cat

Files

SKILL.mdagentsreferences

Install

Install only this skill with npx skills

npx skills add alisonaquinas/llm-shared-skills --skill 'cat' -g -y

Install the containing skill bundle

/plugin install shared-skills@llm-skills

Download cat-skill.zip

This skill is bundled inside shared-skills. Use npx skills when you only want this skill, or install the bundle once to make every included skill available through the plugin marketplace flow. Browse the full skill bundle repository at github.com/alisonaquinas/llm-shared-skills.

Invoke

Invoke this skill after installation

/shared-skills:cat

SKILL.md

name: cat description: > Concatenate and display file contents with cat for reading files, combining multiple files, writing heredoc content, and feeding file data into pipelines. Use when the agent needs to print a file's contents to stdout, join several files into one, pipe a file into another command, or inspect a short file quickly.

Concatenate files and print their contents to standard output.

Quick Start

Verify availability: cat --version (GNU) or man cat
Display a file: cat file.txt
Concatenate files: cat a.txt b.txt > combined.txt

Intent Router

references/cheatsheet.md — Display, concatenate, number lines, show non-printing characters, file writing via heredoc
references/advanced-usage.md — Combining with pipelines, heredoc patterns, binary file awareness, tac for reverse
references/troubleshooting.md — Binary content warnings, large file pitfalls, useless use of cat, encoding issues

Core Workflow

Use cat file for quick inspection of short files
Use cat a b c > out to concatenate multiple files in order
Pipe cat file | command only when the command does not accept a filename argument — many tools accept files directly, making cat unnecessary
Use cat -A or cat -v to reveal non-printing characters when diagnosing encoding or line-ending issues
Use cat -n to number lines for reference when discussing file content

Quick Command Reference

cat file.txt                        # Display file contents
cat a.txt b.txt                     # Concatenate and display two files
cat a.txt b.txt > combined.txt      # Concatenate into a new file
cat >> file.txt                     # Append stdin to a file (Ctrl-D to end)
cat -n file.txt                     # Number all output lines
cat -b file.txt                     # Number non-blank lines only
cat -A file.txt                     # Show all: mark tabs (^I), line ends ($)
cat -v file.txt                     # Show non-printing characters
cat -s file.txt                     # Squeeze multiple blank lines into one
tac file.txt                        # Print lines in reverse order
cat /dev/null > file.txt            # Truncate a file to zero bytes
man cat                             # Full manual

Safety Notes

Area	Guardrail
Overwrite with `>`	`cat a > b` overwrites `b` silently. Use `>>` to append. Confirm destination path before redirecting.
Binary files	`cat` will send raw binary bytes to the terminal, which can corrupt terminal state. Check with `file` first; use `xxd` or `hexdump` for binary inspection.
Large files	`cat` on a large file floods the terminal. Use `head`, `tail`, `less`, or `grep` for targeted inspection.
Useless use of cat	`cat file \| grep pattern` is better written as `grep pattern file`. Eliminating unnecessary `cat` reduces process overhead and clarifies intent.
Truncation via redirect	`cat /dev/null > file` or `> file` immediately truncates `file` to zero bytes. This is irreversible without a backup.

Source Policy

Treat man cat and cat --help as runtime truth. GNU and BSD cat share most flags.
Avoid "useless use of cat" — pass filenames directly to commands that accept them (grep, sort, wc, etc.).
Use less or bat for interactive browsing of files longer than a screenful.

cat