3.1. Alphabetical Summary of Commands
accept [option]destination
System administration command. Instruct printing system to accept jobs for the specified print queue or queues. Depending on queue settings, the system may prompt for a password. Also invoked as cupsaccept. Option
-E Require encryption when connecting.
access [mode] [filename]
Check whether a file is available for the action specified with the mode argument: r for read, w for write, x for execute. Used mostly in scripting, access works better than test because it uses a direct system call rather than looking at the file permissions, which can be misleading when a filesystem is mounted read-only. Options
--help Display help message, then quit.
--version Display version, then quit.
aclocal [options]
GNU autoconf tool. Place m4 macro definitions needed by autoconf into a single file. The aclocal command first scans for macro definitions in m4 files in its default directory (/usr/share/aclocal on some systems) and in the file acinclude.m4. It next scans for macros used in the configure.in file. It generates an aclocal.m4 file that contains definitions of all m4 macros required by autoconf. Options
--acdir=dir Look for macro files in directory dir instead of the default directory.
--help Print help message, then exit.
-I dir Additionally, search directory dir for m4 macro definitions.
--output=file Save output to file instead of aclocal.m4.
--print-ac-dir Print the name of the directory to be searched for m4 files, then exit.
--verbose Print names of files being processed.
--version Print version number, then exit.
aconnect [options] [sender] [receiver] aconnect [options]
Like its GUI relative alsa-patch-bay, aconnect connects ports in MIDI hardware and software to route events, similar to running patch cables between different mixers and synthesizers in an all-hardware audio system. aconnect is part of the ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture) system. Options
-d,--disconnect Undo the connection described.
-e,--exclusive The connection being created must be exclusive: the sender and receiver ports may not connect to any other port.
-i,--input List all input (sender) ports. This flag is used without any other arguments or flags.
-o, --output List all output (receiver) ports. This flag is used without any other arguments or flags.
-r, --real queue-name All events processed through this connection get new timestamps from the named real-time queue. The receiving port must have access to, and use, the real-time queue.
-t, --tick queue-name All events processed through this connection get new timestamps from the specified tick queue.
-x, --remove-all Cancel all connections. This flag is used without any other arguments or flags.
acpi [options]
Displays information about the ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) system, based on the /proc/acpi file. Most kernels after 2.4 support ACPI hardware, and in both hardware and software, ACPI is gradually replacing the older APM (Advanced Power Management) system. Some operating systems, including SUSE, ship a combined ACPI/APM power interface called powersaved. Most, however, require either ACPI or APM software. Note that some ACPI systems have special events that are not available on others. For example, IBM laptops have events related to their docking stations and keyboard lights that are not used on nondocking or unlighted laptops. On all systems, the /proc/acpi directory must be present for acpi commands to work. Options
-b, --battery Display battery information.
-B, --without-battery Do not display battery information.
-t, --thermal Display temperature information.
-T, --without-thermal Do not display temperature information.
-a, --ac-adapter Show whether the AC adapter is connected.
-A, --without-ac-adapter Do not show information about the AC adapter.
-V, --everything Show all information on every device.
-s, --show-empty Display information even on devices that are not available or not installed, such as empty slots for extra batteries.
-S, --hide-empty Do not display information on devices that are not operational or not installed.
-c, --celcius Use degrees Celsius as the temperature unit. This is the default unit.
-d, --directory /path Use the specified path to ACPI information. The default path is /proc/acpi.
-f, --fahrenheit Use degrees Fahrenheit as the temperature unit.
-h, --help Display help information.
-k, --kelvin Use degrees Kelvin as the temperature unit.
-v, --version Display version information.
acpi_available
Determine whether ACPI functionality exists. Returns 0 for true and 1 for false.
acpid [options]
Daemon that informs user-space programs about ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) events, such as battery warnings, power-supply changes, and laptop lid closings. As ACPI hardware replaces older APM (Advanced Power Management) hardware, acpid replaces apmd. Like other daemons, this application is controlled primarily through a configuration file that determines which events merit action, and what those actions are. In some operating systems, including SUSE Linux and its relatives, all power management is handled by a combined ACPI/APM system called powersave and this daemon is not installed. Options
-c directory, --confdir=directory Set the directory used for configuration files. The default directory is /etc/acpi/events. All files in this directory, except those beginning with a period (.), are parsed as configuration files. Typically, a single file is used for each ACPI event to be acted upon. In the configuration files, blank lines and those beginning with # are ignored. Other lines are expected to consist of a regular expression and a command to be executed when an ACPI event matches the expression.
-d, --debug Debug mode: run the daemon in the foreground and send all log output to stderr and stdout, rather than a logfile.
-e filename,--eventfile=filename Set the file used to find events. Normally this is /proc/acpi/event.
-g group,--socketgroup=group Set the group ownership of the socket to which acpid publishes events. This allows you to restrict which users on the system can access ACPI event information.
-l filename,--logfile=filename Set the logfile location. Normally, it is /var/log/acpid.
-m mode,--socketmode=mode Set the permission mode of the socket. Normally, it is 666, with the sticky bit off.
-s filename,--socketfile=filename Set the file used to define the socket. Normally, this is /var/run/acpid.socket.
-S,--nosocket Tells acpid not to open a socket at all. Overrides all other socket options.
-v,--version Print version information and quit.
-h,--help Print help message and quit.
addr2line [options] [addresses]
Translate hexadecimal program addresses into filenames and line numbers for the executable given with the -e option, or a.out if -e is not specified. If addresses are given on the command line, display the filename and line number for each address. Otherwise, read the addresses from standard input and display the results on standard output (useful for use in a pipe). addr2line prints two question marks (??) if it cannot determine a filename, and 0 if it cannot determine the line number. addr2line is used for debugging. Options
-b bfdname, --target=bfdname Set the binary file format using its binary file descriptor name, bfdname. Use the -h option for a list of supported formats for your system.
-C, --demangle[=style] Decode (demangle) low-level symbol names into usernames. See the -h help output for a list of styles supported by your compiler.
-e file, --exe=file Specify the filename of the executable to use. The default filename is a.out.
-f, --functions Display function names in addition to filenames and line numbers.
-h, --help Display help information and exit.
-s, --basenames Strip directories off filenames and show only the basenames.
addresses [-p port]
Connect to the PalmOS device on the specified port, and dump the addresses from the address book to stdout. Part of the pilot-link package of tools for managing PalmOS devices.
agetty [options] port baudrate [term]
System administration command. The Linux version of getty. Set terminal type, modes, speed, and line discipline. agetty is invoked by init. It is the second process in the series init-getty-login-shell, which ultimately connects a user with the Linux system. agetty reads the user's login name and invokes the login command with the user's name as an argument. While reading the name, agetty attempts to adapt the system to the speed and type of device being used. You must specify a port, which agetty will search for in the /dev directory. You may use -, in which case agetty reads from standard input. You must also specify baudrate, which may be a comma-separated list of rates through which agetty will step. Optionally, you may specify the term, which is used to override the TERM environment variable. Options
-f file Specify the use of file instead of /etc/issue upon connection to terminal. It is overridden by -i.
-h Specify hardware, not software, flow control.
-H hostname Write login hostname into the utmp file. By default, no login host is specified.
-I string Specify string to be sent to the tty or modem.
-i Suppress printing of /etc/issue before printing the login prompt.
-l program Specify the use of program instead of /bin/login.
-L Do not require carrier detect; operate locally only. Use this when connecting terminals.
-m Attempt to guess the appropriate baud rate.
-n Don't prompt for a login name.
-t timeout Specify that agetty should exit if the open on the line succeeds and there is no response to the login prompt in timeout seconds.
-w Wait for carriage return or linefeed before sending login prompt. Use when sending an initialization string.
alsactl [options] [store|restore] card
Controls advanced configuration settings for sound cards using the ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture) system. Settings are written to configuration files using the store function and loaded from those files with the restore function. Options
-d,--debug Debug mode: increased information output to the console.
-f file, --f=file Specify the use of file instead of /etc/asound.state as a configuration file.
-F,--force Force the restoration of settings.
-h,--help Display help message and quit.
-v,--version Display version information and quit.
amidi [options]
Read and write raw MIDI files (.syx format, without timing information) to ALSA ports. For standard MIDI (.mid) files, use aplaymidi and arecordmidi. Options
-a,--active-sensing Record and send active-sensing (FEh) bytes in MIDI commands. By default, these bytes are ignored.
-d,--dump Output all received data directly to the screen.
-h,--help Display help information and quit.
-l,--list-devices List all hardware MIDI ports.
-L,--list-rawmidis List all RawMIDI definitions. Useful for debugging configuration files.
-p,--port=name Use the specified port. This overrides the port set in the configuration file. If neither this flag nor the configuration file sets a port, the default is port 0 on device 0, which may or may not exist.
-r,--receive=filename Write data from the port specified with the -p or --port flag to the file named here. This will be a raw file, and should end in .syx. Unless you use the -a option, it will not contain any Active Sensing (FEh) bytes.
-s,--send=filename Send the file to the port specified with the -p or --port flag. Use raw (.syx) MIDI files only.
-S,--send-hex="hex-numbers..." Send a string of hexadecimal numbers to the port specified with the -p or --port flag.
-t,--timeout=n Stop listening after n seconds of receiving no data.
-V,--version Display version information and quit.
amixer [-ccard] [command]
Command-line ALSA mixer. For an ncurses interface, use alsamixer. amixer displays or changes the current mixer settings for the current sound card and sound device. To display all mixer settings, use with no flags or commands. Commands
controls Displays a complete list of card controls. These controls can be set with the cset command, in contrast to simple mixer controls, which use set or sset.
contents List card controls and their contents.
cget [control] Display the contents of the specified card control.
cset [control] [parameter] Set the card control to the value specified in the parameter. Card controls may be identified by iface, name, index, device, subdevice, or numid. The parameter will normally be a number or percentage value. For example, the command amixer -c 1 cset numid=16 50% will set the 16th element of the first sound card to 50%.
get,sget [control] Display the current values for the specified control.
help Display help message and quit.
info Displays information about the card specified with the -c flag.
scontrols Display a list of simple mixer controls. Simple mixer controls can be set with the set or sset commands, in contrast to card controls, which use the cset command.
set,sset [control] [parameter] Set one of the controls listed by scontrols. You can specify the volume with a percentage from 0% to 100%, or a specific hardware value. By appending + or - to the number, you will increase or decrease the volume by that amount. To set recording and muting values, use the parameters cap (meaning capture, or record), nocap,mute,unmute, or toggle. To specify individual channels, use the parameters front, rear, center, or woofer. For example, the command amixer -c 1 sset Line,0 100% unmute will set Line 0 on the first sound card to 100% and unmute it.
Options
-c n The number of the card to adjust.
-D devicename Specify the name of the device. By default, the name is default.
-h Display help information and quit.
-q Quiet mode: do not show the results of changes made.
anacron [options] [job]
System administration command. Normally started in a system startup file. Execute commands periodically. By default, anacron reads a list of jobs from a configuration file, /etc/anacrontab. The file consists of shell variables to use when running commands, followed by a list of tasks to run. Each task specifies how often in days it should be run, a delay in minutes to wait before running the task, a unique job identifier used to store a timestamp, and the shell command to execute. Timestamps for the last run of each task are stored in the /var/spool/anacron file. For each task, anacron compares the stored timestamp against the current time. If the command has not been executed within the specified frequency, the command is run. Upon completion, anacron records the new date in the timestamp file. Limit anacron to a specified task by providing the task's unique job identifier on the command line. The anacron command is often used to support the cron daemon on systems that do not run continuously. Options
-d Run in foreground rather than as a background process. Send messages to standard error.
-f Run tasks ignoring timestamps.
-h Print help message, then exit.
-n Run tasks now, ignoring delay specifications.
-q Suppress messages to standard error when using the -d option.
-s Execute tasks serially. Do not start new task until previous task is completed.
-t file Read tasks from file instead of from /etc/anacrontab.
-u Update timestamps for tasks, but don't run them.
-V Print version number, then exit.
aplay [options] [file]
Play sound files using the ALSA sound system. The related arecord records sound files. Options
-h Print help message, then exit.
--version Print version and quit.
-l,--list-devices List available sound cards and digital audio devices.
-L,--list-pcms List all PCM (pulse-coded modulation, or digital audio) devices that have been defined. PCMs may be defined in the .asoundrc file.
-D,--device=devicename Select a PCM device by name.
-q Do not display messages.
-t,--file-type=type Name the file type used. Files may be voc, wav, raw, or au.
-c,--channels=n Use n channels: 1 for mono, 2 for stereo.
-f,--format=format Specify the sample format. The sample formats available will depend on hardware. For CD and DAT output, use the cd and dat shortcuts, which set the sample rate, format, and channel numbers all at once.
-r,--rate=n Set the sample rate in Hertz.
-d,--duration=n Set an interrupt for n seconds after playback begins.
-s,--sleep-min=n
aplaymidi [options] [file]
Play MIDI files using the ALSA sound system; output is to ALSA sequencer ports. Options
-d,--delay=n Delay n seconds at the end of a file to allow for reverberation of the final notes.
-h Print help message, then exit.
-V Print version and quit.
-l List output ports available.
-p,--port=client:port Specify the port to which the MIDI file will be sent. If no port is specified, the file will be sent to port 0.
apm [options]
Display current Advanced Power Management hardware information, such as battery life, or send the system into standby or suspend-to-disk mode. Used on older systems, and replaced by acpi and related commands.
-V, --version Display version information and quit.
-v,--verbose Verbose mode. Display information about the APM BIOS and Linux APM driver.
-m, --minutes Display estimated minutes of battery life remaining. Default format is in hours and minutes.
-s, --suspend Suspend system to disk. Suspending the system to disk is equivalent to turning it off, but boot time will be faster and the system will resume exactly where it was before suspend.
-S, --standby Set system to standby. This will normally turn off the monitor and spin down the disk drives, reducing energy consumption by approximately 50 percent. Recovery from this mode is more rapid than from a full suspend to disk, but the system is still running.
-i,--ignore When the system is using AC power, ignore suspend or standby requests generated by the system.
-n,--noignore Do not ignore any suspend or standby events. This overrides a previously issued -i flag.
apmd [options]
System administration command. apmd handles events reported by the Advanced Power Management BIOS driver. The driver reports on battery level and requests to enter sleep or suspend mode. apmd will log any reports it gets via syslogd and take steps to make sure that basic sleep and suspend requests are handled gracefully. You can fine-tune the behavior of apmd by editing the apmd_proxy script, which apmd runs when it receives an event. Note that the APM hardware standard is gradually being replaced by the ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) standard, and apmd by acpid. On SUSE Linux, both APM and ACPI hardware are handled by powersave and powersaved. Options
-c n, --check n Set the number of seconds to wait for an event before rechecking the power level. Default is to wait indefinitely. Setting this causes the battery levels to be checked more frequently.
-p n, --percentage n Log information whenever the power changes by n percent. The default is 5. Values greater than 100 will disable logging of power changes.
-P command, --apmd_proxy command Specify the apmd_proxy command to run when APM driver events are reported. This is generally a shell script. The command will be invoked with parameters indicating what kind of event was received. The parameters are listed in the next section.
-v, --verbose Verbose mode; all events are logged.
-V, --version Print version and exit.
-w n, --warn n Log a warning at ALERT level when the battery charge drops below n percent. The default is 10. Negative values disable low-battery-level warnings.
-W, --wall Use wall to alert all users of a low battery status.
-q, --quiet Disable low-battery-level warnings.
-?, --help Print help summary and exit.
Parameters The apmd proxy script is invoked with the following parameters:
start Invoked when the daemon starts.
stop Invoked when the daemon stops.
suspend [ system | user ] Invoked when the daemon receives a suspend request. The second parameter indicates whether the request was made by the system or by the user. Suspend, also known as "hibernate," effectively powers the system down but has a quicker recovery than a normal boot process.
standby [ system | user ] Invoked when the daemon receives a standby request. The second parameter indicates whether the request was made by the system or by the user. Standby mode powers off the monitor and disks, but the system continues to run and use power.
resume [ suspend | standby | critical ] Invoked when the system resumes normal operation. The second parameter indicates the mode the system was in before resuming. critical suspends indicate an emergency shutdown. After a critical suspend, the system may be unstable, and you can use the resume command to help you recover from the suspension.
change power Invoked when system power is changed from AC to battery or from battery to AC.
change battery Invoked when the APM BIOS driver reports that the battery is low.
change capability Invoked when the APM BIOS driver reports that some hardware that affects its capability has been added or removed.
apropos string ...
Search the short manual page descriptions in the whatis database for occurrences of each string and display the result on the standard output. Like whatis, except that it searches for strings instead of words. Equivalent to man -k.
apt
The Advanced Package Tool, the Debian package management system. A freely available packaging system for software distribution and installation. For detailed information on apt and its commands, see Chapter 5.
ar key [args] [posname] [count] archive [files]
Maintain a group of files that are combined into a file archive. Used most commonly to create and update static library files, as used by the link editor (ld). Compiler frontends often call ar automatically. Only one key letter may be used, but each can be combined with additional args (with no separations between). posname is the name of a file in archive. When moving or replacing files, you can specify that they be placed before or after posname. ar has largely been superseded by tar and bzip2. Keys
d Delete files from archive.
m Move files to end of archive.
p Print files in archive.
q Append files to archive.
r Replace files in archive.
t List the contents of archive or list the named files.
x Extract contents from archive or only the named files.
Arguments
a Use with r or m key to place files in the archive after posname.
b Same as a, but before posname.
c Create archive silently.
f Truncate long filenames.
i Same as b.
l For backward compatibility; meaningless in Linux.
N Use count parameter. Where multiple entries with the same name are found, use the count instance.
o Preserve original timestamps.
P Use full pathname. Useful for non-POSIX-compliant archives.
s Force regeneration of archive symbol table (useful after running strip).
S Do not regenerate symbol table.
u Use with r to replace only files that have changed since being put in archive.
v Verbose; print a description of actions taken.
V Print version number.
Example Replace mylib.a with object files from the current directory: ar r mylib.a `ls *.o`
arch
Print machine architecture type to standard output. Equivalent to uname -m.
arecord [options] [filename]
Records sound using ALSA. Accepts the same arguments and options as aplay.
arecord [options] [filename]
Records midi files using ALSA. You must specify the port using the -p flag. Options
-p,--port=host:port Set the sequencer host and port used. The default host is the local host, and the default is port 0.
-h,--help Display help message.
-v,--version Display version number.
-l, --list List available ports.
-b,--bmp=n Set the tempo value to n beats per minute. The default is 120.
-f,--fps=n Set timing (SMPTE resolution) to n frames per second. The value is normally 24, 25, 29.97 (NTSC dropframe), or 30.
-t,--ticks=n Set the frequency with which timestamps, or ticks, are used in the file. For MIDI files using musical tempo, timestamps are set in ticks per beat (default 384), while those with SMPTE timing use ticks per frame (default 40).
-s,--split-channels For each channel of input, create a separate track in the MIDI output file.
arp [options]
TCP/IP command. Clear, add to, or dump the kernel's Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) cache (/proc/net/arp). ARP is used to translate protocol addresses to hardware interface addresses. Modifying your ARP cache can change which interfaces handle specific requests. ARP cache entries may be marked with the following flags: C (complete), M (permanent), and P (publish). While arp can create a proxy for a single system, subnet proxies are now handled by the arp kernel module, arp(7). See the "Linux 2.4 or later Advanced Routing HOWTO" for details. Options host option arguments may be given as either a hostname or an IP address. With the -D option, they may also be given as a hardware interface address (e.g., eth0, eth1).
-a [hosts], --display [hosts] Display entries for hosts or, if none are specified, all entries.
-d host [pub], --delete host [pub] Remove the specified host's entry. To delete a proxy entry, add the pub argument and specify the interface associated with the proxy using -i.
-D, --use-device Use the hardware address associated with the specified interface. This may be used with -s when creating a proxy entry.
-f file, --file file Read entries from file and add them.
-H type, --hw-type type, -t type Search for type entries when examining the ARP cache. type is usually ether (Ethernet), which is the default, but may be ax25 (AX.25 packet radio), arcnet (ARCnet), pronet (PROnet), or netrom (NET/ROM).
-i interface, --device interface Select an interface. If you are dumping the ARP cache, this option will cause the command to display only the entries using that interface. When setting entries, this will cause the interface to be associated with that entry. If you do not use this option when setting an entry, the kernel will guess.
-n, --numeric Display host IP addresses instead of their domain names.
-s host hardware-address [netmask mask] [pub], --set host hardware-address [pub] Add a permanent entry for host at hardware-address. A hardware-address for type ether hardware is 6 hexadecimal bytes, colon-separated. The pub argument can be used to set the publish flag, creating a proxy entry.
-v, --verbose Verbose mode.
Examples Display entry for host eris: arp -a eris
Set a permanent cache entry for host illuminati, whose hardware address you know: arp -s illuminati 00:05:23:73:e6:cf
Set an ARP proxy for host fnord using the eth0 interface's hardware address: arp -Ds fnord eth0 pub
Remove the fnord ARP proxy: arp -i eth0 -d fnord pub
as [options] files
Generate an object file from each specified assembly-language source file. Object files have the same root name as source files but replace the .s suffix with .o. There may be some additional system-specific options. Options
-- [ | files] Read input files from standard input, or from files if the pipe is used.
-a[cdhlmns][=file] With only the -a option, list source code, assembler listing, and symbol table. The other options specify additional things to list or omit:
-ac Omit false conditionals.
-ad Omit debugging directives.
-ah Include the high-level source code, if available.
-al Include an assembly listing.
-am Include macro expansions.
-an Suppress forms processing.
-as Include a symbol listing.
=file Set the listing filename to file.
--defsym symbol=value Define the symbol to have the value value, which must be an integer.
-f Skip whitespace and comment preprocessing.
--fatal-warnings Treat warnings as errors.
--gstabs Generate debugging information in stabs format.
--gdwarf2 Generate DWARF2 debugging information.
-o objfile Place output in object file objfile (default is file.o).
--statistics Print information on how much time and space assembler uses.
-v Display the version number of the assembler.
-I path Include path when searching for .include directives.
-J Don't warn about signed overflow.
-R Combine both data and text in text section.
-W Don't show warnings.
-Z Generate object file even if there are errors.
at [options] time [date]
Execute commands at a specified time and optional date. The commands are read from standard input or from a file. (See also batch.) End input with EOF. time can be formed either as a numeric hour (with optional minutes and modifiers) or as a keyword. It can contain an optional date, formed as a month and date, a day of the week, or a special keyword (today or tomorrow). An increment can also be specified. The at command can always be issued by a privileged user. Other users must be listed in the file /etc/at.allow if it exists; otherwise, they must not be listed in /etc/at.deny. If neither file exists, only a privileged user can issue the command. Options
-c job [job...] Display the specified jobs on the standard output. This option does not take a time specification.
-d job [job...] Delete the specified jobs. Same as atrm.
-f file Read job from file, not from standard input.
-l Report all jobs that are scheduled for the invoking user. Same as atq.
-m Mail user when job has completed, regardless of whether output was created.
-q letter Place job in queue denoted by letter, where letter is any single letter from a-z or A-Z. Default queue is a. (The batch queue defaults to b.) Higher-lettered queues run at a lower priority.
-V Display the version number.
Time
hh:[mm] [modifiers] Hours can have one digit or two (a 24-hour clock is assumed by default); optional minutes can be given as one or two digits; the colon can be omitted if the format is h, hh, or hhmm (e.g., valid times are 5, 5:30, 0530, 19:45). If modifier am or pm is added, time is based on a 12-hour clock. If the keyword zulu is added, times correspond to Greenwich Mean Time.
midnight | noon | teatime | now Use any one of these keywords in place of a numeric time. teatime translates to 4:00 p.m.; now must be followed by an increment (described in a moment).
Date
month num[, year] month is one of the 12 months, spelled out or abbreviated to its first three letters; num is the calendar date of the month; year is the four-digit year. If the given month occurs before the current month, at schedules that month next year.
day One of the seven days of the week, spelled out or abbreviated to its first three letters.
today | tomorrow Indicate the current day or the next day. If date is omitted, at schedules today when the specified time occurs later than the current time; otherwise, at schedules tomorrow.
Increment Supply a numeric increment if you want to specify an execution time or day relative to the current time. The number should precede any of the keywords minute, hour, day, week, month, or year (or their plural forms). The keyword next can be used as a synonym of + 1: Examples In typical usage, you run at and input commands that you want executed at a particular time, followed by EOF. $ at 1:00 am tomorrow at> ./total_up > output at> mail joe < output at> <EOT> Entered by pressing Ctrl-D job 1 at 2003-03-19 01:00
The two commands could also be placed in a file and submitted as follows: $ at 1:00 am tomorrow < scriptfile
More examples of syntax follow. Note that the first two commands here are equivalent: $ at 1945 December 9 $ at 7:45pm Dec 9 $ at 3 am Saturday $ at now + 5 hours $ at noon next day
atd options
System administration command. Normally started in a system startup file. Execute jobs queued by the at command. Options
-b n Wait at least n seconds after beginning one job before beginning the next job. Default is 60.
-d Print error messages to standard error instead of using syslog.
-l average When system load average is higher than average, wait to begin a new job. Default is 0.8.
-s Process queue once, then exit.
atq [options]
List the user's pending jobs, unless the user is a privileged user; in that case, list everybody's jobs. Same as at -l, and related to batch and atrm. Options
-q queue Query only the specified queue and ignore all other queues.
-v Show jobs that have completed but have not yet been deleted.
-V Print the version number.
atrm [options] job [job...]
Delete jobs that have been queued for future execution. Same as at -d. Options
-q queue Remove job from the specified queue.
-V Print the version number and then exit.
audiosend [email@address]
Send an audio recording as an email from a properly equipped workstation (Sun and Sony, with microphones). After prompting for address, subject, and Cc: fields, the program asks the user to record a message, then allows him to re-record, send, or cancel. audiosend is one of the metamail tools for processing nontext MIME mail messages.
aumix [options]
Audio mixer tool. Run without any options or arguments for an ncurses-based interactive mode. Options The first set of options sets the volume level of a channel to a percentage of the maximum. Each channel is represented by a single letter or number: v for overall volume, b for bass, t for treble, s for synthesizer, w for PCM channels, c for CD, m for microphone, i for line in, o for line out, l for the main line, x for imix, and 1, 2, or 3 for lines 1, 2, and 3. Passing q as an argument to any of those flags displays their current status. Passing + or - will increase or decrease the channel volume by one, and +n or -n will adjust them by n. For example, aumix -c q -l 10 will display the CD value and set the main line to 10%. Additional options:
-C filename Use the color-scheme file specified to determine the appearance of the ncurses interface.
-d devicename Specify the mixer device to be used. The default is /dev/mixer.
-f filename Specify a settings file.
-h Display a help message and quit.
-I Interactive mode: provides an ncurses-based UI similar to alsamixer.
-L Load settings from the default .aumixrc file.
-q Query all devices, and display the results.
-S Save settings to the default .aumixrc file.
autoconf [options] [template_file]
Generate a configuration script from m4 macros defined in template_file, if given, or in a configure.ac or configure.in file in the current working directory. The generated script is almost invariably called configure. Options
-d, --debug Don't remove temporary files.
-f, --force Replace files generated previously by autoconf.
-h, --help Print help message, then exit.
-i, --initialization When tracing calls with the -t option, report calls made during initialization.
-o file, --output=file Save output to file.
-t macro, --trace=macro Report the list of calls to macro.
-v, --verbose Verbosely print information about the progress of autoconf.
-B dir, --prepend-include=dir Prepend directory dir to the search path.
-I dir, --include=dir Append directory dir to the search path.
-V, --version Print version number, then exit.
-W category, --warnings=category Print any warnings related to category. Accepted categories are:
cross Cross compilation.
obsolete Obsolete constructs.
syntax Questionable syntax.
all All warnings.
no-category Turn off warnings for category.
none Turn off all warnings.
error Treat warnings as errors.
autoheader [options] [template_file]
GNU autoconf tool. Generate a template file of C #define statements from m4 macros defined in template_file, if given, or in a configure.ac or configure.in file in the current working directory. The generated template file is almost invariably called config.h.in. Options
-d, --debug Don't remove temporary files.
-f, --force Replace files generated previously by autoheader.
-h, --help Print help message, then exit.
-o file, --output=file Save output to file.
-v, --verbose Verbosely print information about the progress of autoheader.
-B dir, --prepend-include=dir Prepend directory dir to the search path.
-I dir, --include=dir Append directory dir to the search path.
-V, --version Print version number, then exit.
-W category, --warnings=category Print any warnings related to category. Accepted categories are:
obsolete Obsolete constructs.
all All warnings.
no-category Turn off warnings for category.
none Turn off all warnings.
error Treat warnings as errors.
automake [options] [template_file]
GNU automake tool. Create GNU standards-compliant Makefile.in files from Makefile.am template files and can be used to ensure that projects contain all the files and install options required to be standards-compliant. Note that Versions 1.4 and 1.6 differ enough that many distributions include an automake14 package for backward compatibility. Options
-a, --add-missing Add any missing files that automake requires to the directory by creating symbolic links to automake's default versions.
-c, --copy Used with the -a option. Copy missing files instead of creating symbolic links.
--cygnus Specifies project has a Cygnus-style source tree.
-f, --force-missing Used with the -a option. Replace required files even if a local copy already exists.
--foreign Treat project as a non-GNU project. Check only for elements required for proper operation.
--gnu Treat project as a GNU project with the GNU project structure.
--gnits A stricter version of --gnu, performing more checks to comply with GNU project structure rules.
--help Print help message, then exit.
-i, --ignore-deps Disable automatic dependency tracking.
--libdir=dir Used with the -a option. Search in directory dir for default files.
--no-force Update only Makefile.in files that have updated dependents.
-v, --verbose List files being read or created by automake.
--version Print version number, then exit.
-Werror Treat warnings as errors.
autoreconf [options]
GNU autoconf tool. Update configure scripts by running autoconf, autoheader, aclocal, automake, and libtoolize in specified directories and subdirectories. This command is seldom invoked manually. It is usually called automatically from other autoconf tools. Options
-d, --debug Don't remove temporary files.
-f, --force Remake all configure scripts, even when newer than their template files.
-h, --help Print help message, then exit.
-i, --install Add any default files missing from package by copying versions included with autoconf and automake.
-s, --symlink Used with the -i option. Create symbolic links to default files instead of copying them.
-v, --verbose Verbosely print information about the progress of autoreconf.
-I dir, --include=dir Search in directory dir for input files.
-V, --version Print version number, then exit.
-W category, --warnings=category Print any warnings related to category. Accepted categories are:
cross Cross compilation.
obsolete Obsolete constructs.
syntax Questionable syntax.
all All warnings.
no-category Turn off warnings for category.
none Turn off all warnings.
error Treat warnings as errors.
autoscan [options] [directory]
GNU autoconf tool. Create or maintain a preliminary configure.ac file named configure.scan based on source files in specified directory, or current directory if none given. If a configure.ac file already exists, autoconf will check it for completeness and print suggestions for correcting any problems it finds. Options
-d, --debug Don't remove temporary files.
-h, --help Print help message, then exit.
-v, --verbose Verbosely print information about the progress of autoscan.
-I dir, --include=dir Search in directory dir for input files. Use multiple times to add multiple directories.
-B dir, --prepend-include=dir Search dir for input files before searching in other directories. Use multiple times to add multiple directories.
-V, --version Print version number, then exit.
autoupdate [options] [file]
GNU autoconf tool. Update the configure template file file, or configure.ac if no file is specified. This command is seldom invoked manually. It is usually called automatically from other autoconf tools. Options
-d, --debug Don't remove temporary files.
-f, --force Remake all configure scripts, even when newer than their template files.
-h, --help Print help message, then exit.
-v, --verbose Verbosely print information about the progress of autoupdate.
-I dir, --include=dir Search in directory dir for input files.
-V, --version Print version number, then exit.
badblocks [options] device block-count
System administration command. Search device for bad blocks. You must specify the number of blocks on the device (block-count). e2fsck and mke2fs will invoke badblocks automatically when given the -c option. Options
-b blocksize Expect blocksize-byte blocks.
-c blocksize Test blocksize-byte blocks at a time. Default is 16.
-f Force a read/write or nondestructive write test on a mounted device. Use only when /etc/mtab incorrectly reports a device as mounted.
-i file Skip test of known bad blocks listed in file.
-n Perform a nondestructive test by writing to each block and then reading back from it while preserving data.
-o file Direct output to file.
-p number Repeat search of device until no new bad blocks have been found in number passes. Default is 0.
-s Show block numbers as they are checked.
-t pattern Test blocks by reading and writing the specified pattern. You may specify pattern as a positive integer or as the word random. If you specifiy multiple patterns, badblocks will test all blocks with one pattern, and then test all blocks again with the next pattern. Read-only mode will accept only one pattern. It will not accept random.
-v Verbose mode.
-w Test by writing to each block and then reading back from it.
banner [option] [characters]
Print characters as a poster. If no characters are supplied, banner prompts for them and reads an input line from standard input. By default, the results go to standard output, but they are intended to be sent to a printer. Option
-w width Set width to width characters. Note that if your banner is in all lowercase, it will be narrower than width characters. If -w is not specified, the default width is 132. If -w is specified but width is not provided, the default is 80.
Example /usr/games/banner -w50 Happy Birthday! |lpr
basename name [suffix] basename option
Remove leading directory components from a path. If suffix is given, remove that also. The result is printed to standard output. This is useful mostly in a script when you need to work with a filename but can't predict its full path in every instance. Options
--help Print help message and then exit.
--version Print the version number and then exit.
Examples $ basename /usr/lib/libm.a libm.a $ basename /usr/lib/libm.a .a libm
bash [options] [file [arguments] sh [options] [file [arguments]]
Standard Linux shell, a command interpreter into which all other commands are entered. For more information, see Chapter 6.
batch [options] [time]
Execute commands entered on standard input. If time is omitted, execute commands when the system load permits (when the load average falls below 0.8). Very similar to at, but does not insist that the execution time be entered on the command line. See at for details. Options
-f file Read job from file, not standard input.
-m Mail user when job has completed, regardless of whether output was created.
-q letter Place job in queue denoted by letter, where letter is one letter from a-z or A-Z. The default queue is b. (The at queue defaults to a.) Higher-lettered queues run at a lower priority.
-V Print the version number and then exit.
-v Display the time a job will be executed.
bc [options] [files]
bc is a language (and compiler) whose syntax resembles that of C, but with unlimited-precision arithmetic. bc consists of identifiers, keywords, and symbols, which are briefly described in the following entries. Examples are given at the end. Interactively perform arbitrary-precision arithmetic or convert numbers from one base to another. Input can be taken from files or read from the standard input. To exit, type quit or EOF. Options
-h, --help Print help message and exit.
-i, --interactive Interactive mode.
-l, --mathlib Make functions from the math library available.
-s, --standard Ignore all extensions, and process exactly as in POSIX.
-w, --warn When extensions to POSIX bc are used, print a warning.
-q, --quiet Do not display welcome message.
-v, --version Print version number.
Identifiers An identifier is a series of one or more characters. It must begin with a lowercase letter but may also contain digits and underscores. No uppercase letters are allowed. Identifiers are used as names for variables, arrays, and functions. Variables normally store arbitrary-precision numbers. Within the same program you may name a variable, an array, and a function using the same letter. The following identifiers would not conflict:
x Variable x.
x[i] Element i of array x. i can range from 0 to 2047 and can also be an expression.
x(y,z) Call function x with parameters y and z.
Input-output keywords ibase, obase, scale, and last store a value. Typing them on a line by themselves displays their current value. You can also change their values through assignment. The letters A-F are treated as digits whose values are 10-15.
ibase = n Numbers that are input (e.g., typed) are read as base n (default is 10).
obase = n Numbers that are displayed are in base n (default is 10). Note: once ibase has been changed from 10, use A to restore ibase or obase to decimal.
scale = n Display computations using n decimal places (default is 0, meaning that results are truncated to integers). scale is normally used only for base-10 computations.
last Value of last printed number.
Statement keywords A semicolon or a newline separates one statement from another. Curly braces are needed when grouping multiple statements:
if (rel-expr) {statements} [else {statements}] Do one or more statements if relational expression rel-expr is true. Otherwise, do nothing, or if else (an extension) is specified, do alternative statements. For example: if (x= =y) {i = i + 1} else {i = i - 1}
while (rel-expr) {statements} Repeat one or more statements while rel-expr is true. For example: while (i>0) {p = p*n; q = a/b; i = i-1}
for (expr1; rel-expr; expr2) {statements} Similar to while. For example, to print the first 10 multiples of 5, you could type: for (i=1; i<=10; i++) i*5
GNU bc does not require three arguments to for. A missing argument 1 or 3 means that those expressions will never be evaluated. A missing argument 2 evaluates to the value 1.
break Terminate a while or for statement.
print list GNU extension. It provides an alternate means of output. list consists of a series of comma-separated strings and expressions; print displays these entities in the order of the list. It does not print a newline when it terminates. Expressions are evaluated, printed, and assigned to the special variable last. Strings (which may contain special charactersi.e., characters beginning with \) are simply printed. Special characters can be:
a Alert or bell
b Backspace
f Form feed
n Newline
r Carriage return
q Double quote
t Tab
\ Backslash
continue GNU extension. When within a for statement, jump to the next iteration.
halt GNU extension. Cause the bc processor to quit when executed.
quit GNU extension. Cause the bc processor to quit whether line is executed or not.
limits GNU extension. Print the limits enforced by the local version of bc.
Function keywords
define f(args) { Begin the definition of function f having the arguments args. The arguments are separated by commas. Statements follow on successive lines. End with }.
auto x, y Set up x and y as variables local to a function definition, initialized to 0 and meaningless outside the function. Must appear first.
return(expr) Pass the value of expression expr back to the program. Return 0 if (expr) is left off. Used in function definitions.
sqrt(expr) Compute the square root of expression expr.
length(expr) Compute how many significant digits are in expr.
scale(expr) Same as length, but count only digits to the right of the decimal point.
read( ) GNU extension. Read a number from standard input. Return value is the number read, converted via the value of ibase.
Math library functions These are available when bc is invoked with -l. Library functions set scale to 20:
s(angle) Compute the sine of angle, a constant or expression in radians.
c(angle) Compute the cosine of angle, a constant or expression in radians.
a(n) Compute the arctangent of n, returning an angle in radians.
e(expr) Compute e to the power of expr.
l(expr) Compute the natural log of expr.
j(n, x) Compute the Bessel function of integer order n.
Operators These consist of operators and other symbols. Operators can be arithmetic, unary, assignment, or relational:
arithmetic + - * / % ^
unary - ++ --
assignment =+ =- =* =/ =% =^ =
relational < <= > >= = = !=
Other symbols
/* */ Enclose comments.
( ) Control the evaluation of expressions (change precedence). Can also be used around assignment statements to force the result to print.
{ } Use to group statements.
[ ] Indicate array index.
"text" Use as a statement to print text.
Examples Note in these examples that when you type some quantity (a number or expression), it is evaluated and printed, but assignment statements produce no display. ibase = 8 Octal input 20 Evaluate this octal number 16 Terminal displays decimal value obase = 2 Display output in base 2 instead of base 10 20 Octal input 10000 Terminal now displays binary value ibase = A Restore base-10 input scale = 3 Truncate results to 3 decimal places 8/7 Evaluate a division 1.001001000 Oops! Forgot to reset output base to 10 obase = 10 Input is decimal now, so A isn't needed 8/7 1.142 Terminal displays result (truncated)
The following lines show the use of functions: define p(r,n){ Function p uses two arguments auto v v is a local variable v = r^n r raised to the n power return(v)} Value returned scale = 5 x = p(2.5,2) x = 2.5 ^ 2 x Print value of x 6.25 length(x) Number of digits 3 scale(x) Number of places right of decimal point 2
biff [arguments]
Notify user of mail arrival and sender's name. biff operates asynchronously. Mail notification works only if your system is running the comsat(8) server. The command biff y enables notification, and the command biff n disables notification. With no arguments, biff reports biff's current status.
bison [options] file
Given a file containing context-free grammar, convert into tables for subsequent parsing while sending output to file.c. To a large extent, this utility is compatible with yacc, and is in fact named for it. All input files should use the suffix .y; output files will use the original prefix. All long options (those preceded by --) may instead be preceded by +. Options
-b prefix, --file-prefix=prefix Use prefix for all output files.
-d, --defines Generate file.h, producing #define statements that relate bison's token codes to the token names declared by the user.
-r, --raw Use bison token numbers, not yacc-compatible translations, in file.h.
-k, --token-table Include token names and values of YYNTOKENS, YYNNTS, YYNRULES, and YYNSTATES in file.c.
-l, --no-lines Exclude #line constructs from code produced in file.c. (Use after debugging is complete.)
-n, --no-parser Suppress parser code in output, allowing only declarations. Assemble all translations into a switch statement body and print it to file.act.
-o file, --output-file=file Output to file.
-p prefix, --name-prefix=prefix Substitute prefix for yy in all external symbols.
-t, --debug Compile runtime debugging code.
-v, --verbose Verbose mode. Print diagnostics and notes about parsing tables to file.output.
-V, --version Display version number.
-y, --yacc, --fixed-output-files Duplicate yacc's conventions for naming output files.
bzcmp [options] file1 file2
Apply cmp to the data from files in the bzip2 format without requiring on-disk decompression. See bzip2 and cmp for usage.
bzdiff [options] file1 file2
Apply diff to data from files in the bzip2 format without requiring on-disk decompression. See bzip2 and cmp for usage.
bzgrep [options] pattern [file...]
Apply grep to data from files in the bzip2 format without requiring on-disk decompression. See bzip2 and grep for usage.
bzip2 [options] filenames bunzip2 [options] filenames bzcat [option] filenames bzip2recover filenames
File compression and decompression utility similar to gzip, but uses a different algorithm and encoding method to get better compression. bzip2 replaces each file in filenames with a compressed version of the file and with a .bz2 extension appended. bunzip2 decompresses each file compressed by bzip2 (ignoring other files, except to print a warning). bzcat decompresses all specified files to standard output, and bzip2recover is used to try to recover data from damaged files. Additional related commands include bzcmp, which compares the contents of bzipped files; bzdiff, which creates diff (difference) files from a pair of bzip files; bzgrep, to search them; and the bzless and bzmore commands, which apply the more and less commands to bzip output, as bzcat does with the cat command. See cat, cmp, diff, and grep for information on how to use those commands. Options
-- End of options; treat all subsequent arguments as filenames.
-dig Set block size to dig x 100 KB when compressing, where dig is a single digit from 1 to 9.
-c, --stdout Compress or decompress to standard output.
-d, --decompress Force decompression.
-f, --force Force overwrite of output files. Default is not to overwrite. Also forces breaking of hard links to files.
-k, --keep Keep input files; don't delete them.
-L, --license, -V, --version Print license and version information, and exit.
-q, --quiet Print only critical messages.
--repetitive-fast, --repetitive-best Obsolete flags, occasionally useful in versions earlier than 0.9.5 (which has an improved sorting algorithm) for providing some control over the algorithm.
-s, --small Use less memory, at the expense of speed.
-t, --test Check the integrity of the files, but don't actually compress them.
-v, --verbose Verbose mode. Show the compression ratio for each file processed. Add more -v's to increase the verbosity.
-z, --compress Force compression, even if invoked as bunzip2 or bzcat.
-1, --fast Perform fast compression, creating a relatively large file. This has no effect on decompression. Higher numbers, up to 9, create progressively better-compressed files. See -9, --best.
-9, --best Get the best possible compression, although it will take longer.
Examples To produce two files: fileone.txt.bz2 and filetwo.ppt.bz2, while deleting the two original files: bzip2 fileone.tzt filetwo.ppt
To produce a single compressed file, output.bz2, which can be decompressed to reconstitute the original fileone.txt and filetwo.txt: bzip2 -c fileone.txt filetwo.txt > output.bz2
The tar command, combined with the -j or --bzip2 option, creates the output file nutshell.tar.bz2: tar -cjf nutshell.tar.bz2 /home/username/nutshell
bzless [options] file
Applies less to datafiles in the bzip2 format without requiring on-disk decompression. See bzip2 and less for usage.
bzmore [options] file
Applies more to datafiles in the bzip2 format without requiring on-disk decompression. See bzip2 and more for usage.
c++ [options] files
See g++.
c++filt [options] [symbol]
Decode the specified C++ or Java function name symbol, or read and decode symbols from standard input if no symbol is given. This command reverses the name mangling used by C++ and Java compilers to support function overloading, multiple functions that share the same name. Options
-_ , --strip-underscores Remove initial underscores from symbol names.
--help Print usage information, then exit.
-j, --java Print names using Java syntax.
-n, --no-strip-underscores Preserve initial underscores on symbol names.
-s format, --format=format Expect symbols to have been coded in the specified format. Format may be one of the following:
arm C++ Annotated Reference Manual.
edg EDG (Intel) compiler.
gnu Gnu compiler (the default).
gnu-new-abi Gnu compiler with the new application binary interface (for gcc 3.x.)
hp HP compiler.
lucid Lucid compiler.
--version Print version number, then exit.
cal [options] [[month] year]
Print a 12-month calendar (beginning with January) for the given year, or a one-month calendar of the given month and year. month ranges from 1 to 12. year ranges from 1 to 9999. With no arguments, print a calendar for the current month. Options
-j Display Julian dates (days numbered 1 to 365, starting from January 1).
-m Display Monday as the first day of the week.
-y Display entire year.
Examples cal 12 2006 cal 2006 > year_file
cardctl [options] command
System administration command. Control PCMCIA sockets or select the current scheme. The current scheme is sent along with the address of any inserted cards to configuration scripts (by default located in /etc/pcmcia). The scheme command displays or changes the scheme. The other commands operate on a named card socket number, or all sockets if no number is given. Commands
config [socket] Display current socket configuration.
eject [socket] Prepare the system for the card(s) to be ejected.
ident [socket] Display card identification information.
info [socket] Display card identification information as Bourne shell variable definitions for use in scripts.
insert [socket] Notify system that a card has been inserted.
reset [socket] Send reset signal to card.
resume [socket] Restore power to socket and reconfigure for use.
scheme [name] Display current scheme or change to specified scheme name.
status [socket] Display current socket status.
suspend [socket] Shut down device and cut power to socket.
Options
-c directory Look for card configuration information in directory instead of /etc/pcmcia.
-f file Use file to keep track of the current scheme instead of /var/run/pcmcia-scheme.
-s file Look for current socket information in file instead of /var/run/stab.
cardmgr [options]
System administration command. The PCMCIA card daemon. cardmgr monitors PCMCIA sockets for devices that have been added or removed. When a card is detected, it attempts to get the card's ID and configure it according to the card configuration database (usually stored in /etc/pcmcia/config). By default, cardmgr does two things when it detects a card: it creates a system log entry, and it beeps. Two high beeps mean it successfully identified and configured a device. One high beep followed by one low beep means it identified the device, but was unable to configure it successfully. One low beep means it could not identify the inserted card. Information on the currently configured cards can be found in /var/run/stab. Options
-c directory Look for the card configuration database in directory instead of /etc/pcmcia.
-f Run in the foreground to process the current cards, then run as a daemon.
-m directory Look in directory for card device modules. Default is /lib/modules/RELEASE, where RELEASE is the current kernel release.
-o Configure the cards present in one pass, then exit.
-p file Write cardmgr's process ID to file instead of to /var/run/cardmgr.pid.
-q Run in quiet mode. No beeps.
-s file Write current socket information to file instead of /var/run/stab.
-v Verbose mode.
-V Print version number and exit.
cat [options] [files]
Read (concatenate) one or more files and print them on standard output. Read standard input if no files are specified or if - is specified as one of the files; input ends with EOF. You can use the > operator to combine several files into a new file, or >> to append files to an existing file. When appending to an existing file, use Ctrl-D, the end-of-file symbol, to end the session. Options
-A, --show-all Same as -vET.
-b, --number-nonblank Number all nonblank output lines, starting with 1.
-e Same as -vE.
-E, --show-ends Print $ at the end of each line.
-n, --number Number all output lines, starting with 1.
-s, --squeeze-blank Squeeze down multiple blank lines to one blank line.
-t Same as -vT.
-T, --show-tabs Print TAB characters as ^I.
-u Ignored; retained for Unix compatibility.
-v, --show-nonprinting Display control and nonprinting characters, with the exception of LINEFEED and TAB.
Examples cat ch1 Display a file cat ch1 ch2 ch3 > all Combine files cat note5 >> notes Append to a file cat > temp1 Create file at terminal. To exit, enter EOF (Ctrl-D). cat > temp2 << STOP Create file at terminal. To exit, enter STOP.
cc [options] files
See gcc.
cdda2wav [options] [output.wav]
Convert Compact Disc Digital Audio (CDDA) to the WAV format. This process is often called "ripping" a CD-ROM and is generally performed before using an encoder to convert the file to a compressed music format, such as OGG or MP3. Options Some of the following options use sectors as a unit of measurement. Each sector of data on a CD represents approximately 1/75 second of play time.
-A, --auxdevice drivename Specify a different drive for ioctl purposes.
-a, --divider n Set the sample rate to a value equal to 44100/n samples per second. The -R option, used by itself, lists the possible values.
-B,--bulk Copy each track into its own file. This is the single most commonly used flag.
-b, --bits-per-sample n Set the quality of samples to n bits per sample per channel. Possible values are 8, 12, and 16.
-C byteorder, --cdrom-endianness byteorder Set the byte order, or "endianness" of the input data. You may set the order to little, big, or guess. This is useful when your CD-ROM drive uses an unexpected or unusual byte order for your platform.
-c channel, --channels channel Set stereo instructions. Set channel to 1 for mono; 2 for stereo; or s for stereo, but swapped left-to-right. You can also use -s (--stereo) to record in stereo and -m (--mono) to record in mono.
--cddbp-server=servername Set the name of the CD lookup server used. A reliable choice is freedb.freedb.org, which assigns requests to one of several official mirrors for the free CD database project.
--cddbp-port=portnumber Select the port on which to access the CD lookup server. The servers at freedb.org use cddbp on port 8880, and http on port 80.
-D, --device devicename Specify the device. The device must work with the -i (--interface) settings.
-d, --duration Set to a number followed by f for frames (sectors) or s for seconds. Set time to zero to record an entire track. For example, to copy two minutes, enter 120s.
-E byteorder,--output-endianness byteorder Set the byte order or "endianness" of the output data. As with -C, you may set the order to little, big, or guess.
-e, --echo device Send output to an audio output device instead of to a file.
-g, --gui Format all text output for easy parsing by GUI frontends.
-H, --no-infofile Do not copy any info or CDDB files, only the audio files.
-I, --interface ifname Specify the type of interface. For Linux systems, the most appropriate value is usually cooked_ioctl.
-i, --index n Set the start index to n when recording.
-J, --info-only Use this option by itself to display information about the disc, but do nothing else.
-L n --cddb-mode n cdda2wav automatically looks up CD information online, if possible. This option determines what happens when there are multiple entries identifying the CD. If the mode is 0, the user is prompted to select an entry. If the mode is 1, the application will use the first entry returned.
-M n, --md5 n Create MD5 checksums for the first n bytes of each track copied.
-N, --no-write For debugging purposes, this option suppresses writing an output file.
-n, --sectors-per-request n Read n sectors in each request.
-O, --output-format=format Choose the output file format. Normal file options are wav, aiff, aifc, au, and sun. You can also use cdr and raw for headerless files dumped into recording devices.
-o, --offset n Start recording n sectors before the beginning of the first track.
-P, --set-overlap n Use n sectors of overlap for jitter correction. Very fast systems with absolutely perfect drives and unscratched CDs can set this to 0.
-p, --set-pitch n Adjust the pitch by n percent when copying data to an audio device.
--paranoia Read and interpret the CD using the paranoia library instead of the cdda2wav code. Paranoia provides more sound correction routines; see cdparanoia for more information.
-q, --quiet Quiet mode; the program will not send any data to the screen.
-R, --dump-rates Output a list of possible sample rates and dividers. This option is typically used with no other option flags or arguments.
-r,--rate n Set the sample rate in samples per second. To get a list of possible values, use the -R option by itself.
-S, --speed n Specify the speed at which your system will read the CD-ROM. Set the value to the multiple of normal playback speed given as your CD-ROM drive speed (4, 16, 32, and so forth). Setting the speed lower than the maximum can prevent errors in some cases.
-t, --track n Set start track to n. Optionally, use + and a second track number for the end track: 1+10 copies tracks one through ten.
-v, --verbose-level comma,separated,list Determines what sort of information about the CD is displayed. The options, which should be provided as a comma separated list, are as follows: for no information, use disable; or for all information, use all. Alternatively, use toc for the table of contents, summary for the disc summary, indices for disc indices, catalog for the disc catalog, trackid for track IDs, sectors for sectors, and titles for title information, if available.
--version Display version and quit.
-w, --wait Wait for a signal before recording anything.
-x, --max Set recording quality (and amount of hard disk usage) to maximum.
Examples For most systems, you should be able to copy a complete CD to a single WAV file with the following command: cdda2wav
To copy a complete CD to a set of WAV files, one per track: cdda2wav -B
After using cdda2wav, you will probably want to use an encoder to compress and convert the files to a more usable format, such as MP3 or Ogg Vorbis.
cdparanoia [options] span [outfile]
Like cdda2wav, cdparanoia records Compact Disc audio files as WAV, AIFF, AIFF-C, or raw format files. It uses additional data-verification and sound-improvement algorithms to make the process more reliable and is used by a number of graphical recording programs as a backend. Options
-a, --output-aifc Output in AIFF-C format.
-B, --batch Split output into multiple files, one per track. Each file will begin with the track number. This is the single most commonly used flag for this command.
-C, --force-cdrom-big-endian Force cdparanoia to treat the drive as a big-endian device.
-c, --force-cdrom-little-endian Force cdparanoia to treat the drive as a little-endian device.
-d, --force-cdrom-device devicename Specify a device name to use instead of the first readable CD-ROM available.
-e, --stderr-progress Send all progress messages to stderr instead of stdout; used by wrapper scripts.
-f, --output-aiff Output in AIFF format. The default format is WAV.
-h, --help Display options and syntax.
-p, --output-raw Output headerless raw data.
-R, --output-raw-big-endian Output raw data in big-endian byte order.
-r, --output-raw-little-endian Output raw data in little-endian byte order.
-Q, --query Display CD-ROM table of contents and quit.
-q, --quiet Quiet mode.
-S, --force-read-speed n Set the read speed to n on drives that support it. This is useful if you have a slow hard disk or not much RAM.
-s, --search-for-drive Search for a drive, even if /dev/cdrom exists.
-V, --version Print version information and quit.
-v, --verbose Verbose mode.
-w, --output-wav Output in WAV format. This is the default.
-X, --abort-on-skip If a read fails and must be skipped, skip the entire track and delete any partially completed output file.
-Z, --disable-paranoia Disable data verification and correction. Causes cdparanoia to behave exactly as cdda2wav would.
-z, --never-skip[=retries] If a read fails (for example, due to a scratch in the disc), try again and again. If you specify a number, cdparanoia will try that number of times. If you do not, cdparanoia will retry until it succeeds. The default number of attempts is 20.
Progress symbols The output during operation of cdparanoia includes both smiley faces and more standard progress symbols. They are:
:-) Operation proceeding normally.
:-| Operation proceeding normally, but with jitter during reads.
:-/ Read drift.
8-| Repeated read problems in the same place.
:-O SCSI/ATAPI transport error (hardware problem not related to the disc itself).
:-( Scratch detected.
;-( Unable to correct problem.
8-X Unknown and uncorrectable error.
:^D Finished.
Blank space in the progress indicator means that no corrections were necessary.
- Jitter correction was required.
+ Read errors.
! Errors even after correction; repeated read errors.
e Corrected transport errors.
V An uncorrected error or a skipped read.
The span argument The cdparanoia command takes exactly one argument, which describes how much of the CD to record. It uses numbers followed by bracketed times to designate track numbers and time within them. For example, the string 1[2:23]-2[5] indicates a recording from the two-minute and twenty-three-second mark of the first track up to the fifth second of the second track. The time format is demarcated by colons, hours:minutes:seconds:.sectors, with the last item, sectors, preceded by a decimal point (a sector is 1/75 of a second). It's best to put this argument within quotes. If you use the -B option, the span argument is not required.
cdrdao command [options] toc-file
Write all content specified in description file toc-file to a CD-R disk drive in one step. This is called disk-at-once (DAO) mode, as opposed to the more commonly used track-at-once (TAO) mode. DAO mode allows you to change the length of gaps between tracks and define data to be written in these gaps (like hidden bonus tracks or track intros). The toc file can be created by hand or generated from an existing CD using cdrdao's read-toc command. A cue file, as generated by other audio programs, can be used instead of a toc file. The file format for toc files is discussed at length in the cdrdao manpage. Commands The first argument must be a command. Note that not all options are available for all commands.
show-toc Print a summary of the CD to be created.
read-toc Read from a CD and create a disk image and toc file that will allow creation of duplicates.
read-cddb Check a CDDB server for data about the CD represented by a given toc file; then write that data to the toc file as CD-TEXT data.
show-data Print out the data that will be written to the CD-R. Useful for checking byte order.
read-test Check the validity of the audio files described in the toc file.
disk-info Display information about the CD-R currently in the drive.
msinfo Display multisession information. Useful mostly for wrapper scripts.
scanbus Scan the system bus for devices.
simulate A dry run: do everything except write the CD.
unlock Unlock the recorder after a failure. Run this command if you cannot eject the CD after using cdrdao.
write Write the CD.
copy Copy the CD. If you use a single drive, you will be prompted to insert the CD-R after reading. An image file will be created unless you use the --on-the-fly flag and two CD drives.
Options
--buffers n Set the number of seconds of data to be buffered. Default is 32; set to a higher number if your read source is unreliable or is slower than the CD-R.
--cddb-servers server,server Enter hosts for servers. Servers may include ports, paths, and proxies; you can list multiple servers separated by spaces or commas.
--cddb-timeout s Set the timeout for CDDB server connections to s seconds.
--cddb-directory localpath CDDB data that is fetched will be saved in the directory localpath.
--datafile filename When used with the read-toc command, this option specifies the datafile placed in the toc file. When used with read-cd and copy, it specifies the name of the image file created.
--device bus,id,logicalunit Set the SCSI address of the CD-R using the bus number, ID number, and logical-unit number.
--driver driver-id:option-flags Force cdrdao to use the driver you choose with the driver options named, instead of the driver it autodetects.
--eject Eject the disc when done.
--force Override warnings and perform the action anyway.
--keepimage Used only with the copy command. Keeps the image file created during the copy process.
--multi Record as a multisession disc.
-n Do not wait 10 seconds before writing the disc.
--on-the-fly Do not create an image file: pipe data directly from source to CD-R.
--overburn If you are using a disc with more storage space than cdrdao detects, use this option to keep writing even when cdrdao thinks you're out of space.
--paranoia-mode n Specify the amount of error correction in the CD read, where n is a value from 0 to 3. 0 is none; 3 is full (see cdparanoia for information about error correction). Set error correction to a lower number to increase read speed. The default is 3.
--read-raw Used only with the read-cd command. Write raw data to the image file.
--reload Allow the drive to be opened before writing, without interrupting the process. Used with simulation runs.
--save Save current options to the settings file $HOME/.cdrdao.
--session n Used only with the read-toc and read-cd commands when working with multisession CDs. Specify the number of the session to be processed.
--source-device bus,id,logicalunit Used only with the copy command. Set the SCSI address of the source device.
--source-driver driver-id:option-flags Used only with the copy command. Set the source device driver and flags.
--speed value Set the write speed to value. The default is the highest available speed; use a lower value if higher values give poor results.
--swap Swap byte order for all samples.
-v verbose-level Set the amount of information printed to the screen. 0, 1, and 2 are fine for most users; greater numbers are useful for debugging.
--with-cddb Use CDDB to fetch information about the disc and save it as CD-TEXT data. Used with the copy, read-toc, and read-cd commands.
Examples To find devices on the system: cdrdao scanbus
To copy from a CD device (at 1,1,0) to a CD-R device (at 1,0,0): cdrdao copy --source 1,1,0 --device 1,0,0 --buffers 64
cdrecord [general-options] dev=device [track-options] track1,track2...
Record data or audio compact discs. This program normally requires root access. It has a large number of options and settings. A number of useful examples can be found in the manpage. General options General option flags go directly after the cdrecord command. Options affecting the track arguments are placed after the device argument and before the track arguments themselves. The general options are:
--atip Display the ATIP (Absolute Time In Pregroove) information for a disc. Only some drives allow you to read this information.
--blank=type Erase data from a CD-RW in one of the following ways:
help Display a possible list of blanking methods.
all Erase all information on the disc. May take a long time.
fast Perform a quick erase of the disc, erasing only the PMA, TOC, and pregap.
track Blank a track.
unreserve Unreserve a track previously marked as reserved.
trtail Blank the tail of a track only.
unclose Unclose the last session.
session Blank the last session.
--checkdrive Check to see if there are valid drivers for the current drive. Returns 0 if the drive is valid.
--dao Disk-at-once mode. Works only with MMC drives that support non-raw session-at-once modes.
--debug=n, -d Set the debug level to an integer (greater numbers are more verbose), or use multiple -d flags as with the -v and -V flags.
--driver=name Lets you specify a driver for your system. Suggested for experts only. The special drivers cdr_simul and dvd_simul are used for simulation and profiling tests.
--driveropts=optlist Specify a comma-separated list of driver options. To get a list of valid options, use driveropts=help and --checkdrive.
--dummy Perform a dry run, doing all the steps of recording with the laser turned off. This will let you know whether the process is going to work.
--eject Eject disc after recording. Some hardware may need to eject a disc after a dummy recording and before the actual recording.
--fix Close ("fixate") the session, preventing future multisession recordings and allowing the disc to be played in standard audio CD players (some can also play a disc that has not been closed).
--force Override errors if possible. May allow you to blank an otherwise broken CD-RW.
--fs=n Set the fifo buffer size to n, in bytes. You may use k, m, s, or f to specify kilobytes, megabytes, or units of 2048 and 2352 bytes, respectively. The default is 4 MB.
--kdebug=n, --kd=n Set the kernel's debug notification value to n during SCSI command execution. Works through the scg-driver.
--load Load media and exit. Works with tray-loading mechanisms only.
--mcn=n Set the Media Catalog Number to n.
--msinfo Get multisession information from the CD. Used only with multisession discs onto which you can still record more sessions.
--multi Set to record in multisession mode. Must be present on all sessions but the last one for a multisession disc.
--nofix Do not close the disc after writing.
--reset Attempt to reset the SCSI bus. Does not work on all systems.
-s, --silent Silent mode. Do not print any SCSI error commands.
--speed=n Set the speed to n, a multiple of the audio speed. Normally, cdrecord will get this from the CDR_SPEED environment variable. If your drive has trouble with higher numbers, try 0 as a value.
--timeout=n Set the timeout to n seconds. Defaults to 40.
--toc Display the table of contents for the CD currently in the drive. Works for CD-ROM, as well as CD-R and CD-RW drives.
--scanbus Scan SCSI devices.
--useinfo Use .inf files to override audio options set elsewhere.
-V As with the -v, a verbose mode counter. However, this applies only to SCSI transport messages. This will slow down the application.
-v Verbose mode. Use one v for each level of verbosity. -vv would be very verbose, and -vvv would be even more so.
--version Print version information and exit.
The device argument The device argument should be specified not as a file but as three integers that represent the bus, target, and logical unit, as in the cdrdao command. To check the options that are available, use the --scanbus option. Track options and arguments Track options may be mixed with track arguments, and normally apply to the track immediately after them or to all tracks after them. The track arguments themselves should be the files that you will be writing to the CD. Options are:
--audio Write all tracks after this track in digital audio format (playable by standard CD players). If you do not use this flag or the --data flag, cdrecord will assume that .au and .wav files are to be recorded as raw audio and that all other files are data.
--cdi Write subsequent tracks in CDI format.
--data Record subsequent tracks as CD-ROM data. If you do not use this flag or the --audio flag, all files except for those that end in .wav or .au are assumed to be data.
--index=a,b,c Set the index list for the next track. The values should be increasing comma-separated integers, starting with index 1 and counting in sectors (75ths of a second). For example, you could set three indices in a track with index=0,750,7500 and they would occur at the beginning of the track, after 10 seconds, and after 100 seconds.
--isosize The size of the next track should match the size of the ISO-9660 filesystem. This is used when duplicating CDs or copying from raw-data filesystems.
--isrc=n Set the International Standard Recording Number for the track argument following this option.
--mode2 Write all subsequent tracks in CD-ROM mode 2 format.
--nopad Do not insert blank data between data tracks following this flag. This is the default behavior.
--pad Insert 15 sectors of blank data padding between data tracks. Applies to all subsequent tracks or until you use the --nopad argument, and is overridden by the padsize=n argument.
--padsize=n Insert n sectors of blank data padding after the next track. Applies only to the track immediately after it.
--swab Declare that your data is in byte-swapped (little-endian) byte order. This is not normally necessary.
--tsize=n Set the size of the next track. Useful only if you are recording from a raw disk for which cdrecord cannot determine the file size. If you are recording from an ISO 9660 filesystem, use the --isosize flag instead.
--xa1, --xa2 Write subsequent tracks in CD-ROM XA mode 1 or CD-ROM XA mode 2 format.
cfdisk [options] [device]
System administration command. Partition a hard disk using a full-screen display. Normally, device will be /dev/hda, /dev/hdb, /dev/sda, /dev/sdb, /dev/hdc, /dev/hdd, and so on; the default is the first device on the system. See also fdisk. Options
-a Use an arrow on the left side to highlight the currently selected partition, instead of reverse video.
-c cylinders Specify the number of cylinders to use to format the specified device.
-g Ignore driver-provided geometry; guess one instead.
-h heads Specify the number of heads to use to format the specified device.
-s sectors Specify the number of sectors per track to use to format the specified device.
-v Print version number and exit.
-z Do not read the partition table; partition from scratch.
-P format Display the partition table in format, which must be r (raw data), s (sector order), or t (table format). See the manpage for the meaning of the fields in the raw format, which shows what will be written by cfdisk for each partition. The sector format shows information about the sectors used by each partition. The table format shows the starting and ending head, sector, and cylinder for each partition.
Commands
up arrow, down arrow Move among partitions.
left arrow, right arrow Move among commands at the bottom of the screen.
Enter key Select currently highlighted command or value.
b Toggle flag indicating whether selected partition is bootable.
d Delete partition (allow other partitions to use its space).
g Alter the disk's geometry. Prompt for what to change: cylinders, heads, or sectors (c, h, or s, respectively).
h Help.
m Attempt to ensure maximum usage of disk space in the partition.
n Create a new partition. Prompt for more information.
p Print the partition table to a file. Possible formats are the same as for the -P option.
q Quit without saving information.
t Prompt for a new filesystem type, and change to that type.
u Change the partition-size units. The choice of units rotates from megabytes to sectors to cylinders and back.
W Save information. Must be uppercase, to prevent accidental writing.
chage [options] user
Change information about user password expirations. If run without any option flags, chage will prompt for values to be entered; you may also use option flags to change or view information. Options
-l This flag is used without any others and causes chage to display the current password expiration attributes for the user.
-m mindays Minimum number of days between password changes. Default is zero, meaning that the user may change the password at any time.
-M maxdays Maximum number of days between password changes.
-d lastday Date of last password change. This may be expressed as a date in YYYY-MM-DD format, or as the number of days between January 1, 1970 and the last password change.
-I inactive-days If a password expires and the user does not log in for this number of days, the account will be locked and the user must contact a system administrator before logging in. Set to 0 to disable the feature.
-E expiredate Set the date when the account will be locked. This is not a date for password expiration, but for account expiration. It may be expressed as a YYYY-MM-DD date or as a number of days since January 1, 1970.
-W warning The number of days before password expiration that a user will be warned to change passwords.
chattr [options] mode files
Modify file attributes. Specific to Linux Second and Third Extended Filesystem (ext2 and ext3). Behaves similarly to symbolic chmod, using +, -, and =. mode is in the form opcode attribute. See also lsattr. Options
-R Modify directories and their contents recursively.
-V Print modes of attributes after changing them.
-v version Set the file's version.
Opcodes
+ Add attribute.
- Remove attribute.
= Assign attributes (removing unspecified attributes).
Attributes
A Don't update access time on modify.
a Append only for writing. Can be set or cleared only by a privileged user.
c Compressed.
d No dump.
i Immutable. Can be set or cleared only by a privileged user.
j Journalled file. This is useful only in cases where you are using an ext3 filesystem mounted with the data="ordered" or data="writeback" attributes. The data="journalled" option for the filesystem causes this operation to be performed for all files in the system and makes this option irrelevant.
S Synchronous updates.
s Secure deletion. The contents are zeroed on deletion, and the file cannot be undeleted or recovered in any way.
u Undeletable. This causes a file to be saved even after it has been deleted, so that a user can undelete it later.
Example chattr +a myfile As superuser
chfn [options] [username]
Change the information that is stored in /etc/passwd and displayed to the finger query. Without options, chfn enters interactive mode and prompts for changes. To make a field blank, enter the keyword none. Only a privileged user can change information for another user. For regular users, chfn prompts for the user's password before making the change. Options
-f, --full-name Specify new full name.
-h, --home-phone Specify new home phone number.
-o, --office Specify new office number.
-p, --office-phone Specify new office phone number.
-u, --usage, --help Print help message and then exit.
-v, --version Print version information and then exit.
Example chfn -f "Ellen Siever" ellen
chgrp [options] newgroup files chgrp [options]
Change the group of one or more files to newgroup. newgroup is either a group ID number or a group name located in /etc/group. Only the owner of a file or a privileged user may change the group. Options
-c, --changes Print information about files that are changed.
-f, --silent, --quiet Do not print error messages about files that cannot be changed.
--help Print help message and then exit.
-R, --recursive Traverse subdirectories recursively, applying changes.
--reference=filename Change the group to that associated with filename. In this case, newgroup is not specified.
-v, --verbose Verbosely describe ownership changes.
--version Print version information and then exit.
chkconfig [options] [service [flag]]
System administration command. Manipulate symbolic links in the /etc/rc.d/rc[0-6].d directories. chkconfig manages which services will run in a specified runlevel. Valid flags are on, off, or reset to reset the service to defaults given in its initialization script in /etc/rc.d/init.d. To specify defaults in an standard initialization script, add a comment line to the script beginning with chkconfig: followed by the runlevels in which the service should run, and the start and kill priority numbers to assigne.g., chkconfig: 2345 85 15 Options
--add service Create a start or kill symbolic link in every runlevel for the specified service according to default behavior specified in the service's initialization script.
--del service Remove entries for specified service from all runlevels.
--level numbers Specify by number the runlevels to change. Provide numbers as a numeric string: e.g., 016 for levels 0, 1 and 6. Use this to override specified defaults.
--list [service] Print whether the specified service is on or off in each level. If no service is specified, print runlevel information for all services managed by chkconfig.
chmod [options] mode files chmod [options] --reference=filename files
Change the access mode (permissions) of one or more files. Only the owner of a file or a privileged user may change the mode. mode can be numeric or an expression in the form of who opcode permission. who is optional (if omitted, default is a); choose only one opcode. Multiple modes are separated by commas. Options
-c, --changes Print information about files that are changed.
-f, --silent, --quiet Do not notify user of files that chmod cannot change.
--help Print help message and then exit.
-R, --recursive Traverse subdirectories recursively, applying changes.
--reference=filename Change permissions to match those associated with filename.
-v, --verbose Print information about each file, whether changed or not.
--version Print version information and then exit.
Who
u User.
g Group.
o Other.
a All (default).
Opcode
+ Add permission.
- Remove permission.
= Assign permission (and remove permission of the unspecified fields).
Permissions
r Read.
w Write.
x Execute.
s Set user (or group) ID.
t Sticky bit; used on directories to prevent removal of files by non-owners.
u User's present permission.
g Group's present permission.
o Other's present permission.
Alternatively, specify permissions by a three-digit octal number. The first digit designates owner permission; the second, group permission; and the third, other's permission. Permissions are calculated by adding the following octal values:
4 Read.
2 Write.
1 Execute.
Note that a fourth digit may precede this sequence. This digit assigns the following modes:
4 Set user ID on execution to grant permissions to process based on the file's owner, not on permissions of the user who created the process.
2 Set group ID on execution to grant permissions to process based on the file's group, not on permissions of the user who created the process.
1 Set sticky bit.
Examples Add execute-by-user permission to file: chmod u+x file
Either of the following will assign read/write/execute permission by owner (7), read/execute permission by group (5), and execute-only permission by others (1) to file: chmod 751 file chmod u=rwx,g=rx,o=x file
Any one of the following will assign read-only permission to file for everyone: chmod =r file chmod 444 file chmod a-wx,a+r file
The following makes the executable setuid, assigns read/write/execute permission by owner, and assigns read/execute permission by group and others: chmod 4755 file
chown [options] newowner files chown [options] --reference=filename files
Change the ownership of one or more files to newowner. newowner is either a user ID number or a login name located in /etc/passwd. chown also accepts users in the form newowner:newgroup or newowner.newgroup. The last two forms change the group ownership as well. If no owner is specified, the owner is unchanged. With a period or colon but no group, the group is changed to that of the new owner. Only the current owner of a file or a privileged user may change the owner. Options
-c, --changes Print information about files that are changed.
