How to display Line Numbers in Nano, Vi and VIM (2024)

by Richard.Bailey · Published · Updated

Displaying line numbers in text editors like Nano, Vi, and Vim can be a crucial feature for developers, system administrators, and technical writers. These text editors are available on Linux. It aids in navigation and makes it easier to reference specific lines of code or text. Below is a detailed procedure for enabling line numbers in each of these text editors.

Displaying Line Numbers in Nano

  • Open the Nano Editor: Launch your terminal and type nano followed by the name of the file you wish to edit. For example:

Bash

nano example.txt
  • Access the Nano Menu: Once the editor is open, you’ll notice a menu at the bottom of the screen. This menu contains various commands prefixed by the caret symbol (^), which represents the Ctrl key.
  • Enable Line Numbers: To display line numbers, press Alt + Shift + #. This will toggle line numbers on or off.
  • Save Changes: To save any changes you’ve made to the file, press Ctrl + O, then press Enter.
  • Exit Nano: To exit the Nano editor, press Ctrl + X.
How to display Line Numbers in Nano, Vi and VIM (1)

Displaying Line Numbers in Vi

  • Open the Vi Editor: In your terminal, type vi followed by the name of the file you want to edit. For instance:

Bash

vi example.txt
  • Enter Command Mode: By default, Vi starts in “Normal” mode. To enter “Command” mode, press Esc.
  • Enable Line Numbers: In “Command” mode, type :set number and press Enter. This will display line numbers along the left-hand side of the editor.
  • Save and Exit: To save changes and exit Vi, type :wq and press Enter.
How to display Line Numbers in Nano, Vi and VIM (2)

Displaying Line Numbers in Vim

  • Launch Vim: Open your terminal and type vim followed by the name of the file you wish to edit. For example:

Bash

vim example.txt
  • Switch to Command Mode: Vim starts in “Normal” mode. Press Esc to switch to “Command” mode.
  • Activate Line Numbers: In “Command” mode, type :set number and press Enter. This will enable line numbers.
  • Persistent Line Numbers: If you want to make this setting permanent, you can add the set number command to your Vim configuration file. To do this, open your .vimrc file by typing vim ~/.vimrc and add the line set number.
  • Save and Close: To save your changes and exit Vim, type :wq and press Enter.

Thanks for taking the time to read this article. if you have any questions or feedback, please write in the comment section below.

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How to display Line Numbers in Nano, Vi and VIM (3)

Richard.Bailey

Richard Bailey, a seasoned tech enthusiast, combines a passion for innovation with a knack for simplifying complex concepts. With over a decade in the industry, he's pioneered transformative solutions, blending creativity with technical prowess. An avid writer, Richard's articles resonate with readers, offering insightful perspectives that bridge the gap between technology and everyday life. His commitment to excellence and tireless pursuit of knowledge continues to inspire and shape the tech landscape.

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How to display Line Numbers in Nano, Vi and VIM (2024)

FAQs

How to display Line Numbers in Nano, Vi and VIM? ›

The Short Answer. In vim, display or showing line numbers is synonymous with setting line numbers: set number or set nu will show or turn on line numbers. set nonumber or set nonu will hide the line numbers.

How to display line numbers in Vim? ›

The Short Answer. In vim, display or showing line numbers is synonymous with setting line numbers: set number or set nu will show or turn on line numbers. set nonumber or set nonu will hide the line numbers.

How do I permanently see line numbers in Vi editor? ›

To do so:
  1. Press the Esc key if you are currently in insert or append mode.
  2. Press : (the colon). The cursor should reappear at the lower left corner of the screen next to a : prompt.
  3. Enter the following command: set number.
  4. A column of sequential line numbers will then appear at the left side of the screen.
Jan 18, 2018

How do I get to line numbers in Vim command line? ›

Go To Line In Vim

To go to a specific line number, enter the line number in Command-line Mode (:<line number>) or the line number and G (<line number>G) in Normal Mode. For more information on how to switch between the different Vim modes, check out our brief introduction to the different Vim modes.

How do you show line numbers in code? ›

Here's how. On the menu bar, select Tools > Options > Text Editor, and then select either the language you're using or All Languages to turn on line numbers in all supported programming languages. You can also type line number in the Search box, and then choose Turn line numbers on or off from the results.

Which command is used to display the line numbers in the vi editor? ›

In vi, you can also display the current line number on the bottom of the screen. CTRL-G is useful either for displaying the line number to use in a command or for orienting yourself if you have been distracted from your editing session.

How do I show line numbers in idle editor? ›

To show line numbers in the current window, go to Options and click Show Line Numbers . To show them automatically, go to Options > Configure IDLE > General and check the Show line numbers in new windows box.

How do I select all lines in Nano editor? ›

How to Select All in Nano? [Nano Select All]
  1. With the arrow keys, move your cursor to the start of the text, then press Ctrl-A to set the starting marker. ...
  2. The right arrow key is used to select the complete text data of the file after the starting mark has been positioned.
Dec 17, 2023

Can notepad show line numbers? ›

Click on the “View” tab. Click on “Status Bar” to enable it. Move the cursor to the line you want to find the number for. Look at the bottom of the status bar; you will see the line and column numbers.

How do I get row numbers in vi editor? ›

Absolute Line Numbers
  1. Press the Esc key to switch to command mode.
  2. Press : (colon) and the cursor will move at the bottom left corner of the screen. Type set number or set nu and hit Enter . :set number.
  3. Line numbers will be displayed at the left side of the screen:
Oct 2, 2020

Is NeoVim better than Vim? ›

Vim's plugin API is restrictive and cumbersome. The plugin architecture of NeoVim is a lot better than Vim. Apart from plugin implementation in Vimscript (VimL), we can also use the Lua programming language. In addition, NeoVim has a lot more powerful plugins, which are not compatible with Vim.

Which command is used to display line numbers in file? ›

The 'cat -n' option displays line numbers in front of each line in a file. Syntax: cat -n <fileName>

How to print line number in Linux? ›

Using the grep -n Command

By default, it prints out lines matching this pattern without the corresponding line numbers. However, we can utilize the -n option to include line numbers alongside the matched lines.

How do you copy line numbers in Vim? ›

Copying (Yanking)
  1. yy: Copy the current line in vi.
  2. 3yy: To yank multiple lines in vim, type in the number of lines followed by yy. ...
  3. y$: Copy everything from the cursor to the end of the line.
  4. y^: Copy everything from the start of the line to the cursor.
  5. yiw: Copy the current word.

How do I show line number at the bottom of the screen in vi? ›

To activate the line numbering, set the number flag: Press the Esc key to switch to command mode. Press : (colon) and the cursor will move at the bottom left corner of the screen. Type set number or set nu and hit Enter .

How do I see character numbers in Vim? ›

I use g ctrl+g to realize number of characters.

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