Less (Unix)

less
less output in an x-terminal
Developer(s)	Mark Nudelman
Initial release	1984; 41 years ago (1984)[1]
Stable release	679[2]  / 19 June 2025; 8 days ago (19 June 2025)
Repository	github.com/gwsw/less
Written in	C
Operating system	Cross-platform
Type	System utility
License	Dual-licensed under GNU GPLv3 and a custom BSD-style license
Website	www.greenwoodsoftware.com/less/

less is a terminal pager program on Unix, Windows, and Unix-like systems used to view (but not change) the contents of a text file one screen at a time. It is similar to more, but has the extended capability of allowing both forward and backward navigation through the file. Unlike most Unix text editors/viewers, less does not need to read the entire file before starting, allowing for immediate viewing regardless of file size.