--dereference Follow symbolic links.
-f, --silent, --quiet Do not print error messages about files that cannot be changed.
-h, --no-dereference Change the ownership of each symbolic link (on systems that allow it), rather than the referenced file.
-v, --verbose Print information about all files that chown attempts to change, whether or not they are actually changed.
-R, --recursive Traverse subdirectories recursively, applying changes.
--reference=filename Change owner to the owner of filename instead of specifying a new owner explicitly.
--help Print help message and then exit.
--version Print version information and then exit.
chpasswd [option]
System administration command. Change user passwords in a batch. chpasswd accepts input in the form of one username:password pair per line. If the -e option is not specified, password is encrypted before being stored. Option
-e Passwords given are already encrypted.
chroot newroot [command]
System administration command. Change root directory for command or, if none is specified, for a new copy of the user's shell. This command or shell is executed relative to the new root. The meaning of any initial / in pathnames is changed to newroot for a command and any of its children. In addition, the initial working directory is newroot. This command is restricted to privileged users.
chrt [options] [prio] [pid |command ...]
Set or retrieve the real-time scheduling properties of a given process, or run a new process with the given real-time scheduling properties. Options
-f, --fifo Use the FIFO (first-in, first-out) scheduling policy.
-h, --help Display usage information and then exit.
-m, --max Show the minimum and maximum valid scheduling priorities.
-o, --other Use the normal (called "other") scheduling policy.
-p, --pid Operate on the given, existing PID and do not execute a new command.
-r, --rr Use the round-robin scheduling policy.
-v, --version Output version information and then exit.
chsh [options] [username]
Change your login shell, either interactively or on the command line. Warn if shell does not exist in /etc/shells. Specify the full path to the shell. chsh prompts for your password. Only a privileged user can change another user's shell. Options
-l, --list-shells Print valid shells, as listed in /etc/shells, and then exit.
-s shell, --shell shell Specify new login shell.
-u, --help Print help message and then exit.
-v, --version Print version information and then exit.
Example chsh -s /bin/tcsh
chvt N
Switch to virtual terminal N (that is, switch to /dev/ttyN). If you have not created /dev/ttyN, it will be created when you use this command. There are keyboard shortcuts for this functionality as well. From a graphical desktop, you can press Ctrl-Alt-F1 through F12 to switch to different virtual terminals. In text mode, you can skip the Ctrl key and just use Alt-F1 through F12. To switch back to graphical mode, use Alt-F7.
cksum [files]
Compute a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) checksum for all files; this is used to ensure that a file was not corrupted during transfer. Read from standard input if the character - is given or no files are given. Display the resulting checksum, the number of bytes in the file, and (unless reading from standard input) the filename.
clear
Clear the terminal display. Equivalent to pressing Ctrl-L.
cmp [options] file1 file2 [skip1 [skip2]]
Compare file1 with file2. Use standard input if file1 is - or missing. This command is normally used for comparing binary files, although files can be of any type. (See also diff.) skip1 and skip2 are optional offsets in the files at which the comparison is to start. Options
-c, --print-chars Print differing bytes as characters.
-i num, --ignore-initial=num Ignore the first num bytes of input.
-l, --verbose Print offsets and codes of all differing bytes.
-s, --quiet, --silent Work silently; print nothing, but return exit codes:
0 Files are identical.
1 Files are different.
2 Files are inaccessible.
Example Print a message if two files are the same (exit code is 0): cmp -s old new && echo 'no changes'
col [options]
A postprocessing filter that handles reverse linefeeds and escape characters, allowing output from tbl or nroff to appear in reasonable form on a terminal. Options
-b Ignore backspace characters; helpful when printing manpages.
-f Process half-line vertical motions, but not reverse line motion. (Normally, half-line input motion is displayed on the next full line.)
-l n Buffer at least n lines in memory. The default buffer size is 128 lines.
-x Normally, col saves printing time by converting sequences of spaces to tabs. Use -x to suppress this conversion.
Examples Run myfile through tbl and nroff, then capture output on screen by filtering through col and more: tbl myfile | nroff | col | more
Save manpage output for the ls command in out.print, stripping out backspaces (which would otherwise appear as ^H): man ls | col -b > out.print
colcrt [options] [files]
A postprocessing filter that handles reverse linefeeds and escape characters, allowing output from tbl or nroff to appear in reasonable form on a terminal. Put half-line characters (e.g., subscripts or superscripts) and underlining (changed to dashes) on a new line between output lines. Options
- Do not underline.
-2 Double space by printing all half-lines.
colrm [start [stop]]
Remove specified columns from a file, where a column is a single character in a line. Read from standard input and write to standard output. Columns are numbered starting with 1; begin deleting columns at (including) the start column, and stop at (including) the stop column. Entering a tab increments the column count to the next multiple of either the start or stop column; entering a backspace decrements it by 1. Example colrm 3 5 < test1 > test2
column [options] [files]
Format input from one or more files into columns, filling rows first. Read from standard input if no files are specified. Options
-c num Format output into num columns.
-s char Delimit table columns with char. Meaningful only with -t.
-t Format input into a table. Delimit with whitespace, unless an alternate delimiter has been provided with -s.
-x Fill columns before filling rows.
comm [options] file1 file2
Compare lines common to the sorted files file1 and file2. Output is in three columns, from left to right: lines unique to file1, lines unique to file2, and lines common to both files. comm is similar to diff in that both commands compare two files. But comm can also be used like uniq; comm selects duplicate or unique lines between two sorted files, whereas uniq selects duplicate or unique lines within the same sorted file. Options
- Read the standard input.
-num Suppress printing of column num. Multiple columns may be specified and should not be space-separated.
--help Print help message and exit.
--version Print version information and exit.
Example Compare two lists of top-10 movies, and display items that appear in both lists: comm -12 siskel_top10 ebert_top10
compress [options] files
Compress one or more files, replacing each with the compressed file of the same name with .Z appended. If no file is specified, compress standard input. Each file specified is compressed separately. compress ignores files that are symbolic links. See also the more common commands tar, gzip, and bzip2. Options
-b maxbits Limit the maximum number of bits.
-c Write output to standard output, not to a .Z file.
-d Decompress instead of compressing. Same as uncompress.
-f Force generation of an output file even if one already exists.
-r If any of the specified files is a directory, compress recursively.
-v Print compression statistics.
-V Print version and compilation information and then exit.
cp [options] file1 file2 cp [options] files directory
Copy file1 to file2, or copy one or more files to the same names under directory. If the destination is an existing file, the file is overwritten; if the destination is an existing directory, the file is copied into the directory (the directory is not overwritten). Options
-a, --archive Preserve attributes of original files where possible. The same as -dpr.
-b, --backup Back up files that would otherwise be overwritten.
-d, --no-dereference Do not dereference symbolic links; preserve hard-link relationships between source and copy.
-f, --force Remove existing files in the destination.
-i, --interactive Prompt before overwriting destination files. On most systems, this flag is turned off by default except for the root user, who is normally prompted before overwriting files.
-l, --link Make hard links, not copies, of nondirectories.
-p, --preserve Preserve all information, including owner, group, permissions, and timestamps.
-P, --parents Preserve intermediate directories in source. The last argument must be the name of an existing directory. For example, the command: cp --parents jphekman/book/ch1 newdir
copies the file jphekman/book/ch1 to the file newdir/jphekman/book/ch1, creating intermediate directories as necessary.
-r, -R, --recursive Copy directories recursively.
-S backup-suffix, --suffix=backup-suffix Set suffix to be appended to backup files. This may also be set with the SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX environment variable. The default is ~. You need to explicitly include a period if you want one before the suffix (for example, specify .bak, not bak).
-s, --symbolic-link Make symbolic links instead of copying. Source filenames must be absolute.
--sparse=[always|auto|never] Handle files that have "holes" (are defined as a certain size but have less data). always creates a sparse file, auto creates one if the input file is sparse, and never creates a non-sparse file without holes.
-u, --update Do not copy a file to an existing destination with the same or newer modification time.
-v, --verbose Before copying, print the name of each file.
-V type, --version-control=type Set the type of backups made. You may also use the VERSION_CONTROL environment variable. The default is existing. Valid arguments are:
t, numbered Always make numbered backups.
nil, existing Make numbered backups of files that already have them; otherwise, make simple backups.
never, simple Always make simple backups.
-x, --one-file-system Ignore subdirectories on other filesystems.
Example Copy the contents of the guest directory recursively into the /archives/guest/ directory, and display a message for each file copied: cd /archives && cp -av /home/guest guest
cpio flags [options]
Copy file archives from or to tape or disk, or to another location on the local machine. Each of the three flags -i, -o, or -p accepts different options. Flags
-i, --extract [options] [patterns] Copy in (extract) from an archive files whose names match selected patterns. Each pattern can include Bourne shell filename metacharacters. (Patterns should be quoted or escaped so that they are interpreted by cpio, not by the shell.) If pattern is omitted, all files are copied in. Existing files are not overwritten by older versions from the archive unless -u is specified.
-o, --create [options] Copy out to an archive a list of files whose names are given on the standard input.
-p, --pass-through [options] directory Copy (pass) files to another directory on the same system. Destination pathnames are interpreted relative to the named directory.
Comparison of valid options Options available to the -i, -o, and -p flags are shown here (the - is omitted for clarity): i: bcdf mnrtsuv B SVCEHMR IF o: 0a c vABL VC HM O F p: 0a d lm uv L V R
Options
-0, --null Expect list of filenames to be terminated with null, not newline. This allows files with a newline in their names to be included.
-a, --reset-access-time Reset access times of input files after reading them.
-A, --append Append files to an existing archive, which must be a disk file. Specify this archive with -O or -F.
-b, --swap Swap bytes and half-words to convert between big-endian and little-endian 32-bit integers.
-B Block input or output using 5120 bytes per record (default is 512 bytes per record).
--blocksize=size Set input or output block size to size x 512 bytes.
-c Read or write header information as ASCII characters; useful when source and destination machines are different types.
-C n, --io-size=n Like -B, but block size can be any positive integer n.
-d, --make-directories Create directories as needed.
-E file, --pattern-file=file Extract from the archives filenames that match patterns in file.
-f, --nonmatching Reverse the sense of copying; copy all files except those that match patterns.
-F file, --file=file Use file as the archive, not stdin or stdout. file can reside on another machine, if given in the form user@hostname:file (where user@ is optional).
--force-local Assume that file (provided by -F, -I, or -O) is a local file, even if it contains a colon (:) indicating a remote file.
-H type, --format=type Use type format. Default for copy-out is bin; default for copy-in is autodetection of the format. Valid formats (all caps also accepted) are:
bin Binary.
odc Old (POSIX.1) portable format.
newc New (SVR4) portable format.
crc New (SVR4) portable format with checksum added.
tar Tar.
ustar POSIX.1 tar (also recognizes GNU tar archives).
hpbin HP-UX's binary (obsolete).
hpodc HP-UX's portable format.
-I file Read file as an input archive. May be on a remote machine (see -F).
-k Ignored. For backward compatibility.
-l, --link Link files instead of copying.
-L, --dereference Follow symbolic links.
-m, --preserve-modification-time Retain previous file modification time.
-M msg, --message=msg Print msg when switching media, as a prompt before switching to new media. Use variable %d in the message as a numeric ID for the next medium. -M is valid only with -I or -O.
-n, --numeric-uid-gid When verbosely listing contents, show user ID and group ID numerically.
--no-absolute-filenames Create all copied-in files relative to the current directory.
--no-preserve-owner Make all copied files owned by yourself, instead of the owner of the original. Can be used only if you are a privileged user.
-O file Archive the output to file, which may be a file on another machine (see -F).
--only-verify-crc For a CRC-format archive, verify the CRC of each file; don't actually copy the files in.
--quiet Don't print the number of blocks copied.
-r Rename files interactively.
-R [user][:group], --owner [user][:group] Reassign file ownership and group information to the user's login ID (privileged users only).
-s, --swap-bytes Swap bytes of each two-byte half-word.
-S, --swap-half-words Swap half-words of each four-byte word.
--sparse For copy-out and copy-pass, write files that have large blocks of zeros as sparse files.
-t, --list Print a table of contents of the input (create no files). When used with the -v option, resembles output of ls -l.
-u, --unconditional Unconditional copy; old files can overwrite new ones.
-v, --verbose Print a list of filenames processed.
-V, --dot Print a dot for each file read or written (this shows cpio at work without cluttering the screen).
--version Print version number and then exit.
Examples Generate a list of files whose names end in .old using find; use the list as input to cpio: find . -name "*.old" | cpio -ocBv > /dev/rst8
Restore from a tape drive all files whose names contain save (subdirectories are created if needed): cpio -icdv "*save*" < /dev/rst8
Move a directory tree: find . -depth | cpio -padm /mydir
cpp [options] [ifile [ofile]]
GNU C language preprocessor. cpp is normally invoked as the first pass of any C compilation by the gcc command. The output of cpp is a form acceptable as input to the next pass of the C compiler. The ifile and ofile options are, respectively, the input and output for the preprocessor; they default to standard input and standard output. Options
-$ Do not allow $ in identifiers.
-ansi Use 1990 ISO C standard. This is equivalent to -std=c89.
-dD Similar to -dM, but exclude predefined macros and include results of preprocessing.
-dM Suppress normal output. Print series of #defines that create the macros used in the source file.
-dN Similar to -dD, but don't print macro expansions.
-dI Print #include directives in addition to other output.
-fpreprocessed Treat file as already preprocessed. Skip most processing directives, remove all comments, and tokenize file.
-ftabstop=width Set distance between tabstops so columns will be reported correctly in warnings and errors. Default is 8.
-fno-show-column Omit column numbers in warnings and errors.
-gcc Define _ _GNUC_ _, _ _GNUC_MINOR_ _, and _ _GNUC_PATCHLEVEL_ _ macros.
--help Print usage message and exit.
-idirafter dir Search dir for header files when a header file is not found in any of the included directories.
-imacros file Process macros in file before processing main files.
-include file Process file before main file.
-iprefix prefix When adding directories with -iwithprefix, prepend prefix to the directory's name.
-isystem dir Search dir for header files after searching directories specified with -I but before searching standard system directories.
-iwithprefix dir Append dir to the list of directories to be searched when a header file cannot be found in the main include path. If -iprefix has been set, prepend that prefix to the directory's name.
-iwithprefixbefore dir Insert dir at the beginning of the list of directories to be searched when a header file cannot be found in the main include path. If -iprefix has been set, prepend that prefix to the directory's name.
-lang-c, -lang-c++, -lang-objc, -lang-objc++ Expect the source to be in C, C++, Objective C, or Objective C++, respectively.
-lint Display all lint commands in comments as #pragma lint command.
-nostdinc Search only specified, not standard, directories for header files.
-nostdinc++ Suppress searching of directories believed to contain C++-specific header files.
-o file Write output to file. (Same as specifying a second filename in the command line.)
-pedantic Warn verbosely.
-pedantic-errors Produce a fatal error in every case in which -pedantic would have produced a warning.
-std=standard Specify C standard of input file. Accepted values are:
iso9899:1990, c89 1990 ISO C standard.
iso9899:199409 1994 amendment to the 1990 ISO C standard.
iso9899:1999, c99, iso9899:199x, c9x 1999 revised ISO C standard.
gnu89 1990 C Standard with gnu extensions. The default value.
gnu99, gnu9x 1999 revised ISO C standard with gnu extensions.
-traditional Behave like traditional C, not ANSI.
-trigraphs Convert special three-letter sequences, meant to represent missing characters on some terminals, into the single character they represent.
-undef Suppress definition of all nonstandard macros.
-v Verbose mode.
-version Print version number, then process file.
--version Print version number, then exit.
-w Don't print warnings.
-x language Specify the language of the input file. language may be c, c++, objective-c, or assembler-with-cpp. By default, language is deduced from the filename extension. If the extension is unrecognized, the default is c.
-A name[=def] Assert name with value def as if defined by #assert. To turn off standard assertions, use -A-.
-A -name[=def] Cancel assertion name with value def.
-C Retain all comments except those found on cpp directive lines. By default, cpp strips C-style comments.
-Dname[=def] Define name with value def as if by a #define. If no =def is given, name is defined with value 1. -D has lower precedence than -U.
-E Preprocess the source files, but do not compile. Print result to standard output. This option is usually passed from gcc.
-H Print pathnames of included files, one per line, on standard error.
-Idir Search in directory dir for #include files whose names do not begin with / before looking in directories on standard list. #include files whose names are enclosed in double quotes and do not begin with / will be searched for first in the current directory, then in directories named on -I options, and last in directories on the standard list.
-I- Split includes. Search directories specified by -I options preceding this one for header files included with quotes (#include "file.h") but not for header files included with angle brackets (#include <file.h>). Search directories specified by -I options following this one for all header files.
-M [-MG] Suppress normal output. Print a rule for make that describes the main source file's dependencies. If -MG is specified, assume that missing header files are actually generated files, and look for them in the source file's directory.
-MF file Print rules generated by -M or -MM to file.
-MD file Similar to -M, but output to file; also compile the source.
-MM Similar to -M, but describe only those files included as a result of #include "file".
-MMD file Similar to -MD, but describe only the user's header files.
-MQ target Similar to -MT, but quote any characters that are special to make.
-MT target Specify the target to use when generating a rule for make. By default, the target is based on the name of the main input file.
-P Preprocess input without producing line-control information used by next pass of the C compiler.
-Uname Remove any initial definition of name, where name is a reserved symbol predefined by the preprocessor, or a name defined on a -D option. Names predefined by cpp are unix and i386 (for Intel systems).
-Wall Warn both on nested comments and trigraphs.
-Wcomment, -Wcomments Warn when encountering the beginning of a nested comment.
-Wtraditional Warn when encountering constructs that are interpreted differently in ANSI than in traditional C.
-Wtrigraphs Warn when encountering trigraphs, which are three-letter sequences meant to represent missing characters on some terminals.
Special names cpp understands various special names, some of which are:
_ _DATE_ _ Current date (e.g., Jan 10 2003).
_ _FILE_ _ Current filename (as a C string).
_ _LINE_ _ Current source line number (as a decimal integer).
_ _TIME_ _ Current time (e.g., 12:00:00).
These special names can be used anywhere, including in macros, just like any other defined names. cpp's understanding of the line number and filename may be changed using a #line directive. Directives All cpp directive lines start with # in column 1. Any number of blanks and tabs is allowed between the # and the directive. The directives are:
#assert name (string) Define a question called name, with an answer of string. Assertions can be tested with #if directives. The predefined assertions for #system, #cpu, and #machine can be used for architecture-dependent changes.
#unassert name Remove assertion for question name.
#define name token-string Define a macro called name, with a value of token-string. Subsequent instances of name are replaced with token-string.
#define name( arg, ... , arg ) token-string This allows substitution of a macro with arguments. token-string will be substituted for name in the input file. Each call to name in the source file includes arguments that are plugged into the corresponding args in token-string.
#undef name Remove definition of the macro name. No additional tokens are permitted on the directive line after name.
#ident string Put string into the comment section of an object file.
#include "filename",#include<filename> Include contents of filename at this point in the program. No additional tokens are permitted on the directive line after the final " or >.
#line integer-constant "filename" Cause cpp to generate line-control information for the next pass of the C compiler. The compiler behaves as if integer-constant is the line number of the next line of source code and filename (if present) is the name of the input file. No additional tokens are permitted on the directive line after the optional filename.
#endif End a section of lines begun by a test directive (#if, #ifdef, or #ifndef). No additional tokens are permitted on the directive line.
#ifdef name Lines following this directive and up to matching #endif or next #else or #elif will appear in the output if name is currently defined. No additional tokens are permitted on the directive line after name.
#ifndef name Lines following this directive and up to matching #endif or next #else or #elif will appear in the output if name is not currently defined. No additional tokens are permitted on the directive line after name.
#if constant-expression Lines following this directive and up to matching #endif or next #else or #elif will appear in the output if constant-expression evaluates to nonzero.
#elif constant-expression An arbitrary number of #elif directives are allowed between an #if, #ifdef, or #ifndef directive and an #else or #endif directive. The lines following the #elif and up to the next #else, #elif, or #endif directive will appear in the output if the preceding test directive and all intervening #elif directives evaluate to zero, and the constant-expression evaluates to nonzero. If constant-expression evaluates to nonzero, all succeeding #elif and #else directives will be ignored.
#else Lines following this directive and up to the matching #endif will appear in the output if the preceding test directive evaluates to zero, and all intervening #elif directives evaluate to zero. No additional tokens are permitted on the directive line.
#error Report fatal errors.
#warning Report warnings, but then continue processing.
crond [options]
System administration command. Normally started in a system startup file. Execute commands at scheduled times, as specified in users' files in /var/spool/cron. Each file shares its name with the user who owns it. The files are controlled via the command crontab. The crond command will also read commands from the /etc/crontab file and from the /etc/cron.d/ directory. See anacron for scheduling events on systems that are frequently rebooted or powered off, such as notebook computers. Options
-n Run the command in the foreground.
-p Remove security restrictions on crontab file permissions.
crontab [options] [file]
View, install, or uninstall your current crontab file. A privileged user can run crontab for another user by supplying -u user. A crontab file is a list of commands, one per line, that will execute automatically at a given time. Numbers are supplied before each command to specify the execution time. The numbers appear in five fields, as follows: Minute 0-59 Hour 0-23 Day of month1-31 Month 1-12 Jan, Feb, Mar, ... Day of week 0-6, with 0 = Sunday Sun, Mon, Tue, ...
Use a comma between multiple values, a hyphen to indicate a range, and an asterisk to indicate all possible values. For example, assuming these crontab entries: 59 3 * * 5 find / -print | backup_program 0 0 1,15 * * echo "Timesheets due" | mail user
the first command backs up the system files every Friday at 3:59 a.m., and the second command mails a reminder on the 1st and 15th of each month. The superuser can always issue the crontab command. Other users must be listed in the file /etc/cron.allow if it exists; otherwise, they must not be listed in /etc/cron.deny. If neither file exists, only the superuser can issue the command. Options The -e, -l, and -r options are not valid if any files are specified.
-e Edit the user's current crontab file (or create one).
-l Display the user's crontab file on standard output.
-r Delete the user's crontab file.
-u user Indicate which user's crontab file will be acted upon.
csplit [options] file arguments
Separate file into context-based sections and place sections in files named xx00 through xxn (n < 100), breaking file at each pattern specified in arguments. See also split. Options
- Read from standard input.
-b suffix, --suffix-format=suffix Append suffix to output filename. This option causes -n to be ignored. suffix must specify how to convert the binary integer to readable form by including one of the following: %d, %i, %u, %o, %x, or %X. The value of suffix determines the format for numbers as follows:
%d Signed decimal.
%i Same as %d.
%u Unsigned decimal.
%o Octal.
%x Hexadecimal.
%X Same as %x.
-f prefix, --prefix=prefix Name new files prefix00 through prefixn (default is xx00 through xxn).
-k, --keep-files Keep newly created files even when an error occurs (which would normally remove these files). This is useful when you need to specify an arbitrarily large repeat argument, {n}, and you don't want an out-of-range error to cause removal of the new files.
-n num, --digits=num Use output filenames with numbers num digits long. The default is 2.
-s, -q, --silent, --quiet Suppress all character counts.
-z, --elide-empty-files Do not create empty output files. However, number as if those files had been created.
Arguments Any one or a combination of the following expressions may be specified as arguments. Arguments containing blanks or other special characters should be surrounded by single quotes.
/expr/[offset] Create file from the current line up to the line containing the regular expression expr. offset should be of the form +n or -n, where n is the number of lines below or above expr.
%expr%[offset] Same as /expr/, except no file is created for lines previous to line containing expr.
num Create file from current line up to (but not including) line number num. When followed by a repeat count (number inside { }), put the next num lines of input into another output file.
{n} Repeat argument n times. May follow any of the preceding arguments. Files will split at instances of expr or in blocks of num lines. If * is given instead of n, repeat argument until input is exhausted.
Examples Create up to 20 chapter files from the file novel: csplit -k -f chap. novel '/CHAPTER/' '{20}'
Create up to 100 address files (xx00 through xx99), each four lines long, from a database named address_list: csplit -k address_list 4 {99}
ctags [options] files
Create a list of function and macro names defined in a programming source file. More than one file may be specified. ctags understands many programming languages, including C, C++, FORTRAN, Java, Perl, Python, flex, yacc, and bison. The output list (named tags by default) contains lines of the form: name file context
where name is the function or macro name, file is the source file in which name is defined, and context is a search pattern that shows the line of code containing name. After the list of tags is created, you can invoke vi on any file and type: :set tags= tagsfile :tag name
This switches the vi editor to the source file associated with the name listed in tagsfile (which you specify with -t). etags produces an equivalent file for tags to be used with Emacs. Options
-a Append tag output to existing list of tags.
-e Create tag files for use with emacs.
-h extensionlist Interpret files with filename extensions specified in extensionlist as header files. The default list is ".h.H.hh.hpp.hxx.h++.inc.def". To indicate that files without extensions should be treated as header files, insert an additional period in the list before another period or at the end of the list, or use just a period by itself. To use this option multiple times and have the specified lists ANDed together, use a plus sign as the first character in the list. To restore the default, use the word "default".
-n Use numeric ex commands to locate tags. Same as --excmd= number.
-o file, -f file, --output=file Write to file.
--packages-only Include tag entries for members of structure-like constructs.
-R Recursively read files in subdirectories of the directory given on the command line.
-u Don't sort tag entries.
-x Produce a tabular listing of each function, and its line number, source file, and context.
-B Search for tags backward through files.
-I tokenlist Specify a list of tokens to be specially handled. If tokenlist is given as a file, use ex pattern commands to locate tags. Same as --excmd=pattern.
-N Use ex pattern commands to locate tags. Same as --excmd= pattern.
-S, --ignore-indentation Normally ctags uses indentation to parse the tag file; this option tells ctags to rely on indentation less.
-T, --typedefs-and-c++ Include tag entries for typedefs, structs, enums, unions, and C++ member functions.
-V, --version Print the version number and exit.
cupsd options
System administration command. Start the print scheduler for the Common UNIX Printing System. Options
-c file Use specified configuration fileinstead of /etc/cups/cupsd.conf.
-f Run scheduler in foreground.
-F Run scheduler in foreground but detach it from the controlling terminal and current directory. Sometimes used when running cupsd from init.
cut options [files]
Cut out selected columns or fields from one or more files. In the following options, list is a sequence of integers. Use a comma between separate values, and a hyphen to specify a range (e.g., 1-10,15,20 or 50-). See also paste and join. Options
-b list, --bytes list Specify list of positions; only bytes in these positions will be printed.
-c list, --characters list Cut the column positions identified in list. Column numbers start with 1.
-d c, --delimiter c Use with -f to specify field delimiter as character c (default is tab); special characters (e.g., a space) must be quoted.
-f list, --fields list Cut the fields identified in list.
-n Don't split multibyte characters.
-s, --only-delimited Use with -f to suppress lines without delimiters.
--output-delimiter=string Use string as the output delimiter. By default, the output delimiter is the same as the input delimiter.
--help Print help message and exit.
--version Print version information and exit.
Examples Extract usernames and real names from /etc/passwd: cut -d: -f1,5 /etc/passwd
Find out who is logged on, but list only login names: who | cut -d" " -f1
Cut characters in the fourth column of file, and paste them back as the first column in the same file: cut -c4 file | paste - file
cvs [options] cvs-command [command-options] [command-args]
CVS (Concurrent Versions System) is a version-control system. Like earlier version-control systems such as RCS, CVS tracks versions, permits the storage and retrieval of earlier versions, and allows tracking of the history of a file or an entire project. In addition, it permits multiple users on different systems across a network to work in a file simultaneously and merge their changes. All CVS commands start with cvs, followed by any global options, the command to execute, and any command options or arguments. For more information on CVS and its commands, see Chapter 1.
date [options] [+format] [date]
Print the current date and time. You may specify a display format. format can consist of literal text strings (blanks must be quoted) as well as field descriptors, whose values will appear as described in the following entries (the listing shows some logical groupings). A privileged user can change the system's date and time. Options
+format Display current date in a nonstandard format. For example: $date +"%A %j %n%k %p" Tuesday 248 15 PM
The default is %a %b %e %T %Z %Y (e.g., Tue Sep 5 14:59:37 EDT 2005).
-d date, --date date Display date, which should be in quotes and may be in the format d days or m months d days, to print a date in the future. Specify ago to print a date in the past. You may include formatting (see the following section).
-f datefile, --file=datefile Like -d, but printed once for each line of datefile.
-I [timespec], --iso-8601[=timespec] Display in ISO-8601 format. If specified, timespec can have one of the following values: date (for date only), hours, minutes, or seconds to get the indicated precision.
-r file, --reference=file Display the time file was last modified.
-R, --rfc-822 Display the date in RFC 822 format.
--help Print help message and exit.
--version Print version information and exit.
-s date, --set date Set the date.
-u, --universal Set the date to Greenwich Mean Time, not local time.
Format The exact result of many of these codes is locale-specific and depends upon your language setting, particularly the LANG environment variable. See locale.
% Literal %.
- (hyphen) Do not pad fields (default: pad fields with zeros).
_ (underscore) Pad fields with space (default: zeros).
%a Abbreviated weekday.
%b Abbreviated month name.
%c Country-specific date and time format.
%d Day of month (01-31).
%h Same as %b.
%j Julian day of year (001-366).
%k Hour in 24-hour format, without leading zeros (0-23).
%l Hour in 12-hour format, without leading zeros (1-12).
%m Month of year (01-12).
%n Insert a new line.
%p String to indicate a.m. or p.m.
%r Time in %I:%M:%S %p (12-hour) format.
%s Seconds since "the Epoch," which is 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (a nonstandard extension).
%t Insert a tab.
%w Day of week (Sunday = 0).
%x Country-specific date format based on locale.
%y Last two digits of year (00-99).
%z RFC 822-style numeric time zone.
%A Full weekday.
%B Full month name.
%D Date in %m/%d/%y format.
%H Hour in 24-hour format (00-23).
%I Hour in 12-hour format (01-12).
%M Minutes (00-59).
%S Seconds (00-59).
%T Time in %H:%M:%S format.
%U Week number in year (00-53); start week on Sunday.
%V Week number in year (01-52); start week on Monday.
%W Week number in year (00-53); start week on Monday.
%X Country-specific time format based on locale.
%Y Four-digit year (e.g., 2006).
%Z Time-zone name.
Strings for setting date Strings for setting the date may be numeric or nonnumeric. Numeric strings consist of time, day, and year in the format MMDDhhmm[[CC]YY][.ss]. Nonnumeric strings may include month strings, time zones, a.m., and p.m.
time A two-digit hour and two-digit minute (hhmm); hh uses 24-hour format.
day A two-digit month and two-digit day of month (MMDD); default is current day and month.
year The year specified as either the full four-digit century and year or just the two-digit year; the default is the current year.
Examples Set the date to July 1 (0701), 4 a.m. (0400), 2005 (05): date 0701040095
The command: date +"Hello%t Date is %D %n%t Time is %T"
produces a formatted date as follows: Hello Date is 05/09/05 Time is 17:53:39
dd options
Make a copy of an input file (if) using the specified conditions, and send the results to the output file (or standard output if of is not specified). Any number of options can be supplied, although if and of are the most common and are usually specified first. Because dd can handle arbitrary block sizes, it is useful when converting between raw physical devices. Options
bs=n Set input and output block size to n bytes; this option overrides ibs and obs.
cbs=n Set the size of the conversion buffer (logical record length) to n bytes. Use only if the conversion flag is ascii, ebcdic, ibm, block, or unblock.
conv=flags Convert the input according to one or more (comma-separated) flags listed next. The first five flags are mutually exclusive.
ascii EBCDIC to ASCII.
ebcdic ASCII to EBCDIC.
ibm ASCII to EBCDIC with IBM conventions.
block Variable-length records (i.e., those terminated by a newline) to fixed-length records.
unblock Fixed-length records to variable-length records.
lcase Uppercase to lowercase.
ucase Lowercase to uppercase.
noerror Continue processing after read errors.
notrunc Don't truncate output file.
swab Swap each pair of input bytes.
sync Pad input blocks to ibs with trailing zeros.
count=n Copy only n input blocks.
ibs=n Set input block size to n bytes (default is 512).
if=file Read input from file (default is standard input).
obs=n Set output block size to n bytes (default is 512).
of=file Write output to file (default is standard output).
seek=n Skip n output-sized blocks from start of output file.
skip=n Skip n input-sized blocks from start of input file.
--help Print help message and then exit.
--version Print the version number and then exit.
You can multiply size values (n) by a factor of 1024, 512, or 2 by appending the letter k, b, or w, respectively. You can use the letter x as a multiplication operator between two numbers. Examples Convert an input file to all lowercase: dd if=caps_file of=small_file conv=lcase
Retrieve variable-length data and write it as fixed-length to out: [data_retrieval_cmd ] | dd of=out conv=sync,block
deallocvt N
Deallocate and destroy the unused virtual console /dev/ttyN. Multiple consoles may be named with additional spaces and integers: deallocvt 1 4 will deallocate the /dev/tty1 and /dev/tty4 consoles. Consoles are considered unused if they are not in the foreground, have no open processes, and have no selected text. The command will not destroy consoles that are still active.
debugfs [[option] device]
System administration command. Provide direct access to data structure of an ext2 or ext3 filesystem in order to debug problems with the device. device is the special file corresponding to the device containing the filesystem (e.g., /dev/hda3). debugfs may be used on a mounted filesystem device. Option
-b blocksize Use the specified blocksize for the filesystem.
-c Catastrophic mode. Open the filesystem in read-only mode; do not read the inode and group bitmaps initially.
-f file Read commands from file. Exit when done executing commands.
-i Specify filesystem device is an ext2 image file created by e2image.
-s block Read the superblock from the specified block.
-w Open the filesystem in read-write mode.
-R request Execute the given request (see list below) then exit.
-V Print version number, then exit.
Requests
bmapfile logicalblock Given the logicalblock of inode file, print the corresponding physical block.
cat file Dump the contents of an inode to standard output.
cd directory Change the current working directory to directory.
chroot directory Change the root directory to be the specified inode.
close Close the currently open filesystem.
clri file Clear the contents of the inode corresponding to file.
dump [-p] file out_file Dump the contents of inode file to out_file. Change ownership and permissions of out_file to match file if -p is specified.
expand_dir directory Expand directory.
feature [[-]feature] Set filesystem feature listed on the command line, then print current feature settings. Use - to clear a feature.
find_free_block [[n] goal] Find and allocate first n free blocks starting from goal (if specified).
find_free_inode [dir [mode]] Find a free inode and allocate it.
freeb block [n] Free n blocks beginning from block. Default is 1 block.
freei file Free the inode corresponding to file.
help Print a list of commands understood by debugfs.
icheck block Do block-to-inode translation.
imapfile Print the location of the inode data structure for file.
init_filesys device blocksize Create an ext2 filesystem on device.
kill_file file Remove file and deallocate its blocks.
lcd directory Change current working directory on native filesystem.
ln source_file dest_file Create a link.
logdump [-acs] [-bblock] [-iinode] [-fjournal_file] [out_file] Print the ext3 journal contents to screen or to the specified out_file. Prints the superblock journal by default. Specify other journal information by block or inode. You can also specify a journal_file containing journal data. Use -a to print the contents of descriptor blocks. Use -b to print records referring to a specified block. Use -c to print the hexadecimal and ASCII contents of blocks referenced by the logdump.
ls [-l] [-d] [pathname] Emulate the ls command. Use -l for verbose format and -d to list deleted entries.
modify_inode file Modify the contents of the inode corresponding to file.
mkdir directory Make directory.
mknod file [p|[[c|b] major minor]] Create a special device file.
ncheck inode Do inode-to-name translation.
open [-b blocksize] [-c] [-f] [-i] [-w] [-s block] device Open a filesystem. The options are identical to options for debugfs.
pwd Print the current working directory.
quit Quit debugfs.
rdump directory dest_directory Recursively dump directory and its contents to dest_directory on the native filesystem.
rm file Remove file.
rmdir directory Remove directory.
setb block [n] Mark n blocks as allocated, beginning from block. Default is 1 block.
seti file Mark in use the inode corresponding to file.
set_super_value [-l] field value Set superblock field to value. Use -l to print a list of valid fields.
show_super_stats [-h] List the contents of the superblock and block group descriptors. Use -h to list only the superblock contents.
stat file Dump the contents of the inode corresponding to file.
testb block [n] Print whether each of n blocks is in use, beginning with block. By default, just check the specified block.
testi file Test whether the inode corresponding to file is marked as allocated.
unlink file Remove a link.
write source_file file Create a file in the filesystem named file, and copy the contents of source_file into the destination file.
depmod [options] modules
System administration command. Create a dependency file for the modules given on the command line. This dependency file can be used by modprobe to automatically load the relevant modules. The normal use of depmod is to include the line /sbin/depmod -a in one of the files in /etc/rc.d so that the correct module dependencies will be available after booting the system. Options
-a, --all Create dependencies for all modules listed in /etc/modules.conf.
-b dir, --basedir dir Specify a base directory to use instead of /lib/modules.
-e, --errsyms Print a list of all unresolved symbols.
-d Debug mode. Show all commands being issued.
-h, --help Print help message, then exit.
-n, --show Write dependency file to standard output.
-q, --quiet Don't display error messages about missing symbols.
-r, --root Allow root to load modules not owned by root.
-s, --syslog Write error messages to the syslog daemon instead of to standard error.
-v Print a list of all processed modules.
-A, --quick Check timestamps and update the dependency file if anything has changed.
-C file, --config file Use the specified configuration file instead of /etc/modules.conf. May also be set using the MODULECONF environment variable.
-F file, --kernelsyms file Use the specified kernel symbol file to build dependencies. Usually this is either a copy of a system's System.map file or the output of /proc/ksyms.
-V, --version Print version number.
Files
/etc/modules.conf Information about modules: which ones depend on others, and which directories correspond to particular types of modules.
/sbin/insmod, /sbin/rmmod Programs that depmod relies on.
devdump isoimage
Interactively display the contents of the device or filesystem image isoimage. devdump displays the first 256 bytes of the first 2048-byte sector and waits for commands. The prompt shows the extent number (zone) and offset within the extent, and the contents display at the top of the screen. Commands
+ Search forward for the next instance of the search string.
a Search backward within the image.
b Search forward within the image.
f Prompt for a new search string.
g Prompt for a new starting block and go there.
q Exit.
df [options] [name]
Report the amount of free disk space available on all mounted filesystems or on the given name. (df cannot report on unmounted filesystems.) Disk space is shown in 1 KB blocks (default) or 512-byte blocks (if the environment variable POSIXLY_CORRECT is set). name can be a device name (e.g., /dev/hd*), the directory name of a mounting point (e.g., /usr), or a directory name (in which case df reports on the entire filesystem in which that directory is mounted). Options
-a, --all Include empty filesystems (those with 0 blocks).
--block-size=n Show space as n-byte blocks.
-h, --human-readable Print sizes in a format friendly to human readers (e.g., 1.9G instead of 1967156).
-H, --si Like -h, but show as power of 1000 rather than 1024.
-i, --inodes Report free, used, and percent-used inodes.
-k, --kilobytes Print sizes in kilobytes.
-l, --local Show local filesystems only.
-m, --megabytes Print sizes in megabytes.
--no-sync Show results without invoking sync first (i.e., without flushing the buffers). This is the default.
-P, --portability Use POSIX output format (i.e., print information about each filesystem on exactly one line).
--sync Invoke sync (flush buffers) before getting and showing sizes.
-t type, --type=type Show only type filesystems.
-T, --print-type Print the type of each filesystem in addition to the sizes.
-x type, --exclude-type=type Show only filesystems that are not of type type.
--help Print help message and then exit.
--version Print the version and then exit.
diff [options] [diroptions] file1 file2
Compare two text files. diff reports lines that differ between file1 and file2. Output consists of lines of context from each file, with file1 text flagged by a < symbol and file2 text by a > symbol. Context lines are preceded by the ed command (a, c, or d) that would be used to convert file1 to file2. If one of the files is -, standard input is read. If one of the files is a directory, diff locates the filename in that directory corresponding to the other argument (e.g., diff my_dir junk is the same as diff my_dir/junk junk). If both arguments are directories, diff reports lines that differ between all pairs of files having equivalent names (e.g., olddir/program and newdir/program); in addition, diff lists filenames unique to one directory, as well as subdirectories common to both. See also cmp. Options
-a, --text Treat all files as text files. Useful for checking to see if binary files are identical.
-b, --ignore-space-change Ignore repeating blanks and end-of-line blanks; treat successive blanks as one.
-B, --ignore-blank-lines Ignore blank lines in files.
-c Context diff: print 3 lines surrounding each changed line.
-C n, --context[=n] Context diff: print n lines surrounding each changed line. The default context is 3 lines.
-d, --minimal To speed up comparison, ignore segments of numerous changes and output a smaller set of changes.
-D symbol, --ifdef=symbol When handling C files, create an output file that contains all the contents of both input files, including #ifdef and #ifndef directives that reflect the directives in both files.
-e, --ed Produce a script of commands (a, c, d) to re-create file2 from file1 using the ed editor.
-F regexp, --show-function-line[=regexp] For context and unified diff, show the most recent line containing regexp before each block of changed lines.
-H Speed output of large files by scanning for scattered small changes; long stretches with many changes may not show up.
--help Print brief usage message.
--horizon-lines=n In an attempt to find a more compact listing, keep n lines on both sides of the changed lines when performing the comparison.
-i, --ignore-case Ignore case in text comparison. Uppercase and lowercase are considered the same.
-I regexp, --ignore-matching-lines=regexp Ignore lines in files that match the regular expression regexp.
-l, --paginate Paginate output by passing it to pr.
-L label, --label label, --label=label For context and unified diff, print label in place of the filename being compared. The first such option applies to the first filename and the second option to the second filename.
--left-column For two-column output (-y), show only left column of common lines.
-n, --rcs Produce output in RCS diff format.
-N, --new-file Treat nonexistent files as empty.
-p, --show-c-function When handling files in C or C-like languages such as Java, show the function containing each block of changed lines. Assumes -c, but can also be used with a unified diff.
-P, --unidirectional-new-file If two directories are being compared and the first lacks a file that is in the second, pretend that an empty file of that name exists in the first directory.
-q, --brief Output only whether files differ.
-r, --recursive Compare subdirectories recursively.
-s, --report-identical-files Indicate when files do not differ.
-S filename, --starting-file=filename For directory comparisons, begin with the file filename, skipping files that come earlier in the standard list order.
--suppress-common-lines For two-column output (-y), do not show common lines.
-t, --expand-tabs Produce output with tabs expanded to spaces.
-T, --initial-tab Insert initial tabs into output to line up tabs properly.
-u Unified diff: print old and new versions of lines in a single block, with 3 lines surrounding each block of changed lines.
-U n, --unified[=n] Unified diff: print old and new versions of lines in a single block, with n lines surrounding each block of changed lines. The default context is 3 lines.
-v, --version Print version number of this version of diff.
-w, --ignore-all-space Ignore all whitespace in files for comparisons.
-W n, --width=n For two-column output (-y), produce columns with a maximum width of n characters. Default is 130.
-x regexp, --exclude=regexp Do not compare files in a directory whose names match regexp.
-X filename, --exclude-from=filename Do not compare files in a directory whose names match patterns described in the file filename.
-y, --side-by-side Produce two-column output.
-n For context and unified diff, print n lines of context. Same as specifying a number with -C or -U.
diff3 [options] file1 file2 file3
Compare three files and report the differences. No more than one of the files may be given as - (indicating that it is to be read from standard input). The output is displayed with the following codes:
= = = = All three files differ.
= = = =1 file1 is different.
= = = =2 file2 is different.
= = = =3 file3 is different.
diff3 is also designed to merge changes in two differing files based on a common ancestor file (i.e., when two people have made their own set of changes to the same file). diff3 can find changes between the ancestor and one of the newer files and generate output that adds those differences to the other new file. Unmerged changes occur where both of the newer files differ from each other and at least one of them differs from the ancestor. Changes from the ancestor that are the same in both of the newer files are called merged changes. If all three files differ in the same place, it is called an overlapping change. This scheme is used on the command line, with the ancestor being file2, the second filename. Comparison is made between file2 and file3, with those differences then applied to file1. Options
-3, --easy-only Create an ed script to incorporate into file1 unmerged, nonoverlapping differences between file1 and file3.
-a, --text Treat files as text.
-A, --show-all Create an ed script to incorporate all changes, showing conflicts in bracketed format.
-e, --ed Create an ed script to incorporate into file1 all unmerged differences between file2 and file3.
-E, --show-overlap Create an ed script to incorporate unmerged changes, showing conflicts in bracketed format.
-x, --overlap-only Create an ed script to incorporate into file1 all differences where all three files differ (overlapping changes).
-X Same as -x, but show only overlapping changes, in bracketed format.
-m, --merge Create file with changes merged (not an ed script).
-L label, --label=label Use label to replace filename in output.
-i Append the w (save) and q (quit) commands to ed script output.
-T, --initial-tab To line tabs up properly in output, begin lines with a tab instead of two spaces.
-v, --version Print version information and then exit.
dig [@server] [options] [name] [type] [class] [query-options] dig @server name type dig -h
The dig command is used to query DNS servers; it is more flexible than the deprecated nslookup command. When invoked with just the -h option, it displays a list of options for the command. If you use it without any options or arguments, it will search for the root server. The standard arguments are:
server The server to query. If no server is supplied, dig will check the nameservers listed in /etc/resolv.conf. The address may be an IPv4 dotted address or an IPv6 colon-delimited address. It may also be a hostname, which dig will resolve (through the nameservers in /etc/resolv.conf).
name The domain name to look up.
type The type of query to perform, such as A, ANY, MX, SIG, and so forth. The default is A, but you may use any valid BIND9 query type.
Options You may use the following option flags with dig:
-b address Set the source IP address for the query.
-c class Set the class of query. The default value is IN (internet), but you can choose HS for Hesiod or CH for CHAOSNET.
-f filename Operate in batch mode, performing the queries in the file you specify.
-p portnumber Choose the port number for the query. The default value is the standard DNS port, 53.
-t type Set the type of query, as with the query argument. The default value is A, but you may use any valid BIND9 query.
-x addr Use the -x flag for reverse lookups, specifying an IPv4 or IPv6 address. You do not need the name, class, or type arguments if you use the -x flag.
-k filename Specify a TSIG keyfile; used for signed transactions. You can also use the -y key, although this is less secure.
-y keyname: keyvalue Enter the actual key name and value when conducting a signed transaction. Because the key and value can be seen in the output of ps, this is not recommended for use on multiuser systems; use -k instead.
Query options There are a large number of query options for dig. Each query option is preceded by +, and many have an opposite version beginning with no. For example, the tcp flag is passed as +tcp, and negated with +notcp. Because there are so many options, only a few are discussed here. For greater detail, see the dig manpage.
+tcp, +notcp Use (or do not use) the TCP protocol instead of the default UDP.
+domain>=searchdomain Perform a search in the domain specified; this is equivalent to using the +search option and having "searchdomain" as the sole entry in the search list or domain directive of /etc/resolv.conf.
+search, +nosearch Use (or do not use) the search list provided in /etc/resolv.conf. The default is not to use the search list.
+time=t Timeout for queries, in seconds. The default is 5, and the minimum is 1.
+tries=n The number of times to retry UDP queries. The default is 3, and the minimum is 1.
dir [options] [file]
List directory contents. dir is equivalent to the command ls -C -b (list files in columns, sorted vertically, special characters escaped), and it takes the same arguments as ls. This is an alternate invocation of the ls command and is provided for the convenience of those converting from Microsoft Windows and the DOS shell.
dircolors [options] [file]
Set the color options for ls by changing the LS_COLORS environment variable. If you specify a file, dircolors will read it to determine which colors to use. Otherwise, it will use a default set of colors. Options The program takes three options in addition to the standard --help and --version flags:
-p, --print-database Display the default colors. You can copy this information into a file and change it to suit your preferences, and then run the program with the file as its argument to set the colors to your new values.
-c, --csh, --c-shell Use csh (C shell) syntax when setting the LS_COLORS variable.
-b, --sh, --bourne-shell Use the Bourne shell syntax when setting the LS_COLORS variable.
dirname pathname
Print pathname, excluding the last level. Useful for stripping the actual filename from a pathname. If there are no slashes (no directory levels) in pathname, dirname prints . to indicate the current directory. See also basename.
disable [options] destination
Disables access to a printer. Equivalent to reject. Options
-c Cancel all jobs on the destination printer.
-r [reason] Enter a reason for your action. If this is left blank, the message is set to "Reason Unknown."
dlpsh [-p port]
Desktop Link Protocol (DLP) shell. Connects to a PalmOS device on the specified port to execute DLP commands. Within the shell, adding the --help flag to any command displays additional help about that command. Commands
user Display or set username, ID, PCID, and ViewerID.
ls List files. As in Bash and other shells, the -l option displays a long-format list, and the -r option shows a short list. No other flags are supported.
df Display the amount of free memory (RAM and ROM) on the device. Accepts no flags or arguments.
time Set the PalmOS device time to the current desktop time.
rm Delete a file. There is no undelete process.
quit Exit the shell.
dmesg [options]
System administration command. Display the system control messages from the kernel ring buffer. This buffer stores all messages since the last system boot, or the most recent ones if the buffer has been filled. Options
-c Clear buffer after printing messages.
-nlevel Set the level of system message that will display on console.
-sbuffersize Specify buffersize of kernel ring buffer. This is useful if you have changed the kernel default.
dnsdomainname
TCP/IP command. Print the system's DNS domain name. See also hostname.
dnssec-keygen [options] domain-name
System administration command. Generate encrypted Secure DNS (DNSSEC) or Transaction Signatures (TSIG) keys for domain-name. When the key is completed, dnssec-keygen prints the key identifier to standard output and creates public and private keyfiles whose names are based on the key identifier and the filename extensions .key and .private. It creates both files even when using an asymmetric algorithm, such as HMAC-MD5. For more information on Secure DNS, see DNS and BIND (O'Reilly), or read RFC 2535. Options
-a algorithm Specify the cryptographic algorithm to use. Accepted values are RSAMD5, RSA, DSA, DH, or HMAC-MD5. DSA or RSA should be used for Secure DNS, and HMAC-MD5 for TSIG.
-b bitsize Specify the key bitsize. Accepted values depend on the encryption algorithm used, but, in general, a larger key size means stronger encryption. 128 bits is usually considered reasonably secure, and 512 quite good.
-c class The domain record for which the key is being generated should contain class. When this option is not given, a class of IN is assumed.
-e Use a large exponent when generating an RSA key.
-g generator Specify the number to use as a generator when creating a DH (Diffie Hellman) key. Accepted values are 2 and 5.
-h Print a help message, then exit.
-n type The owner of the key must be of the specified type. Accepted values are ZONE, HOST, ENTITY, or USER.
-p protocol Specify the protocol value for the generated key. Accepted values are given in RFC 2535 and other DNS Security RFCs. By default, the value is either 2 (email) or 3 (DNSSEC).
-r device Specify the device to use as a source of randomness when creating keys. This can be a device file, a file containing random data, or the string keyboard to specify keyboard input. By default, /dev/random will be used when available, and keyboard input will be used when it is not.
-s type Specify whether the key can be used for authentication, confirmation, both, or neither. Accepted values for type are AUTHCONF, NOAUTHCONF, NOAUTH, or NOCONF.
dnssec-makekeyset [options] key-identifiers
System administration command. Generate a domain keyset from one or more DNS Security keys generated by dnssec-keygen. Keysets can be sent to parent zone administrators to be signed with the zone key. The keyset is written to a file with the name keyset-domainname. For more information on Secure DNS, see DNS and BIND (O'Reilly), or read RFC 2535. Options
-a Verify all generated signatures.
-e end-time Specify the date and time the records will expire. The end-time may be specified in yyyymmddhhmmss notation, or as +n seconds from the start-time. The default is 30 days from start-time.
-h Print help message, then exit.
-p Use pseudo-random data to sign the zone key.
-r device Specify the device to use as a source of randomness when creating keys. This can be a device file, a file containing random data, or the string keyboard to specify keyboard input. By default, /dev/random will be used when available, and keyboard input will be used when it is not.
-s start-time Specify the date and time the records become valid. The end-time may be specified in yyyymmddhhmmss notation, or as +n seconds from the current time. The default is the current time.
-t ttl Specify the TTL (time to live) in seconds for the KEY and SIG records. Default is 3600 seconds.
dnssec-signkey [options] keyset key-identifiers
System administration command. Sign a secure DNS keyset with the key signatures specified in the list of key-identifiers. A zone administrator would use this command to sign a child zone's keyset with the parent zone's keys. For more information on Secure DNS, see DNS and BIND (O'Reilly), or read RFC 2535. Options
-a Verify generated signatures.
-c class Specify the DNS class of the keyset.
-e end-time Specify the date and time the records will expire. The end-time may be specified in yyyymmddhhmmss notation, or as +n seconds from the start-time. The default is 30 days from start-time.
-h Print help message, then exit.
-p Use pseudo-random data to sign the zone key.
-r device Specify the device to use as a source of randomness when creating keys. This can be a device file, a file containing random data, or the string keyboard to specify keyboard input. By default, /dev/random will be used when available, and keyboard input will be used when it is not.
-s start-time Specify the date and time the records become valid. The end-time may be specified in yyyymmddhhmmss notation, or given as +n seconds from the current time. The default is the current time.
dnssec-signzone [options] zonefile [key-identifiers]
System administration command. Sign a secure DNS zonefile with the signatures in the specified list of key-identifiers. If signed keysets associated with the zone are found in the current directory, include their signatures in the signed zone file. The dnssec-signzone command writes the signed zone information to a file named db-domainname.signed. This file should be referenced in a zone statement in a named.conf file. For more information on Secure DNS, see DNS and BIND (O'Reilly), or read RFC 2535. Options
-a Verify generated signatures.
-c class Specify the DNS class of the keyset.
-d directory Search directory for signed keyfiles.
-e end-time Specify the date and time the records will expire. The end-time may be specified in yyyymmddhhmmss notation, or given as +n seconds from the start-time. The default is 30 days from start-time.
-f file Write output to the specified file instead of the default output file.
-h Print help message, then exit.
-i days When signing a previously signed zone, replace any records due to expire within the specified number of days. The default is one quarter of the number of days between the signature's start-time and end-time.
-n threads Specify the number of threads to use when signing the zone file. The default is one for each detected CPU.
-o origin Specify the zone origin. The name of the zone file is the default origin.
-p Use pseudo-random data to sign the zone key.
-r device Specify the device to use as a source of randomness when creating keys. This can be a device file, a file containing random data, or the string keyboard to specify keyboard input. By default, /dev/random will be used when available, and keyboard input will be used when it is not.
-s start-time Specify the date and time the records become valid. The end-time may be specified in yyyymmddhhmmss notation, or given as +n seconds from the current time. The default is the current time.
-t Print statistics when complete.
doexec /path/to/command [argv[0]] ... [argv[n]]
Execute the specified command with the specified options and arguments. Differs from the normal exec command in that argv[0] may be completely arbitrary, and in that it passes all options to the executable being run.
domainname [name]
NFS/NIS command. Set or display name of current NIS domain. With no argument, domainname displays the name of the current NIS domain. Only a privileged user can set the domain name by giving an argument; this is usually done in a startup script.
dosfsck [options] device fsck.msdos [options] device
System administration command. Similar to fsck, but specifically intended for MS-DOS filesystems. When checking an MS-DOS filesystem, fsck calls this command. Normally dosfsck stores all changes in memory, then writes them when checks are complete. Options
-a Automatically repair the system; do not prompt the user.
-d file Drop the named file from the file allocation table. Force checking, even if kernel has already marked the filesystem as valid. dosfsck will normally exit without checking if the system appears to be clean.
-f Save unused cluster chains to files.
-l List pathnames of files being processed.
-r Repair the system, prompting user for advice.
-t Mark unreadable clusters as bad.
-u file Attempt to undelete the named file.
-v Verbose mode.
-w Write changes to disk immediately.
-y When queried, answer "yes."
-A Filesystem is an Atari version of MS-DOS.
-V Repeat test to verify all errors have been corrected.
du [options] [directories]
Print disk usage (as the number of 1 KB blocks used by each named directory and its subdirectories; default is the current directory). Options
-a, --all Print disk usage for all files, not just subdirectories.
-b, --bytes Print sizes in bytes.
-c, --total In addition to normal output, print grand total of all arguments.
-D, --dereference-args Follow symbolic links, but only if they are command-line arguments.
-h, --human-readable Print sizes in human-readable format.
-H, --si Like -h, but show as power of 1000 rather than 1024.
-k, --kilobytes Print sizes in kilobytes (this is the default).
-l, --count-links Count the size of all files, whether or not they have already appeared (i.e., via a hard link).
-L, --dereference Follow symbolic links.
--exclude=pattern Exclude files that match pattern.
--max-depth=num Report sizes for directories only down to num levels below the starting point (which is level 0).
-m, --megabytes Print sizes in megabytes.
-s, --summarize Print only the grand total for each named directory.
-S, --separate-dirs Do not include the sizes of subdirectories when totaling the size of parent directories.
-x, --one-file-system Display usage of files in current filesystem only.
-X, --exclude-from=file Exclude files that match any pattern in file.
--help Print help message and then exit.
--version Print the version and then exit.
dump [options] files
System administration command. This simple backup utility accesses ext2 and ext3 file devices directly, quickly backing up files without affecting file access times. files may be specified as a mount point or as a list of files and directories to back up. While you can use this on a mounted system, dump may write corrupted information to the backup when the kernel has written only part of its cached information. Dump maintains a record of which files it has saved in /etc/dumpdates, and will perform incremental backups after creating an initial full backup. Use the restore command to restore a dump backup. Options
-a Write until end-of-media. Default behavior when writing to tape drives.
-A file Create a table of contents for the archive in the specified file.
-bblocksize Block size in kilobytes to use in dumped records. By default, it is 10, or 32 when dumping to a tape with a density greater than 6250BPI.
-Bblocks Specify number of blocks to write per volume.
-c Treat target as a 1700-foot-long cartridge tape drive with 8000 bpi. Override end-of-media detection.
-d density Specify tape density.
-D file Write dump information to file instead of /etc/dumpdates.
-E file Exclude inodes specified in file.
-f files Write backup volumes to the specified files or devices. Use - to write to standard output. Separate multiple files with a comma. Use host:file or user@host:file to write to a networked host using either the rmt program or the program specified by the RMT environment variable.
-F script Run script at the end of each volume other than the last. dump will pass the current device and volume number to the script. The script should return 0 to continue, 1 to prompt for a new tape, or any other exit value to abort the dump. The script will run with the processes real user and group ID.
-i inodes Specify a comma-separated list of inodes to skip.
-I n Ignore the first n read errors. dump ignores 32 read errors by default. Specify 0 to ignore all errors. You may need to do this when dumping a mounted filesystem.
-j[level] Compress each block using the bzlib library at the specified compression level. By default dump uses level 2 compression.
-k Use Kerberos authentication when writing to a remote system.
-L label Write the specified volume label into the dump header.
-m Save only metadata when backing up changed but not modified files.
-M Create a multivolume backup. Treat any filename provided with -f as a prefix.
-n Use wall to notify members of group operator when prompting for information.
-q Abort the backup instead of prompting for information when operator input is required.
-Q file Create Quick Access information in the specified file for use by restore.
-s n Write only n feet of tape in a single volume. Prompt for a new tape upon reaching this limit.
-S Calculate and print the amount of space required to perform the backup, then exit.
-T date Only back up files changed or modified since date. This overrides the time given in /etc/dumpdates.
-u Update /etc/dumpdates after completing the backup.
-v Print verbose information about the dump.
-W Generate a report on the backup status of all filesystems based on information in /etc/dumpdates and/etc/fstab.
-W Generate a report of filesystems that need to be backed up. Only report on filesystems listed in /etc/fstab and /etc/mtab that need to be backed up.
-y Compress each block using the lzo library.
-z[level] Compress each block using the zlib library. If provided, use the specified compression level. The default is 2.
dumpe2fs device
System administration command. Print information about device's superblock and blocks group. Options
-b List blocks marked as bad.
-f Force display of filesystems with unknown feature flags.
-h Display superblock information only.
-i Specify device is an image file created by e2image.
-ob superblock Specify location of the superblock.
-oB blocksize Specify blocksize to use when examining filesystem.
-x Print block numbers in hexadecimal.
-V Print version number and exit.
dumpkeys [options]
Print information about the keyboard driver's translation tables to standard output. Further information is available in the manual pages under keymaps(5). Options
-1, --separate-lines Print one line for each modifier/keycode pair, and prefix plain to each unmodified keycode.
-ccharset, --charset=charset Specify character set with which to interpret character code values. The default character set is iso-8859-1. The full list of valid character sets is available with the --help option.
--compose-only Print compose key combinations only. Requires compose key support in the kernel.
-f, --full-table Output in canonical, not short, form: for each key, print a row with modifier combinations divided into columns.
--funcs-only Print function-key string definitions only; do not print key bindings or string definitions.
-h, --help Print help message and the version.
-i, --short-info Print in short-info format, including information about acceptable keycode keywords in the keytable files; the number of actions that can be bound to a key; a list of the ranges of action codes (the values to the right of a key definition); and the number of function keys that the kernel supports.
--keys-only Print key bindings only; do not print string definitions.
-l, --long-info Print the same information as in --short-info, plus a list of the supported action symbols and their numeric values.
-n, --numeric Print action code values in hexadecimal notation; do not attempt to convert them to symbolic notation.
-S num, --shape=num Print using num to determine table shape. Values of num are:
0 Default.
1 Same as --full-table.
2 Same as --separate-lines.
3 One line for each keycode up to the first hole, then one line per modifier/keycode pair.
e2fsck [options] device fsck.ext2 [options] device
System administration command. Checks and repairs a disk, as does fsck, but specifically designed for ext2 (Linux Second Extended) and ext3 (Third Extended, a journaling version of ext2) filesystems. fsck actually uses this command when checking ext2 and ext3 filesystems. Most often used after a sudden shutdown, such as from a power outage, or when damage to the disk is suspected. Options
-b superblock Use superblock instead of the default superblock.
-c Find bad blocks using the badblocks command. Specify this option twice to perform the scan with a nondestructive read-write test.
-d Debugging mode.
-f Force checking, even if kernel has already marked the filesystem as valid. e2fsck will normally exit without checking if the system appears to be clean.
-j file Use the specified external journal file.
-k Preserve all previously marked bad blocks when using the -c option.
-l file Consult file for a list of bad blocks, in addition to checking for others.
-n Ensure that no changes are made to the filesystem. When queried, answer "no."
-p "Preen." Repair all bad blocks noninteractively.
-s Byte-swap the filesystem if necessary to standard (little-endian) byte-order.
-t Display timing statistics.
-v Verbose.
-y When queried, answer "yes."
-B size Expect to find the superblock at size; if it's not there, exit.
-C filedescriptor Write completion information to the specified filedescriptor. If 0, print a completion bar.
-D Optimize directories by reindexing, sorting, and compressing them where possible.
-F Flush buffer caches before checking.
-L file Consult file for list of bad blocks instead of checking filesystem for them.
-S Byte-swap the filesystem.
e2image [option] device file
System administration command. Store disaster recovery data for ext2 filesystem on device to image file file. Weekly filesystem images can be an important part of a disaster recovery plan. Option
-r Create a raw image file that can be checked and debugged using filesystem utilities such as e2fsck or debugfs. Raw images are created as sparse files. Either compress the image file before moving it, or use the --sparse=always option when copying it with cp.
--sparse=[always|auto|never] Handle files that have "holes" (are defined as a certain size, but have less data). always creates a sparse file, auto creates one if the input file is sparse, and never creates a non-sparse file without holes.
e2label device [label]
System administration command. Display the filesystem label on an ext2 filesystem device. Change filesystem label to label if specified.
echo [options] [string]
Send (echo) the input string to standard output. This is the /bin/echo command. echo also exists as a command built into bash. The following character sequences have special meanings:
\a Alert (bell).
\b Backspace.
\c Suppress trailing newline.
\f Form feed.
\n Newline.
\r Carriage return.
\t Horizontal tab.
\v Vertical tab.
\\ Literal backslash.
\nnn The octal character whose ASCII code is nnn.
Options
-e Enable character sequences with special meaning. (In some versions, this option is not required in order to make the sequences work.)
-E Disable character sequences with special meaning.
-n Suppress printing of newline after text.
--help Print help message and then exit.
--version Print version information and then exit.
Examples /bin/echo "testing printer" | lp /bin/echo "TITLE" > file ; cat doc1 doc2 >> file /bin/echo "Warning: ringing bell \a"
edquota [options] [name]
System administration command. Edit filesystem quotas using a text editor. When edits are complete, edquota writes the new information to the binary quota files. Uses the editor specified in the EDITOR environment variable, or vi by default. Options
-ffilesystem Only apply changes to the specified filesystem.
-Fformat Specify filesystem quota format to use. See quota for a list of accepted values.
-g Edit group quotas.
-pprototype Apply the same settings as used for the specified user or group: prototype.
-r Edit quotas on remote systems.
-t Edit grace times for block and inode quotas.
-T Edit grace times for individual user or group name.
-u Edit user quotas. (This is the default.)
egrep [options] [regexp] [files]
Search one or more files for lines that match an extended regular expression regexp. egrep doesn't support the regular expressions \(, \), \n, \<, \>, \{, or \}, but it does support the other expressions, as well as the extended set +, ?, |, and ( ). Remember to enclose these characters in quotes. Regular expressions are described in Chapter 7. Exit status is 0 if any lines match, 1 if none match, and 2 for errors. See grep for the list of available options. Also see fgrep. Examples Search for occurrences of Victor or Victoria in file: egrep 'Victor(ia)*' file egrep '(Victor|Victoria)' file
Find and print strings such as old.doc1 or new.doc2 in files, and include their line numbers: egrep -n '(old|new)\.doc?' files
eject [options] [device]
Eject removable media such as a CD-ROM, floppy, tape, or JAZ or ZIP disk. You may name the device by its /dev or /mnt filename. The /dev and /mnt prefixes are optional for any items in the /dev and /mnt directories. If no device is named, it is assumed that "cdrom" should be ejected. Options The eject command takes the following option flags:
-h Display help information.
-v, --verbose Verbose mode: display additional information about actions.
-d, --default List the default device name rather than doing anything.
-a, --auto on|1|off|0 Set the auto-eject mode to on or off (equivalent to 1 or 0, respectively). If auto-eject mode is on, the device is ejected when closed or unmounted.
-c, --changerslot slotnumber If using a CD-ROM changer, select a CD from one of the slots. Slots are enumerated starting with 0, and the CD-ROM drive must not be playing music or mounted to read data.
-t, --trayclose Close the CD-ROM drive. Not all drives will respond to this command.
-x, --cdspeed speed Set the speed multiplier for the CD-ROM to an integer, usually a power of 2. Not all devices support this command. Setting the speed to 0 indicates that the drive should operate at its maximum speed.
-n, --noop Do not perform any actions; merely display the actions that would be performed.
-r, --cdrom Use CD-ROM commands to eject the drive. Normally, the system will try all methods (CD-ROM, SCSI, floppy, tape) to eject.
-s, --scsi Use SCSI commands to eject the drive. Normally, the system will try all methods (CD-ROM, SCSI, floppy, tape) to eject.
-f, --floppy Use floppy commands to eject the drive. Normally, the system will try all methods (CD-ROM, SCSI, floppy, tape) to eject.
-q, --tape Use tape commands to eject the drive. Normally, the system will try all methods (CD-ROM, SCSI, floppy, tape) to eject.
-p, --proc Use the mounted files listed in /proc/mounts rather than in /etc/mtab.
-V, --version Display version information, then quit.
elvtune [options] devices
System administration command. Set the latency in the elevator algorithm used to schedule I/O activities for the specified block devices. If no options are given, print the current settings for devices. Options
-b n Set the maximum coalescing factor allowed on writes when reads are pending to n.
-h Print help message, then exit.
-r n Set the maximum read latency (basically, the number of sectors to read before writes are allowed) to n. The default is 8192.
-v Print version number, then exit.
-w n Set the maximum write latency (sectors to write before allowing a read) to n. The default is 16384.
emacs [options] [files]
A text editor and all-purpose work environment. For more information, see Chapter 8.
enable -E [destination]
Enable printers or printer classes. Part of the CUPS system. More often invoked as accept.
env [option] [variable=value ... ] [command]
Display the current environment or, if an environment variable is specified, set it to a new value and display the modified environment. If command is specified, execute it under the modified environment. Options
-, -i, --ignore-environment Ignore current environment entirely.
-u name, --unset name Unset the specified variable.
--help Print help message and then exit.
--version Print version information and then exit.
envsubst [options] [shell-format]
Substitutes environment variables in a shell string or script. When used with no options, copies stdin to stdout, replacing any environment variable string, such as $VARIABLE or ${VARIABLE}, with the appropriate environment variable value. So, "My editor is $EDITOR" would be converted to "My editor is /usr/bin/emacs." Specifying a shell format limits the substitutions to those variables referenced in the shell format. Options
-h,--help Print help message and then exit.
-V,--version Print version information and then exit.
-v,--variables Display the variables referenced in the shell format, and then exit.
esd [options]
Start the Enlightened Sound Daemon, also called EsounD, a sound-mixing daemon that allows multiple applications to access a single audio device at one time. Options
-d devicename Use the specified device devicename. Some common sound devices are /dev/dsp and /dev/dsp2.
-b Play eight-bit sound.
-r rate Specify the sample rate for the server.
-as n After n seconds of inactivity, release the audio device. Set to -1 for "never."
-unix Use UNIX domain sockets. Default is TCP/IP.
-tcp Use TCP/IP sockets. This is the default.
-public Allow remote systems to access the daemon over TCP/IP.
-promiscuous Disable authentication. Not recommended.
-terminate When last client exits, quit.
-nobeeps Do not beep when starting.
-beeps Beep when starting.
-trust Allow esd to start even if the /tmp/.esd directory may be insecure.
-port n Listen on TCP/IP port n.
-bind address Bind to the TCP/IP address specified.
-v, --version Print version information and quit.
esd-config [options]
Determine the compiler and linker flags that should be used when compiling applications that need to use EsounD. Options
--cflags Display the compiler flags that should be used.
--exec-prefix=[directory] Determine compiler and linker flags using the specified execution prefix, instead of the one EsounD provides. This option must come before the --libs and --cflags options.
--libs Display linker flags used to link applications to EsounD.
--prefix=[directory] Determine compiler and linker flags using the specified installation prefix instead of the one EsounD provides. This option must come before the --libs and --cflags options.
--version Display the version of esd.
esdcat [options]< file
Send audio data from the specified file (usually a pipe) to a sound device using the Enlightened Sound Daemon. Options
-s servername Hostname of the server where esd is running. The default is localhost.
-b Output eight-bit sound.
-m Output monophonic sound.
-r rate Specify the sample rate of the output.
esdctl [options] command
Control program for the Enlightened Sound Daemon. Options
-s servername:port Hostname of the server where esd is running (default is localhost). Port number is optional.
Commands
lock Allow only local clients to access the daemon.
unlock Allow remote clients to access the daemon.
standby, off Stop sound output.
resume, on Start sound output.
cache sample Cache the specified sample in the daemon's memory.
getid name Retrieve the named sample from the memory.
free name Free the named sample.
play name Play the named sample.
loop name Loop the named sample.
stop name Stop an ongoing loop at the end of the next cycle.
serverinfo Get server information.
allinfo Get all available information from server: server, player, sample information.
panstream id left right set Pan for a stream.
pansample id left right set Pan for a sample. Default left and right values are scaled to 256.
standbymode Check whether the server is in standby mode.
esddsp [options]player args
Reroute non-esd audio data through esd. This permits you to control all the audio on the system using only esd. Options
-s, --server=servername:port Host name of the server where esd is running. The default is localhost.
-h, --help Show help message.
-m, --mixer Use esd as a mixer.
-n, --name=player Specify name of player.
-v, --verbose Verbose output: show parameters.
--mmap Use memory-mapping emulation. Good for memory-intensive applications such as 3-D games.
esdmon [options]file
Duplicate the sound being sent to the sound device, and send it to a secondary location as well. The file argument specifies where the output stream should go; default is stdout. Options
-s servername:port Set the EsounD server to be used.
-b Eight bit output.
-m Monophonic output.
-r rate Set the output sample rate.
esdplay [options]file
Play the file through the EsounD system. Options
-s,--server=servername:port Set the EsounD server that will play the audio.
-h,--help Set the EsounD server that will play the audio.
-v,--version Display version information and quit.
esdrec [options]< file
Record audio to the specified file. Options
-s servername:port Set the EsounD server to be used.
-b Eight bit output.
-m Monophonic output.
-r rate Set the output sample rate.
esdsample [options]< file
Sample audio using esd. Options
-s servername:port Set the EsounD server to be used.
-b Eight bit output.
-m Monophonic output.
-r Set the sample rate in bits per second.
