viewing-files - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: viewing-files description: Use when viewing source files or documentation with syntax highlighting, previewing files with Git integration, or when enhanced readability would improve code review

bat: Enhanced File Viewer with Syntax Highlighting

Always invoke viewing-files skill for enhanced file viewing - do not execute bash commands directly.

Use bat as a modern replacement for cat with beautiful syntax highlighting, Git integration, and smart features.

When to Use bat vs cat

Use bat when:

Viewing source code or structured text files
Syntax highlighting improves readability
Need Git integration or line numbers
Working with files >50 lines where highlighting helps
Previewing changes from other tools

Use cat when:

Very small files (<10 lines)
Non-text/binary files
Simple concatenation without formatting
When highlighting would add noise
Performance-critical operations on many tiny files

Common workflow: Any skill → viewing-files skill (preview enhanced output)

Default Strategy

Invoke viewing-files skill for enhanced file viewing with syntax highlighting. Use when viewing source files, documentation, or when syntax highlighting improves readability.

Common workflow: Any discovery skill → viewing-files skill (preview enhanced output).

Key Options

Display Control

-n/--number line numbers only
-p/--plain plain output (no decorations)
-A/--show-all show non-printable characters
--line-range START:END view specific lines
--wrap never disable line wrapping
--tabs N set tab width to N spaces

Language & Themes

-l/--language LANG force language detection
--list-languages show supported languages
--list-themes show available themes
--theme NAME set color theme (default: Monokai Extended)
--theme-dark/--theme-light auto-switch themes based on terminal
BAT_THEME environment variable for default theme

Output Styling

--style COMPONENTS control output (numbers,changes,header,grid,snip)
--decorations auto|never|always control decorations
--color always|never|auto control coloring

Paging

--paging auto|never|always control paging behavior
--pager COMMAND set custom pager
BAT_PAGER environment variable

Detailed Reference

For comprehensive usage patterns, integration examples, advanced features, and troubleshooting, load bat guide when needing:

Git integration workflows
Output styling and customization details
Theme configuration and options
Performance optimization tips
Shell integration examples

The guide includes:

Core usage patterns and language control
Git integration workflows
Output styling and customization
Integration with other tools (fzf, git, ripgrep)
Advanced features and configuration
Performance tips and troubleshooting

Skill Combinations

For Discovery Phase

finding-files → fuzzy-selecting → viewing-files: Find files, select interactively, view with syntax highlighting
searching-text → fuzzy-selecting → viewing-files: Search content, select matches, view with highlighting
querying-json/querying-yaml → fuzzy-selecting → viewing-files: Extract data, select entries, view formatted output

For Analysis Phase

analyzing-code-structure → viewing-files: Preview structural changes with syntax highlighting
replacing-text → viewing-files: Preview find-and-replace results before committing
extracting-code-structure → viewing-files: View extracted code structure with formatting

For Output Preview

analyzing-code → viewing-files: View code statistics with formatted output
searching-text → viewing-files: Preview matched files with context highlighting
querying-json/querying-yaml → viewing-files: View extracted structured data with syntax formatting

Integration Examples

# Interactive file viewer
fd --type file | fzf --preview="bat --color=always --style=numbers {}" --bind="enter:execute(bat {})"