How do I get spaces instead of tabs in nano?

Question

I usually edit Python files with nano, so I need four spaces instead of a tab. How can I get nano to automatically insert spaces for tabs, and control how many of them it inserts?

StackOverflow: tabs to spaces in nano – Sven Rojek Aug 23 '13 at 07:00 — Sven Rojek, Aug 23 '13 at 07:00

score 49 · Answer 1 · edited Mar 23 '15 at 15:57

49

Either create .nanorc in your home folder, including:

set tabsize 4
set tabstospaces

or edit the system /etc/nanorc file.

edited Mar 23 '15 at 15:57

muru

197,895
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answered Mar 23 '15 at 15:46

Sykobee

491

score 24 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:25

24

From the nano Command Manual:

-E, --tabstospaces
Convert typed tabs to spaces.

-T <#cols>, --tabsize=<#cols>
Set the displayed tab length to #cols columns. The value of #cols must be greater than 0. The default value is 8.

For four spaces, the appropriate command would therefore be nano -ET4.

Consider creating a permanent alias.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:25

Community

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answered May 06 '11 at 14:43

Stefano Palazzo

86,783

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you could also consider editing /etc/nanorc instead of making an alias. – theTuxRacer May 06 '11 at 16:48
I feel like patching /etc/nanorc.... and uploading to fix this once and for all. With python3 not accepting mixed tabs&spaces this is silly to have tabs in python files in nano. – Dima Aug 23 '12 at 16:46

How do I get spaces instead of tabs in nano?

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