How to install nano on CentOS

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There are a few different command-line based text editors to choose from when using Linux, but Vim and Nano are two of the most popular. Vim can be a little more difficult to learn at first, but it’s very powerful. Nano is much more user-friendly, and will feel more familiar to people who have used other text editors before. Although Nano is not as feature rich as Vim, it is more accessible for beginners.

In this article, we’ll be taking a look at the basics of Nano, from how to install it to making some simple adjustments to its settings. This article is for everyone, regardless of your experience with the Linux command line. We’ll be using a CentOS 8 server to show you the many ways Nano can make your life easier. Despite this, most Linux distros have similar default commands and interfaces.

In this article, we will show you how to install nano on CentOS, as well as making some simple adjustments to its settings. This article is for everyone, regardless of your experience with the Linux command line. We’ll be using a CentOS 8 server to show you the many ways Nano can make your life easier. Despite this, most Linux distros have similar default commands and interfaces.

Contents hide
1 Install nano on CentOS
2 Create and open a new file with Nano
3 Search and replace text with Nano
4 Nano keyboard shortcuts

Install nano on CentOS

Nano is an essential part of our text editing toolkit. Before we can start creating and editing text files, we need to check and see if nano is installed on our system. We can do that by simply trying to start it:

[[email protected] ~]$ nano

bash: nano: command not found

If you see this message, nano is not installed. You can install it using yum package manager by running the following command

sudo yum install -y nano

The -y option means that yum will accept any prompt for user interaction, whether it’s about permission or installation details.

install nano on centos with yum

Create and open a new file with Nano

Nano can be used to create and open new files. Simply type in the filename you want to use.

You can also use this command to open and edit an existing file.

sudo nano filename.txtCode language: CSS (css)

To exit the editor, you can use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + X. If you have modified the file, you will be prompted to save the changes or ignore them by typing Y for yes or N for no.

Search and replace text with Nano

With the help of CTRL+/. key combination, you can search and replace text in the editor. All you need is to enter the search term and the text to be replaced. After hitting Y or N it will move to the next match.

You can press A to replace all matches. After you have selected the search item, it will ask what you want to replace it with. The search string can also be a regular expression.

Nano keyboard shortcuts

Nano keyboard shortcuts are a great way to speed up your editing process. By using the keyboard shortcuts, you can avoid having to use the arrow keys to select text or to execute commands. While editing large files, knowing a few keyboard shortcuts will be really handy and could save you a ton of time navigating within the file.

  • Move forward one character: Ctrl+F (^F)
  • Move back one character: Ctrl+B (^B)
  • Move forward one word: Ctrl+Space (^Space)
  • Move back one word: Alt+Space (M-Space)
  • Move to the previous line: Ctrl+P (^P)
  • Move to the next line: Ctrl+N (^N)
  • Move to the next page: Ctrl+V (^V)
  • Move to the previous page: Ctrl+Y (^Y)
  • Move to the beginning of the line: Ctrl+A (^A)
  • Move to the end of the line: Ctrl+E (^E)

We hope that the information above helped you successfully install nano on your CentOS computer and set it up as a system service. We’ve also covered other software installation for Linux, such as How to install CMake, Airflow, Cura and ADB/fastboot on CentOS, in case you’re interested. If you have any suggestion, please feel free to leave a comment below.

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