-d Set the duration of the sample in seconds.
etags [options] files
Create a list of function and macro names defined in a programming source file. etags generates tags for use by emacs. (ctags produces an equivalent tags file for use with vi.) More than one file may be specified. etags understands many programming languages, including C, C++, FORTRAN, Java, Perl, Python, flex, yacc, and bison. The output list (named TAGS by default) contains lines of the form: name file context
where name is the function or macro name, file is the source file in which name is defined, and context is a search pattern that shows the line of code containing name. After the list of tags is created, you can invoke Emacs on any file and type: M-x visit-tags-table
You will be prompted for the name of the tag table; the default is TAGS. To switch to the source file associated with the name listed in tagsfile, type: M-x find-tag
You will be prompted for the tag you would like Emacs to search for. Options
-a, --append Append tag output to existing list of tags.
-d, --defines Include tag entries for C preprocessor definitions.
-i file, --include=file Add a note to the tags file that file should be consulted in addition to the normal input file.
-l language, --language=language Consider the files that follow this option to be written in language. Use the -h option for a list of languages and their default filename extensions.
-o file, --output=file Write to file.
-r regexp, --regex=regexp Include a tag for each line that matches regexp in the files following this option.
-C, --c++ Expect .c and .h files to contain C++, not C, code.
-D, --no-defines Do not include tag entries for C preprocessor definitions.
-H, -h, --help Print usage information.
-R, --noregex Do not include tags based on regular-expression matching for the files that follow this option.
-S, --ignore-indentation Normally, etags uses indentation to parse the tag file; this option tells it to rely on it less.
-V, --version Print the version number.
ex [options] file
An interactive command-based editor. For more information, see Chapter 9.
expand [options] [files]
Convert tabs in given files (or standard input, if the file is named -) to appropriate number of spaces; write results to standard output. Options
-tabs, -t tabs, --tabs tabs tabs is a comma-separated list of integers that specify the placement of tab stops. If exactly one integer is provided, the tab stops are set to every integer spaces. By default, tab stops are eight spaces apart. With -t and --tabs, the list may be separated by whitespace instead of commas.
-i, --initial Convert tabs only at the beginning of lines.
--help Print help message and then exit.
--version Print version information and then exit.
expr arg1 operator arg2 [ operator arg3 ... ]
Evaluate arguments as expressions and print the results. Arguments and operators must be separated by spaces. In most cases, an argument is an integer, typed literally or represented by a shell variable. There are three types of operators: arithmetic, relational, and logical, as well as keyword expressions. Exit status for expr is 0 (expression is nonzero and nonnull), 1 (expression is 0 or null), or 2 (expression is invalid). Arithmetic operators Use these to produce mathematical expressions whose results are printed:
+ Add arg2 to arg1.
- Subtract arg2 from arg1.
* Multiply the arguments.
/ Divide arg1 by arg2.
% Take the remainder when arg1 is divided by arg2.
Addition and subtraction are evaluated last, unless they are grouped inside parentheses. The symbols *, (, and ) have meaning to the shell, so they must be escaped (preceded by a backslash or enclosed in single quotes). Relational operators Use these to compare two arguments. Arguments can also be words, in which case comparisons are defined by the locale. If the comparison statement is true, the result is 1; if false, the result is 0. Symbols > and < must be escaped.
=, == Are the arguments equal?
!= Are the arguments different?
> Is arg1 greater than arg2?
>= Is arg1 greater than or equal to arg2?
< Is arg1 less than arg2?
<= Is arg1 less than or equal to arg2?
Logical operators Use these to compare two arguments. Depending on the values, the result can be arg1 (or some portion of it), arg2, or 0. Symbols | and & must be escaped.
| Logical OR; if arg1 has a nonzero (and nonnull) value, the result is arg1; otherwise, the result is arg2.
& Logical AND; if both arg1 and arg2 have a nonzero (and nonnull) value, the result is arg1; otherwise, the result is 0.
: Like grep; arg2 is a pattern to search for in arg1. arg2 must be a regular expression. If part of the arg2 pattern is enclosed in \( \) (escaped parentheses), the result is the portion of arg1 that matches; otherwise, the result is simply the number of characters that match. By default, a pattern match always applies to the beginning of the first argument (the search string implicitly begins with a ^). Start the search string with .* to match other parts of the string.
Keywords
index string character-list Return the first position in string that matches the first possible character listed in character-list. Continue through character-list until a match is found, or return 0.
length string Return the length of string.
match string regex Same as string : regex.
quote token Treat token as a string, even if it would normally be a keyword or an operator.
substr string start length Return a section of string, beginning with start, with a maximum length of length characters. Return null when given a negative or nonnumeric start or length.
Examples Division happens first; result is 10: expr 5 + 10 / 2
Addition happens first; result is 7 (truncated from 7.5): expr \( 5 + 10 \) / 2
Add 1 to variable i. This is how variables are incremented in shell scripts: i=`expr $i + 1`
Print 1 (true) if variable a is the string "hello": expr $a = hello
Print 1 (true) if b plus 5 equals 10 or more: expr $b + 5 \>= 10
Find the 5th, 6th, and 7th letters of the word character: expr substr character 5 3
In the examples that follow, variable p is the string "version.100". This command prints the number of characters in p: expr $p : '.*' Result is 11
Match all characters and print them: expr $p : '\(.*\)' Result is "version.100"
Print the number of lowercase letters at the beginning of p: expr $p : '[a-z]*' Result is 7
Match the lowercase letters at the beginning of p: expr $p : '\([a-z]*\)' Result is "version"
Truncate $x if it contains five or more characters; if not, just print $x. (Logical OR uses the second argument when the first one is 0 or null, i.e., when the match fails.) expr $x : '\(.....\)' \| $x
In a shell script, rename files to their first five letters: mv $x `expr $x : '\(.....\)' \| $x`
(To avoid overwriting files with similar names, use mv -i.)
factor [options] n
Calculate and display the prime factors of number n. If n is not specified, numbers are read from stdin, separated by commas, spaces, or tabs. This may take a very long time for numbers that are the product of two primes. Options
--help Display help information.
--version Display version information.
Example: user@systemname:~> factor 60 60: 2, 2, 3 5
false
A null command that returns an unsuccessful (nonzero) exit status. Normally used in bash scripts. See also true.
fc-cache [options] [dirs]
Create font information caches for fontconfig system. This enables applications that use fontconfig to load fonts more rapidly. If no directory is specified, the current font configuration directories are used. Only fonts readable by FreeType are cached. Options
-f,--force Regenerate cache files, even if they seem to be up to date.
-s,--system-only Scan directories of fonts for the whole system, not the fonts in the user's home directory.
-v,--verbose Verbose mode: display status information during operation.
-V,--version Display version information.
-?,--help Display help information.
fc-list [options] [pattern] [element]
Part of the fontconfig system. Lists available fonts and font styles. The first argument will limit listed fonts to those matching the pattern, and the second displays the listed font attribute or element. To set the element argument without setting a pattern, use the : character to match all fonts. For example, fc-list : family will display all available fonts, with their font family information. Options
-v,--verbose Verbose mode: display status information during operation.
-?,--help Display help message
-V,--version Display version information and quit.
fdformat [option] device
Low-level format of a floppy disk. The device for a standard format is usually /dev/fd0 or /dev/fd1. Option
-n Do not verify format after completion.
fdisk [options] [device]
System administration command. fdisk displays information about disk partitions, creates and deletes disk partitions, and changes the active partition. It is possible to assign a different operating system to each of the four possible primary partitions, though only one partition is active at any given time. You can also divide a physical partition into several logical partitions. The minimum recommended size for a Linux system partition is 40 MB. Normally, each device will be /dev/hda, /dev/hdb, /dev/sda, /dev/sdb, /dev/hdc, /dev/hdd, and so on. An interactive, menu-driven mode is also available. Note that this command can be destructive if used improperly. Options
-b sectorsize Set the size of individual disk sectors. May be 512, 1024, or 2048. Most systems now recognize sector sizes, so this is not necessary.
-l List partition tables and exit.
-u Report partition sizes in sectors instead of cylinders.
-s partition Display the size of partition, unless it is a DOS partition.
-v Print version number, then exit.
-C cylinders Specify the number of cylinders on the disk.
-H heads Specify the number of heads per cylinder.
-S sectors Specify sectors per track for partitioning.
Commands
a Toggle a bootable flag on current partition.
b Edit disklabel of a BSD partition.
c Toggle DOS compatibility flag.
d Delete current partition.
l List all partition types.
m Main menu.
n Create a new partition; prompt for more information.
o Create an empty DOS partition table.
p Print a list of all partitions and information about each.
q Quit; do not save.
t Replace the type of the current partition.
u Modify the display/entry units, which must be cylinders or sectors.
v Verify: check for errors, and display a summary of the number of unallocated sectors.
w Save changes and exit.
x Switch to expert commands.
Example To list all partitions currently on the system: fdisk -l
fetchmail [options] [servers...]
System administration command. Retrieve mail from mail servers and forward it to the local mail delivery system. fetchmail retrieves mail from servers that support the common mail protocols POP2, POP3, IMAP2bis, and IMAP4. Messages are delivered via SMTP through port 25 on the local host and through your system's mail delivery agent (such as sendmail), where they can be read through the user's mail client. fetchmail settings are stored in the ~/.fetchmailrc file. Parameters and servers can also be set on the command line, which will override settings in the .fetchmailrc file. fetchmail is compatible with the popclient program, and users can use both without having to adjust file settings. Options
-a,--all Retrieve all messages from server, even ones that have already been seen but are left on the server. The default is to retrieve only new messages.
--auth type Specify an authentication type. type can be: password, kerberos_v5, kerberos, gssapi, cram-md5, otp, ntlm, ssh, or any. When using the default value, any, fetchmail will use the highest authentication available. In decreasing order of security, types are gssapi, kerberos, cram, x-otp, ntlm, and login. Using ssh suppresses authentication. Use ssh when using an end-to-end secure connection.
-b n,--batchlimit n Set the maximum number of messages sent to an SMTP listener per connection. When this limit is reached, the connection will be broken and reestablished. The default of 0 means no limit.
-bsmtp file Append fetched mail to the specified batched sendmail (BSMTP) file. If file is -, send to standard output.
-B n,--fetchlimit n Set the maximum number of messages (n) accepted from a server per query.
-c,--check Check for mail on a single server without retrieving or deleting messages. Works with IMAP, and is partially functional for POP3 systems, but not POP2 systems.
-d n,--daemon n Detach from current process and run as a daemon, fetching mail every n seconds. A user may run only one fetchmail daemon process. See option --quit.
-D [domain],--smtpaddress [domain] Specify the domain name placed in RCPT TO lines sent to SMTP. The default is the local host.
-e n,--expunge n Tell an IMAP server to EXPUNGE (i.e., purge messages marked for deletion) after n deletes. A setting of 0 indicates expunging only at the end of the session. Normally, an expunge occurs after each delete.
-E header,--envelope header Change the header assumed to contain the mail's envelope address (usually "X-Envelope-to:") to header.
-f file,--fetchmailrc file Specify a nondefault name for the fetchmail configuration file.
--fetchdomains hosts Specify the domains to which mail should be sent when operating in ETRN or ODMR mode.
-F,--flush For POP3 and IMAP servers, remove previously retrieved messages from the server before retrieving new ones.
-i file,--idfile file Store POP3 UIDs in file instead of the default .fetchids file.
--invisible Suppress Received header and spoof the MTA so it looks like mail comes directly from the mailserver host.
-I specification,--interface specification Require that the mail server machine is up and running at a specified IP address (or range) before polling. The specification is given as interface/ipaddress/mask. The first part indicates the type of TCP connection expected (sl0, ppp0, etc.), the second is the IP address, and the third is the bit mask for the IP, assumed to be 255.255.255.255.
-k,--keep Keep copies of all retrieved messages on the mail server.
-K,--nokeep Delete all retrieved messages from the mail server.
-l size,--limit size Set the maximum message size that will be retrieved from a server. Messages larger than this size will be left on the server and marked unread.
-lmtp Deliver fetched mail via LMTP instead of SMTP. The server, specified with the -S option, must explicitly include the port to be used.
-L file,--logfile file Redirect status messages to the specified file. This option is primarily for use in debugging. See the --syslog option.
-m command,--mda command Pass mail directly to mail delivery agent instead of sending to port 25. The command is the path and options for the mailer, such as /usr/lib/sendmail -oem. A %T in the command will be replaced with the local delivery address, and an %F will be replaced with the message's From address.
-M interface,--monitor interface In daemon mode, monitor the specified TCP/IP interface for any activity besides itself, and skip the poll if there is no other activity. Useful for PPP connections that automatically time out with no activity.
-n,--norewrite Do not expand local mail IDs to full addresses. This option will disable expected addressing and should be used only to find problems.
--nobounce Do not bounce error messages back to the sender; send them to the postmaster instead.
--nosyslog Turn off logging to syslogd. This option overrides resource file settings and the -L option.
-N,--nodetach Run command in the foreground. Useful for debugging a configuration file that normally would run fetchmail as a daemon. Also causes fetchmail to ignore -L or --syslog options.
-p proto,--protocol proto Specify the protocol to use when polling a mail server. proto can be:
AUTO Attempt IMAP, POP3, then POP2.
POP2 Post Office Protocol 2.
POP3 Post Office Protocol 3.
APOP POP3 with MD5 authentication.
KPOP POP3 with Kerberos v4 authentication on port 1109.
RPOP POP3 with RPOP authentication.
SDPS Demon Internet's Standard Dial-up POP3 Service.
IMAP IMAP2bis, IMAP4, or IMAP4rev1. fetchmail autodetects their capabilities.
ETRN Extended SMTP with Extended TURN command.
ODMR On Demand Mail Relaying.
--plugin command Use external program to establish the TCP connection. The command is the path and options for the external program. Use escape codes %h and %p in command to pass the hostname and port as arguments to the external program. When using this command, fetchmail will write to the program's standard input and read from its standard output.
--plugout command Same as the --plugin option, but used to establish SMTP connections.
--principal principal Authenticate using the specified service principal. Used with POP3 or IMAP with Kerberos authentication.
--postmaster name If unable to deliver mail, deliver it to name. Set name to "" to have undeliverable mail discarded.
-P n,--port n Specify a port to connect to on the mail server. The default port numbers for supported protocols are usually sufficient.
-q,--quit Kill a running daemon process before performing any other commands.
-Q string,--qvirtual string Remove the prefix string, which is the local user's hostid, from the address in the envelope header (such as "Delivered-To:").
-r folder,--folder folder Retrieve the specified mail folder from the mail server.
-s,--silent Suppress status messages during a fetch.
--showdots Always display progress dots. By default, fetchmail prints progress dots only when the current tty is standard output.
--smtpname user Specify the user and domain name to use in RCPT TO lines sent to SMTP. user should be in the form user@domain. By default, fetchmail uses the local user and domain.
--syslog Redirect status and error messages to the syslog daemon.
--ssl Encrypt connection to mail server using Secure Socket Layer.
--sslcert file Specify the file containing the client-side public SSL certificate.
--sslkey file Specify the file containing the client-side private SSL key.
--sslproto proto Specify a specific SSL protocol to use. proto may be ssl2, ssl3, or tls1.
--sslcertck Fail unless the server's certificate has been signed by a local list of trusted certificates. proto may be ssl2, ssl3, or tls1.
--sslcertpath directory Specify the directory containing trusted certificates to be used with --sslcertck.
--sslfingerprint hash Fail unless the server's key fingerprint matches the specified fingerprint hash. hash is an MD5 hash of the server's key given in hexadecimal notation, using colons to separate groups of two digits. Letter hex digits must be in uppercase.
-S hostlist,-smtphost hostlist Attempt to forward mail to one of the SMTP hosts listed in the comma-separated hostlist. The hosts are tried in the order they are given. The host may be a domain name, IP address, or the directory path to an LMTP socket. Port numbers can be appended to domain names and IP addresses using /port notation.
-t n,--timeout n Set the nonresponse timeout to n seconds.
--tracepolls Add information about the account and server being polled to the Received header of each message received.
-u name,--username name Specify the user name to use when logging into the mail server.
-U,--uidl For POP3, track the age of kept messages via unique ID listing.
-v,--verbose Display all status messages during a fetch.
-V,--version Print the version information for fetchmail and display the options set for each mail server. Perform no fetch.
-w n,--warnings n When issuing warnings about oversized messages, wait n seconds after each warning before sending another warning.
-Z nnn,--antispam nnn Specify the SMTP error nnn to signal a spam block from the client. If nnn is -1, this option is disabled. Multiple SMTP codes may be given as a comma-separated list. By default, fetchmail discards messages with error codes 571, 550, 501, and 554.
fgconsole
Print the number of the current virtual console. For example, if you are using /dev/tty1, the command would return 1.
fgrep [options] string [files]
Search one or more files for lines that match the specified text string. Exit status is 0 if any lines match, 1 if not, and 2 for errors. fgrep is faster than normal grep searches, but less flexible: it can only find fixed text, not regular expressions. See grep for the list of available options. Also see egrep. Examples Print lines in file that don't contain any spaces: fgrep -v ' ' file
Print lines in file that contain the words in the file spell_list: fgrep -f spell_list file
file [options] files
Classify the named files according to the type of data they contain. file checks the magic file (usually /usr/share/magic) to identify some file types. Options
-b Brief mode; do not prepend filenames to output lines.
-c Check the format of the magic file (files argument is invalid with -c). Usually used with -m.
-f file Read the names of files to be checked from file.
-L Follow symbolic links. By default, symbolic links are not followed.
-m file Search for file types in file instead of /usr/share/magic.
-n Flush standard output after checking a file.
-s Check files that are block or character special files in addition to checking ordinary files.
-v Print the version.
-z Attempt checking of compressed files.
Many file types are understood. Output lists each filename, followed by a brief classification such as: ascii text c program text c-shell commands data empty iAPX 386 executable directory [nt]roff, tbl, or eqn input text shell commands symbolic link to ../usr/etc/arp
Example List all files that are deemed to be troff/nroff input: file * | grep roff
find [pathnames] [conditions]
An extremely useful command for finding particular groups of files (numerous examples follow this description). find descends the directory tree beginning at each pathname and locates files that meet the specified conditions. The default pathname is the current directory. The most useful conditions include -name and -type (for general use), -exec and -size (for advanced use), and -mtime and -user (for administrators). Conditions may be grouped by enclosing them in \( \) (escaped parentheses), negated with !, given as alternatives by separating them with -o, or repeated (adding restrictions to the match; usually only for -name, -type, or -perm). Note that "modification" refers to editing of a file's contents, whereas "change" means a modification, or permission or ownership changes. In other words, -ctime is more inclusive than -atime or -mtime. Conditions and actions
-amin +n| -n| n Find files last accessed more than n (+n), less than n (-n), or exactly n minutes ago.
-anewer file Find files that were accessed after file was last modified. Affected by -follow when after -follow on the command line.
-atime +n| -n| n Find files that were last accessed more than n (+n), less than n (-n), or exactly n days ago. Note that find changes the access time of directories supplied as pathnames.
-cmin +n| -n| n Find files last changed more than n (+n), less than n (-n), or exactly n minutes ago.
-cnewer file Find files that were changed after they were last modified. Affected by -follow when after -follow on the command line.
-ctime +n| -n| n Find files that were changed more than n (+n), less than n (-n), or exactly n days ago. A change is anything that changes the directory entry for the file, such as a chmod.
-daystart Calculate times from the start of the day today, not 24 hours ago.
-depth Descend the directory tree, skipping directories and working on actual files first, and then the parent directories. Useful when files reside in unwritable directories (e.g., when using find with cpio).
-empty Continue if file is empty. Applies to regular files and directories.
-exec command{ } \ ; Run the Linux command, from the starting directory on each file matched by find (provided command executes successfully on that filei.e., returns a 0 exit status). When command runs, the argument { } substitutes the current file. Follow the entire sequence with an escaped semicolon (\;). In some shells, the braces may need to be escaped as well.
-false Return false value for each file encountered.
-follow Follow symbolic links and track the directories visited (don't use with -type l).
-fstype type Match files only on type filesystems. Acceptable types include minix, ext, ext2, xia, msdos, umsdos, vfat, proc, nfs, iso9660, hpfs, sysv, smb, and ncpfs.
-gid num Find files with numeric group ID of num.
-group gname Find files belonging to group gname. gname can be a group name or a group ID number.
-ilname pattern A case-insensitive version of -lname.
-iname pattern A case-insensitive version of -name.
-inum n Find files whose inode number is n.
-ipath pattern A case-insensitive version of -path.
-iregex pattern A case-insensitive version of -regex.
-links n Find files having n links.
-lname pattern Search for files that are symbolic links, pointing to files named pattern. pattern can include shell metacharacters and does not treat / or . specially. The match is case-insensitive.
-maxdepth num Do not descend more than num levels of directories.
-mindepth num Begin applying tests and actions only at levels deeper than num levels.
-mmin +n| -n| n Find files last modified more than n (+n), less than n (-n), or exactly n minutes ago.
-mount, -xdev Search only for files that reside on the same filesystem as pathname.
-mtime +n| -n| n Find files that were last modified more than n (+n), less than n (-n), or exactly n days ago. A modification is a change to a file's data.
-name pattern Find files whose names match pattern. Filename metacharacters may be used but should be escaped or quoted.
-newer file Find files that were modified more recently than file; similar to -mtime. Affected by -follow only if it occurs after -follow on the command line.
-nogroup The file's group ID does not correspond to any group.
-noleaf Normally, find assumes that each directory has at least two hard links that should be ignored (a hard link for its name and one for "."--i.e., two fewer "real" directories than its hard link count indicates). -noleaf turns off this assumption, a useful practice when find runs on non-Unix-style filesystems. This forces find to examine all entries, assuming that some might prove to be directories into which it must descend (a time-waster on Unix).
-nouser The file's user ID does not correspond to any user.
-ok command { }\; Same as -exec, but prompts user to respond with y before command is executed.
-path pattern Find files whose names match pattern. Expect full pathnames relative to the starting pathname (i.e., do not treat / or . specially).
-perm nnn Find files whose permission flags (e.g., rwx) match octal number nnn exactly (e.g., 664 matches -rw-rw-r--). Use a minus sign before nnn to make a "wildcard" match of any unspecified octal digit (e.g., -perm -600 matches -rw-******, where * can be any mode).
-print Print the matching files and directories, using their full pathnames. Return true. This is the default behavior.
-regex pattern Like -path, but uses grep-style regular expressions instead of the shell-like globbing used in -name and -path.
-size n[c] Find files containing n blocks, or if c is specified, n characters long.
-type c Find files whose type is c. c can be b (block special file), c (character special file), d (directory), p (fifo or named pipe), l (symbolic link), s (socket), or f (plain file).
-user user Find files belonging to user (name or ID).
Examples List all files (and subdirectories) in your home directory: find $HOME -print
List all files named chapter1 in the /work directory: find /work -name chapter1
List all files beginning with memo owned by ann: find /work -name 'memo*' -user ann -print
Search the filesystem (begin at root) for manpage directories: find / -type d -name 'man*' -print
Search the current directory, look for filenames that don't begin with a capital letter, and send them to the printer: find . \! -name '[A-Z]*' -exec lpr { }\;
Find and compress files whose names don't end with .gz: gzip `find . \! -name '*.gz' -print`
Remove all empty files on the system (prompting first): find / -size 0 -ok rm { } \;
Search the system for files that were modified within the last two days (good candidates for backing up): find / -mtime -2 -print
Recursively grep for a pattern down a directory tree: find /book -print | xargs grep '[Nn]utshell'
If the files kt1 and kt2 exist in the current directory, their names can be printed with the command: $ find . -name 'kt[0-9]' ./kt1 ./kt2
Since the command prints these names with an initial ./ path, you need to specify the ./ when using the -path option: $ find . -path './kt[0-9]' ./kt1 ./kt2
The -regex option uses a complete pathname, like -path, but treats the following argument as a regular expression rather than a glob pattern (although in this case the result is the same): $ find . -regex './kt[0-9]' ./kt1 ./kt2
finger [options] users
Display data about one or more users, including information listed in the files .plan and .project in each user's home directory. You can specify each user either as a login name (exact match) or as a first or last name (display information on all matching names). Networked environments recognize arguments of the form user@host and @host. Options
-l Force long format (default): everything included by the -s option, as well as home directory, home phone, login shell, mail status, .plan, .project, and .forward.
-m Suppress matching of users' "real" names.
-p Omit .plan and .project files from display.
-s Show short format: login name, real name, terminal name, write status, idle time, office location, and office phone number.
in.fingerd [options]
TCP/IP command. Remote user information server. fingerd provides a network interface to the finger program. It listens for TCP connections on the finger port and, for each connection, reads a single input line, passes the line to finger, and copies the output of finger to the user on the client machine. fingerd is started by xinetd and must have an entry in xinetd's configuration file, /etc/xinetd.conf. Options
-f Allow finger forwarding in the form of user@host1@host2.
-p command, -L path Use alternate finger program specified by command.
-l Log finger requests.
-t n Set timeout period to n seconds.
-u Reject requests in the form of @host.
-w Include a welcome banner with additional information, such as uptime and the name of the operating system.
flex [options] [file]
flex (Fast Lexical Analyzer Generator) is a faster variant of lex. It generates a lexical analysis program (named lex.yy.c) based on the regular expressions and C statements contained in one or more input files. See also bison, yacc, and the O'Reilly book lex & yacc. Options
-b Generate backup information to lex.backup.
-d Debug mode.
-f Use a faster scanner. The result is larger but faster.
-h Help summary.
-i Scan case-insensitively.
-l Maximum lex compatibility.
-o file Write output to file instead of lex.yy.c.
-p Print performance report.
-s Exit if the scanner encounters input that does not match any of its rules.
-t Print to standard output. (By default, flex prints to lex.yy.c.)
-v Print a summary of statistics.
-w Suppress warning messages.
-B Generate batch (noninteractive) scanner.
-F Use the fast scanner table representation. This option is usually as fast as -f and often generates smaller data (although for some data sets, it generates larger data).
-I Generate an interactive scanner (default).
-L Suppress #line directives in lex.yy.c.
-P prefix Change default yy prefix to prefix for all globally visible variable and function names.
-V Print version number.
-7 Generate a 7-bit scanner.
-8 Generate an 8-bit scanner (default).
-+ Generate a C++ scanner class.
-C Compress scanner tables but do not use equivalence classes.
-Ca Align tables for memory access and computation. This creates larger tables but gives faster performance.
-Ce Construct equivalence classes. This creates smaller tables and sacrifices little performance (default).
-Cf Generate full scanner tables, not compressed.
-CF Generate faster scanner tables, like -F.
-Cm Construct metaequivalence classes (default).
-Cr Bypass use of the standard I/O library; use read( ) system calls instead.
fmt [options] [files]
Convert text to specified width by filling lines and removing newlines. Concatenate files on the command line, or read text from standard input if - (or no file) is specified. By default, preserve blank lines, spacing, and indentation. fmt attempts to break lines at the end of sentences and to avoid breaking lines after a sentence's first word or before its last. Options
-c,--crown-margin Crown margin mode. Do not change indentation of each paragraph's first two lines. Use the second line's indentation as the default for subsequent lines.
-p prefix,--prefix=prefix Format only lines beginning with prefix.
-s,--split-only Suppress line-joining.
-t,--tagged-paragraph Tagged paragraph mode. Same as crown mode when the indentations of the first and second lines differ. If the indentation is the same, treat the first line as its own separate paragraph.
-u,--uniform-spacing Reduce spacing to a maximum of one space between words and two between sentences.
-w width,--width=width Set output width to width. The default is 75.
--help Print help message and then exit.
--version Print version information and then exit.
fold [option] [files]
Break the lines of the named files so that they are no wider than the specified width. fold breaks lines exactly at the specified width, even in the middle of a word. Reads from standard input when given - as a file. By default, fold cuts at 80 columns; tab counts as multiple columns, and a backspace as negative one. Options
-b,--bytes Count bytes instead of columns, making tab, backspace, and return characters count as one byte instead of altering the column count, as in the default behavior.
-c,--characters Count characters, not columns. Similar to counting by bytes.
-s,--spaces Break at spaces only, if possible.
-w,--width width,-width Set the maximum line width to width. The flags -w 6, --width 6, and -6 will all set the maximum width to six columns.
formail [options]
Filter standard input into mailbox format. Useful for splitting mail digests or passing the contents of a mail file to another program, such as a spam filter, for additional processing. If no sender is apparent, provide the sender foo@bar. By default, escape bogus From lines with >. Options
+skip Do not split first skip messages.
-total Stop after splitting total messages.
-a headerfield Append headerfield to header, unless it already exists. If headerfield is Message-ID or Resent-Message-ID with no contents, generate a unique message ID.
-b Do not escape bogus From lines.
-c When header fields are more than one line long, concatenate the lines.
-d Do not assume that input must be in strict mailbox format. This option disables recognition of the Content-Length field so you can split digests or use nonstandard mailbox formats.
-e Allow messages to begin one immediately after the other; do not require empty space between them.
-f Do not edit non-mailbox-format lines. By default, formail prepends From to such lines.
-i headerfield Append headerfield whether or not it already exists. Rename each existing headerfield to Old-headerfield, unless it is empty.
-k For use only with-r. Keep the body as well as the fields specified by -r.
-m minfields Require at least this many minfields before recognizing the beginning of a new message. Default is 2.
-n Allow simultaneous formail processes to run.
-p prefix Escape lines with prefix instead of >.
-q Do not display write errors, duplicate messages, and mismatched Content-Length fields. This is the default; use -q- to turn it off.
-r Throw away all existing fields, retaining only X-Loop, and generate autoreply header instead. You can preserve particular fields with the -i option.
-s Must be the last option; everything following it will be assumed to be its arguments. Divide input to separate mail messages, and pipe them to the program specified or concatenate them to standard output (by default).
-t Assume sender's return address to be valid. (By default, formail favors machine-generated addresses.)
-u headerfield Delete all but the first occurrence of headerfield.
-x headerfield Display the contents of headerfield on a single line.
-z When necessary, add a space between field names and contents. Remove ("zap") empty fields.
-A headerfield Append headerfield whether or not it already exists.
-B Assume that input is in BABYL rmail format.
-D maxlen idcache Remember old message IDs (in idcache, which will grow no larger than approximately maxlen). When splitting, refuse to output duplicate messages. Otherwise, return true on discovering a duplicate. With -r, look at the sender's mail address instead of the message ID.
-I headerfield Append headerfield whether or not it already exists. Remove existing fields.
-R oldfield newfield Change all fields named oldfield to newfield.
-U headerfield Delete all but the last occurrence of headerfield.
-Y Format in traditional Berkeley style (i.e., ignore Content-Length fields).
-X headerfield Display the field name and contents of headerfield on a single line.
free [options]
Display statistics about memory usage: total free, used, physical, swap, shared, and buffers used by the kernel. Options
-b Calculate memory in bytes.
-k Default. Calculate memory in kilobytes.
-m Calculate memory in megabytes.
-o Do not display "buffer adjusted" line. The -o switch disables the display "-/+ buffers" line that shows buffer memory subtracted from the amount of memory used and added to the amount of free memory.
-s time Check memory usage every time seconds.
-t Display all totals on one line at the bottom of output.
-V Display version information.
fsck [options] [filesystem] ...
System administration command. Call the filesystem checker for the appropriate system type to check and repair unmounted filesystems. If a filesystem is consistent, the number of files, number of blocks used, and number of blocks free are reported. If a filesystem is inconsistent, fsck prompts before each correction is attempted. fsck's exit code can be interpreted as the sum of all conditions that apply:
1 Errors were found and corrected.
2 Reboot suggested.
4 Errors were found but not corrected.
8 fsck encountered an operational error.
16 fsck was called incorrectly.
128 A shared library error was detected.
Options
-- Pass all subsequent options to filesystem-specific checker. All options that fsck doesn't recognize will also be passed.
-s Serial mode. Check one filesystem at a time.
-t fstype Specify the filesystem type. Do not check filesystems of any other type.
-A Check all filesystems listed in /etc/fstab. The root filesystem is checked first.
-C Display completion (progress) bar.
-N Suppress normal execution; just display what would be done.
-P Meaningful only with -A: check root filesystem in parallel with other systems. This option is potentially dangerous.
-R Meaningful only with -A: check all filesystems listed in /etc/fstab except the root filesystem.
-T Suppress printing of title.
-V Verbose mode.
ftp [options] [hostname]
Transfer files to and from remote network site hostname. ftp prompts the user for a command. The commands are listed after the options. Some of the commands are toggles, meaning they turn on a feature when it is off and vice versa. Note that versions may have different options. Options
-d Enable debugging.
-g Disable filename globbing.
-i Turn off interactive prompting.
-n No autologin upon initial connection.
-v Verbose. Show all responses from remote server.
Commands
![command [args]] Invoke an interactive shell on the local machine. If arguments are given, the first is taken as a command to execute directly, with the rest of the arguments as that command's arguments.
$macro-name [args] Execute the macro macro-name that was defined with the macdef command. Arguments are passed to the macro unglobbed.
account [passwd] Supply a supplemental password that will be required by a remote system for access to resources once a login has been successfully completed. If no argument is given, the user will be prompted for an account password in a non-echoing mode.
append local-file [remote-file] Append a local file to a file on the remote machine. If remote-file is not given, the local filename is used after being altered by any ntrans or nmap setting. File transfer uses the current settings for type, format, mode, and structure.
ascii Set the file transfer type to network ASCII (default).
bell Sound a bell after each file transfer command is completed.
binary Set file transfer type to support binary image transfer.
bye Terminate FTP session and then exit ftp.
case Toggle remote-computer filename case mapping during mget. The default is off. When case is on, files on the remote machine with all-uppercase names will be copied to the local machine with all-lowercase names.
cd remote-directory Change working directory on remote machine to remote-directory.
cdup Change working directory of remote machine to its parent directory.
chmod [mode] [remote-file] Change file permissions of remote-file. If options are omitted, the command prompts for them.
close Terminate FTP session and return to command interpreter.
cr Toggle carriage-return stripping during ASCII-type file retrieval.
delete remote-file Delete file remote-file on remote machine.
debug [debug-value] Toggle debugging mode. If debug-value is specified, it is used to set the debugging level.
dir [remote-directory] [local-file] Print a listing of the contents in the directory remote-directory and, optionally, place the output in local-file. If no directory is specified, the current working directory on the remote machine is used. If no local file is specified or - is given instead of the filename, output comes to the terminal.
disconnect Synonym for close.
form format Set the file transfer form to format. Default format is file.
get remote-file [local-file] Retrieve the remote-file and store it on the local machine. If the local filename is not specified, it is given the same name it has on the remote machine, subject to alteration by the current case, ntrans, and nmap settings. If local file is -, output comes to the terminal.
glob Toggle filename expansion for mdelete, mget, and mput. If globbing is turned off, the filename arguments are taken literally and not expanded.
hash Toggle hash sign (#) printing for each data block transferred.
help [command] Print help information for command. With no argument, ftp prints a list of commands.
idle [seconds] Get/set idle timer on remote machine. seconds specifies the length of the idle timer; if omitted, the current idle timer is displayed.
image Same as binary.
lcd [directory] Change working directory on local machine. If directory is not specified, the user's home directory is used.
ls [remote-directory] [local-file] Print listing of contents of directory on remote machine, in a format chosen by the remote machine. If remote-directory is not specified, current working directory is used.
macdef macro-name Define a macro. Subsequent lines are stored as the macro macro-name; a null line terminates macro input mode. When $i is included in the macro, loop through arguments, substituting the current argument for $i on each pass. Escape $ with \.
mdelete remote-files Delete the remote-files on the remote machine.
mdir remote-files local-file Like dir, except multiple remote files may be specified.
mget remote-files Expand the wildcard expression remote-files on the remote machine and do a get for each filename thus produced.
mkdir directory-name Make a directory on the remote machine.
mls remote-files local-file Like nlist, except multiple remote files may be specified, and the local file must be specified.
mode [mode-name] Set file transfer mode to mode-name. Default mode is stream mode.
modtime [file-name] Show last modification time of the file on the remote machine.
mput [local-files] Expand wildcards in local-files given as arguments and do a put for each file in the resulting list.
newer remote-file [local-file] Get file if remote file is newer than local file.
nlist [remote-directory] [local-file] Print list of files in a directory on the remote machine to local-file (or to the screen if local-file is not specified). If remote-directory is unspecified, the current working directory is used.
nmap [inpattern outpattern] Set or unset the filename mapping mechanism. The mapping follows the pattern set by inpattern, a template for incoming filenames, and outpattern, which determines the resulting mapped filename. The sequences $1 through $9 are treated as variables; for example, the inpattern $1.$2, along with the input file readme.txt, would set $1 to readme and $2 to txt. An outpattern of $1.data would result in an output file of readme.data. $0 corresponds to the complete filename. [string1, string2] is replaced by string1 unless that string is null, in which case it's replaced by string2.
ntrans [inchars [outchars ]] Set or unset the filename character translation mechanism. Characters in a filename matching a character in inchars are replaced with the corresponding character in outchars. If no arguments are specified, the filename mapping mechanism is unset. If arguments are specified: Characters in remote filenames are translated during mput and put commands issued without a specified remote target filename. Characters in local filenames are translated during mget and get commands issued without a specified local target filename.
open host [port] Establish a connection to the specified host FTP server. An optional port number may be supplied, in which case ftp will attempt to contact an FTP server at that port.
prompt Toggle interactive prompting.
proxy ftp-command Execute an FTP command on a secondary control connection (i.e., send commands to two separate remote hosts simultaneously).
put local-file [remote-file] Store a local file on the remote machine. If remote-file is left unspecified, the local filename is used after processing according to any ntrans or nmap settings in naming the remote file. File transfer uses the current settings for type, file, structure, and transfer mode.
pwd Print name of the current working directory on the remote machine.
quit Synonym for bye.
quote arg1 arg2... Send the arguments specified, verbatim, to the remote FTP server.
recv remote-file [local-file] Synonym for get.
reget remote-file [local-file] Retrieve a file (like get), but restart at the end of local-file. Useful for restarting a dropped transfer.
remotehelp [command-name] Request help from the remote FTP server. If command-name is specified, remote help for that command is returned.
remotestatus [filename] Show status of the remote machine or, if filename is specified, of filename on remote machine.
rename [from] [to] Rename file from on remote machine to to.
reset Clear reply queue.
restart marker Restart the transfer of a file from a particular byte count.
rmdir [directory-name] Delete a directory on the remote machine.
runique Toggle storing of files on the local system with unique filenames. When this option is on, rename files as .1 or .2, and so on, as appropriate, to preserve unique filenames, and report each such action. Default value is off.
send local-file [remote-file] Synonym for put.
sendport Toggle the use of PORT commands.
site [command] Get/set site-specific information from/on remote machine.
size filename Return size of filename on remote machine.
status Show current status of ftp.
struct [struct-name] Set the file transfer structure to struct-name. By default, stream structure is used.
sunique Toggle storing of files on remote machine under unique filenames.
system Show type of operating system running on remote machine.
tenex Set file transfer type to that needed to talk to TENEX machines.
trace Toggle packet tracing.
type [type-name] Set file transfer type to type-name. If no type is specified, the current type is printed. The default type is network ASCII.
umask [mask] Set user file-creation mode mask on the remote site. If mask is omitted, the current value of the mask is printed.
user username [password] [account] Identify yourself to the remote FTP server. ftp will prompt the user for the password (if not specified and the server requires it) and the account field.
verbose Toggle verbose mode.
? [command] Same as help.
in.ftpd [options]
TCP/IP command. Internet File Transfer Protocol server. The server uses the TCP protocol and listens at the port specified in the ftp service specification. ftpd is usually started by xinetd and must have an entry in xinetd's configuration file, /etc/xinetd.conf. It can also be run in standalone mode using the -p option. There are several FTP daemons available. On many Linux distributions, the default is the Kerberos-supporting DARPA version, which we document here. Options
-a Require authentication via ftp AUTH. Allow anonymous users as well, if configured to do so.
-A Require authentication via ftp AUTH, but allow only users who are authorized to connect without a password. Allow anonymous users as well, if configured to do so.
-C Require local credentials for non-anonymous users. Prompt for a password unless the user forwards credentials during authentication.
-d, -v Write debugging information to syslogd.
-l Log each FTP session in syslogd.
-p port Use port as the FTP control port instead of reading the appropriate port from /etc/services. This option will launch ftpd in standalone mode.
-q Use PID files to record the process IDs of running daemons. This is the default. These files are needed to determine the current number of users.
-r file Read Kerberos configuration from file instead of /etc/krb5.conf.
-s file Read Kerberos V4 authentication information from file instead of /etc/srvtab.
-t n Set default inactivity timeout period to n seconds. (The default is 15 minutes.)
-T n Allow ftp clients to request a different timeout period of up to n seconds. (The default is 2 hours.)
-u umask Set the default umask to umask.
-U file Read the list of users denied remote access from file instead of /etc/ftpusers.
-w format Specify the format for the remote hostname passed to login. Use one of the following formats:
ip Pass the IP address.
n[,[no]striplocal] Pass hostnames less than n characters in length, and IP addresses for longer hostsnames. Set n to 0 to use the system default. The striplocal portion of the option determines whether or not to strip local domains from hostnames. The default is to strip them.
fuser [options] [files | filesystems]
Identifies and outputs the process IDs of processes that are using the files or local filesystems. Each process ID is followed by a letter code: c if process is using file as the current directory; e if executable; f if an open file; m if a shared library; and r if the root directory. Any user with permission to read /dev/kmem and /dev/mem can use fuser, but only a privileged user can terminate another user's process. fuser does not work on remote (NFS) files. If more than one group of files is specified, the options may be respecified for each additional group of files. A lone dash (-) cancels the options currently in force, and the new set of options applies to the next group of files. Like a number of other administrator commands, fuser is usually installed to the /sbin directory. You may need to add that directory to your path or execute the command as /sbin/fuser. Options
- Return all options to defaults.
-signal Send signal instead of SIGKILL.
-a Display information on all specified files, even if they are not being accessed by any processes.
-i Request user confirmation to kill a process. Ignored if -k is not also specified.
-k Send SIGKILL signal to each process.
-l List signal names.
-m Expect files to exist on a mounted filesystem; include all files accessing that filesystem.
-n space Set the namespace checked for usage. Acceptable values are file for files, udp for local UPD ports, and tcp for local TCP ports.
-s Silent.
-u User login name, in parentheses, also follows process ID.
-v Verbose.
-V Display version information.
g++ [options] files
Invoke gcc with the options necessary to make it recognize C++. g++ recognizes all the file extensions gcc does, in addition to C++ source files (.C, .cc, or .cxx files) and C++ preprocessed files (.ii files). See also gcc.
gawk [options] 'script' [var=value...] [files] gawk [options] -f scriptfile [var=value...] [files]
The GNU version of awk, a program that does pattern matching, record processing, and other forms of text manipulation. For more information, see Chapter 1.
gcc [options] files
GNU Compiler Collection. gcc, formerly known as the GNU C Compiler, compiles multiple languages (C, C++, Objective-C, Ada, FORTRAN, and Java) to machine code. Here we document its use to compile C, C++, or Objective-C code. gcc compiles one or more programming source files; for example, C source files (file.c), assembler source files (file.s), or preprocessed C source files (file.i). If the file suffix is not recognizable, assume that the file is an object file or library. gcc normally invokes the C preprocessor, compiles the process code to assemble language code, assembles it, and then links it with the link editor. This process can be stopped at one of these stages using the -c, -S, or -E option. The steps may also differ depending on the language being compiled. By default, output is placed in a.out. In some cases, gcc generates an object file having a .o suffix and a corresponding root name. Preprocessor and linker options given on the gcc command line are passed on to these tools when they are run. These options are briefly described here, but some are more fully described under entries for cpp, as, and ld. The options that follow are divided into general, preprocessor, linker, and warning options. gcc accepts many system-specific options not covered here. Note: gcc is the GNU form of cc; on most Linux systems, the command cc will invoke gcc. The command g++ will invoke gcc with the appropriate options for interpreting C++. General options
-a Provide profile information for basic blocks.
-aux-info file Print prototyped declarations and information on their origins to file.
-ansi Enforce full ANSI conformance.
-b machine Compile for use on machine type.
-c Create linkable object file for each source file, but do not call linker.
-dumpmachine Print compiler's default target machine, then exit.
-dumpspecs Print built-in specification strings, then exit.
-dumpversion Print version number, then exit.
-foption Set the specified compiler option. Many of these control debugging, optimization of code, and special language options. Use the --help -v options for a full listing.
-g Include debugging information for use with gdb.
-glevel Provide level amount of debugging information. level must be 1, 2, or 3, with 1 providing the least amount of information. The default is 2.
--help Print most common basic options, then exit. When used with option -v, print options for all of gcc's subprocesses. For options specific to a target, use --target-help.
-moption Set the specified machine specific option. Use the --target-help option for a full listing.
-o file Specify output file as file. Default is a.out.
-p Provide profile information for use with prof.
-pass-exit-codes On error, return highest error code as the exit code, instead of 1.
-pedantic Warn verbosely.
-pedantic-errors Generate an error in every case in which -pedantic would have produced a warning.
-pg Provide profile information for use with gprof.
-print-file-name=file Print the full path to the library specified by filename file, then exit. This is the library gcc would use for linking.
-print-search-dirs Print installation directory and the default list of directories gcc will search to find programs and libraries, then exit.
-pipe Transfer information between stages of compiler by pipes instead of temporary files.
-save-temps Save temporary files in the current directory when compiling.
-std=standard Specify C standard of input file. Accepted values are:
iso9899:1990, c89 1990 ISO C standard.
iso9899:199409 1994 amendment to the 1990 ISO C standard.
iso9899:1999, c99, iso9899:199x, c9x 1999 revised ISO C standard.
gnu89 1990 C Standard with GNU extensions (the default value).
gnu99, gnu9x 1999 revised ISO C standard with GNU extensions.
-time Print statistics on the execution of each subprocess.
-v Verbose mode. Print subprocess commands to standard error as they are executed. Include gcc version number and preprocessor version number. To generate the same output without executing commands, use the option -###.
-w Suppress warnings.
-x language Expect input file to be written in language, which may be c, objective-c, c-header, c++, ada, f77, ratfor, assembler, java, cpp-output, c++-cpp-output, objc-cpp-output, f77-cpp-output, assembler-with-cpp, or ada. If none is specified as language, guess the language by filename extension.
-Bpath Specify the path directory in which the compiler files are located.
-E Preprocess the source files, but do not compile. Print result to standard output. This option is useful to meaningfully pass some cpp options that would otherwise break gcc, such as -C, -M, or -P.
-Idir Include dir in list of directories to search for include files. If dir is -, search those directories specified by -I before the -I- only when #include "file" is specified, not #include <file>.
-Ldir Search dir in addition to standard directories.
-O[level] Optimize. level should be 1, 2, 3, or 0 (the default is 1). 0 turns off optimization; 3 optimizes the most.
-S Compile source files into assembler code, but do not assemble.
-V version Attempt to run gcc version version.
-Wa,options Pass options to the assembler. Multiple options are separated by commas.
-Wl,options Pass options to the linker. Multiple options are separated by commas.
-Wp,options Pass options to the preprocessor. Multiple options are separated by commas.
-Xlinker options Pass options to the linker. A linker option with an argument requires two -Xlinkers, the first specifying the option and the second specifying the argument. Similar to -Wl.
Preprocessor options gcc will pass the following options to the preprocessor:
-$ Do not allow $ in identifiers.
-dD, -dI, -dM, -dN Suppress normal output; print preprocessor instructions instead. See cpp for details.
-idirafter dir Search dir for header files when a header file is not found in any of the included directories.
-imacros file Process macros in file before processing main files.
-include file Process file before main file.
-iprefix prefix When adding directories with -iwithprefix, prepend prefix to the directory's name.
-isystem dir Search dir for header files after searching directories specified with -I but before searching standard system directories.
-iwithprefix dir Append dir to the list of directories to be searched when a header file cannot be found in the main include path. If -iprefix has been set, prepend that prefix to the directory's name.
-iwithprefixbefore dir Insert dir at the beginning of the list of directories to be searched when a header file cannot be found in the main include path. If -iprefix has been set, prepend that prefix to the directory's name.
-nostdinc Search only specified, not standard, directories for header files.
-nostdinc++ Suppress searching of directories believed to contain C++-specific header files.
-trigraphs Convert special three-letter sequences, meant to represent missing characters on some terminals, into the single character they represent.
-undef Suppress definition of all nonstandard macros.
-A name[=def] Assert name with value def as if defined by #assert. To turn off standard assertions, use -A-.
-A -name[=def] Cancel assertion name with value def.
-C Retain all comments except those found on cpp directive lines. By default, the preprocessor strips C-style comments.
-Dname[=def] Define name with value def as if by #define. If no =def is given, name is defined with value 1. -D has lower precedence than -U.
-H Print pathnames of included files, one per line, on standard error.
-M, -MG, -MF, -MD, -MMD, -MQ, -MT Suppress normal output and print Makefile rules describing file dependencies. Print a rule for make that describes the main source file's dependencies. If -MG is specified, assume that missing header files are actually generated files, and look for them in the source file's directory. Most of these options imply -E. See cpp for further details.
-Uname Remove definition of symbol name.
Linker options gcc will pass the following options to the linker:
-llib Link to lib.
-nostartfiles Force linker to ignore standard system startup files.
-nostdlib Suppress linking to standard library files.
-s Remove all symbol table and relocation information from the executable.
-shared Create a shareable object.
-shared-libgcc Link to a shared version of libgcc if available.
-static Suppress linking to shared libraries.
-static-libgcc Link to a static version of libgcc if available.
-u symbol Force the linker to search libraries for a definition of symbol and to link to the libraries found.
Warning options
-pedantic Warn verbosely.
-pedantic-errors Produce a fatal error in every case in which -pedantic would have produced a warning.
-w Don't print warnings.
-W Warn more verbosely than normal.
-Waggregate-return Warn if any functions that return structures or unions are defined or called.
-Wall Enable -W, -Wchar-subscripts, -Wcomment, -Wformat, -Wimplicit, -Wmain, -Wmissing-braces, -Wparentheses, -Wreturn-type, -Wsequence-point, -Wswitch, -Wtemplate-debugging, -Wtrigraphs, -Wuninitialized, -Wunknown-pragmas, -Wstrict-aliasing and -Wunused.
-Wcast-align Warn when encountering instances in which pointers are cast to types that increase the required alignment of the target from its original definition.
-Wcast-qual Warn when encountering instances in which pointers are cast to types that lack the type qualifier with which the pointer was originally defined.
-Wchar-subscripts Warn when encountering arrays with subscripts of type char.
-Wcomment Warn when encountering the beginning of a nested comment.
-Wconversion Warn in particular cases of type conversions.
-Werror Exit at the first error.
-Wformat Warn about inappropriately formatted printfs and scanfs.
-Wimplicit Warn when encountering implicit function or parameter declarations.
-Winline Warn about illegal inline functions.
-Wmain Warn about malformed main functions.
-Wmissing-braces Enable more verbose warnings about omitted braces.
-Wmissing-declarations Warn if a global function is defined without a previous declaration.
-Wmissing-prototypes Warn when encountering global function definitions without previous prototype declarations.
-Wnested-externs Warn if an extern declaration is encountered within a function.
-Wno-import Don't warn about use of #import.
-Wparentheses Enable more verbose warnings about omitted parentheses.
-Wpointer-arith Warn when encountering code that attempts to determine the size of a function or void.
-Wredundant-decls Warn if anything is declared more than once in the same scope.
-Wreturn-type Warn about violations of sequence point rules defined in the C standard.
-Wreturn-type Warn about functions defined without return types or with improper return types.
-Wshadow Warn when a local variable shadows another local variable.
-Wstrict-prototypes Insist that argument types be specified in function declarations and definitions.
-Wswitch Warn about switches that skip the index for one of their enumerated types.
-Wtraditional Warn when encountering code that produces different results in ANSI C and traditional C.
-Wtrigraphs Warn when encountering trigraphs.
-Wuninitialized Warn when encountering uninitialized automatic variables.
-Wundef Warn when encountering a nonmacro identifier in an #if directive.
-Wunknown-pragmas Warn when encountering a #pragma directive not understood by gcc.
-Wunused Warn about unused variables, functions, labels, and parameters.
Pragma directives
#pragma interface [header-file] Used in header files to force object files to provide definition information via references instead of including it locally in each file. C++-specific.
#pragma implementation [header-file] Used in main input files to force generation of full output from header-file (or, if it is not specified, from the header file with the same basename as the file containing the pragma directive). This information will be globally visible. Normally the specified header file contains a #pragma interface directive.
gdb [options] [program [core|pid]]
GDB (GNU DeBugger) allows you to step through the execution of a program in order to find the point at which it breaks. It fully supports C and C++, and provides partial support for FORTRAN, Java, Chill, assembly, and Modula-2. The program to be debugged is normally specified on the command line; you can also specify a core or, if you want to investigate a running program, a process ID. Options
-b bps Set line speed of serial device used by GDB to bps.
-batch Exit after executing all the commands specified in .gdbinit and -x files. Print no startup messages.
-c file, -core=file Consult file for information provided by a core dump.
-cd=directory Use directory as gdb's working directory.
-d directory, -directory=directory Include directory in path that is searched for source files.
-e file, -exec=file Use file as an executable to be read in conjunction with source code. May be used in conjunction with -s to read the symbol table from the executable.
-f, -fullname Show full filename and line number for each stack frame.
-h, -help Print help message, then exit.
-n, -nx Ignore .gdbinit file.
-q, -quiet Suppress introductory and copyright messages.
-s file, -symbols=file Consult file for symbol table. With -e, also uses file as the executable.
-tty=device Set standard in and standard out to device.
-write Allow gdb to write into executables and core files.
-x file, -command=file Read gdb commands from file.
Common commands These are just some of the more common gdb commands; there are too many to list them all.
bt Print the current location within the program and a stack trace showing how the current location was reached. (where does the same thing.)
break Set a breakpoint in the program.
cd Change the current working directory.
clear Delete the breakpoint where you just stopped.
commands List commands to be executed when a breakpoint is hit.
c Continue execution from a breakpoint.
delete Delete a breakpoint or a watchpoint; also used in conjunction with other commands.
display Cause variables or expressions to be displayed when program stops.
down Move down one stack frame to make another function the current one.
frame Select a frame for the next continue command.
info Show a variety of information about the program. For instance, info breakpoints shows all outstanding breakpoints and watchpoints.
jump Start execution at another point in the source file.
kill Abort the process running under gdb's control.
list List the contents of the source file corresponding to the program being executed.
next Execute the next source line, executing a function in its entirety.
print Print the value of a variable or expression.
ptype Show the contents of a datatype, such as a structure or C++ class.
pwd Show the current working directory.
quit Exit gdb.
reverse-search Search backward for a regular expression in the source file.
run Execute the program.
search Search for a regular expression in the source file.
set variable Assign a value to a variable.
signal Send a signal to the running process.
step Execute the next source line, stepping into a function if necessary.
undisplay Reverse the effect of the display command; keep expressions from being displayed.
until Finish the current loop.
up Move up one stack frame to make another function the current one.
watch Set a watchpoint (i.e., a data breakpoint) in the program.
whatis Print the type of a variable or function.
getent [options] database key
Search the specified database for the specified key. The database may be any one of passwd, group, hosts, services, protocols, ornetworks. Options
-s,--service=CONFIG Specify the service configuration to be used. See nsswitch.conf(5) for information about name-service switching.
-?,--help Display a help message.
--usage Display a very short syntax synopsis.
-V,--version Print version information and quit.
getkeycodes
Print the kernel's scancode-to-keycode mapping table.
gpasswd [options] group
Change group password. May only be used by an administrator. Uses the encryption algorithm from the GROUP_CRYPT environment variable, falling back to the CRYPT variable set in /etc/default/passwd. If neither of those is set, DES is used. Options
-a Add a new group.
-d Delete a group.
-M Create members of the group.
-R Disable access to the group. Also prevent creation of a new group with the same name.
-r Remove the password entirely.
gpg [options] command [options]
The GNU Privacy Guard application allows you to encrypt and decrypt information, create public and private encryption keys, and use or verify digital signatures. GPG is based on the use of a pair of keys, one public and one private (or "secret"). Data encrypted with one key can only be decrypted with the other. To encrypt a message to you, someone would use your public key to create a message that could only be unlocked with your private key. To sign information, you would lock it with your private key, allowing anyone to verify that it came from you by unlocking it with your public key. GPG has dozens of additional options that fine-tune its available options. For a complete list, plus a guide to careful use of encryption and a deeper explanation of how public-key encryption works, visit www.gnupg.org. Key Commands
--check-sigs[keyname] Lists keys and signatures like --list-sigs, but also verifies them.
--delete-key keyname Delete the specified key from the keyring.
--delete-secret-key keyname Delete the named secret key from the keyring.
--delete-secret-and-public-key keyname Delete the secret (if any) and then the public key for the specified name.
--desig-revoke keyname Create a revocation certificate for a key pair and designate authority to issue it to someone else. This allows the user to permit someone else to revoke the key, if necessary.
--edit-key [keyname] Edit key options using a menu-driven tool. Key options are too numerous to list here, but include everything from trust settings to images attached to keys for user identification purposes.
--export [keyname] Output the specified key or, if no key is named, the entire keyring. Use the --output flag to send the key information to a file, and --armor to make the key mailable as ASCII text.
--export-secret-keys [keyname] Outputs the specified secret key or keys. Operation is the same as --export, except with secret keys. This is a security risk and should be used with caution.
--export-secret-subkeys [keyname] Outputs the specified secret subkeys. Operation is the same as --export, except with secret keys. This is a security risk and should be used with caution.
--fingerprint [keyname] List keys and their fingerprints for keys named, or all keys if no name is specified. If repeated, shows fingerprints of secondary keys.
--gen-key Generate a new pair of keys, prompting for several preferences and a passphrase. For most purposes, the default answers to the questions about algorithm and key length are fine.
--gen-revoke keyname Create a revocation certificate for a key pair. A revocation certificate is designed to assure all parties that the key pair is no longer valid and should be discarded.
--keyserver keyserver Specifies the name of the keyserver holding the key.
--list-keys [keyname] List keys with the specified name, or all keys if no name is specified.
--list-public-keys [keyname] List public keys with the specified name, or all public keys if no name is specified.
--list-secret-keys [keyname] List secret keys with the specified name, or all secret keys if no name is specified.
--list-sigs [keyname] Lists keys as --list-keys does, but also lists the signatures.
--gen-revoke keyname Delete the secret (if any) and then the public key for the specified name.
--import file Read keys from a file and add them to your keyring. This is most often used with public keys that are sent by email, but can also be used to move private keys from one system to another. Combined with the --merge-only option, adds only new signatures, subkeys, and user IDs, not keys.
--lsign-key keyname Sign a public key, but mark it as non-exportable.
--nrsign-key keyname Sign a public key and mark it as nonrevocable.
--recv-keys keyname Download and import keys from a keyserver. The key name here should be the key ID as known to the keyserver, and the server must be specified with the --keyserver option.
--refresh-keys [keyname] Check the keyserver for updates to keys already in the keyring. You can specify which keys to check for updates using the key IDs known to the server, and you must specify the server with the --keyserver option.
--search-keys [string] Search the names of keys on the keyserver. Specify the keyserver with --keyserver.
--send-keys [keyname] Send one or more keys to a keyserver. Specify the keyserver with --keyserver.
--sign-key keyname Sign a public key using your private key. Often used to send the public key to a third party. This is the same as selecting "sign" from the --edit-key menu.
Signature Commands
-b,--detach-sign Create a signature that is not attached to anything.
--clearsign Create a signature in clear text.
-s,--sign Create a signature. May be combined with --encrypt.
--verify [detached-signature] [signed-file] Verify the signature attached to a file. If the signature and data are in the same file, only one file needs to be specified. For detached signatures, the first file should be the .sig or .asc signature file, and the second the datafile. If you wish to use stdin instead of a file for the non-attached data, you must specify a single dash (-) as the second filename.
--verify-files [files] Verify one or more files entered on the command line or to stdin. Signatures must be part of the files submitted, and files sent to stdin should be one file per line. This is designed to check many files at once.
Encryption Commands
--encrypt Encrypt data. May be used with --sign to create signed, encrypted data.
--encrypt-files [files] Encrypt files one after another, either at the command line or sent to stdin one per line.
-c,--symmetric Encrypt using a symmetric cipher. The cipher is encrypted using the CAST5 algorithm unless you specify otherwise using the --cipher-algo flag.
--store Create a PGP message packet (RFC 1991). This does not encrypt data; it just puts it into the right packet format.
Decryption Commands
--decrypt [file] Decrypt a file. If no file is specified, stdin is decrypted. Decrypted data is sent to stdout or to the file specified with the --output flag. If the encrypted data is signed, the signature is also verified.
--decrypt-files [files] Decrypt files one after another, either at the command line or sent to stdin one per line.
Other Commands
--check-trustdb Check the list of keys with defined trust levels to see if they have expired or been revoked.
--export-ownertrust Create a backup of the trust values for keys.
--h,--help Display a help message.
--import-ownertrust [file] Import trust values from a file or stdin. Overwrites existing values.
--list-packets Display packet sequence for an encrypted message. Used for debugging.
--update-trustdb Update the database of trusted keys. For each key that has no defined level of trust, --update-trustdb prompts for an estimate of how much the key's owner can be trusted to certify other keys. This builds a web of more-trusted and less-trusted keys by which the overall security of a given key can be estimated.
--version Display version information and quit.
--warranty Display warranty information. There is no warranty.
gpgsplit [options] [files]
Split an OpenPGP format message into individual packets. If no file is specified, the message is read from stdin. The split packets are written as individual files. Options
-h, -?, --help Display a short help message.
--no-split Write to stdout instead of splitting the packets into individual files.
-p, --prefix string Begin each filename with the specified string.
--secret-to-public Convert any secret keys in the message to public keys.
--uncompress Uncompress any compressed packets.
-v, --verbose Verbose mode. More informative.
gpgv [options] [detached-signature] [signed-files]
Check the signature of one or more OpenPGP-signed files. This is similar in operation to gpg --verify but uses a different keyring, ~/.gnupg/trustedkeys.gpg. Also, gpgv assumes that the keyring is trusted, and it cannot edit or update it. By contrast, gpg --verify can go to a keyserver to verify signatures that are not in the local keyring, and offers various levels of trust. In both cases, you can use a detached signature file Options
-h,-?, --help Display a short help message.
--ignore-time-conflict Use this flag to ignore incorrect dates on signatures. An incorrect date can be a sign of fraud, but is often just a result of an incorrectly set clock.
-k,--keyring file Use the specified file as a keyring, in addition to the default ~/.gnupg/trustedkeys.gpg.
--homedir dir Use the specified directory as the GPG home directory, instead of the default (set in the GNUPGHOME variable, or, if that is unset, ~/.gnupg).
--logger-fd FD Send log output to the specified file descriptor. By default, log output goes to stderr. Use of file descriptors is described in the DETAILS section of the GPG documentation.
-q,--quiet Minimal output.
--status-fd FD Send special status messages to the specified file descriptor.
-v,--verbose Verbose mode. More informative.
gpm [options]
System administration command. Provide a mouse server and cut-and-paste utility for use on the Linux console. gpm acts like a daemon, responding to both mouse events and client input. If no clients are connected to the active console, gpm provides cut-and-paste services. Options
-2 Force two buttons. If there is a middle button, it is treated as the right button.
-3 Force three buttons. With a three-button mouse, the left button makes a selection, the right button extends the selection, and the middle button pastes it. Using this option with a two-button mouse results in being unable to paste.
-a accel Set the acceleration for a single motion longer than the delta specified with the -d option.
-A [limit] Start up with pasting disabled for security. If specified, limit gives the time in seconds during which a selection can be pasted. If too much time has passed, the paste is not allowed.
-b baud Specify the baud rate.
-B seq Set a three-digit button sequence, mapping the left, middle, and right buttons to buttons 1, 2, and 3. The default is 123. The sequence 321 is useful if you are left-handed, or 132 for a two-button mouse.
-d delta Set the delta value for use with -a. When a mouse motion event is longer than the specified delta, use accel as a multiplier. delta must be 2 or greater.
-D Debugging mode. When set, gpm does not put itself into the background, and it logs messages to standard error instead of syslog.
-g num For a glidepoint device, specify the button to be emulated by a tap. num must be 1, 2, or 3 and refers to the button number before any remapping is done by the -B option. Applies to mman and ps2 protocol decoding.
-h Print a help message and exit.
-i interval Specify the upper time limit, in milliseconds, between mouse clicks for the clicks to be considered a double or triple click.
-k Kill a running gpm. For use with a bus mouse to kill gpm before running X. See also -R.
-l charset Specify the inword( ) lookup table, which determines which characters can appear in a word. charset is a list of characters. The list can include only printable characters. Specify a range with -, and use \ to escape the following character or to specify an octal character.
-m filename Specify the mouse file to open. The default is /dev/mouse.
-M Enable the use of more than one mouse. Options appearing before -M apply to the first mouse; those appearing after it apply to the second mouse. Forces the use of -R.
-o extra-options Specify a comma-separated list of additional mouse-specific options. See the gpm info page for a description of the mouse types and the possible options.
-p Keep the pointer visible while text is being selected. The default is not to show the pointer.
-r num Specify the responsiveness. A higher number causes the cursor to move faster.
-R name Act as a repeater and pass any mouse data received while in graphical mode to the fifo /dev/gpmdata in the protocol specified by name (default is msc). In addition to certain protocol types available with -t, you can specify raw to repeat the data with no protocol translation.
-s num Specify the sample rate for the mouse device.
-S [commands] Enable special-command processing (see the next section). Custom commands can be specified as a colon-separated list to associate commands with the left button, middle button, and right button. If a command is omitted, it defaults to sending a signal to init.
-t type Specify the mouse protocol type. Use -t help for a list of types; those marked with an asterisk (*) can be used with -R.
-v Print version information and exit.
-V [increment] Make gpm more or less verbose by the specified increment. The default verbosity level is 5, and the default increment is 1. A larger value of increment causes more messages to be logged. The increment can be negative, but must be specified with no space (e.g., -V-3).
Special commands Special commands, activated with the -S option, are associated with each mouse button. You can also use -S to customize the commands. To execute a special command, triple-click the left and right buttons (hold down one of the buttons and triple-click the other). A message appears on the console, and the speaker beeps twice. At this point, release the buttons and press the desired button within three seconds to activate the associated special command. The default special commands are:
Left button Reboot by signalling init.
Middle button Shut down the system with /sbin/shutdown -h now.
Right button Reboot with /sbin/shutdown -r now.
gprof [options] [object_file]
Display the profile data for an object file. The file's symbol table is compared with the call graph profile file gmon.out (previously created by compiling with gcc -pg). Many of gprof's options take a symbol-specification argument, or symspec, to limit the option to specified files or functions. The symspec may be a filename, a function, or a line number. It can also be given as filename:function or filename:linenumber to specify a function or line number in a specific file. gprof expects filenames to contain a period and functions to not contain a period. Options
-a, --no-static Do not display statically declared functions. Since their information might still be relevant, append it to the information about the functions loaded immediately before.
-b, --brief Do not display information about each field in the profile.
-c, --static-call-graph Consult the object file's text area to attempt to determine the program's static call graph. Display static-only parents and children with call counts of 0.
--demangle[=style], --no-demangle Specify whether C++ symbols should be demangled or not. They are demangled by default. If profiling a program built by a different compiler, you may need to specify the mangling style.
--function-ordering Print suggested function order based on profiling data.
--file-ordering file Print suggested link line order for .o files based on profiling data. Read function name to object file mappings from file. This file can be created using the nm command.
-i, --file-info Print summary information on datafiles, then exit.
-k from to Remove arcs between the routines from and to.
-m n, --min-count[=n] Don't print count statistics for symbols executed less than n times.
-n[symspec], --time[=symspec] Propogate time statistics in call graph analysis.
-p[symspec], --flat-profile[=symspec] Print profile statistics.
-q[symspec], --graph[=symspec] Print call graph analysis.
-s, --sum Summarize profile information in the file gmon.sum.
-v, --version Print version and exit.
-w n, --width=n Print function index formatted to width n.
-x, --all-lines When printing annotated source, annotate every line in a basic block, not just the beginning.
-y, --separate-files Print annotated-source output to separate files instead of standard output. The annotated source for each source file is printed to filename-ann.
-z, --display-unused-functions Include zero-usage calls.
-A[symspec], --annotated-source[=symspec] Print annotated source code.
-C[symspec], --exec-counts[=symspec] Print statistics on the number of times each function is called. When used with option -l, count basic-block execution.
-F routine Print only information about routine. Do not include time spent in other routines.
-I dirs, --directory-path=dirs Set directory path to search for source files. The dirs argument may be given as a colon-separated list of directories.
-J[symspec], --no-annotated-source[=symspec] Don't print annotated source code.
-L, --print-path Print the path information when printing filenames.
-N[symspec], --no-time[=symspec] Don't propogate time statistics in call graph analysis.
-P[symspec], --no-flat-profile[=symspec] Don't print profile statistics
-Q[symspec], --no-graph[=symspec] Don't print call graph analysis.
-T, --traditional Print output in BSD style.
-Z[symspec], --no-exec-counts[=symspec] Don't print statistics on the number of times each function is called.
grep [options] pattern [files]
Search one or more files for lines that match a regular expression pattern. Regular expressions are described in Chapter 7. Exit status is 0 if any lines match, 1 if none match, and 2 for errors. See also egrep and fgrep. Options
-a, --text Don't suppress output lines with binary data; treat as text.
-b, --byte-offset Print the byte offset within the input file before each line of output.
-c, --count Print only a count of matched lines. With -v or --revert-match option, count nonmatching lines.
-d action, --directories=action Define an action for processing directories. Possible actions are:
read Read directories like ordinary files (default).
skip Skip directories.
recurse Recursively read all files under each directory. Same as -r.
-e pattern, --regexp=pattern Search for pattern. Same as specifying a pattern as an argument, but useful in protecting patterns beginning with -.
-f file, --file=file Take a list of patterns from file, one per line.
-h, --no-filename Print matched lines but not filenames (inverse of -l).
-i, --ignore-case Ignore uppercase and lowercase distinctions.
-l, --files-with-matches List the names of files with matches but not individual matched lines; scanning per file stops on the first match.
--mmap Try to use memory mapping (mmap) to read input in order to save time.
-n, --line-number Print lines and their line numbers.
-q, --quiet, --silent Suppress normal output in favor of quiet mode; scanning stops on the first match.
-r, --recursive Recursively read all files under each directory. Same as -d recurse.
-s, --no-messages Suppress error messages about nonexistent or unreadable files.
-v, --invert-match Print all lines that don't match pattern.
-w, --word-regexp Match on whole words only. Words are divided by characters that are not letters, digits, or underscores.
-x, --line-regexp Print lines only if pattern matches the entire line.
-A num, --after-context=num Print num lines of text that occur after the matching line.
-B num, --before-context=num Print num lines of text that occur before the matching line.
-C[num], --context[=num], -num Print num lines of leading and trailing context. Default context is 2 lines.
-E, -extended-regexp Act like egrep, recognizing extended regular expressions such as (UN|POS)IX to find UNIX and POSIX.
-F, --fixed-strings Act like fgrep, recognizing only fixed strings instead of regular expressions. Useful when searching for characters that grep normally recognizes as metacharacters.
-G, --basic-regexp Expect the regular expressions traditionally recognized by grep (the default).
-H, --with-filename Display, before each line found, the name of the file containing the line. This is done by default if multiple files are submitted to a single grep command.
-V, --version Print the version number and then exit.
-Z, --null When displaying filenames, follow each with a zero byte instead of a colon.
Examples List the number of users who use tcsh: grep -c /bin/tcsh /etc/passwd
List header files that have at least one #include directive: grep -l '^#include' /usr/include/*
List files that don't contain pattern: grep -c pattern files | grep :0
groff [options] [files] TRoff [options] [files]
Frontend to the groff document-formatting system, which normally runs troff along with a postprocessor appropriate for the selected output device. Options without arguments can be grouped after a single dash (-). A filename of - denotes standard input. Options
-a Generate an ASCII approximation of the typeset output.
-b Print a backtrace.
-C Enable compatibility mode.
-dcs, -dname=s Define the character c or string name to be the string s.
-e Preprocess with eqn, the equation formatter.
-E Don't print any error messages.
-ffam Use fam as the default font family.
-Fdir Search dir for subdirectories with DESC and font files before searching the default directory /usr/lib/groff/font.
-h Print a help message.
-i Read standard input after all files have been processed.
-l Send the output to a print spooler (as specified by the print command in the device description file).
-Larg Pass arg to the spooler. Each argument should be passed with a separate -L option.
-mname Read the macro file tmac.name.
-Mdir Search directory dir for macro files before searching the default directory /usr/lib/groff/tmac.
-nnum Set the first page number to num.
-N Don't allow newlines with eqn delimiters; equivalent to eqn's -N option.
-olist Output only pages specified in list, a comma-separated list of page ranges.
-p Preprocess with pic.
-Parg Pass arg to the postprocessor. Each argument should be passed with a separate -P option.
