How do I make a .nanorc file that nano will read when I start it?
It’s not hard at all! But, your version of nano must have been compiled with –enable-nanorc, and again must be version 1.1.12 or newer (use nano -V to check your version and compiled features). Then simply copy the nanorc.sample that came with the nano source or your nano package (most likely in /usr/doc/nano) to .nanorc in your home directory. If you didn’t get one, the syntax is simple. Flags are turned on and off by using the word set and the getopt_long flag for the feature, for example “set pico” or “set nowrap”.
