> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://ploegert.gitbook.io/til/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://ploegert.gitbook.io/til/os/unix/terminal/less-with-style.md).

# Less With Style

I was using `less` the other day to look at a log file. The log file was filled with ANSI color escape sequences which made it pretty painful to read. I was stuck looking at a white, unparsed log file instead of a colorful, stylish one.

The `-R` flag fixes this. It tells `less` to display the ANSI color escape sequences as colors rather than the caret notation.

The tradeoff is that `less` has *less* control over the overall display of the screen. This may result in some buggy display behavior, but not necessarily.

[source](http://superuser.com/questions/117841/get-colors-in-less-command)