-rcn, -name=n Set the number register c or name to n. c is a single character, and n is any troff numeric expression.
-R Preprocess with refer.
-s Preprocess with soelim.
-S Use safer mode (that is, pass the -S option to pic and use the -msafer macros with troff).
-t Preprocess with tbl.
-Tdev Prepare output for device dev; the default is ps.
-v Make programs run by groff print out their version number.
-V Print the pipeline on stdout instead of executing it.
-wname Enable warning name. You can specify multiple -w options. See the troff manpage for a list of warnings.
-Wname Disable warning name. You can specify multiple -W options. See the troff manpage for a list of warnings.
-z Suppress troff output (except error messages).
-Z Do not postprocess troff output. Normally groff automatically runs the appropriate postprocessor.
Devices
ascii Typewriter-like device.
dvi TEX dvi format.
latin1 Typewriter-like devices using the ISO Latin-1 character set.
ps PostScript.
X75 75-dpi X11 previewer.
X100 100-dpi X11 previewer.
lj4 HP LaserJet4-compatible (or other PCL5-compatible) printer.
Environment variables
GROFF_COMMAND_PREFIX If set to be X, groff will run Xtroff instead of troff.
GROFF_FONT_PATH Colon-separated list of directories in which to search for the devname directory.
GROFF_TMAC_PATH Colon-separated list of directories in which to search for the macro files.
GROFF_TMPDIR If set, temporary files will be created in this directory; otherwise, they will be created in TMPDIR (if set) or /tmp (if TMPDIR is not set).
GROFF_TYPESETTER Default device.
PATH Search path for commands that groff executes.
groffer [viewing_options] [man_options] [groff_options] [file-spec...] groffer filespec
Groffer displays manpages and groff documents. It accepts the option flags from both man and groff. The filespec argument can be a filename or a manpage or section specified in the format man:page or man:section. For more information, see groff and man.
groupadd [options] group
System administration command. Create new group of accounts for the system. Options
-f Exit with error if group being added already exists. If a gid requested with -g already exists and the -o option has not been specified, assign a different gid as if -g had not been specified. This option is not available on all distributions.
-g gid Assign numerical group ID. (By default, the first available number above 500 is used.) The value must be unique, unless the -o option is used.
--help Display a help message.
-o Accept a nonunique gid with the -g option.
-p,--password string Use the string encrypted by crypt(3), as the initial password for the group.
-P,--path pathname Specify the path for the group definition file. Normally, the file is placed in /etc/group.
-r,--system Add a system account. Assign the first available number lower than 499.
--service servicename Add the group to a special service category. Normally, this is "files," but it may also be "ldap."
--usage Display a very short list of acceptable options for the command.
-v,--version Print the version number, then quit.
groupdel group
System administration command. Remove group from system account files. You may still need to find and change permissions on files that belong to the removed group.
groupmod [options] group
System administration command. Modify group information for group. Options
-g gid Change the numerical value of the group ID. Any files that have the old gid must be changed manually. The new gid must be unique, unless the -o option is used.
-n name Change the group name to name.
-o Override. Accept a nonunique gid.
groups [options] [users]
Show the groups that each user belongs to (default user is the owner of the current group). Groups are listed in /etc/passwd and /etc/group. Options
--help Print help message.
--version Print version information.
grpck [option] [files]
System administration command. Remove corrupt or duplicate entries in the /etc/group and /etc/gshadow files. Generate warnings for other errors found. grpck will prompt for a "yes" or "no" before deleting entries. If the user replies "no," the program will exit. If run in a read-only mode, the reply to all prompts is "no." Alternate group and gshadow files can be checked. If other errors are found, the user will be encouraged to run the groupmod command. Option
-r Read-only mode.
Exit codes
0 Success.
1 Syntax error.
2 One or more bad group entries found.
3 Could not open group files.
4 Could not lock group files.
5 Could not write group files.
grpconv grpunconv
System administration command. Like pwconv, the grpconv command creates a shadowed group file to keep your encrypted group passwords safe from password-cracking programs. grpconv creates the /etc/gshadow file based on your existing /etc/groups file and replaces your encrypted password entries with x. If you add new entries to the /etc/groups file, you can run grpconv again to transfer the new information to /etc/gshadow. It will ignore entries that already have a password of x and convert those that do not. grpunconv restores the encrypted passwords to your /etc/groups file and removes the /etc/gshadow file.
gs [options] [files]
GhostScript, an interpreter for Adobe Systems' PostScript and PDF (Portable Document Format) languages. Used for document processing. With - in place of files, standard input is used. Options
-- filename arg1 ... Take the next argument as a filename, but use all remaining arguments to define ARGUMENTS in userdict (not systemdict) as an array of those strings before running the file.
-gnumber1xnumber2 Specify width and height of device; intended for systems like the X Window System.
-q Quiet startup.
-rnumber, -rnumber1xnumber2 Specify X and Y resolutions (for the benefit of devices, such as printers, that support multiple X and Y resolutions). If only one number is given, it is used for both X and Y resolutions.
-Dname=token, -dname=token Define a name in systemdict with the given definition. The token must be exactly one token (as defined by the token operator) and must not contain any whitespace.
-Dname, -dname Define a name in systemdict with a null value.
-Idirectories Add the designated list of directories at the head of the search path for library files.
-Sname=string, -sname=string Define a name in systemdict with a given string as value.
Special names
-dDISKFONTS Cause individual character outlines to be loaded from the disk the first time they are encountered.
-dNOBIND Disable the bind operator. Useful only for debugging.
-dNOCACHE Disable character caching. Useful only for debugging.
-dNODISPLAY Suppress the normal initialization of the output device. May be useful when debugging.
-dNOPAUSE Disable the prompt and pause at the end of each page.
-dNOPLATFONTS Disable the use of fonts supplied by the underlying platform (e.g., the X Window System).
-dSAFER Disable the deletefile and renamefile operators, and the ability to open files in any mode other than read-only.
-dWRITESYSTEMDICT Leave systemdict writable.
-sDEVICE=device Select an alternate initial output device.
-sOUTPUTFILE=filename Select an alternate output file (or pipe) for the initial output device.
gunzip [options] [files]
Uncompress files compressed by gzip. See gzip for a list of options.
gzexe [option] [files]
Compress executables. When run, these files automatically uncompress, thus trading time for space. gzexe creates backup files with a tilde at the end (filename~). These backup files can be deleted once you are sure the compression has worked properly. Option
-d Decompress files.
gzip [options] [files] gunzip [options] [files] zcat[options] [files]
Compress specified files (or data read from standard input) with Lempel-Ziv coding (LZ77). Rename compressed file to filename.gz; keep ownership modes and access/modification times. Ignore symbolic links. Uncompress with gunzip, which takes all of gzip's options except those specified. zcat is identical to gunzip -c and takes the options -fhLV, described here. Files compressed with the compress command can be decompressed using these commands. Options
-n, --fast, --best Regulate the speed of compression using the specified digit n, where -1 or --fast indicates the fastest compression method (less compression), and -9 or --best indicates the slowest compression method (most compression). The default compression level is -6.
-a, --ascii ASCII text mode: convert end-of-lines using local conventions. This option is supported only on some non-Unix systems.
-c, --stdout, --to-stdout Print output to standard output, and do not change input files.
-d, --decompress, --uncompress Same as gunzip.
-f, --force Force compression. gzip would normally prompt for permission to continue when the file has multiple links, its .gz version already exists, or it is reading compressed data to or from a terminal.
-h, --help Display a help screen and then exit.
-l, --list Expects to be given compressed files as arguments. Files may be compressed by any of the following methods: gzip, deflate, compress, lzh, or pack. For each file, list uncompressed and compressed sizes (the latter being always -1 for files compressed by programs other than gzip), compression ratio, and uncompressed name. With -v, also print compression method, the 32-bit CRC of the uncompressed data, and the timestamp. With -N, look inside the file for the uncompressed name and timestamp.
-L, --license Display the gzip license and quit.
-n, --no-name When compressing, do not save the original filename and timestamp by default. When decompressing, do not restore the original filename if present, and do not restore the original timestamp if present. This option is the default when decompressing.
-N, --name Default. Save original name and timestamp. When decompressing, restore original name and timestamp.
-q, --quiet Print no warnings.
-r, --recursive When given a directory as an argument, recursively compress or decompress files within it.
-S suffix, --suffix suffix Append .suffix. Default is gz. A null suffix while decompressing causes gunzip to attempt to decompress all specified files, regardless of suffix.
-t, --test Test compressed file integrity.
-v, --verbose Print name and percent size reduction for each file.
-V, --version Display the version number and compilation options.
halt [options]
System administration command: turns off the computer. Insert a note in the file /var/log/wtmp; if the system is in runlevel 0 or 6, stop all processes; otherwise, call shutdown -h. Options
-d Suppress writing to /var/log/wtmp.
-f Call halt even when shutdown -nf would normally be called (i.e., force a call to halt, even when not in runlevel 0 or 6).
-h Place hard drives in standby mode before halt or power off.
-i Shut down network interfaces before halt.
-n No sync before reboot or halt.
-p Perform power-off when halting system.
-n Suppress normal call to sync.
-w Suppress normal execution; simply write to /var/log/wtmp.
hdparm [options] [device]
System administration command. Read or set the hard drive parameters. This command can be used to tune hard drive performance; it is mostly used with IDE drives, but can also be used with SCSI drives. Options The hdparm command accepts many option flags, including some that can result in filesystem corruption if misused. Flags can be used to set or get a parameter. To get a parameter, just pass the flag without a value. To set a parameter, follow the flag with a space and the appropriate value.
-a [n] Get or set the number of sectors to read ahead in the disk. The default is 8 sectors (4 KB); a larger value is more efficient for large, sequential reads, and a smaller value is better for small, random reads. Many IDE drives include this functionality in the drive itself, so this feature is not always necessary.
-A Enable or disable the IDE read-ahead feature. Usually on by default.
-b [n] Get or set the bus state for the drive.
-B Set the Advanced Power Management (APM) data if the drive supports it.
-c [n] Get or set 32-bit I/O values for IDE drives. Acceptable values are 0 (32-bit support off), 1 (32-bit support on), and 3 (on, but only with a sync sequence).
-C Check the power status of the drive. This will tell you unknown, active/idle, standby, or sleeping. Use -S, -y, -Y, and -Z to set the power status.
-d [n] Get or set the using_dma flag for the drive, which may be 0 (not using DMA) or 1 (using DMA).
-D Enable or disable defect-handling features that are controlled by the hard drive itself.
-E n Set CD-ROM read speed to n times normal audio playback speed. Not normally necessary.
-f Flush and sync the buffer cache on exit.
-g Query and display drive size and geometry information, such as number of cylinders, heads, and sectors.
-h Display a short help message.
-i Display the drive identification information obtained at boot time. If the drive has changed since boot, this information may not be current.
-I Display more detailed identification information for the drive.
-Istdin Read identify data from standard input.
-Istdout Write identify data to standard output.
-k [n] Get or set the keep_settings_over_reset variable. Valid settings are 0 and 1, and a value of 1 will keep the -dmu options when rebooting (soft reset only).
-K [n] Get or set the keep_features_over_reset variable. Valid settings are 0 and 1, and a value of 1 will keep settings for the flags -APSWXZ over a soft reset.
-L n Set the door lock flag for the drive. Used for Syquest, ZIP, and JAZ drives.
-m [n] Get or set the number of sectors used for multiple sector count reading. A value of 0 disables the feature, and values of 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 are common. Drives that try to support this feature and fail may suffer corruption and data loss.
-M [n] Get or set the level for Automatic Acousting Management (AAM) features. Newer drives support this feature, which can slow down head movements to reduce hard disk noise. Values range from 128 (quiet, but slow) to 254 (fast, but loud). Some drives support only 128 and 254, while others support multiple levels between the extremes. At the time of writing, this feature was still considered experimental and not recommended for production use.
-n [n] Set to 0 or 1 to disable or enable, respectively, the "ignore write errors" flag. This can cause massive data loss if used incorrectly, and is for development purposes only.
-p n Tune the IDE interface to use PIO mode n, usually an integer between 0 and 5. Incorrect values can result in massive data loss. Support for the PIO mode-setting feature varies between IDE chips, so tuning it is not for the faint of heart.
-P n Set the internal prefetch sector count. Not all drives support the feature.
-q Suppress output for the flag after this one, unless it is the -i, -v, -t, or -T flag.
-Q [n] Set the depth of tagged queues. 0 disables tagged queues. This is supported only on specific drives, and only for kernels 2.5.x and later.
-r [n] Get or set the flag for read-only on the device. A value of 1 marks the device as read-only.
-R This option should be used by experts only. It registers an IDE interface. See the -U option for further details.
-S n Set the amount of time a disk is inactive before it spins down and goes into standby mode. Settings from 1 to 240 represent chunks of five seconds (for timeout values between 5 seconds and 20 minutes); values from 241 to 251 are increments of 30 minutes (for 30 minutes to 5.5 hours). A value of 252 sets the timeout to 21 minutes, 253 to the vendor default, and 255 to 20 minutes and 15 seconds.
-T Time cache reads to determine performance.
-t Time device reads to determine performance.
-u [n] Get or set the interrupt-unmask value for the drive. A value of 1 lets the drive unmask other interrupts and can improve performance; when used with older kernels and hardware, it can cause data loss.
-U Unregister an IDE interface. Use this feature and the -R feature only with hot-swappable hardware, such as very high-end servers and some laptops. It can damage or hang other systems, and should be used with caution.
-v Display all appropriate settings for device except -i. This is the same as the default behavior with no flags.
-w Reset the device. Use as a last resort only; may cause data loss.
-W Enable or disable the write-cache feature for the drive. The default varies among drive manufacturers.
-x Sets tristate. Use only for hot-swappable devices. See the -R and -U entries.
-X n Set the IDE transfer mode. Possible values include 34 (multiword DMA mode2 transfers) and 66 (UltraDMA mode2 transfers), or any PIO mode number plus 8. This option is suggested for experts only, and is useful only with newer EIDE/IDE/ATA2 drives. Often used in combination with -d.
-y Put the IDE drive into standby (spin-down) mode, saving power.
-Y Put the IDE drive into sleep mode.
-z Force the kernel to reread the partition table.
-Z Disable automatic powersaving on some drives, which can prevent them from idling or spinning down at inconvenient moments. This will increase the electrical power consumption of your system.
head [options] [files]
Print the first few lines (default is 10) of one or more files. If files is missing or -, read from standard input. With more than one file, print a header for each file. Options
-c num[b|k|m], --bytes num [b|k|m] Print first num bytes or, if num is followed by b, k, or m, first num 512-byte blocks, 1-kilobyte blocks, or 1-megabyte blocks.
--help Display help and then exit.
-n num, --lines num, -num Print first num lines. Default is 10.
-q, --quiet, --silent Quiet mode; never print headers giving filenames.
-v, --verbose Print filename headers, even for only one file.
--version Output version information and then exit.
Examples Display the first 20 lines of phone_list: head -20 phone_list
Display the first 10 phone numbers having a 202 area code: grep '(202)' phone_list | head
hexdump [options] file
Display specified file or input in hexadecimal, octal, decimal, or ASCII format. Option flags are used to specify the display format. Options
-b Use a one-byte octal display, meaning the input offset is in hexadecimal and is followed by 16 three-column octal data bytes, filled in with zeroes and separated by spaces.
-c Use a one-byte character display, meaning the input offset is in hexadecimal and is followed by 16 three-column entries, filled in with zeroes and separated with spaces.
-C Canonical mode. Display hexadecimal offset, two sets of eight columns of hexadecimal bytes, then a | followed by the ASCII representation of those same bytes.
-d Use a two-byte decimal display. The input offset is again in hexadecimal, but the display has only eight entries per line, of five columns each, containing two bytes of unsigned decimal format.
-e format_string Choose a format string to be used to transform the output data. Format strings consist of:
Iteration count The iteration count is optional. It determines the number of times to use the transformation string. The number should be followed by a slash character (/) to distinguish it from the byte count.
Byte count The number of bytes to be interpreted by the conversion string. It should be preceded by a slash character to distinguish it from the iteration count.
Format characters The actual format characters should be surrounded by quotation marks and are interpreted as fprintf (see printf) formatting strings, although the *, h, l, n, p, and q options will not work as expected. Format string usage is discussed at greater length in the hexdump manpage.
-f filename Choose a file that contains several format strings. The strings should be separated by newlines; the # character marks a line as a comment.
-n length Limit the number of bytes of input to be interpreted.
-o Two-byte octal display, meaning a hexadecimal offset followed by eight five-column data entries of two bytes each, in octal format.
-s offset Skip to specified offset. The offset number is assumed to be decimal unless it starts with 0x or 0X (hexadecimal), or O (octal). Numbers may also be designated in megabytes, kilobytes, or half-kilobytes with the addition of m, k, or b at the end of the number.
-v Display all input data, even if it is the same as the previous line. Normally, a duplicate line is replaced by an asterisk (*).
-x Display data in a two-byte hexadecimal format. The offset is, as usual, in hexadecimal, and is followed by eight space-separated entries, each of which contains four-column, two-byte chunks of data in hexadecimal format.
host [options] name [server]
System administration command. Print information about hosts or zones in DNS. Hosts may be IP addresses or hostnames; host converts IP addresses to hostnames by default and appends the local domain to hosts without a trailing dot. Default servers are determined in /etc/resolv.conf. For more information about hosts and zones, read Chapters 1 and 2 of DNS and BIND (O'Reilly). Options
-a Same as -t ANY.
-c class Search for specified resource record class (IN, CH, CHAOS, HS, HESIOD, or ANY). Default is IN.
-d Verbose output. Same as -v.
-l List mode. This also performs a zone transfer for the named zone. Same as -t AXFR.
-n Perform reverse lookups for IPv6 addresses using IP6.INT domain and "nibble" labels instead of IP6.ARPA and binary labels.
-r Do not ask contacted server to query other servers, but require only the information that it has cached.
-t type Look for type entries in the resource record. type may be any recognized query type, such as A, AXFR, CNAME, NS, SOA, SIG, or ANY. If name is a hostname, host will look for A records by default. If name is an IPv4 or IPv6 address, it will look for PTR records.
-v Verbose. Include all fields from resource record, even time-to-live and class, as well as "additional information" and "authoritative nameservers" (provided by the remote nameserver).
-w Never give up on queried server.
-C Display SOA records from all authoritative nameservers for the specified zone.
-N n Consider names with fewer than n dots in them to be relative. Search for them in the domains listed in the search and domain directives of /etc/resolv.conf. The default is usually 1.
-R n Retry query a maximum of n times. The default is 1.
-T Use TCP instead of UDP to query nameserver. This is implied in queries that require TCP, such as AXFR requests.
-W n Wait a maximum of n seconds for reply.
hostid
Print the ID number in hexadecimal of the current host.
hostname [option] [nameofhost]
Set or display name of current host system. A privileged user can set the hostname with the nameofhost argument. Options
-a, --alias Display the alias name of the host (if used).
-d, --domain Display DNS domain name.
-f, --fqdn, --long Display fully qualified domain name.
-F file, --file file Consult file for hostname.
-h, --help Display a help message and then exit.
-i, --ip-address Display the IP address(es) of the host.
-n, --node Display or set the DECnet node name.
-s, --short Trim domain information from the display output.
-v, --verbose Verbose mode.
-V, --version Display version information and then exit.
-y, --yp, --nis Display the NIS domain name. A privileged user can set a new NIS domain name with nameofhost.
htdigest [-c] filename realm username
Create or update user authentication files used by the Apache web server. The -c option is used if you wish to create the file, and will overwrite any existing files rather than update them. The three arguments are the file you wish to use as the authentication file, the realm name to which the user belongs, and the username you will update in the password file. You will be prompted for a password when you run the command. The Apache manual contains information about authentication mechanisms, including more detail about using htdigest and the ways in which you can control access to the resources served by Apache.
hwclock [option]
System administration command. Read or set the hardware clock. This command maintains change information in /etc/adjtime, which can be used to adjust the clock based on how much it drifts over time. hwclock replaces the clock command. The single-letter options are included for compatibility with the older command. Options You may specify only one of the following options:
-a, --adjust Adjust the hardware clock based on information in /etc/adjtime and set the system clock to the new time.
--getepoch Print the kernel's hardware clock epoch value, then exit.
-r, --show Print the current time stored in the hardware clock.
-s, --hctosys Set the system time in accordance with the hardware clock.
--setepoch, --epoch=year Set the hardware clock's epoch to year.
--set --date=date Set the hardware clock to the specified date, a string appropriate for use with the date command.
-v, --version Print version and exit.
-w, --systohc Set the hardware clock in accordance with the system time.
The following may be used with the above options.
--debug Print information about what hwclock is doing.
--localtime The hardware clock is stored in local time.
--noadjfile Disable /etc/adjtime facilities.
--test Do not actually change anything. This is good for checking syntax.
-u, --utc The hardware clock is stored in Universal Coordinated Time.
iconv [options] files
Convert the contents of one or more files from one character encoding to another and write the results to standard output. Options
-c Omit invalid output characters.
-f code1, --from-code=code1 Convert input characters from the code1 encoding.
-?, --help Print help message and exit.
-l, --list Print a list of valid encodings to standard output.
-o file, --output=file Write the converted output to file instead of standard output.
-s, --silent Operate silently; don't print warning messages.
-t code2, --to-code=code2 Convert input characters to the code2 encoding.
--usage Print a brief usage message showing only the command syntax and then exit.
-V, --version Print version information and exit.
--verbose Operate verbosely; print progress messages.
id [options] [username]
Display information about yourself or another user: user ID, group ID, effective user ID and group ID if relevant, and additional group IDs. Options
-g, --group Print group ID only.
-G, --groups Print supplementary groups only.
-n, --name With -u, -g, or -G, print user or group name, not number.
-r, --real With -u, -g, or -G, print real, not effective, user ID or group ID.
-u, --user Print user ID only.
--help Print help message and then exit.
--version Print version information.
ifconfig [interface] ifconfig [interface address_family parameters addresses]
TCP/IP command. Assign an address to a network interface and/or configure network interface parameters. ifconfig is typically used at boot time to define the network address of each interface on a machine. It may be used at a later time to redefine an interface's address or other parameters. Without arguments, ifconfig displays the current configuration for a network interface. Used with a single interface argument, ifconfig displays that particular interface's current configuration. Note that interfaces are numbered starting at zero: eth0, eth1, eth2, and so forth. In most cases, eth0 will be the primary PCI Ethernet interface, and wireless network interfaces will begin with ath0 or wlan0. Arguments
interface String of the form name unit: for example, en0.
address_family Since an interface may receive transmissions in differing protocols, each of which may require separate naming schemes, you can specify the address_family to change the interpretation of the remaining parameters. You may specify inet (for TCP/IP, the default), ax25 (AX.25 Packet Radio), ddp (Appletalk Phase 2), or ipx (Novell).
parameters The following parameters may be set with ifconfig:
add address/prefixlength Add an IPv6 address and prefix length.
address address Assign the specified IP address to the interface.
allmulti/-allmulti Enable/disable sending of incoming frames to the kernel's network layer.
arp/-arp Enable/disable use of the Address Resolution Protocol in mapping between network-level addresses and link-level addresses.
broadcast [address] (inet only) Specify address to use to represent broadcasts to the network. Default is the address with a host part of all ones (i.e., x.y.z.255 for a class C network).
debug/-debug Enable/disable driver-dependent debugging code.
del address/prefixlength Delete an IPv6 address and prefix length.
down Mark an interface "down" (unresponsive).
hw class address Set the interface's hardware class and address. class may be ether (Ethernet), ax25 (AX.25 Packet Radio), or ARCnet.
io_addr addr I/O memory start address for device.
irq addr Set the device's interrupt line.
metric n Set routing metric of the interface to n. Default is 0.
mem_start addr Shared memory start address for device.
media type Set media type. Common values are 10base2, 10baseT, and AUI. If auto is specified, ifconfig will attempt to autosense the media type.
mtu n Set the interface's Maximum Transfer Unit (MTU).
multicast Set the multicast flag.
netmask mask (inet only) Specify how much of the address to reserve for subdividing networks into subnetworks. mask can be specified as a single hexadecimal number with a leading 0x, with a dot notation Internet address, or with a pseudo-network name listed in the network table /etc/networks.
pointopoint/-pointopoint [address] Enable/disable point-to-point interfacing, so that the connection between the two machines is dedicated.
promisc/-promisc Enable/disable promiscuous mode. Promiscuous mode allows the device to receive all packets on the network.
txqueuelen n Specify the transmit queue length.
tunnel addr Create an IPv6-in-IPv4 (SIT) device, tunneling to IPv4 address addr.
up Mark an interface "up" (ready to send and receive).
addresses Each address is either a hostname present in the hostname database (/etc/hosts), or an Internet address expressed in the Internet standard dot notation.
Examples To list all interfaces: ifconfig -a
To add a second IP address to wlan0: ifconfig wlan0:1 192.168.2.41 netmask 255.255.255.0
To change the hardware address (MAC address) assigned to eth0 (useful when setting up a router for a DSL or cable modem): ifconfig eth0 hw ether 01:02:03:04:05:06
imapd [options]
TCP/IP command. The Interactive Mail Access Protocol (IMAP) server daemon. imapd is invoked by xinetd and listens on port 143 for requests from IMAP clients. IMAP allows mail programs to access remote mailboxes as if they were local. IMAP is a richer protocol than POP because it allows a client to retrieve message-level information from a server mailbox instead of the entire mailbox. IMAP can be used for online and offline reading. The popular Pine mail client contains support for IMAP. There are several versions of imapd available. Here we document the Cyrus IMAP server. Options
-C file Read configuration options from file instead of /etc/imapd.conf.
-s Encrypt data using the Secure Socket Layer (SSL).
-T n Wait n seconds for a new connection before closing the process. The default is 60.
-U n Reuse process for new connections no more than n times.
inetd [options] [configuration_file]
TCP/IP command. The Internet services daemon. See xinetd.
info [options] [topics]
GNU hypertext reader. Display online documentation previously built from Texinfo input. Info files are arranged in a hierarchy and can contain menus for subtopics. When entered without options, the command displays the top-level info file (usually /usr/local/info/dir). When topics are specified, find a subtopic by choosing the first topic from the menu in the top-level info file, the next topic from the new menu specified by the first topic, and so on. The initial display can also be controlled by the -f and -n options. If a specified topic has no info file but does have a manpage, info displays the manpage; if there is neither, the top-level info file is displayed. Options
-d directories, --directory directories Search directories, a colon-separated list, for info files. If this option is not specified, use the INFOPATH environment variable or the default directory (usually /usr/local/info).
--dribble file Store each keystroke in file, which can be used in a future session with the --restore option to return to this place in info.
-f file, --file file Display specified info file.
-n node, --node node Display specified node in the info file.
-o file, --output file Copy output to file instead of displaying it on the screen.
--help Display brief help.
--restore file When starting, execute keystrokes in file.
--subnodes Display subtopics.
--version Display version.
--vi-keys Use vi-like key bindings.
init [bootflags] [runlevel]
System administration command. Initialize system. Usually run from the boot loadere.g., lilo or grub. Boot flags
-a,auto Set the AUTOBOOT environment variable to yes. The boot loader will do this automatically when booting with the default command line.
-b Boot directly into a single-user shell for emergency recovery.
-s,S,single Single-user mode.
-b,emergency Boot into single-user mode but do not run any other startup scripts.
-z characters The specified characters are ignored, but will make the command line take up a bit more room on the stack. init uses the extra space to show the current runlevel when running the ps command.
Files init is the first process run by any Unix machine at boot time. It verifies the integrity of all filesystems and then creates other processes, using fork and exec, as specified by /etc/inittab. Which processes may be run is controlled by runlevel. All process terminations are recorded in /var/run/utmp and /var/log/wtmp. When the runlevel changes, init sends SIGTERM and then, after 20 seconds, SIGKILL to all processes that cannot be run in the new runlevel. Runlevels The current runlevel may be changed by telinit, which is often just a link to init. The default runlevels vary from distribution to distribution, but these are standard:
0 Halt the system.
1, s, S Single-user mode.
3 Multiuser mode, console login. This is commonly used in server configurations.
5 Full graphical mode. This is a common default for desktop configurations.
6 Reboot the system. Never set the default runlevel to 6.
q, Q Reread /etc/inittab.
Check the /etc/inittab file for runlevels on your system.
insmod filename [module-options]
System administration command. Load the module filename into the kernel. Simpler but less flexible than the modprobe command. Error messages from insmod may be vague, because the kernel performs module operations internally and therefore sends error information to the kernel log instead of standard output; see dmesg.
install [options] [source] destination
System administration command. Used primarily in Makefiles to update files. install copies files into user-specified directories. Similar to cp, but attempts to set permission modes, owner, and group. The source may be a file or directory, or a list of files and directories. The destination should be a single file or directory. Options
-b, --backup[=control] Back up any existing files. When using the long version of the command, the optional control parameter controls the kind of backup. When no control is specified, install will attempt to read the control value from the VERSION_CONTROL environment variable. Accepted values are:
none, off Never make backups.
numbered, t Make numbered backups.
existing, nil Match existing backups, numbered or simple.
simple, never Always make simple backups.
-d, --directory Create any missing directories.
-g group, --group group Set group ID of new file to group (privileged users only).
--help Print help message, then exit.
-m mode, --mode mode Set permissions of new file to mode (octal or symbolic). By default, the mode is 0755.
-o [owner], --owner[=owner] Set ownership to owner or, if unspecified, to root (privileged users only).
-p, --preserve-timestamps Preserve access and modification times on source files and directories.
-s, --strip Strip symbol tables.
-v, --verbose Print name of each directory as it is created.
--version Print version, then exit.
-C Do not overwrite file when the target exists and is identical to the new file. Preserve original timestamp.
-D Create leading components of destination except the last, then copy source to destination.
-S suffix, --suffix=suffix Use suffix instead of the default backup suffix, usually ~.
ipcrm [options]
System administration command. Remove interprocess communication (IPC) message queues, shared memory segments, or semaphore arrays. These may be specified either by numeric identifier or by key, using the following options. Options
-m identifier, -M key Remove specified shared memory segment and its associated data structures after the last detach is performed.
-q identifier, -Q key Remove specified message queue and its associated data structures.
-s identifier, -S key Remove specified semaphore array and its associated data structures.
ipcs [options]
System administration command. Print report on interprocess communication (IPC) message queues, shared memory segments, and semaphore arrays for which the current process has read access. Options can be used to specify the type of resources to report on and the output format of the report. Options Resource specification options:
-a Report on all IPC facilities: shared memory segments, message queues, and semaphore arrays. This is the default.
-m Report on shared memory segments.
-q Report on message queues.
-s Report on semaphore arrays.
Output format options:
-b Print information on maximum size of the resource: size in bytes of messages or shared memory segments, and the number of semaphores per set in the case of semaphore arrays.
-c Print creator and owner user IDs for IPC facilities.
-l Print resource maximum and minimum limits.
-o Print outstanding usage of the resource in question: the number of messages and the total size of the message queue, or the number of processes using shared memory segments.
-p Print creator and last operation process identifiers.
-t Print attach, detach, and change times for shared memory segments, last operation and change times for semaphore arrays, and send, receive, and change times for message queues.
-u Print summary of current resource usage.
Other options:
-h Print help message, then exit.
-i identifier Used in combination with the -m, -q, or -s options. Report only on the resource specified by numeric identifier.
iptables command [options]
System administration command. Configure netfilter filtering rules for kernels 2.4 and later. Rules for iptables consist of some matching criteria and a target, a result to be applied if the packet matches the criteria. The rules are organized into chains. You can use these rules to build a firewall, masquerade your local area network, or just reject certain kinds of network connections. There are three built-in tables for iptables: one for network filtering (filter), one for Network Address Translation (nat), and the last for specialized packet alterations (mangle). Firewall rules are organized into chains, ordered checklists of rules that the kernel works through looking for matches. The filter table has three built-in chains: INPUT, OUTPUT, and FORWARD. The INPUT and OUTPUT chains handle packets originating from or destined for the host system. The FORWARD chain handles packets just passing through the host system. The nat table also has three built-in chains: PREROUTING, POSTROUTING, and OUTPUT. mangle has only two chains: PREROUTING and OUTPUT. netfilter checks packets entering the system. After applying any PREROUTING rules, it passes them to the INPUT chain, or to the FORWARD chain if the packet is just passing through. Upon leaving, the system packets are passed to the OUTPUT chain and then on to any POSTROUTING rules. Each of these chains has a default target (a policy) in case no match is found. User-defined chains can also be created and used as targets for packets but do not have default policies. If no match can be found in a user-defined chain, the packet is returned to the chain from which it was called and tested against the next rule in that chain. iptables changes only the rules in the running kernel. When the system is powered off, all changes are lost. You can use the iptables-save command to make a script you can run with iptables-restore to restore your firewall settings. Such a script is often called at bootup. Many distributions have an iptables initialization script that uses the output from iptables-save. Commands iptables is almost always invoked with one of the following commands:
-A chain rules, --append chain rules Append new rules to chain.
-D chain rules, --delete chain rules Delete rules from chain. Rules can be specified by their ordinal number in the chain as well as by a general rule description.
-E old-chain new-chain, --rename-chain old-chain new-chain Rename old-chain to new-chain.
-F [chain], --flush [chain] Remove all rules from chain, or from all chains if chain is not specified.
-I chain number rules, --insert chain number rules Insert rules into chain at the ordinal position given by number.
-L [chain], --list [chain] List the rules in chain, or all chains if chain is not specified.
-N chain, --new-chain chain Create a new chain. The chain's name must be unique. This is how user-defined chains are created.
-P chain target, --policy chain target Set the default policy for a built-in chain; the target itself cannot be a chain.
-R chain number rule, --replace chain number rule Replace a rule in chain. The rule to be replaced is specified by its ordinal number.
-X [chain], --delete-chain [chain] Delete the specified user-defined chain, or all user-defined chains if chain is not specified.
-Z [chain], --zero [chain] Zero the packet and byte counters in chain. If no chain is specified, all chains will be reset. When used without specifying a chain and combined with the -L command, list the current counter values before they are reset.
Targets A target may be the name of a chain or one of the following special values:
ACCEPT Let the packet through.
DROP Drop the packet.
QUEUE Send packets to the user space for processing.
RETURN Stop traversing the current chain and return to the point in the previous chain from which this one was called. If RETURN is the target of a rule in a built-in chain, the built-in chain's default policy is applied.
Rule specification parameters These options are used to create rules for use with the preceding commands. Rules consist of some matching criteria and usually a target to jump to (-j) if the match is made. Many of the parameters for these matching rules can be expressed as a negative with an exclamation point (!) meaning "not." Those rules will match everything except the given parameter.
-c packets bytes, --set-counters packets bytes Initialize packet and byte counters to the specified values.
-d [!] address[/mask] [!] [port], --destination [!] address[/mask] [port] Match packets from the destination address. The address may be supplied as a hostname, a network name, or an IP address. The optional mask is the netmask to use and may be supplied either in the traditional form (e.g., /255.255.255.0) or in the modern form (e.g., /24).
[!] -f, [!]--fragment The rule applies only to the second or further fragments of a fragmented packet.
-i [!] name[+], --in-interface name[+] Match packets being received from interface name. name is the network interface used by your system (e.g., eth0 or ppp0). A + can be used as a wildcard, so ppp+ would match any interface name beginning with ppp.
-j target, --jump target Jump to a special target or a user-defined chain. If this option is not specified for a rule, matching the rule only increases the rule's counters, and the packet is tested against the next rule.
-o [!] name[+], --out-interface name[+] Match packets being sent from interface name. See the description of -i for the syntax for name.
-p [!] name, --protocol [!] name Match packets of protocol name. The value of name can be given as a name or number, as found in the file /etc/protocols. The most common values are tcp, udp, icmp, or the special value all. The number 0 is equivalent to all, and this is the default value when this option is not used. If there are extended matching rules associated with the specified protocol, they will be loaded automatically. You need not use the -m option to load them.
-s [!] address[/mask] [!] [port], --source [!] address[/mask] [!] [port] Match packets with the source address. See the description of -d for the syntax of this option.
Options
-h [icmp], --help [icmp] Print help message. If icmp is specified, a list of valid ICMP type names will be printed. -h can also be used with the -m option to get help on an extension module.
--line-numbers Used with the -L command. Add the line number to the beginning of each rule in a listing, indicating its position in the chain.
-m module, --match module Explicitly load matching rule extensions associated with module. See the next section.
--modprobe=command Use specified command to load any necessary kernel modules while adding or inserting rules into a chain.
-n, --numeric Print all IP address and port numbers in numeric form. By default, text names are displayed when possible.
-t name, --table name Apply rules to the specified table. Rules apply to the filter table by default.
-v, --verbose Verbose mode.
-x, --exact Expand all numbers in a listing (-L). Display the exact value of the packet and byte counters instead of rounded figures.
Match extensions Several modules extend the matching capabilities of netfilter rules. Using the -p option will cause iptables to load associated modules implicitly. Others need to be loaded explicitly with the -m or --match options. Here we document those modules used most frequently.
icmp Loaded when -p icmp is the only protocol specified:
--icmp-type [!] type Match the specified ICMP type. type may be a numeric ICMP type or one of the ICMP type names shown by the command iptables -p icmp -h.
multiport Loaded explicitly with the -m option. The multiport extensions match sets of source or destination ports. These rules can be used only in conjunction with -p tcp and -p udp. Up to 15 ports can be specified in a comma-separated list:
--source-port [ports] Match the given source ports.
--destination-port [ports] Match the given destination ports.
--port [ports] Match if the packet has the same source and destination port and that port is one of the given ports.
state Loaded explicitly with the -m option. This module matches the connection state of a packet:
--state states Match the packet if it has one of the states in the comma-separated list states. Valid states are INVALID, ESTABLISHED, NEW, and RELATED.
tcp Loaded when -p tcp is the only protocol specified:
--source-port [!] [port][:port], --sport [!] [port][:port] Match the specified source ports. Using the colon specifies an inclusive range of services to match. If the first port is omitted, 0 is the default. If the second port is omitted, 65535 is the default. You can also use a dash instead of a colon to specify the range.
--destination-port [!] [port][:port], --dport [!] [port][:port] Match the specified destination ports. The syntax is the same as for --source-port.
--mss n[:n] Match if TCP SYN or SYN/ACK packets have the specified MSS value or fall within the specified range. Use this to control the maximum packet size for a connection.
[!] --syn Match packets with the SYN bit set and the ACK and FIN bits cleared. These are packets that request TCP connections; blocking them prevents incoming connections. Shorthand for --tcp-flags SYN,RST,ACK SYN.
--tcp-flags [!] mask comp Match the packets with the TCP flags specified by mask and comp. mask is a comma-separated list of flags that should be examined. comp is a comma-separated list of flags that must be set for the rule to match. Valid flags are SYN, ACK, FIN, RST, URG, PSH, ALL, and NONE.
--tcp-option [!] n Match if TCP option is set.
udp Loaded when -p udp is the only protocol specified:
--source-port [!] [port][:port], --sport [!] [port][:port] Match the specified source ports. The syntax is the same as for the --source-port option of the TCP extension.
--destination-port [!] [port][:port], --dport [!] [port][:port] Match the specified destination ports. The syntax is the same as for the --source-port option of the TCP extension.
Target extensions Extension targets are optional additional targets supported by separate kernel modules. They have their own associated options. We cover the most frequently used target extensions below.
DNAT Modify the destination address of the packet and all future packets in the current connection. DNAT is valid only as a part of the POSTROUTING chain in the nat table:
--to-destination address[-address][port-port] Specify the new destination address or range of addresses. The arguments for this option are the same as the --to-source argument for the SNAT extension target.
LOG Log the packet's information in the system log:
--log-level level Set the syslog level by name or number (as defined by syslog.conf).
--log-prefix prefix Begin each log entry with the string prefix. The prefix string may be up to 30 characters long.
--log-tcp-sequence Log the TCP sequence numbers. This is a security risk if your log is readable by users.
--log-tcp-options Log options from the TCP packet header.
--log-ip-options Log options from the IP packet header.
MASQUERADE Masquerade the packet so it appears that it originated from the current system. Reverse packets from masqueraded connections are unmasqueraded automatically. This is a legal target only for chains in the nat table that handle incoming packets and should be used only with dynamic IP addresses (like dial-up.) For static addresses use DNAT:
--to-ports port[-port] Specify the port or range of ports to use when masquerading. This option is valid only if a tcp or udp protocol has been specified with the -p option. If this option is not used, the masqueraded packet's port will not be changed.
REJECT Drop the packet and, if appropriate, send an ICMP message back to the sender indicating the packet was dropped. If the packet was an ICMP error message, an unknown ICMP type, or a nonhead fragment, or if too many ICMP messages have already been sent to this address, no message is sent:
--reject-with type Send specified ICMP message type. Valid values are icmp-net-unreachable, icmp-host-unreachable, icmp-port-unreachable, or icmp-proto-unreachable. If the packet was an ICMP ping packet, type may also be echo-reply.
SNAT Modify the source address of the packet and all future packets in the current connection. SNAT is valid only as a part of the POSTROUTING chain in the nat table:
--to-source address[-address][port-port] Specify the new source address or range of addresses. If a tcp or udp protocol has been specified with the -p option, source ports may also be specified. If none is specified, map the new source to the same port if possible. If not, map ports below 512 to other ports below 512, those between 512 and 1024 to other ports below 1024, and ports above 1024 to other ports above 1024.
Examples To reject all incoming ICMP traffic on eth0: iptables -A INPUT -p ICMP -i eth0 -j REJECT
iptables-restore [options]
System administration command. Restore firewall rules from information provided on standard input. iptables-restore takes commands generated by iptables-save and uses them to restore the firewall rules for each chain. This is often used by initialization scripts to restore firewall settings on boot. Options
-c, --counters Restore packet and byte counter values.
-n, --noflush Don't delete previous table contents.
iptables-save [options]
System administration command. Print the IP firewall rules currently stored in the kernel to stdout. Output may be redirected to a file that can later be used by iptables-restore to restore the firewall. Options
-c, --counters Save packet and byte counter values.
-t name, --table name Print data from the specified table only.
isodump isoimage
Interactively display the contents of the ISO9660 image isoimage. Used to verify the integrity of the directory inside the image. isodump displays the first portion of the root directory and waits for commands. The prompt shows the extent number (zone) and offset within the extent, and the contents display at the top of the screen. Commands
+ Search forward for the next instance of the search string.
a Search backward within the image.
b Search forward within the image.
f Prompt for a new search string.
g Prompt for a new starting block and go there.
q Exit.
isoinfo [options]
Display information about ISO9660 images. You can use isoinfo to list the contents of an image, extract a file, or generate a find-like file list. The -i option is required to specify the image to examine. Options
-d Print information from the primary volume descriptor (PVD) of the ISO9660 image, including information about Rock Ridge and Joliet extensions if they are present.
-f Generate output similar to the output of a find . -print command. Do not use with -l.
-h Print help information and exit.
-i isoimage Specify the path for the ISO9660 image to examine.
-j charset Convert any Joliet filenames to the specified character set.
-J Extract filename information from any Joliet extensions.
-l Generate output similar to the output of an ls -lR command. Do not use with -f.
-N sector To help examine single-session CD files that are to be written to a multisession CD. Specify the sector number at which the ISO9660 image is to be written when sent to the CD writer.
-p Display path table information.
-R Extract permission, filename, and ownership information from any Rock Ridge extensions.
-T sector To help examine multisession images that have already been burned to a multisession CD. Use the specified sector number as the start of the session to display.
-x path Extract the file at the specified path to standard output.
isosize [option] iso9660-img-file
Display the length of an ISO9660 filesystem contained in the specified file. The image file can be a normal file or a block device such as /dev/sr0. With no options, the length is displayed in bytes. Only one of the two options can be specified. Options
-d num Display the size in bytes divided by num.
-x Display the number of blocks and the block size (although the output refers to blocks as sectors).
isovfy isoimage
Verify the integrity of the specified ISO9660 image and write the results to standard output.
ispell [options] [files]
Compare the words of one or more named files with the system dictionary. Display unrecognized words at the top of the screen, accompanied by possible correct spellings, and allow editing via a series of commands. Options
-b Back up original file in filename.bak.
-B Count two correctly spelled words without a space between them as a spelling error.
-C Count two correctly spelled words without a space between them as a legitimate compound word.
-d file Search file instead of standard dictionary file.
-H File is in HTML/XML format.
-m Suggest combinations of known roots and affixes, even if the result is not known. For example, "generous" and "ly" are known, so "generously" would be suggested as a word, even if it were not in the dictionary.
-n Expect nroff or troff input file.
-P Do not guess new words using known roots and affixes. The opposite of -m.
-p file Search file instead of personal dictionary file.
-t Expect TEX or LATEX input file.
-w chars Consider chars to be legal, in addition to a-z and A-Z.
-x Do not back up original file.
-B Search for missing blanks (resulting in concatenated words) in addition to ordinary misspellings.
-C Do not produce error messages in response to concatenated words.
-L number Show number lines of context.
-M List interactive commands at bottom of screen.
-N Suppress printing of interactive commands.
-P Do not attempt to suggest more root/affix combinations.
-S Sort suggested replacements by likelihood that they are correct.
-T type Expect all files to be formatted by type.
-W n Never consider words that are n characters or fewer to be misspelled.
-V Use hat notation (^L) to display control characters, and M- to display characters with the high bit set.
Interactive commands
? Display help screen.
space Accept the word in this instance.
number Replace with suggested word that corresponds to number.
!command Invoke shell and execute command in it. Prompt before exiting.
a Accept word as correctly spelled, but do not add it to personal dictionary.
i Accept word and add it (with any current capitalization) to personal dictionary.
l Search system dictionary for words.
q Exit without saving.
r Replace word.
u Accept word and add lowercase version of it to personal dictionary.
x Skip to the next file, saving changes.
^L Redraw screen.
^Z Suspend ispell.
join [options] file1 file2
Join lines of two sorted files by matching on a common field. If either file1 or file2 is -, read from standard input. Often used to merge data stored in text-based file formats such as comma-separated-value formatted spreadsheets. Options
-a filenum Print a line for each unpairable line in file filenum, in addition to the normal output.
-e string Replace missing input fields with string.
-i, --ignore-case Ignore case differences when comparing keys.
-1 fieldnum1 The join field in file1 is fieldnum1. Default is the first field.
-2 fieldnum2 The join field in file2 is fieldnum2. Default is the first field.
-o fieldlist Order the output fields according to fieldlist, where each entry in the list is in the form filenum.fieldnum. Entries are separated by commas or blanks.
-t char Specifies the field-separator character (default is whitespace).
-v filenum Print only unpairable lines from file filenum.
--help Print help message and then exit.
--version Print the version number and then exit.
kbd_mode [option]
Print or set the current keyboard mode, which may be RAW, MEDIUMRAW, XLATE, or UNICODE. Options
-a Set mode to XLATE (ASCII mode).
-k Set mode to MEDIUMRAW (keycode mode).
-s Set mode to RAW (scancode mode).
-u Set mode to UNICODE (UTF-8 mode).
kbdrate [options]
System administration command. Control the rate at which the keyboard repeats characters, as well as its delay time. Using this command without options sets a repeat rate of 10.9 characters per second; the default delay is 250 milliseconds. On boot, most Linux systems set the keyboard rate to 30 characters per second. Options
-s Suppress printing of messages.
-r rate Specify the repeat rate, which must be one of the following numbers (all in characters per second): 2.0, 2.1, 2.3, 2.5, 2.7, 3.0, 3.3, 3.7, 4.0, 4.3, 4.6, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 6.7, 7.5, 8.0, 8.6, 9.2, 10.0, 10.9, 12.0, 13.3, 15.0, 16.0, 17.1, 18.5, 20.0, 21.8, 24.0, 26.7, or 30.0.
-d delay Specify the delay, which must be one of the following (in milliseconds): 250, 500, 750, or 1000.
kernelversion
This command tells you what version of the Linux kernel you are using. It is also used by modutils and the /etc/modules.conf file to determine where to put kernel modules. It accepts no arguments or options.
kill [options] [pids | commands]
Send a signal to terminate one or more process IDs. You must own the process or be a privileged user. If no signal is specified, TERM is sent. This entry describes the /bin/kill command, which offers several powerful features. There are also built-in shell commands of the same name; the bash and ksh versions are described in Chapter 6. In particular, /bin/kill allows you to specify a command name, such as gcc or xpdf, instead of a process ID (PID). All processes running that command with the same UID as the process issuing /bin/kill will be sent the signal. If /bin/kill is issued with a pid of 0, it sends the signal to all processes of its own process group. If /bin/kill is issued with a pid of -1, it sends the signal to all processes except process 1 (the system's init process). Options
-a Kill all processes of the given name (if privileges allow), not just processes with the same UID. To use this option, specify the full path (e.g., /bin/kill -a gcc).
-l List all signals.
-p Print the process ID of the named process, but don't send it a signal. To use this option, specify the full path (e.g., /bin/kill -p).
-s SIGNAL, -SIGNAL The signal number (from /usr/include/sys/signal.h) or name (from kill -l). With a signal number of 9 (KILL), the kill cannot be caught by the process; use this to kill a process that a plain kill doesn't terminate. The default is TERM. The letter flag itself is optional: both kill -9 1024 and kill -s 9 1024 terminate process 1024.
killall [options] names
Kill processes by command name. If more than one process is running the specified command, kill all of them. Treats command names that contain a / as files; kill all processes that are executing that file. Options
-signal Send signal to process (default is TERM). signal may be a name or a number. The most commonly used signal is 9, which terminates processes no matter what.
-e Require an exact match to kill very long names (i.e., longer than 15 characters). Normally, killall kills everything that matches within the first 15 characters. With -e, such entries are skipped. (Use -v to print a message for each skipped entry.)
-g Kill the process group to which the process belongs.
-i Prompt for confirmation before killing processes.
-l List known signal names.
-q Quiet; do not complain of processes not killed.
-v Verbose; after killing process, report success and process ID.
-V Print version information.
-w Wait for all killed processes to die. Note that killall may wait forever if the signal was ignored or had no effect, or if the process stays in zombie state.
killall5
The System V equivalent of killall, this command kills all processes except those on which it depends.
klogd [options]
System administration command. Control which kernel messages are displayed on the console, prioritize all messages, and log them through syslogd. On many operating systems, syslogd performs all the work of klogd, but on Linux the features are separated. Kernel messages are gleaned from the /proc filesystem and from system calls to syslogd. By default, no messages appear on the console. Messages are sorted into eight levels, 0-7, and the level number is prepended to each message. Priority levels
0 Emergency situation (KERN_EMERG).
1 A crucial error has occurred (KERN_ALERT).
2 A serious error has occurred (KERN_CRIT).
3 An error has occurred (KERN_ERR).
4 A warning message (KERN_WARNING).
5 The situation is normal but should be checked (KERN_NOTICE).
6 Information only (KERN_INFO).
7 Debugging message (KERN_DEBUG).
Options
-c level Print all messages of a higher priority (lower number) than level to the console.
-d Debugging mode.
-f file Print all messages to file; suppress normal logging.
-i Signal executing daemon to reload kernel module symbols.
-k file Use file as source of kernel symbols.
-n Avoid auto-backgrounding. This is needed when klogd is started from init.
-o One-shot mode. Prioritize and log all current messages, then immediately exit.
-p Reload kernel-module symbol information whenever an Oops string is detected.
-s Suppress reading of messages from the /proc filesystem. Read from kernel message buffers instead.
-v Print version, then exit.
-x Don't translate instruction pointers (EIP). klogd will not read the System.map file.
-I Signal executing daemon to reload both static kernel symbols and kernel module symbols.
-2 Print two lines for each symbol, one showing the symbol and the other showing its numerical value (address).
Files
/usr/include/linux/kernel.h, /usr/include/sys/syslog.h Sources for definitions of each logging level.
/proc/kmsg A file examined by klogd for messages.
/var/run/klogd.pid klogd's process ID.
kudzu [options]
Red Hat Linux and relatives only. Detects new and changed hardware by comparing existing hardware against a database in /etc/sysconfig/hwconfig. Users are then given the opportunity to configure the hardware. Runs automatically at boot time. Options
-b,--bus bus Probe only on the bus specified.
-c,--class class Probe only for the class of hardware specified.
-f,--file filename Read hardware info from the specified file instead of probing for existing hardware.
-?,--help Display help information.
-k,--kernel n Check for kernel modules only in the specified kernel version.
-p,--probe Probe only: print hardware information to stdout, but do not configure any devices found.
-q,--quiet Do not prompt user for any information; perform only non-interactive configurations.
-s,--safe Safe mode: skip probes that interrupt hardware currently in use. This does not check serial ports, DDC monitors, or PS/2 ports.
-t,--timeout n Number of seconds to wait for user input on initial configuration dialog. No configuration will be written to disk if there is no user input during this time.
--usage Display short usage message.
last [options] [username] [ttynumber]
Display a list of the most recent logins, taken from the file /var/log/wtmp by default. If you specify a tty number or username, the output will display only the logins for that user or terminal. Options
-n number, -number Choose how many lines of logins to display. Thus, last -7 or last -n 7 displays seven lines.
-R Do not show the hostname from which logins originated.
-a Display the hostname from which logins originated.
-d Display both IP address and hostname.
-f filename Get the list of logins from a file you choose. The default source is /var/log/wtmp.
-i Display IP address and hostname. Display the IP address in the numbers-and-dots notation.
-o Read an old-style (libc5 application) wtmp file. Not likely to be useful on newer systems.
-x Display shutdown messages and runlevel messages.
lastb [options] [username] [ttynumber]
Display a list of recent bad login attempts (from the /var/log/btmp file). Accepts the same option flags and arguments as last.
lastlog [options]
System administration command. Print the last login times for system accounts. Login information is read from the file /var/log/lastlog. Options
-tn, --timen Print only logins more recent than n days ago.
-uname, --username Print only login information for user name.
ld [options] objfiles
Combine several objfiles, in the specified order, into a single executable object module (a.out by default). ld is the link editor and is often invoked automatically by compiler commands. ld accepts many options, the most common of which are listed here. Options
-b format, --format=format If ld is configured to accept more than one kind of object file, this option can be used to specify the input format. format should be a GNU Binary File Descriptor (BFD), as described in the BFD library. Use objdump -i to list available formats.
-call_shared Link with dynamic libraries.
-d, -dc, -dp Force the assignment of space to common symbols.
-defsym symbol=expression Create the global symbol with the value expression.
-demangle[=style] Force demangling of symbol names. Optionally set the demangling style. Turn off demangling with -nodemangle.
-e symbol Set symbol as the address of the output file's entry point.
-f name Set the DT_AUXILIARY field of ELF shared object to name.
-fini name Set the DT_FINI field of ELF shared object to the address of function name. The default function is _fini.
-h name Set the DT_SONAME field of ELF shared object to name.
--help Print help message, then exit.
-i Produce a linkable output file; attempt to set its magic number to OMAGIC.
-init name Set the DT_INIT field of ELF shared object to the address of function name. The default function is _init.
-larch, --library=archive Include the archive file arch in the list of files to link.
-m linker Emulate linker. List supported emulations with the -V option.
-n Make text read-only; attempt to set NMAGIC.
-o output Place output in output, instead of in a.out.
-oformat format Specify output format.
-q Retain relocation sections and contents in linked executables.
-r Produce a linkable output file; attempt to set its magic number to OMAGIC.
-rpath dir Add directory dir to the runtime library search path. Ignore additional paths normally read from the LD_RUN_PATH environment variable.
-rpath-link dirs Specify path to search for shared libraries required by another shared library. The dirs argument can be a single directory, or multiple directories separated by colons. This overrides search paths specified in shared libraries themselves.
-s Do not include any symbol information in output.
-shared Create a shared library.
-static Do not link with shared libraries.
-sort-common Do not sort global common symbols by size.
-t Print each input file's name as it is processed.
--target-help Print target-specific options, then exit.
-u symbol Force symbol to be undefined.
-v, --version Show version number.
--verbose Print information about ld; print the names of input files while attempting to open them.
-warn-common Warn when encountering common symbols combined with other constructs.
-warn-once Provide only one warning per undefined symbol.
-x With -s or -S, delete all local symbols. These generally begin with L.
-z keyword Mark the object for special behavior specified by keyword. ld recognizes the following keywords:
combreloc Object combines and sorts multiple relocation sections for dynamic symbol lookup caching.
defs Disallow undefined symbols.
initfirst Initialize object first at runtime.
interpose Interpose object's symbol table before all but the primary executable's symbol table.
loadfltr Process object's filter immediately at runtime.
multidefs Allow multiple definitions of a single symbol. Use the first definition.
nocombreloc Disable combining multiple relocation sections.
nocopyreloc Disable copy relocation.
nodefaultlib Ignore default library search path when seeking dependencies for object.
nodelete Do not unload object at runtime.
nodlopen Object is not available to dlopen.
nodump Object cannot be dumped by dldump.
now Non-lazy runtime binding.
origin Object may contain $ORIGIN.
-E, --export-dynamic Add all symbols to dynamic symbol table, not just those referenced by linked objects.
-EB Link big-endian objects.
-EL Link little-endian objects.
-F name Set DT_FILTER field of ELF shared object to name.
-Ldir, --library-path=dir Search directory dir before standard search directories (this option must precede the -l option that searches that directory).
-M Display a link map on standard output.
-Map file Print a link map to file.
-N Allow reading of and writing to both data and text. Mark ouput if it supports Unix magic numbers. Do not page-align data.
-O level Optimize. level should be 1, 2, 3, or 0. The default is 1. 0 turns off optimization; 3 optimizes the most.
-R file Obtain symbol names and addresses from file, but suppress relocation of file and its inclusion in output.
-S Do not include debugger symbol information in output.
-T file Execute script file instead of the default linker script.
-Tbss address Begin bss segment of output at address.
-Tdata address Begin data segment of output at address.
-Ttext address Begin text segment of output at address.
-Ur Synonymous with -r except when linking C++ programs, where it resolves constructor references.
-X With -s or -S, delete local symbols beginning with L.
-V Show version number and emulation linkers for -m option.
ldconfig [options] directories
System administration command. Examine the libraries in the given directories, /etc/ld.so.conf, /usr/lib, and /lib; update links and cache where necessary. Usually run in startup files or after the installation of new shared libraries. Options
-C filename Use filename instead of /etc/ld.so.cache
-ffilename Use filename instead of /etc/ld.so.conf
-l Library mode. Expect libraries as arguments, not directories. Manually link specified libraries.
-n Suppress examination of /usr/lib and /lib and reading of /etc/ld.so.conf; do not cache.
-N Do not cache; only link.
-p Print all directories and candidate libraries in the cache. Used without arguments.
-v Verbose mode. Include version number, and announce each directory as it is scanned and links as they are created.
-X Do not link; only rebuild cache.
Files
/lib/ld.so Linker and loader.
/etc/ld.so.conf List of directories that contain libraries.
/etc/ld.so.cache List of the libraries found in those libraries mentioned in /etc/ld.so.conf.
ldd [options] programs
Display a list of the shared libraries each program requires. Options
-d, --data-relocs Process data relocations. Report missing objects (for ELF objects only).
-r, --function-relocs Process relocations for both data objects and functions. Report any that are missing (for ELF objects only).
-v, --verbose Verbose mode. Display extra information, including symbol versions.
--help Print help message, then exit.
--version Display the linker's version, then exit.
less [options] [filename]
less is a program for paging through files or other output. It was written in reaction to the perceived primitiveness of more (hence its name). Some commands may be preceded by a number. Options
-[z]num, --window=num Set number of lines to scroll to num. Default is one screenful. A negative num sets the number to num lines less than the current number.
+[+]command Run command on startup. If command is a number, jump to that line. The option ++ applies this command to each file in the command-line list.
-?, --help Print help screen. Ignore all other options; do not page through file.
-a, --search-screen When searching, begin after last line displayed. (Default is to search from second line displayed.)
-bbuffers, --buffers=buffers Use this many buffers for each file (default is 10). Buffers are 1 KB in size.
-c, --clear-screen Redraw screen from top, not bottom.
-d, --dumb Suppress dumb-terminal error messages.
-e, --quit-at-eof Automatically exit after reaching EOF twice.
-f, --force Force opening of directories and devices; do not print warning when opening binaries.
-g, --hilite-search Highlight only string found by past search command, not all matching strings.
-hnum, --max-back-scroll=num Never scroll backward more than num lines at once.
-i, --ignore-case Make searches case-insensitive, unless the search string contains uppercase letters.
-jnum, --jump-target=num Position target line on line num of screen. Target line can be the result of a search or a jump. Count lines beginning from 1 (top line). A negative num is counted back from bottom of screen.
-kfile, --lesskey-file=file Read file to define special key bindings.
-m, --long-prompt Display more-like prompt, including percent of file read.
-n, --line-numbers Do not calculate line numbers. Affects -m and -M options and = and v commands (disables passing of line number to editor).
-ofile, --log-file=file When input is from a pipe, copy output to file as well as to screen. (Prompt for overwrite authority if file exists.)
-ppattern, --pattern=pattern At startup, search for first occurrence of pattern.
-q, --quiet, --silent Disable ringing of bell on attempts to scroll past EOF or before beginning of file. Attempt to use visual bell instead.
-r, --raw-control-chars Display "raw" control characters instead of using ^x notation. This sometimes leads to display problems, which might be fixed by using -R instead.
-s, --squeeze-blank-lines Print successive blank lines as one line.
-ttag, --tag=tag Edit file containing tag. Consult ./tags (constructed by ctags).
-u, --underline-special Treat backspaces and carriage returns as printable input.
-w, --hilite-unread Show the line to which a movement command has skipped, phrases displayed by a search command, or the first unread line during a normal scroll by highlighting text in reverse video.
-x n, --tabs=n Set tab stops to every n characters. Default is 8.
-y n, --max-forw-scroll=n Never scroll forward more than n lines at once.
-B, --auto-buffers Do not automatically allocate buffers for data read from a pipe. If -b specifies a number of buffers, allocate that many. If necessary, allow information from previous screens to be lost.
-C, --CLEAR-SCREEN Redraw screen by clearing it and then redrawing from top.
-E, --QUIT-AT-EOF Automatically exit after reaching EOF once.
-F, --quit-if-one-screen Exit without displaying anything if first file can fit on a single screen.
-G, --HILITE-SEARCH Never highlight matching search strings.
-I, --IGNORE-CASE Make searches case-insensitive, even when the search string contains uppercase letters.
-J, --status-column Used with -w or -W, highlight a single column on the left edge of the screen instead of the whole text of an unread line.
-K charset Use the specified charset.
-M Prompt more verbosely than with -m, including percentage, line number, and total lines.
-N, --LINE-NUMBERS Print line number before each line.
-O file, --LOG-FILE=file Similar to -o, but do not prompt when overwriting file.
-P[mM=]prompt Set the prompt displayed by less at the bottom of each screen to prompt. The m sets the prompt invoked by the -m option, the M sets the prompt invoked by the -M option, and the = sets the prompt invoked by the = command. Special characters (described in the manpage for less), can be used to print statistics and other information in these prompts.
-Q, --QUIET, --SILENT Never ring terminal bell.
-R, --RAW-CONTROL-CHARS Like r, but adjust screen to account for presence of control characters.
-S, --chop-long-lines Cut, do not fold, long lines.
-T file, --tag-file=file With the -t option or :t command, read file instead of ./tags.
-U, --UNDERLINE-SPECIAL Treat backspaces and carriage returns as control characters.
-V, --version Display version and exit.
-W, --HILITE-UNREAD Show phrases displayed by a search command, or the first unread line of any forward movement that is more than one line, by highlighting text in reverse video.
-X, --no-init Do not send initialization and deinitialization strings from termcap to terminal.
Commands Many commands can be preceded by a numeric argument, referred to as number in the command descriptions.
SPACE,^V,f,^F Scroll forward the default number of lines (usually one windowful).
z Similar to SPACE, but allows the number of lines to be specified, in which case it resets the default to that number.
RETURN,^N,e,^E,j,^J Scroll forward. Default is one line. Display all lines, even if the default is more lines than the screen size.
d,^D,PageDown Scroll forward. Default is one-half the screen size. The number of lines may be specified, in which case the default is reset.
b,^B,ESC-v Scroll backward. Default is one windowful.
w Like b, but allows the number of lines to be specified, in which case it resets the default to that number.
y,^Y,^P,k,^K Scroll backward. Default is one line. Display all lines, even if the default is more lines than the screen size.
u,^U,PageUp Scroll backward. Default is one-half the screen size. The number of lines may be specified, in which case the default is reset.
r,^R,^L Redraw screen.
R Like r, but discard buffered input.
F Scroll forward. When an EOF is reached, continue trying to find more output, behaving similarly to tail -f.
g,<,ESC-< Skip to a line. Default is 1.
G,>,ESC-> Skip to a line. Default is the last line.
p,% Skip to a position number percent of the way into the file.
{ If the top line on the screen includes a {, find its matching }. If the top line contains multiple {s, use number to determine which one to use in finding a match.
} If the bottom line on the screen includes a }, find its matching {. If the bottom line contains multiple }s, use number to determine which one to use in finding a match.
( If the top line on the screen includes a (, find its matching ). If the top line contains multiple (s, use number to determine which one to use in finding a match.
) If the bottom line on the screen includes a ), find its matching (. If the bottom line contains multiple )s, use number to determine which one to use in finding a match.
[ If the top line on the screen includes a [, find its matching ]. If the top line contains multiple [s, use number to determine which one to use in finding a match.
] If the bottom line on the screen includes a ], find its matching [. If the bottom line contains multiple ]s, use number to determine which one to use in finding a match.
ESC-^F Behave like { but prompt for two characters, which it substitutes for { and } in its search.
ESC-^B Behave like } but prompt for two characters, which it substitutes for { and } in its search.
m Prompt for a lowercase letter and then use that letter to mark the current position.
' (single apostrophe) Prompt for a lowercase letter and then go to the position marked by that letter. There are some special characters:
^ Beginning of file.
$ End of file.
^X^X Same as '.
/pattern Find next occurrence of pattern, starting at second line displayed. Some special characters can be entered before pattern:
! Find lines that do not contain pattern.
* If current file does not contain pattern, continue through the rest of the files in the command-line list.
@ Search from the first line in the first file specified on the command line, no matter what the screen currently displays.
?pattern Search backward, beginning at the line before the top line. Treats !, *, and @ as special characters when they begin pattern, as / does.
ESC-/pattern Same as /*.
ESC-?pattern Same as ?*.
n Repeat last pattern search.
N Repeat last pattern search in the reverse direction.
ESC-n Repeat previous search command, but as though it were prefaced by *.
ESC-N Repeat previous search command, but as though it were prefaced by * and in the reverse direction.
ESC-u Toggle search highlighting.
:e [filename] Read in filename and insert it into the command-line list of filenames. Without filename, reread the current file. filename may contain special characters:
% Name of current file.
# Name of previous file.
^X^V,E Same as :e.
:n Read in next file in command-line list.
:p Read in previous file in command-line list.
:x Read in first file in command-line list.
:f, =,^G Print filename, position in command-line list, line number on top of window, total lines, byte number, and total bytes.
- (single dash) Expects to be followed by a command-line option letter. Toggle the value of that option or, if appropriate, prompt for its new value.
-+ Expects to be followed by a command-line option letter. Reset that option to its default.
-- Expects to be followed by a command-line option letter. Reset that option to the opposite of its default, where the opposite can be determined.
_ (underscore) Expects to be followed by a command-line option letter. Display that option's current setting.
+command Execute command each time a new file is read in.
q,:q,:Q,ZZ Exit.
v Not valid for all versions. Invoke editor specified by $VISUAL or $EDITOR, or vi if neither is set.
! [command] Not valid for all versions. Invoke $SHELL or sh. If command is given, run it and then exit. Special characters:
% Name of current file.
# Name of previous file.
!! Last shell command.
| mark-letter command Not valid for all versions. Pipe fragment of file (from first line on screen to mark-letter) to command. mark-letter may also be:
^ Beginning of file.
$ End of file.
.,newline Current screen is piped.
Prompts The prompt interprets certain sequences specially. Those beginning with % are always evaluated. Those beginning with ? are evaluated if certain conditions are true. Some prompts determine the position of particular lines on the screen. These sequences require that a method of determining that line be specified. See the -P option and the manpage for more information.
lesskey [-o output-file | --output=output-file] [input-file]
Configure keybindings for the less command using a configuration file. The input file defaults to ~/.lesskey and the output file to ~/.less unless you specify otherwise. Configuration file format The configuration file for lesskey has one to three sections. These are marked by a line containing a # symbol and the name of the section: #command, #line-edit, and #env.
The #command section The command section determines the keys used for actions within less. Each line should contain the key or key combination you wish to define, a space or tab, and the name of the action to perform. You may also add an extra string at the end, which will be performed at the end of the first action. Keys you define should be entered as you plan to type them, with the following exceptions: The actions that can be defined are: - invalid (creates error)
- noaction
- forw-line
- back-line
- forw-line-force
- forw-scroll
- back-scroll
- forw-screen
- back-screen
- forw-window
- back-window
- forw-screen-force
- forw-forever
- repaint-flush
- repaint
- undo-hilite
- goto-line
- percent
- left-scroll
- right-scroll
- forw-bracket
- back-bracket
- goto-end
- status
- forw-search
- back-search
- repeat-search
- repeat-search-all
- set-mark
- goto-mark
- examine
- next-file
- index-file
- prev-file
- toggle-option
- display-option
- pipe
- visual
- shell
- firstcmd
- help
- version (display version)
- digit (display number)
- quit
The #line-edit section The line editing section lets you choose keys for the line-editing capabilities of less in a similar manner to the #command section, although without the "extra" string after the command. The line editing actions that can be defined are: - forw-complete
- back-complete
- expand
- literal
- right
- left
- word-left
- word-right
- insert
- delete
- word-delete
- word-backspace
- home
- end
- up
- down
The #env section The third section, like the second, is optional, and you can use it to override environment variables that affect less. Each line consists of a variable, the equals sign (=), and the value to which you wish to set the variable. The most important ones are LESS, which allows you to select additional flags to pass to less when you run it, and LESSCHARSET, which lets you choose a character set. See the less manpage for a complete list of environment variables that affect the program.
lftp [options] [url]
File transfer program with more features than ftp. The lftp command allows FTP and HTTP protocol transfers, plus other protocols including FISH (SSH based), FTPS, and HTTPS. It uses a shell-like command interface and offers job control in a manner similar to bash. lftp has two important reliability features: it resumes failed or interrupted transactions, and it goes into the background automatically if it is quit in the middle of a file transfer. Options
-d Run in debug mode.
-e commands Start, execute the specified commands, and then wait for further instructions.
-p portnumber Connect to the specified port number.
-u user[,pass] Login to the server with the username (and, optionally, password) you specify.
-f scriptfile Run the specified script file of lftp commands, then exit.
-c commands Run the commands specified, then exit.
Commands The lftp commands are similar to those for ftp. However, lftp lacks or uses different mechanisms for a number of commands, including $, ascii, binary, case, and macdef. It also adds the following:
alias [name [value]] Create an alias for a command. For example, you could set dir to be an alias for ls -lf.
anon Set the username to anonymous. This is the default username.
at Execute a command at a given time, as with the at command in an actual shell.
bookmark [arguments] The lftp bookmark command used with the following arguments will add, delete, edit, import, or list bookmarks, respectively: add name url del name edit import type list
cache Work with the local memory cache. This command should be followed by the arguments:
stat Display the status for the cache.
on|off Turn caching on or off.
flush Empty the cache.
size n Set the maximum size for the cache. Setting it to -1 means unlimited.
expire nu Set the cache to expire after n units of time. You can set the unit to seconds (s), minutes (m), hours (h), or days (d). For example, for a cache that expires after an hour, use the syntax cache expire 1h.
close Where the ftp version of this command just stops all sessions, this version closes idle connections with the current server. If you have connections to multiple servers and wish to close all idle connections, add the -a flag.
command cmd args Execute the specified lftp command, with the specified arguments, ignoring any aliases created with the alias command.
mirror [options] [remotedir [localdir]] Copy a directory exactly. The mirror command accepts the following arguments:
-c, --continue If mirroring was interrupted, resume it.
-e, --delete Delete local files that are not present at the remote site.
-s, --allow-suid Keep the suid/sgid bits as set on the remote site.
-n, --only-newer Get only those files from the remote site that have more recent dates than the files on the local system. Cannot be used with the -c argument.
-r, --no-recursion Do not get any subdirectories.
--no-umask Do not use umask when getting file modes. See umask for more information about file modes.
-R, --reverse Mirror files from the local system to the remote system. With this argument, make sure that you specify the local directory first and the remote directory second. If you do not specify both directories, the second is assumed to be the same as the first. If you choose neither, the operation occurs in the current working directories.
-L, --dereference When mirroring a link, download the file the link points to rather than just the link.
-N, --newer-than filename Get all files newer than the file filename.
-P, --parallel[=n] Download n files in parallel.
-i, --include regex Get only the files whose names match the regular expression regex. See grep for more information about regular expressions.
-x, --exclude regex Do not get the files whose names match regex. See grep for more information about regular expressions.
-t, time-prec n Set the precision of time measurement for file comparison; if file dates differ by amounts less than n, they are assumed to be the same. You can specify n in seconds (s), minutes (m), hours (h), or days (d).
