atto(1) - NetBSD Manual Pages

ATTO(1)                 NetBSD General Commands Manual                 ATTO(1)


NAME

     natto -- simple modeless text editor


SYNOPSIS

     atto [-C] file ...
     natto [-C] file ...


DESCRIPTION

     natto is a screen-based text editor.  It serves as an alternative to
     vi(1) for users who are not accustomed to text editors with separate
     insertion and editing modes, and includes support for editing UTF-8 text.

     Perhaps all that needs to be known to use natto at a basic level is that
     holding the control key, pressing x, then pressing w will write the cur-
     rently open file, and holding the control key, pressing x, then pressing
     c will exit the editor.

     For users who struggle to remember key bindings, the escape key can be
     pressed twice to open a menu which can be navigated with the terminal's
     cursor keys.  This is only available if the program is not compiled in
     SMALL mode (i.e. it is not part of a ramdisk or similar).

     The options are as follows:

     -C          Use colours, if available, for basic language-unaware syntax
                 highlighting.

   Cursor movement commands
     C is used as an abbreviation for the control key, commonly rendered as
     "ctrl" on English language keyboards.

     Arrow keys or the navigation cluster can also be used to move the cursor
     when the keyboard has such features.

           C-a        move cursor to beginning of current line (i.e. "home")
           C-b        move cursor back one character (i.e. "left")
           C-e        move cursor to end of current line (i.e. "end")
           C-f        move cursor forward one character (i.e. "right")
           C-n        move cursor to next line (i.e. "down")
           C-p        move cursor to previous line (i.e. "up")
           C-v        move cursor to next page of text (i.e. "page down")
           Esc-b      move cursor back one word
           Esc-f      move cursor forward one word
           Esc-g      jump to a specific line number in the file
           Esc-v      move cursor to previous page of text (i.e. "page up")
           Esc-<      jump to the start of the file
           Esc->      jump to the end of the file

   Text editing commands
           C-d        delete character under cursor (i.e. "del")
           C-h        move cursor backwards and delete previous character
                      (i.e. "backspace")
           C-g        abort at prompts (cancel task when asked a question)
           C-i        insert tab character
           C-j        insert newline character (i.e. "enter", "return")
           C-k        cut text up to the end of the line (i.e. "kill line")
           C-l        refresh the screen
           C-m        insert carriage return character
           C-r        search for text backwards, jump to next result
           C-s        search for text forwards, jump to next result
           C-y        paste the text in the cut buffer (i.e. "yank")
           Esc-r      search for text and replace it

   Buffer commands
     natto supports multiple editing buffers, allowing users to edit multiple
     files from a single instance of the program.

           C-x C-c    close all open buffers and exit natto, prompting if
                      changes would be discarded
           C-x C-f    open a file into a new buffer
           C-x C-k    close the current buffer, prompting if changes would be
                      discarded (i.e. "kill")
           C-x C-s    save current buffer to disk, overwriting the file
           C-x C-w    save current buffer to disk, prompting for file name
                      ("write")
           C-x n      cycle to next buffer
           C-x i      read another file and insert it into the current buffer
           C-x =      display cursor position in current buffer

   Region commands
     As well as cutting text on a line basis (i.e. C-k), a region can be
     selected by setting a mark at the beginning of the region, and then mov-
     ing the cursor to the end of the region.

           C-space    set the beginning of the region at the current position
           C-w        cut the marked region
           Esc-w      copy the marked region without deleting it

   Window management commands
     Simple split-screen window management is included.  For more advanced use
     cases, consider using tmux(1).

           C-x 1      delete windows except the currently active one
           C-x 2      split current window into two windows
           C-x o      switch to the next open window


SEE ALSO

     ed(1), ex(1), vi(1), xedit(1)


STANDARDS

     natto is not the standard editor.


AUTHORS

     Atto was written primarily by Hugh Barney, and was originally based on
     public domain code from Anthony Howe's editor (commonly known as
     Anthony's Editor).

     natto has been modified from Atto to suit the needs of NetBSD, including
     with enhanced option handling and menu support.  It was renamed to indi-
     cate that it has significantly different goals, focusing primarily on
     ease of use and OS integration, rather than achieving a low code line
     count.

NetBSD 11.99                   October 30, 2026                   NetBSD 11.99