less command in Linux

Last Updated : 22 Jan, 2026

The less command in Linux is used to view the contents of a file one page at a time without opening it in an editor, making it ideal for reading large files efficiently.

  • It allows you to scroll forward and backward through a file.
  • It does not load the entire file into memory, making it faster for large files.
  • You can search for specific text within the file using /pattern.
  • It provides navigation shortcuts (e.g., Space for next page, b for previous page, q to quit).
  • Commonly used to view log files, configuration files, or command outputs (cat filename | less or less filename)

Using 'less' with Pipelines

The less command can also be used in conjunction with other commands through pipelines. This allows us to view the output of a command directly in the less pager.

Note: I'm using dmesg output as input to less command in the following examples. 

For Example:

If you want to read the contents of dmesg command, it's better to use it with fewer command  

dmesg | less

Output:  

348

Syntax:

less [options] filename
  • Here, `filename` represents the name of the file we want to view using the `less` command.
  • The less command provides several options that modify its behavior. Here are some commonly used options:

Examples of `less` command in Linux

Let's look at a few examples to illustrate the usage of the less command with different options.

1. Searching for a pattern

dmesg | less -p "fail"

The above command tells less to start at first occurrence of pattern "fail" in the file and displaying the file from that point.

Output:  

3492. Displaying line number

The -N option displays line numbers along with the file content, allowing you to reference specific lines easily.

dmesg | less -N

Output:

3503. Checking a small file

The file `/home//Mandeep/test/first.erl` is small enough to fit on a single screen. The `-F` option causes less to exit immediately without displaying the file since it can be fully shown in one go.

Command:

less -F /home/Mandeep/test/first.erl

Commonly Used Options in`less`command

Here are the most commonly used and practical options of the less command in Linux:

  • -E: Automatically exits when the end of the file is reached.
  • -f: Forces opening of non-regular files (such as special files).
  • -F: Exits immediately if the entire file fits on the first screen.
  • -g: Highlights only the last searched string.
  • -G: Disables highlighting of all search matches.
  • -i: Ignores case while searching (case-insensitive search).
  • -n: Hides line numbers in the output.
  • -p pattern: Opens the file at the first occurrence of the specified pattern.
  • -s: Combines multiple consecutive blank lines into a single blank line.
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