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 logging to a file.

The Solution: Redirect both stdout and stderr to a single destination using the `2>&1` redirection operator.

your_command &> output.log

Why it works: The `&>` shorthand is a convenient way to redirect both stdout (file descriptor 1) and stderr (file descriptor 2) to the specified file. Alternatively, you can use `your_command > output.log 2>&1` where `>` redirects stdout, and `2>&1` explicitly redirects stderr to the same place as stdout.

Pro-Tip: Use this redirection in conjunction with `tee` to view output on the screen while simultaneously logging it to a file: your_command 2>&1 | tee output.log

Linux Tips & Tricks | © ngelinux.com | 6/5/2026