-T, --loose-time-prec n Set the precision for loose time comparisons. You can specify n in seconds (s), minutes (m), hours (h), or days (d).
-v, --verbose=n Set the verbose level. You can set n from 0 (no output) to 3 (full output) using a number or by repeating the v. For example, -vvv is level 3 verbose mode.
--use-cache Use the cache to get directory listings.
--remove-source-files Move, rather than copy, files when mirroring.
set [setting | value] Set one of the preference variables for lftp. If run without arguments, list the variables that have been changed; without arguments and with the -a or -d flags, list all values or default values, respectively. See the lftp manpage for a complete list of preference variables that can be set.
wait [n | all] Wait for the job or jobs you specify by number, or all jobs, to terminate.
lftpget [options] url
Uses the lftp program to fetch the specified URL, which may be HTTP, FTP, or any of the protocols supported by lftp. Options lftpget takes only three options.
-c Continue or restart a paused transaction.
-d Display debugging output.
-v Verbose mode; display more information about transactions.
link file1 file2
Create a link between two files. This is the same as the ln command, but it has no error checking because it uses the link( ) system call directly.
ln [options] sourcename [destname] ln [options] sourcenames destdirectory
Create pseudonyms (links) for files, allowing them to be accessed by different names. Links may be "hard" or "soft." A hard link creates two names for the same file, and a soft, or symbolic, link creates a second file which acts as a shortcut to the first. The first form links sourcename to destname, where destname is usually either a new filename or (by default) a file in the current directory with the same name as sourcename. If destname is an existing file, it is overwritten; if destname is an existing directory, a link named sourcename is created in that directory. The second form creates links in destdirectory, each link having the same name as the file specified. Options
-b, --backup[=control] Back up any existing files. When using the long version of the command, the optional control parameter controls the kind of backup. When no control is specified, ln will attempt to read the control value from the VERSION_CONTROL environment variable. Accepted values are:
none, off Never make backups.
numbered, t Make numbered backups.
existing, nil Match existing backups, numbered or simple.
simple, never Always make simple backups.
-d, -F, --directory Allow hard links to directories. Available to privileged users.
-f, --force Force the link (don't prompt for overwrite permission).
--help Print a help message and then exit.
-i, --interactive Prompt for permission before removing files.
-n, --no-dereference Replace symbolic links to directories instead of dereferencing them. --force is useful with this option.
-s, --symbolic Create a symbolic link. This lets you link across filesystems, and also see the name of the link when you run ls -l (otherwise, there's no way to know the name that a file is linked to).
-S suffix, --suffix=suffix Append suffix to files when making backups, instead of the default ~.
--target-directory= directory Create links in the specified directory.
-v, --verbose Verbose mode.
--version Print version information and then exit.
loadkeys [options] [filename]
Load a keymap from a specified file, usually one of the keymaps stored in /lib/kbd/keymaps. If you create your own keymap file, the related commands showkey, keymaps, and dumpkeys will be useful as well. Note that loadkeys applies only to virtual consoles; to change your X keyboard configuration, use xmodmap or setxkbmap, or the graphical keyboard-layout switching tools that are included with your desktop environment. Options
-c, --clearcompose Clear the compose, or accent, table in the kernel.
-d, --default Load the default keymap. The same as running loadkeys defkeymap.
-h, --help Display help and usage information.
-m, --mktable Instead of loading the table, output maps as C language declarations.
-q, --quiet Operate in quiet mode.
-s, --clearstrings Clear the string table in the kernel.
-v, --verbose Operate verbosely. For extra effect, repeat.
locale [options] [name]
Print report on current locale settings. Locales determine the country-specific settings for a system, including character encodings, the formatting of dates, honorifics, diagnostic messages, currency, printer-paper sizes, and default measurements. Locale settings are essentially a dictionary of settings specified by keyword. The keywords are grouped together into related categories whose names begin with LC_. Each category has a related environment variable of the same name from which it will read its locale setting. Supply keyword or category names as name to examine their values. Multiple names may be given. You can also use the special keyword charmap to see the current character mapping. When executed with no arguments, locale prints the value of all locale-related environment variables. Options
-a Print all available locale settings installed on the system.
-c Print the category related to each name argument.
-k Print keywords along with their settings for each name argument.
-m Print all available character maps.
Environment variables
LANG The default value for unset internationalization variables. If not set, the system's default value is used.
LC_ADDRESS Postal settings, country, and language names and abbreviation.
LC_COLLATE String and character sorting and comparison settings.
LC_CTYPE Character attributes, including case conversion mappings, and categories of characters (whitespace, digit, lower, upper, punctuation, etc.).
LC_IDENTIFICATION Information related to the current locale definition, including its title, source, revision, and contact information for its author.
LC_MEASUREMENT Measurement units, metric or other.
LC_MESSAGES Settings for yes/no prompts and other informative and diagnostic messages.
LC_MONETARY Currency formats and symbols.
LC_NAME Formats for names and honorifics.
LC_NUMERIC Nonmonetary number formats.
LC_PAPER Default paper sizes for printing and pagination.
LC_TELEPHONE Telephone number formats.
LC_TIME Date and time formats.
LC_ALL When set, overrides the values of all other internationalization variables.
NLSPATH The path for finding message catalogs used in processing messages.
Examples Print the category name and all keywords for date and time settings: locale -ck LC_TIME
Print the strings used for days of the week and months of the year: locale day mon
locate [options] pattern
Search database(s) of filenames and print matches. Matches include all files that contain pattern unless pattern includes metacharacters, in which case locate requires an exact match. *, ?, [, and ] are treated specially; / and . are not. Searches are conducted against a database of system contents that is updated periodically. To update the database, use the updatedb command. Options
-d path, --database=path Search databases in path. path must be a colon-separated list.
-h, --help Print a help message and then exit.
--version Print version information and then exit.
lockfile [options] filenames
Create semaphore file(s), used to limit access to a file. When lockfile fails to create some of the specified files, it pauses for eight seconds and retries the last one on which it failed. The command processes flags as they are encountered (i.e., a flag that is specified after a file will not affect that file). This command is most often used by scripts and applications as a way to avoid multiple users changing the same file at once. Options
-sleeptime Number of seconds lockfile waits before retrying after a failed creation attempt. Default is 8.
-! Invert return value. Useful in shell scripts.
-l lockout_time Time (in seconds) after a lockfile was last modified at which it will be removed by force. See also -s.
-ml, -mu If the permissions on the system mail spool directory allow it or if lockfile is suitably setgid, lockfile can lock and unlock your system mailbox with the options -ml and -mu, respectively.
-r retries Stop trying to create files after this many retries. The default is -1 (never stop trying). When giving up, remove all created files.
-s suspend_time After a lockfile has been removed by force (see -l), a suspension of 16 seconds takes place by default. (This is intended to prevent the inadvertent immediate removal of any lockfile newly created by another program.) Use -s to change the default suspend time.
logger [options] [message...]
TCP/IP command. Add entries to the system log (via syslogd). If no message is given on the command line, standard input is logged. Options
-d When writing to a socket with -s, use a datagram instead of a stream.
-f file Read message from file.
-i Include the process ID of the logger process.
-p pri Enter message with the specified priority pri. Default is user.notice.
-s Log message to standard error as well as to the system log.
-t tag Mark every line in the log with the specified tag.
-u socket Write log to socket instead of to the syslog.
-- Accept no further options. Consider whatever is to the right of the hyphens as the message to be logged.
login [name | option]
Log into the system. login asks for a username (name can be supplied on the command line) and password (if appropriate). If successful, login updates accounting files, sets various environment variables, notifies users if they have mail, and executes startup shell files. Only the root user can log in when /etc/nologin exists. That file is displayed before the connection is terminated. Furthermore, root may connect only on a tty that is listed in /etc/securetty. If ~/.hushlogin exists, execute a quiet login. If /var/adm/lastlog exists, print the time of the last login. Options
-f Suppress second login authentication.
-h host Specify name of remote host. Normally used by servers, not humans; may be used only by root.
-p Preserve previous environment.
logname [option]
Consult /var/run/utmp for user's login name. If found, print it; otherwise, exit with an error message. Options
--help Print a help message and then exit.
--version Print version information and then exit.
logrotate [options] config_files
System administration command. Manipulate logfiles according to commands given in config_files. Options
-d, --debug Debug mode. No changes will be made to logfiles.
-f, --force Force rotation of logfiles.
-h, --help Describe options.
-m command, --mail command Use the specified command to mail logfiles. The default command is /bin/mail -s.
-s file, --state file Save state information in file. The default is /var/lib/logrotate.status.
--usage Show syntax and options.
-v, --verbose Describe what is being done and what logfiles are affected.
Configuration Commands Logrotate directives may appear on their own or as part of logfile definitionsinstructions for specific logfiles. You may use wildcards to specify those files. Enclose directives for logfile definitions in a beginning and ending curly brace. For example: compress /var/log/messages { rotate 5 weekly }
compress Compress old versions of logfiles with gzip.
compresscmd command Use command to compress logfiles. Default is gzip.
compressext extension Append filename extension to compressed files instead of the compress command's default.
compressoptions options Specify options to pass to the compress command. Default for gzip is -9 for maximum compression.
copy Copy logfile, but do not change the original.
copytruncate Copy logfile, then truncate it in place. For use with programs whose logging cannot be temporarily halted.
create [permissions] [owner] [group] After rotation, re-create logfile with the specified permissions, owner, and group. permissions must be in octal. If any of these parameters is missing, the logfile's original attributes will be used.
daily Rotate logfiles every day.
delaycompress Don't compress logfile until the next rotation.
endscript End a postrotate or prerotate script.
extension extension Give rotated logfiles the specified extension. Any compression extension will be appended to this.
firstaction May only be used as part of a logfile definition. Begin a shell script to execute once if any files match. The script ends when the endscript directive is read.
ifempty Rotate logfile even if it is empty. Overrides the default notifempty option.
include file Read the file into current file. If file is a directory, read all files in that directory into the current file.
lastaction May only be used as part of a logfile definition. Begin a shell script to execute once after rotating all matching files and running any postrotate script. The script ends when the endscript directive is read.
mail address Mail any deleted logs to address.
mailfirst When using the mail command, mail the newly rotated log instead of the one being deleted.
maillast When using the mail command, mail the log that is about to expire. This is the default behavior.
missingok Skip missing logfiles. Do not generate an error.
monthly Rotate logfiles only the first time logrotate is run in a month.
nocompress Override compress.
nocopy Override copy.
nocopytruncate Override copytruncate.
nocreate Override create.
nodelaycompress Override delaycompress.
nomail Override mail.
nomissingok Override missingok.
noolddir Override olddir.
nosharedscipts Override sharedscripts. Run prerotate and postrotate scripts for each log rotated. This is the default.
notifempty Override ifempty.
olddir directory Move logs into directory for rotation. directory must be on the same physical device as the original logfiles.
postrotate May only be used as part of a logfile definition. Begin a shell script to apply after the logfile is rotated. The script ends when the endscript directive is read.
prerotate May only be used as part of a logfile definition. Begin a shell script to apply before a logfile is rotated. The script ends when the endscript directive is read.
rotate number The number of times to rotate a logfile before removing it.
size n[k|M] Rotate logfile when it is greater than n bytes. n can optionally be followed by k for kilobytes or M for megabytes.
sharedscripts Run prescript and postscript only once for the session.
start n Use n as the starting number for rotated logs. Default is 0.
tabooext [+] extlist Replace taboo extension list with the given extlist. If + is specified, add to existing list. The default list is .rpmorig .rpmsave ,v .swp .rpmnew ~.
weekly Rotate logfiles if more than a week has passed since their last rotation.
uncompresscmd command Use command to uncompress logfiles. Default is gunzip.
look [options] string [file]
Search for lines in file (/usr/dict/words by default) that begin with string. Options
-a Use alternate dictionary, /usr/dict/web2.
-d Compare only alphanumeric characters.
-f Search is not case-sensitive.
-t character Stop checking after the first occurrence of character.
losetup [options] loopdevice [file]
System administration command. Set up and control loop devices. Attach a loop device to a regular file or block device, detach a loop device, or query a loop device. A loop device can be used to mount an image file as if it were a normal device. Options
-d Detach specified loopdevice.
-e encryption, -Enumber Use specified kernel encryption module when performing writes and reads. (Usually NONE, DES, and XOR.) You may also specify the encryption module by number. When using DES encryption, you will be prompted for an initialization passphrase.
-o offset Start reading data at offset bytes from the beginning of file.
-p fd Read the passphrase from file descriptor fd.
lpadmin [options]
System administration command. Configure CUPS printer queues. The command requires one of the following options: -d, -p, or -x. When a queue is configured to require a password, the lpadmin command will prompt for one. Options
-d queue Set the default destination for CUPS commands like lp and lpr to the specified queue.
-E Always use encryption when connecting to the server.
-h server Apply configuration commands remotely to the specified CUPS server.
-p printer print-options Apply print-options (documented below) to the specified printer.
-x queue Delete the specified queue. Abort any current print job and discard any pending print jobs.
Print options Use these additional options with the -p option listed above.
-c class Add printer to the specified class. Create class if it does not already exist.
-D description Set the text description of the printer.
-E Enable printer.
-L location Set the printer location text.
-i script Use the specified System V-style interface script.
-m filename Use the specified System V interface script or PPD file found in the model directory.
-o name=value Set the value of PPD or server option name. For a list of available PPD options, use the lpoptions command.
-P filename Use the PPD specified by filename. This option overrides the -i printer option.
-r class Remove printer from the specified class. Remove class if it has no printer entries.
-u allow:[@]name, -u deny:[@]name Set user level access control. To specify a group instead of a user name, preface the name with @. You may also use the special names all and none.
-v uri Set the device universal resource indicator, uri. If given as a filename, the command will automatically convert it to a file URI.
lpinfo options
System administration command. Print information on available printer devices and drivers. Options
-E Force the use of encryption connecting to the server.
-l Show a long, or verbose, listing.
-m List available printer drivers.
-v List available printer devices.
lpmove [option] job destination
System administration command. Move the specified print job to a new destination. Option
-E Force the use of encryption connecting to the server.
lpq [options] [+interval]
Check the print spool queue for status of print jobs. For each job, display username, rank in the queue, filenames, job number, and total file size (in bytes). We document the CUPS printing system here; other versions will vary slightly. Options
-a Report on all printers listed in the server's printcap database.
-E Use encryption when connecting to a print server.
-l Verbose mode. Print information about each file composing a job. Use -l multiple times to increase the information provided.
-P printer Specify which printer to query. Without this option, lpq uses the default printer, normally set through lpadmin.
+interval Check the queue every interval seconds until it is empty. For example, +10 reloads the queue every ten seconds.
lpr [options] [files]
Send files to be printed. If no files are given, accept standard input. We document the CUPS printing system here; the older LPRng and BSD systems will vary slightly. CUPS lpr, for example, does not accept the options c, d, f, g, i, m, n, t, v, or w, used by LPRng. Options
-C, J, T name Sets a name for the print job.
-E Use encryption when connecting to a print server.
-l Expect a binary or literal file on which minimal processing should be done. The same as -o raw.
-o option Set printer-specific options. These vary by printer, but may include paper type and orientation, paper-tray selection, output order, and so forth. Check the complete CUPS user manual and your printer's PPD file for the full list.
-P printername Print to the specified printer. If no printer is given, prints to the default printer, usually set with lpadmin.
-p Pretty-print a text document. Provides a shaded header containing page numbers, the job name, and the time and date of printing. Equivalent to -o prettyprint.
-r Delete files after printing them.
Example Print a simple file: lpr filename .txt
lprm [options] [jobid]
Cancel print jobs. Job IDs can be obtained from lpq; if no job is specified, cancels the current job on the default printer. Options
- Remove all jobs available to the user. Same as using the jobid ALL.
-E Use encryption.
-P printer Specify printer queue. If no printer is specified, the default printer is used.
lpstat [options] [queues]
Show the status of the print queue or queues. With options that take a list argument, omitting the list produces all information for that option. list can be separated by commas or, if enclosed in double quotes, by spaces. For the LPRng print service, lpstat is a frontend to the lpq program. Options
-a [list] Show whether the list of printer or class names is accepting requests.
-c [list] Show information about printer classes named in list.
-d Show the default printer destination.
-f [list] Verify that the list of forms is known to lp.
-l Use after -f to describe available forms, after -p to show printer configurations, or after -s to describe printers appropriate for the specified character set or print wheel.
-o [list] Show the status of output requests. list contains printer names, class names, or request IDs.
-p [list] Show the status of printers named in list.
-r Show whether the print scheduler is on or off.
-s Summarize the print status (show almost everything).
-t Show all status information (report everything).
-u [list] Show request status for users on list. Use all to show information on all users.
-A Use authentication.
ls [options] [names]
List contents of directories. If no names are given, list the files in the current directory. With one or more names, list files contained in a directory name or that match a file name. names can include filename metacharacters. The options let you display a variety of information in different formats. The most useful options include -F, -R, -l, and -s. Some options don't make sense together (e.g., -u and -c). Options
-1, --format=single-column Print one entry per line of output.
-a, --all List all files, including the normally hidden files whose names begin with a period.
-b, --escape Display nonprinting characters in octal and alphabetic format.
-c, --time-ctime, --time=status List files by status change time (not creation/modification time).
--color =when Colorize the names of files depending on the type of file. Accepted values for when are never, always, or auto.
-d, --directory Report only on the directory, not its contents.
-f Print directory contents in exactly the order in which they are stored, without attempting to sort them.
--full-time List times in full, rather than using the standard abbreviations.
-g Long listing like -l, but don't show file owners.
-h Print sizes in kilobytes and megabytes.
--help Print a help message and then exit.
-i, --inode List the inode for each file.
--indicator-style=none Display filenames without the flags assigned by -p or -f (default).
-k, --kilobytes If file sizes are being listed, print them in kilobytes. This option overrides the environment variable POSIXLY_CORRECT.
-l, --format=long, --format=verbose Long format listing (includes permissions, owner, size, modification time, etc.).
-m, --format=commas Merge the list into a comma-separated series of names.
-n, --numeric-uid-gid Like -l, but use group ID and user ID numbers instead of owner and group names.
-o Long listing like -l, but don't show group information.
-p, --filetype, --indicator-style=file-type Mark directories by appending / to them.
-q, --hide-control-chars Show nonprinting characters as ? (default for display to a terminal).
-r, --reverse List files in reverse order (by name or by time).
-s, --size Print file size in blocks.
--show-control-chars Show nonprinting characters verbatim (default for printing to a file).
--si Similar to -h, but uses powers of 1,000 instead of 1,024.
-t, --sort=time Sort files according to modification time (newest first).
-u, --time=atime, --time=access, --time=use Sort files according to file-access time.
--version Print version information on standard output, then exit.
-x, --format=across, --format=horizontal List files in rows going across the screen.
-v, --sort=version Interpret the digits in names such as file.6 and file.6.1 as versions, and order filenames by version.
-w, --width=n Format output to fit n columns.
-A, --almost-all List all files, including the normally hidden files whose names begin with a period. Does not include the . and .. directories.
-B, --ignore-backups Do not list files ending in ~ unless given as arguments.
-C, --format=vertical List files in columns (the default format).
-D, --dired List in a format suitable for Emacs dired mode.
-F, --classify, --indicator-style=classify Flag filenames by appending / to directories, * to executable files, @ to symbolic links, | to FIFOs, and = to sockets.
-G, --no-group In long format, do not display group name.
-H, --dereference-command-line When symbolic links are given on the command line, follow the link and list information from the actual file.
-I, --ignore pattern Do not list files whose names match the shell pattern pattern, unless they are given on the command line.
-L, --dereference List the file or directory referenced by a symbolic link rather than the link itself.
-N, --literal Display special graphic characters that appear in filenames.
-Q, --quote-name Quote filenames with "; quote nongraphic characters.
-R, --recursive List directories and their contents recursively.
-Rfile, --reload-state file Load state from file before starting execution.
-S, --sort=size Sort by file size, largest to smallest.
-U, sort=none Do not sort files.
-X, sort=extension Sort by file extension, then by filename.
lsattr [options] [files]
Print attributes of files on a Linux Second Extended File System. See also chattr. Options
-a List all files in specified directories.
-d List attributes of directories, not of contents.
-v List version of files.
-R List directories and their contents recursively.
-V List version of lsmod, then exit.
lspci [options]
System administration command. List all Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) devices. This command has many options that are useful for debugging device drivers. Here we document some of the more common options. Options
-b Show IRQ and addresses as seen by the cards instead of the kernel.
-t Print a tree showing connections between devices.
-m Print information with quoted strings suitable for use by scripts.
-n Print vendor and device codes as numbers.
-v, -vv List devices verbosely. Use the second form for very verbose listings.
lsmod
System administration command. List all loaded modules: name, size (in 4 KB units), and, if appropriate, a list of referring modules. The same information is available in /proc/modules if the /proc directory is enabled on the system.
lsusb [options]
System administration command. List all Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices. This command has many options of use for debugging device drivers. Here we document some of the more common options. Options
-b Show IRQ and addresses as seen by the cards instead of the kernel.
-D device Only show information about the specified device. This should be given as a file in the /proc/bus/usb directorye.g., /proc/bus/usb/001/001.
-t Print a tree showing connections between devices.
-v, -vv List devices verbosely. Use the second form for very verbose listings.
m4 [options] [macros] [files]
Macro processor for C and other files. Options
-e, --interactive Operate interactively, unbuffered, ignoring interrupts.
-dflags, --debug=flags Specify flag-level debugging.
--help Print help message, then exit.
-ln, --arglength=n Specify the length of debugging output.
-o file, --error-output=file Place output in file. Despite the name, print error messages on standard error.
-P, --prefix-built-ins Prepend m4_ to all built-in macro names.
-s, --synclines Insert #line directives for the C preprocessor.
-tname, --trace=name Insert name into symbol table as undefined. Trace macro from the point it is defined.
--version Print version, then exit.
-Bn Set the size of the pushback and argument collection buffers to n (default is 4096).
-Dname[=value], --define=name[=value] Define name as value or, if value is not specified, define name as null.
-E, --fatal-warnings Consider all warnings to be fatal, and exit after the first of them.
-Ffile, --freeze-state=file Record m4's frozen state in file for later reloading.
-G, --traditional Behave like traditional m4, ignoring GNU extensions.
-Hn, --hashsize=n Set symbol-table hash array to n (default is 509).
-Idirectory, --include=directory Search directory for include files.
-Ln, --nesting-limit=n Change artificial nesting limit to n.
-Q, --quiet, --silent Suppress warning messages.
-Rfile, --reload-state=file Load state from file before starting execution.
-Uname, --undefine=name Undefine name.
mail [options] [users]
Read mail or send mail to other users. The mail utility allows you to compose, send, receive, forward, and reply to mail. mail has two main modes: compose mode, in which you create a message, and command mode, in which you manage your mail. While mail is a powerful utility, it can be tricky for a novice user. It is most commonly seen nowadays in scripts. Most Linux distributions include several utilities that are richer in features and much easier to use: mailers built into browsers such as Mozilla and Firefox, graphical mail programs distributed with GNOME (Evolution) and KDE (Kmail), and the terminal-based, full-screen utilities pine and elm. The GNU Emacs editor can also send and receive mail. This section presents mail commands, options, and configuration options. To get you started, here are two of the most basic commands. To enter interactive mail-reading mode, type: mail
To begin writing a message to user, type: mail user
Enter the text of the message, one line at a time, pressing Enter at the end of each line. To end the message, enter a single period (.) in the first column of a new line and press Enter. You can also provide much of the information on the command line, as shown in the following example: mail james -s "System Log" </var/log/messages
This command sends a message to the user james, with a subject line of System Log, and the text of the message read from the system logfile, /var/log/messages. Command-line options
-b list Set blind-carbon-copy field to comma-separated list.
-c list Set carbon-copy field to comma-separated list.
-d Print debugging information.
-f [file] Process contents of file instead of /var/spool/mail/$user. If file is omitted, process mbox in the user's home directory.
-i Do not respond to tty interrupt signals.
-I Run interactively even if the input is not from a terminal.
-n Do not consult /etc/mail.rc when starting up.
-N When printing a mail message or entering a mail folder, do not display message headers.
-p Read mail in POP mode.
-s subject Set subject to subject. Use quotes around subjects that contain spaces.
-uuser Process contents of /var/spool/mail/$user for the specified user.
-v Verbose; print information about mail delivery to standard output.
-P Disable POP mode.
Compose-mode commands
~!command Execute a shell escape from compose mode and run the specified command.
~? List compose-mode escapes.
~b names Add names to or edit the Bcc: header.
~c names Add names to or edit the Cc: header.
~d Read in the dead.letter file.
~e Invoke text editor.
~f messages Insert messages into message being composed.
~F messages Similar to ~f, but include message headers.
~h Add to or change all headers interactively.
~m messages Similar to ~f, but indent with a tab.
~M messages Similar to ~m, but include message headers.
~p Print message header fields and message being sent.
~q Abort current message composition.
~r filename Include file in current message.
~s string Change Subject: header to string.
~t names Add names to or edit the To: list.
~v Invoke editor specified with the VISUAL environment variable.
~| command Pipe message through command.
~: mail-command Execute mail-command.
~~string Insert string in text of message, prefaced by a single tilde (~). If string contains a ~, it must be escaped with a \.
Command-mode commands
? List summary of commands (help screen).
! Execute a shell command.
- [nm] Print numth previous message; defaults to immediately previous.
alias (a) Print or create alias lists.
alternates (alt) Specify remote accounts on remote machines that are yours. Tell mail not to reply to them.
chdir (c) cd to home or specified directory.
copy (co) Similar to save, but do not mark message for deletion.
delete (d) Delete message.
dp (dt) Delete current message and display next one.
edit (e) Edit message.
exit (ex, x) Exit mail without updating folder or user's system mailbox.
file (fi) Switch folders.
folder (fold) Read messages saved in a file. If no file is specified, display the name of the current file. In addition to filenames, the following are allowed:
# Previous file
% System mailbox
%user user's system mailbox
& mbox
+folder File in folder directory.
folders List folders.
from (f) Print headers for messages.
headers (h) List message headers at current prompt.
headers+ (h+) Move forward one window of headers.
headers- (h-) Move back one window of headers.
help Same as ?.
hold (ho) Hold messages in system mailbox.
ignore Append list of fields to ignored fields. With no arguments, list currently ignored fields.
mail user (m) Compose message to user.
mbox Move specified messages to mbox on exiting (the default).
next (n) Type next message or next message that matches argument.
preserve (pr) Synonym for hold.
print [list] (p) Display each message in list.
Print [list] (P) Similar to print, but include header fields.
quit (q) Exit mail and update folder.
reply (r) Send mail to all on distribution list.
Reply (R) Send mail to author only.
respond Same as reply.
retain Always include this list of header fields when printing messages. With no arguments, list retained fields.
save (s) Save message to folder.
saveignore Remove ignored fields when saving.
saveretain Override saveignore to retain specified fields.
set (se) Set or print mail options.
shell (sh) Enter a new shell.
size Print size of each specified message.
source Read commands from specified file.
top Print first few lines of each specified message.
type (t) Same as print.
Type (T) Same as Print.
unalias Discard previously defined aliases.
undelete (u) Restore deleted message.
unread (U) Mark specified messages as unread.
unset (uns) Unset mail options.
visual (v) Edit message with editor specified by the VISUAL environment variable.
write (w) Write message, without headers, to file.
xit (x) Same as exit.
z Move mail's attention to next windowful of text. Use z- to move it back.
Configuration options These options are set inside the user's .mailrc configuration file. The syntax is set option or unset option. The system default configuration is in /etc/mail.rc.
append Append (do not prepend) messages to mbox.
ask, asksub Prompt for subject.
askbcc Prompt for blind-carbon-copy recipients.
askcc Prompt for carbon-copy recipients.
autoprint Print next message after a delete.
crtnum Use the default pager to display a message of more than num lines. Defaults to the height of the terminal screen.
debug Same as -d on command line.
dot Interpret a solitary . as an EOF.
escape char Specify escape character to use instead of a tilde (~).
folderdir Define directory to hold mail folders.
hold Keep message in system mailbox upon quitting.
ignore Ignore interrupt signals from terminal. Print them as @.
ignoreeof Do not treat ^D as an EOF.
indentprefix string Use the specified string with ~m as the prefix for indented messages.
metoo Do not remove sender from groups when mailing to them.
noheader Same as -N on command line.
nosave Do not save aborted letters to dead.letter.
Replyall Switch roles of Reply and reply.
quiet Do not print version at startup.
record file Use file as the path to record outgoing mail. If not set, outgoing mail is not saved.
searchheaders When given the specifier /x:y, expand all messages that contain the string y in the x header field.
toplines num Print num lines of message with the top command. Default value is 5.
verbose Same as -v on command line.
mailq [options]
System administration command. List all messages in the sendmail mail queue. Equivalent to sendmail -bp. Options
-Ac Show queue specified in /etc/mail/submit.cf instead of queue specified in /etc/mail/sendmail.cf.
-q[! ]Isubstring Show items in mail queue with queue ids containing substring. In this, and in similar options below, invert the match when ! is specified.
-qL Show lost items in mail queue.
-qQ Show quarantined items in the mail queue.
-q[! ]Qsubstring Show quarantined messages with quarantine reasons containing substring.
-q[! ]Rsubstring Show items in mail queue with recipients containing substring.
-q[! ]Ssubstring Show items in mail queue with senders containing substring.
-v Verbose mode.
mailstats [options]
System administration command. Display a formatted report of the current sendmail mail statistics. Options
-c Use configuration in /etc/mail/submit.cf instead of /etc/mail/sendmail.cf.
-C file Use sendmail configuration file file instead of the default sendmail.cf file.
-f file Use sendmail statistics file file instead of the file specified in the sendmail configuration file.
-o Don't show the name of the mailer in the report.
-p Print stats without headers or separators. Output suitable for use by other programs. Reset statistics.
-P Print stats without headers or separators. Output suitable for use by other programs. Do not reset statistics.
mailto [options] [recipients]
Send mail with MIME types and text formatting. If no recipients are specified, mailto prompts for the names. This program has a very similar interface to that of the mail command, with two differences: it only sends mail, and it adds a number of text-formatting and MIME-handling features, described here. For features not covered here, see the mail command. mailto uses the metamail backend and relies on the mailcap configuration files. Options
-a charset Specify an alternate character set.
-c name Specify a name for the CC: field. Specify multiple names with a comma-separated list inside double quotes.
-s subj Specify the Subject: field. Use double quotes if there are any spaces.
Text formatting Mail formatting is handled with escape sequences that begin with the tilde (~) character. Those for text formatting are:
~b Turn bold text on or off.
~i Turn italic text on or off.
~jc, ~jl, ~jr Set justification to center, left, or right, respectively.
~k Toggle whether to send a blind copy to yourself.
~n Hard line break (newline).
~>, ~< Increase or decrease left margin.
~<R, ~>R Increase or decrease right margin.
~Q Quotation mode (indent and mark selection as excerpt).
~z Append ~/.signature as the signature for this message.
Including objects in mail You can include a variety of objects in your messages, again using tilde escape sequences. To do so, enter ~*, and the program will prompt you for the type of data you wish to add. The available content types will vary from installation to installation.
make [options] [targets] [macro definitions]
Update one or more targets according to dependency instructions in a description file in the current directory. By default, this file is called makefile or Makefile. Options, targets, and macro definitions can be in any order. Macro definitions are typed as: name=string
For more information on make, see Managing Projects with GNU Make (O'Reilly). Options
-d, --debug Print detailed debugging information.
-e, --environment-overrides Override Makefile macro definitions with environment variables.
-f Makefile, --file=Makefile, --makefile=Makefile Use Makefile as the description file; a filename of - denotes standard input.
-h, --help Print options to make command.
-i, --ignore-errors Ignore command error codes (same as .IGNORE).
-j [jobs], --jobs [=jobs] Attempt to execute this many jobs simultaneously or, if no number is specified, as many jobs as possible.
-k, --keep-going Abandon the current target when it fails, but keep working with unrelated targets.
-l [load], --load-average [=load], --max-load [=load] Attempt to keep load below load, which should be a floating-point number. Used with -j.
-n, --just-print, --dry-run, --recon Print commands but don't execute (used for testing).
-o file, --old-file=file, --assume-old=file Never remake file or cause other files to be remade on account of it.
-p, --print-data-base Print rules and variables in addition to normal execution.
-q, --question Query; return 0 if file is up to date, nonzero otherwise.
-r, --no-built-in-rules Do not use default rules.
-s, --silent, --quiet Do not display command lines (same as .SILENT).
-t, --touch Touch the target files without remaking them.
-v, --version Show version of make.
-w, --print-directory Display the current working directory before and after execution.
--warn-undefined-variables Print warning if a macro is used without being defined.
-C directory, --directory directory cd to directory before beginning make operations. A subsequent -C directive will cause make to attempt to cd into a directory relative to the current working directory.
-I directory, --include-dir directory Include directory in list of directories containing included files.
-S, --no-keep-going, --stop Cancel previous -k options. Useful in recursive makes.
-W file, --what-if file, --new-file file, --assume-new file Behave as though file has been recently updated.
Description-file lines Instructions in the description file are interpreted as single lines. If an instruction must span more than one input line, use a backslash (\) at the end of the line so that the next line is considered a continuation. The description file may contain any of the following types of lines:
Blank lines Blank lines are ignored.
Comment lines A pound sign (#) can be used at the beginning of a line or anywhere in the middle. make ignores everything after the #.
Dependency lines Depending on one or more targets, certain commands that follow will be executed. Possible formats include: targets : dependencies targets : dependencies ; command
Subsequent commands are executed if dependency files (the names of which may contain wildcards) do not exist or are newer than a target. If no prerequisites are supplied, then subsequent commands are always executed (whenever any of the targets are specified). No tab should precede any targets.
Conditionals Conditionals are evaluated when the Makefile is first read and determine what make seesi.e., which parts of the Makefile are obeyed and which parts are ignored. The general syntax for a conditional is: conditional Text if true else Text if false endif
ifeq (arg1, arg2), ifeq "arg1" "arg2" True if the two arguments are identical. The arguments should either be placed in parentheses and separated by a comma--(arg1, arg2)--or individually quoted with either single or double quotes.
ifneq (arg1, arg2), ifneq "arg1" "arg2" True if the two arguments are not identical. The arguments should either be placed in parentheses and separated by a comma, or individually quoted with either single or double quotes.
ifdef variable True if variable has a nonempty value.
ifndef variable True if variable has an empty value.
Suffix rules These specify that files ending with the first suffix can be prerequisites for files ending with the second suffix (assuming the root filenames are the same). Either of these formats can be used: .suffix.suffix: .suffix:
The second form means that the root filename depends on the filename with the corresponding suffix.
Commands Commands are grouped below the dependency line and are typed on lines that begin with a tab. If a command is preceded by a hyphen (-), make ignores any error returned. If a command is preceded by an at sign (@), the command line won't echo on the display (unless make is called with -n).
Macro definitions These have the following form: name = string
or: define name string endef
Blank space is optional around the =.
Include statements Similar to the C include directive, these have the form: include files
Internal macros
$? The list of prerequisites that have been changed more recently than the current target. Can be used only in normal description-file entries, not in suffix rules.
$@ The name of the current target, except in description-file entries for making libraries, where it becomes the library name. Can be used both in normal description-file entries and in suffix rules.
$< The name of the current prerequisite that has been modified more recently than the current target.
$* The name (without the suffix) of the current prerequisite that has been modified more recently than the current target. Can be used only in suffix rules.
$% The name of the corresponding .o file when the current target is a library module. Can be used both in normal description-file entries and in suffix rules.
$^ A space-separated list of all dependencies with no duplications.
$+ A space-separated list of all dependencies, which includes duplications.
Pattern rules These are a more general application of the idea behind suffix rules. If a target and a dependency both contain %, GNU make will substitute any part of an existing filename. For instance, the standard suffix rule: $(cc) -o $@ $<
can be written as the following pattern rule: %.o : %.c $(cc) -o $@ $<
Macro modifiers
D The directory portion of any internal macro name except $?. Valid uses are: $(*D) $$(@D) $(?D) $(<D) $(%D) $(@D) $(^D)
F The file portion of any internal macro name except $?. Valid uses are: $(*F) $$(@F) $(?F) $(<F) $(%F) $(@F) $(^F)
Functions
$(subst from,to,string) Replace all occurrences of from with to in string.
$(patsubst pattern,to,string) Similar to subst, but treat % as a wildcard within pattern. Substitute to for any word in string that matches pattern.
$(strip string) Remove all extraneous whitespace.
$(findstring substring,mainstring) Return substring if it exists within mainstring; otherwise, return null.
$(filter pattern,string) Return those words in string that match at least one word in pattern. pattern may include the wildcard %.
$(filter-out pattern,string) Remove those words in string that match at least one word in pattern. pattern may include the wildcard %.
$(sort list) Return list, sorted in lexical order.
$(dir list) Return the directory part (everything up to the last slash) of each filename in list.
$(notdir list) Return the nondirectory part (everything after the last slash) of each filename in list.
$(suffix list) Return the suffix part (everything after the last period) of each filename in list.
$(basename list) Return everything but the suffix part (everything up to the last period) of each filename in list.
$(addsuffix suffix,list) Return each filename given in list with suffix appended.
$(addprefix prefix,list) Return each filename given in list with prefix prepended.
$(join list1,list2) Return a list formed by concatenating the two arguments word by word (e.g., $(join a b,.c .o) becomes a.c b.o).
$(word n,string) Return the nth word of string.
$(wordlist start,end,string) Return words in string between word start and word end, inclusive.
$(words string) Return the number of words in string.
$(firstword list) Return the first word in the list list.
$(wildcard pattern) Return a list of existing files in the current directory that match pattern.
$(foreach variable,list,string) For each whitespace-separated word in list, expand its value and assign it to variable; then expand string, which usually contains a function referencing variable. Return the list of results.
$(if condition,then-string[,else-string]) Expand string condition if it expands to a nonempty string, then expand the then-string. If condition expands to an empty string, return the empty string or, if specified, expand and return the else-string.
$(call variable,parameters) Expand each item in comma-separated list parameters and assign it to a temporary variable, $(n), where n is an incremented number beginning with 0. Then expand variable, a string referencing these temporary variables, and return the result.
$(origin variable) Return one of the following strings that describes how variable was defined: undefined, default, environment, environment override, file, command line, override, or automatic.
$(shell command) Return the results of command. Any newlines in the result are converted to spaces. This function works similarly to backquotes in most shells.
$(error string) When evaluated, generate a fatal error with the message string.
$(warning string) When evaluated, generate a warning with the message string.
Macro string substitution
$(macro:s1=s2) Evaluates to the current definition of $(macro), after substituting the string s2 for every occurrence of s1 that occurs either immediately before a blank or tab, or at the end of the macro definition.
Special target names
.DEFAULT: Commands associated with this target are executed if make can't find any description-file entries or suffix rules with which to build a requested target.
.DELETE_ON_ERROR: If this target exists in a Makefile, delete the target of any rule whose commands return a nonzero exit status.
.EXPORT_ALL_VARIABLES: If this target exists, export all macros to all child processes.
.IGNORE: Ignore error codes. Same as the -i option.
.INTERMEDIATE: This target's dependencies should be treated as intermediate files.
.NOTPARALLEL: If this target exists in a Makefile, run make serially, ignoring option -j.
.PHONY: Always execute commands under a target, even if it is an existing, up-to-date file.
.PRECIOUS: Files you specify for this target are not removed when you send a signal (such as an interrupt) that aborts make or when a command line in your description file returns an error.
.SECONDARY: Like .INTERMEDIATE, this target's dependencies should be treated as intermediate files, but never automatically deleted.
.SILENT: Execute commands, but do not echo them. Same as the -s option.
.SUFFIXES: Suffixes associated with this target are meaningful in suffix rules. If no suffixes are listed, the existing list of suffix rules is effectively "turned off."
makedbm [options] infile outfilemakedbm [option]
NFS/NIS command. Create or dump an NIS dbm file. makedbm will take a text infile and convert it to a gdbm database file named outfile. This file is suitable for use with ypserv. Each line of the input file is converted to a single record. All characters up to the first TAB or SPACE form the key, and the rest of the line is the data. If a line ends with \&, the data for that record is continued onto the next line. The # character is given no special treatment. infile can be -, in which case the standard input is read. makedbm generates two special keys: the YP_M*ER_NAME key, which is the value of the current host (unless another name is specified with -m), and the YP_L*_MODIFIED key, which is the date of infile (or the current time if infile is -). Options
-a Add support for mail aliases.
-b Insert YP_INTERDOMAIN key into map. This indicates that ypserv should fall back to DNS lookups when a host's address is not found in NIS.
-c Send a YPPROC_CLEAR signal to ypserv, causing it to clear all cached entries.
-i file_name Create a YP_INPUT_NAME key with the value file_name.
-l Convert keys of the given map to lowercase.
-m master_name Specify the value of the YP_M*ER_NAME key. The default value is the current hostname.
--no-limit-check Don't enforce NIS size limits for keys or data.
-o file_name Create a YP_OUTPUT_NAME key with the value file_name.
-r Treat lines beginning with # as comments. Do not include them in the datafile.
-s Add the key YP_SECURE, indicating that ypserv should accept connections to the database only from secure NIS networks.
-u filename Undo a gdbm file: print out a dbm file, one entry per line, with a single space separating keys from values.
Example It's easy to write shell scripts to convert standard files such as /etc/passwd to the key-value form used by makedbm. For example, the awk program: BEGIN { FS =":";OFS = "\t";} { print $1, $0}
takes the /etc/passwd file and converts it to a form that can be read by makedbm to make the NIS file passwd.byname. That is, the key is a username and the value is the remaining line in the /etc/passwd file.
makemap [options] type name
System administration command. Create database maps for use by sendmail in keyed map lookups. makemap will read from standard input and create a database file of type type with filename name.db. If the TrustedUser option is set in /etc/sendmail.cf and makemap is invoked as root, the ouput file will be owned by TrustedUser. Input should be formatted as: key value
Comment lines with #. Indicate parameter substitution with %n. Specify a literal % character by entering it twice: %%. The type may be btree or hash. Options
-c size Specify hash or B-Tree cache size.
-C file Look up TrustedUser in the specified sendmail configuration file.
-d Allow duplicate entries. Valid only with btree type maps.
-D x Treat x as the comment marker instead of #.
-e Allow empty value data fields.
-f Suppress conversion of uppercase to lowercase.
-l List supported map types.
-N Append the zero-byte string terminator specified in sendmail's configuration file to mapped entries.
-o Append to existing file instead of replacing it.
-r If some keys already exist, replace them. (By default, makemap will exit when encountering a duplicated key.)
-s Ignore safety checks.
-t delimiter Use delimiter instead of whitespace.
-u Undo a map: print out the specified database file, one entry per line.
-v Verbose mode.
man [options] [section] [title]
Display information from the online reference manuals. man locates and prints the named title from the designated reference section. Traditionally, manpages are divided into nine sections, where section 1 consists of user commands, section 2 contains system calls, and so forth. By default, all sections are consulted, so the section option serves to bypass the most common entry and find an entry of the same name in a different section (e.g., man 2 nice). Numerous other utilitiessuch as info, xman, and the Konqueror browsercan also display manpages. Options
-7, --ascii Expect a pure ASCII file, and format it for a 7-bit terminal or terminal emulator.
-a, --all Show all pages matching title.
-b Leave blank lines in output.
-d, --debug Display debugging information. Suppress actual printing of manual pages.
-f, --whatis Same as whatis command.
-k, --apropos Same as apropos command.
-l filename, --local-file=filename Search local files, not system files, for manual pages. If i is given as filename, search standard input.
-m systems, --systems=systems Search systems' manual pages. systems should be a comma-separated list.
-p preprocessors, --preprocessor=preprocessors Preprocess manual pages with preprocessors before turning them over to nroff, troff, or groff. Always runs soelim first to read in files to be included in the one currently being processed. preprocessors can be any combination of e for equations, p for pictures, t for tables, and r for bibliographical references.
-r prompt, --prompt=prompt Set prompt if less is used as pager.
-t, --troff Format the manual page with /usr/bin/groff -Tgv -mandoc. Implied by -T and -Z.
-u, --update Perform a consistency check between manual page cache and filesystem.
-w, -W, --path, --where Print pathnames of entries on standard output.
-D Display debugging information about how the page was retrieved.
-K directory A kind of super-k option. Search for a term in all manpages and display the name of each page, along with a prompt asking whether you want to view the page.
-L locale, --locale=locale Assume current locale to be locale; do not consult the setlocale( ) function.
-M path, --manpath=path Search for manual pages in path. Ignore -m option.
-Ppager, --pager=pager Select paging program pager to display the entry.
-S sections Sections to look in for an entry. Like specifying section on the command line, except that multiple section numbers can be specified, separated by colons.
-T device, --troff-device[=device] Format groff or troff output for device, such as dvi, latin1, X75, and X100.
-Z, --ditroff Do not allow postprocessing of manual page after groff has finished formatting it.
Section names Manual pages are divided into sections for various audiences:
1 Executable programs or shell commands.
2 System calls (functions provided by the kernel).
3 Library calls (functions within system libraries).
4 Special files (usually found in /dev).
5 File formats and conventions (e.g., /etc/passwd).
6 Games.
7 Macro packages and conventions.
8 System administration commands (usually only for a privileged user).
9 Kernel routines (nonstandard).
manpath [options]
Attempt to determine path to manual pages. Check $MANPATH first; if that is not set, consult /etc/man.conf, user environment variables, and the current working directory. The manpath command is a symbolic link to man, but most of the options are ignored for manpath. Options
-d, --debug Print debugging information.
-h Print help message and then exit.
mattrib [options] filenames
Change attributes of MS-DOS files. See mtools for more information. Attributes To set an attribute, use one of the following letters preceded by a + (to turn the attribute on) or - (to turn it off):
a Archive; mark the file as a new file that should be archived by backup programs.
r Read-only.
s System; files with this attribute are marked as operating system files.
h Hide this file when displaying directory contents with DIR.
Options
-/ When listing attributes, descend into all subdirectories recursively.
-X Concise output.
-p Display commands for mformat that can reproduce the current attributes and settings for a given disk.
mbadblocks drive
Check MS-DOS filesystems for bad blocks. See badblocks and mtools. As with other mtools items, the drive is named with a letter rather than as a Unix device.
mcat [option] drive
Dump raw data, especially for a disk image on a remote floppy accessed through the floppyd tool. See cat and mtools for more information. The only option accepted, -w, accepts data from stdin and writes it to the given device.
mcd [dosdir]
Change to the specified directory on an MS-DOS disk. With no directory specified, display the current device and directory. See cd and mtools for more information.
mcopy [options] sourcefile target
Copy files between Unix and MS-DOS format partitions. See cp and mtools for more information. Multiple source files can be specified and written to a target directory. Options The mcopy option flags differ from the flags passed to the Unix cp command. The flags are:
-t Convert Unix line breaks to MS-DOS line breaks and vice versa when copying text files.
-b Operate in batch mode; use for large copies of data.
-s Copy recursively.
-P Preserve attributes of copied files.
-Q When copying multiple files, if one copy fails, stop. Useful if you think you may run out of disk space.
-a Assume that all incoming files are ASCII and convert carriage return/line feed to plain line feed.
-T Convert line breaks as with -a, but also convert PC-8 characters to ISO-8859-1 characters. Replace untranslatable characters with # or . for Unix and DOS respectively.
-n Do not ask for confirmation when overwriting Unix files.
-o Turn off confirmation for overwriting DOS files.
-m Preserve file modification time.
-v Display the names of files as they are copied.
-D clash-option Specify the action to take if the specified directory name already exists. See mmd for the possible clash options.
md5sum [option] [files] md5sum [option] --check [file]
Compute or check 128-bit MD5 checksums. Used to verify that no change has been made to a file. With no files or - specified, read from standard input. The exit status is 0 for success and nonzero for failure. Options
-b, --binary Read the files in binary mode. The default on DOS or Windows.
-c, --check Check the MD5 sum and file information in the file argument (or standard input) against the corresponding files and verify that they are consistent. The input must have been generated by an earlier md5sum command.
--help Print usage information and exit.
--status Don't generate output messages; the exit code indicates success or failure. Used only with --check.
--string=string Compute the MD5 sum for the specified string. This option does not take a file argument. Put quotes around the string if it contains spaces.
-t, --text Read files in text mode. The default.
--version Print version information and exit.
-w, --warn Warn about improperly formatted checksum lines. Used only with --check.
mdel [option] filemdeltree [option] tree
Delete an MS-DOS file or file tree. See rm and mtools for more information. Option
-v Run in verbose mode, printing the names of the MS-DOS files to be deleted.
mdir [options] dir
List directory contents on an MS-DOS filesystem. See ls, dir, and mtools for more information. Options
-/ Display output recursively, listing the contents of subdirectories.
-a Include hidden files in the output.
-b Produce a concise listing, showing each directory or file on a separate line, with no heading or summary information.
-f Operate in fast mode, without determining the amount of free space. Not required on FAT32 filesystems, which store the free-space information explicitly.
-w Produce wide output, printing filenames across the page with no file-size or creation-date information.
-V Print version information and exit.
mdu [option] dir
Display disk usage, in clusters, for a directory and its subdirectories and files on an MS-DOS filesystem. See du and mtools for more information, and see minfo for the cluster size. Only one of -a or -s can be specified. Options
-a Show the space used by individual files in a directory as well as the total space.
-s Show only the total space used.
merge [options] file1 file2 file3
Perform a three-way file merge, putting the result in file1. The effect is easiest to understand if file2 is considered the original version of a file, file3 an altered version of file2, and file1 a later altered version of file2. After the merge, file1 contains both the changes from file2 to file1 and the changes from file2 to file3. In other words, file1 keeps its changes and incorporates the changes in file3 as well. merge does not change file2 or file3. If a line from file2 was changed in different ways in both file1 and file3, merge recognizes a conflict. By default, the command outputs a warning and puts brackets around the conflict, with lines preceded by <<<<<<< and >>>>>>>. A typical conflict looks like this: <<<<<<< file1 relevant lines from file1 ======= relevant lines from file3 >>>>>>> file3
If there are conflicts, the user should edit the result and delete one of the alternatives. Options
-e Don't warn about conflicts.
-p Send results to standard output instead of overwriting file1.
-q Quiet; do not warn about conflicts.
-A Output conflicts using the -A style of diff3. This merges all changes leading from file2 to file3 into file1 and generates the most verbose output.
-E Output conflict information in a less verbose style than -A; this is the default.
-L label Specify up to three labels to be used in place of the corresponding filenames in conflict reports. That is: merge -L x -L y -L z file_a file_b file_c
generates output that looks as if it came from x, y, and z instead of from file_a, file_b, and file_c.
-V Print version number.
mesg [option]
Change the ability of other users to send write messages to your terminal. With no options, display the permission status. Options
n Forbid write messages.
y Allow write messages (the default).
metamail [options] [filename]
Normally invisible to users, metamail is used to send and display rich text or multimedia email using MIME typing metadata. Mail-reading programs normally call metamail to determine how to handle the data, but metamail can be called directly by developers who want to use it for their own mail software, or by system administrators and power users adding lines to their printcap files. Any argument passed to metamail that is not preceded by a hyphen (-) is assumed to be the name of a file to read. If no filename is specified, standard input is assumed. Options
-b The message is not in RFC 822 format; treat as the body of the message. Requires -c.
-B Display the message in the background, if noninteractive. Cannot be used with -p or -P.
-c type Use the specified content type instead of the one in the headers.
-d Don't ask before running an interpreter to view the message. The default is to ask.
-e Remove ("eat") leading newlines in the message body. Useful for MH-format mail.
-f addr Specify the name of the message sender. The default is to try to determine the name from the header.
-h Specify that a message is to be printed. Automatically sets -d.
-m mailer Specify the mail program that called metamail, for use by any interpreters that metamail calls.
-p If necessary, display the output one page at a time. The default is to pipe the output through more, but the environment variable METAMAIL_PAGER can be set to specify an alternative command. Use -p rather than piping the message to a pager.
-P Like -p, but also print "Press RETURN to go on" at the end of each page. Cannot be used with -B.
-q Run quietly.
-r Specify that metamail can be run as root.
-R Run /usr/ucb/reset to reset the terminal before performing any other I/O.
-s subject Specify the Subject field. By default, the subject is determined from the headers.
-T Turn off the effect of the environment variable MM_TRANSPARENT. Intended to be used recursively by metamail, and should be used only when the program restarts itself in a terminal emulator window.
-w Don't consult a mailcap file to determine how to display the data, but simply decode each part and write to a file in its raw format (which might be binary). Depending on how metamail is called, the filename is determined from the message headers, by asking the user, or by generating a unique temporary filename.
-x Tell metamail that it is not running on a terminal. The environment variable MM_NOTTY can be set instead of specifying -x.
-y Try to "yank" a MIME-format message from the body of the message.
-z Delete the input file when done. This option requires a filename argument to metamail.
metasend [options] [filename]
A largely developer-oriented interface for sending nontext email using MIME typing metadata. If no arguments are specified, metasend prompts the user for the information it needs. See mailto for a possible alternative with a friendlier interface. Options
-/ subtype Specify the MIME multipart subtype other than mixed.
-b Batch mode. All information must be provided on the command line.
-c cc Specify any CC addresses.
-D string Specify a string to be used as the Content-description value.
-e encoding Specify the encoding to use. Possible values are base64, quoted-printable, 7bit (no encoding is done), or x-uue.
-E The file to be included is already MIME-encoded and doesn't need any Content- or other header fields added.
-f file The file to be included. If more than one file is specified with separate -f options (see -n), they are combined into a single multipart MIME object.
-F from The From address.
-i content-id The content ID value for the MIME entity. Must be a valid content ID enclosed in angle brackets (<>).
-I content-id The content ID value for a multipart entity being created by metasend. Must be a valid content ID enclosed in angle brackets (<>).
-m type The MIME content type.
-n Specify that an additional file is to be included. Must appear after one occurrence of at least -m, -c, and -f, and must be specified for each included file.
-o outfile Send the output to the specified file instead of delivering as mail.
-P preamblefile Specify a file containing alternative text for the preamble portion of a multipart MIME message.
-s subject The Subject field.
-S splitsize Specify the maximum size before the file is split into parts to be sent separately.
-t to The To field.
-z Delete temporary files even if the send fails.
mformat [options] drive
Format a blank disk in MS-DOS format. See mtools for more information about how to handle MS-DOS filesystems. After using mformat to format a disk, you should use mbadblocks to check for bad blocks. Options The mformat command accepts many of the same options as the MS-DOS FORMAT command.
-1 Format a single side. Equivalent to -h 1.
-4 Format a 360K double-sided disk. Equivalent to -f 360.
-8 Format with eight sectors per track.
-v [label] Choose a label for this volume. Maximum length is 11 characters.
-f n If you are using a floppy disk, use this flag and note the size of the disk in kilobytes as 160, 180, 320, 360, 720, 1200, 1440, or 2280. For most relatively recent systems, only the last two are relevant. If you are not using a floppy, you must use the -h, -t, or -n flags.
-t n The number of tracks on the disk.
-h n The number of heads, or sides, on the disk (either 1 or 2).
-n n The number of sectors per track.
You can also use a number of option flags that are not included in the MS-DOS version of FORMAT, including:
-F Format as a FAT32 partition.
-S n Size code. You are defining a sector that is the (n+7)th power of two.
-X Format as an XDF (OS/2) disk.
-0 rate Data transfer rate on track 0.
-2 Use a 2m format.
-3 Don't use a 2m format, even if the disk looks like a 2m disk.
-A rate Data transfer rate on all tracks other than track 0.
-B file Use the boot sector stored in the specified file.
-c n Set the cluster size to n sectors.
-C Create a disk image file. Useful only for virtual disks.
-H n Set the number of hidden sectors.
-k Keep the existing boot sector as much as possible.
-L n Set the length of the File Allocation Table (FAT).
-M n Set the software sector size to n. The default is the physical sector size. Possible values of n are 512, 1024, 2048, or 4096.
-N serialno Choose a serial number. Use -a for an Atari-style serial number, stored in the OEM label.
-r n Set the root directory size to n sectors for 12- and 16-bit FAT formats.
mimencode [options] [filename] [-o output_file]
Translate to and from MIME multimedia mail-encoding formats. By default, mimencode reads standard input and sends a base64-encoded version of the input to standard output. Options
-b Use the (default) base64 encoding.
-o output_file Send output to the named file rather than to standard output.
-p Translate decoded CRLF sequences into the local newline convention during decoding, and do the reverse during encoding. Meaningful only for base64 encoding.
-q Use the quoted-printable encoding instead of base64.
-u Decode the standard input rather than encode it.
minfo [option] drive
Display information about an MS-DOS filesystem. See mtools for more information. Option
-v Print a hex dump of the boot sector in addition to the normal output.
mkdir [options] directories
Create one or more directories. You must have write permission in the parent directory in order to create a directory. See also rmdir. The default mode of the new directory is 0777, modified by the system or user's umask. Options
-m mode, --mode mode Set the access mode for new directories. See chmod for an explanation of acceptable formats for mode.
-p, --parents Create intervening parent directories if they don't exist.
-v, --verbose Print a message for each directory created.
--help Print help message and then exit.
--version Print version number and then exit.
-Z context, --context=context Set security context in SELinux.
Examples Create a read-only directory named personal: mkdir -m 444 personal
The following sequence: mkdir work; cd work mkdir junk; cd junk mkdir questions; cd ../..
can be accomplished by typing this: mkdir -p work/junk/questions
mkdosfs [options] device [blocks] mkfs.msdos [options] device [blocks]
System administration command. Format device as an MS-DOS filesystem. You may specify the number of blocks on the device or allow mkdosfs to guess. Options
-A Create an Atari MS-DOS filesystem.
-b backup-sector Specify sector for backup boot sector. The default value depends on the number of reserved sectors, but is usually sector 6.
-c Scan device for bad blocks before execution.
-C Create and format a file suitable for use on a floppy disk. The device given on the command line should be a filename, and the number of blocks must also be specified.
-f n Specify number of File Allocation Tables (FATs) to create (either 1 or 2).
-F fat-size Create File Allocation Tables (FATs) of size fat-size. By default this will be between 12 and 16 bits. Set to 32 to create a FAT32 filesystem.
-i volume-id Use the specified 32-bit hexadecimal volume-id instead of calculating a number based on the time of creation.
-I Force installation to a device without partitions. This is useful when formating magneto-optical disks.
-l file Read list of bad blocks from file.
-m message-file Set the message to be used when the filesystem is booted without an installed operating system to the contents of the file message-file. The message may be up to 418 bytes in size. If filename is a hyphen, read text from standard input.
-n label Set volume name for filesystem to label. The volume name may be up to 11 characters long.
-r maximum-entries Set the maximum-entries allowed in the root directory. The default is 112 or 224 for floppies, and 512 for hard disks.
-R reserved-sectors Create the specified number of reserved-sectors. The default depends on the size of the File Allocation Table (FAT). For 32-bit FAT, the default is 32; for all other sizes, the default is 1.
-s sectors Set the number of disk sectors per cluster. The number must be a power of 2.
-S sector-size Create logical sectors of sector-size bytes. Size must be a power of 2 and at least 512 bytes.
-v Print verbose information about progress.
mke2fs [options] device [blocks] mkfs.ext2 [options] device [blocks]
System administration command. Format device as a Linux Second Extended Filesystem. You may specify the number of blocks on the device or allow mke2fs to guess. Options
-b block-size Specify block size in bytes.
-c Scan device for bad blocks before execution.
-E featurelist Specify extended features. This option's parameters may be given in a comma-separated list:
stride=size Configure filesystem for a RAID array. Set stride size to size blocks per stripe.
resize=blocks Reserve descriptor table space to grow filesystem to the specified number of blocks.
-f fragment-size Specify fragment size in bytes.
-F Force mke2fs to run even if filesystem is mounted or device is not a block special device. This option is probably best avoided.
-i bytes-per-inode Create an inode for each bytes-per-inode of space. bytes-per-inode must be 1024 or greater; it is 4096 by default.
-j Create an ext3 journal. This is the same as invoking mkfs.ext3.
-J parameterlist Use specified parameterlist to create an ext3 journal. The following two parameters may be given in a comma-separated list:
size=journal-size Create a journal of journal-size megabytes. The size may be between 1024 filesystem blocks and 102,400 filesystem blocks in size (e.g., 1-100 megabytes if using 1K blocks, 4-400 megabytes if using 4K blocks).
device=journal-device Use an external journal-device to hold the filesystem journal. The journal-device can be specified by name, by volume label, or by UUID.
-l filename Consult filename for a list of bad blocks.
-L label Set volume label for filesystem.
-m percentage Reserve percentage percent of the blocks for use by privileged users.
-M directory Set the last mounted directory for filesystem to directory.
-n Don't create the filesystem; just show what would happen if it were run. This option is overridden by -F.
-N inodes Specify number of inodes to reserve for filesystem. By default, this number is calculated from the number of blocks and the inode size.
-o os Set filesystem operating system type to os. The default value is usually Linux.
-O featurelist Use specified featurelist to create filesystem. The sparse_super and filetype features are used by default on kernels 2.2 and later. The following parameters may be given in a comma-separated list:
dir_index Use hashed B-trees to index directories.
filetype Store file type information in directory entries.
has_journal Create an ext3 journal. Same as using the -j option.
journal_dev Prepare an external journaling device by creating an ext3 journal on device instead of formatting it.
sparse_super Save space on a large filesystem by creating fewer superblock backup copies.
-q Quiet mode.
-r revision Set filesystem revision number to revision.
-S Write only superblock and group descriptors; suppress writing of inode table and block and inode bitmaps. Useful only when attempting to salvage damaged systems.
-T use Set bytes-per-inode based on the intended use of the filesystem. Supported filesystem types are:
news Four kilobytes per inode.
largefile One megabyte per inode.
largefile4 Four megabytes per inode.
-v Verbose mode.
-V Print version number, then exit.
mkfifo [option] names
Make one or more named pipes (FIFOs) with the specified names. Options
-m mode, --mode=mode Set permission mode. Default is 666, with the bits in the umask subtracted.
--help Print help information and exit.
--version Print version information and exit.
mkfs [options] [fs-options] filesys [blocks]
System administration command. Construct a filesystem on a device (such as a hard disk partition). filesys is either the name of the device or the mountpoint. mkfs is actually a frontend that invokes the appropriate version of mkfs according to a filesystem type specified by the -t option. For example, a Linux Second Extended Filesystem uses mkfs.ext2 (which is the same as mke2fs); MS-DOS filesystems use mkfs.msdos. fs-options are options specific to the filesystem type. blocks is the size of the filesystem in 1024-byte blocks. Options
-V Produce verbose output, including all commands executed to create the specific filesystem.
-t fs-type Tells mkfs what type of filesystem to construct.
Filesystem-specific options These options must follow generic options and cannot be combined with them. Most filesystem builders support these three options:
-c Check for bad blocks on the device before building the filesystem.
-l file Read the file file for the list of bad blocks on the device.
-v Produce verbose ouput.
mkfs.ext3 [options] device size
Create a journaling ext3 filesystem. Options are identical to mke2fs. See mkfs.
mkisofs [options] -o file pathspecs
Generate an ISO9660/Joliet/HFS filesystem for writing to a CD with a utility such as cdrecord. (HFS is the native Macintosh Hierarchical File System.) mkisofs takes a snapshot of a directory tree and generates a binary image that corresponds to an ISO9660 or HFS filesystem when it is written to a block device. Each specified pathspec describes the path of a directory tree to be copied into the ISO9660 filesystem; if multiple paths are specified, the files in all the paths are merged to form the image. Options
-A id, -appid id Specify a text string id that describes the application to be written into the volume header.
-abstract file Specify the abstract filename. Overrides an ABST=file entry in .mkisofsrc.
-allow-lowercase Allow ISO9660 filenames to be lowercase. Violates the ISO9660 standard.
-allow-multidot Allow more than one dot in ISO9660 filenames. Violates the ISO9660 standard.
-b image Specify the path and filename of the boot image to be used for making a bootable CD based on the El Torito specification.
-B sun-images Specify a comma-separated list of boot images needed to make a bootable CD for a Sun Sparc system.
-biblio file Specify bibliographic filename. Overrides a BIBLIO=file entry in .mkisofsrc.
-boot-info-table Specify that a 56-byte table with information on the CD layout is to be patched in at offset 8 of the boot file. If specified, the table is patched into the source boot file, so make a copy if the file isn't recreatable.
-boot-load-seg addr Specify the load segment address of the boot image for a no-emulation El Torito CD.
-boot-load-size size Specify the number of virtual 512-byte sectors to load in no-emulation mode. The default is to load the entire boot file. The number may need to be a multiple of 4 to prevent problems with some BIOSes.
-c catalog Specify the path, relative to the source pathspec, and the filename of the boot catalog for an El Torito bootable CD. Required for making a bootable CD.
-C last-start,next-start Required for creating a CDExtra or a second or higher-level session for a multisession CD. last-start is the first sector number in the last session on the disk, and next-start is the first sector number for the new session. Use the command: cdrecord -msinfo
to get the values. Use -C with -M to create an image that is a continuation of the previous session; without -M, create an image for a second session on a CDExtra (a multisession CD with audio data in the first session and an ISO9660 filesystem image in the second).
-[no-]cache-inodes Cache [do not cache] inode and device numbers to find hard links to files. The default on Linux is to cache. Use -no-cache-inodes for filesystems that do not have unique inode numbers.
-check-oldnames Check all filenames imported from old sessions for mkisofs compliance with ISO9660 file-naming rules. If not specified, check only those files with names longer than 31 characters.
-check-session file Check all old sessions for mkisofs compliance with ISO9660 file-naming rules. This option is the equivalent of: -M file -C 0,0 -check-oldnames
where file is the pathname or SCSI device specifier that would be specified with -M.
-copyright file Specify the name of the file that contains the copyright information. Overrides a COPY=file entry in .mkisofsrc.
-d Omit trailing period from files that do not have one. Violates the ISO9660 standard, but works on many systems.
-D Do not use deep directory relocation. Violates the ISO9660 standard, but works on many systems.
-dir-mode mode Specify the mode for directories used to create the image. Automatically enables the Rock Ridge extensions.
-eltorito-alt-boot Start with a new set of El Torito boot parameters. Allows putting more than one El Torito boot image on a CD (maximum is 63).
-exclude-list file Check filenames against the globs contained in the specified file and exclude any that match.
-f Follow symbolic links when generating the filesystem.
-file-mode mode Specify the mode for files used to create the image. Automatically enables the Rock Ridge extensions.
-force-rr Do not use automatic Rock Ridge detection for the previous session.
-G image Specify the path and filename of the generic boot image for making a generic bootable CD.
-gid gid Set the group ID to gid for the source files. Automatically enables the Rock Ridge extensions.
-graft-points Allow the use of graft points for filenames, which permits paths to be grafted at locations other than the root directory. -graft-points checks all filenames for graft points and divides the filename at the first unescaped equals sign (=).
-gui Switch the behavior for a GUI. Currently, the only effect is to make the output more verbose.
-hard-disk-boot Specify that the boot image to be used to create an El Torito bootable CD is a hard disk image and must begin with a master boot record containing a single partition.
-hidden glob Set the hidden (existence) ISO9660 directory attribute for paths or filenames matching the shell-style pattern glob. To match a directory, the path must not end with a trailing /.
-hidden-list file Specify a file containing a list of globs that are to be hidden with -hidden.
-hide glob Find paths or files that match the shell-style pattern glob and hide them from being seen on the ISO9660 or Rock Ridge directory. The files are still included in the image file. If the pattern matches a directory, the contents of the directory are hidden. To match a directory, the path must not end with a trailing /. Use with the -hide-joliet option.
-hide-joliet glob Hide paths or files that match the shell-style pattern glob so they will not be seen in the Joliet directory. If the pattern matches a directory, the contents of the directory are hidden. To match a directory, the path must not end with a trailing /. Should be used with -hide.
-hide-joliet-list file Specify a file containing a list of globs to be hidden with -hide-joliet.
-hide-joliet-trans-tbl Hide the TRANS.TBL files from the Joliet tree.
-hide-list file Specify a file containing a list of globs to be hidden with -hide.
-hide-rr-moved Rename the directory RR_MOVED to .rr_moved to hide it as much as possible from the Rock Ridge directory tree. Use the -D option to omit the file entirely.
-input-charset charset Specify the character set for characters used in local filenames. Specify help in place of a charset for a list of valid character sets.
-iso-level level Set the ISO9660 conformance level. Possible values are:
1 Filenames are restricted to 8.3 characters, and files may have only one section.
2 Files may have only one section.
3 No restrictions.
-J Generate Joliet directory records in addition to regular ISO9660 filenames.
-jcharset charset The equivalent of -input-charset -J.
-l Allow full 31-character filenames instead of restricting them to the MS-DOS-compatible 8.3 format.
-L Allow ISO9660 filenames to begin with a period.
-log-file file Send all messages to the specified logfile.
-m glob Exclude files matching the shell-style pattern glob.
-M path Specify the path to an existing ISO9660 image to be merged. path can also be a SCSI device specified in the same syntax as cdrecord's dev= parameter. May be used only with -C.
-max-iso9660-filenames Allow up to 37 characters in ISO9660 filenames. Forces -N. Violates the ISO9660 standard.
-N Omit version numbers from ISO9660 filenames. Violates the ISO9660 standard. Use with caution.
-new-dir-mode mode Specify the mode to use for new directories in the image. The default is 0555.
-nobak, -no-bak Do not include backup files on the ISO9660 filesystem.
-no-boot Mark the El Torito CD to be created as not bootable.
-no-emul-boot Specify that the boot image for creating an El Torito bootable CD is a no-emulation image.
-no-iso-translate Do not translate the # and ~ characters. Violates the ISO9660 standard.
-no-rr Do not use Rock Ridge attributes from previous sessions.
-no-split-symlink-components Do not split symlink components.
-no-split-symlink-fields Do not split symlink fields.
-o file Specify the filename of the output ISO9660 filesystem image.
-output-charset charset Specify the output character set for Rock Ridge filenames. The default is the input character set.
-p prepid Specify a text string of up to 128 characters describing the preparer of the CD. Overrides a PREP= parameter set in the file .mkisofsrc.
-P pubid Specify a text string of up to 128 characters describing the publisher of the CD to be written to the volume header. Overrides a PUBL= parameter set in .mkisofsrc.
-[no -]pad Pad [do not pad] the ISO9660 filesystem by 16 sectors (32 KB). If the resulting size is not a multiple of 16 sectors, add sectors until it is. The default is -pad.
-path-list file Specify a file that contains a list of pathspec directories and filenames to add to the ISO9660 filesystem. Note that at least one pathspec must be given on the command line.
-print-size Print estimated filesystem size and exit.
-quiet Run in quiet mode; do not display progress output.
-r Like -R, but set UID and GID to zero, set all file read bits to write, and turn off all file write bits. If any execute bit is set for a file, set all execute bits; if any search bit is set for a directory, set all search bits; if any special mode bits are set, clear them.
-R Generate SUSP (System Use Sharing Protocol) and Rock Ridge records using the Rock Ridge protocol.
-relaxed-filenames Allow ISO9660 filenames to include seven-digit ASCII characters except lowercase characters. Violates the ISO9660 standard.
-sort file Sort file locations according to the rules in the specified file, which contains pairs of filenames and weights, with one space or tab between them. A higher weight puts the file closer to the beginning of the media.
-sysid id Specify the system ID. Overrides a SYSI= parameter set in the file .mkisofsrc.
-T Generate the file TRANS.TBL in each directory for establishing the correct filenames on non-Rock Ridge-capable systems.
-table-name table Use table as the translation table name instead of TRANS.TBL. Implies -T. For a multisession image, the table name must be the same as the previous session.
-U Allow untranslated filenames. Violates the ISO9660 standard. Forces the following options: -d, -l, -L, -n, -relaxed-filenames, -allow-lowercase, -allow-multidot, -no-iso-translate. Use with extreme caution.
-ucs-level num Set the Unicode conformance level to the specified number, which can be between 1 and 3 (default is 3).
-use-fileversion Use file version numbers from the filesystem. The version number is a string from 1 to 32767. The default is to set a version of 1.
-v Run in verbose mode. Specify twice to run even more verbosely.
-V volid Specify the volume ID (volume name or label) to be written to the master block. Overrides a VOLI= parameter specified in the file .mkisofsrc.
-volset id Specify the volume set ID. Overrides a VOLS= parameter specified in .mkisofsrc.
-volset-seqno num Set the volume set sequence number to num. Must be specified after -volset-size.
-volset-size num Set the volume set size (the number of CDs in a set) to num. Must be specified before -volset-seqno.
-x path Exclude path from being written to the CD, where path is the complete pathname derived from the concatenation of the pathname from the command line and the path relative to this directory. May be specified more than once to exclude multiple paths.
HFS options
-apple Create an ISO9660 CD with Apple's extensions.
-auto file Set file as the Autostart file to make the HFS CD use the QuickTime 2.0 Autostart feature. file must be the name of an application or document at the top level of the CD and must be less than 12 characters long.
