If you've tried to use nano at the command line on MacOS recently, you might have noticed that instead of nano, the pico text editor opens up. This happens because in newer versions of MacOS, nano has been replaced with pico through a symlink located at /usr/bin/nano.
Should you wish to continue using the nano text editor, you can manually reinstall it yourself without much trouble.
The most straightforward way to get the nano text editor back on your MacOS system is by utilizing Homebrew.
Steps to Install nano Text Editor on MacOS
Before proceeding, ensure that you have Homebrew already set up on your system. If not, install it first. Homebrew is quite user-friendly and provides efficient package management along with access to numerous command-line tools, apps, and utilities commonly used in Unix and Linux environments.
Once you have confirmed that Homebrew is installed, installing nano becomes a very simple task.
Open your Terminal and execute the following command:
brew install nano
After the installation of nano completes, you can start using nano from the command line just like before by typing:
nano
That’s all—you're now able to use the nano text editor again within the command line.
Starting with macOS 12.3 and later versions, pico has been set as the default replacement for nano. You may also observe that Python 2 was removed during this update, although making Python 3 the default version on your Mac is an option. While the exact rationale behind these changes isn't publicly clear, some online discussions suggest it could be due to avoiding GNU licensing conflicts or addressing potential security concerns. Fortunately, thanks to Homebrew, adding back any outdated or missing command line tools—like nano, python, or others—is quite simple, especially if they are integral to your workflow.
It's worth noting that nano itself was originally developed based on pico. As such, many users may not even perceive a difference between the two editors since they share similar commands, keystrokes, and interface elements. However, nano does offer more customization options than pico.
Have you realized that nano was subtly substituted with pico? Will you reinstall nano, stay with pico, or opt for another alternative entirely, such as emacs or vim?
The above is the detailed content of How to Install nano Text Editor on Mac Again. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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