# Editing in the Terminal: nano nano is a text editor that runs inside the terminal, where you open a file with nano and its name, move with the arrow keys, save with Ctrl+O and quit with Ctrl+X; and if vim opens by accident, Esc and then :q! get you out. Novice · Unix · Linux · Updated November 10, 2026 ## After this lesson you can - Open, change, save and quit a file in nano with the arrow keys, Ctrl+O and Ctrl+X - Leave vim without saving, with Esc and :q!, when a command opens it by accident ## Key takeaways - nano and a file's name opens that file in an editor inside the terminal, or starts a new file if there's none with that name. - There's no mouse. You move with the arrow keys and type to change the text. - Ctrl+O saves (press Enter to keep the name), and Ctrl+X quits. In nano's list of keys at the bottom, ^ means Ctrl. - If a command drops you into vim, press Esc, type :q! and press Enter to leave without saving. The new apartment's thermostat keeps the place at 78 degrees, and you'd like 70. Its settings live in a text file, one setting a line. Files like this run all sorts of things: a home server, a Raspberry Pi in a closet, a game server for friends, the server behind a website. Often the only way in is a terminal, with no mouse and no window to click. Changing one line there is a job for a **text editor** that runs inside the terminal, and `nano` is the one almost every Linux system has. IT techs and web developers use it to fix a setting on a server in seconds. These lines make the practice thermostat's settings file, in the apartment from *Deleting Safely: rm and rmdir*, and print it: ```bash mkdir -p ~/terminal-practice/apartment && cd ~/terminal-practice/apartment printf '# Thermostat settings for the new apartment\ntemperature=78\nunits=F\nnight_mode=on\n' > thermostat.conf cat thermostat.conf ``` ```text # Thermostat settings for the new apartment temperature=78 units=F night_mode=on ``` A settings file like this is also called a **configuration file**, and its name often ends in `.conf`. The line starting with `#` is a note for people; the program skips it. ## Open a file in nano Type `nano` and the file's name: ```bash nano thermostat.conf ``` ```text GNU nano 8.7.1 thermostat.conf # Thermostat settings for the new apartment temperature=78 units=F night_mode=on [ Read 4 lines ] ^G Help ^O Write Out ^F Where Is ^K Cut ^T Execute ^C Location ^X Exit ^R Read File ^\ Replace ^U Paste ^J Justify ^/ Go To Line ``` That's a window 14 lines tall; nano fills yours. The top line shows nano's version and the file's name. The file's text fills the middle, a message line sits near the bottom, and the last two lines list nano's most useful keys. In that list, `^` (read "Control") means hold down Ctrl: `^X Exit` means Ctrl+X quits. If you give `nano` a name that doesn't exist yet, it opens an empty page and makes the file when you save. ## Change a line There's no mouse here, so the arrow keys move the cursor. Press the down arrow once to get to `temperature=78`, then End to jump to the end of the line (Ctrl+E does the same, handy on a keyboard with no End key). Press Backspace twice to delete `78`, and type `70`. The text changes as you type, like in any editor. ## Save with Ctrl+O, quit with Ctrl+X Saving is called *Write Out* in nano. Press Ctrl+O, and nano asks where to write, with the file's own name filled in: ```text GNU nano 8.7.1 thermostat.conf * # Thermostat settings for the new apartment temperature=70 units=F night_mode=on Write to File: thermostat.conf ^G Help M-D DOS Format M-A Append M-B Backup File ^T Browse ^C Cancel M-M Mac Format M-P Prepend ^Q Discard buffer ``` The `*` after the name on the top line means "changed, not saved yet". Press Enter to keep the name, and the message line says `[ Wrote 4 lines ]`. Now press Ctrl+X to quit, and your prompt comes back. Check the change: ```bash cat thermostat.conf ``` ```text # Thermostat settings for the new apartment temperature=70 units=F night_mode=on ``` If you press Ctrl+X with changes you haven't saved, nano asks `Save modified buffer?` first (a *buffer* is nano's copy of the file while you edit). Press Y to save, N to throw the changes away, or Ctrl+C to go back to editing. On a Mac, typing `nano` opens pico, a close cousin with a slightly different screen; Ctrl+O and Ctrl+X work the same way. ## Landed in vim? Here's the way out Some commands open an editor for you, and on many systems, a Mac included, that editor is **vim**, whose command is often `vi`. Running `git commit` without a message is a common way to land there. vim is a powerful editor, but its keys work differently from nano's, and the first time, getting out is the hard part. Practice the way out now, on purpose: ```bash vi thermostat.conf ``` ```text # Thermostat settings for the new apartment temperature=70 units=F night_mode=on ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "thermostat.conf" 4L, 81B 1,1 All ``` The `~` lines are past the end of the file, and the bottom line shows its name, its size in lines (`4L`) and bytes (`81B`), and where the cursor is. (Some systems open a smaller vim for `vi`, with a plainer bottom line; the way out is the same.) To leave without changing anything: 1. Press **Esc**. It stops whatever vim was doing, and pressing it twice does no harm. 2. Type `:q!` (read "colon q bang"). The colon starts a command, `q` means quit, and `!` means "even if there are unsaved changes". It shows on the bottom line as you type. 3. Press **Enter**. Your prompt comes back, and the file is as it was. If you type `:q` without the `!` after changing something, vim refuses with `E37: No write since last change (add ! to override)`: add the `!`. To save your changes and quit instead, type `:wq` (write, then quit). ## Check yourself 2 questions to try on the lesson page. ## So what nano is enough to change any settings file, on your own computer or on a server across the world, and knowing `:q!` means vim can never trap you. ## Key terms - [Text Editor (nano, vim)](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/text-editor-nano-vim) - [Configuration File](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/configuration-file) ## Cheat sheets - [Editing in the Terminal: nano](https://www.ask-codey.com/cheat-sheets/bash-editing-with-nano-cheat-sheet) ## Related - [Writing to Files: echo, > and >>](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/bash-writing-to-files) - [Reading Files: cat and less](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/bash-reading-files) Source: https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/bash-editing-with-nano