-boot-hfs-file file Install file as the driver file that may make the CD bootable on a Macintosh.
-cluster-size size Specify the size in bytes of a cluster or allocation units of PC Exchange files.
-hfs Create a hybrid ISO9660/HFS CD. Use with -map, -magic, and/or the various --HFS options (see manpage).
-hfs-bless folder "Bless" the specified directory (folder), specified as the full pathname to mkisofs. This is usually the System Folder and is used in creating HFS bootable CDs. The pathname must be in quotes if it contains spaces.
-hfs-creator creator Set the four-character default creator for all files.
-hfs-type type Set the four-character default type for all files.
-hfs-unlock Leave the HFS volume unlocked so other applications can modify it. The default is to lock the volume.
-hfs-volid id Specify the volume name for the HFS partition. This name is assigned to the CD on a Macintosh and replaces the ID set with the -V option.
-hide-hfs glob Hide files or directories matching the shell-style pattern glob from the HFS volume, although they still exist in the ISO9660 and/or Joliet directory. May be specified multiple times.
-hide-hfs-list file The specified file contains a list of globs to be hidden.
-input-hfs-charset charset Specify the input character set used for HFS filenames when used with the -mac-name option. The default is cp10000 (Mac Roman).
-mac-name Use the HFS filename as the starting point for the ISO9660, Joliet, and Rock Ridge filenames.
-magic file Use the specified magic file to set a file's creator and type information based on the file's magic number, which is usually the first few bytes of the file. The magic file contains entries consisting of four tab-separated columns specifying the byte offset, type, test, and a message.
-map file Use the specified mapping file to set a file's creator and type information based on the filename extension. Only files that are not known Apple or Unix file types need to be mapped. The mapping file consists of five-column entries specifying the extension, file translation, creator, type, and a comment. Creator and type are both four-letter strings.
-no-desktop Do not create empty Desktop files. The default is to create such files.
-output-hfs-charset charset Specify the output character set used for HFS filenames. Defaults to the input character set.
-part Generate an HFS partition table. The default is not to generate the table.
-probe Search the contents of files for known Apple or Unix file types.
--format Look for Macintosh files of the specified file format type. The valid formats are cap (Apple/Unix File System (AUFS) CAP files), netatalk, double, ethershare, ushare, exchange, sgi, xinet, macbin, single, dave, and sfm.
mklost+found
System administration command. Create a lost+found directory in the current working directory. Intended for Linux Second Extended Filesystems.
mkmanifest [files]
Create a list of filenames and their DOS 8.3 equivalents in the form of a series of mv commands. By default, the output is written to standard output; to create a shell script, redirect the output to a file. Useful if you use mcopy to move the files to an MS-DOS diskette, and you want to be able to later restore them to a Linux system. Files with names that already fit into the 8.3 format are not written to the manifest. See mtools for more information. Example $ mkmanifest mylong.filename.html mylonger.filename.html \ > mymanifest $ cat mymanifest mv mylongxf.htm mylong.filename.html mv mylonger.htm mylonger.filename.html
The file mymanifest can later be made executable and run to rename the files to their original names.
mknod [options] name type [major minor]
Create a special file (a file that can send or receive data). Special files can be character files (read one character at a time), block files (read several characters at a time), or FIFO pipes (see mkfifo). To choose which type of device to create, use one of the following arguments:
p Create a FIFO file (named pipe). You do not need to specify the major and minor device numbers.
b Create a block file. You must specify the major and minor device numbers the file represents.
c or u Create a character file. You must specify the major and minor device numbers the file represents.
Linux's /dev/MAKEDEV utility is useful for creating one or more devices of a given type in a single command. Options
--help Print usage information and exit.
-m mode, --mode=mode Set the file mode of the device, as with chmod. The default mode is a=rw unless you have chosen other settings via umask.
--version Print version information and exit.
mkraid [options] devices
System administration command. Set up RAID array devices as defined in the /etc/raidtab configuration file. mkraid can be used to initialize a new array or upgrade older RAID device arrays for the new kernel. Initialization will destroy any data on the disk devices used to create the array. Options
-c file, --configfile file Use file instead of /etc/raidtab.
-f, --force Initialize the devices used to create the RAID array even if they currently have data.
-h, --help Print a usage message and then exit.
-o, --upgrade Upgrade an older array to the current kernel's RAID version. Preserve data on the old array.
-V, --version Print version information and then exit.
mkswap [options] device
System administration command. Prepare swapspace on device: a disk partition or a prepared file. This command can create old and new style swap areas. The older style provides backward compatibility with 2.2 kernels, but is less efficient and more limited in size. The mkswap command has some dangerous options we have omitted here. They provide backward compatibility and solutions to problems with older libraries, but can destroy a disk if specified incorrectly. Options
-c Check for bad blocks before creating the swapspace.
-L label Create a label for use with swapon.
-v0 Create an old style swap area.
-v1 Create a new style swap area. (The default behavior on newer kernels.)
mktemp [options] [template]
Generate a unique temporary filename for use in a script. The filename is based on the specified template, which may be any filename with at least six Xs appended (e.g., /tmp/mytemp.XXXXXX). mktemp replaces the Xs with the current process number and/or a unique letter combination. The file is created with mode 0600 (unless -u is specified), and the filename is written to standard output. With no template specified, the default file tmp.XXXXXXXXXX is created and the -t option is implied. Options
-d Make a directory, not a file.
-q Fail silently in case of error. Useful to prevent error output from being sent to standard error.
-p directory Generate the temporary file in the specified directory.
-t Generate a path to the file rooted in a temporary directory. The directory is taken from the TMPDIR environment variable if it is set, or from the -p option. If neither is set, /tmp is used.
-u Operate in "unsafe" mode and unlink the temporary file before mktemp exits. Use of this option is not recommended.
-V Print version information and exit.
mlabel [options] drive[label]
Label an MS-DOS filesystem (maximum of 11 characters), first displaying the current label if there is one. See mtools for more information. If no label is specified, prompt the user for one. Options
-c Overwrite any existing labels.
-s Show the existing label.
-n Create a random serial number for the disk.
-N serialno Choose a new serial number for the disk. It should be an eight-digit hexadecimal number with no spaces in it.
mmd [option] dirname
Create a directory on an MS-DOS filesystem. See mkdir and mtools for more information. Option
-D clash-option Specify the action to take if the specified directory name already exists. The possible clash options are as follows. (The primary name is the long name if it exists and the short name otherwise; the secondary name is the short name if a long name exists.)
a Auto-rename the primary name.
A Auto-rename the secondary name.
m Ask the user what to do with the primary name.
M Ask the user what to do with the secondary name.
o Overwrite the primary name.
O Overwrite the secondary name.
r Rename the primary name, prompting the user for the name.
R Rename the secondary name, prompting the user for the name.
s Skip the primary name.
S Skip the secondary name.
mmount drive [mount-arguments]
Mount an MS-DOS filesystem, passing the mount-arguments to mount. If no mount-arguments are specified, the device name is used. See mount and mtools for more information.
mmove [options] sourcefile targetfile mmove [options] sourcefiles targetdir
Move or rename an MS-DOS file or directory within a single filesystem. If no drive letter is specified for the target file or directory, the source drive is assumed. If no drive letter is specified for either the source or the target, drive a: is assumed. See mv and mtools for more information. Options
-D clash-option Specify the action to take if the specified target file or directory already exists. See mmd for the possible clash options.
-v Verbose; display names of the files or directories being moved.
modinfo [options] object-file
System administration command. Print information about kernel module object-file. Information is read from tag names in the mod-info section of the module file. By default, it will print the module's filename, description, author, license, and parameters. Options
-0, --null Separate fields with the null character instead of newlines.
-a, --author Print author information.
-d, --description Print module description.
-F fieldname, --field fieldname Print only the value of the specified fieldname (e.g., author, license, depends, etc.).
-h, --help Print usage message, then exit.
-l, --license Print module license information.
-n, --filename Print the module's filename.
-p, --parameters Print the module's typed parameters.
-V, --version Print version number of the module.
modprobe [options] [modules][moduleoptions]
System administration command. With no options, attempt to load the specified module, as well as all modules on which it depends. If more than one module is specified, attempt to load further modules only if the previous module failed to load. When specifying a module, use only its name without its path or trailing .o. modprobe will pass to the kernel any options following the module name. Options
-a, --all Load all modules matching the given wildcard.
-c, --showconfig Print modprobe's current configuration.
-f, --force Ignore all versioning information during module insertion. Even if the module does not match the running kernel, modprobe will try to insert it anyway.
--force-modversion Ignore module versioning mismatches.
--force-vermagic Ignore kernel versioning mismatches.
--first-time Return failure if told to insert a module that is already present or remove a module that is not loaded. Normally, modprobe will return success if asked to perform an unnecessary action.
-i, --ignore-install,--ignore-remove Ignore any install and remove directives in the configuration file.
-l, --list List modules matching the given wildcard (or "*" if no wildcard is given).
-n, --dry-run Perform all of the actions except actually inserting or removing the module.
-q,--quiet Suppress warnings during failure to load a module and continue processing other modules.
-r, --remove Remove the specified modules, as well as the modules on which they depend.
-s, --syslog Send error messages to syslogd instead of to standard error.
-ttype, --type type Load only a specific type of module.
-v, --verbose Print commands as they are executed.
-C file, --config file Read additional configuration from file instead of /etc/modules.conf.
-V, --version Print version, then exit.
more [options] [files]
Display the named files on a terminal, one screenful at a time. See less for an alternative to more. Options
+num Begin displaying at line number num.
-num number Set screen size to number lines.
+/pattern Begin displaying two lines before pattern.
-c Repaint screen from top instead of scrolling.
-d Display the prompt "[Press space to continue, `q' to quit]" instead of ringing the bell. Also display "[Press `h' for instructions]" in response to illegal commands.
-f Count logical rather than screen lines. Useful when long lines wrap past the width of the screen.
-l Ignore form-feed (Ctrl-L) characters.
-p Page through the file by clearing each window instead of scrolling. This is sometimes faster.
-s Squeeze; display multiple blank lines as one.
-u Suppress underline characters.
Commands All commands in more are based on vi commands. You can specify a number before many commands to have them executed multiple times. For instance, 3:p causes more to skip back three files, the same as issuing :p three times. The optional number is indicated by num in the following list.
SPACE Display next screen of text.
z Display next num lines of text, and redefine a screenful to num lines. Default is one screenful.
RETURN Display next num lines of text, and redefine a screenful to num lines. Default is one line.
d,^D Scroll num lines of text, and redefine scroll size to num lines. Default is one line.
q,Q,INTERRUPT Quit.
s Skip next num lines of text. Default is one line.
f Skip forward num screens of text. Default is one screen.
b,^B Skip backward num screens of text. Default is one screen. Does not work on pipes.
' Return to point where previous search began.
= Print number of current line.
/pattern Search for pattern, skipping to numth occurrence if an argument is specified.
?, h Display a summary of commands.
n Repeat last search, skipping to numth occurrence if an argument is specified.
!cmd, :!cmd Invoke shell and execute cmd in it.
v Invoke an editor on the file at the current line. Use the editor in the environment variable VISUAL if defined, or EDITOR if that is defined; otherwise, default to vi.
^L Redraw screen.
:n Skip to next file, or numth file if an argument is specified.
:p Skip to previous file, or numth previous if an argument is specified.
:f Print current filename and line number.
. Re-execute previous command.
Examples Page through file in "clear" mode, and display prompts: more -cd file
Format doc to the screen, removing underlines: nroff doc | more -u
View the manpage for the more command; begin at the first appearance of the word "scroll": man more|more +/scroll
mount [options] [[device] directory]
System administration command. Mount a file structure. The file structure on device is mounted on directory. If no device is specified, mount looks for an entry in /etc/fstab to find out what device is associated with the given directory. The directory, which must already exist and should be empty, becomes the name of the root of the newly mounted file structure. If mount is invoked with no arguments, it displays the name of each mounted device, the directory on which it is mounted, its filesystem type, and any mount options associated with the device. Options
-a Mount all filesystems listed in /etc/fstab. Use -t to limit this to all filesystems of a particular type.
--bind olddirectory newdirectory Bind a mounted subtree to a new location. The tree will be available from both the old and new directory. This binding does not include any volumes mounted below the specified directory.
-f Fake mount. Go through the motions of checking the device and directory, but do not actually mount the filesystem.
-F When used with -a, fork a new process to mount each system.
-h Print help message, then exit.
-l When reporting on mounted filesystems, show filesystem labels for filesystems that have them.
-L label Mount filesystem with the specified label.
--move olddirectory newdirectory Move a mounted device to a new location. Keep in place any options and submounts.
-n Do not record the mount in /etc/mtab.
-o option Qualify the mount with a mount option. Many filesystem types have their own options. The following are common to most filesystems:
async Read input and output to the device asynchronously.
atime Update inode access time for each access. This is the default behavior.
auto Allow mounting with the -a option.
defaults Use all options' default values (async, auto, dev, exec, nouser, rw, suid).
dev Interpret any special devices that exist on the filesystem.
dirsync Perform all directory updates to the filesystem synchronously.
exec Allow binaries to be executed.
_netdev Filesystem is a network device requiring network access.
noatime Do not update inode access time for each access.
noauto Do not allow mounting via the -a option.
nodev Do not interpret any special devices that exist on the filesystem.
noexec Do not allow the execution of binaries on the filesystem.
nosuid Do not acknowledge any suid or sgid bits.
nouser Only privileged users will have access to the filesystem.
remount Expect the filesystem to have already been mounted, and remount it.
ro Allow read-only access to the filesystem.
rw Allow read/write access to the filesystem.
suid Acknowledge suid and sgid bits.
sync Read input and output to the device synchronously.
user Allow unprivileged users to mount or unmount the filesystem. The defaults on such a system will be nodev, noexec, and nosuid, unless otherwise specified.
users Allow any user to mount or unmount the filesystem. The defaults on such a system will be nodev, noexec, and nosuid, unless otherwise specified.
-O option Limit systems mounted with -a by -O's filesystem options (as used with -o). Use a comma-separated list to specify more than one option, and prefix an option with no to exclude filesystems with that option. Options -t and -O are cumulative.
-r Mount filesystem read-only.
--rbind olddirectory newdirectory Bind a mounted subtree to a new location. The tree will be available from both the old and new directory. Include any volumes mounted below the specified directory.
-s Where possible, ignore mount options specified by -o that are not supported by the filesystem.
-t type Specify the filesystem type. Possible values include adfs, affs, autofs, coda, cramfs, devpts, efs, ext2, ext3, hfs, hpfs, iso9660, jfs, minix, msdos, ncpfs, nfs, nfs4, ntfs, proc, qnx4, reiserfs, romfs, smbfs, sysv, tmpfs, udf, ufs, umsdos, vfat, xfs, and xiafs. The default type is iso9660. The type auto may also be used to set mount to autodetect the filesystem. When used with -a, this option can limit the types mounted. Use a comma-separated list to specify more than one type to mount. Prefix a list (or type) with no to exclude those types.
-U uuid Mount filesystem with the specified uuid.
-v Display mount information verbosely.
-V Print version, then exit.
-w Mount filesystem read/write. This is the default.
Files
/etc/fstab List of filesystems to be mounted and options to use when mounting them.
/etc/mtab List of filesystems currently mounted and the options with which they were mounted.
/proc/partitions Used to find filesystems by label and uuid.
rpc.mountd [options]
NFS/NIS command. NFS mount request server. mountd reads the file /etc/exports to determine which filesystems are available for mounting by which machines. It also provides information about which filesystems are mounted by which clients. See also nfsd. Options
-d kind, --debug kind Specify debugging facility. Accepted values for kind are general, call, auth, parse, and all.
-f file, --exports-file file Read the export permissions from file instead of /etc/exports.
-F, --foreground Run mountd in the foreground.
-h, --help Print help message, then exit.
-n, --no-tcp Use UDP for mounts.
-N n, --no-nfs-version n Do not offer NFS version n.
-o n, --descriptors n Allow no more than n open file descriptors. The default is 256.
-p n, --port n Bind to specified port instead of accepting a port from portmapper.
-v, --version Print the version number, then exit.
-V n, --nfs-version n Explicity offer NFS version n.
Files
/etc/exports Information about mount permissions.
/var/lib/nfs/rmtab List of filesystems currently mounted by clients.
mpartition [options] drive
Create the MS-DOS partition specified by drive; used mostly on proprietary Unix systems where fdisk is unavailable. See mtools for more information. When a partition is being created, the default is for the number of sectors and heads and the length to be automatically determined, but they can also be specified as options. Options
-a Activate the partition, making it the bootable partition.
-b offset The starting offset of the partition to be created, in sectors. The default is the start of the disk (partition 1) or immediately after the end of the previous partition.
-B bootsector Read the template master boot record from the file specified by bootsector. Can be specified with -I.
-c Create the partition.
-d Deactivate the partition, making it nonbootable.
-f Allow overriding of safeguards that perform consistency checking before any change is made to a partition. Can be specified with any operation that modifies the partition table.
-h heads The number of heads for a partition being created.
-I Initialize the partition table and remove all partitions.
-l length The size of the partition to be created, in sectors.
-p Print a command line to re-create the partition. With -v, print the current partition table.
-r Remove the partition.
-s sectors The number of sectors per track of the partition to be created.
-t cylinders The number of cylinders of the partition to be created.
-v With -p, print the current partition table; otherwise, for commands that modify the partition table, print it after it has been modified.
-vv Print a hexadecimal dump of the partition table when reading and writing it.
mpg123 [options] file
Command-line MP3 player. See mpg321.
mpg321 [options] filempg123 [options] file
Command-line MP3 players, often used as backends for GUI music players. The files played may be local files or URLs. mpg321 and mpg123 behave the same way, except that mpg123 lacks the option --skip-printing-frames. Options
-o devicetype Name the type of audio device you are using. Valid types are oss (Open Sound System), sun (Sun audio system), alsa (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture), alsa09 (ALSA, version 0.9), esd (Enlightened Sound Daemon), and arts (Analog Real-Time Synthesizer).
-a device, --audiodevice device Name the actual device (e.g., /dev/sound/dsp1) you are using. This option is ignored if you have chosen -o arts. For esd running on remote systems, you must specify the host, and for alsa, you must specify the card and device (default is 0:0).
-g n, --gain n Set the volume (gain) to an integer between 1 and 100.
-k n, --skip n Do not play the first n frames of the file or stream.
-n n, --frames n Play only the first n frames of the file or stream.
-@ filename, --list filename Specify a playlist file. The format of filename is just a list of filenames, one file per line, to be played.
-z, --shuffle Shuffle the files in the playlist and any files supplied on the command line, and play the list once. Each file will be played once.
-Z, --random Each time one file is finished playing, choose a new file at random. Files may be played more than once, and mpg321 will continue playing songs at random until it is stopped.
-v, --verbose Verbose mode. Display additional information about the file, including ID3 tags and time played/time remaining.
-s, --stdout Mostly useful for developers, this option uses stdout instead of an audio device for its output. The output is 16-bit PCM, little-endian data.
-w filename, --wav filename Instead of playing the song, write the output to the .wav file you specify. Choosing - as the filename sends the WAV data to stdout. This option is usually used with the --cdr option.
--cdr filename Write to a CDR file. Choosing - as the filename sends the data to stdout.
--au filename Instead of playing the file, write the output to the .au file you specify. Choosing - as the filename sends the data to stdout.
-t, --test Test mode. Do not play or write any data.
-q, --quiet Quiet mode. This still plays the file, but does not display any data about the file or about mpg321.
-R Operate in "remote control" mode, allowing seek and pause. This option is useful almost exclusively for developers of graphical frontends for mpg321.
--stereo Play in stereo. If audio is mono, send two identical streams as stereo output.
--aggressive Aggressive mode takes a higher priority in the system if possible. It requires root access because it can preempt processes owned by other users.
--skip-printing-frames=n Save CPU cycles by displaying a status update only once every n frames. This option is not available in mpg123.
--help, --longhelp Display usage information and exit.
-V, --version Display the version of mpg321 and exit.
mrd [option] directory
Delete an MS-DOS directory. The directory should be empty. To delete a full directory and its contents, use mdeltree. See rmdir and mtools for more information. Option
-v Operate in verbose mode, displaying each directory as it is deleted.
mren [options] oldfile newfile
Rename an MS-DOS file or directory. See rename and mtools for more information. Options
-D clash-option Specify the action to take if the specified new name already exists. See mmd for the possible clash options.
-v Operate verbosely, showing the names of files and directories as they are renamed.
-V Print version information and exit.
mshowfat file
Display the FAT clusters associated with a file on an MS-DOS system. See mtools for more information.
mt [option] operation [count] [arguments]
Control a magnetic tape drive used to back up or restore system data. The version of the mt command documented here is mt-st, which includes support for the st driver for SCSI tape devices. The operation argument determines what action will be taken, and, unless the -f or -t option is used, the action is applied to the default tape drive named in the TAPE environment variable. The count argument determines how many times the operation is to be repeated. If not specified, it defaults to 1. Some operations take one or more arguments other than a count, as noted in the descriptions below. Options
-f device, -t device Name the tape device to use. This may be a local device, a character special file (see mknod), or a remote device, named in the format host:/path/to/drive or user@host:path/to/drive.
-h, --help Print usage message and exit. -h prints a simple usage message, while --help also prints a list of commands.
-V, --version Print version number and exit. Also tells you if you are running mt-st or the GNU version of mt.
Operations mt can perform the following operations on tape drives. Operations applicable only to SCSI tape drives are marked as such.
asf n Move to file number n on the tape. This is the same as rewinding the tape and moving forward n files with fsf.
bsf n Move backward n files, positioning the tape at the last block of the previous file.
bsfm n Move backward n file marks, to a position on the side of the file mark closer to the beginning of the tape.
bsr n Move backward n records.
bss n SCSI drives only. Move backward n set marks.
compression SCSI drives only. Allow the internal drive compression to be turned on and off with the MTCOMPRESSION ioctl. Overrides the default value for the current tape. Not supported by all drives.
defblksize n SCSI drives only. Set the default block size to n, overriding the default for this tape. Setting n to -1 disables the default block size. Requires superuser privileges.
defcompression n SCSI drives only. Set the default compression state. Set n to -1 to disable the default compression. Use compression to override the default for the current tape. Requires superuser privileges.
defdensity n SCSI drives only. Set the default density code. Set n to -1 to disable the default density. Use setdensity to override the default for the current tape. Requires superuser privileges.
defdrvbuffer n SCSI drives only. Set the default drive buffer code. Set n to -1 to disable the default drive buffer code. Use drvbuffer to override the default for the current tape. Requires superuser privileges.
densities SCSI drives only. Display information about data densities to standard output.
drvbuffer n SCSI drives only. Set the buffer value. For no buffering, choose 0, and for normal buffering, choose 1. Other values may have different effects depending on the drive. Use to override the default buffer value for the current tape.
eod, seod Move to the end of valid data on the tape. Used with streamer tapes to append data to the end of the tape.
eof, weof n Write n end-of-file (EOF) notations at the current location on the tape.
erase Erase the tape.
fsf n Move forward n files, positioning the tape at the first block of the next file.
fsfm n Move forward n file marks, to a position on the side of the file mark closer to the beginning of the tape.
fsr n Move forward n records.
fss n SCSI drives only. Move forward n set marks.
load[n] SCSI drives only. Load the tape, usually used when a new cartridge is inserted. The count, n, can usually be omitted.
lock SCSI drives only. Lock the tape drive door.
mkpartition n SCSI drives only. Format the tape. If n is 0, format with one partition. Otherwise, format with two partitions, using n as the size of the second partition. Partition support must be enabled for the drive, and the drive must be able to format partitioned tapes with the user specifying the partition size.
offline, rewoffl, eject Rewind and unload the tape (if drive supports unload).
partseek n [partition] SCSI drives only. Set the tape position to block n in the specified partition. The default partition is 0.
retension Used when the tape has become loosely wound, usually because it has been dropped, shaken, or transported. Rewinds the tape, moves forward to the end of the tape, then rewinds again.
rewind Return to the beginning of the tape.
seek n SCSI drives only. Seek to block n on the tape. Use tell to first find the block number.
setblk n SCSI drives only. Set the block size to n bytes per record.
setdensity n SCSI drives only. Set the data density for your tape drive to n. The appropriate value should be in the tape or tape drive documentation. For more information, see the densities operation. Use to override the default density for the current tape.
setpartition [n] SCSI drives only. Switch to the partition specified by n. The default partition is 0.
status Display the status of the tape drive.
stclearoptions bits SCSI drives only. Clear the selected driver option bits, specified as described for stoptions. Requires superuser privileges.
stlongtimeout secs Set the long timeout for the drive, in seconds. Requires superuser privileges.
stoptions n SCSI drives only. Set the driver option bits for the device. Requires superuser privileges. Set by ORing the option bits from /usr/include/linux/mtio.h to n, or with the following keywords. Multiple keywords can be specified, and unambiguous abbreviations are allowed.
async-writes Enable asynchronous writes.
auto-lock Automatically lock and unlock the drive door.
buffer-writes Enable buffered writes.
can-bsr Drive can space backwards.
can-partitions Drive supports partitioned tapes.
debug Turn on debugging (must have been compiled into the driver).
def-writes Block size and density are for writes.
fast-eod Space directly to the end of the valid data; file number is lost.
no-blklimits Drive does not support read block limits.
no-wait Don't wait for operations, such as rewind, to complete.
read-ahead Enable read-ahead for fixed block size.
scsi2logical seek and tell operations use SCSI-2 logical block addresses instead of device-dependent addresses.
sysv Enable the use of System V semantics.
two-fms Write two file marks when a file is closed.
stsetcln n Set the cleaning-request interpretation parameters.
stsetoptions SCSI drives only. Set the selected driver option bits, specified as described for stoptions. Requires superuser privileges.
sttimeout secs Set the normal timeout for the drive, in seconds. Requires superuser privileges.
stwrthreshold n SCSI drives only. Set the write threshold for the tape drive to n kilobytes. This value may not be higher than the driver buffer value. Requires superuser privileges.
tell SCSI drives only. Report the number of the current block on the tape.
unlock SCSI drives only. Unlock the tape drive door.
wset n SCSI drives only. Write n set marks at current position.
Return codes
0 Operation succeeded
1 Invalid operation or device name
2 Operation failed
command [options] [arguments]
A collection of tools for working with MS-DOS files and filesystems, especially for accessing files on floppy disks without mounting them as Unix filesystems. The various commands are mattrib, mbadblocks, mcat, mcd, mcopy, mdel, mdeltree, mdir, mdu, mformat, minfo, mkmanifest, mlabel, mmd, mmount, mmove, mpartition, mrd, mren, mshowfat, mtoolstest, mtype, and mzip. For the purposes of mtools, all MS-DOS file names begin with a drive letter and colon, followed by the path. mtools accepts both / and \ for directory separators. For example, an MS-DOS file might be referred to as a:/directory/subdirectory/file.txt. If you use the backslash or any standard Unix wildcards or special characters, put the filename in quotation marks. FAT filesystem filenames are normally a maximum of eight characters long with a three-letter extension, and are not case-sensitive. Even in the more recent VFAT system, which does preserve case sensitivity, two files with the same letters in their names, regardless of case, cannot coexist. Unix filenames that are too long, that use reserved characters (; + = [ ] ' , \ " * \ \ < > / ? : or |), or that conflict with MS-DOS devices (PRN, for example) are converted to VFAT names. This means replacing reserved characters with an underscore (_) and shortening files as needed, replacing several characters with a single tilde (~).
mtoolstest
Display the configuration for mtools. See mtools for more information.
mtype [options] files
Display the contents of MS-DOS files, as with the MS-DOS command type. See mtools for more information. Options
-s Strip the high bit from the data.
-t View as a text file, changing carriage return/line feeds to line feeds.
mv [option] sources target
Move or rename files and directories. The source (first column) and target (second column) determine the result (third column): Source | Target | Result |
|---|
File | name (nonexistent) | Rename file to name. | File | Existing file | Overwrite existing file with source file. | Directory | name (nonexistent) | Rename directory to name. | Directory | Existing directory | Move directory to be a subdirectory of existing directory. | One or more files | Existing directory | Move files to directory. |
The mv command is often aliased as mv -i in the .bashrc file, especially for the root account, to prevent inadvertently overwriting files. Options
-b Back up files before removing.
--backup[=type] Like -b, but can take an argument specifying the type of version-control file to use for the backup. The value of type overrides the VERSION_CONTROL environment variable, which determines the type of backups made. The acceptable values for version control are:
t, numbered Always make numbered backups.
nil, existing Make numbered backups of files that already have them, and make simple backups of the others. This is the default.
never, simple Always make simple backups.
none, off Never make backups.
-f, --force Force the move, even if target file exists; suppress messages about restricted access modes. Same as --reply=yes.
--help Print a help message and then exit.
-i, --interactive Query user before removing files. Same as --reply=query.
--reply=prompt Specify how to handle prompt if the destination exists already. Possible values are yes, no, and query.
--strip-trailing-slashes Remove trailing slashes from source paths.
-S suffix, --suffix=suffix Override the SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX environment variable, which determines the suffix used for making simple backup files. If the suffix is not set either way, the default is a tilde (~).
--target-directory=dir Move all source files and directories into the specified directory.
-u, --update Do not remove a file or link if its modification date is the same as or newer than that of its replacement.
-v, --verbose Print the name of each file before moving it.
--version Print version information and then exit.
mzip [options] [drive:]
Set modes or eject an MS-DOS-formatted ZIP or JAZ disk. See mtools for information about handling MS-DOS filesystems. Unix-formatted ZIP and JAZ drives can be handled as you would a floppy or other removable media, using the mount and umount commands. Note that a ZIP drive is usually referred to as drive Z:, and a JAZ drive as drive J:. Options
-e Eject the disk.
-f Force eject (even if the disk is mounted). Must be used in combination with -e.
-P Prevent writing to the disk without a password.
-q Query and display the disk status.
-r Put disk into read-only mode.
-u Make the disk writable, but restore write protection on eject.
-w Put disk into read/write mode.
-x Prevent read or write access to the disk without a password.
named [options]
TCP/IP command. Internet domain nameserver. named is used by resolver libraries to provide access to the Internet distributed naming database. With no arguments, named reads /etc/named.conf for any initial data and listens for queries on a privileged port. See RFC 1034 and RFC 1035 for more details. There are several named binaries available at different Linux archives, displaying various behaviors. Here we describe named as provided by Internet Software Consortium's Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND) Version 9.2.x. Options
-c file Read configuration information from file instead of /etc/named.conf.
-d debuglevel Print debugging information. debuglevel is a number indicating the level of messages printed.
-f Run named in the foreground.
-g Run named in the foreground and send all log messages to standard error.
-n n Specify the number of processors in a multiprocessor system. Normally named can autodetect the number of CPUs.
-p port Use port as the port number. Default is 53.
-t dir Change root to specified directory after reading command arguments but before reading the configuration file. Useful only when running with option -u.
-u user Set the user ID to user after completing any privileged operations.
-v Print version, then exit.
File
/etc/named.conf Read when named starts up.
namei [options] pathname [pathname . . .]
Follow a pathname until a terminal point is found (e.g., a file, directory, char device, etc.). If namei finds a symbolic link, it shows the link and starts following it, indenting the output to show the context. namei prints an informative message when the maximum number of symbolic links has been exceeded, making it helpful for resolving errors resulting from too many levels of links. Options
-m Show mode bits of each file type in the style of ls (e.g., "rwxr-xr-x").
-x Show mountpoint directories with a D rather than a d.
File-type characters For each line of output, namei prints the following characters to identify the file types found:
- A regular file.
? An error of some kind.
b A block device.
c A character device.
d A directory.
f: The pathname namei is currently trying to resolve.
l A symbolic link (both the link and its contents are output).
s A socket.
nameif [options] [name macaddress]
System administration command. Assign an interface name to a network device specified by macaddress, the unique serial number that identifies a network card. If no name and macaddress are given, nameif will attempt to read addresses from the configuration file /etc/mactab. Each line of the configuration file should contain either a comment beginning with # or an interface name and MAC address. Options
-c filename Read interface names and MAC addresses from filename instead of /etc/mactab.
-s Send any error messages to syslog.
netstat [options] [delay]
TCP/IP command. Show network status. Print information on active sockets, routing tables, interfaces, masquerade connections, or multicast memberships. By default, netstat lists open sockets. When a delay is specified, netstat will print new information every delay seconds. Options The first five options (-g, -i, -M, -r, and -s) determine what kind of information netstat should display.
-g, --groups Show multicast group memberships.
-i, --interface[=name] Show all network interfaces, or just the interface specified by name.
-M, --masquerade Show masqueraded connections.
-r, --route Show kernel routing tables.
-s, --statistics Show statistics for each protocol.
-a, --all Show all entries.
-A family, --protocol=family Show connections only for the specified address family. Accepted values are inet, unix, ipx, ax25, netrom, and ddp. Specify multiple families in a comma-separated list.
-c, --continuous Display information continuously, refreshing once every second.
-C Print routing information from the route cache.
-e, --extend Increase level of detail in reports. Use twice for maximum detail.
-F Print routing information from the forward information database (FIB). This is the default.
-l, --listening Show only listening sockets.
-n, --numeric Show network addresses, ports, and users as numbers.
--numeric-hosts Show host addresses as numbers, but resolve others.
--numeric-ports Show ports as numbers, but resolve others.
--numeric-users Show user ID numbers for users, but resolve others.
-N, --symbolic Where possible, print symbolic host, port, or usernames instead of numerical representations. This is the default behavior.
-o, --timers Include information on network timers.
-p, --program Show the process ID and name of the program owning the socket.
-t, --tcp Limit report to information on TCP sockets.
-u, --udp Limit report to information on UDP sockets.
-v, --verbose Verbose mode.
-w, --raw Limit report to information on raw sockets.
newaliases
Rebuild the mail aliases database, /etc/aliases, after a change. Return 0 on success, or a number greater than 0 if there was an error. newaliases must be run whenever /etc/aliases has been changed for the change to take effect. Identical to sendmail -bi.
newgrp [group]
Change user's group ID to the specified group. If no group is specified, change to the user's login group. The new group is then used for checking permissions.
newusers file
System administration command. Create or update system users from entries in file. Each line in file has the same format as an entry in /etc/passwd, except that passwords are unencrypted and group IDs can be given as a name or number. During an update, the password age field is ignored if the user already exists in the /etc/shadow password file. If a group name or ID does not already exist, it will be created. If a home directory does not exist, it will be created.
rpc.nfsd [option] n
System administration command. Launch n kernel threads for the Network File System (NFS) kernel module. The threads will handle client filesystem requests. By default, only one thread is launched. Most systems require eight or more, depending on the number of NFS clients using the system. Use nfsstat to check NFS performance. Option
-p port Listen for NFS requests on port instead of the default port 2049.
nfsstat [options]
System administration command. Print statistics on NFS and remote procedure call (RPC) activity for both clients and server. Options
-a Display all statistics.
-c Display only client-side statistics.
-n Display only NFS statistics.
-r Display only RPC statistics.
-s Display only server-side statistics.
-o facility Only display statistics for the specified facility. The following are valid values for facility:
fh Server file handle cache.
net Network layer statistics.
nfs Same as -n.
rc Server request reply cache.
rpc Same as -r.
-z Reset statistics to zero. Use with above options to zero out specific sets of statistics (e.g. -zr to reset the RPC statistics.)
nice [option] [command [arguments]]
Execute a command (with its arguments) with lower priority (i.e., be "nice" to other users). With no command, nice prints the current scheduling priority (niceness). If nice is a child process, it prints the parent process's scheduling priority. Niceness has a range of -20 (highest priority) to 19 (lowest priority). Options
--help Print a help message and then exit.
-n adjustment, -adjustment, --adjustment=adjustment Run command with niceness incremented by adjustment (1-19); default is 10. A privileged user can raise priority by specifying a negative adjustment (e.g., -5).
--version Print version information and then exit.
nm [options] [objfiles]
Print the symbol table in alphabetical order from one or more object files. If no object files are specified, perform operations on a.out. Output includes each symbol's value, type, size, name, and so on. A key letter categorizing the symbol can also be displayed. Options
-a, --debug-syms Print debugger symbols.
--defined-only Display only defined symbols.
-f format, --format=format Specify output format (bsd, sysv, or posix). Default is bsd.
-g, --extern-only Print external symbols only.
--help Print help message, then exit.
-l, --line-numbers Print source filenames and line numbers for each symbol from available debugging information.
-n, -v, --numeric-sort Sort the external symbols by address.
-p, --no-sort Don't sort the symbols at all.
-r, --reverse-sort Sort in reverse, alphabetically or numerically.
-s, --print-armap Include mappings stored by ar and ranlib when printing archive symbols.
--size-sort Sort by size.
-t radix, --radix=radix Use the specified radix for printing symbol values. Accepted values are d for decimal, o for octal, and x for hexadecimal.
--target=format Specify an object code format other than the system default.
-u, --undefined-only Report only the undefined symbols.
-A, -o, --print-file-name Print input filenames before each symbol.
-B Same as --format=bsd.
-C, --demangle[=style] Translate low-level symbol names into readable versions. You may specify a style to use when demangling symbol names from a foreign compiler.
-D, --dynamic Print dynamic, not normal, symbols. Useful only when working with dynamic objects (some kinds of shared libraries, for example).
-P, --portability Same as -f posix.
-S, --print-size Print the size of defined symbols.
-V, --version Print nm's version number on standard error.
nohup command [arguments] nohup option
Run the named command with its optional command arguments, continuing to run it even after you log out (make command immune to hangupsi.e., no hangup). Terminal output is appended to the file nohup.out by default, or $HOME/nohup.out if nohup.out can't be written to. Modern shells preserve background commands by default; this command is necessary only in the original Bourne shell. Options
--help Print usage information and exit.
--version Print version information and exit.
nslookup
TCP/IP command. Query Internet domain nameservers. nslookup is deprecated; its functionality is replaced by the dig and host commands. nslookup may not be included in some distributions.
nsupdate [options] [filename]
System administration command. Interactively submit dynamic DNS update requests to a nameserver. Use nsupdate to add or remove records from a zone without manually editing the zone file. Commands may be entered interactively or read from filename. An update message is built from multiple commands, some establishing prerequisites, some adding or deleting resource records. Messages are executed as a single transaction. A blank line or the send command will send the current message. Lines beginning with a semicolon are treated as comments. For additional information on dynamic DNS updates, see RFC 2136. Options
-d Print additional tracing information usable for debugging.
-k keyfile Read encrypted transaction signature key from keyfile. The key should be encrypted using the HMAC-MD5 algorithm. Keyfiles are generated by the dnssec-keygen command.
-v Use TCP instead of UDP to send update requests.
-y keyname:secret Generate transaction signature from specified keyname and secret.
Interactive commands
class classname Set default class to classname instead of the normal default IN.
key keyname secret Generate transaction signature from specified keyname and secret. This command overrides command-line options -k or -y.
local address [port] Use local address and, if specified, port to send updates.
prereq criteria Specify prerequisites for updating a domain. Provide the criteria in one of the following forms:
nxdomain domain-name Perform updates only if there are no preexisting records with the name domain-name.
nxrset domain-name [class] type Perform updates only if there is no preexisting record of the specified type and class for domain-name. When no class is given, IN is assumed.
yxdomain domain-name Perform updates only if there is a preexisting record with the name domain-name.
yxrset domain-name [class] type [data] Perform updates only if there is a preexisting record of the specified type and class for domain-name. If data is given, the RDATA of the specified resource must match it exactly. When no class is given, IN is assumed.
send Send the current message. Same as entering a blank line.
server servername [port] Update records on DNS server servername instead of the master server listed in the MNAME field of the appropriate zone's SOA record.
show Print all commands in current message.
update command Update the records according to one of the following commands:
add domain-name [ttl] [class] type data Add a resource record with the specified values.
delete domain-name [ttl] [class] [type [data]] Delete resource records for domain-name. The ttl field is always ignored, but if other fields are given, only delete records that match all criteria.
zone zonename Apply updates to the specified zonename. If no zone command is given, nsupdate attempts to determine the correct zone based on other input.
objcopy [options] infile [outfile]
Copy the contents of the input object file to another file, optionally changing the file format in the process (but not the endian-ness). If outfile is not specified, objcopy creates a temporary file and renames it to infile when the copy is complete, destroying the original input file. The GNU Binary File Descriptor (BFD) library is used to read and write the object files. Options
--add-section section=file Add a new section to the output object file with the specified section name and the contents taken from the specified file. Available only for formats that allow arbitrarily named sections.
--alt-machine-code=n If the output architecture has alternate machine codes, use the nth code instead of the default.
-b n, --byte=n Copy only every nth byte. Header data is not affected. The value of n can be from 0 to interleave-1, where interleave is specified by -i (default is 4). This option is useful for creating files to program ROM and is typically used with srec as the output format.
-B bfdarch, --binary-architecture=bfdarch Set the output architecture to bfdarch (e.g., i386) for transforming a raw binary file into an object file. Otherwise, this option is ignored. After the conversion, your program can access data inside the created object file by referencing the special symbols _binary_objfile_start, _binary_objfile_end, and _binary_objfile_size.
--change-addresses=incr, --adjust-vma=incr Change the VMA and LMA addresses of all sections, plus the start address, by adding incr. Changing section addresses is not supported by all object formats. Sections are not relocated.
--change-leading-char For object formats that use a special character (such as an underscore) to begin symbols, change the leading character when converting between formats. If the character is the same in both formats, the option has no effect. Otherwise, it adds, removes, or changes the leading character as appropriate for the output format.
--change-section-address section{=|+|-}val,
--adjust-section-vma section{=|+|-}val Set or change the VMA and LMA addresses of the specified section. With =, set the section address to the specified value; otherwise, add or subtract the value to get the new address.
--change-section-lma section{=|+|-}val Set or change the LMA address of the specified section. With =, set the section address to the specified value; otherwise, add or subtract the value to get the new address.
--change-section-vma section{=|+|-}val Set or change the VMA address of the specified section. With =, set the section address to the specified value; otherwise, add or subtract the value to get the new address.
--change-start incr, --adjust-start incr Add incr to the start address to get a new start address. Not supported by all object formats.
--change-warnings, --adjust-warnings Issue a warning if the section that is specified in one of the options --change-section-address, --change-section-lma, or --change-section-vma does not exist.
--debugging Convert debugging information if possible.
-F bfdname, --target=bfdname Set the binary format for both input and output files to the binary file descriptor name bfdname. No format translation is done. Use the -h option for a list of supported formats for your system.
-g, --strip-debug Do not copy debugging information.
-G symbol, --keep-global-symbol=symbol Copy only the specified global symbol, making all other symbols local to the file. May be specified multiple times.
--gap-fill=val Fill gaps between sections with the specified value; applies to the load address (LMA) of the sections.
-h, --help Print help information, including a list of supported target object formats, then exit.
-i interleave, --interleave=interleave Copy one out of every interleave bytes. Use -b to set the byte to copy (default is 4). This option is ignored if -b is not specified.
-I bfdname, --input-target=bfdname Set the binary file format of the input file using its binary file descriptor name, bfdname.
-j section, --only-section=section Copy only the specified section. May be specified multiple times.
-K symbol, --keep-symbol=symbol Copy only the specified symbol from the source file. May be specified multiple times.
--keep-global-symbols=filename Apply the option --keep-global-symbol to each symbol listed in the specified file. The file should have one symbol per line, with comments beginning with a hash mark (#). May be specified multiple times.
--keep-symbols=file Apply the option --keep-symbol to each symbol listed in the specified file. The file should have one symbol per line, with comments beginning with a hash mark (#). May be specified multiple times.
-L symbol, --localize-symbol=symbol Make the specified symbol local. May be specified multiple times.
--localize-symbols=filename Apply the option --localize-symbol to each symbol listed in the specified file. The file should have one symbol per line, with comments beginning with a hash mark (#). May be specified multiple times.
-N symbol, --strip-symbol=symbol Do not copy the specified symbol. May be specified multiple times.
--no-change-warnings, --no-adjust-warnings Do not issue a warning even if the section specified in one of the options --change-section-address, --change-section-lma, or --change-section-vma does not exist.
-O bfdname, --output-target=bfdname Set the binary file format of the output file using its binary file descriptor name, bfdname. The format srec generates S-records (printable ASCII versions of object files), and binary generates a raw binary file. Use -h for other available formats.
-p, --preserve-dates Preserve the input file's access and modification dates in the output file.
--pad-to=addr Pad the output file up to the load address. Use the fill value specified by --gap-fill (default is 0).
-R section, --remove-section=section Do not copy any section with the specified name. May be specified multiple times.
--redefine-sym old=new Change the name of the symbol old to new.
--remove-leading-char If the first character of a global symbol is a special character (such as an underscore) used by the input object file format, remove it. Unlike --change-leading-char, this option always changes the symbol name when appropriate, regardless of the output object format.
--rename-section oldname=newname[,flags] Rename a section from oldname to newname, optionally also changing the flags to flags.
-S, --strip-all Do not copy relocation and symbol information.
--set-section-flags section=flags Set flags for the specified section as a comma-separated string of flag names. Not all flags are meaningful for all object formats. The possible flags are alloc, code, contents, data, debug, load, noload, readonly, rom, and share.
--set-start=val Set the start address of the new file to the specified value. Not supported by all object formats.
--srec-forceS3 Force all srec output records to be type S3 records.
--srec-len=ival Set the maximum length of srec output records to the specified value. The length includes the address, data, and crc fields.
--strip-symbols=filename Apply the option --strip-symbol to each symbol listed in the specified file. The file should have one symbol per line, with comments beginning with a hash mark (#). May be specified multiple times.
--strip-unneeded Strip all symbols not needed for relocation processing.
-v, --verbose Run in verbose mode, listing all object files modified; for archives, list all archive members.
-V, --version Print version information and exit.
-W symbol, --weaken-symbol=symbol Make the specified symbol weak. May be specified multiple times.
--weaken Make all global symbols weak.
--weaken-symbols=filename Apply the option --weaken-symbol to each symbol listed in the specified file. The file should have one symbol per line, with comments beginning with a hash mark (#). May be specified multiple times.
-x, --discard-all Do not copy nonglobal symbols.
-X, --discard-locals Do not copy compiler-generated local symbols (usually those starting with L or ..).
objdump [options] objfiles
Display information about one or more object files. If an archive is specified, objdump displays information on each object file in the archive. At least one of the options -a, -d, -D, -f, -g, -G, -h, -H, -p, -r, -S, -t, -T, -V, or -x must be given to tell objdump what information to show. Options
-a, --archive-header If any input files are archives, display the archive header information. The output includes the object file format of each archive member.
--adjust-vma=offset Add offset to all section headers before dumping information. Useful if the section addresses do not correspond to the symbol table.
-b bfdname, --target=bfdname Set the binary file format using its binary file descriptor name, bfdname. Use the -h option for a list of supported formats for your system.
-C [style], --demangle[=style] Decode (demangle) low-level symbol names into user-level names, optionally specifying a mangling style. Removes any initial underscores and makes C++ function names readable.
-d, --disassemble Display assembler mnemonic names for the machine instructions. Disassemble only sections that are expected to contain instructions.
-D, --disassemble-all Disassemble all sections, not just those expected to contain instructions.
-EB, --endian=big
-EL, --endian=little Specify whether the object files are big- or little-endian, for disassembling. Useful for disassembling formats such as S-records (printable ASCII versions of object files) that do not include that information.
-f, --file-header Display overall header summary information.
--file-start-context When using -S and displaying source code from a file that hasn't been displayed yet, include context from the start of the file.
-g, --debugging Display debugging information.
-G, --stabs Display any stabs (debugging symbol table entries) information, in addition to the contents of any sections requested.
-h, --section-header, --header Display section-header summary information.
-H, --help Display help information and exit.
-i, --info Display the architectures and object formats available on your system for use with -b or -m.
-j name, --section=name Display information for section name.
-l, --line-numbers Label the display with filename and source code line numbers corresponding to the object code or relocation entries shown. Use with -d, -D, or -r.
-m arch, --architecture=arch Specify the architecture for disassembling object files. Useful when disassembling files such as S-records that do not include this information.
-M options, --disassembler-options=options Pass target-specific information to the disassembler. Supported only on some targets.
--no-show-raw-insn Do not show instructions in hexadecimal when disassembling. This is the default with --prefix-addresses.
-p, --private-headers Display information specific to the object format. For some formats, no additional information is displayed.
--prefix-addresses When disassembling, print the complete address on each line.
-r, --reloc Display relocation entries. With -b or -D, the entries are intermixed with the disassembly.
-R, --dynamic-reloc Print dynamic relocation entries. Meaningful only for dynamic objects such as certain types of shared libraries.
-s, --full-contents Display the full contents of any requested sections.
-S, --source Display source code intermixed with disassembly, if possible. Implies -d.
--show-raw-insn When disassembling, show instructions in hexadecimal as well as symbolic form. This is the default, except with --prefix-addresses.
--start-address=addr Start displaying data at the specified address. Applies to -d, -r, and -s.
--stop-address=addr Stop displaying data at the specified address. Applies to -d, -r, and -s.
-t, --syms Print symbol table entries.
-T, --dynamic-syms Print dynamic symbol table entries. Meaningful only for dynamic objects such as certain types of shared libraries.
-V, --version Print version information and exit.
-w, --wide Format lines for output devices wider than 80 characters, and do not truncate symbol table names.
-x, --all-headers Display all available header information. Equivalent to specifying -a -f -h -r -t.
-z, --disassemble-zeroes Disassemble blocks of zeroes. The default is to skip such blocks.
od [options] [files] od --traditional [file] [[+]offset [[+]label]]
Dump the specified files to standard output. The default is to dump in octal format, but other formats can be specified. With multiple files, concatenate them in the specified order. If no files are specified or file is -, read from standard input. With the second form, using the --traditional option, only one file can be specified. Options For the following options, see the later Arguments section for an explanation of the arguments bytes, size, and type. If no options are specified, the default is -A o -t d2 -w 16.
-a Print as named characters. Same as -ta.
-A radix, --address-radix=radix Specify the radix (base) for the file offsets printed at the beginning of each output line. The possible values are:
d Decimal.
n None; do not print an offset.
o Octal; the default.
x Hexadecimal.
-b Print as octal bytes. Same as -toC.
-c Print as ASCII characters or backslash escapes. Same as -tc.
-d Print as unsigned decimal shorts. Same as -tu2.
-f Print as floating-point. Same as -tfF.
-h Print as hexadecimal shorts. Same as -tx2.
--help Display a usage message and exit.
-i Print as decimal shorts. Same as -td2.
-j bytes, --skip-bytes=bytes Skip the specified number of input bytes before starting.
-l Print as decimal longs. Same as -td4.
-N bytes, --read-bytes=bytes Format and print only the specified number of input bytes.
-o Print as octal shorts. Same as -to2.
-s bytes, --strings[=bytes] Output strings that are at least bytes ASCII graphic characters long (default is 3 if bytes is not specified for --strings).
-t type, --format=type Format the output according to type, where type is a string of one or more of the characters listed in the Arguments section. If more than one type is specified, each output line is written once in each specified format. If a trailing z is appended to type, od appends any printable characters to the end of each output line.
--traditional Accept arguments in the traditional form, which takes a single file specification with an optional offset and label, as shown in the second form of the command. offset is an octal number indicating how many input bytes to skip over. label specifies an initial pseudo-address, which is printed in parentheses after any normal address. Both the offset and the label can begin with an optional plus sign (+), and can have a trailing decimal point (.) to force the offset to be interpreted as a decimal number and/or a trailing b to multiply the number of bytes skipped by offset by 512.
-v, --output-duplicates Print all lines, including duplicates. By default, only the first of a series of identical lines is printed, and an asterisk is printed at the beginning of the following line to indicate that there were duplicates.
--version Display version information and exit.
-w bytes, --width[=bytes] Dump bytes input bytes to each output line. Defaults to 16 if this option is omitted. If --width is specified but bytes is omitted, the default is 32.
-x Print as hexadecimal shorts. Same as -tx2.
Arguments
bytes Specify a number of bytes. Treated as hexadecimal if it begins with 0x or 0X, as octal if it begins with 0, or as decimal otherwise. Append b to multiply by 512, k to multiply by 1024, or m to multiply by 10248576.
size Specified as part of type to indicate how many bytes to use in interpreting each number. Types a and c do not take a size. For other types, size is a number. For type f, size can also be one of the following:
D Double.
F Float.
L Long double.
For the remaining types (d, o, u, x), size can be one of the following in addition to a number:
C Character.
I Integer.
L Long.
S Short.
type Specify the format type. The possible types are:
a Named character.
c ASCII character or backslash escape.
dsize Signed decimal, with size bytes per integer.
fsize Floating point, with size bytes per integer.
o Octal, with size bytes per integer.
u Unsigned decimal, with size bytes per integer.
x Hexadecimal, with size bytes per integer.
openvt [options] [--] [command] [arguments]
Locate the first available virtual terminal (VT) and run command with any arguments given. If no command is specified, the shell $SHELL is started. Options
-- Indicates the end of openvt options. Required before the command name to pass options to the command.
-c vt Use the specified VT number instead of the first available. You must have write access to vt.
-e Execute command without forking. For use in /etc/inittab, rather than on the command line.
-l Run the command as a login shell, prepending a dash (-) to the command name.
-s Switch to the new VT when the command is started and make it the current VT.
-u Determine the owner of the current VT, and log in as that user. You must be root to use this option, which is also suitable for calling by init. Don't use with -l.
-v Verbose mode.
-w Wait for the command to complete. If used with -s, switch back to the controlling terminal when the command is done.
passwd [options] [user]
Create or change a password associated with a user name. Only the owner or a privileged user may change a password. Owners need not specify their user name. Users can change their own passwords. For any other operation, you must be root. Options
-d, --delete Delete the password for the user's account.
-f, --force Force the operation. Overrides -u.
-?, --help Display a help message describing the options. See also --usage.
-i days, --inactive=days Set the number of days after a password has expired before the account is disabled.
-k, --keep-tokens Keep passwords (authentication tokens) that have not expired.
-l, --lock Lock the user's account.
-n days, --minimum=days Set the minimum number of days that the password is valid.
-S, --status Print the status of the user's password.
--stdin Read new passwords from standard input.
-u, --unlock Unlock the user's account
--usage Display a brief usage message. See also --help.
-w days, --warning=days Set the number of days of warning users will get before their password expires.
-x days, --maximum=days Set the maximum number of days that the password is valid.
paste [options] files
Merge corresponding lines of one or more files into tab-separated vertical columns. Use - to read from standard input, instead of specifying a file. See also cut, join, and pr. Options
-dchar, --delimiters=char Separate columns with char instead of a tab. You can separate columns with different characters by supplying more than one char.
--help Print a help message and then exit.
-s, --serial Merge lines from one file at a time.
--version Print version information and then exit.
Examples Create a three-column file from files x, y, and z: paste x y z > file
List users in two columns: who | paste - -
Merge each pair of lines into one line: paste -s -d"\t\n" list
patch [options] [original [patchfile]]
Apply the patches specified in patchfile to original. Replace the original with the new, patched version; move the original to original.orig or original~. The patch file is a difference listing produced by the diff command. Options
-b, --backup Back up the original file.
--backup-if-mismatch, --no-backup-if-mismatch When not backing up all original files, these options control whether a backup should be made when a patch does not match the original file. The default is to make backups unless --posix is specified.
-c, --context Interpret patchfile as a context diff.
-d dir, --directory=dir cd to directory before beginning patch operations.
--dry-run Print results of applying a patch, but don't change any files.
-e, --ed Treat the contents of patchfile as ed commands.
-f, --force Force all changes, even those that look incorrect. Skip patches if the original file does not exist; force patches for files with the wrong version specified; assume patches are never reversed.
-g num, --get num Specify whether to check the original file out of source control if it is missing or read-only. If num is a positive number, get the file. If it is negative, prompt the user. If it is 0, do not check files out of source control. The default is negative or the value of the PATCH_GET environment variable when set, unless the --posix option is given. In that case, the default is 0.
--help Print help message, then exit.
-i file, --input=file Read patch from file instead of stdin.
-l, --ignore-whitespace Ignore whitespace while pattern matching.
-n, --normal Interpret patch file as a normal diff.
-o file, --output=file Print output to file.
-p[num], --strip[=num] Specify how much of preceding pathname to strip. A num of 0 strips everything, leaving just the filename. 1 strips the leading /. Each higher number after that strips another directory from the left.
--quoting-style=style Set the quoting style used when printing names. The default style is shell, unless set by the environment variable QUOTING_STYLE. style may be one of the following:
c Quote as a C language string.
escape Like c, but without surrounding double-quote characters.
literal Print without quoting.
shell Quote for use in shell when needed.
shell-always Quote for use in shell even if not needed.
--posix Conform more strictly to the POSIX standard.
-r file, --reject-file=file Place rejects (hunks of the patch file that patch fails to place within the original file) in file. Default is original.rej.
-s, --silent, --quiet Suppress commentary.
-t, --batch Skip patches if the original file does not exist.
-u, --unified Interpret patch file as a unified context diff.
--verbose Verbose mode.
-v, --version Print version number and exit.
-z suffix, --suffix=suffix Back up the original file in original.suffix.
-B prefix, --prefix=prefix Prepend prefix to the backup filename.
-D string, --ifdef=string Mark all changes with: #ifdef string #endif
-E, --remove-empty-files If patch creates any empty files, delete them.
-F num, --fuzz=num Specify the maximum number of lines that may be ignored (fuzzed over) when deciding where to install a hunk of code. The default is 2. Meaningful only with context diffs.
-N, --forward Ignore patches that appear to be reversed or to have already been applied.
-R, --reverse Do a reverse patch: attempt to undo the damage done by patching with the old and new files reversed.
-T, --set-time When original file timestamps match the times given in the patch header, set timestamps for patched files according to the context diff headers. Use option -f to force date changes. Assume timestamps are in local time.
-V method, --version-control=method Specify method for creating backup files (overridden by -B):
t, numbered Make numbered backups.
nil, existing Back up files according to preexisting backup schemes, with simple backups as the default. This is patch's default behavior.
never, simple Make simple backups.
-Y prefix, --basename-prefix=prefix Use the specified prefix with a file's basename to create backup filenames. Useful for specifying a directory.
-Z, --set-utc When original file timestamps match the times given in the patch header, set timestamps for patched files according to the context diff headers. Use option -f to force date changes. Assume timestamps are in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Environment variables
TMPDIR, TMP, TEMP Specify the directory for temporary files; /tmp by default.
SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX Suffix to append to backup files instead of .orig or ~.
QUOTING_STYLE Specify how output should be quoted (see --quoting-style).
PATCH_GET Specify whether patch should retrieve missing or read-only files from source control (see -g).
POSIXLY_CORRECT When set, patch conforms more strictly to the POSIX standard (see --posix).
VERSION_CONTROL, PATCH_VERSION_CONTROL Specify what method to use in naming backups (see -V).
pathchk [option] filenames
Determine validity and portability of filenames. Specifically, determine if all directories within the path are searchable and if the length of the filenames is acceptable. Options
--help Print a help message and then exit.
-p, --portability Check portability for all POSIX systems.
--version Print version information and then exit.
perl
A powerful text-processing language that combines many of the most useful features of shell programs, C, awk, and sed, as well as adding extended features of its own. For more information, see Learning Perl and Programming Perl (both from O'Reilly).
pidof [options] programs
Display the process IDs of the listed program or programs. pidof is actually a symbolic link to killall5. Options
-o pids Omit all processes with the specified process IDs.
-s Return a single process ID.
-x Also return process IDs of shells running the named scripts.
ping [options] host
System administration command. Confirm that a remote host is online and responding. ping is intended for use in network testing, measurement, and management. Because of the load it can impose on the network, it is unwise to use ping during normal operations or from automated scripts. Options
-a Make ping audible. Beep each time response is received.
-A Adapt to return interval of packets. Like -f ping, sends packets at approximately the rate at which they are received. This option may be used by an unprivileged user.
-b Ping a broadcast address.
-B Bind to original source address and do not change.
-c count Stop after sending (and receiving) count ECHO_RESPONSE packets.
-f Flood ping-output packets as fast as they come back or 100 times per second, whichever is greater. This can be very hard on a network and should be used with caution. Only a privileged user may use this option.
-i wait Wait wait seconds between sending each packet. Default is to wait one second between each packet. This option is incompatible with the -f option.
-I name Set source address to interface name. name may also be specified as an IP address.
-l preload Send preload number of packets as fast as possible before falling into normal mode of behavior.
-L If destination is a multicast address, suppress loopback.
-M hint Specify Path MTU Discovery strategy. Accepted values are do, want, or dont.
-n Numeric output only. No attempt will be made to look up symbolic names for host addresses.
-p digits Specify up to 16 pad bytes to fill out packet sent. This is useful for diagnosing data-dependent problems in a network. digits are in hex. For example, -p ff will cause the sent packet to be filled with all 1s.
-q Quiet outputnothing is displayed except the summary lines at startup time and when finished.
-Q tos Set Quality of Service on ICMP datagrams.
-r Bypass the normal routing tables and send directly to a host on an attached network.
-R Set the IP record route option, which will store the route of the packet inside the IP header. The contents of the record route will be printed if the -v option is given, and will be set on return packets if the target host preserves the record route option across echoes or if the -l option is given.
-s packetsize Specify number of data bytes to be sent. Default is 56, which translates into 64 ICMP data bytes when combined with the 8 bytes of ICMP header data.
-S size Set send buffer (SNDBUF) size. The default is the size of one packet.
-t n Set the IP Time to Live to n seconds.
-T option Set IP timestamp options. Accepted option values are:
tsonly Timestamps only.
tsandaddr Timestamps and addresses.
tsprespec hosts Timestamps with prespecified hops of one or more hosts.
-U Use older ping behavior and print full user-to-user latency instead of network round-trip time.
-v Verbose; list ICMP packets received other than ECHO_RESPONSE.
-V Print version, then exit.
-w n Exit ping after n seconds.
-W n When waiting for a response, time out after n seconds.
pinky [options] [users]
Print user information. A light-weight finger program that has both long and short formats. If no users are specified, prints information for all logged-on users. Options
-b In long format, omit the home directory and shell.
-f In short format, omit column headings.
-h In long format, omit the project file.
--help Print help message and exit.
-i In short format, omit the full name and remote host.
-l Produce long-format output for the specified users. At least one user must be specified.
-p In long format, omit the plan file.
-q In short format, omit the full name, remote host, and idle time.
-s Produce short format output; the default.
--version Print version information and exit.
-w In short format, omit the full name.
pmap [options] pids
Display the memory maps of a process. Options
-d Display the offset and device number of each mapping.
-q Be more quiet. Displays less header and footer information.
-x Provide a more detailed and verbose display.
-V Display the version number and exit.
rpc.portmap [options]
NFS/NIS command. RPC program number to IP port mapper. portmap is a server that converts RPC program numbers to IP port numbers. It must be running in order to make RPC calls. When an RPC server is started, it tells portmap which port number it is listening to and which RPC program numbers it is prepared to serve. When a client wishes to make an RPC call to a given program number, it first contacts portmap on the server machine to determine the port number where RPC packets should be sent. portmap must be the first RPC server started. Options
-d Run portmap in debugging mode. Does not allow portmap to run as a daemon.
-l Bind to loopback device. This only works from the localhost.
-v Verbose mode.
poweroff [options]
System administration command. Close out filesystems, shut down the system, and power off. Because this command immediately stops all processes, it should be run only in single-user mode. If the system is not in runlevel 0 or 6, poweroff calls shutdown -h, then performs a poweroff. Options
-d Suppress writing to /var/log/wtmp.
-f Call reboot or halt and not shutdown, even when shutdown would normally be called. This option is used to force a hard halt or reboot.
-h Place hard drives in standby mode before halt or poweroff.
-i Shut down network interfaces before reboot.
-n Suppress normal call to sync.
-w Suppress normal execution; simply write to /var/log/wtmp.
pppd [tty] [speed] [options]
System administration command. PPP stands for the Point-to-Point Protocol; it allows datagram transmission over a serial connection. pppd attempts to configure tty for PPP (searching in /dev) or, by default, the controlling terminal. You can also specify a baud rate of speed. pppd accepts many options. Only the most common options are listed here. Options
[local_IP_address]:[remote_IP_address] Specify the local and/or remote interface IP addresses, as hostnames or numeric addresses.
asyncmap map Specify which control characters cannot pass over the line. map should be a 32-bit hex number, where each bit represents a character to escape. For example, bit 00000001 represents the character 0x00; bit 80000000 represents the character 0x1f or _. You may specify multiple characters.
auth Require self-authentication by peers before allowing packets to move.
call file Read options from file in /etc/ppp/peers/. Unlike the file option, call file may contain privileged options, even when pppd is not run by root.
connect command Connect as specified by command, which may be a binary or shell command.
crtscts Use hardware flow control.
debug Log contents of control packets to syslogd.
defaultroute Add a new default route in which the peer is the gateway. When the connection shuts down, remove the route.
nodetach Operate in the foreground. By default, pppd forks and operates in the background.
disconnect command Close the connection as specified by command, which may be a binary or shell command.
escape character-list Escape all characters in character-list, which should be a comma-separated list of hex numbers. You cannot escape 0x20-0x3f or 0x5e.
file file Consult file for options.
init script Run specified command or shell script to initialize the serial line.
lock Allow only pppd to access the device.
mru bytes Refuse packets of more than bytes bytes.
mtu bytes Do not send packets of more than bytes bytes.
passive, -p Do not exit if peer does not respond to attempts to initiate a connection. Instead, wait for a valid packet from the peer.
silent Send no packets until after receiving one.
Files
/var/run/pppn.pid pppd's process ID. The n in pppn.pid is the number of the PPP interface unit corresponding to this pppd process.
/etc/ppp/ip-up Binary or script to be executed when the PPP link becomes active.
/etc/ppp/ip-down Binary or script to be executed when the PPP link goes down.
/etc/ppp/pap-secrets Contains usernames, passwords, and IP addresses for use in PAP authentication.
/etc/ppp/options System defaults. Options in this file are set before the command-line options.
~/.ppprc The user's default options. These are read before command-line options but after the system defaults.
/etc/ppp/options.ttyname Name of the default serial port.
pr [options] [files]
Convert a text file or files to a paginated or columned version, with headers, suitable for printing. If - is provided as the filename, read from standard input. Options
+beg_pag[:end-pag], --pages=beg_pag[:end-pag] Begin printing on page beg_pag and end on end-pag if specified.
-num_cols, --columns=num_cols Print in num_cols number of columns, balancing the number of lines in the columns on each page.
-a, --across Print columns horizontally, not vertically.
-c, --show-control-chars Convert control characters to hat notation (such as ^C), and other unprintable characters to octal backslash format.
-d, --double-space Double space.
-D format, --date-format=format Format the header date using format. See the date command for the possible formats.
-e[tab-char[width]], --expand-tabs[=tab-char[width]] Convert tabs (or tab-chars) to spaces. If width is specified, convert tabs to width characters (default is 8).
-f, -F, --form-feed Separate pages with form feeds, not newlines. With -F, print a three-line page header; otherwise print a five-line header and trailer.
-h header, --header=header Use header for the header instead of the filename.
--help Print a help message and then exit.
-i[out-tab-char[out-tab-width]],
--output-tabs[=out-tab-char[out-tab-width]] Replace spaces with tabs on output. Can specify alternative tab character (default is tab) and width (default is 8).
-J, --join-lines Merge full lines; ignore -W if set.
-l lines, --length=lines Set page length to lines (default is 66). If lines is less than 10, omit headers and footers. Thus the default number of lines of text (i.e., not header or trailer) is 56, or 63 with -F.
-m, --merge Print all files, one per column.
-n[delimiter[digits]], --number-lines[=delimiter[digits]] Number columns, or, with the -m option, number lines. Append delimiter to each number (default is a tab) and limit the size of numbers to digits (default is 5).
-N num, --first-line-number=num Start counting with num at the first line of the first page printed. Also see +beg_page.
-o width, --indent=width Set left margin to width. Does not affect the page width set with -w or -W.
-r, --no-file-warnings Continue silently when unable to open an input file.
-s[delimiter], --separator[=delimiter] Separate columns with the single-character delimiter (default is a tab) instead of spaces.
-S[string], --sep-string[=string] Separate columns with string. Default is a tab with -J and a space otherwise.
-t, --omit-header Suppress headers, footers, and fills at end of pages.
-T, --omit-pagination Like -t but also suppress form feeds.
-v, --show-non-printing Convert unprintable characters to octal backslash format.
-w page_width, --width=page_width Set the page width to page_width characters for multicolumn output. Default is 72.
-W page_width, --page-width=page_width Set the page width to always be page_width characters. Lines longer than the specified width are truncated unless -J is also specified. Default is 72.
--version Print version information and then exit.
praliases [options] [keys]
System administration command. praliases prints the current sendmail mail aliases. (Usually defined in the /etc/aliases or /etc/aliases.db file.) Limit output to the specified keys when given. Options
-f file Read the aliases from the specified file instead of sendmail's default alias files.
-C file Read sendmail configuration from the specified file instead of from /etc/mail/sendmail.cf.
printenv [variables] printenv option
Print values of all environment variables or, optionally, only the specified variables. Options
--help Print usage information and exit.
--version Print version information and exit.
printf formats [strings] printf option
Print strings using the specified formats. formats can be ordinary text characters, C-language escape characters, C format specifications ending with one of the letters diouxXfeEgGcs or, more commonly, a set of conversion arguments listed here. Options
--help Print usage information and exit.
--version Print version information and exit.
Arguments
%% Print a single %.
%b Print string with \ escapes interpreted.
%s Print the next string.
%n$s Print the nth string.
%[-]m[.n]s Print the next string, using a field that is m characters wide. Optionally, limit the field to print only the first n characters of string. Strings are right-adjusted unless the left-adjustment flag, -, is specified.
Examples printf '%s %s\n' "My files are in" $HOME printf '%-25.15s %s\n' "My files are in" $HOME
ps [options]
Report on active processes. ps has three types of options. GNU long options start with two hyphens, which are required. BSD options may be grouped and do not start with a hyphen, while Unix98 options may be grouped and require an initial hyphen. The meaning of the short options can vary depending on whether or not there is a hyphen. In options, list arguments should either be comma-separated or space-separated and placed inside double quotes. In comparing the amount of output produced, note that e prints more than a and l prints more than f for each entry. Options
nums, p nums, -p nums, --pid=nums Include only specified processes, which are given in a space-delimited list.
-nums, -s nums, --sid=nums Include only specified session IDs, which are given in a space-delimited list.
[-]a As a, list all processes on a terminal. As -a, list all processes except session leaders and processes not associated with a terminal.
[-]c As -c, show different scheduler information with -l. As c, show the true command name.
-C cmds Select by command name.
--cols=cols, --columns=cols Set the output width (the number of columns to display).
-d Select all processes except session leaders.
-e, -A Select all processes.
e Include environment information after the command.
[-]f, --forest As -f, display full listing. As f or --forest, display "forest" family tree format, with ASCII art showing the relationships.
-F Set extra-full format; implies -f.
-g list, -G list, --group=groups, --Group=groups For -g, select by session leader if list contains numbers, or by group if it contains group names. For -G, select by the group IDs in list. --group selects by effective group and --Group selects by real group, where groups can be either group names or group IDs.
h, --no-headers Suppress header. If you select a BSD personality by setting the environment variable PS_PERSONALITY to bsd, then h prints a header on each page.
-H Display "forest" family tree format, but without ASCII art.
H Display threads as if they were processes.
--headers Repeat headers on every output page.
--help Display help information and exit.
--info Print debugging information.
[-]j Jobs format. j prints more information than -j.
-k spec, --sort spec Specify sort order. Syntax for the specification is: [+|-]key[,[+|-]key...]]
The default direction is +, for increasing numerical or alphabetic order. See Format and sort specifiers for possible keys.
[-]l Produce a long listing. -l prints more information than l and is often used with -y.
L Print list of field specifiers that can be used for output formatting or for sorting.
-L Show threads, possibly with LWP and NLWP columns.
--lines=num, --rows=num Set the screen height to num lines. If --headers is also set, the headers repeat every num lines.
[-]m Show threads after processes.
n Print user IDs and WCHAN numerically.
-n file, N file Specify the System.map file for ps to use as a namelist file. The map file must correspond to the Linux kernele.g., /boot/System.map-2.4.19.
-N, --deselect Negate the selection, selecting all processes that do not meet the specified conditions.
[-]o fields, --format=fields As -o, o, or --format, specify user-defined format with a list of fields to display.
[-]O fields As -O, this option is like -o, but some common fields are predefined. As O, this option can be either the same as -O in specifying fields to display, or can specify single-letter fields for sorting. For sorting, each field specified as a key can optionally have a leading + (return to default sort direction on key) or - (reverse the default direction).
--ppid=nums Select by parent process IDs.
r Show only processes that are currently running.
s Display signal format.
-S, --cumulative Include some dead child process data in parent total.
[-]tttys, --tty=ttys Display processes running on the specified terminals. t with no terminal list displays processes for the terminal associated with ps. Specify - to select processes not associated with any terminal.
T Display all processes on this terminal. Like t with no argument.
