Linux - enable line numbers in nano editor

In this short article we would like to show how to enable line numbers in nano editor under Linux.

Quick solution:

nano -l /path/to/file

Where: -l option displays line numbers in the editor (it is shortcut for --linenumbers option).

Screenshot:

Global configuration

In this section you can find simple way to turn on line numbers in nano editor for entire operating system.

Simple steps:

1. open or create the /etc/nanorc file, e.g.

   nano /etc/nanorc

2. find and uncomment the following line:

   set linenumbers

3. save introduced changes.

User configuration

In this section you can find simple way to turn on line numbers in nano editor only for the current user.

Simple steps:

1. open or create the ~/.nanorc file, e.g.

   nano ~/.nanorc

2. add the following line:

   set linenumbers

3. save introduced changes.

References

1. nano manual - Homepage
2. nano manual - Linux Command