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Display the contents of a file from the session image.

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Examples

# View a text file
contree cat /etc/os-release

# Pipe to another command
contree cat /var/log/app.log | grep ERROR

# Redirect to a local file
contree cat /etc/nginx/nginx.conf > nginx.conf

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Help output

$ contree cat —help
usage: contree cat [-h] path

Show file content from the session image.

Downloads and displays a file from the current session image via the
/inspect/ API without spawning an instance. Binary files are refused
when stdout is a terminal — use shell redirection or `contree cp` to
save them locally.

Results are cached per (image, path) so repeated reads are instant.

positional arguments:
  path        Path inside image

options:
  -h, —help  show this help message and exit

for coding agents:
  read-only command (inspect API, no instance spawn)
  binary output is blocked on interactive TTY; pipe or use cp for binaries
  —format is ignored; output is raw file content

agent note:
  Before using this command in an automated workflow, read:
    contree agent

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Behavior

The file is read directly from the image – no sandbox is started. Binary files are detected and refused when output is a terminal (to protect your shell). Redirect to a file or pipe to another command to handle binary content: 
contree cat /usr/bin/curl > curl
For downloading files to a specific local path, use cp - Download a file from the image instead.

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See also