-T Display threads, possibly with SPID column,
[-]u [users], --user=users As u with no argument, display user-oriented output. As -u or --user, display by effective user ID (and also support names), showing results for users. With no argument, -u displays results for the current user.
[-]U users, --User=users As U, display processes by effective user ID. As -U or --User, display processes for users by real user ID (and also support names).
v Display virtual memory format.
[-]V, --version Display version information and then exit.
[-]w Wide format. Don't truncate long lines. Use twice to set an unlimited width.
--width=cols Set screen width.
x Display processes without an associated terminal.
X Use old Linux i386 register format.
-y Do not show flags; show rss instead of addr. Requires -l.
Format and sort specifiers The following are the keywords for formatting and for sorting with --sort, followed by a desciption and the output column header in parentheses:
%cpu, pcpu Percent of CPU time used recently. (%CPU)
%mem, pmem Percent of memory used. (%MEM)
args, cmd, command The command the process is running with all its arguments. (CMD for cmd; otherwise COMMAND)
blocked, sig_block, sigmask Mask, in hexadecimal, of blocked signals. (BLOCKED)
bsdstart Command start time. (START)
bsdtime Accumulated CPU time for user plus system. (TIME)
c Integer value of %cpu. (C)
caught, sig_catch, sigcatch Mask, in hexadecimal, of caught signals. (CAUGHT)
class, cls, policy Scheduling class. (POL for policy, otherwise CLS). Possible values are:
- Unreported
? Unknown value
FF SCHED_FIFO (first in, first out)
RR SCHED_RR (round robin)
TS SCHED_OTHER (standard time-sharing)
comm, ucmd, ucomm Name of the command executable. (CMD for ucmd, otherwise COMMAND)
cp Per-mill CPU usage, where mill is 1000. Equivalent to %cpu with no decimal point. (CP)
cputime, time Cumulative CPU time. (TIME)
egid, gid Effective group ID number in decimal. (EGID or GID, respectively)
egroup, group Effective group ID; as text value if it is available and if it fits, otherwise shown as decimal value. (EGROUP or GROUP, respectively)
eip Effective instruction pointer. (EIP)
esp Effective stack pointer. (ESP)
etime Elapsed time since the start of the process. (ELAPSED)
euid, uid Effective user ID. (EUID or UID, respectively)
euser, uname, user Effective username; as text value if it is available and if it fits, otherwise shown as decimal value (EUSER for euser; otherwise USER).
f, flag, flags Process flags. Can be summed. (F) Possible values are:
1 Forked but didn't exec.
4 Used superuser privileges.
fgid, fsgid Filesystem access group ID. (FGID)
fgroup, fsgroup Filesystem access group ID; as text if available and if it fits, otherwise as a decimal number. (FGROUP)
fname First eight bytes of the executable's basename. (COMMAND)
fuid, fsuid Filesystem access user ID. (FUID)
fuser Filesystem access user ID; as text if available and if it fits, otherwise as a decimal number. (FUSER)
ignored, sig_ignore, sigignore Mask of ignored signals in hexadecimal format. (IGNORED)
lstart Command start time. (LSTART)
lwp, spid, tid Light-weight process, or thread, ID. (LWP, SPID, TID, respectively)
ni, nice The nice value of the process. A higher number indicates less CPU time. (NI)
nlwp, thcount Number of LWPs, or threads, in the process. (NLWP or THCNT, respectively)
nwchan Address of kernel function where process is sleeping. See also wchan to get the function by name. (WCHAN)
pending, sig, sig_pend Mask of pending signals. Use with the m or -m option to see both signals pending on the process and on individual threads. (PENDING)
pgid, pgrp Process group ID or ID of process group leader, which are equivalent. (PGID or PGRP, respectively)
pid Process ID. (PID)
ppid Parent process ID. (PPID)
pri Process's scheduling priority. A higher number indicates lower priority. (PRI)
psr Current processor that the process is running on. (PSR)
rgid Real group ID. (RGID)
rgroup Real group name; as text if available and it fits, otherwise as a decimal number. (RGROUP)
rss, rssize, rsz Resident set size (the amount of physical memory), in kilobytes. (RSZ for rsz; otherwise RSS)
rtprio Real-time priority. (RTPRIO)
ruid Real user ID number. (RUID)
ruser Real user ID; as text if available and it fits, otherwise as a decimal number. (RUSER)
s, state A single-character state display. See stat for the possible characters or for a multicharacter display. (S)
sched Scheduling policy. Also see class. (SCH) Possible values are:
0 SCHED_OTHER
1 SCHED_FIFO
2 SCHED_RR
sess, session, sid Session ID, or the process ID of the session leader, which is equivalent. (SID for sid; otherwise SESS)
sgi_p Processor on which the process is currentlly running, or "*" if the process is not running. (P)
sgid, svgid Saved group ID. (SGID or SVGID, respectively)
sgroup Saved group name; as text if available and it fits, otherwise as a decimal number.
size Size of virtual image. Provides a rough estimate of the swapspace required to swap the process out. Note that sz uses the same column header, but has a different meaning. (SZ)
stackp Address of the stack bottom (start of the stack). (STACKP)
start Start time of the command. (STARTED)
start_time Starting time or date of the process. (START)
stat Status. Multiple status characters can appear. See also s to display a single character. (STAT)
+ Part of foreground process group.
< High priority (not "nice").
D Asleep and not interruptible.
l Multi-threaded.
L Pages locked into memory.
N Low priority ("nice").
R Runnable.
s Session leader.
S Asleep.
T Stopped.
W No resident pages (second field).
Z Zombie.
suid, svuid Saved user ID. (SUID or SVUID respectively)
suser, svuser Saved username; as text if it is available and it fits, otherwise as a decimal number. (SUSER or SVUSER respectively)
sz Physical page size of the core image of the process, including text, data and stack space. (SZ)
tpgid ID of the foreground process group on the associated terminal for the process, or -1 if not connected to a terminal. (TPGID)
tt, tty, tname Associated (controlling) terminal. (TTY for tname; otherwise TT)
uid User ID. (UID)
vsz, vsize Virtual memory size, in kilobytes of the entire process. (VSZ)
wchan Kernel function in which process is sleeping, or "-" if running, or "*" if multithreaded process and ps is not displaying threads. (WCHAN)
ptx [options] [infiles] ptx -G [options] [infile [outfile]]
Create a permuted index, including context, from the contents of the specified input files. If the input files are omitted, or are -, read from standard input. The results are written to standard output. In the second form, with the -G option, ptx behaves like the System V version rather than the GNU version; you specify only one input file, and you can also specify an output file. Because they show words in context, permuted indexes are often used in such places as bibliographic or medical databases, thesauruses, or web sites to aid in locating entries of interest. Options
-A, --auto-reference Produce automatically generated references, consisting of the filename and line number, separated by a colon, and print them at the beginning of each line.
-b file, --break-file=file The specified file contains word-break characterscharacters that are not part of words, but separate them.
-C, --copyright Display the ptx copyright information and exit.
-f, --ignore-case Ignore case when sorting, by folding lowercase into uppercase.
-F string, --flag-truncation=string Use string to flag line truncations.
-g num, --gap-size=num Specify the number of spaces between output columns.
-G, --traditional Behave like System V ptx; don't use the GNU extensions. If an output file is specified, any existing contents are lost.
--help Display a help message and exit.
-i file, --ignore-file=file Read the list of words that are not to be used as keywords in the concordance output from file.
-M string, --macro-name=string Select a string for use when generating output suitable for nroff, troff or TEX. The default is xx.
-o file, --only-file=file Specify the "only" file, which contains a list of words to be used in the concordance output. Any words not in file are ignored. If both an only file and an ignore file are specified, a word must appear in the only file and not appear in the ignore file to be used as a keyword.
-O [roff], --format=roff Format the output as roff directives suitable to be used as input to nroff or troff. Use -T for TEX output.
-r, --references Use the first field of each line as a reference to identify the line in the permuted index.
-R, --right-side-refs Put references on the right, instead of the left. Used with -r and -A. The space taken up by the references is not taken into account by -w, even if -R is specified without -r or -A.
-S regexp, --sentence-regexp=regexp Specify a regular expression to identify the end of a line or a sentence. Without -G and without -r, the end of a sentence is used. With -G, or with -r, the end of a line is used. An empty regex disables end-of-line or end-of-sentence recognition.
-T [tex], --format=tex Format the output as TEX directives suitable to be used as TEX input. Use -O for roff output.
--version Print version information and exit.
-w num, --width=num Select the maximum output-line width (excluding the width of any reference if -R is specified).
-W regexp, --word-regexp=regexp Use the specified regular expression to match each keyword.
pwck [options] [files]
System administration command. Remove corrupt or duplicate entries in the /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow files. pwck will prompt for a "yes" or "no" before deleting entries. If the user replies "no," the program will exit. Alternate passwd and shadow files can be checked. If correctable errors are found, the user will be encouraged to run the usermod command. Option
-q Run in quiet mode. Only report serious problems.
-r Run in noninteractive read-only mode, answering all questions no.
-s Don't check integrity, just sort entries by UID.
Exit status
0 Success.
1 Syntax error.
2 One or more bad password entries found.
3 Could not open password files.
4 Could not lock password files.
5 Could not write password files.
pwconv pwunconv
System administration command. Convert unshadowed entries in /etc/passwd into shadowed entries in /etc/shadow. Replace the encrypted password in /etc/password with an x. Shadowing passwords keeps them safe from password-cracking programs. pwconv creates additional expiration information for the /etc/shadow file from entries in your /etc/login.defs file. If you add new entries to the /etc/passwd file, you can run pwconv again to transfer the new information to /etc/shadow. Already shadowed entries are ignored. pwunconv restores the encrypted passwords to your /etc/passwd file and removes the /etc/shadow file. Some expiration information is lost in the conversion. See also grpconv and grpunconv.
pwd
Print the full pathname of the current working directory. See also the dirs shell command built into bash.
python
A powerful object-oriented scripting language often compared to Perl or Java. python drives many of the configuration scripts used in Red Hat and other Linux distributions. For more information, see Learning Python and Programming Python (both from O'Reilly).
quota [options] [user|group]
Display disk usage and total space allowed for a designated user or group. With no argument, the quota for the current user is displayed. Most users can display only their own quota information, but the superuser can display information for any user. This command reports quotas for all filesystems listed in /etc/mtab. For NFS-mounted filesystems, quota calls rpc.rquotad on the server machine for the information. Options
-F format Show quota for the specified format. If not specified, autodetects the format.
-g Given with a user argument, display the quotas for the groups of which the user is a member, instead of the user's quotas. With no argument, shows group quotas for the current user.
-i Igonore mountpoints that are mounted by the automounter.
-l Only report quotas on local filesystems.
-q Display information only for filesystems in which the user is over quota.
-Q For NFS-mounted filesystems. do not print an error message if the connection to rpc.rquotad is refused (usually because it is not running on the server).
-s Try to choose units for displaying limits, space used, and inodes used.
-u The default behavior. When used with -g, display both user and group quota information.
-v Display quotas for filesystems even if no storage is currently allocated.
Formats
rpc Quota over NFS.
vfsold Version 1 quota.
vfsv0 Version 2 quota.
xfs Quota on XFS filesystem.
quotacheck [options] [filesystems]
System administration command. Audit and correct quota information by building a table of current disk usage and comparing it to the recorded usage in both the kernel and the quota files. quotacheck will update quota information when possible and prompt the user if it requires input. Most systems that support quotas run this command at system startup. To prevent damage to filesystems or loss of quota data, turn off quotas with quotaoff and umount the system. quotacheck will attempt to remount any mounted filesystem as read-only before scanning. Options
-a Check all non-NFS filestystems in /etc/mtab.
-b Back up quota files before writing new data to them.
-c Skip reading existing quota information; just write new files.
-f Force checking on filesystems with quotas currently enabled.
-F format Check quota files for the specified format. (See quota for valid formats.)
-g Only check group quotas.
-i Prompt user for input upon finding errors.
-m Don't try to remount mounted filesystems.
-M Force check to run in read-write mode if it cannot successfully remount the filesystem in read-only mode.
-n If multiple entries for a user or group are found in a corrupt quota file, use the first entry found.
-R Don't check the root filesystem when using the -a option.
-u Only check user quotas. This is the default.
-v Print information on the progress of the command.
quotaon [options] [filesystems]
System administration command. Turn on enforcement of filesystem quotas. To work, the filesystems must have a gpquota, quota, or usrquota option listed in the /etc/fstab file. On most filesystems, user and group quota files must also exist. XFS filesystems store quota information as metadata instead of as files. Use edquota or setquota to create the appropriate quota information. Options
-a Turn on quotas for all autoloading filesystems in /etc/fstab that support them.
-f Invoke quotaoff instead of quotaon.
-g Turn group quotas on.
-p Print current quota status, then exit.
-u Turn user quotas on.
-v Print a message for each filesystem affected by the command.
quotaoff [options] [filesystems]
System administration command. Turn off enforcement of filesystem quotas. This command is a synonym for quotaon -f Options
-a Turn off quotas for all filesystems in /etc/fstab.
-F format Show quota for the specified format. (See quota for valid formats.)
-g Turn group quotas off.
-p Print current quota status, then exit.
-u Turn user quotas off.
-v Print a message for each filesystem affected by the command.
-x command On an XFS system, perform one of the following commands:
delete Remove quota metadata from the XFS filesystem.
enforcement Turn off limit enforcement on an XFS filesystem.
quotastats
System administration command. Print a report of quota system statistics gathered from the kernel.
raidstart [options] [devices] raidstop [options] [devices]
System administration command. Start or stop RAID devices as defined in the RAID configuration file, /etc/raidtab. If option -a (or --all) is used, no devices need to be given; the command will be applied to all the devices defined in the configuration file. Options
-a, --all Apply command to all devices defined in the RAID configuration file.
-c file, --configfile file Use file instead of /etc/raidtab.
-h, --help Print usage message and exit.
-V, --version Print version and exit.
ramsize [option] [image [size [offset]]]
System administration command. If no options are specified, print usage information for the RAM disk. The pair of bytes at offset 504 in the kernel image normally specify the RAM size; with a kernel image argument, print the information found at that offset. To change that information, specify a new size (in kilobytes). You may also specify a different offset. rdev -r is the same as ramsize. Option
-o offset Same as specifying an offset as an argument.
ranlib filenameranlib option
Generate an index for archive file filename. This is equivalent to running ar -s. Option
-v, -V, --version Print version information and exit.
rarpd [options] [interface]
System administration command. Respond to Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) requests. Some machines (primarily diskless SUN machines) will use RARP requests at boot time to discover their IP address and retrieve boot images. The request contains the booting machine's Ethernet address, and rarpd tells it which IP to use. To answer requests, rarpd checks the ethers database (either the /etc/ethers file, or read from NIS+) and performs DNS lookups as needed. rarpd will respond to RARP requests only from machines for which it has a bootable image, usually stored in the TFTP boot directory /tftpboot. The daemon will bind to the given interface if specified. This daemon replaces the kernel-based RARP support found in kernels previous to 2.2. Options
-a Do not bind to the specified interface.
-b directory Look for boot images in the specified directory instead of the default /tftpboot.
-d Do not detach and run in daemon mode. Used for debugging.
-e Answer requests without checking the TFTP boot directory.
-v Verbose mode.
-A Respond to ARP requestes as well as RARP requests.
rcp [options] file1 file2 rcp [options] file ... directory
Copy files between two machines. Each file or directory is either a remote filename of the form rname@rhost:path, or a local filename. Files can be copied between two remote machines, where neither file1 nor file2 is on the local machine. Use of rcp has generally been replaced by scp, which offers better security. Options
-c ccachefile Use ccachefile for the credentials cache file.
-C configfile Use configfile as the configuration file.
-D port Connect to the specified port on the remote system.
-N Always use a network connection, even when doing a local copy. Useful for testing.
-k Attempt to get tickets for remote host; query krb_realmofhost to determine realm.
-p Preserve modification times and modes of the source files.
-PN, -PO Request either the new (-PN) or old (-PO) version of the Kerberos rcmd protocol.
-r If any of the source files are directories, descend into each directory and recursively copy all files and directories within it. The destination must be a directory.
-x Turn on DES encryption for all data passed by rcp.
rdate [options] [host...]
TCP/IP command. Retrieve the date and time from a host or hosts on the network and optionally set the local system time. Options
-l Send errors and output to syslogd.
-p Print the retrieved dates.
-s Set the local system time from the host; must be specified by root.
-t n Timeout each retrieval attempt after n seconds.
-u Use UDP instead of TCP.
rdev [options] [image [value [offset]]]
System administration command. If invoked with no arguments, show the current root filesystem in /etc/mtab syntax. Otherwise, change the values in the kernel image that specify the RAM disk size (by default located at decimal byte offset 504 in the kernel), VGA mode (default 506), and root device (default 508). You must specify the kernel image to be changed, and may specify a new value and a different offset. Using rdev to change these values directly in an image file is discouraged. These values can all be set by a boot loader such as lilo or grub. Options
-o offset Same as specifying an offset as an argument. The offset is given in decimal.
-r Behave like ramsize.
-v Behave like vidmode.
-R Behave like rootflags.
rdist [options] [names]
System administration command. Remote file distribution client program. rdist maintains identical copies of files over multiple hosts. It reads commands from a file named distfile to direct the updating of files and/or directories. An alternative distfile can be specified with the -f option or the -c option. Options
-a num Do not update filesystems with fewer than num bytes free.
-A num Specify the minimum number of inodes that rdist requires.
-c name [login@]host[:dest] Interpret the arguments as a small distfile, where login is the user to log in as, host is the destination host, name is the local file to transfer, and dest is the remote name where the file should be installed.
-d var=value Define var to have value. This option defines or overrides variable definitions in the distfile. Set the variable var to value.
-D Debugging mode.
-f file Read input from file (by default, distfile). If file is -, read from standard input.
-F Execute all commands sequentially, without forking.
-l options Specify logging options on the local machine.
-L options Specify logging options on the remote machine.
-m machine Update only machine. May be specified multiple times for multiple machines.
-M num Do not allow more than num child rdist processes to run simultaneously. Default is 4.
-n Suppress normal execution. Instead, print the commands that would have been executed.
-ooptions Specify one or more options, which must be comma-separated.
chknfs Suppress operations on files that reside on NFS filesystems.
chkreadonly Check filesystem to be sure it is not read-only before attempting to perform updates.
chksym Do not update files that exist on the local host but are symbolic links on the remote host.
compare Compare files; use this comparison rather than age as the criteria for determining which files should be updated.
follow Interpret symbolic links, copying the file to which the link points instead of creating a link on the remote machine.
ignlnks Ignore links that appear to be unresolvable.
nochkgroup Do not update a file's group ownership unless the entire file needs updating.
nochkmode Do not update file mode unless the entire file needs updating.
nochkowner Do not update file ownership unless the entire file needs updating.
nodescend Suppress recursive descent into directories.
noexec Suppress rdist of executables that are in a.out format.
numchkgroup Check group ownership by group ID instead of by name.
numchkowner Check file ownership by user ID instead of by name.
quiet Quiet mode; do not print commands as they execute.
remove Remove files that exist on the remote host but not the local host.
savetargets Save updated files in name.old.
sparse Check for sparse filesfor example, ndbm files.
verify Print a list of all files on the remote machine that are out of date, but do not update them.
whole Preserve directory structure by creating subdirectories on the remote machine. For example, if you rdist the file /foo/bar into the directory /baz, it would produce the file /baz/foo/bar instead of the default /baz/bar.
younger Do not update files that are younger than the master files.
-p path Specify the path to search for rdistd on the remote machine.
-P path Specify path to the transport command to use on the local machine. This is normally rsh, but may also be ssh. The path argument may also be specified as a colon-separated list of acceptable transports to use in order of preference.
-t seconds Specify the timeout period (default 900 seconds) after which rdist will sever the connection if the remote server has not yet responded.
-V Display version, then exit.
rdistd options
System administration command. Start the rdist server. Note that you must specify the -S option unless you are simply querying for version information with -V. Options
-D Debugging mode.
-S Start the server.
-V Display the version number and exit.
readcd dev=device [options]
Read or write compact discs. The device is usually specified as dev=scsibus/target/lun or dev=target/lun if the device is on the default SCSI bus). The default SCSI bus is bus 0, the target is the ID number, and the lun is the logical unit number. Options
-c2scan Do a C2 error scan. If any C2 errors are found, specifying the speed= option to reduce the speed may help.
-clone Read all data and the table of contents, and put the table-of-contents data into a file with the same filename as specified with f= but with a .toc extension.
-d, debug=num Increment the debugging level by 1 with -d or set the level to num. Specifying -dd is the equivalent of debug=2.
dev=target Set the SCSI target.
f=filename Specify the file from which input should be read, or to which output should be written. If the filename is given as -, use standard input or standard output respectively.
-factor Print the speed factor for the meshpoints= option, based on the current medium's single speed. Works only if readcd can determine the current medium type.
-fulltoc Read the full table of contents from the current CD and display it in hexadecimal.
kd=num, kdebug=num Modify the kernel debugging level while SCSI commands are running, to do kernel debugging.
meshpoints=num Print the read speed at num locations, and produce a list of values suitable for plotting. The output is written to standard output.
-nocorr Ignore read errors, doing no error correction. Switches the drive into a mode to ignore the errors; if readcd completes, it switches the drive back to the previous mode.
-noerror Do not abort if an uncorrectable error is found in the data stream.
-notrunc Do not truncate the output file on open.
-overhead Measure SCSI command overhead. The measurement is done by running several commands 1000 times and printing the total time used for each.
retries=num Set the retry count to num. The default is 128.
-s, -silent Do not print a status report for SCSI command failures.
-scanbus Scan all SCSI devices on all SCSI buses, print the results, and exit. Useful for finding the SCSI addresses of devices.
sectors=range Specify the range of sectors to read.
speed=num Set the reading and writing speed, as an integer value. Useful only for MMC-compliant drives. Defaults to maximum speed.
timeout=num Set the default SCSI command timeout to num seconds. Defaults to 40 seconds.
ts=num Set the maximum transfer size for a single SCSI command to num. Defaults to 256 KB.
-v, -verbose Increment the general verbosity level by 1. Useful for displaying progress.
-V, -Verbose Increment the verbosity level for SCSI command transport by 1. Useful for debugging. Specifying -VV adds data-buffer content to the output.
-version Print version information and exit.
-w Switch to write mode. The default is to read from the device.
readelf option[...] elffiles
Display information about one or more ELF (Executable and Linking Format) object files. At least one option is required to specify the information to be displayed for each file. readelf does not currently work on archive files or 64-bit ELF files. Options
-a, --all Display all. Equivalent to -A -d -h -I -l -r -s -S -V.
-A, --arch-specific Display architecture-specific information, if any.
-d, --dynamic Display the dynamic section.
-D, --use-dynamic When displaying symbols, use the symbol table in the dynamic section, not the symbols section.
-e, --headers Display all headers. Equivalent to -h -l -s.
-h, --file-header Display the ELF header at the beginning of the file.
-H, --help Display help information and exit.
-I, --histogram Display a histogram of bucket bit lengths when displaying the symbol tables.
-l, --program-headers, --segments Display the segment headers, if any.
-n, --notes Display the NOTE segment, if any.
-r, --relocs Display the relocation segment, if any.
-s, --symbols, --syms Display entries in symbol table sections, if any.
-S, --section-headers, --sections Display the section headers, if any.
-u, --unwind Display the unwind section, if any (currently applies only to IA64 ELF files).
-v, --version Display version information and exit.
-V, --version-info Display the version sections, if any.
-w[option], --debug-dump[=option] Display the debug sections. If specified with an option, display only that section. The options shown here in parentheses are for -w; the words preceding them are for --debug-dump. The options are abbrev (a), frames (f), frames-interp (F), info (i), line (l), loc (o), macro (m), pub-names (p), ranges (r) and str (s).
-W, --wide Don't break output lines at 80 columns. The default is to break them. Useful for wide terminals.
-x num, --hex-dump=num Display a hexadecimal dump of the section number.
readlink filereadlink option
Print the contents of the symbolic link file--that is, the name of the file to which the link points. Options
-f, --canonicalize Canonicalize by recursively following symbolic links.
--help Print usage information and exit.
-n, --no-newline Do not output a trailing newline.
-q, --quiet, -s, --silent Suppress most error messages.
-v, --verbose Print all error messages.
--version Print version information and exit.
reboot [options]
System administration command. Close out filesystems, shut down the system, then reboot. Because this command immediately stops all processes, it should be run only in single-user mode. If the system is not in runlevel 0 or 6, reboot calls shutdown -r. Options
-d Suppress writing to /var/log/wtmp.
-f Call reboot even when shutdown would normally be called.
-i Shut down network interfaces before reboot.
-n Suppress normal call to sync.
-w Suppress normal execution; simply write to /var/log/wtmp.
reject [options] destination
System administration command. Instruct printing system to reject jobs for the specified print queue destinations. Depending on queue settings, the system may prompt for a password. Also invoked as cupsreject. Options
-E Require encryption when connecting.
-h server Apply command remotely to the specified CUPS server.
-r reason Reject with the specified reason instead of the default "Reason Unknown."
rename from to files
Rename files by replacing the first occurrence of from in each filename with to. Example Rename files that start with test so they start with mytest: $ rename test mytest test*
renice [priority] [options] [target]
Control the scheduling priority of running processes. May be applied to a process, process group, or user (target). A privileged user may alter the priority of other users' processes. priority must, for ordinary users, lie between 0 and the environment variable PRIO_MAX (normally 20), with a higher number indicating increased niceness. A higher niceness value means that the process will run at a lower priority. A privileged user may set a negative priority, as low as PRIO_MIN (normally -20), to speed up processes. See the nice command for setting the scheduling priority for processes when they are initially run. Options
+num Specify number by which to increase current priority of process, rather than an absolute priority number.
-num Specify number by which to decrease current priority of process, rather than an absolute priority number.
-g Interpret target parameters as process group IDs.
-n increment Adjust the priority by the value of increment, which is a positive or negative integer.
-p Interpret target parameters as process IDs (default).
-u Interpret target parameters as usernames.
repquota [options] [filesystem]
System administration command. Generate a report on disk usage and quotas for the specified filesystem. Options
-a Generate report for all filesystems in /etc/mtab that support quotas.
-c Translate UIDs and GIDs in batches. (Faster for /etc/passwd.)
-C Translate UIDs and GIDs individually. (Faster for database lookups.)
-F format Report on quotas for the specified format. (See quota for valid formats.)
-g Report group quotas.
-i Ignore automount mount points.
-n Use UIDs and GIDs instead of names. (Generates faster reports.)
-p Interpret target parameters as process IDs (default).
-s Report sizes in more human-readable units.
-t Truncate user and group names to 9 characters.
-u Report user quotas. (This is the default.)
reset [options] [terminal]
Clear screen (reset terminal). If terminal is specified on the command line, the value is used as the terminal type. reset is a symbolic link to the tset command. Invoking the command as reset is useful for clearing your terminal when a program dies and leaves the terminal in an abnormal state. You may have to run the command with a linefeed character (usually Ctrl-J) before and after it: Ctrl-J reset Ctrl-J
See the tset command for the available options.
resize2fs [options] device [size]
System administration command. Enlarge or shrink an ext2 filesystem on device so it has size blocks. The filesystem size cannot be larger than the underlying partition. This command changes only the filesystem size, not the underlying partition. To change the partition, use fdisk. Options
-d flags Print debugging information on resize activity. The value of the flags parameter determines what activity is reported. Compute its value by summing the numbers of the items you wish to debug:
1 Disk I/O.
2 Block relocations.
8 Inode relocations.
16 Inode table movement.
-f Force resize, overriding safety checks.
-p Print progress information for each resize task.
restore flag [options] [files]
System administration command. Restore backed up files from a dump archive. Execute this command with one of the following flags. Flags
-C Compare files on disk to files in the backup and print report.
-i Restore files interactively. This will open a shell-like interface that accepts the following commands.
add [name] Add the current working directory, or the specified file or directory name to the list of files to extract.
cd directory Change the current working directory.
delete [name] Remove the current working directory or the specified file or directory name from the list of files to extract.
extract Extract selected files. This will prompt for the volume on which the files to be extracted can be found. Once the files are extracted, the system will prompt if you want to change the ownership and mode of the current directory (the one to which you extracted the files) to match the settings on the dump's original base directory.
help Print a command summary.
ls [name] Like the shell command, list files in the current working directory, or the specified file or directory name. A * before a name indicates items marked for extraction. In verbose mode, the listing will include each item's inode.
pwd Like the shell command, print the working directory.
quit Exit the command.
setmodes Set ownership and mode of the directory to which you extract the files to match the settings on the dump's original base directory.
quit Exit the command.
verbose Verbose mode. Print inodes along with file and directory names when using ls.
-P filename Create a Quick File Access file suitable for use with the -Q option.
-R Prompt for the tape volume to fully restore.
-r Fully restore the backup to a clean, newly created ext2 filesystem. Execute this command in the root directory of the new filesystem.
-t Print files if they exist in the archive or an error if they do not. If no files are specified, list all files in the archive.
-x Recursively extract files if they exist in the archive. Restore owner, modification times, and modes. If no files are specified, restore the entire backup.
Options
-a Read all volumes to find the files to extract, beginning with volume 1. This will skip any volume prompts.
-A file Read the table of contents from the specified archive file.
-bblocksize Specify the block size in kilobytes used for a block in the archive. Restore can usually determine this when reading the dump media.
-c Read dumps made prior to Version 4.4.
-d Print debugging information.
-D filesystem When using the -C flag, compare the dump to files on the specified filesystem.
-f file Read the backup from the specified file: a device file, an ordinary file, or - to read from standard input. Use host:file or user@host:file to read from a networked host using either the rmt program or the program specified by the RMT environment variable.
-F script Run the specified script at the beginning of each volume. restore will pass the current device and volume number to the script. The script should return 0 to continue, 1 to prompt for a new tape, or any other exit value to abort the restore. The script will run with the process's real user and group ID.
-h Do not recursively restore directory. Only restore the specified directory.
-k Use Kerberos authentication when connecting to a remote server.
-l Treat file as a regular file instead of a tape device. Use this option when restoring from remote compressed files.
-L n Used with the -C flag. Abort the comparison after encountering n errors.
-m Expect filenames to be given as inodes.
-M Restore from a multivolume backup. Treat any filename provided with -f as a prefix.
-N Perform all actions indicated by other flags and options, but don't write anything to the disk.
-o Automatically set ownership and mode of the current directory to match the original base directory of the dump.
-Q file Read tape positions from the specified Quick File Access mode file.
-S n Read from volume n of a multifile backup.
-u Unlink (remove) any existing files before writing a file with the same name.
-v Verbose mode. Print information about files being restored.
-V Enable multivolume mode for devices other than tapes.
-X file Read list of files and directories to extract from the specified file. Use - to retrieve list of files from standard input.
-y Attempt to skip over errors without prompting for operator input.
rev [file]
Reverse the order of characters on each line of the specified file and print the results on standard output. If no file is specified, rev reads from standard input.
rexec [options] rhost command
Execute commands remotely. This client program connects to a remote host running rexecd, and passes it command. It uses login name and password for authentication. These can be passed on the command line using options below, provided through the $HOME/.netrc file or the environment variables REXEC_USER and REXEC_PASS. If it cannot determine the username and password, it will prompt the user for the information. Because it sends passwords to the remote system in clear text, use rexec only on a secure network. See ssh for a more secure alternative. Options
-a Send both error messages and output to standard out.
-b When received locally, only echo signals SIGINT, SIGQUIT and SIGTERM to the remote process.
-c Leave remote standard input open when the local input closes.
-d Debugging mode. Echo commands sent locally.
-l username Specify a different username for the remote login. Default is the same as your local username.
-p password Specify the password for the remote account.
-n Prompt user for name and password even if otherwise provided.
-s Do not echo any signals to the remote process.
rexecd command-line
TCP/IP command. Server for the rexec routine, providing remote execution facilities with authentication based on usernames and passwords. rexecd is started by inetd and must have an entry in inetd's configuration file, /etc/inetd.conf.
richtext [options] [file]
Display MIME ("richtext") files on an ASCII terminal on standard output, by means such as highlighting bold or italic text and displaying underlined text correctly. Intended primarily for use with metamail. If no file is specified, input is taken from standard input. Options
-c Don't do any formatting; simply correct the raw richtext and write the results to standard output.
-f Use termcap-derived escape codes for bold and italic text, even if richtext was called in a pipe.
-m In multibyte Japanese and Korean sequences, treat < as a real <, not as the start of a richtext command.
-n Do not correct the raw richtext input.
-o Use overstrikes for underlines.
-p Use a pager to view the output. This option has no effect if standard input or standard output is redirected.
-s charset Use the specified character set as the default. Valid values for charset are us-ascii (default), iso-2022-jp, and iso-2022-kr.
-t Use * and _ instead of termcap-derived escape codes to highlight text.
rlogin [options] rhost
Remote login. rlogin connects the terminal on the current local host system to the remote host system rhost. The remote terminal type is the same as your local terminal type. The terminal or window size is also copied to the remote system if the server supports it. Use of rlogin has generally been replaced with ssh, which offers better security. Options
-8 Allow an 8-bit input data path at all times.
-d Debugging mode.
-ec Specify escape character c (default is ~).
-E Do not interpret any character as an escape character.
-k Attempt to get tickets from remote host, requesting them in the realm as determined by krb_realm-ofhost.
-l username Specify a different username for the remote login. Default is the same as your local username.
-L Allow rlogin session to be run without any output postprocessing (i.e., run in litout mode).
in.rlogind [options]
TCP/IP command. Server for the rlogin program, providing a remote login facility, with authentication based on privileged port numbers from trusted hosts. rlogind is invoked by inetd when a remote login connection is requested. The login process propagates the client terminal's baud rate and terminal type as found in the TERM environment variable. Options
-a Verify hostname.
-h Permit superuser .rhosts files to be used. Ignored if pluggable authentication module (PAM) support is enabled. Control through /etc/pam.conf instead.
-l Do not authenticate hosts via a nonroot .rhosts file. Ignored if pluggable authentication module (PAM) support is enabled. Control through /etc/pam.conf instead.
-L Do not authenticate hosts via .rhosts or hosts.equiv files. Ignored if pluggable authentication module (PAM) support is enabled. Control through /etc/pam.conf instead.
-n Suppress keep-alive messages.
rm [options] files
Delete one or more files. To remove a file, you must have write permission in the directory that contains the file, but you need not have permission on the file itself. If you do not have write permission on the file, you will be prompted (y or n) to override. rm is often aliased to rm -i, especially for the root user, to protect against inadvertently deleting files. Options
-d, --directory Remove directories, even if they are not empty. Available only to a privileged user.
-f, --force Remove write-protected files without prompting.
--help Print a help message and then exit.
-i, --interactive Prompt for y (remove the file) or n (do not remove the file).
--no-preserve-root Do not treat root (/) specially. This is the default.
--preserve-root Do not operate recursively on root (/).
-r, -R, --recursive If file is a directory, remove the entire directory and all its contents, including subdirectories. Be forewarned: use of this option can be dangerous.
-v, --verbose Verbose mode (print the name of each file before removing it).
--version Print version information and then exit.
-- Mark the end of options. Use this when you need to supply a filename beginning with -.
rmail [options] users
TCP/IP command. Handle remote mail received via uucp. rmail transforms trace information from mail in UUCP format to the equivalent RFC 822 format, then forwards messages to sendmail. Options
-D domain Use domain instead of UUCP as the UUCP hostname in From fields.
-T Print debugging information.
rmdir [options] directories
Delete the named directories (not the contents). directories are deleted from the parent directory and must be empty (if not, rm -r can be used instead). See also mkdir. Options
--help Print a help message and then exit.
--ignore-fail-on-non-empty Ignore failure to remove directories that are not empty.
-p, --parents Remove directories and any intervening parent directories that become empty as a result. Useful for removing subdirectory trees.
--verbose Verbose mode; print message for each directory as it is processed.
--version Print version information and then exit.
rmmod [options] modules
System administration command. Unload a module or list of modules from the kernel. This command is successful only if the specified modules are not in use and no other modules are dependent on them. This simplified program provides some backward compatibility. In general, use modprobe -r instead. Options
-s, --syslog Write messages to syslogd instead of to the terminal.
-v, --verbose Verbose mode.
-V, --version Print version number, then exit.
-w, --wait If module is in use, disable it so no new processes can use it. Remove the module when it is no longer in use.
rndc [options] [command]
TCP/IP command. Send commands to a BIND DNS server via a TCP connection (see the named command.) This command reads authentication and connection information from the file /etc/rndc.conf, and its authentication key from /etc/rndc.key. If entered without a command, display a help message listing the available commands. Options
-c file Read configuration information from file instead of /etc/rndc.conf.
-kfile Perform command on the routing cache instead of the forwarding information base (FIB) routing table.
-pport Connect to the specified port instead of the default control channel port, 953.
-s server Send command to the specified server. There must be an entry for server in the configuration file.
-V Use verbose log messages.
-y keyname Specify the key to use by keyname. There must be a key entry for keyname in the /etc/rndc.conf file.
Commands You can send the following commands to a BIND nameserver.
dumpdb Dump current cache to the dump file (specified in /etc/named.conf), or to named_dump.db when not specified.
flush [view] Flush all server caches, or only the cache for the specified view.
halt Stop server immediately.
querylog Toggle query logging.
reconfig Reload the configuration file and any new zones.
reload [zone [class [view]]] Reload configuration file and zones. When specified, limit the reload to the given zone, class, or view.
refresh zone Refresh database information for zone.
stats Write statistics to the statistics file (specified in /etc/named.conf).
status Display server status.
stop Save any recent dynamic zone transfer updates (IXFR) to the master files, then stop the server.
trace [debuglevel], notrace Increase the server's debug level by 1, or set it to the specified debuglevel. Use the notrace command to set the level to 1.
rootflags [option] image [flags [offset]]
System administration command. Set flags for a kernel image. If no arguments are specified, print flags for the kernel image. flags is a 2-byte integer located at offset 498 in a kernel image. Currently the only effect of flags is to mount the root filesystem in read-only mode if flags is nonzero. You may change flags by specifying the kernel image to change, the new flags, and the byte offset at which to place the new information (the default is 498). Note that rdev -R is a synonym for rootflags. If LILO is used, rootflags is not needed. flags can be set from the LILO prompt during a boot. Option
-o offset Same as specifying an offset as an argument.
route [options] [command]
TCP/IP command. Add or remove entries in the routing tables maintained by routed. route accepts two commands: add, to add a route, and del, to delete a route. The two commands have the following syntax: add [-net | -host] address [modifiers] del [-net | -host] address [modifiers]
address is treated as a plain route, unless -net is specified or address is found in /etc/networks. -host can be used to specify that address is a plain route whether or not it is found in /etc/networks. Using route modifiers, you can specify the gateway through which to route packets headed for that address, its netmask, TCP mss, or the device with which to associate the route; you can also mask certain routes. Only a privileged user may modify the routing tables. If no command is specified, route prints the routing tables. Options
-A family, --family Specify an address family to use with an add or del command. family may be inet, inet6, ax25, netrom, ipx, ddp, or x25.
-C, --cache Perform command on the routing cache instead of the forwarding information base (FIB) routing table.
-e, --extend Use netstat -r format to print routing table. Use twice to print extended information. Same as netstat -ree.
-F, --fib Perform command on the forwarding information base (FIB) routing table. This is the default behavior.
-h, --help Print help message, then exit.
-n, --numeric Show numerical addresses; do not look up hostnames. (Useful if DNS is not functioning properly.)
-v, --verbose Verbose mode.
-V, --version Print version and configuration options, then exit.
Route modifiers
[dev] interface Associate route with specified device. When the interface is given as the last argument on a command line, the word dev is optional.
netmask mask Use netmask mask.
gw gateway Route packets through gateway.
metric n Set routing metric to n.
mss bytes Set maximum segment size for connections over this route.
reject Cause route lookup for target to fail. Used to mask out networks from a default route.
Example Add a default gateway for interface eth0: route add default gw 192.168.0.1 dev eth0
routed [options] [logfile]
TCP/IP command. Network routing daemon. routed is invoked by a privileged user at boot time to manage the Internet routing tables. The routing daemon uses a variant of the Xerox NS Routing Information Protocol in maintaining up-to-date kernel routing-table entries. When routed is started, it uses the SIOCGIFCONF ioctl call to find those directly connected interfaces configured into the system and marked up. routed transmits a REQUEST packet on each interface and then enters a loop, listening for REQUEST and RESPONSE packets from other hosts. When a REQUEST packet is received, routed formulates a reply based on the information maintained in its internal tables. The generated RESPONSE packet contains a list of known routes. Any RESPONSE packets received are used to update the routing tables as appropriate. When an update is applied, routed records the change in its internal tables, updates the kernel routing table, and generates a RESPONSE packet reflecting these changes to all directly connected hosts and networks. Options
-d Debugging mode. Log additional information to the logfile.
-g Offer a route to the default destination.
-q Do not supply routing information. This is the default behavior when a system has only one network interface and no point-to-point links. Opposite of -s.
-s Force routed to supply routing information, whether it is acting as an internetwork router or not. This is the default behavior when a system has multiple network interfaces or a point-to-point link.
-t Stop routed from going into background and releasing itself from the controlling terminal, so that interrupts from the keyboard will kill the process.
rpcgen [options] file
Parse file, which should be written in the RPC (Remote Procedural Call) language, and produce a program written in C that implements the RPC code. Place header code generated from file.x in file.h, XDR routines in file_xdr.c, server code in file_svc.c, and client code in file_clnt.c. Lines preceded by % are not parsed. By default, rpcgen produces Sun OS 4.1-compatible code.
-a Produce all files (client and server).
-b Produce SunOS 4.1-compatible code. This is the default.
-5 Produce SVR4-compatible code.
-c Create XDR routines. Cannot be used with other options.
-C Produce ANSI C code (the default).
-k Produce K&R C code.
-Dname[=value] Define the symbol name, and set it equal to value or 1.
-h Produce a header file. With -T, make the file support RPC dispatch tables. Cannot be used with other options.
-I Produce an inetd-compatible server.
-K secs Specify amount of time that the server should wait after replying to a request and before exiting. Default is 120. Setting secs to -1 prevents the program from ever exiting.
-l Produce client code. Cannot be used with other options.
-m Produce server code only, suppressing creation of a "main" routine. Cannot be used with other options.
-N New style. Allow multiple arguments for procedures. Not necessarily backward-compatible.
-o [file] Print output to file or standard output.
-Sc Print sample client code to standard output.
-Ss Create skeleton server code only.
-t Create RPC dispatch table. Cannot be used with other options.
-T Include support for RPC dispatch tables.
rpcinfo [options] [host] [program] [version]
NFS/NIS command. Report RPC information. program can be either a name or a number. If a version is specified, rpcinfo attempts to call that version of the specified program. Otherwise, it attempts to find all the registered version numbers for the specified program by calling Version 0, and then attempts to call each registered version. Options
-b Make an RPC broadcast to the specified program and version using UDP, and report all hosts that respond.
-d Delete the specified version of program's registration. Can be executed only by the user who added the registration or by a privileged user.
-n portnum Use portnum as the port number for the -t and -u options, instead of the port number given by the portmapper.
-p Probe the portmapper on host and print a list of all registered RPC programs. If host is not specified, it defaults to the value returned by hostname.
-t Make an RPC call to program on the specified host using TCP, and report whether a response was received.
-u Make an RPC call to program on the specified host using UDP, and report whether a response was received.
rpm [options]
The Red Hat Package Manager. A freely available packaging system for software distribution and installation. RPM packages are built, installed, and queried with the rpm and rpmbuild commands. For detailed information on RPM, see Chapter 5.
rsh [options] host [command]
Execute command on remote host, or, if no command is specified, begin an interactive shell on the remote host using rlogin. The options can be specified before or after host. Use of rsh has generally been replaced with ssh, which offers better security. Options
-d Enable socket debugging.
-f Forward nonforwardable Kerberos credentials to the remote machine and remove them after the command completes. -f and -F are mutually exclusive.
-F Forward forwardable Kerberos credentials to the remote machine and remove them after the command completes. -f and -F are mutually exclusive.
-k realm Use the specified realm to obtain tickets for the remote host. By default, the rsh command gets the information from the function krb_realmofhost(3).
-l username Attempt to log in as username. By default, the name of the user executing rsh is used.
-n Redirect the input to rsh from the special device /dev/null. (This should be done when backgrounding rsh from a shell prompt, to direct the input away from the terminal.)
-PN, -PO Request the new or old Kerberos rcmd protocol, respectively.
-x Encrypt the network session traffic (except the command line).
rshd [options]
TCP/IP command. Remote shell server for programs such as rcmd and rcp, which need to execute a noninteractive shell on remote machines. rshd is started by inetd and must have an entry in inetd's configuration file, /etc/inetd.conf. All options are exactly the same as those in rlogind, except for -L, which is unique to rshd. Option
-L Log all successful connections and failed attempts via syslogd.
rsync [options] sources dest
Transfer files; used frequently for updating files across a network. File transfer with rsync is fast and efficient because it checks local files against remote files in small chunks, or blocks, and transfers only the blocks that differ between the files. sources and the final dest are in the form of: user@host:port/filename
If the file is on the local host, a plain filename can be specified. If the file is on a remote host, the host must also be specified. user can optionally be specified to log in as a different user on the remote site (in which case a password prompt might appear) and port can optionally be specified with a remote host to make rsync use a TCP port other than its default, 873. Relative filenames (names without initial slashes) are handled relative to the user's home directory. If a source directory is listed with a trailing slash, the whole directory is transferred and will appear under the destination directory; if the directory is listed without the slash, its files and subdirectories will appear directly under the destination directory. Normally, regular directories and files are transferred, but not symbolic links or other special files such as sockets and FIFOs. Two other formats for sources and dest, which refer to files on an rsync server (rsyncd), are: user@host::filename rsync://user@host:port/filename
rsync servers are beyond the scope of this book. Options
-0 Specify that the file specified in options such as --files-from is formatted with null characters to separate the filenames; when this option is not used, the file must include each filename on a separate line.
-a, --archive Like -r, but reproduce nearly all characteristics of the files and directories being transferred, such as modification times, symbolic links, ownership, and permissions.
--address=addr Specify the IP address of an rsync server to connect to; useful when multiple servers are running on the same host.
-b, --backup Preserve existing files at the destination by appending a suffix such as ~ while transferring new versions of those files.
-B n, --block-size=n Change block size used for transfers.
--backup-dir Specify where files created by the --backup option are stored.
--blocking-io Use blocking I/O when starting the remote shell used for transfer.
--bwlimit=n Set a limit to the speed of transfer, specified in kilobytes per second.
-c, --checksum Perform a full checksum on each file transferred.
-C, --cvs-exclude Don't transfer files that are normally considered temporary or otherwise uninteresting; obeys the same rules for ignoring files as CVS (described in Chapter 1).
--compare-dest=dir Compare source files to files of the same name in dir as well as the destination directory.
--compress Use compression during transmission.
--config=configfile When running as server, take configuration from configfile instead of /etc/rsyncd.conf.
--copy-links Transfer the files to which symbolic links are made instead of just the pointer information in the links.
--copy-unsafe-links If files to which symbolic links point are being transferred, copy even those files that exist outside the directories being transferred.
--daemon Run rsync as server.
-D, --devices Transfer device (/dev) files; requires superuser permission on both systems.
--delete-after After transferring files from a source directory, delete any files from the destination directory that do not exist in the source directory.
--delete Before transferring files from a source directory, delete any files from the destination directory that do not exist in the source directory.
--delete-excluded Invoke --delete, and additionally delete from the destination directory any files that match exclude options.
--dry-run Display the names of files that would be transferred and statistics related to a transfer, without performing a transfer.
-e shell Use shell (which can be a complete command with arguments, enclosed in quotes) to create the connection between two systems for file transfer. rsync uses rsh by default. Nowadays, most users prefer the secure shell ssh. This can be made the default by setting the environment variable RSYNC_RSH=ssh.
--exclude-from=file Like --exclude, but globbing patterns are taken from file. each pattern on a separate line.
--exclude=glob-pattern Don't transfer files whose names match glob-pattern. Rules for glob-pattern are complex and are described in the manpage. In general, filenames can include the shell globbing characters * to match everything, ? to match a single character, and [] to enclose a set of matching characters. Furthermore, to specify the beginning of a filename, start the name with a / character (it does not mean the file has to be an absolute pathname).
--existing Transfer only files that already exist on the destination host.
--files-from=file Take names of files to transfer from file.
--force Allow a file to replace a non-empty directory of the same name.
--from0 Synonym for -0.
-g, --group Set the group (normally identified by name, not number) of the destination file to match that of the source file, instead of using the group running the rsync program.
-H, --hard-links Set hard links on destination system to match source system.
-h, --help Display command syntax and options.
--ignore-errors Delete files even when there are I/O errors.
--ignore-existing Do not transfer files to replace existing files of the same name.
-I, --ignore-times Consider files for transfer even if they have the same size and timestamp as destination files.
--include-from=file Like --include, but globbing patterns are taken from file, which has each pattern listed on a separate line.
--include=glob-pattern Specify files to be transferred even if further exclude options would cause them to be ignored. rsync processes the include and exclude options in the order they appear on the command line, so earlier include options override later exclude options.
-l, --links Set symbolic links on destination system to match source system.
-L Synonym for --copy-links.
--log-format=format Display information about each file transferred in a format specified by % sequences; see rsyncd.conf manpage for formats.
--max-delete=n Delete at most n files when deleting from destination host.
-n Synonym for --dry-run.
--no-blocking-io Do not use blocking I/O when starting the remote shell used for transfer.
--no-detach When running as a daemon, do not restart as a background process.
--no-implied-dirs When preserving directory structures with --relative, do not force the creation of new directories or symbolic links if the destination host is set up differently from the source host.
--no-relative Transfer only the plain files without preserving the entire directory structure of files whose names include directories; otherwise, --files-from would create the entire directory structure to contain the file.
--no-whole-file Use rsync's block checks to transfer parts of files where possible.
--numeric-ids Set user and group IDs on destination files by number rather than name.
-o, --owner Set the user (normally identified by name, not number) of the destination file to match that of the source file, instead of settng it to the user running the rsync program.
--one-file-system When traversing directories, do not transfer files on directories that are mounted on other filesystems.
-p, --perms Set the permissions of the destination file to match that of the source file, instead of using the existing file's permissions or the default umask of the destination user.
-P Combination of --partial and --progress.
--partial Preserve partial files transferred if rsync is interrupted.
--password-file=file Take password for accessing a remote rsync server from file.
--port=n Use port n instead of default rsync port.
--progress Display ongoing statistics about the progress of the transfer of each file.
-q, --quiet Do not display statistics or server error messages.
--read-batch=prefix Syncronize systems by reading the files whose names start with the prefix specified by a preceding --write-batch option.
-r, --recursive Copy directories with all their contents.
-R, --relative Preserve the entire path of a specified source file or directory, instead of creating the file directly under the destination directory. That is, if project/tmp/main.c is specified, create project/tmp/main.c instead of just main.c. Create intermediate directories if needed.
--rsh=shell Synonym for -e.
--rsync-path=file Use the rsync binary located in file on the destination system.
--safe-links Don't copy links that point to absolute paths or to files outside the directories being transferred.
--size-only Skip files that have the same size on the source and destination hosts, even if their timestamps differ; usually, this check is based on both size and timestamp.
-S, --sparse Perform special optimizations on sparse files (files that contain holes and actually contain less data than their sizes indicate).
--stats Like -v, but also prints a number of statistics about each file transferred, such as the number of bytes actually transferred and the number transferred to compare the files on the two hosts.
--suffix=string Set the suffix placed on backup files to string. Default is a tilde (~).
--timeout=n Stop rsync if n seconds pass with no data being transferred.
-t, --times Set the timestamps of the destination file to match those of the source file, instead of using the time of transfer (that is, reflecting the existence of a new file on the destination host).
-T dir, --temp-dir=dir Use dir as rsync's temporary directory instead of the destination directory.
-u, --update Don't change a destination file if it is newer than the source file.
--version Display rsync's version and compiled-in features.
-v, --verbose Display the names of files transferred and statistics related to the transfer.
-W, --whole-file Transfer the entire files, instead of using rsync's block checks to transfer just parts of files where possible.
--write-batch=prefix Prepare to syncronize systems by writing files, whose names start with prefix, that describe the transfers to take place.
-x Synonym for --one-file-system.
-z Synonym for --compress.
Examples Transfer the entire directory proj to the /planning directory on remote host ourhub: $ rsync -r proj/ ourhub:/planning
Transfer the files and subdirectories under proj to the /planning directory on remote host ourhub: $ rsync -r proj ourhub:/planning
Return files from local directory active to the /tmp/active directory on remote host ourhub. Files to be transferred are listed in active/current_work.txt: $ cat active/current_work.txt workplan.doc workplan.sxw $ rsync -v --files-from=active/current_work.txt active \ ourhub:/tmp/active building file list ... done workplan.doc workplan.sxw ...
Copy the source directory's OpenOffice.org (.sxw) files and Kim's status report, but exclude the other status reports. $ ls proj conclusion.sxw Status_joem Status_leigh incentives.sxw Status_kim unified.sxw $ rsync -rv --include=*kim --exclude=/proj/Status* proj \ ourhub:tmp building file list ... done proj/Status_kim proj/conclusion.sxw proj/incentives.sxw proj/unified.sxw ...
runlevel [utmp]
System administration command. Display the previous and current system runlevels as reported in the utmp file. The default utmp file is /var/run/utmp. See init for a summary of runlevels.
rup [options] [hosts]
TCP/IP command. Query statd for system status on RPC hosts: current time, uptime, and load averages (the average number of jobs in the run queue). Options
-d Report local time on each host.
-h Sort information by hostname.
-l Sort information by load average.
-s Print times in seconds. Useful for scripts.
-t Sort information by uptime.
ruptime [options]
TCP/IP command. Provide information on how long each machine on the local network has been up and which users are logged into each. If a machine has not reported in for 11 minutes, assume it is down. The listing is sorted by hostname. ruptime depends on rwhod. Options
-a Include users who have been idle for more than one hour.
-l Sort machines by load average.
-r Reverse the normal sort order.
-t Sort machines by uptime.
-u Sort machines by the number of users logged in.
rusers [options] [host]
TCP/IP command. List the users logged into host, or to all local machines, in who format (hostname, usernames). rusers depends on rwhod. Options
-a Include machines with no users logged in.
-l Include more information: tty, date, time, idle time, remote host.
rpc.rusersd
System administration command. Report information on users logged into the system. Answers queries from rusers.
rwall host [file]
TCP/IP command. Use RPC to print a message to all users logged into host. If file is specified, read the message from it; otherwise, read from standard input.
rwho [option]
Report who is logged on for all machines on the local network (similar to who). rwho depends on rwhod. Option
-a List users even if they've been idle for more than one hour.
rwhod [options]
TCP/IP command. System-status server that maintains the database used by the rwho and ruptime programs. Its operation is predicated on the ability to broadcast messages on a network. As a producer of information, rwhod periodically queries the state of the system and constructs status messages, which are broadcast on a network. As a consumer of information, it listens for other rwhod servers' status messages, validates them, then records them in a collection of files located in the directory /var/spool/rwho. Messages received by the rwhod server are discarded unless they originated at an rwhod server's port. Status messages are generated approximately once every three minutes. Options
-a Use both broadcast and point-to-point interfaces. This is the default.
-b Use only broadcast interfaces.
-p Use only point-to-point interfaces.
-u user Run daemon as specified user.
sane-find-scanner [options]
Locate SCSI and USB scanners and print their device files, to be sure the scanners can be detected by SANE (Scanner Access Now Easy) backends. Options
devname Check only the specified device for a scanner.
-f Force the opening of any SCSI and USB devices specified with devname, in case the command is wrong in determining the device type.
-h, -? Print a usage message and exit.
-p Test for parallel-port scanners. Note that most parallel-port scanners won't be detected, even with this option.
-q Run quietly, printing only the devices.
-v Run verbosely. When specified as -v, show every device name and test result; as -vv, also print SCSI inquiry information and USB device descriptors.
scanadf [options]
Control scanners with an automatic document feeder (ADF), which can return multiple documents. The images are written to output files specified by the --outputfile option. scanadf uses the SANE interface to access the scanner and can support any device for which there is a SANE backend. Options
-d device, --device-name device Specify a SANE device name. The default is to attempt to open the first available device.
-e num, --end-count num Specify the last page number to scan.
-h, --help Print help message and exit. You can get device-specific help by running scanadf as follows: scanadf -h -d device
-L, --list-devices Display a list of available devices. The list may not be complete, particularly when accessing scanners across the network. Only scanners listed in a configuration file (typically in the directory /etc/sane.d) are displayed. A scanner with no configuration file entry must be accessed by its full device name.
-o string, --output-file string Specify a format string used to generate the output filename. Use %d replacement to insert the current page number in the name. The default format string is image-%04d.
-r, --raw Write raw image data to the output file without attempting to interpret it. Usually used together with --scan-script.
-s num, --start-count num Specify the page number of the first scanned image.
-S name, --scan-script name Specify the name of a script to run after each image is scanned.
-v, --verbose Run in verbose mode, providing additional status messages.
-V, --version Print version information and exit.
scanimage [options]
Read images from devices such as scanners and cameras, writing the images to standard output in PNM (Portable aNyMap) format. scanimage uses the SANE interface to access the scanner and can support any device for which there is a SANE backend. Formats
PBM Black-and-white
PGM Grayscale
PPM Color
TIFF Black-and-white, grayscale, or color
Options
--accept-md5-only Only accept MD5 authorization requests.
-b [format], --batch[=format] Work in batch mode, using a document feeder. Each page is written to a file, as specified by format, using a printf-type string. The default format is out%d.pnm for the PNM formats and out%d.tif for TIFF.
--batch-count=num The number of pages to scan in batch mode. Use this option for scanners that do not signal when they are empty; the default is to continue scanning until such a signal is received.
--batch-double Increment the page number by 2 in batch mode. Used for scanning two-sided originals on a single-sided scanner.
--batch-increment=num Increment the number in the filename by num in batch mode.
--batch-prompt In batch mode, prompt the user to press Return before scanning a page. Useful for manually feeding multiple pages.
--batch-start=num Specify the page number in batch mode to use in the first filename. The default is 0.
-d device, --device-name=device Specify the scanner device to usee.g., /dev/scanner.
-f format, --formatted-device-list=format Show the available scanner devices, as with -L, but also format the output. Possible format specifications are:
%d Device name
%i Index number
%m Model
%t Type
%v Vendor
--format=format Specify the file format of the output file. The possible values are pnm and tiff.
-h, --help Print a help message and exit. You can get device-specific help by running scanimage as follows: scanimage -h -d device
-i profile, --icc-profile=profile Include the specified ICC profile in the TIFF output file.
-L, --list-devices Display a list of available devices. The list may not be complete, particularly when accessing scanners across the network. Only scanners listed in a configuration file (typically in the directory /etc/sane.d) are displayed. A scanner with no configuration file entry must be accessed by its full device name.
-n, --dont-scan Set the specified options, but don't actually scan anything.
-T, --test Run some sanity tests to be sure the backend works as defined by the SANE API.
-v, --verbose Run in verbose mode, providing additional messages.
-V, --version Print version information and exit.
scp [options] file1[...] file2
Securely copy files between hosts on a network, using ssh. Part of the OpenSSH suite of network tools. scp requests a password or passphrase if required. The transfer can be between two remote hosts. If more than one file is specified for file1, file2 should be a directory; otherwise, only the last file in the list is copied. file1 and file2 can be specified in any of the following ways: file host:file user@host:file
The first format is used for a local file; a remote file can be specified in either of the other two formats. Options
-1 Force the use of SSH protocol 1.
-2 Force the use of SSH protocol 2
-4 Use IPv4 addresses.
-6 Use IPv6 addresses.
-B Run in batch mode. Don't ask for passwords or passphrases.
-c cipher Specify the cipher to be used for encrypting the data.
-C Enable ssh compression.
-F config Specify an ssh user configuration file (default is $HOME/.ssh/config).
-i file Specify the file that contains the identity (private key) for RSA authentication.
-l limit Limit bandwidth used to limit, specified in kilobits/second.
-o option Specify an option to pass to ssh.
-p Preserve modification time, access time, and mode.
-P port Connect to port on the remote host.
-q Don't display the progress meter.
-r Copy directories recursively.
-S program Specify the program to use for the encrypted connection. The program must understand ssh options.
-v Verbose mode.
Example Copy the local file user.server1.pub to the remote system server2, putting it in james's home directory: $ scp user.server1.pub james@server2:/home/james/
screen [options] [command [args]]
Provide ANSI/VT100 terminal emulation, making it possible to run multiple full-screen pseudo-terminals from one real terminal, and letting you manipulate and save your screen input and output, copy and paste between windows, etc. Options
-a Include all capabilities in each window's termcap.
-A Adapt all windows to the size of the current terminal. Default is to try to use the previous window size.
-c file Use file as the configuration file instead of the default $HOME/.screenrc.
-d Detach session running elsewhere. With -r, reattach to this terminal. With -R, reattach to this terminal or create it if it doesn't already exist. With -RR, use the first session when reattaching if more than one session is available.
-D Detach session running elsewhere, logging out before detaching. With -r, reattach to this terminal. With -R, reattach to this terminal or create it if it doesn't already exist. With -RR, do whatever is necessary to create a new session.
-e xy Change command characters. Specify x as the command character (default Ctrl-a) and y as the character that generates a literal command character (default a). Specify in caret notation (e.g., -e ^Pp to set Ctrl-p as the command character, which is useful for emacs-mode shell ).
-f, -fn, -fa Turn flow control on, off, or to automatic-switching mode.
-h num Specify the size of the history scrollback buffer.
-i Cause the interrupt key (usually Ctrl-c) to interrupt the display immediately when flow control is on. Use of this option is discouraged.
-l, -ln Turn login mode on or off for /etc/utmp updating.
-ls, -list Print list of pid.tty.host strings identifying screen sessions.
-L Tell screen that automargin terminal has a writable last position.
-m Ignore the $STY environment variable and create a new session. With -d, start session in detached mode; useful for scripts. With -D, start session in detached mode but don't fork a new process; the command exits if the session terminates.
-O Use optimal output mode for terminal rather than true VT100 emulation.
-p window Preselect the specified window if it exists.
-q Suppress error message printing on startup. Exit with nonzero return code if unsuccessful.
-r [pid.tty.host]
-r sessionowner/[pid.tty.host] Resume detached session. No other options except -d or -D can be specified. With sessionowner, resume another user's detached session; requires setuid root.
-R Attempt to resume the first session found, or start a new session with the specified options. Set by default if screen is run as a login shell.
-s shell Set the default shell, overriding the $SHELL environment variable.
-S name Specify a name for the session being started.
-t name Set the window's title.
-T term Set $TERM to term instead of "screen".
-U Run in UTF-8 mode and set the default for new windows to UTF-8.ctrl.
-v Print version information and exit.
-wipe [match] Like -ls, but remove destroyed sessions instead of marking them dead. If a match is specified, it should be in the same form as the argument to the -r option.
-x Attach to a session that is not detached. Requires multi-display mode.
-X Run specified command in specified session. Requires multi-display mode, and session must not be password-protected.
Key bindings screen commands consist of a command character (Ctrl-a by default) followed by another character. For many of the commands, you can also specify the character as Ctrl-character--e.g., Ctrl-a Ctrl-d as well as Ctrl-a d. The default key bindings are listed here. You can change the bindings for yourself in the $HOME/.screenrc configuration file, or for all users in /etc/screenrc. The term in parentheses that follows the description is the equivalent configuration-file command for changing the key binding.
Ctrl-a ' Prompt for window name or number to switch to. (select)
Ctrl-a " List all windows for selection. (windowlist -b)
Ctrl-a num Switch to window num, where num is a digit in the range 0-9 or - (the blank window). (select num)
Ctrl-a Tab Switch input focus to next region. (focus)
Ctrl-a Ctrl-a Toggle to previously displayed window. (other)
Ctrl-a a Send the command character (Ctrl-a) to the window. (meta)
Ctrl-a A Prompt user to enter a name for the current window. (title)
Ctrl-a b Send a break to the window. (break)
Ctrl-a B Reopen the terminal line and send a break. (pow-break)
Ctrl-a c Create a new window with a shell and switch to it. (screen)
Ctrl-a C Clear the screen. (clear)
Ctrl-a d Detach screen from this terminal. (detach)
Ctrl-a D D Detach and log out. (pow-detach)
Ctrl-a f Toggle flow control between on, off, and auto. (flow)
Ctrl-a F Resize window to current region size. (fit)
Ctrl-a Ctrl-g Toggle visual bell mode. (vbell)
Ctrl-a h Write contents of the current window to the file hardcopy.n. (hardcopy)
Ctrl-a H Begin/end logging of the current window to the file screenlog.n. (log)
Ctrl-a i Show information about this window. (info)
Ctrl-a k Kill current window. (kill)
Ctrl-a l Refresh current window. (redisplay)
Ctrl-a L Toggle window's login slot. Requires that screen be configured to update the utmp database. (login)
Ctrl-a m Redisplay last message. (lastmsg)
Ctrl-a M Toggle monitoring of the current window. (monitor)
Ctrl-a Space
Ctrl-a n Switch to next window. (next)
Ctrl-a N Show number and title of current window. (number)
Ctrl-a Backspace
Ctrl-a h
Ctrl-a p Switch to previous window. (prev)
Ctrl-a q Send a start signal (associated with Ctrl-q by terminals) to current window. (xon)
Ctrl-a Q Delete all regions except the current one. (only)
Ctrl-a r Toggle current window's line-wrap setting. (wrap)
Ctrl-a s Send a stop signal (associated with Ctrl-s by terminals) to current window. (xoff)
Ctrl-a S Split current region into two new regions. (split)
Ctrl-a t Show system information, including time and date. (time)
Ctrl-a v Display version information. (version)
Ctrl-a Ctrl-v Enter digraph for entering characters that can't normally be entered. (digraph)
Ctrl-a w List all windows. (windows)
Ctrl-a W Toggle 80/132 columns. (width)
Ctrl-a x Lock terminal. (lockscreen)
Ctrl-a X Kill the current region. (remove)
Ctrl-a z Suspend screen. (suspend)
Ctrl-a Z Reset virtual terminal to its "power-on" values. (reset)
Ctrl-a . Write out a .termcap file. (dumptermcap)
Ctrl-a ? Show all key bindings. (help)
Ctrl-a Ctrl-\ Kill all windows and terminate screen. (quit)
Ctrl-a : Enter command-line mode. (colon)
Ctrl-a [
Ctrl-a Esc Enter copy/scrollback mode. (copy)
Ctrl-a ] Write contents of the paste buffer to the standard input queue of the current window. (paste)
Ctrl-a {
Ctrl-a } Copy and paste a previous line. (history)
Ctrl-a > Write paste buffer to a file. (writebuf)
Ctrl-a < Read screen-exchange file into paste buffer. (readbuf)
Ctrl-a = Remove file used by Ctrl-a < and Ctrl-a >. (removebuf)
Ctrl-a , Show where screen comes from, where it went to, and why you can use it. (license)
Ctrl-a _ Start/stop monitoring the current window for inactivity. (silence)
Ctrl-a * List all currently attached displays. (displays)
script [option] [file]
Fork the current shell and make a typescript of a terminal session. The typescript is written to file. If no file is given, the typescript is saved in the file typescript. The script ends when the forked shell exits, usually with Ctrl-D or exit. Options
-a Append to file or typescript instead of overwriting the previous contents.
-c command Run the specified command instead of an interactive shell.
-f Flush output after each write. Useful if another person is monitoring the output file.
-q Operate in quiet mode.
-t Write timing data to standard error. Each entry has two fields: the first is the elapsed time since the last output, and the second is the number of characters in the current output.
sdiff -o outfile [options] from to
Find differences between the two files from and to and merge interactively, writing the results to outfile. Options
-- Treat remaining options as filenames, even if they begin with -.
-a, --text Treat all files as text and compare line by line.
-b, --ignore-space-change Ignore differences in whitespace.
-B, --ignore-blank-lines Ignore added or missing blank lines.
-d, --minimal Use a different algorithm to find fewer changes. This option causes sdiff to run more slowly.
-H, --speed-large-files Heuristically speed comparison of large files with many small scattered changes.
-i, --ignore-case Ignore case changes.
-I regexp, --ignore-matching-lines=regexp Ignore any changes that insert or delete lines matching the regular expression regexp.
--ignore-all-space Ignore whitespace when comparing lines.
-l, --left-column Print only the left column of common lines.
-o file, --output=file Write merged output to the specified file.
-s, --suppress-common-lines Suppress common lines.
-t, --expand-tabs Convert tabs to spaces in the output to preserve alignment.
-v, --version Print version information and exit.
-w cols, --width=cols Set the output to cols columns wide.
-W Ignore horizontal whitespace when comparing lines.
Interactive commands
ed Edit, then use both versions, with a header for each.
eb Edit, then use both versions.
el Edit, then use the left version.
er Edit, then use the right version.
e Edit a new version to replace the others.
h,? Display a list of these commands.
l Use the left version.
r Use the right version.
s Silently include common lines.
v Verbosely include common lines.
q Quit.
sed [options] [command] [files]
Stream editor. Edit one or more files without user interaction. See Chapter 1 for more information.
sendmail [flags] [address...]
System administration command. sendmail is a mail transfer agent (MTA) or, more simply, a mail router. It accepts mail from a user's mail program, interprets the mail address, rewrites the address into the proper form for the delivery program, and routes the mail to the correct delivery program. Command-line flags
-- End of options marker. Only addresses should follow this option.
-Ac Use local submission configuration file /etc/mail/submit.cf, even when no mail is sent from the command line.
-Am Use configuration file /etc/mail/sendmail.cf, even when mail is sent from the command line.
-Btype Set message body type. Accepted values are 7BIT and 8BITMIME.
-bx Set operation mode to x. Operation modes are:
a Run in ARPAnet mode.
d Run as a daemon.
D Run as a daemon, but remain in the foreground.
h Print persistent host status information.
H Purge expired entries from persistent host status information.
i Initialize the alias database.
m Deliver mail (the default).
p Print the mail queue.
s Speak SMTP on input side.
t Run in test mode.
v Verify addresses; do not collect or deliver.
-C file Use configuration file file.
-d level Set debugging level.
-F name Set full name of user to name.
-f name Sender's name is name.
-G Relay message submission. Used by rmail.
-i Do not interpret dots on a line by themselves as a message terminator.
-h cnt Set hop count (number of times message has been processed by sendmail) to cnt.
-L identifier Use the specified log identifier for messages sent to syslogd.
-N conditions Specify conditions for delivery status notification (DSN) as a comma-separated list. Accepted values are never, delay, failure, and success.
-n Do not alias or forward.
-O option=value Set an option specified by its long name. Options are described in the next section.
-oXvalue Set an option specified by its short name X. Options are described in the next section.
-pprotocol Receive messages via the protocol protocol.
-q[time] Process queued messages immediately, or at intervals indicated by time (for example, -q30m for every half hour).
-qp[time] Same as -q, but create a persistent process to handle the queue instead of initiating a new process at each time interval.
-qf Process saved messages in the queue using the foreground process.
-qG group Process saved messages in the named queue group.
-q[!]Isubstring Process jobs for named queues containing substring. Use ! to process mail for all queues not containing substring.
-q[!]Qsubstring Process quarantined messages containing substring. Use ! to process mail for recipients not containing substring.
-q[!]Rsubstring Process jobs with recipients containing substring. Use ! to process mail for recipients not containing substring.
-q[!]Ssubstring Process jobs from senders containing substring. Use ! to process mail from senders not containing substring.
-Q[reason] Quarantine messages for the given reason. Use query options above to specify the message to quarantine.
-R portion When bouncing messages, return only the specified portion of the bounced message. portion may be hdrs for headers, or full for the full message.
-t Read header for To:, Cc:, and Bcc: lines, and send to everyone on those lists.
-v Verbose mode.
-V envid Use envid as the original envelope ID.
-X file Log all traffic to file. Not to be used for normal logging.
Configuration options Command-line configuration options are the same options normally set with an O in the sendmail configuration file. On the command line, they are set using -O and the option's long name. Many of these options have short-name variations that are used with the -o option. Here, we document items most likely to be useful on the command line, providing both their short- and long- name forms. Many of the commands call for timeout values. These should be given as a number followed by a letter indicating the interval: s for seconds, m for minutes, h for hours, or d for days. For example, 30s is 30 seconds, 10m is 10 minutes, and 3d is 3 days. The default is minutes when no letter is given.
Aliasfile=file, Afile Use alternate alias file.
AliasWait=min, amin If the D option is set, wait min minutes for the aliases file to be rebuilt before returning an alias database out-of-date warning.
BlankSub=char, Bchar Set unquoted space replacement character.
CheckAliases, n When running newaliases, validate the right side of aliases.
CheckpointInterval=num, Cnum Checkpoint the queue when mailing to multiple recipients. sendmail will rewrite the list of recipients after each group of num recipients has been processed.
ClassFactor=factor, zfactor Multiplier for priority increments. This determines how much weight to give to a message's precedence header. sendmail's default is 1800.
ConnectionCacheSize=num, knum Specify the maximum number of open connections to cache.
