# 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.

## Install

Save the content below to `.claude/skills/` or append to your `CLAUDE.md`:

## Quick Use

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

Basic usage:
```bash
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.

- **Repo**: https://github.com/sharkdp/bat
- **Stars**: 58K+
- **Language**: Rust
- **License**: Apache 2.0 / MIT

## 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 |

## FAQ

**Q: Is it called batcat on Ubuntu?**
A: Yes. Debian renamed it `batcat` due to a naming conflict. You can `alias bat=batcat` or `mkdir -p ~/.local/bin && ln -s /usr/bin/batcat ~/.local/bin/bat`.

**Q: How do I set it as the default manpager?**
A: Set the MANPAGER environment variable to `sh -c "col -bx | bat -l man -p"` — man pages will look much nicer.

**Q: Custom syntax and themes?**
A: Drop .sublime-syntax / .tmTheme files into the corresponding subdirectory of `bat --config-dir`, then run `bat cache --build`.

## Sources & Credits

- GitHub: https://github.com/sharkdp/bat
- License: Apache 2.0 / MIT

---
Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/bat-cat-clone-wings-syntax-highlighting-85b6bed3
Author: AI Open Source