---
name: "pg"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "util-linux"
version: "2.42.4-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/pg"
---

# pg(1)

browse pagewise through text files

## NAME

pg - browse pagewise through text files

## SYNOPSIS

**pg** **-\****amount* **\*-p** *prompt* **-cefnrs** *+line +/pattern/ file\_ ...*

## DESCRIPTION

**pg** *displays a text file on a CRT one screenful at once. After each page, a prompt is displayed. The user may then either press the newline key to view the next page or one of the keys described below.*

*If no filename is given on the command line,* **pg** *reads from standard input. If standard output is not a terminal,* **pg** *acts like* **cat***(1) but precedes each file with its name if there is more than one.*

*If input comes from a pipe,* **pg** *stores the data in a buffer file while reading, to make navigation possible.*

## OPTIONS

**pg** *accepts the following options:*

**+***number*

*Start at the given line number.*

**+/***pattern\*/\**

*Start at the line containing the Basic Regular Expression pattern given.*

- **-***number*

  *The number of lines per page. By default, this is the number of CRT lines minus one.*

- **-c**

  *Clear the screen before a page is displayed, if the terminfo entry for the terminal provides this capability.*

- **-e**

  *Do not pause and display (EOF) at the end of a file.*

- **-f**

  *Do not split long lines.*

- **-n**

  *Without this option, commands must be terminated by a newline character.*

  *With this option,* **pg** *advances once a command letter is entered.*

**-p** *string*

*Instead of the normal prompt :, string is displayed. If string contains* **%d***, its first occurrence is replaced by the number of the current page.*

- **-r**

  *Disallow the shell escape.*

- **-s**

  *Print messages in standout mode, if the terminfo entry for the terminal provides this capability.*

**-h***,* **--help**

*Display help text and exit.*

**-V***,* **--version**

*Display version and exit.*

## COMMANDS

*The following commands may be entered at the prompt. Commands preceded by i in this document accept a number as argument, positive or negative. If this argument starts with* **+** *or* **-***, it is interpreted relative to the current position in the input file, otherwise relative to the beginning.*

*i***\<Enter\>**

*Display the next or the indicated page.*

*i***d** *or* **^D**

*Display the next halfpage. If i is given, it is always interpreted relative to the current position.*

*i***l**

*Display the next or the indicated line.*

*i***f**

*Skip a page forward. i must be a positive number and is always interpreted relative to the current position.*

*i***w** *or i***z**

*As* **\<Enter\>** *except that i becomes the new page size.*

**.** *or* **^L**

*Redraw the screen.*

**$**

*Advance to the last line of the input file.*

*i***/***pattern***/**

*Search forward until the first or the i-th occurrence of the Basic Regular Expression pattern is found. The search starts after the current page and stops at the end of the file. No wrap-around is performed. i must be a positive number.*

*i***?***pattern***?** *or ipattern*

*Search backward until the first or the i-th occurrence of the Basic Regular Expression pattern is found. The search starts before the current page and stops at the beginning of the file. No wrap-around is performed. i must be a positive number.*

*The search commands accept an added letter. If* **t** *is given, the line containing the pattern is displayed at the top of the screen, which is the default.* **m** *selects the middle and* **b** *the bottom of the screen. The selected position is used in following searches, too.*

*i***n**

*Advance to the next file or i files forward.*

*i***p**

*Reread the previous file or i files backward.*

**s** *filename*

*Save the current file to the given filename.*

**h**

*Display a command summary.*

**!***command*

*Execute command using the shell.*

**q** *or* **Q**

*Quit.*

*If the user presses the interrupt or quit key while* **pg** *reads from the input file or writes on the terminal,* **pg** *will immediately display the prompt. In all other situations these keys will terminate* **pg***.*

## ENVIRONMENT

*The following environment variables affect the behavior of* **pg***:*

**COLUMNS**

*Overrides the system-supplied number of columns if set.*

**LANG***,* **LC\_ALL***,* **LC\_COLLATE***,* **LC\_CTYPE***,* **LC\_MESSAGES**

*See* **locale***(7).*

**LINES**

*Overrides the system-supplied number of lines if set.*

**SHELL**

*Used by the* **!** *command.*

**TERM**

*Determines the terminal type.*

## NOTES

**pg** *expects the terminal tabulators to be set every eight positions.*

*Files that include NUL characters cannot be displayed by* **pg***.*

## SEE ALSO

**cat***(1),* **more***(1),* **sh***(1p),* **terminfo***(5),* **locale***(7),* **regex***(7),* **term***(7)*

## REPORTING BUGS

*For bug reports, use the* *issue tracker \<https://github.com/util-linux/util-linux/issues\>.*

## AVAILABILITY

*The* **pg** *command is part of the util-linux package which can be downloaded from* *Linux Kernel Archive \<https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/util-linux/\>.*