# mc cat

LLMS index: [llms.txt](/llms.txt)

---

<a id="mc-cat"></a>
<a id="minio-mc-cat"></a>

<a id="command-mc.cat"></a>

## Syntax {#syntax}

The [`mc cat`](#command-mc.cat) command concatenates the contents of a file or object to another file or object. You can also use the command to display the contents of the specified file or object to `STDOUT`. [`cat`](#command-mc.cat) has similar functionality to `cat`.

**EXAMPLE**

The following command concatenates the contents of an object on a MinIO deployment to `STDOUT`:

```shell
mc cat play/mybucket/myobject.txt
```

**SYNTAX**

The [`mc cat`](#command-mc.cat) command has the following syntax:

```shell
mc [GLOBALFLAGS] cat                       \
                 ALIAS [ALIAS ...]         \
                 [--enc-c "value"]         \
                 [--offset "int"]          \
                 [--part-number "int"]     \
                 [--rewind]                \
                 [--tail "int"]            \
                 [--version-id "string"]   \
                 [--zip]
```

- Brackets `[]` indicate optional parameters.
- Parameters sharing a line are mutually dependent.
- Parameters separated using the pipe `|` operator are mutually exclusive.

Copy the example to a text editor and modify as-needed before running the command in the terminal/shell.

You can also use [`mc cat`](#command-mc.cat) against a local filesystem to produce similar results to the `cat` commandline tool.

### Parameters {#parameters}

##### `ALIAS` {#mc.cat.ALIAS}

*mc-cmd*

*Required*

The [alias](/reference/minio-mc/mc-alias-set/#alias) of a MinIO deployment and the full path to the object. For example:

```shell
mc cat myminio/mybucket/myobject.txt
```

You can specify multiple objects on the same or different MinIO deployment. For example:

```shell
mc cat myminio/mybucket/object.txt myminio/myotherbucket/object.txt
```

For an object on a local filesystem, specify the full path to that object. For example:

```shell
mc cat ~/data/object.txt
```

##### `--enc-c` {#mc.cat.-enc-c}

*mc-cmd*

*Optional*

Encrypt or decrypt objects using server-side [SSE-C encryption](/administration/server-side-encryption/#minio-sse) with client-managed keys.

The parameter accepts a key-value pair formatted as `KEY=VALUE`

<table>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td><p><code>KEY</code></p></td>
      <td><p>The full path to the object as <code>alias/bucket/path/object.ext</code>.</p><p>You can specify only the top-level path to use a single encryption key for all operations in that path.</p></td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td><p><code>VALUE</code></p></td>
      <td><p>Specify either a 32-byte RawBase64-encoded key <em>or</em> a 64-byte hex-encoded key for use with SSE-C encryption.</p><p>Raw Base64 encoding <strong>rejects</strong> <code>=</code>-padded keys.
Omit the padding or use a Base64 encoder that supports RAW formatting.</p></td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

- `KEY` - the full path to the object as `alias/bucket/path/object`.
- `VALUE` - the 32-byte RAW Base64-encoded data key to use for encrypting object(s).

For example:

```shell
# RawBase64-Encoded string "mybucket32byteencryptionkeyssec"
--enc-c "myminio/mybucket/prefix/object.obj=bXlidWNrZXQzMmJ5dGVlbmNyeXB0aW9ua2V5c3NlYwo"
```

You can specify multiple encryption keys by repeating the parameter.

Specify the path to a prefix to apply encryption to all matching objects at that path:

```shell
--enc-c "myminio/mybucket/prefix/=bXlidWNrZXQzMmJ5dGVlbmNyeXB0aW9ua2V5c3NlYwo"
```

> [!NOTE]
> **Note**
>
> MinIO strongly recommends against using SSE-C encryption in production workloads. Use SSE-KMS via the `--enc-kms` or SSE-S3 via `--enc-s3` parameters instead.

##### `--offset` {#mc.cat.-offset}

*mc-cmd*

*Optional*

Specify an integer that is the number of bytes from which the command offsets the output.

Mutually exclusive with the [`--part-number`](#mc.cat.-part-number) flag.

##### `--part-number` {#mc.cat.-part-number}

*mc-cmd*

*Optional*

Download a specific part number of a multi-part upload. Specify the integer of the part number to download.

Mutually exclusive with the [`--offset`](#mc.cat.-offset) and [`--tail`](#mc.cat.-tail) flags.

##### `--rewind` {#mc.cat.-rewind}

*mc-cmd*

*Optional*

Directs [`mc cat`](#command-mc.cat) to operate only on the object version(s) that existed at specified point-in-time.

- To rewind to a specific date in the past, specify the date as an ISO8601-formatted timestamp. For example: `--rewind "2020.03.24T10:00"`.
- To rewind a duration in time, specify the duration as a string in `#d#hh#mm#ss` format. For example: `--rewind "1d2hh3mm4ss"`.

