Editing text at the command line with micro
Using Tabs
A nifty feature of micro is the ability to have multiple files open at the same time. If you have one file open in micro, you can open another one in a tab by pressing Ctrl+E and then typing tab
followed by the path to that file.
The idea is more or less like the tabs you find in a graphical editor. The tabs that you have open are listed along the top of the editor, as shown in Figure 3.

You can switch between tabs by pressing Ctrl+E and then typing tabswitch
followed by the number of the tab. The numbering of tabs starts from the left: The tab furthest to the left is 1, and the numbers increment as you move right. Or, you can click on a tab with your mouse. I prefer doing the latter.
Configuration Options
One of micro's selling points is that you can configure it to make the editor work the way that you want it to. The quickest way to do that is to open the file settings.json
found in the .config/micro
folder in your /home
directory.
That file stores configuration information in a format called JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). If you're not familiar with it, JSON is a data format that both people and computers can easily read. Don't let that intimidate you. JSON uses what's called "attribute/value" pairs to store information. In micro's settings.json
file, the attribute is a configuration option and the value is often either true
or false
. Sometimes, it's a number or something else specific to an option.
Micro has 60 configuration options. Those include options to automatically save files, to automatically match braces when writing in a markup or programming language, to display line numbers or a scrollbar, or to use tabs instead of spaces.
Figure 4 shows what my (rather basic) settings file looks like.
You can find out more about the options by opening micro's command bar and typing help options
.
Adding Plugins
Micro lives up to its billing as being extensible thanks to its support for plugins. At the time of writing, there are 27 plugins [3] that you can add to the editor. Those plugins run the gamut of tasks like correcting commonly misspelled words, adding bookmarks to a file, pretty-printing code, and adding support for the Go programming language (which is the language used to develop micro).
Install a plugin by running this command in a terminal window:
micro -plugin install <name of plugin>
Let's say you want to install the aspell plugin, which checks spelling as you type. To do that, run this command:
micro -plugin install aspell
Figure 5 shows the aspell plugin in action.
Some plugins, like aspell, run automatically. Others you need to launch yourself. To do that, open micro's command bar, type the name of the plugin to run, and press Enter.
Admittedly, 27 isn't all that many plugins. There's a chance you might not find one that suits your needs. However, if you have a few chops with the Lua programming language, you can write your own plugins. There's information about that in micro's code repository on GitHub [4].
« Previous 1 2 3 Next »
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Direct Download
Read full article as PDF:
Price $2.95
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Find SysAdmin Jobs
News
-
MNT Seeks Financial Backing for New Seven-Inch Linux Laptop
MNT Pocket Reform is a tiny laptop that is modular, upgradable, recyclable, reusable, and ships with Debian Linux.
-
Ubuntu Flatpak Remix Adds Flatpak Support Preinstalled
If you're looking for a version of Ubuntu that includes Flatpak support out of the box, there's one clear option.
-
Gnome 44 Release Candidate Now Available
The Gnome 44 release candidate has officially arrived and adds a few changes into the mix.
-
Flathub Vying to Become the Standard Linux App Store
If the Flathub team has any say in the matter, their product will become the default tool for installing Linux apps in 2023.
-
Debian 12 to Ship with KDE Plasma 5.27
The Debian development team has shifted to the latest version of KDE for their testing branch.
-
Planet Computers Launches ARM-based Linux Desktop PCs
The firm that originally released a line of mobile keyboards has taken a different direction and has developed a new line of out-of-the-box mini Linux desktop computers.
-
Ubuntu No Longer Shipping with Flatpak
In a move that probably won’t come as a shock to many, Ubuntu and all of its official spins will no longer ship with Flatpak installed.
-
openSUSE Leap 15.5 Beta Now Available
The final version of the Leap 15 series of openSUSE is available for beta testing and offers only new software versions.
-
Linux Kernel 6.2 Released with New Hardware Support
Find out what's new in the most recent release from Linus Torvalds and the Linux kernel team.
-
Kubuntu Focus Team Releases New Mini Desktop
The team behind Kubuntu Focus has released a new NX GEN 2 mini desktop PC powered by Linux.