How can you display line numbers while viewing a file in Linux?

Displaying line numbers while viewing a file in Linux can be accomplished with several commands, but the most straightforward choice here is using the nl command. The nl command specifically formats the output by numbering the lines of a file, automatically handling both single and multi-line formats effectively. It is designed to read a file and output it to the standard output with line numbers, making it particularly useful for creating numbered text files or viewing content with clarity.

The cat -n command also provides line numbering, and while it can be very useful, it is not the preferred option in scenarios where more control over formatting is required. The more -n and head -n commands are not designed for this purpose. more is primarily intended for pagination of text output, and the -n option does not pertain to line numbering, whereas head is used to display the beginning of files and its -n option specifies how many lines to show, not to number them.

In summary, nl is the dedicated tool for displaying line numbers along with the content of files, making it the most effective choice in this context.