Use less When
The file is large or you expect to search and navigate through it.
You want a more readable interactive inspection workflow.
Compare
less vs cat
When to page through content and when to dump it directly to output.
`cat` prints content immediately. `less` is better for reading long output interactively because it lets you scroll, search, and quit without flooding the terminal.
Use cat When
The content is short or you want to pipe it directly into another command.
You just need a quick dump of file contents to standard output.
Rule of Thumb
less is for reading. cat is for output.
Want the short version? Browse the compact sheet views and save the commands you use most into a Cheatbook.