# Build a bat binary with modified syntaxes and themes +bash assets/create.sh +cargo install -f +``` + +## Project goals and alternatives + +`bat` tries to achieve the following goals: + +- Provide beautiful, advanced syntax highlighting +- Integrate with Git to show file modifications +- Be a drop-in replacement for (POSIX) `cat` +- Offer a user-friendly command-line interface + +There are a lot of alternatives, if you are looking for similar programs. See +[this document](doc/alternatives.md) for a comparison.