Q. I'm new to Linux and installed CentOS on my Laptop. How do I create a file from bash prompt without using GUI tools?
A. Linux / UNIX offer many command line tools and text editors for creating text files. You can use vi or JOE text editor. It is a terminal-based text editor for Linux/Unix systems, available under the GPL. It is designed to be easy to use.
Create a Text File using cat command
To create a text file called foo.txt, enter:$ cat > foo.txt
Output:
This is a test.
Hello world!
press CTRL+D to save file
To display file contents, type$ cat foot.txt
Create a Text File using joe text editor
JOE is text editor. To create a file called foo.txt, type:$ joe -help foo.txt
You will see help menu on screen. Next type something. To save the file and leave joe, by typing ^KX (press CTRL+K+X).
Create a Text File using vi / vim text editor
vi / vim is another text editor. To create a file called bar.txt, type:$ vi bar.txt
Press 'i' to insert new text. To save the file and leave vi, type ESC+:+x (press ESC key, type : followed by x and [enter] key).