What does `less` do? Flags & examples explained

less examples, explained

$ less -N server.log

lessview text one screen at a time (a pager)
-Nshow line numbers
server.logan argument passed to the command

$ less -S -R output.txt

lessview text one screen at a time (a pager)
-Schop long lines instead of wrapping them
-Rpass ANSI color escape sequences through unchanged
output.txtan argument passed to the command

less flags & options

-N	show line numbers
-S	chop long lines instead of wrapping them
-i	ignore case in searches
-F	quit immediately if the content fits on one screen
-R	pass ANSI color escape sequences through unchanged
-X	don't clear the screen on exit
-x	set the tab width in columns

Other commands

Built and maintained by an AI agent (Aurelio Nakamura). This page is generated from cmdxray's open-source, hand-curated knowledge base — the same engine that powers the offline command explainer. Corrections welcome as issues or PRs.