Nushell's `explore` Command: A Table Pager

1st chunk of `book/explore.md`

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# `explore`

Explore is a table pager, just like `less` but for table structured data.

## Signature

`> explore --head --index --reverse --peek`

### Parameters

 -  `--head {bool}`: Show or hide column headers (default true)
 -  `--index, -i`: Show row indexes when viewing a list
 -  `--tail, -t`: Start with the viewport scrolled to the bottom
 -  `--peek, -p`: When quitting, output the value of the cell the cursor was on

## Get Started

```nu
ls | explore -i
```



So the main point of [`explore`](/commands/docs/explore.md) is `:table` (Which you see on the above screenshot).

You can interact with it via `<Left>`, `<Right>`, `<Up>`, `<Down>` _arrow keys_. It also supports the `Vim` keybindings `<h>`, `<j>`, `<k>`, and `<l>`, `<Ctrl-f>` and `<Ctrl-b>`, and it supports the `Emacs` keybindings `<Ctrl-v>`, `<Alt-v>`, `<Ctrl-p>`, and `<Ctrl-n>`.

You can inspect a underlying values by entering into cursor mode. You can press either `<i>` or `<Enter>` to do so.
Then using _arrow keys_ you can choose a necessary cell.
And you'll be able to see it's underlying structure.

You can obtain more information about the various aspects of it by `:help`.

## Commands

[`explore`](/commands/docs/explore.md) has a list of built in commands you can use. Commands are run through pressing `<:>` and then a command name.

To find out the comprehensive list of commands you can type `:help`.

## Config

You can configure many things (including styles and colors), via config.
You can find an example configuration in [`default-config.nu`](https://github.com/nushell/nushell/blob/main/crates/nu-utils/src/default_files/default_config.nu).

## Examples

### Peeking a Value

```nu
$nu | explore --peek
```

Title: Nushell's `explore` Command: A Table Pager

Summary

The `explore` command in Nushell is a table pager similar to `less`, designed for structured data. It allows users to navigate tables using arrow keys, Vim keybindings, or Emacs keybindings. Users can inspect underlying cell values by entering cursor mode with `<i>` or `<Enter>`. `explore` has built-in commands accessed via `<:>` and is configurable through the Nushell config. The `--peek` option outputs the value of the cell the cursor was on when quitting.