meow is a command line tool that aims to be a replacement for cat/bat with better highlighting.
This is free and open source software.
Features include:
- Neovim Engine: Uses your local ~/.config/nvim (no separate config required).
- Parallel Processing: Renders multiple files simultaneously using all CPU threads.
- Smart Paging: Automatically pipes to less only if the file exceeds your terminal height.
- Zero Overhead: Detects binary files and devices (like /dev/input/mice) and streams them with raw cat speed.
- Performance: Includes a “Fast Mode” for large files (>100KB) to skip rendering latency, unless forced.
Website: github.com/datsfilipe/meow
Support:
Developer: datsfilipe
License: MIT License
meow is written in Lua. Learn Lua with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| Alternatives to cat | |
|---|---|
| bat | Super charged cat - Features in our Top 100 CLI Apps |
| mdcat | Sophisticated Markdown rendering for the terminal - Features in our Top 100 TUI Apps |
| grcat | Frontend for generic colouriser grc |
| tac | Concatenate and print files in reverse |
| ccat | Colorizing cat |
| see | Cute cat replacement |
| lolcat | Add some zest to the cat command. Features in our Linux Candy series |
| kat | cat command that almost tastes like chocolate |
| meow | Renders text using your existing Neovim configuration |
| mcat | Extended cat command |
| batdoc | cat for Office documents and PDFs |
| umber | Designed to replace cat for reading source code and other text files |
| rucat | Aimed at developers and system administrators |
| peek | Multi-buffer terminal pager |
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