When you save, the contents will be written to the filename that you specify. If this file doesn’t exist, you will see an empty buffer that you can start writing in. nano FILENAMEįor example, if we have a file called “ raspberrypi.mylifeup” we can begin editing it by using the command below.

Nano will use this filename to either create a new file or edit an existing one. You can also specify a filename alongside the nano command. When you save the buffer, you will be asked to specify the filename for it. This buffer will be your empty text file without a filename attached to it. When you use nano without specifying a file, you will start the editing session with a clean buffer. The most straightforward use of nano is to use the command without specifying a filename. In this section, we will explain the various ways of using nano to either create or edit a file.Īs you will soon see, creating and editing files using the nano text editor is a straightforward process. Within this guide, we will be showing you how to use the nano text editor and its various shortcuts. We found nano to be incredibly straightforward to use, even for the most beginner Linux user.

When getting used to using a Linux system, it can often be daunting when trying to use more advanced text-editors such as vim or emacs. We use nano within all of our Raspberry Pi projects and Linux guides. It is our preferred text-editor when working within the command-line. Nano is a command-line text editor that is often included with Unix-like computing systems such as Raspberry Pi OS or Ubuntu.

In this guide, we will explain some of the best ways to use the nano text editor.

Edit text file in terminal ubuntu