Linux / Unix Colored Man Pages With less Command

To view colored man pages (manual pages) on a Linux or Unix system using the less command, you can use the -R option to enable raw control characters in the output. This will allow less to interpret and display the ANSI escape sequences used to produce colored text in the man page.

For example, to view a colored man page for the ls command, you can use the following command:

man -R ls

This will display the man page for the ls command in color, using the less command to paginate the output. You can use the up and down arrow keys, the space bar, and the b key to navigate through the man page as you would with any other less output.

You can also use the -c option to tell less to automatically clear the screen before displaying the man page. This can be useful if you want to make sure that the man page is displayed at the top of the terminal window. For example:

man -Rc ls

This will clear the screen and display the man page for the ls command in color at the top of the terminal window.

Keep in mind that not all man pages are colored, and some may not display correctly when viewed with the less command. If you encounter any issues while viewing man pages with less, you can try using a different pager such as more or most, or you can consult the documentation for the less command or seek assistance from a qualified Unix or Linux administrator.