[`--rewind`](#mc.cat.-rewind) requires that the specified [`ALIAS`](#mc.cat.ALIAS) be an S3-compatible service that supports [Bucket Versioning](/administration/object-management/object-versioning/#minio-bucket-versioning). For MinIO deployments, use [`mc version`](/reference/minio-mc/mc-version/#command-mc.version) to enable or disable bucket versioning.

##### `--tail` {#mc.cat.-tail}

*mc-cmd*

*Optional*

Specify an integer that is the number of bytes from which the command trims the output.

Mutually exclusive with the [`--part-number`](#mc.cat.-part-number) flag.

##### `--version-id, vid` {#mc.cat.-version-id}

*mc-cmd*

*Optional*

Directs [`mc cat`](#command-mc.cat) to operate only on the specified object version.

[`--version-id`](#mc.cat.-version-id) requires that the specified [`ALIAS`](#mc.cat.ALIAS) be an S3-compatible service that supports [Bucket Versioning](/administration/object-management/object-versioning/#minio-bucket-versioning). For MinIO deployments, use [`mc version`](/reference/minio-mc/mc-version/#command-mc.version) to enable or disable bucket versioning.

##### `--zip` {#mc.cat.-zip}

*mc-cmd*

*Optional*

Extracts the contents from a zip file on the source to the remote. Requires a MinIO deployment as the source `ALIAS`.

### Global Flags {#global-flags}

This command supports any of the [global flags](/reference/minio-mc/#minio-mc-global-options).

## Examples {#examples}

### View an S3 Object {#view-an-s3-object}

Use [`mc cat`](#command-mc.cat) to return the object:

```shell
mc cat ALIAS/PATH
```

- Replace [`ALIAS`](#mc.cat.ALIAS) with the [`alias`](/reference/minio-mc/mc-alias/#command-mc.alias) of the S3-compatible host.
- Replace [`PATH`](#mc.cat.ALIAS) with the path to the object on the S3-compatible host.

### View an S3 Object at a Point-In-Time {#view-an-s3-object-at-a-point-in-time}

Use [`mc cat --rewind`](#mc.cat.-rewind) to return the object at a specific point-in-time in the past:

```shell
mc cat ALIAS/PATH --rewind DURATION
```

- Replace [`ALIAS`](#mc.cat.ALIAS) with the [`alias`](/reference/minio-mc/mc-alias/#command-mc.alias) of the S3-compatible host.
- Replace [`PATH`](#mc.cat.ALIAS) with the path to the object on the S3-compatible host.
- Replace [`DURATION`](#mc.cat.-rewind) with the point-in-time in the past at which the command returns the object. For example, specify `30d` to return the version of the object 30 days prior to the current date.

> [!NOTE]
> **Requires Versioning**
>
> [`mc cat`](#command-mc.cat) requires [bucket versioning](/administration/object-management/object-versioning/#minio-bucket-versioning) to use this feature. Use [`mc version`](/reference/minio-mc/mc-version/#command-mc.version) to enable versioning on a bucket.

### View an S3 Object with Specific Version {#view-an-s3-object-with-specific-version}

Use [`mc cat --version-id`](#mc.cat.-version-id) to return a specific version of the object:

```shell
mc cat ALIAS/PATH --version-id VERSION
```

- Replace [`ALIAS`](#mc.cat.ALIAS) with the [`alias`](/reference/minio-mc/mc-alias/#command-mc.alias) of the S3-compatible host.
- Replace [`PATH`](#mc.cat.ALIAS) with the path to the object on the S3-compatible host.
- Replace [`VERSION`](#mc.cat.-version-id) with the specific version of the object to return.

> [!NOTE]
> **Requires Versioning**
>
> [`mc cat`](#command-mc.cat) requires [bucket versioning](/administration/object-management/object-versioning/#minio-bucket-versioning) to use this feature. Use [`mc version`](/reference/minio-mc/mc-version/#command-mc.version) to enable versioning on a bucket.

### Download a particular part {#download-a-particular-part}

Use [`mc cat --part-number`](#mc.cat.-part-number) to download a particular part of a multi-part upload:

```shell
mc cat ALIAS/PATH --part-number=#
```

- Replace [`ALIAS`](#mc.cat.ALIAS) with the [`alias`](/reference/minio-mc/mc-alias/#command-mc.alias) of the S3-compatible host.
- Replace [`PATH`](#mc.cat.ALIAS) with the path to the object on the S3-compatible host.
- Replace `#` with the integer of the part number to download. For example, to download part 3 of at 16-part multi-part file, use `--part-number=3`.

You cannot use the `--part-number` flag if you are using either the `--offset` or the `--tail` flags.

## Behavior {#behavior}

### S3 Compatibility {#s3-compatibility}

SILO is the supported server for PGSTY mcli; compatibility with upstream MinIO and other S3 services is [best effort](/reference/minio-mc/#command-mc).