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sharkdp

bat

sharkdp

A cat(1) clone with syntax highlighting and Git integration.

v0.26.1
Published at
Dec 2, 2025
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Synced at
Oct 4, 2026

The author no longer ships through GitHub Releases, but the repository is still active (last push Oct 1, 2026). Get the latest version from:

Latest release

v0.26.1Dec 2, 2025, 08:48 PM
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README

Project Overview

bat is a cat(1) clone with syntax highlighting and Git integration. Great for viewing source code and text files in the terminal.

Key Features

  • Syntax highlighting for many programming and markup languages
  • Git integration showing modifications
  • Automatic paging when output is too large
  • Show non-printable characters with -A/--show-all
  • Read from stdin with automatic syntax detection

Target Audience

  • Command-line users and developers
  • People who frequently view code in the terminal
  • Users wanting a better cat experience

Quick Start

  1. Install via package manager: brew install bat (macOS), apt install bat (Debian/Ubuntu), winget install sharkdp.bat (Windows)
  2. Or download a binary from GitHub Releases
  3. Usage: bat README.md or bat src/*.rs

Core Advantages

  • Syntax highlighting improves readability
  • Git integration shows version status
  • Automatic paging for long files
  • Highly configurable

System Requirements

  • OS: Cross-platform (Windows, macOS, Linux)
  • Architectures: x86_64, arm64
  • Additional Dependencies: None

Notes

  • Use --paging=never to disable paging and behave like cat
  • Configuration file at ~/.config/bat/config

Release history

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