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Why does my cat /etc/fstab look so odd? Is there a way to format the output?

rated 0 times [ 2] [ 0] / answers: 1 / hits: 3591 / 1 Year ago, sat, december 3, 2022, 3:23:46

When I run cat /etc/fstab I see this:

/etc/fstab output screenshot

I get the impression that the output isn't formatted correctly as a table should be. My terminal is full screen and so I don't think "wrapping" is to blame.

Other commands such as sudo fdisk -l and sudo parted -l appear well-formatted on screen with data in nice columns.

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answered 1 Year ago pantkie · Accepted Answer

The other commands you mentioned may indeed display properly formatted data, but cat simply displays a file (in this case /etc/fstab), and if the file is not nicely formatted, cat won't make it prettier.

If you care about this, you might use an editor and align the columns manually in /etc/fstab, say sudo nano /etc/fstab. Be careful though to not mess up the file.