Skip to main content
ubuntuask.com

Back to all posts

How to Read A File In Reverse Order In Linux?

Published on
5 min read
How to Read A File In Reverse Order In Linux? image

Best Tools to Read Files in Reverse Order on Linux to Buy in January 2026

1 USB C USB3.0 Multi Card Reader for SD, CF, Micro SD, XD, MS Cards - 7 in 1 Adapter Hub for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android

USB C USB3.0 Multi Card Reader for SD, CF, Micro SD, XD, MS Cards - 7 in 1 Adapter Hub for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android

  • BOOST EFFICIENCY: READ/WRITE 5 CARDS SIMULTANEOUSLY FOR QUICKER WORKFLOWS.
  • UNIVERSAL COMPATIBILITY: WORKS WITH ALL MAJOR SYSTEMS VIA USB-C AND USB3.0.
  • LIGHTNING FAST TRANSFERS: 5GBPS SPEEDS ENSURE RAPID DATA MOVEMENT.
BUY & SAVE
$18.80
USB C USB3.0 Multi Card Reader for SD, CF, Micro SD, XD, MS Cards - 7 in 1 Adapter Hub for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android
2 ORIGBELIE External CD DVD Drive for Laptop, USB 3.0 Type-C Ultra Slim 13mm DVD Player Portable CD DVD +/-RW Drive CD Burner Reader Writer Recorder for Desktop PC Windows 11/10/8/7 Linux Mac OS (Black)

ORIGBELIE External CD DVD Drive for Laptop, USB 3.0 Type-C Ultra Slim 13mm DVD Player Portable CD DVD +/-RW Drive CD Burner Reader Writer Recorder for Desktop PC Windows 11/10/8/7 Linux Mac OS (Black)

  • PLUG & PLAY CONVENIENCE: NO DRIVERS NEEDED; JUST PLUG IN AND USE!

  • HIGH-SPEED PERFORMANCE: ENJOY FAST DATA TRANSFER UP TO 5 GBPS!

  • ULTRA SLIM DESIGN: LIGHTWEIGHT AND PORTABLE FOR EASY TRAVEL!

BUY & SAVE
$19.99
ORIGBELIE External CD DVD Drive for Laptop, USB 3.0 Type-C Ultra Slim 13mm DVD Player Portable CD DVD +/-RW Drive CD Burner Reader Writer Recorder for Desktop PC Windows 11/10/8/7 Linux Mac OS (Black)
3 Hicober USB C to SD Card Reader, Micro SD Memory Card Reader, Type C to SD Card Reader Adapter 2TB Capacity for MacBook Camera Android Windows Linux and Other Type C Device-Black

Hicober USB C to SD Card Reader, Micro SD Memory Card Reader, Type C to SD Card Reader Adapter 2TB Capacity for MacBook Camera Android Windows Linux and Other Type C Device-Black

  • SHARE HAPPINESS INSTANTLY WITH 2TB CAPACITY AT 5GBPS SPEED!

  • DURABLE ALUMINUM DESIGN WITH REINFORCED CONNECTORS FOR ULTIMATE PORTABILITY.

  • EFFORTLESS PLUG-AND-PLAY SETUP WITH DUAL MEMORY CARD COMPATIBILITY.

BUY & SAVE
$11.10 $14.99
Save 26%
Hicober USB C to SD Card Reader, Micro SD Memory Card Reader, Type C to SD Card Reader Adapter 2TB Capacity for MacBook Camera Android Windows Linux and Other Type C Device-Black
4 SABRENT SuperSpeed 2 Slot USB 3.0 Flash Memory Card Reader for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Certain Android Systems Supports SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC/MicroSD, T Flash [Black] (CR-UMSS)

SABRENT SuperSpeed 2 Slot USB 3.0 Flash Memory Card Reader for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Certain Android Systems Supports SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC/MicroSD, T Flash [Black] (CR-UMSS)

  • MAX SPEED WITH USB 3.0; WORKS WITH USB 2.0 DEVICES TOO!

  • USB POWERED-NO EXTRA POWER SUPPLY NEEDED!

  • EASY PLUG-N-PLAY SETUP; SUPPORTS MULTIPLE CARD FORMATS!

