cat is one of the most frequently used commands on Unix-like operating systems.

It has three related functions with regard to text files: displaying them, combi
ning copies of them and creating new ones.
cat's general syntax is
cat [options] [filenames] [-] [filenames]
The square brackets indicate that the enclosed items are optional.
Reading Files
The most common use of cat is to read the contents of files, and cat is often th
e most convenient program for this purpose. All that is necessary to open a text
file for viewing on the display monitor is to type the word cat followed by a s
pace and the name of the file and then press the ENTER key. For example, the fol
lowing will display the contents of a file named file1:
cat file1
The standard output (i.e., default destination of the output) for cat, as is gen
erally the case for other command line (i.e., all-text mode) programs, is the mo
nitor screen. However, it can be redirected from the screen, for example, to ano
ther file to be written to that file or to another command to use as the input f
or that command.
In the following example, the standard output of cat is redirected using the out
put redirection operator (which is represented by a rightward pointing angular b
racket) to file2:
cat file1 > file2
That is, the output from cat is written to file2 instead of being displayed on t
he monitor screen.
The standard output could instead be redirected using a pipe (represented by a v
ertical bar) to a filter (i.e., a program that transforms data in some meaningfu
l way) for further processing. For example, if the file is too large for all of
the text to fit on the monitor screen simultaneously, as is frequently the case,
the text will scroll down the screen at high speed and be very difficult to rea
d. This problem is easily solved by piping the output to the filter less, i.e.,
cat file1 | less
This allows the user to advance the contents of the file one screenful at a time
by pressing the space bar and to move backwards by pressing the b key. The user
can exit from less by pressing the q key.
The standard input (i.e., the default source of input data) for cat, as is gener
ally the case for other commands on Unix-like systems, is the keyboard. That is,
if no file is specified for it to open, cat will read whatever is typed in on t
he keyboard.
Typing the command cat followed by the output redirection operator and a file na
me on the same line, pressing ENTER to move to the next line, then typing some t
ext and finally pressing ENTER again causes the text to be written to that file.
Thus, in the following example the text that is typed on the second line will b
e written to a file named felines:
cat > felines
 This is not about a feline.
The program is terminated and the normal command prompt is restored by pressing
the CONTROL and d keys simultaneously.
Repeating the above example without using a redirection operator and specifying
a destination file, i.e.,
cat
This is not about a feline.
causes the text to be sent to standard output, i.e., to be repeated on the monit
or screen.
Concatenation
The second role of cat is concatenation (i.e., stringing together) of copies of
the contents of files. (This is the source of cat's curious name.) Because the c
oncatenation occurs only to the copies, there is no effect on the original files
.
For example, the following command will concatenate copies of the contents of th
e three files file1, file2 and file3:
cat file1 file2 file3
The contents of each file will be displayed on the monitor screen (which, again,
is standard output, and thus the destination of the output in the absence of re
direction) starting on a new line and in the order that the file names appear in
the command. This output could just as easily be redirected using the output re
direction operator to another file, such as file4, using the following:
cat file1 file2 file3 > file4
In the next example, the output of cat is piped to the sort filter in order to a
lphabetize the lines of text after concatenation and prior to writing to file4:
cat file1 file2 file3 | sort > file4

File Creation
The third use for cat is file creation. For small files this is often easier tha
n using vi, gedit or other text editors. It is accomplished by typing cat follow
ed by the output redirection operator and the name of the file to be created, th
en pressing ENTER and finally simultaneously pressing the CONTROL and d keys. Fo
r example, a new file named file1 can be created by typing
cat > file1
then pressing the ENTER key and finally simultaneously pressing the CONTROL and
d keys.
If a file named file1 already exists, it will be overwritten (i.e., all of its c
ontents will be erased) by the new, empty file with the same name. Thus the caut
ious user might prefer to instead use the append operator (represented by two su
ccessive rightward pointing angular brackets) in order to prevent unintended era
sure. That is,
cat >> file1
That is, if an attempt is made to create a file by using cat and the append oper
ator, and the new file has the same name as an existing file, the existing file
is, in fact, preserved rather than overwritten, and any new text is added to the
end of the existing file.
Text can be entered at the time of file creation by typing it in after pressing
the ENTER key. Any amount of text can be typed, including text on multiple lines
.
cat can also be used to simultaneously create a new file and transfer to it the
data from an existing file. This is accomplished by typing cat, the name of the
file from which the output will come, the output redirection operator and the na
me of the file to be created. Then pressing ENTER causes the new file to be crea
ted and written to. For example, typing the following and then pressing ENTER cr
eates a new file named file2 that contains a copy of the contents of file1:
cat file1 > file2
There is no effect on the contents of file1. (The same thing can, of course, be
accomplished just as easily using cp command, which is used to copy files, i.e.,
cp file1 file2, but the above example does illustrate the great versatility of
cat.)
A slight modification to the above procedure makes it possible to create a new f
ile and write text into it from both another file and the keyboard. A hyphen sur
rounded by spaces is added before the input file if the typed-in text is to come
before the text from the input file, and it is added after the input file if th
e typed-in text is to go after the text from the input file. Thus, for example,
to create a new file file6 that consists of text typed in from the keyboard foll
owed by the contents of file5, first enter the following:
cat - file5 > file6
Or to create a new file file8 that consists of the contents of file7 followed by
text typed in from the keyboard, first enter the following:
cat file7 - > file8
In either case, then press ENTER to move to a new line and type the desired text
on any number of lines. Finally press ENTER once more followed by pressing the
CONTROL and d keys simultaneously to execute (i.e., run) the command.
An example of a practical application for this use of cat is the creation of for
m letters (or other documents) for which only the top parts (e.g., dates and nam
es) are customized for each recipient.