Is there a way to turn on line numbering for nano?
Best Answer
The only thing coming close to what you want is option to display your current cursor position. You activate it by using --constantshow (manpage: Constantly show the cursor position) option or by pressing AltC on an open text file.
To see the word wrapping style you described, use nano's "soft wrapping": Esc+$.
The Esc+L command you (and everyone) tried does "hard wrapping."
Note on keystroke notation - if you are new to Linux, the notation Esc+$ means press and release Esc and then press $. The full key press sequence then is Esc, Shift+4.
(It does not mean hold down escape while pressing $.)
Note on softwrap and formatting mistakes - If you are new to nano, be a little careful of softwrap. If you are editing a configuration file or something else that is sensitive to newlines or indents, formatting mistakes can be made. Until you get comfortable with softwrap’s behaviors, I suggest doing a quick check with softwrap off (do the key sequence again) before saving.
Note on the goodness provided by others in their answers below - because different operating systems and different versions of nano do things a little differently:
If you like softwrap on all of the time, set it in your .nanorc, as described in x0a's answer below, as it is a bit more through than Prashant's.
If you have a Raspberry Pi, note chainsawmascara's answer about needing an extra keystroke for softwrap to go into effect.
Best Answer
The only thing coming close to what you want is option to display your current cursor position. You activate it by using
--constantshow
(manpage: Constantly show the cursor position) option or by pressing AltC on an open text file.