September 3, 2023

Add multiple lines to a new file with cat

$ cat > file.txt << EOF
> first line you want to add
> second line
> et cetera
> EOF

This command will also create file.txt. No need to create a file before running this command.

Important: if file.txt exists, cat > file.txt will replace existing content.

EOF just stands for ‘End Of File’.

See also:

• Append multiple lines at the end of a file with cat

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