Skills bat-cat

A cat clone with syntax highlighting, line numbers, and Git integration - a modern replacement for cat.

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/openclaw/skills

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/openclaw/skills "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/arnarsson/bat-cat" ~/.claude/skills/clawdbot-skills-bat-cat && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: skills/arnarsson/bat-cat/SKILL.md

source content

bat - Better cat

cat

with syntax highlighting, line numbers, and Git integration.

Quick Start

Basic usage

# View file with syntax highlighting
bat README.md

# Multiple files
bat file1.js file2.py

# With line numbers (default)
bat script.sh

# Without line numbers
bat -p script.sh

Viewing modes

# Plain mode (like cat)
bat -p file.txt

# Show non-printable characters
bat -A file.txt

# Squeeze blank lines
bat -s file.txt

# Paging (auto for large files)
bat --paging=always file.txt
bat --paging=never file.txt

Syntax Highlighting

Language detection

# Auto-detect from extension
bat script.py

# Force specific language
bat -l javascript config.txt

# Show all languages
bat --list-languages

Themes

# List available themes
bat --list-themes

# Use specific theme
bat --theme="Monokai Extended" file.py

# Set default theme in config
# ~/.config/bat/config: --theme="Dracula"

Line Ranges

# Show specific lines
bat -r 10:20 file.txt

# From line to end
bat -r 100: file.txt

# Start to specific line
bat -r :50 file.txt

# Multiple ranges
bat -r 1:10 -r 50:60 file.txt

Git Integration

# Show Git modifications (added/removed/modified lines)
bat --diff file.txt

# Show decorations (Git + file header)
bat --decorations=always file.txt

Output Control

# Output raw (no styling)
bat --style=plain file.txt

# Customize style
bat --style=numbers,changes file.txt

# Available styles: auto, full, plain, changes, header, grid, numbers, snip
bat --style=header,grid,numbers file.txt

Common Use Cases

Quick file preview:

bat file.json

View logs with syntax highlighting:

bat error.log

Compare files visually:

bat --diff file1.txt
bat file2.txt

Preview before editing:

bat config.yaml && vim config.yaml

Cat replacement in pipes:

bat -p file.txt | grep "pattern"

View specific function:

bat -r 45:67 script.py  # If function is on lines 45-67

Integration with other tools

As pager for man pages:

export MANPAGER="sh -c 'col -bx | bat -l man -p'"
man grep

With ripgrep:

rg "pattern" -l | xargs bat

With fzf:

fzf --preview 'bat --color=always --style=numbers {}'

With diff:

diff -u file1 file2 | bat -l diff

Configuration

Create

~/.config/bat/config

for defaults:

# Set theme
--theme="Dracula"

# Show line numbers, Git modifications and file header, but no grid
--style="numbers,changes,header"

# Use italic text on terminal
--italic-text=always

# Add custom mapping
--map-syntax "*.conf:INI"

Performance Tips

Use
```
-p
```
for plain mode when piping
Use
```
--paging=never
```
when output is used programmatically
```
bat
```
caches parsed files for faster subsequent access

Tips

Alias:
```
alias cat='bat -p'
```
for drop-in cat replacement
Pager: Use as pager with
```
export PAGER="bat"
```
On Debian/Ubuntu: Command may be
```
batcat
```
instead of
```
bat
```
Custom syntaxes: Add to
```
~/.config/bat/syntaxes/
```
Performance: For huge files, use
```
bat --paging=never
```
or plain
```
cat
```

Common flags

```
-p
```
/
```
--plain
```
: Plain mode (no line numbers/decorations)
```
-n
```
/
```
--number
```
: Only show line numbers
```
-A
```
/
```
--show-all
```
: Show non-printable characters
```
-l
```
/
```
--language
```
: Set language for syntax highlighting
```
-r
```
/
```
--line-range
```
: Only show specific line range(s)

Documentation

GitHub: https://github.com/sharkdp/bat Man page:

man bat

Customization: https://github.com/sharkdp/bat#customization