Input redirection operator

A leftward angle bracket feeding a file into a command.

Everyday & digitalStandard profile

Meaning

A less-than sign after a command makes it read from the named file instead of from the terminal, which is how a program that expects typed input is given a file.

Officially standardisedVerified fact
POSIX defines the less-than sign as input redirection: the command's standard input is taken from the named file.
Contexts: Software

Visual description

Two straight strokes meeting at a point on the left, opening toward the right, drawn at the height of a line of text.

Symmetry: horizontal
Orientation: upright

Commonly confused with: Less-than sign
The same character used for a different job: comparison in mathematics, redirection in a shell.
Opposite of: Output redirection operator
Both are built from abstract forms, and both are used in software contexts.

Compare: Less-than sign vs input redirection →

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard, but only a single source has been found so far.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is defined by a current official standard, but only a single source has been found so far.
Visual matchModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.

Sources

POSIX.1-2024, Shell Command Language
The Open Group / IEEE · retrieved 2026-08-01
Cited for the shell's operator grammar — which characters are operators and what they do — and for nothing outside it. It standardises a notation that already existed rather than inventing one, so records here describe documented practice that POSIX also pins down.

Last reviewed 2026-08-01

Part of

Shell operators

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Meaning

A less-than sign after a command makes it read from the named file instead of from the terminal, which is how a program that expects typed input is given a file.

Officially standardisedVerified fact

POSIX defines the less-than sign as input redirection: the command's standard input is taken from the named file.

Contexts: Software

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard, but only a single source has been found so far.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is defined by a current official standard, but only a single source has been found so far.
Visual matchModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.

Sources

POSIX.1-2024, Shell Command Language
The Open Group / IEEE · retrieved 2026-08-01
Cited for the shell's operator grammar — which characters are operators and what they do — and for nothing outside it. It standardises a notation that already existed rather than inventing one, so records here describe documented practice that POSIX also pins down.

Last reviewed 2026-08-01

Meaning

Visual description

Related & commonly confused symbols

Meaning

Visual description

Related & commonly confused symbols