What problem it solves

Reading source files through plain terminal output can make syntax, line structure, non-printable characters, and Git modifications harder to identify. Developers also need a command that can retain familiar cat-style concatenation and redirection behavior while adding terminal-oriented presentation.

Key features

• Syntax-aware file display — Displays programming and markup files with syntax highlighting, either by detecting the language or by selecting it explicitly. It can also read highlighted content from standard input.

  Source: README, assets

• Git modification indicators — Communicates with Git to show modifications relative to the index in the output sidebar. It can also present diffs and older file versions with syntax highlighting.

  Source: README

• Readable terminal output — Provides options for line numbers, file headers, grids, change markers, and separation lines. Non-printable characters can also be shown and highlighted.

  Source: README

• Automatic paging — Pipes output through a pager when it exceeds one screen, while allowing paging to be disabled or replaced. When output is redirected, it falls back to plain content for cat-compatible workflows.

  Source: README

• Custom syntaxes and themes — Supports adding Sublime Text syntax definitions and `.tmTheme` files, then rebuilding the asset cache. Theme selection, file associations, output styles, and decorations can also be customized.

  Source: README

Quick start

Copied verbatim from the project's README.

sudo apt install bat

cargo install --locked bat

bat README.md

Who it may suit

Inference: This may suit developers who regularly inspect source files, configuration, logs, and command-line help in a terminal.

Topics to discuss

• Which syntax definitions or file associations would be most useful to add next?

• How can customization options better support different terminal and pager workflows?

• Which integrations with Git or other command-line tools deserve more attention?

Written by ReadmeX AI from the project's README, source and public GitHub data; it may contain mistakes.

Read the original README https://github.com/sharkdp/bat#readme

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