Quick Tip

Taming Terminal Noise: Unified Logging with `2>&1`

Challenge: When running commands or scripts that produce both standard output (stdout) and standard error (stderr), it can be difficult to manage and analyze the combined output, especially when redirecting to a file.

The Solution: Redirect both stdout and stderr to a single stream using `2>&1`.

your_command_here &> output.log

Why it works: The `&>` operator is a shorthand for `>` (redirect stdout) and `2>&1` (redirect stderr to stdout). This ensures all output from your command, whether it’s normal output or an error message, is captured in one place.

Pro-Tip: You can also use `| tee output.log` to both display output on the terminal and save it to a file simultaneously.

Linux Tips & Tricks | © ngelinux.com | 6/4/2026