BUY & SAVE
$5.27 $6.99
Save 25%
SABRENT SuperSpeed 2 Slot USB 3.0 Flash Memory Card Reader for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Certain Android Systems Supports SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC/MicroSD, T Flash [Black] (CR-UMSS)
5 uni SD Card Reader, USB 3.0 SD Card Adapter High-Speed Micro SD Memory Card Reader Support SD/Micro SD/TF/SDHC/SDXC/MMC/UHS-I Card Compatible with Mac, Win, Linux, PC, Laptop, Chromebook, Camera

uni SD Card Reader, USB 3.0 SD Card Adapter High-Speed Micro SD Memory Card Reader Support SD/Micro SD/TF/SDHC/SDXC/MMC/UHS-I Card Compatible with Mac, Win, Linux, PC, Laptop, Chromebook, Camera

  • LIGHTNING-FAST TRANSFERS: ACHIEVE 5GBPS SPEEDS-10X FASTER THAN USB 2.0!

  • SIMULTANEOUS READING: READ/WRITE FROM TWO CARDS AT ONCE, NO EXTRA SOFTWARE!

  • UNIVERSAL COMPATIBILITY: SUPPORTS UP TO 2TB CARDS; WORKS ON ALL MAJOR OS!

BUY & SAVE
$9.99
uni SD Card Reader, USB 3.0 SD Card Adapter High-Speed Micro SD Memory Card Reader Support SD/Micro SD/TF/SDHC/SDXC/MMC/UHS-I Card Compatible with Mac, Win, Linux, PC, Laptop, Chromebook, Camera
6 Hicober USB C to SD Card Reader, Micro SD Memory Card Reader, Type C to SD Card Reader Adapter 2TB Capacity for MacBook Camera Android Windows Linux and Other Type C Device-Green

Hicober USB C to SD Card Reader, Micro SD Memory Card Reader, Type C to SD Card Reader Adapter 2TB Capacity for MacBook Camera Android Windows Linux and Other Type C Device-Green

  • RAPID SHARING: INSTANTLY SHARE PHOTOS & VIDEOS AT 5GBPS SPEED!

  • VERSATILE COMPATIBILITY: WORKS WITH ALL MAJOR MEMORY CARD TYPES.

  • DURABLE DESIGN: LIGHTWEIGHT ALUMINUM ALLOY FOR ULTIMATE TRAVEL DURABILITY.

BUY & SAVE
$15.99
Hicober USB C to SD Card Reader, Micro SD Memory Card Reader, Type C to SD Card Reader Adapter 2TB Capacity for MacBook Camera Android Windows Linux and Other Type C Device-Green
7 SIM Card Adapter for Computer - 7 in 1 CAC Smart Card Reader Military, MS Pro Duo/SD/TF/M2/ID/IC/PIV/SIM Card Reader, Memory Stick Pro Duo Adapter SIM Card Reader for Computer,PC,Windows,Linux,MacOS

SIM Card Adapter for Computer - 7 in 1 CAC Smart Card Reader Military, MS Pro Duo/SD/TF/M2/ID/IC/PIV/SIM Card Reader, Memory Stick Pro Duo Adapter SIM Card Reader for Computer,PC,Windows,Linux,MacOS

  • VERSATILE 7-IN-1 READER: SUPPORTS SIM, SMART & MEMORY CARDS FOR ALL USES.

  • EASY SETUP: PLUG-AND-PLAY COMPATIBILITY ACROSS ALL MAJOR PLATFORMS.

  • SLEEK, PORTABLE DESIGN: LIGHTWEIGHT AND COMPACT FOR ON-THE-GO CONVENIENCE.

BUY & SAVE
$14.99 $18.99
Save 21%
SIM Card Adapter for Computer - 7 in 1 CAC Smart Card Reader Military, MS Pro Duo/SD/TF/M2/ID/IC/PIV/SIM Card Reader, Memory Stick Pro Duo Adapter SIM Card Reader for Computer,PC,Windows,Linux,MacOS
+
ONE MORE?

