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:

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nano -l /path/to/file

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

Screenshot:

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.
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   nano /etc/nanorc
2. find and uncomment the following line:
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   set linenumbers
3. save introduced changes.

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.
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   xxxxxxxxxx

    

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   nano ~/.nanorc
2. add the following line:
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   xxxxxxxxxx

    

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   set linenumbers
3. save introduced changes.

References

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