How to show line numbers with less command in Linux

Today,in this post we will learn, How to show line numbers with less command in Linux.In our previous post we have described about how to show line number with cat command.

Less command is similar to more command but it has more features.As the name suggest, it read less output rather than reading the entire input file before starting.

Sometimes while reading output with less command,we also want to see the line numbers.It is helpful when you have line numbers with less command output.

To show line numbers with less command,use the option -N or --LINE-NUMBER

Syntax:

less -N file-name

OR 

less --LINE-NUMBER file-name

See below given example

How to set permanently the output with line number in less command

Most of the Linux Distro has bash/sh as a default shell.Hence to set the environment in bash/sh shell in linux.

Set environment for particular user

Edit the .bashrc file in user’s home directory for particular user. And add the line
LESS="-N"; export LESS
Replace username with existing user account in Linux system

vi /home/username/.bashrc

LESS="-N"; export LESS 

To make environment effective after editing .bashrc file without restart. Run the command

source /home/username/.bashrc

Note: For particular user, you can also edit .bash_profile instead of .bashrc

Now run the command

less file-name

Set environment for ALL users

You should first login as root in system

sudo su -

or 

su -

Edit the file /etc/profile .And add the line LESS="-N"; export LESS

vi /etc/profile

LESS="-N"; export LESS

Activate the newly updated environment.

source /etc/profile

Now run the command

less file-name

For more understanding, read the man page of less by using command man less
(Read this troubleshooting,in case man command not found)