To read a file in reverse order in Linux, you can use the combination of some Linux commands. Here's one possible approach:

  1. Firstly, you can use the tac command, which is the reverse version of cat. It reads lines from a file and prints them in reverse order. For example, tac file.txt will output the contents of file.txt in reverse order.
  2. In case you want to view the file interactively or scroll through it, you can pipe the output of tac to the less command. This allows you to scroll up and down through the reversed file. For instance, tac file.txt | less will display file.txt in reverse order using the less pager.
  3. If you want to read the file in reverse order but view it all at once, you can redirect the output of tac to another file. This will save the reversed contents to a new file. For example, tac file.txt > reversed.txt will create a new file named reversed.txt with the contents of file.txt in reverse order.

These methods should help you read a file in reverse order in Linux using command-line utilities.

How to display the last line of a file using Linux commands?

To display the last line of a file using Linux commands, you can use the tail command with the -n option.

The syntax is as follows:

tail -n 1

where <filename> is the name of the file you want to display the last line of.

For example, to display the last line of a file named "example.txt", you would run:

tail -n 1 example.txt

This command will output the last line of the file on the terminal.

What is the syntax for removing duplicate lines from a file read in reverse order using uniq in Linux?

To remove duplicate lines from a file read in reverse order using uniq in Linux, you can combine the use of the tac command to reverse the file and the uniq command to remove duplicates. Here is the syntax:

tac <file_name> | uniq

Explanation:

  1. tac command is used to reverse the lines of a file.
  2. should be replaced with the name of the file you want to process.
  3. The output of tac is then piped (|) to the uniq command to remove duplicate lines.

Note: The uniq command requires that duplicate lines be adjacent to each other, so if your file has duplicated lines that are not consecutive, this method will not remove them.

How to reverse the order of lines in a file using sed command in Linux?

To reverse the order of lines in a file using the sed command in Linux, you can use the following command:

sed '1!G;h;$!d' filename

Here's how it works:

  • The sed command is used to manipulate and transform text.
  • The expression '1!G;h;$!d' is the sed script that will be executed.
  • 1!G appends each line to the "hold space" (a temporary buffer), except for the first line.
  • h copies the contents of the "pattern space" (current line) to the "hold space".
  • $!d deletes all lines except the last line.
  • filename should be replaced with the name of the file you want to reverse the lines in.

This command will print out the reversed lines of the file on the console. If you want to save the result in a new file, you can use the shell redirection operator (>) like so:

sed '1!G;h;$!d' filename > newfile

This will save the reversed lines in a new file called newfile.

How can I read a file in reverse order and replace a specific word with another using sed command in Linux?

To read a file in reverse order and replace a specific word with another using the sed command in Linux, you can make use of the tac command to reverse the order of lines and then pipe the output to the sed command for performing the replacement.

Here's an example command:

tac filename.txt | sed -e 's/old_word/new_word/g' > output.txt

Explanation:

  1. tac filename.txt: This command reads the contents of filename.txt in reverse order. The output is then passed to the next command through the pipe.
  2. sed -e 's/old_word/new_word/g': This command replaces all occurrences of old_word with new_word in the input stream. Modify old_word and new_word with your specific words.
  3. > output.txt: This redirection operator redirects the output of the above command to output.txt file. You can change output.txt to a different filename if desired.

After running the above command, the file filename.txt will be read in reverse order, and all occurrences of old_word will be replaced with new_word. The modified content will be saved in the output.txt file.

How to read a file in reverse order and redirect the output to another file?

To read a file in reverse order and redirect the output to another file, you can follow these steps:

  1. Open the input file using a file object in read mode.

input_file = open('input_file.txt', 'r')

  1. Read the contents of the input file and store them in a list.

file_lines = input_file.readlines()

  1. Reverse the order of the list.

reversed_lines = file_lines[::-1]

  1. Open the output file using another file object in write mode.

output_file = open('output_file.txt', 'w')

  1. Write the reversed lines to the output file.

output_file.writelines(reversed_lines)

  1. Close both the input and output files.

input_file.close() output_file.close()

Here's the complete code snippet:

input_file = open('input_file.txt', 'r') file_lines = input_file.readlines() reversed_lines = file_lines[::-1]

output_file = open('output_file.txt', 'w') output_file.writelines(reversed_lines)

input_file.close() output_file.close()

Make sure to replace 'input_file.txt' with the actual path or filename of your input file, and 'output_file.txt' with the desired path or filename of the output file.