less
A classic terminal file pager for reading text files and command output one screen at a time.
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1 more ways to get less
Package managers
- Homebrew
brew install less
About less
less is a free, open-source file pager. It shows a file or piped command output in the terminal one screen at a time, and lets you scroll back and forth and search through it. It ships with most versions of Linux, Unix and macOS, as well as many other operating systems, so it is usually already installed.
The project is still maintained. Version 710 was released on 17 September 2026, with fixes for mark display, lesskey parsing and memory handling. Key bindings can be customised through lesskey files.
Strengths
- Preinstalled on most Linux, Unix and macOS systems
- Actively maintained with regular releases
- Key bindings configurable through lesskey files
Limitations
- Terminal only, with no graphical interface
- No syntax highlighting or structured views without extra tools
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source.
- License
- Open source, license not stated
- Platforms
- macOS, Linux, Command line
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- Yes
- Best suited for
- Reading long files, logs and command output in a terminal
- Categories
- CLI tools
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.
Alternatives to less
Compare allSoftware that can replace less for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
ov
Read long command output with a configurable terminal pager.
ov is an MIT-licensed configurable pager for Windows, macOS and Linux that adds column views and file-following modes, but is not preinstalled like less.
Chawan
A terminal web browser with its own engine supporting CSS, JavaScript and inline images.
Chawan is mainly a terminal web browser that also works as a pager, adding CSS rendering and inline images, but needs WSL on Windows.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
bat
Like cat, but with syntax highlighting, line numbers, Git markers and a pager when the file is long.
Glow
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lnav
A terminal log file viewer that merges, tails, searches, filters and queries log files with SQL.
csvlens
A command-line CSV viewer that works like less, with regex search and row and column filtering.
jless
Browse large JSON structures in a keyboard-driven terminal viewer.
delta
A pager that makes git diffs readable: syntax highlighting, word-level changes, side-by-side view and line numbers.
