Nano Editor Cheat Sheet

Opening Files

• nano filename - Open/create file
• nano +line filename - Open file at specific line number
• nano -w filename - Disable line wrapping

Basic Navigation

• Arrow keys - Move cursor
• Ctrl+A - Beginning of line
• Ctrl+E - End of line
• Ctrl+Y - Previous page
• Ctrl+V - Next page
• **Alt+** - Go to beginning of file
• Alt+/ - Go to end of file

Search & Replace

• Ctrl+W - Search (Where is)
• Alt+W - Search next occurrence
• **Ctrl+** - Search and replace
• Alt+R - Replace current match

Editing

• Ctrl+K - Cut entire line
• Alt+6 - Copy entire line
• Ctrl+U - Paste
• Alt+U - Undo
• Alt+E - Redo
• Alt+A - Select text (start/stop marking)
• Ctrl+6 - Mark text from cursor
• Alt+} - Indent line/selection
• Alt+{ - Unindent line/selection

File Operations

• Ctrl+O - Save (WriteOut)
• Ctrl+X - Exit
• Ctrl+R - Insert another file
• Ctrl+T - Spell check (if available)

Line Operations

• Ctrl+G - Help
• Ctrl+C - Show cursor position/line info
• Alt+G - Go to line number
• Alt+D - Count words/lines/characters
• Ctrl+J - Justify paragraph

Useful Toggles

• Alt+M - Enable/disable mouse support
• Alt+N - Toggle line numbers
• Alt+S - Toggle smooth scrolling
• Alt+I - Auto-indent toggle

Tips

• Ctrl+G shows help with all commands
• Use Tab for filename completion when opening files
• Alt key combinations may vary by terminal - try Esc if Alt doesn’t work
• Commands are case-sensitive

Essential Commands

The most important commands to remember:

• Ctrl+O - Save
• Ctrl+X - Exit
• Ctrl+W - Search
• Ctrl+K / Ctrl+U - Cut/Paste