---
name: "inode-cat"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "tct"
version: "1.19-1"
release: "Debian 6.0 (Squeeze)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/icat"
---

# inode-cat(1)

copy files by inode number

Part of [icat(1)](/icat/1.md).

## NAME

icat - copy files by inode number

## SYNOPSIS

```

```

**icat** \[**-hHvV**\] \[**-f** *fstype*\] *device* *inode* ...

## DESCRIPTION

**icat** opens the named *device* and copies the files with the specified *inode* numbers to standard output.

Arguments:

- **-f** *fstype*

  Specifies the file system type. The default file system type is system dependent. With most UNIX systems the default type is **ufs** (Berkeley fast file system). With Linux the default type is **ext2fs** (second extended file system).

- **-h**

  Skip over holes in files, so that absolute address information is lost. This option saves space when copying sparse files.

- **-H** (default)

  Copy holes in files as null blocks, so that absolute address information is preserved. This option wastes space when copying sparse files.

- **-v**

  Enable verbose mode, output to stderr.

- **-V**

  Enable verbose mode, output to stdout.

- *device*

  Disk special file, or regular file containing a disk image. On UNIX systems, raw mode disk access may give better performance than block mode disk access.  LINUX disk device drivers support only block mode disk access.

- *inode*

  Inode number. **icat** concatenates the contents of all specified files.

## BUGS

**icat** should support more file system types. Right now, support is limited to **ext2fs** when built on Linux, and **ufs** when built on Solaris and BSD systems.

## LICENSE

```
This software is distributed under the IBM Public License.
```

## AUTHOR(S)

```
Wietse Venema
IBM T.J. Watson Research
P.O. Box 704
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA
```