ConfigsApr 11, 2026·1 min read

bat — A cat Clone with Wings and Syntax Highlighting

bat is a cat clone with wings — syntax highlighting, Git integration, automatic paging, and line numbers. A drop-in replacement for cat that shows code and configs beautifully in your terminal. Written in Rust.

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Quick Use

Use it first, then decide how deep to go

This block should tell both the user and the agent what to copy, install, and apply first.

# Install
brew install bat                        # macOS
sudo apt install bat                    # Debian/Ubuntu (may be batcat)
cargo install bat                       # From source

Basic usage:

bat file.py                             # Pretty cat with syntax highlight
bat *.md                                # Multiple files
bat --plain file                        # Disable decorations
bat --theme="Monokai Extended" file    # Theme
bat -n file                             # Line numbers only
bat file --diff                         # Show unstaged git diff markers
bat --list-themes                       # Available themes

# Pipe into bat
curl -s https://api.github.com/users/williamwangai | bat -l json
kubectl get pod -o yaml | bat -l yaml

# As a manpager
export MANPAGER="sh -c \"col -bx | bat -l man -p\""
Intro

bat is a cat(1) clone with wings. Instead of dumping file contents like cat, bat shows them with syntax highlighting, Git modifications indicator, automatic paging, and line numbers. Written in Rust by David Peter (sharkdp). A huge quality-of-life upgrade for anyone who lives in the terminal.

What bat Does

  • Syntax highlighting — 200+ languages via syntect
  • Git integration — show modified/added lines
  • Automatic paging — pipe into less for long files
  • Line numbers — optional
  • File concatenation — works like cat when piped
  • Themes — 20+ built-in, Sublime Text theme compatible
  • fzf integration — beautiful previews
  • man pager — render man pages with syntax

Architecture

Rust binary using syntect for syntax highlighting (parses Sublime .sublime-syntax files) and less for paging. Detects terminal capabilities (256 colors, truecolor, piped vs tty).

Self-Hosting

CLI tool, self-contained binary.

Key Features

  • 200+ languages
  • Git diff indicators
  • Auto pager (less)
  • Customizable themes
  • Works as drop-in cat replacement
  • Can serve as man pager
  • fzf preview integration
  • Ligature-friendly output

Comparison

Tool Highlight Git Themes
bat 200+ Yes 20+
cat No No No
ccat 25 No Few
pygmentize 300+ No Via CLI
rich (Python) 100+ No Via lib

常见问题 FAQ

Q: Ubuntu 上叫 batcat？ A: 是的。Debian 因命名冲突改为 batcat。可以 alias bat=batcat 或 mkdir -p ~/.local/bin && ln -s /usr/bin/batcat ~/.local/bin/bat。

Q: 怎么设为默认 manpager？ A: 设置 MANPAGER 环境变量为 sh -c "col -bx | bat -l man -p"，man 页面会变得漂亮。

Q: 自定义语法和主题？ A: 放 .sublime-syntax / .tmTheme 到 bat --config-dir 对应子目录，然后 bat cache --build。

来源与致谢 Sources

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