> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tokenfactory.nebius.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # cat - Show file content from the image Display the contents of a file from the session image. ## Examples ```bash theme={null} # 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 ``` ## 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

## 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: ```bash theme={null} contree cat /usr/bin/curl > curl ``` For downloading files to a specific local path, use [cp - Download a file from the image](./cp) instead. ## See also * [ls - List files in the image](./ls) – list files before viewing * [cp - Download a file from the image](./cp) – download to a local path with progress