How to use "cat" command on Linux dedicated server?

The name of the cat command comes from its functionality to concatenate files. It can read and concatenate files, writing their contents to the standard output.  cat is most commonly used to display the contents of one or multiple text files, combine files by appending the contents of one file to the end of another file, and create new files.

On dedicated servers there are several different methods for checking the current operating conditions, failures and general service status.The files in the /proc directory can provide important information about the system as "proc" is a virtual file system, used as an interface for kernel data structure.

However, it is not a good idea to open such files in a text editor, especially when it is possible to easily view the file with information in your console.
The "cat" command is a Linux-based command that helps you to read the contents of the text files in a text editor without opening them. The fastest and easiest way to read a file is by using the "cat" command followed by the filename in question.

For example:

cat logfile.txt

If you attempt to open large files in a text editor, some problems will occur, but if you open the same file using the "cat" command, all the contents from that file will be displayed very easily without any problem.
To rectify this, "less" can be appended to the output to search the file page by page.

Example:

cat logfile.txt | less

You ca also save the output contents in a file and download, so that you can check it offline. To do so, type “cat” followed by an output redirection operator, as shown:

cat /proc/cpuinfo > /home/user/cpu-information.txt 

Use “cat” command to link multiple files together. If you ever wanted to combine files, this is the best way to do it.

Example:

cat myfile1 myfile2 myfile3 

Running the above command will display the output contents on your screen, which can be sent to a download file.

cat myfile1 myfile2 myfile3 > output.txt

You may use the "cat" command to access any content of files on your dedicated server.

Want to learn more about the "cat" command? Fire the command "man cat" from your command line.

For assistance in applying the above instructions on the HostX servers, please contact us. HostX offers the best Linux hosting and can assist you in solving your problems.