How to Save Terminal Output to a File in Linux

Updated: 17 October 2026 · Applies to: bash on any Linux distribution; tested on Ubuntu 26.04 (uutils tee 0.10.0, util-linux script 2.41.3, OpenSSH sftp)

To save terminal output to a file in Linux, add > file.txt after the command, for example df -h > df.txt. > replaces the file, >> adds to the end of it, > file.txt 2>&1 also saves error messages, and command | tee file.txt shows the output on screen and saves it at the same time.

1. Save output to a file: > and >>

uptime > report.txt       # create or overwrite report.txt
date -u >> report.txt     # add a line at the end
cat report.txt

> empties the file first without asking, so use >> for logs you want to keep. To put the date in the file name: df -h > "df-$(date +%F).txt".

2. Include error messages

Programs write normal output and error messages to two different streams (stdout and stderr). > saves only the normal output; errors still appear on screen. Lab example from our Ubuntu 26.04 test container:

$ ls /etc/hostname /nonexistent > out.txt
ls: cannot access '/nonexistent': No such file or directory
$ cat out.txt
/etc/hostname

• command > all.txt 2>&1: output and errors in one file. command &> all.txt is the shorter bash form.
• command 2> errors.txt: errors only.
• command 2>/dev/null: throw errors away.

The order matters: command 2>&1 > file.txt still printed the error on screen in our test, because 2>&1 was applied before stdout went to the file. Write the file first, then 2>&1. More in how to redirect standard error in bash.

3. See the output and save it: tee

tee reads what a command prints, shows it on screen and writes it to a file. This is the way to pipe terminal output to a file while you still watch it:

$ df -h / | tee df.log
Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
overlay          48G   16G   30G  35% /

• command | tee -a file.txt: append instead of overwrite.
• command 2>&1 | tee file.txt or command |& tee file.txt: include errors.
• command | tee a.txt b.txt: save to two files at once.
• command | tee file.txt > /dev/null: save without showing it.

For tee with xargs and longer pipelines, see using pipelines, xargs and tee.

4. Write text into a file

echo "Hello" > hello.txt
printf 'line 1\nline 2\n' > lines.txt
cat > config.txt <<'EOF'
server_name example.com;
listen 80;
EOF

The last form (a "here document") writes several lines in one go; the quotes around 'EOF' stop bash from expanding $variables inside the text.

5. Writing to a file owned by root

sudo does not cover the >: your own shell opens the file before sudo runs. In our test:

$ sudo echo "nameserver 192.0.2.53" > /etc/lab.conf
-bash: line 1: /etc/lab.conf: Permission denied

Pipe into sudo tee instead, with -a to append:

echo "nameserver 192.0.2.53" | sudo tee /etc/lab.conf
echo "options edns0" | sudo tee -a /etc/lab.conf > /dev/null

6. Save a whole terminal session: script

To record everything you type and see, start script, work as usual, and type exit when done:

script session.log

For a single command: script -q -c 'df -h' session.log. The log starts with a "Script started on" line and ends with "Script done on" and the exit code. It keeps terminal control characters (line endings showed as ^M with cat -A), so read it with cat or less -R.

7. Save the commands, or the file you are editing

• Save the commands you typed: history > commands.txt. Each line gets its number (1 echo one).
• Save a file you are editing: in nano press Ctrl+O then Enter (see nano: save, exit and shortcuts); in vim type :w and Enter, or :wq to save and quit.
• Protect files from an accidental >: set -o noclobber. bash then refuses with report.txt: cannot overwrite existing file; >| overwrites on purpose.

Is there a put command in Linux?

Not in the shell: typing it gives bash: put: command not found. put is a command inside sftp (and old ftp) that uploads a file to the server you are connected to, and get downloads one. Lab example (shortened):

sftp> cd /srv/upload
sftp> put report.txt
sftp> ls -l
-rw-r--r--    ? root     root            7 Oct 12 05:53 report.txt

Connect with sftp user@server first; put -r folder uploads a whole folder. See what port SFTP uses for the connection side. To keep output in a variable instead of a file, see assign the output of a command to a variable.

Official documentation: Bash manual: Redirections.