How to Use the nano Text Editor

nano is a beginner-friendly text editor available on most Linux systems.

Open a File

nano filename.txt

Key Shortcuts

• Ctrl+O — Save (Write Out)
• Ctrl+X — Exit
• Ctrl+K — Cut line
• Ctrl+U — Paste line
• Ctrl+W — Search
• Ctrl+G — Help
• Alt+U — Undo

Tips

• The bottom of the screen shows available shortcuts
• ^ means Ctrl key
• Use nano -l to show line numbers