bat ☆

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Description:
Clone of cat(1) with syntax highlighting and Git integration

Type: Formula | Latest Version: 0.26.1@0 | Tracked Since: Dec 17, 2025

Links: Homepage | @sharkdp | formulae.brew.sh

Category: Developer tools

Tags: cli cat syntax-highlighting git rust

Install: brew install bat

About:
bat is a modern replacement for the classic cat command, offering syntax highlighting for a vast array of programming and markup languages. It integrates seamlessly with Git to show modifications directly in the terminal. The tool also supports file concatenation, non-printable character visualization, and customizable themes.

Key Features:

Syntax highlighting with automatic language detection
Git integration showing line-by-line changes
Pager integration with automatic paging for long output
Show non-printable characters and line numbers
Customizable themes and syntax mapping

Use Cases:

Quickly inspecting code files with colorized output
Reviewing Git diffs in the terminal
Concatenating multiple files for debugging or logging
Displaying configuration files with clear formatting

Alternatives:

cat – Standard Unix tool, lacks syntax highlighting and Git integration
highlight – General syntax highlighter, not designed as a cat replacement
ccat – Similar colorizing cat, but bat has more features and active development

License: Apache-2.0 OR MIT

Dependencies: libgit2, oniguruma

Bottles available for: arm64_tahoe, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, sonoma, arm64_linux, x86_64_linux

Version History

Detected	Rev	Change	Commit
Oct 19, 2025 4:39pm	0	VERSION_BUMP	b0d851fa
Jan 8, 2025 7:41pm	1	VERSION_BUMP	b2a167a6
Jan 8, 2025 1:28pm	1	VERSION_BUMP	691f64ea
Jan 7, 2025 3:02pm	0	VERSION_BUMP	699a11fa