LFCS Essential Commands Practice Question
Which THREE commands can be used to view the contents of a file?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse `grep` (which can display matching lines) with a file-viewing command, or think `find` can show file contents because it locates files, but neither is designed for that purpose.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
cat
The `cat` command (option C) is a standard Unix utility that reads files sequentially and outputs their contents to the standard output. It is one of the most basic and direct ways to view the entire content of a file in the terminal.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
grep
Why it's wrong here
Searches for patterns, not for viewing entire file.
- ✗
find
Why it's wrong here
Searches for files, does not display contents.
- ✓
cat
Why this is correct
Concatenates and displays file contents.
- ✓
head
Why this is correct
Displays the first few lines of a file.
- ✓
less
Why this is correct
Displays file contents page by page.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This LFCS question is part of Courseiva's 507-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This LFCS practice question is part of Courseiva's free Linux Foundation certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the LFCS exam.