How to Delete Line in Nano Editor? [Nano Delete All Guide]

Learn how to delete lines in Nano editor effortlessly with our step-by-step guide. Say goodbye to unwanted lines in no time! [Nano Delete All Guide]

Updated: 30 Jan, 24 by Antoniy Yushkevych 2 Min

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Nano is the most basic text editor for Linux based on the command line. It has all of the standard text editor features, such as syntax highlighting, several buffers, scan, and substitutes with regular expression (regex) support, correcting typos, and UTF-8 (Unicode Transformation Format – 8-bit) encoding. Now you will find the delete line command in nano (nano delete all command) with examples.

You may sometimes need to delete certain lines from your text while you are working on it. Nano does have certain shortcuts to make your task easy. You can easily delete a line in Nano using the shortcut key provided in this tutorial.  

Assuming you already have a file open in the nano text editor, here's how to delete a single line:

1. Use the down arrow key to move your cursor to the line you want to delete.
2. Press Ctrl+K (the "cut" command). The entire line will be deleted and placed in a buffer.
3. To save the file and exit nano, press Ctrl+X. You will be prompted to confirm; press Y for Yes and Enter to continue.

How to Delete One Line in Nano Editor? [Nano Delete Single Line]

  1. First, you need to press CTRL + Shift + 6 to mark the start of your block
  2. Now, shift the cursor to the end of the block with the arrow keys, and it will outline the text.
  3. Finally, press CTRL + K to cut/delete a block, and it will remove a line in nano.

How to Delete Multiple Lines in Nano Editor?

If you want to delete all lines of text in the Nano editor, you can use the Ctrl+Shift+K shortcut. This will delete all lines of text in the file, including any blank lines .You can also delete all lines in a file by using the Ctrl+U shortcut.

How to Delete All Lines in Nano Editor?

Also read: Discover the Power of Undo in Nano Editor: A Step-by-Step Tutorial

Using the above-given steps by marking the start of the block and selecting the part of your document, you can easily delete lines in the nano editor. This command is very useful when deleting a specific line in the nano text editor without interfering with the other text lines.

Looking to practice nano commands and do not know how to do that? You can test and practice all nano commands in a Linux VPS server easily.

In nano, position the cursor at the beginning of the line you want to delete and press Ctrl + K. This will cut the entire line. Repeat for multiple lines.

To end a line in nano, simply move the cursor to the end of the line using the arrow keys and press Enter to insert a newline character.

Nano is a text editor and does not directly delete files. To delete files in the terminal, use the rm command followed by the filename outside of nano. For example, rm filename.

Antoniy Yushkevych

Antoniy Yushkevych

Master of word when it comes to technology, internet and privacy. I'm also your usual guy that always aims for the best result and takes a skateboard to work. If you need me, you will find me at the office's Counter-Strike championships on Fridays or at a.yushkevych@monovm.com
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Ms. Ocie Graham Sr.

2024, Jun, 24

Great guide! Nano is such a handy text editor for quick edits, especially for those who are comfortable with command line interfaces. The detailed steps and shortcuts provided for deleting lines, whether it's a single line, multiple lines, or all lines, make it really straightforward. Thanks for breaking it down clearly. This will definitely help streamline text editing tasks in Nano!