ConnectionCacheTimeout=timeout, Ktimeout Time out connections after timeout.
ConnectionRateThrottle=num Restrict SMTP connections per second to num.
DefaultUser=uid[:gid], uuid[:gid] Use user ID and group ID for mailers instead of 1:1. If no group ID is specified, the user's default group is used.
DefaultCharSet=label Use the specified label for 8-bit data.
DeliveryMode=x, dx Set the delivery mode to x. Delivery modes are d for deferred delivery, i for interactive (synchronous) delivery, b for background (asynchronous) delivery, and q for queue only (i.e., deliver the next time the queue is run).
DialDelay=seconds Specify the number of seconds to wait before redialing after a connection fails.
DontPruneRoutes, R Don't prune route addresses.
EightBitMode=mode, 8mode Specify how to handle 8-bit input. Accepted values for mode are mimefy (convert to 7-bit), pass (send as is), or strict (bounce the message).
ErrorHeader=text, Etext Set error-message header. text is either text to add to an error message, or the name of a file. A filename must include its full path and begin with a /.
ErrorMode=x, ex Set error processing to mode x. Valid modes are m to mail back the error message, w to write back the error message, p to print the errors on the terminal (default), q to throw away error messages, and e to do special processing for the BerkNet.
FallbackMXhost=host, Vhost Set fallback MX host. host should be the fully qualified domain name of the fallback host.
ForkEachJob, Y Deliver each job that is run from the queue in a separate process. This helps limit the size of running processes on systems with very low amounts of memory.
ForwardPath=path, Jpath Set an alternative .forward search path.
HelpFile=file, Hfile Specify SMTP help file to use instead of /etc/mail/helpfile.
HoldExpensive, c On mailers that are considered "expensive" to connect to, don't initiate immediate connection.
IgnoreDots, i Do not take dots on a line by themselves as a message terminator.
LogLevel=n, Ln Specify log level. Default is 9.
MatchGECOS, G Compare local mail names to the GECOS section in the password file.
MaxDaemonChildren=num Restrict incoming SMTP daemon to no more than num child processes.
MaxHopCount=num, hnum Allow a maximum of num hops per message.
MeToo, m Also send to me (the sender) if I am in an alias expansion.
MinFreeBlocks=minblocks, bminblocks Require at least minblocks on the filesystem to be free.
MinQueueAge=timeout Wait the specified time before processing a new job in the queue.
NoRecipientAction=action Specify what headers, if any, to add to a message without recipient headers. Accepted values are none, add-to, add-apparently-to, add-bcc, and add-to-undisclosed.
OldStyleHeaders, o If set, this message may have old-style headers. If not set, this message is guaranteed to have new-style headers (i.e., commas instead of spaces between addresses).
PostmasterCopy=user, Puser Send copies of all failed mail to user (usually postmaster).
PrivacyOptions=optionlist, poptionlist Adjust the privacy of the SMTP daemon. The optionlist argument should be a comma-separated list of the following values:
public Make SMTP fully public (the default).
needmailhelo Require site to send HELO or ELHO before sending mail.
needexpnhelo Require site to send HELO or ELHO before answering an address expansion request.
needvrfyhelo Like preceding argument, but for verification requests.
noetrn Deny requests to reverse the connection using extended TURN.
noexpn Deny all expansion requests.
noverb Deny requests for verbose mode.
novrfy Deny all verification requests.
authwarnings Insert special headers in mail messages advising recipients that the message may not be authentic.
goaway Set all of the previous arguments (except public).
nobodyreturn Don't return message body with a delivery status notification.
noreceipts Turn off delivery status notification on success.
restrictexpand Deny untrusted users access to aliases, forwards, or include files. Restrict sendmail -bv and disallow -v.
restrictmailq Allow only users of the same group as the owner of the queue directory to examine the mail queue.
restrictqrun Limit queue processing to root and the owner of the queue directory.
QueueDirectory=dir, Qdir Select the directory in which to queue messages.
QueueFactor=factor, qfactor Multiplier (factor) for high-load queuing. Default is 600000.
QueueLA=load, xload Queue messages when load level is higher than load.
QueueTimeout=timeout, Ttimeout Set the timeout on undelivered messages in the queue to the specified time (overridden by Timeout.queuereturn).
RecipientFactor=factor, yfactor Penalize large recipient lists by factor.
RefuseLA=load, Xload Refuse SMTP connections when load is higher than load.
ResolverOptions=arg, I arg Use DNS lookups and tune them. Queue messages on connection refused. The arg arguments are identical to resolver flags without the RES_ prefix. Each flag can be preceded by a plus or minus sign to enable or disable the corresponding nameserver option. There must be whitespace between the I and the first flag.
RetryFactor=inc, Zinc Increment priority of items remaining in queue by inc after each job is processed. sendmail uses 90,000 by default.
SaveFromLine, f Save Unix-style From lines at the front of messages.
SendMimeErrors, j Use MIME format for error messages.
SevenBitInput, 7 Format all incoming messages in seven bits.
StatusFile=file, Sfile Save statistics in the named file.
SuperSafe, s Always instantiate the queue file, even when it is not strictly necessary.
TempFileMode=mode, Fmode Set default file permissions for temporary files. If this option is missing, default permissions are 0600.
Timeout.queuereturn=timeout Return undelivered mail that has been in the queue longer than the specified timeout. The default is 5d (five days).
TimeZoneSpec=timezone, ttimezone Set name of the time zone.
UseErrorsTo, l Do not ignore Errors-To header.
UserDatabaseSpec=database, Udatabase Consult the user database for forwarding information.
Verbose, v Run in verbose mode.
sendmail support files
/usr/lib/sendmail Traditional location of sendmail binary.
/usr/bin/newaliases Link to /usr/lib/sendmail; rebuilds the alias database from information in /etc/aliases.
/usr/bin/mailq Prints a listing of the mail queue.
/etc/mail/sendmail.cf Configuration file, in text form.
/etc/mail/submit.cf Configuration file used for local message submissions.
/etc/mail/helpfile SMTP help file.
/etc/mail/statistics Statistics file.
/etc/aliases Alias file, in text form.
/etc/aliases.db Alias file in dbm format. Created by newaliases
/var/spool/mqueue Directory in which the mail queue and temporary files reside.
sensors [options] [chips]
Display current readings of all sensor chips and set limits as specified in the configuration file. The default configuration file is /etc/sensors.conf. Options
-A Omit adapter and algorithm for each chipset.
-c [config-file] Specify a configuration file. The default value is sensor.conf, and the default paths are searched in this order: /etc, /usr/lib/sensors, /usr/local/lib/sensors, /usr/lib, /usr/local/lib, and . (the current directory).
-f Print temperatures in Fahrenheit, not Celsius.
-h Display help information and exit.
-s Evaluate all set statements in the configuration file. Requires superuser privileges.
-u Treat all chips as unknown. Used for testing purposes. The output quality will be lower.
-v Display version information and exit.
seq [options] [first [increment]] last
Print the numbers from first through last by increment. The default is to print one number per line to standard output. Both first and increment can be omitted and default to 1, but if first is omitted then increment must also be omitted. In other words, if only two numbers are specified, they are taken to be the first and last numbers. The numbers are treated as floating-point. Options
-f format, --format=format Write the output using the specified printf floating-point format, which can be one of %e, %f, or %g (the default).
--help Print help message and exit.
-s string, --separator=string Use string to separate numbers in the output. Default is newline.
-w, --equal-width Equalize the width of the numbers by padding with leading zeros. (Use -f for other types of padding.)
--version Print version information and exit.
setfdprm [options] device [name]
Load disk parameters used when autoconfiguring floppy devices. Options
-c device Clear parameters of device.
-n device Disable format-detection messages for device.
-p device [name | parameters] Permanently reset parameters for device. You can use name to specify a configuration, or you can specify individual parameters. The parameters that can be specified are dev, size, sect, heads, tracks, stretch, gap, rate, spec1, or fmt_gap. Consult /etc/fdprm for the original values.
-y device Enable format-detection messages for device.
setkeycodes scancode keycode
System administration command. Assign a keycode event to the specified keyboard scancode. The kernel matches these to its own keycodes. Scancodes in the range of 1-88 are hardwired in the kernel, but the remaining scancodes can be assigned to keycodes in the range of 1-127. Use getkeycodes to see current assignments. Use showkey to discover what scancode a key is sending.
setleds [options]
Display or change the LED flag settings (Num Lock, Caps Lock, and Scroll Lock) for the current virtual terminal. With no options, display the current settings for all three flags. Can be used in a startup script to set the initial state of the LEDs. Options
+num, -num Set or clear Num Lock.
+caps, -caps Set or clear Caps Lock
+scroll, -scroll Set or clear Scroll Lock.
-D Change both the current and the default settings. Useful for always having NumLock set, for example.
-F Only change the flags (and their settings may be reflected by the keyboard LEDs). The default behavior.
-L Change the LEDs but not the flags, so the leds no longer reflect the virtual terminal (VT) flags. Run setleds -L with no other options to restore the default behavior.
-v Report the settings before and after the change.
setmetamode [options]
Display or set Meta key handling for the current virtual terminal. With no option, print the current Meta key mode. Otherwise, set the mode and display the setting before and after the change. Options
esc, prefix, escprefix Set the Meta key to send an escape sequence.
meta, bit, metabit Set the Meta key to set the high-order bit of the character.
setquota [options] [name] [limits] filesystems
System administration command. Set quotas from the command line. Provide limits in the format soft-block-limit hard-block-limit soft-inode-limit hard-inode-limit. To disable a quota, set it to 0. See also edquota, a vi editor interface for editing and setting quotas. Options
-a Apply settings to all filesystems listed in /etc/mtab that support quotas.
-b Read new settings from standard input. Provide as a list, each line in the form of "name limits."
-Fformat Specify filesystem quota format to use. See quota for a list of accepted values.
-g Set group quotas instead of users.
-pprototype Apply the same settings as used for the specified user or group: prototype.
-tblockgrace inodegrace Specify overall grace times in seconds for block and inode quotas.
-Tname blockgrace inodegrace Specify grace times in seconds for individual user or group name. Use the string unset to remove existing grace times.
-u Set user quotas. (This is the default.)
setsid command [arguments]
System administration command. Execute the named command and optional command arguments in a new session.
setterm [options]
Set terminal attributes by writing a character string to standard output to invoke the specified attributes. Options For Boolean options, the default value is on. Where 8-color is specified, the possible colors are black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, and white. Where 16-color is specified, the possible colors include the 8-color colors, plus grey, bright red, bright green, bright yellow, bright blue, bright magenta, bright cyan, and bright white.
-appcursorkeys [on|off] Set cursor key application mode on or off. Virtual consoles only. Can cause problems with vi.
-append [num] Write a snapshot of virtual console num to the file specified with the -file option, appending the snapshot to any existing contents. With no argument, write a snapshot of the current virtual terminal.
-background 8-color|default Set background color. Virtual consoles only.
-bfreq [freq] Set the bell frequency in Hz (default 0).
-blank [min] Set the delay before the screen blanks to the specified number of minutes. Virtual consoles only.
-blength [millisec] Set the bell duration in milliseconds (default 0).
-blink [on|off] Turn blinking mode on or off. If the terminal is not a virtual console, -blink off also turns off bold, half-bright, and reverse modes.
-bold [on|off] Turn bold on or off. If the terminal is not a virtual console, -bold off also turns off blink, half-bright, and reverse modes.
-clear [all] Clear the screen.
-clear rest Clear from the current cursor position to the end of the screen.
-clrtabs [tab1...tabn] With no arguments, clear all tab stops. Otherwise, clear the specified tab stops. Virtual consoles only.
-cursor [on|off] Turn the cursor on or off.
-default Set rendering options to defaults.
-dump [num] Write a snapshot of virtual console num to the file specified with the -file option, overwriting any existing contents. With no argument, dump the current virtual console. Overrides -append.
-file file Write output from the -dump or -append option to the specified file. If no filename is specified, write to the file screen.dump in the current directory.
-foreground 8-color|default Set foreground color. Virtual consoles only.
-half-bright [on|off] Turn half-bright (dim) mode on or off. If the terminal is not a virtual console, -half-bright off also turns off bold, blink, and reverse modes.
-hbcolor 16-color Set color for half-bright characters. Virtual consoles only.
-initialize Display the terminal initialization string to reset the rendering options and other attributes to their defaults.
-inversescreen [on|off] Invert the screen colors, swapping foreground and background, and underline and half-bright. Virtual consoles only.
-linewrap [on|off] Turn line-wrapping on or off. Virtual consoles only.
-msg [on|off] Enable or disable the sending of kernel printk( ) messages to the console. Virtual consoles only.
-msglevel [num] Set the console logging level for kernel printk( ) messages. The value of num can be in the range 0-8. Messages more important than the specified number are printed, with 8 printing all kernel messages, and 0 equivalent to -msg on. Virtual consoles only.
-powerdown [min] Set the VESA powerdown interval to the specified number of minutes, from 0-60. If no value is specified for min, defaults to 0, disabling powerdown.
-powersave [mode] Put the monitor in the specified VESA powersave mode. Specifying no mode is equivalent to off. The possible values of mode are:
on, vsync vsynch suspend mode.
hsync hsync suspend mode.
powerdown Powerdown mode.
off Turn off VESA powersaving features.
-regtabs [num] Clear all existing tab stops and set a regular tab stop pattern at every num number (default is 8). num is a number in the range 1-160. Virtual consoles only.
-repeat [on|off] Turn keyboard repeat on or off. Virtual consoles only.
-reset Display the terminal reset string to reset the terminal to its power-on state.
-reverse [on|off] Turns reverse-video mode on or off. If the terminal is not a virtual console, -reverse off also turns off bold, half-bright, and blink modes.
-store Store the current rendering options as the defaults. Virtual consoles only.
-tabs [tab1...tabn] Set tab stops at the specified cursor positions, which can range from 1 to 160. Virtual consoles only.
-term term Replace the value of the TERM environment variable with term.
-ulcolor 16-color Set color for underlining. Virtual consoles only.
-underline [on|off] Turn underlining on or off.
sftp [options] host
An interactive file transfer program, similar to ftp except that it uses ssh to perform file transfers securely. sftp connects to host and logs in, prompting for a password if required. The host can be specified in the following ways: host [user@]host[:file [file] ...] [user@]host[:dir[/]]
If user is specified, that username is used for the login. If any files are specified, the sftp client automatically retrieves them after the user has been authenticated, and then exits. If a directory dir is specified, the client starts in that directory on the remote host. sftp is part of the OpenSSH suite of network tools. Options
-1 Use SSH1. The default is to use SSH2.
-b file Run in batch mode, taking commands from the specified file. Requires the use of a noninteractive authentication mechanism.
-B bytes Specify the size of the buffer sftp uses for file transfers. Default is 32768 bytes.
-C Enable compression (uses ssh -C).
-F file Use file as the ssh configuration file instead of the default system configuration file. The systemwide file is usually /etc/ssh/ssh_config, and per-user files are $HOME/.ssh/config.
-ooption Pass an option to ssh. The passed option is in the format used by ssh_config(5) (e.g., -oPORT=nn, where nn is the port number). -o can appear more than once to pass multiple options to ssh. This option is useful for passing options that don't have an equivalent sftp command-line option.
-P server_path Connect directly to the local sftp server specified in server_path. Useful for debugging.
-R num Specify the number of requests that may be outstanding at any time (default 16).
-s subsys|server_path Specify the SSH2 subsystem or path to the sftp server on the remote system. Specifying the path is useful for using sftp via SSH1 or if the remote sshd does not have an sftp subsystem configured.
-S program Specify the name of a program that understands ssh options and that you want to use for the encrypted connection.
-v Raise the logging level.
sh [options] [file [arguments]]
The standard Unix shell, a command interpreter into which all other commands are entered. On modern versions of Linux, this is just another name for the bash shell. For more information, see Chapter 6. For legacy Linux versions and other Unix flavors, be careful not to rely on sh and bash being equivalent.
sha1sum [option] [files] sah1sum [option] --check [file]
Compute or check 160-bit SHA1 checksums to verify file integrity. If the file is not specified, or specified as -, read from standard input. Options
-b, --binary Read files in binary mode. The default on DOS or Windows.
-c, --check Check the SHA1 sum and file information in the file argument (or standard input) against the corresponding files and verify that they are consistent. The input must have been generated by an earlier sha1sum command.
--help Print usage information and exit.
--status Don't generate output messages; the exit code indicates success or failure. Used only with --check.
--string=string Compute the SHA1 sum for the specified string. This option does not take a file argument. Put quotes around the string if it contains spaces.
-t, --text Read files in text mode. The default.
--version Print version information and exit.
-w, --warn Warn about improperly formatted checksum lines. Used only with --check.
showkey [options]
Print keycodes, scancodes, or ASCII codes of keys pressed on the keyboard. The default is to show keycodes. In keycode and scancode mode, the program terminates 10 seconds after the last key is pressed. In ASCII mode, press Ctrl-D to exit. This command may not function properly under the X Window System, which also reads from the console device. Options
-a, --ascii Print the ASCII character, decimal, octal, and hexadecimal values of keys pressed.
-h, --help Print version number and help message, then exit.
-k, --keycodes Print keycodes associated with key-press events. This is the default mode.
-s, --scancodes Print the keyboard scancodes associated with key-press events.
showmount [options] [host]
NFS/NIS command. Show information about an NFS server. This information is maintained by the mountd server on host. The default value for host is the value returned by hostname. With no options, show the clients that have mounted directories from the host. showmount is usually found in /usr/sbin, which is not in the default search path. Options
-a, --all Print all remote mounts in the format hostname:directory, where hostname is the name of the client and directory is the root of the filesystem that has been mounted.
-d, --directories List directories that have been remotely mounted by clients.
-e, --exports Print the list of exported filesystems.
-h, --help Provide a short help summary.
--no-headers Do not print headers.
-v, --version Report the current version of the program.
shred [options] files
Overwrite a file to make the contents unrecoverable, and delete the file afterward if requested. Options
- Shred standard output.
-f, --force Force permissions to allow writing to files.
--help Print help message and exit.
-nnum, --iterations=num Overwrite files num times (default is 25).
-snum, --size=num Shred num bytes. num can be expressed with suffixes (e.g., K, M, or G).
-u, --remove Remove file after overwriting. shred does not remove the file unless this option is specified.
-v, --verbose Verbose mode.
--version Print version information and exit.
-x, --exact Shred the exact file size; do not round up to the next full block.
-z, --zero On the final pass, overwrite with zeros to hide the shredding.
shutdown [options] when [message]
System administration command. Terminate all processing. when may be a specific time (in hh:mm format), a number of minutes to wait (in +m format), or now. A broadcast message notifies all users to log off the system. Processes are signaled with SIGTERM to allow them to exit gracefully. /etc/init is called to perform the actual shutdown, which consists of placing the system in runlevel 1. Only privileged users can execute the shutdown command, although init may call shutdown with root privileges when the Ctrl-Alt-Del key combination is pressed from the console keyboard. Broadcast messages, default or defined, are displayed at regular intervals during the grace period; the closer the shutdown time, the more frequent the message. Options
-a When called from init, shut down only if one of the users listed in the file /etc/shutdown.allow is currently logged in.
-c Cancel a shutdown that is in progress.
-f Reboot fast, by suppressing the normal call to fsck when rebooting.
-F Force a filesystem check (fsck) on reboot.
-h Halt the system when shutdown is complete.
-k Print the warning message, but suppress actual shutdown.
-r Reboot the system when shutdown is complete.
-t num Ensure a num-second delay between killing processes and changing the runlevel.
size [options] [objfile...]
Print the number of bytes of each section of objfile and its total size. If objfile is not specified, a.out is used. Options
-d Display the size in decimal and hexadecimal.
--format=format Imitate the size command from either System V (--format sysv) or BSD (--format berkeley).
--help Print help message, then exit.
-o Display the size in octal and hexadecimal.
--radix=num Specify how to display the size: in hexadecimal and decimal (if num is 10 or 16) or hexadecimal and octal (if num is 8).
-t, --totals Show object totals. Works only with Berkeley format listings.
--target=bfdname Specify object format by binary file descriptor name. Use -h for a list of supported object formats.
-x Display the size in hexadecimal and decimal.
-A Imitate System V's size command.
-B Imitate BSD's size command.
-V, --version Print version, then exit.
skill [signal] [options] processes snice [priority] [options] processes
Send a signal to processes, or reset the priority. The default signal for skill is TERM, and the default priority for snice is +4 but can be in the range +20 (slowest) to -20 (fastest). The selection options -c, -p, -t, and -u are not required, but can be specified to insure that processes are interpreted correctly. Options
-c The next argument is a command.
-i Use interactive mode.
-l, -L List available signals.
-n Display the process ID, but take no other action.
-p The next argument is a process ID.
-t The next argument is a tty or pty.
-u The next argument is a username.
-v Verbose mode.
-V Show version information and exit.
slabtop [options]
Display kernel slab cache information in real time. slabtop displays a listing of the top caches as sorted by a given sort criteria. Options
-d n, --delay=n Refresh the display every n seconds. By default, the display is refreshed every three seconds.
-s S, --sort=S Sort by S, where S is one of the following sort criteria:
a Sort by the number of active objects in each cache.
b Sort by the number of objects per slab.
c Sort by cache size.
l Sort by the number of slabs in each cache.
n Sort by the name of each cache.
o Sort by the number of objects in each cache (this is the default).
p Sort by the number of pages per slab.
s Sort by the size of objects in each cache.
u Sort by cache utilization.
v Sort by the number of active slabs.
-o, --once Display once and then exit.
--help Display usage information and then exit.
-V, --version Display version information and then exit.
slattach [options] [tty]
TCP/IP command. Attach serial lines as network interfaces, thereby preparing them for use as point-to-point connections. Only a privileged user may attach or detach a network interface. Options
-c command Run command when the connection is severed.
-d Debugging mode.
-e Exit immediately after initializing the line.
-h Exit when the connection is severed.
-l Create UUCP-style lockfile in /var/spool/uucp.
-L Enable three-wire operation.
-m Suppress initialization of the line to 8-bit raw mode.
-n Similar to mesg -n.
-p protocol Specify protocol, which may be slip, adaptive, ppp, or kiss.
-q Quiet mode; suppress messages.
-s speed Specify line speed.
sleep amount[units] sleep option
Wait a specified amount of time before executing another command. units may be s (seconds), m (minutes), h (hours), or d (days). The default for units is seconds. Options
--help Print usage information and exit.
--version Print version information and exit.
slocate [options] string
Securely search database(s) of filenames and print matches. Works like locate, but it also stores file permissions and ownership information so users cannot see files to which they don't have access. In some distributions, locate is actually a symbolic link to slocate. Options
-c Check the configuration file, /etc/updatedb.conf, when updating the database.
-d path, --database=path Specify the path to the database(s) to search.
-e dirs Omit the specified directories from the database. Used with -u or -U.
-f fstypes Omit the files on the specified filesystems from the database.
-h, --help Display help information and exit.
-i Perform a case-insensitive search.
-l level Specify security level. If level is 0, turn off security checking to speed up searches. If level is 1, turn on checking. The default is 1.
-n num Limit the number of results to num.
-o file, --output=file Specify the database file to create with -u or -U.
-q Run in quiet mode, suppressing error messages.
-r regexp, --regexp=regexp Search the database using the specified POSIX regular expression.
-u Create an slocate database starting at /.
-U dir Create an slocate database starting at the specified directory.
-v, --verbose Run in verbose mode, displaying the files when creating the database.
-V, --version Print version information and exit.
snice [priority] [options] processes
Reset the priority for processes. The default priority is +4. See skill for the possible options.
sort [options] [files]
Sort the lines of the named files. Compare specified fields for each pair of lines; if no fields are specified, compare them by byte, in machine-collating sequence. If no files are specified or if the file is -, the input is taken from standard input. See also uniq, comm, and join. Options
-b, --ignore-leading-blanks Ignore leading spaces and tabs.
-c, --check Check whether files are already sorted and, if so, produce no output.
-d, --dictionary-order Sort in dictionary order.
-f, --ignore-case Fold; ignore uppercase/lowercase differences.
-g, --general-numeric-sort Sort in general numeric order.
--help Print a help message and then exit.
-i, --ignore-nonprinting Ignore nonprinting characters (those outside ASCII range 040-176).
-k n[,m], --key=n[,m] Skip n-1 fields and stop at m-1 fields (i.e., start sorting at the nth field, where the fields are numbered beginning with 1).
-n Sort in arithmetic order.
-ofile, --output=file Put output in file.
-m, --merge Merge already sorted input files.
-r, --reverse Reverse the order of the sort.
-s, --stable Stabilize sort by disabling last-resort comparison.
-tc, --field-separator=c Separate fields with c (default is a tab).
-u, --unique Identical lines in input file appear only one time in output.
-z, --zero-terminated End lines with zero byte, not with newline.
--version Print version information and then exit.
-M, --month-sort Attempt to treat the first three characters as a month designation (JAN, FEB, etc.). In comparisons, treat JAN < FEB and any invalid name for a month as less than a valid month.
-Ssize, --buffer-size=size Set the size of the main memory buffer to size, which may include a suffixe.g., K (1024, the default) or M.
-T tempdir, --temporary-directory=dir Directory pathname to be used for temporary files.
Examples List files by decreasing number of lines: wc -l * | sort -r
Alphabetize a list of words, remove duplicates, and print the frequency of each word: sort -fd wordlist | uniq -c
Sort the password file numerically by the third field (user ID): sort -nk3,4 -t: /etc/passwd
split [options] [infile [prefix]]
Split infile into equal-sized segments. infile remains unchanged, and the results are written to prefixaa, prefixab, and so on. The default prefix is x, giving the output files xaa, xab, etc. If infile is - or missing, standard input is read. See also csplit. Options
-a n, --suffix-length=n Use suffixes of length n (default is 2).
-b n[b|k|m], --bytes=n[b|k|m] Split infile into n-byte segments. Alternate block sizes may be specified:
b 512 bytes.
k 1 kilobyte.
m 1 megabyte.
-C bytes[b|k|m], --line-bytes=bytes[b|k|m] Put a maximum of bytes into file; insist on adding complete lines.
-d, --numeric-suffixes Use numeric suffixes instead of alphabetic suffixes for the output filenames.
-n, -l n, --lines=n Split infile into n-line segments (default is 1000).
--help Print a help message and then exit.
--verbose Print a message for each output file.
--version Print version information and then exit.
Examples Break bigfile into 1000-line segments: split bigfile
Concatenate four files, then split them into 10-line files named new.aa, new.ab, and so on. Note that without the -, new. would be treated as a nonexistent input file: cat list[1-4] | split -10 - new.
ssh [options] hostname [command]
Securely log a user into a remote system and run commands on that system. The version of ssh described here is the OpenSSH client. ssh can use either Version 1 (SSH1) or Version 2 (SSH2) of the SSH protocol. SSH2 is preferable, as it provides stronger encryption methods and greater connection integrity. The hostname can be specified either as hostname or as user@hostname. If a command is specified, the user is authenticated, the command is executed, and the connection is closed. Otherwise, a terminal session is opened on the remote system. See Escape characters," later in this section, for functions that can be supported through an escape character. The default escape character is a tilde (~). The exit status returned from ssh is the exit status from the remote system, or 255 if there was an error. Commonly, authentication is handled with standard username/password credentials, but it can also be useful to authenticate with a key exchange. This is done by generating a key on the client with ssh-keygen and populating the known_hosts file on the remote host. Options
-1 Try only SSH1.
-2 Try only SSH2.
-4 Use only IPv4 addresses.
-6 Use only IPv6 addresses.
-a Disable forwarding of the authentication agent connection.
-A Allow forwarding of the authentication agent connection. Can also be specified on a per-host basis in a configuration file.
-b bind_address Specify the interface to transmit from when there are multiple available interfaces or aliased addresses.
-c blowfish|3des|des|ciphers Select the cipher for encrypting the session. The default is 3des. For SSH2, a comma-separated list of ciphers can also be specified, with the ciphers listed in order of preference. des is supported only for legacy SSH1 compatibility and otherwise should not be used.
-C Enable compression. Useful mainly for slow connections. The default compression level can be set on a per-host basis in the configuration file with the CompressionLevel option.
-D port Enable dynamic application-level port forwarding using port on the local side. Can be specified in the configuration file. Only root can forward privileged ports.
-e char|^char|none Set the escape character (default ~). The escape character must be the first character on a line. If none is specified, disable the use of an escape character.
-f Run interactively for user authentication, then go into background mode for command execution. Implies -n.
-F configfile Specify a per-user configuration file (default is $HOME/.ssh/config).
-g Allow remote hosts to connect to local forwarded ports.
-i idfile Use idfile to read identity (private key) for RSA or DSA authentication. Default is $HOME/.ssh/id_rsa or $HOME/.ssh/id_dsa for SSH2, or $HOME/.ssh/identity for SSH1. You can specify more than one -i option on the command line or in the configuration file.
-I device Specify a smartcard device from which to get the user's private RSA key.
-k Disable Kerberos ticket and AFS token forwarding. Can be set on a per-host basis in the configuration file.
-l user Log in as user on the remote system. Can be specified on a per-host basis in the configuration file.
-L port:host:hostport Forward port on the local host to the specified remote host and port. Can be specified in the configuration file. Only root can forward privileged ports. For IPv6, an alternative syntax is port/host/hostport.
-m macspec For SSH2, the contents of macspec specify message authentication code (MAC) algorithms to use. macspec is a comma-separated list of algorithms in order of preference.
-M Put the ssh client into master mode for connection sharing.
-n Get standard input as a redirection from /dev/null. Used to prevent reading from standard input, which is required when running ssh in the background. Useful for running X programs on a remote host.
-N Do not execute a remote command. Useful with SSH2 for port forwarding.
-o option Specify options in configuration-file format. Useful for specifying options that have no command-line equivalent.
-p port Specify the port on the remote host to which ssh is to connect. Can be specified on a per-host basis in the configuration file.
-q Run quietly, suppressing warnings and error messages.
-R port:host:hostport Forward port on the remote host to the local host:hostport. Can be specified in the configuration file. You can forward privileged ports only if you are logged in as root on the remote host. For IPv6, an alternative syntax is port/host/hostport.
-s For SSH2, request invocation of a subsystem on the remote host to be used for another application, such as sftp. The desired subsystem is specified as the remote command.
-S ctl Specify the location of a control socket for connection sharing.
-t Force pseudo-tty allocation. Multiple -t options can be specified to force tty allocation even when ssh has no local tty.
-T Disable pseudo-tty allocation.
-v Verbose mode. Useful for debugging. Specify multiple -v options to increase verbosity.
-V Display version information and exit.
-x Disable X11 forwarding.
-X Enable X11 forwarding. Can be specified on a per-host basis in the configuration file.
-Y Enable trusted X11 forwarding.
Escape characters
~. Disconnect.
~~ Send a single ~.
~# List forwarded connections.
~& Run ssh in the background at logout, while waiting for a forwarded connection or X11 sessions to terminate.
~? Display the available escape characters.
~B Send a BREAK to the remote system. Only for SSH2 and if the remote system supports it.
~C Open a command line. Useful for adding port forwardings when using the -L and -R options.
~R Request rekeying of the connection. Useful only for SSH2 and if the peer supports it.
~^Z Suspend the connection.
Environment variables
DISPLAY Set by SSH to hostname:n for forwarding X11 connections. hostname is the host where the shell is running, and n is an integer greater than zero.
HOME The path to the user's home directory.
LOGNAME The same as USER; set only for compatibility with systems that use LOGNAME.
MAIL The path to the user's mailbox.
PATH The default PATH as specified when SSH was compiled.
SSH_ASKPASS Can be set to the name of a program to run to open an X11 window and read the user's passphrase if ssh does not have an associated terminal.
SSH_AUTH_SOCK The path of a Unix-domain socket for communicating with the agent.
SSH_CONNECTION Four space-separated values that contain the client IP address, the client port number, the server IP address, and the server port number.
SSH_ORIGINAL_COMMAND The original command line, including arguments, if a forced command is executed.
SSH_TTY The path to the tty device associated with the current shell or command. Not set if there is no associated tty.
TZ The time zone, passed from the SSH daemon, if it was set when the daemon was started.
USER The name of the user logging in.
Files ssh uses the following files in the user's home directory:
$HOME/.rhosts Lists host/user pairs allowed to log in. Used with rhosts authentication.
$HOME/.shosts Like .rhosts, but allows rhosts authentication without permitting login with rlogin or rsh.
$HOME/.ssh/authorized_keys Lists RSA/DSA public keys that can be used to log in as this user.
$HOME/.ssh/config The user's configuration file.
$HOME/.ssh/environment Additional environment variable definitions.
$HOME/.ssh/identity, $HOME/.ssh/id_dsa, $HOME/.ssh/id_rsa The authentication identity of the user for SSH1 RSA, SSH2 DSA, and SSH2 RSA, respectively.
$HOME/.ssh/identity.pub, $HOME/.ssh/id_dsa.pub,
$HOME/.ssh/id_rsa.pub The public key for user authentication for SSH1 RSA, SSH2 DSA, and SSH2 RSA, respectively.
$HOME/.ssh/known_hosts Contains host keys for all hosts the user has logged into that are not already in the systemwide file at /etc/ssh/ssh_known_hosts.
$HOME/.ssh/rc Contains commands executed by ssh after the user has logged in but before the shell or command is started.
ssh-add [options] [files] ssh-add -e|-s reader
Add RSA or DSA identities to the authentication agent (see ssh-agent), which must be running and must be an ancestor of the current process. ssh-add reads the files created by ssh-keygen for private keys. It reads the information in these private keys to obtain RSA or DSA identities. With no arguments specified, ssh-add adds the files $HOME/.ssh/id_rsa, $HOME/.ssh/id_dsa, and $HOME/.ssh/identity. If any files are specified, it adds those instead, prompting for a passphrase if required. Options
-c Confirm identities being added, by running the program specified in the SSH_ASKPASS environment variable (see the ssh command). A 0 exit status from the program indicates successful confirmation.
-d Remove an identity from the agent instead of adding one.
-D Delete all identities from the agent.
-e reader Remove key in specified smartcard reader.
-l List fingerprints of all identities known to the agent.
-L List public key parameters of all identities known to the agent.
-s reader Add key in smartcard reader.
-t life Set maximum lifetime when adding identities to an agent. The value of life can be in seconds or another time format specified in sshd.
-x Lock the agent with a password.
-X Unlock the agent.
ssh-agent [options] [command [arguments]]
Hold private keys used for public key authentication. ssh-agent is usually executed at the beginning of an X or login session; then all other windows or programs given as command are run as clients of ssh-agent. When a command is specified, the command and any arguments are executed. The agent dies when the command completes. Use ssh-add to add keys (identities) to the agent. Operations that require a private key are performed by the agent, which returns the results to the requestor. When using ssh-agent, you must specify a shellfor example: $ ssh-agent /bin/bash
You can then use ssh-add to add identities. Options
-a bind_addr Bind the agent to the socket bind_addr (default is /tmp/ssh-nnnnnnnn/agent, where nnnnnnnn is a generated number).
-c Write csh commands to standard output. This is the default if the environment variable SHELL looks like a csh-type shell.
-d Debug mode.
-k Kill the current agent.
-s Write Bourne shell commands to standard output. This is the default if the environment variable SHELL does not look like a csh-type command.
-t life Set a default value for maximum identity lifetime for added identities. May be specified in seconds or in a format specified in sshd(8). This value can be overridden by a lifetime specified for an identity with ssh-add. The default maximum lifetime is forever.
ssh-keygen [options]
Generate, manage, and convert authentication keys for ssh. When using ssh-keygen to create a key, the -t option must be specified to identify the type of key to create. Options
-b bits Specify the number of bits in the key. The minimum is 512, and the default is 1024.
-B Show the bubblebabble digest (a digest represented as a string that looks like real words) for the private or public keyfile specified with -f.
-c Change the comment in the private and public keyfiles (for RSA1 keys only).
-C comment Specify the new comment.
-D reader Download the RSA public key from the smartcard in reader.
-e Read an OpenSSH private or public keyfile and write it in SECSH Public Key File Format to standard output for exporting to a commercial SSH.
-f file Specify the filename of the keyfile.
-i Read an SSH2-compatible unencrypted private or public keyfile and write an OpenSSH-compatible key to standard output. Used to import keys from a commercial SSH.
-l Show fingerprint of public or private RSA1 keyfile specified with -f.
-N passphrase Specify the new passphrase.
-p Change the passphrase for a private keyfile. Prompt for the file, the old passphrase, and twice for the new passphrase.
-P passphrase Specify the old passphrase.
-q Operate in quiet mode.
-t type Specify the type of key to create. Possible values of type are rsa1 for SSH1, and rsa or dsa for SSH2.
-U reader Upload an existing RSA private key to the smartcard in reader.
-y Read a private OpenSSH-format file and print a public key to standard output.
ssh-keyscan [options]
Gather public and private host keys from a number of hosts. Can be used in scripts. Options
-4 Use IPv4 addresses only.
-6 Use IPv6 addresses only.
-f file Read hostnames or addrlist namelist pairs from file. If - is specified instead of a filename, read hosts or addrlist namelist pairs from standard input.
-p port Specify the port to connect to on the remote host.
-t type Specify the type of key to get from the scanned hosts. Possible values are rsa1 for SSH1 (default), or rsa or dsa for SSH2. Specify multiple values in a comma-separated list.
-T timeout Specify the timeout for attempting a connection, in seconds.
-v Verbose mode.
sshd [options]
TCP/IP command. Server for the ssh program, providing a secure remote-login and remote-execution facility equivalent to rlogin and rsh. Normally started at boot, sshd listens for incoming connections, forking a new daemon when one is detected. The forked daemon handles authentication, command execution, and encryption. Most implementations of sshd support both SSH protocols 1 and 2. The following options are those used by OpenSSH, OpenBSD's Secure Shell implementation. Options
-4 Use only IPv4 addresses.
-6 Use only IPv6 addresses.
-b bits Use the specified number of bits in the server key. Default is 768.
-d Run sshd in the foreground and send verbose debug information to the system log. Process only one connection. Use the specified number of bits in the server key. This option may be specified from one to three times. Each additional -d increases the level of information sent to the system log.
-D Do not detach from the foreground process.
-e Send output to standard error instead of the system log.
-f file Read configuration information from file instead of the default configuration file /etc/ssh/sshd_config.
-g seconds Set the grace time a client has to authenticate itself before the server disconnects and exits. The default is 600 seconds. A value of 0 means there is no limit.
-h keyfile Read the host's cryptographic key from the specified keyfile instead of from the default file /etc/ssh/ssh_host_key for SSH protocol 1, and the default files /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key and /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key for SSH protocol 2. The -h option may be given more than once to specify multiple keyfiles.
-i Use when running sshd from inetd.
-k seconds Set how often the Version 1 server key should be regenerated. Default value is 3600 seconds. If set to 0 seconds, the key will never be regenerated.
-o setting Pass a configuration file setting as an option.
-p port Listen for connections on port. The default is 22. More than one -p option may be specified. This option overrides ports specified in a configuration file.
-q Send no messages to the system log.
-t Test configuration files and keys, then exit.
-u namelength Specify the length of the remote hostname field in the UTMP structure as specifed in utmp.h. A namelength of 0 will cause sshd to write dotted decimal values instead of hostnames to the utmp file and prevent DNS requests unless required by the authentication mechanism.
stat [options] files
Print out the contents of an inode as they appear to the stat system call in a human-readable format. The error messages "Can't stat file" and "Can't lstat file" usually mean the file doesn't exist. "Can't readlink file" generally indicates that something is wrong with a symbolic link. Options
-c format, --format=format Display the output as specified by format.
-f, --filesystem Display information about the filesystem where the file is located, not about the file itself.
--help Display help information and exit.
-L, --dereference Follow links and display information about the files found.
-t Print the output tersely, in a form suitable for parsing by other programs.
--version Print version information and exit.
Output stat and stat -L display the following: Device number Inode number Access rights Number of hard links Owner's user ID and name, if available Owner's group ID and name, if available Device type for inode device Total size, in bytes Number of blocks allocated I/O block size Last access time Last modification time Last change time Security context for SELinux
If -f is specified, stat displays the following information about the filesystem: Format The printf(3) flag characters #, 0, -, +, and space can be used in format. In addition, the field width and precision options can be used. If -c format is specified, the following sequences can be used for format:
%a Access rights in octal.
%A Access rights in human-readable form.
%b Number of blocks allocated.
%B Size in bytes of each block reported by %b.
%d Device number in decimal.
%D Device number in hex.
%f Raw mode in hex.
%F File type.
%g Owner's group ID.
%G Owner's group name.
%h Number of hard links.
%i Inode number.
%n Filename.
%N Quoted filename. If file is a symbolic link, include path to original.
%o I/O block size.
%s Total size, in bytes.
%t Major device type in hex.
%T Minor device type in hex.
%u Owner's user ID.
%U Owner's username.
%x Last access time.
%X Last access time as seconds since the Epoch.
%y Last modification time (modification of the file contents).
%Y Last modification time as seconds since the Epoch.
%z Time of last change (modification of the inode).
%Z Time of last change as seconds since the Epoch.
If both -c format and -f are specified, the following sequences can be used for format:
%a Free blocks available to nonroot user.
%b Total data blocks in filesystem.
%c Total file nodes in filesystem.
%d Free file nodes in filesystem.
%f Free blocks in filesystem.
%i Filesystem ID, in hex.
%l Maximum filename length.
%n Filename.
%s Optimal transfer block size.
%t Type in hex.
%T Type in human-readable form.
Examples Sample output from the command stat /: stat / File: "/" Size: 4096 Blocks: 8 IO Block: 4096 Directory Device: 303h/771d Inode: 2 Links: 19 Access: (0755/drwxr-xr-x) Uid: ( 0/ root) Gid: ( 0/ root) Access: Thu Jan 2 04:02:40 2003 Modify: Wed Jan 1 23:03:20 2003 Change: Wed Jan 1 23:03:20 2003
Sample output with -f, displaying information about the filesystem: stat -f / File: "/" ID: 0 0 Namelen: 255 Type: ext2/ext3 Blocks: Total: 2612475 Free: 1869472 Available: 1736735 Size: 4096 Inodes: Total: 1329696 Free: 1150253
rpc.statd [options]
System administration command. The NFS status server, statd, reports server status to clients like the rup command. Options
-d Debugging mode; log verbose information to standard error.
-F Run statd in the foreground.
-n hostname, --name hostname Specify a name to use for the local hostname. By default, this is read using the gethostname function.
-o port, --outgoing-port port Specify the port that statd should use for its outgoing requests to other servers. When not specified, a port is assigned by portmap.
-p port, --port port Specify the incoming port that statd should listen on. When not specified, a port is assigned by portmap.
-P directory, --state-directory-path directory Store state information in directory instead of the default, /var/lib/nfs.
-V Print version information, then exit.
-? Print help message, then exit.
strace [options] command [arguments]
Trace the system calls and signals for command with optional arguments. strace shows you how data is passed between the program and the kernel. With no options, strace prints a line for each system call. It shows the call name, given arguments, return value, and any generated error messages. A signal is printed with both its signal symbol and a descriptive string. As it shows the data transfer between user and kernel-space, strace is very useful as both a diagnostic utility for system administrators and a debugging tool for programmers. By default, the output is written to standard error. Options
-a n Align the return values in column n. The default is 40.
-c Count system calls, errors, signals, and time and provide a summary report when the program has ended.
-d Debug mode. Print debugging information for strace on stderr.
-e [keyword=][!]values Pass an expression to strace to limit the types of calls or signals that are traced or to change how they are displayed. If no keyword is given, trace is assumed. The values can be given as a comma-separated list. Preceding the list with an exclamation point (!) negates the list. The special values all and none are valid, as are the values listed with the following keywords.
abbrev=names Abbreviate output from large structures for system calls listed in names.
read=descriptors Print all data read from the given file descriptors.
signal=symbols Trace the listed signal symbols (for example, signal=SIGIO,SIGHUP).
trace=sets sets may be a list of system call names or one of the following:
file Calls that take a filename as an argument.
ipc Interprocess communication.
network Network-related.
process Process management.
signal Signal-related.
raw=names Print arguments for the given system calls in hexadecimal.
verbose=names Unabbreviate structures for the given system calls. Default is none.
write=descriptors Print all data written to the given file descriptors.
-f Trace forked processes.
-ff Write system calls for forked processes to separate files named filename.pid when using the -o option.
-h Print help and exit.
-i Print the current instruction pointer with each system call.
-o filename Write output to filename instead of stderr. If filename starts with the pipe symbol |, treat the rest of the name as a command to which output should be piped.
-O n Override strace's built-in timing estimates, and just subtract n microseconds from the timing of each system call to adjust for the time it takes to measure the call.
-p pid Attach to the given process ID and begin tracking. strace can track more than one process if more than one option -p is given. Type Ctrl-C to end the trace.
-q Quiet mode. Suppress attach and detach messages from strace.
-r Relative timestamp. Print time in microseconds between system calls.
-s n Print only the first n characters of a string. Default value is 32.
-S value Sort output of -c option by the given value. value may be calls, name, time, or nothing. Default is time.
-T Print time spent in each system call.
-t Print time of day on each line of output.
-tt Print time of day with microseconds on each line of output.
-ttt Print timestamp on each line as the number of seconds and microseconds since the Epoch.
-u username Run command as username. Needed when tracing setuid and setgid programs.
-V Print version and exit.
-v Verbose. Do not abbreviate structure information.
-x Print all non-ASCII strings in hexadecimal.
-xx Print all strings in hexadecimal.
strfile [options] input_file [output_file] unstr [-c delimiter] input_file[.ext] [output_file]
strfile creates a random-access file for storing strings. The input file should be a file containing groups of lines separated by a line containing a single percent sign (or other specified delimiter character). strfile creates an output file that contains a header structure and a table of file offsets for each group of lines, allowing random access of the strings. The output file, if not specified on the command line, is named sourcefile.dat. unstr undoes the work of strfile, printing out the strings contained in the input file in the order they are listed in the header file data. If no output file is specified, unstr prints to standard output; otherwise, it prints to the specified file. unstr can also globally change the delimiter character in a strings file. Options Of the following options, only -c can be used with unstr. All other options apply only to strfile.
-c delimiter Change the delimiting character from the percent sign to delimiter. Valid for both strfile and unstr.
-i Ignore case when ordering the strings.
-o Order the strings alphabetically.
-r Randomize access to the strings.
-s Run silently; don't give a summary message when finished.
-x Set the STR_ROTATED bit in the header str_flags field.
strings [options] files
Search each file specified and print any printable character strings found that are at least four characters long and followed by an unprintable character. Often used to find human-readable content within binary files. Options
-, -a, --all Scan entire object files; default is to scan only the initialized and loaded sections for object files.
-e encoding, --encoding=encoding Specify the character encoding of the strings to be found. Possible values are:
b 16-bit big-endian
B 32-bit big-endian
l 16-bit little-endian
L 32-bit little-endian
s Single-7-bit-byte characters, such as ASCII, ISO-8859, etc. (the default)
S Single-8-bit-byte characters.
-f, --print-file-name Print the name of the file before each string.
-min-len, -n min-len, --bytes=min-len Print only strings that are at least min-len characters.
-o The same as -t o.
-t base, --radix=base Print the offset within the file before each string, in the format specified by base:
d Decimal
o Octal
x Hexadecimal
--target=format Specify an alternative object code format to the system default. Valid targets include elf32-i386, a.out-i386-linux, efi-app-ia32, elf32-little, elf32-big, srec, symbolsrec, tekhex, binary, ihex, and trad-core.
--help Print help message and then exit. The help message includes a list of valid targets.
-v, --version Print version information and then exit.
strip [options] files
Remove symbols from object files, thereby reducing file sizes and freeing disk space. Options
-Fbfdname, --target=bfdname Specify object format for both input and output by binary file descriptor name bfdname. Use option -h to see a list of supported formats.
-I bfdname, --input-target=bfdname Expect object format bfdname for input.
--help Print help message, then exit.
-K symbol, --keep-symbol=symbol Delete all symbols except the specified symbol. This option may be used more than once.
-N symbol, --strip-symbol=symbol Remove symbol from the source file.
-O bfdname, --output-target=bfdname Use object format bfdname for output.
-o file Write stripped object to file instead of replacing the original. Only one object file at a time may be stripped when using this option.
-p, --preserve-dates Preserve access and modification times.
-R section, --remove-section=section Delete section.
-S, -g, -d, --strip-debug Strip debugging symbols.
-s, --strip-all Strip all symbols.
--strip-unneeded Remove symbols not needed for relocation processing.
-V, --version Print version and exit.
-v, --verbose Verbose mode.
-X, --discard-locals Strip local symbols that were generated by the compiler.
-x, --discard-all Strip nonglobal symbols.
stty [options] [modes]
Set terminal I/O options for the current standard input device. Without options, stty reports the terminal settings that differ from those set by running stty sane, where ^ indicates the Ctrl key and ^` indicates a null value. Most modes can be negated using an optional - (shown in brackets). The corresponding description is also shown in brackets. Some arguments use non-POSIX extensions; these are marked with *. Options
-a, --all Report all option settings.
-F dev, --device=dev Open the specified device and use it instead of standard input.
-g, --save Report settings in stty-readable form (i.e., hex).
--help Print help message and exit.
--version Print version information and exit.
Control modes
[-]clocal [Enable] disable modem control.
[-]cread [Disable] enable the receiver.
[-]crtscts* [Disable] enable RTS/CTS handshaking.
csbits Set character size to bits, which must be 5, 6, 7, or 8.
[-]cstopb [1] 2 stop bits per character.
[-]hup [Do not] hang up connection on last close.
[-]hupcl Same as previous.
[-]parenb [Disable] enable parity generation and detection.
[-]parodd Use [even] odd parity.
Input modes
[-]brkint [Do not] signal INTR on break.
[-]icrnl [Do not] map CR to NL on input.
[-]ignbrk [Do not] ignore break on input.
[-]igncr [Do not] ignore CR on input.
[-]ignpar [Do not] ignore parity errors.
[-]imaxbel* When input buffer is too full to accept a new character, [flush the input buffer] beep without flushing the input buffer.
[-]inlcr [Do not] map NL to CR on input.
[-]inpck [Disable] enable input parity checking.
[-]istrip [Do not] strip input characters to 7 bits.
[-]iuclc* [Do not] map uppercase to lowercase on input.
[-]ixany* Allow [only XON] any character to restart output.
[-]ixoff, [-]tandem [Enable] disable sending of START/STOP characters.
[-]ixon [Disable] enable XON/XOFF flow control.
[-]parmrk [Do not] mark parity errors.
Output modes
bsn* Select style of delay for backspaces (0 or 1).
crn* Select style of delay for carriage returns (0-3).
ffn* Select style of delay for formfeeds (0 or 1).
nln* Select style of delay for linefeeds (0 or 1).
tabn, [-]tabs* Select style of delay for horizontal tabs (0-3). tabs is the same as tab0 and -tabs is the same as tab3.
vtn* Select style of delay for vertical tabs (0 or 1).
[-]ocrnl* [Do not] map CR to NL on output.
[-]ofdel* Set fill character to [NULL] DEL.
[-]ofill* Delay output with [timing] fill characters.
[-]olcuc* [Do not] map lowercase to uppercase on output.
[-]onlcr* [Do not] map NL to CR-NL on output.
[-]onlret* On the terminal, NL performs [does not perform] the CR function.
[-]onocr* Do not [do] output CRs at column 0.
[-]opost [Do not] postprocess output.
Local modes
[-]echo [Do not] echo every character typed.
[-]echoe, [-]crterase [Do not] echo ERASE character as BS-space-BS string.
[-]echok [Do not] echo NL after KILL character.
[-]echonl [Do not] echo NL.
[-]icanon [Disable] enable canonical input (ERASE, KILL, WERASE, and RPRINT processing).
[-]iexten [Disable] enable extended functions for input data.
[-]isig [Disable] enable checking of characters against INTR, SUSPEND, and QUIT.
[-]noflsh [Enable] disable flush after INTR or QUIT.
[-]tostop* [Do not] send SIGTTOU when background processes write to the terminal.
[-]xcase* [Do not] change case on local output.
[-]echoprt, [-]prterase* When erasing characters, echo them backward, enclosed in \ and /.
[-]echoctl. [-]ctlecho* Do not echo control characters literally. Use hat notation (e.g., ^Z).
[-]echoke [-]crtkill* Erase characters as specified by the echoprt and echoe settings (default is echoctl and echok settings).
Control assignments
ctrl-char c Set control character to c. ctrl-char is dsusp (flush input and then send stop), eof, eol, eol2 (alternate end-of-line), erase, intr, lnext (treat next character literally), kill, rprnt (redraw line), quit, start, stop, susp, swtch, or werase (erase previous word). c can be a literal control character, a character in hat notation (e.g., ^Z), in hex (must begin with 0x), in octal (must begin with 0), or in decimal. Disable the control character with values of ^- or undef.
min n Set the minimum number of characters that will satisfy a read until the time value has expired when -icanon is set.
time n Set the number of tenths of a second before reads time out if the min number of characters has not been read when -icanon is set.
line i* Set line discipline to i (1-126).
Combination modes
[-]cooked Same as [raw]-raw.
[-]evenp, [-]parity Same as [-]parenb and cs[8]7.
ek Reset ERASE and KILL characters to Ctrl-h and Ctrl-u, their defaults.
[-]lcase, [-]LCASE [Unset] set xcase, iuclc, and olcuc.
[-]nl [Unset] set icrnl and onlcr. -nl also unsets inlcr, igncr, ocrnl, and onlret, icrnl, onlcr.
[-]oddp Same as [-]parenb, [-]parodd, and cs7[8].
[-]raw [Disable] enable raw input and output (no ERASE, KILL, INTR, QUIT, EOT, SWITCH, or output postprocessing).
sane Reset all modes to reasonable values.
[-]cbreak Same as [icanon]-icanon.
[-]pass8 Same as -parenb -istrip cs8.
[-]litout Same as -parenb -istrip cs8.
[-]decctlq* Same as -ixany.
crt Same as echoe echoctl echoke.
dec Same as echoe echoctl echoke -ixany. Additionally, set INTERRUPT to Ctrl-C, ERASE to Del, and KILL to Ctrl-U.
Special settings
n Set terminal baud rate to n (e.g., 2400).
ispeed speed Specify input speed.
ospeed speed Specify output speed.
rows rows* Specify number of rows.
cols columns, columns columns* Specify number of columns.
size* Display current row and column settings.
speed Display terminal speed.
su [option] [user] [shell_args]
Create a shell with the effective user ID user. If no user is specified, create a shell for a privileged user (i.e., become a superuser). Enter EOF to terminate. You can run the shell with particular options by passing them as shell_args (e.g., if the shell runs bash, you can specify -c command to execute command via bash, or -r to create a restricted shell). Options
-, -l, --login Go through the entire login sequence (i.e., change to user's environment).
-c command, --command=command Execute command in the new shell and then exit immediately. If command is more than one word, it should be enclosed in quotes. For example: su -c 'find / -name \*.c -print' nobody
-f, --fast Start the shell with the -f option, which suppresses the reading of the .cshrc or .tcshrc file. Applies to csh and tcsh.
-m, -p, --preserve-environment Do not reset environment variables.
-s shell, --shell=shell Execute shell, not the shell specified in /etc/passwd, unless shell is restricted.
--help Print a help message and then exit.
--version Print version information and then exit.
Examples Become root and obtain all of root's user environment: $ su -
Become root long enough to restart the Apache httpd web server, then revert to the current user: $ su -c /etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd restart
sudo [options] [command]
If you are allowed, execute command as the superuser. Authorized users of sudo and the commands they are permitted to execute are listed in the sudo configuration file, /etc/sudoers. If an unauthorized user attempts to run a command, sudo will inform an administrator via email. By default, it will send the message to the root account. Users attempting to run commands are prompted for their password. Once authenticated, sudo sets a timestamp for the user. For five minutes from the timestamp, the user may execute further commands without being prompted for her password. This grace period may be overriden by settings in the /etc/sudoers file. Also see /etc/sudoers for configuration examples. Options
-b Execute command in the background.
-h Print help message, then exit.
-k Revoke user's sudo permissions. Similar to -K, but changes user's timestamp to the Epoch instead of revoking it.
-l List all allowed and forbidden commands for the user on the current host, then exit.
-p promptstring Use the specified promptstring to prompt for a password. The string may contain the following escape codes, which will be replaced with the current user's login name and local hostname.
%h Local hostname without the domain name.
%H Local hostname with the domain name.
%u Current user's login name
%U Login name of the user the command will run under. The default is root.
%% A single percent (%) character.
-s Run the shell specified in the SHELL environment variable, or the default shell specified in /etc/passwd. If a command is given, it should be a shell script and not a binary file.
-u user Run command as the specified user instead of the root user. This may also be specified as a user ID number using #uid.
-v Update timestamp for user. Prompt for password if necessary.
-H Set the HOME environment variable to the home directory of the target user.
-K Remove user's timestamp.
-L List parameters that may be set as defaults for a user in the /etc/sudoers file.
-P Preserve initial user's group membership.
-S Read password from standard input instead of from the console.
-V Print version number, then exit. When run by the root user, print sudo's defaults and the local network address as well.
-- Stop reading command-line arguments.
sum [options] files
Calculate and print a checksum and the number of (1 KB) blocks for file. If no files are specified, or file is -, read from standard input. Useful for verifying data transmission. Options
-r The default setting. Use the BSD checksum algorithm.
-s, --sysv Use alternate checksum algorithm as used on System V. The block size is 512 bytes.
--help Print a help message and then exit.
--version Print the version number and then exit.
swapoff [options] [devicelist]
System administration command. Stop making devices and files specified in devicelist available for swapping and paging. Option
-a Consult /etc/fstab for devices marked sw. Use those in place of the device argument.
-h Print help message and then exit.
-V Display version number and then exit.
swapon [options] devices
System administration command. Make the listed devices available for swapping and paging. Options
-a Consult /etc/fstab for devices marked sw. Use those in place of the devices argument.
-e Used with -a. Don't complain about missing devices.
-h Print help message, then exit.
-p priority Specify a priority for the swap area. Higher priority areas will be used up before lower priority areas are used.
-s Print swap usage summaries, then exit.
-V Print version information, then exit.
sync
System administration command. Write filesystem buffers to disk. sync executes the sync( ) system call. If the system is to be stopped, sync must be called to ensure filesystem integrity. Note that shutdown automatically calls sync before shutting down the system. sync may take several seconds to complete, so the system should be told to sleep briefly if you are about to manually call halt or reboot. Note that shutdown is the preferred way to halt or reboot your system, as it takes care of sync-ing and other housekeeping for you.
sysctl [options] [key]
System administration command. Examine or modify kernel parameters at runtime using the /proc/sys filesystem. While many of these kernel keys can be altered by other utilities, sysctl provides a single interface to kernel settings. Options
-a, -A Display all available values.
-e Ignore requests for unknown keys.
-n Print values only, no keynames.
-p Reset keys from information specified in /etc/sysctl.conf.
-w key=value Write a new value to the specified key.
syslogd [options]
System administration command. sysklogd provides both syslogd and klogd functionality. By default, it is meant to behave exactly like the BSD version of syslogd. While the difference should be completely transparent to the user, sysklogd supports an extended syntax. It is invoked as syslogd. sysklogd logs system messages into a set of files described by the configuration file /etc/syslog.conf. Each message is one line. A message can contain a priority code, marked by a number in angle brackets at the beginning of the line. Priorities are defined in <sys/syslog.h>. syslogd reads from an Internet domain socket specified in /etc/services. To bring syslogd down, send it a terminate signal. See also klogd. Options
-a socket Add socket to the list of sockets syslogd listens to.
-d Turn on debugging.
-f configfile Specify alternate configuration file.
-h Forward messages from remote hosts to forwarding hosts.
-l hostlist Specify hostnames that should be logged with just the hostname, not the fully qualified domain name. Multiple hosts should be separated by a colon (:).
-m markinterval Select number of minutes between mark messages.
-n Avoid auto-backgrounding. This is needed when starting syslogd from init.
-p socket Send log to socket instead of /dev/log.
-r Receive messages from the network using an Internet domain socket with the syslog service.
-s domainlist Strip off domain names specified in domainlist before logging. Multiple domain names should be separated by a colon (:).
-v Print version number, then exit.
-x Disable domain name lookups for remote messages.
syslogd
System administration command. See sysklogd.
tac [options] [file]
Named for the common command cat, tac prints files in reverse to standard output. Without a filename or with -, it reads from standard input. By default, tac reverses the order of the lines, printing the last line first. Options
-b, --before Print separator (by default a newline) before the string it delimits.
-r, --regex Expect separator to be a regular expression.
-s string, --separator=string Specify alternate separator (default is newline).
--help Print a help message and then exit.
--version Print version information and then exit.
tail [options] [files]
Print the last 10 lines of each named file (or standard input if - is specified) on standard output. If more than one file is specified, the output includes a header at the beginning of each file: = =>filename<= =
For options that take the number of bytes or lines as an argument, you prepend a plus sign (+) to num to begin printing with the numth item. These options can also specify a block size:
b 512 bytes
k 1 kilobyte
m 1 megabyte
Options
-c num, --bytes num Print the last num bytes.
-f, --follow[=name|descriptor] Don't quit at the end of file; "follow" file as it grows and end when the user presses Ctrl-C. Following by file descriptor is the default, so -f, --follow, and --follow=descriptor are equivalent. Use --follow=name to track the actual name of a file even if the file is renamed, as with a rotated logfile.
-F Identical to --follow=name --retry.
--help Print a help message and exit.
-n num, --lines=num Print the last num lines.
--max-unchanged-stats=num Used with --follow=name to reopen a file whose size hasn't changed after num iterations (default 5), to see if it has been unlinked or renamed (as with rotated logfiles).
--pid=pid Used with -f to end when process ID pid dies.
-q, --quiet, --silent Suppress filename headers.
--retry With -f, keep trying to open a file even if it isn't accessible when tail starts or if it becomes inaccessible later.
-s sec, --sleep-interval=sec With -f, sleep approximately sec seconds between iterations. Default is 1 second.
-v, --verbose With multiple files, always output the filename headers.
--version Print version information and then exit.
Examples Show the last 20 lines containing instances of .Ah: grep '\.Ah ' file | tail -20
Show the last 10 characters of variable name: echo "$name" | tail -c
Print the last two blocks of bigfile: tail -2b bigfile
tailf file
Print the last 10 lines of a file, then wait for the file to grow. tailf is similar to tail -f, but it does nothing when the file is not growing. Useful for following a logfile, particularly on a laptop when you want to conserve the battery power.
talk person [ttyname]
Talk to another user. person is either the login name of someone on your own machine or user@host on another host. To talk to a user who is logged in more than once, use ttyname to indicate the appropriate terminal name. Once communication has been established, the two parties may type simultaneously, with their output appearing in separate windows. To redraw the screen, type Ctrl-L. To exit, type your interrupt character; talk then moves the cursor to the bottom of the screen and restores the terminal.
talkd [options]
TCP/IP command. Remote user communication server. talkd notifies a user that somebody else wants to initiate a conversation. A talk client initiates a rendezvous by sending a CTL_MSG of type LOOK_UP to the server. This causes the server to search its invitation tables for an existing invitation for the client. If the lookup fails, the caller sends an ANNOUNCE message, causing the server to broadcast an announcement on the callee's login ports requesting contact. When the callee responds, the local server responds with the rendezvous address, and a stream connection is established through which the conversation takes place. Options
-d Write debugging information to the syslogd logfile.
-p Log malformed packets to /var/log/talkd.packets.
tar [options] [tarfile] [other-files]
Copy files to or restore files from an archive medium. If any files are directories, tar acts on the entire subtree. Options need not be preceded by - (though they may be). The exception to this rule is when you are using a long-style option (such as --modification-time). In that case, the exact syntax is: tar--long-option -function-options files
For example: tar --modification-time -xvf tarfile.tar
Function options You must use exactly one of these, and it must come before any other options:
-c, --create Create a new archive.
-d, --diff, --compare Compare the files stored in tarfile with other-files. Report any differences: missing files, different sizes, different file attributes (such as permissions or modification time).
--delete Delete from the archive. This option cannot be used with magnetic tape.
-r, --append Append other-files to the end of an existing archive.
-t, --list Print the names of other-files if they are stored on the archive (if other-files are not specified, print names of all files).
-u, --update Add files if not in the archive or if modified.
-x, --extract, --get Extract other-files from an archive (if other-files are not specified, extract all files).
-A, --catenate, --concatenate Concatenate a second tar file to the end of the first.
Options
[drive][density] Set drive (0-7) and storage density (l, m, or h, corresponding to low, medium, or high). Not available in all versions of tar.
--anchored Exclude patterns must match the start of the filename (the default).
--atime-preserve Preserve original access time on extracted files.
-b n, --blocking-factor=n Set block size to n x 512 bytes.
--backup[=type] Back up files rather than deleting them. If no backup type is specified, a simple backup is made with ~ as the suffix. (See also --suffix.) The possible values of type are:
t, numbered Make numbered backups.
nil, existing Make numbered backups if there are already numbered backups; otherwise make simple backups.
never, simple Always make simple backups.
--checkpoint List directory names encountered.
--exclude=pattern Remove files matching pattern from any list of files.
-f file, --file=file Store files in or extract files from archive file. Note that file may take the form hostname:filename.
--force-local Interpret filenames in the form hostname:filename as local files.
-g file, --listed-incremental=file Create new-style incremental backup.
--group=group Use group as the group for files added to the archive.
-h, --dereference Dereference symbolic links, and archive the files they point to rather than the symbolic link.
--help Print help message and exit.
-i, --ignore-zeros Ignore zero-sized blocks (i.e., EOFs).
--ignore-case Ignore case when excluding files.
--ignore-failed-read Ignore unreadable files to be archived. Default behavior is to exit when encountering these.
-j, --I, --bzip Compress files with bzip2 before archiving them, or uncompress them with bunzip2 before extracting them.
-l, --one-file-system Do not archive files from other filesystems.
-k, --keep-old-files When extracting files, do not overwrite files with similar names. Instead, print an error message.
-m, --modification-time, --touch Do not restore file modification times; update them to the time of extraction.
--mode=permissions Use permissions when adding files to an archive. The permissions are specified the same way as for the chmod command.
--newer-mtime=date Add only files whose contents have changed since date to the archive.
--no-anchor Exclude patterns may match anything following a slash.
--no-ignore-case Do not ignore case when excluding files.
--no-same-permissions Do not extract permissions information when extracting files from the archive. This is the default for users, and therefore affects only the superuser.
--no-recursion Do not move recursively through directories.
--no-same-owner When extracting, create files with yourself as owner.
--no-wildcards Don't use wildcards when excluding files; treat patterns as strings.
--no-wildcards-match-slash Wildcards do not match / when excluding files.
--null Allow filenames to be null-terminated with -T. Override -C.
--numeric-owner Use the numeric owner and group IDs rather than the names.
-o, --old-archive, --portability Create old-style archive in Unix V7 rather than ANSI format.
--overwrite Overwrite existing files and directory metadata when extracting from archive.
--overwrite-dir Overwrite existing directory metadata when extracting from archive.
--owner=owner Set owner as the owner of extracted files instead of the original owner. owner is first assumed to be a username, then, if there is no match, a numeric user ID.
-p, --same-permissions, --preserve-permissions Keep permissions of extracted files the same as the originals.
--posix Create a POSIX-compliant archive.
--preserve Equivalent to invoking both the -p and -s options.
--record-size=size Treat each record as having size bytes, where size is a multiple of 512.
--recursion Move recursively through directories.
--recursive-unlink Remove existing directory hierarchies before extracting directories with the same name.
--remove-files Remove originals after inclusion in archive.
--rsh-command=command Do not connect to remote host with rsh; instead, use command.
-s, --same-order, --preserve-order When extracting, sort filenames to correspond to the order in the archive.
--same-owner When extracting, create files with the same ownership as the originals.
--show-omitted-dirs List directories being omitted when operating on an archive.
--suffix=suffix Use suffix instead of the default ~ when creating a backup file.
--totals Print byte totals.
--use-compress-program=program Compress archived files with program, or uncompress extracted files with program.
-v, --verbose Verbose. Print filenames as they are added or extracted.
--version Print version information and exit.
--volno-file=file Use/update the volume number in file.
-w, --interactive, --confirmation Wait for user confirmation (y) before taking any actions.
--wildcards Use wildcards when excluding files.
--wildcards-match-slash Wildcards match / when excluding files.
-z, --gzip, --gunzip, --ungzip Compress files with gzip before archiving them, or uncompress them with gunzip before extracting them.
-B, --read-full-records Reblock while reading; used for reading from 4.2BSD pipes.
-C directory, --directory=directory cd to directory before beginning tar operation.
-F script, --info-script=script, --new-volume-script=script Implies -M (multiple archive files). Run script at the end of each file.
-G, --incremental Create old-style incremental backup.
-K file, --starting-file=file Begin tar operation at file in archive.
-L length, --tape-length=length Write a maximum of length x 1024 bytes to each tape.
-M, --multivolume Expect archive to be multivolume. With -c, create such an archive.
-N date, --newer=date, --after-date=date Ignore files older than date.
-O, --to-stdout Print extracted files to standard output.
-P, --absolute-names Do not remove initial slashes (/) from input filenames.
-R, --block-number Display archive's block number in messages.
-S, --sparse Treat sparse files more efficiently when adding to archive.
-T file, --files-from=file Consult file for files to extract or create.
-U, --unlink-first Remove each existing file from the filesystem before extracting from the archive.
-V name, --label=name Name this volume name.
-W, --verify Check archive for corruption after creation.
-X file, --exclude-from file Consult file for list of files to exclude.
-Z, --compress, --uncompress Compress files with compress before archiving them, or uncompress them with uncompress before extracting them.
Examples Create an archive of /bin and /usr/bin (c), show the command working (v), and store on the tape in /dev/rmt0: tar cvf /dev/rmt0 /bin /usr/bin
List the tape's contents in a format like ls -l: tar tvf /dev/rmt0
Extract the /bin directory: tar xvf /dev/rmt0 /bin
Create an archive of the current directory and store it in a file backup.tar: tar cvf - `find . -print` > backup.tar
(The - tells tar to store the archive on standard output, which is then redirected.) Filter an archive through gzip, extracting the contents but leaving the original file compressed: tar xvfz chapters.tar.gz
taskset [options] [mask |list] [pid |command [args]]
taskset is used to retrieve or set the processor affinity mask of either an existing process, given its PID, or to run a new a process, given its command name, with a specified affinity mask. The Linux scheduler will then honor the given affinity mask, ensuring that the process in question runs only on allowed processors. Options
-c, --cpu-list The affinity mask will be provided in list form, for example, "0,2,5-6," not as a bitmask.
-p, --pid Set or retrieve the mask of the given PID. Do not start a new process.
-h, --help Display usage information and then exit.
-V, --version Display version information and then exit.
tcpd
TCP/IP command. Monitor incoming TCP/IP requests (such as those for telnet, ftp, finger, exec, rlogin). Provide checking and logging services; then pass the request to the appropriate daemon.
tcpdump [options] [expression]
System administration command. Dump headers and packets of network traffic that match expression. The command continues to capture packets until it receives a SIGTERM or SIGINT signal (usually generated by typing the interrupt character control-C). When finished, it will generate a report on traffic captured, received, or dropped by the kernel. Expressions Create matching expressions using the following primitives followed by an ID or name.
direction A qualifier indicating whether to match source or destination information. Accepted values are src, dst, src or dst, and src and dst. When not specified, the expression will match either source or destination traffic.
protocol A qualifier restricting matches to a particular kind of packet. Accepted values are: ether, fddi, tr, wlan, ip, ip6, arp, rarp, decnet, tcp, and udp. If not specified, the match defaults to any appropriate protocol matching type.
type A qualifier indicating what kind of thing the ID or name references, such as a part of a hostname (host), IP address (net) or port (port). When not specified, the match defaults to host.
Options
-A Print packets in ASCII text.
-c n Exit after receiving n packets.
-C n When saving to a file, do not write files larger than n million bytes. Open a new file with the same basename appended by a number. Start with the number 1.
-d, -dd, -ddd Compile and dump the packet-matching code for the given expression, then exit. Use the second form to dump it as a C programming fragment. Use the third form to dump the code in decimal.
-D Print a list of the available interfaces, then exit.
-e Print the link-level header on each line.
-F file Read expression from the specified file.
-i interface Listen on the specified interface. If not specified, tcpdump will listen on the lowest-numbered interface available, other than the loopback interface. Use any to listen to all available interfaces.
-l Line buffer standard out.
-L Print the data link types for an interface, then exit.
-n, -nn Print IP addresses instead of converting them to hostnames. Use the second form to leave protocols and port numbers in numeric form, as well.
-N Print hostnames instead of fully qualified domain names.
-q Abbreviate output, printing less protocol information.
-r file Read packets from the specified file. (You can create such a file with the -w option.)
-s n Read n bytes of data from each packet. (The default is 68.)
-S Print absolute TCP sequence numbers.
-T n Read n bytes of data from each packet. (The default is 68.)
-t, -tt, -ttt, -tttt Change display of timestamp. Use the first form to omit the timestamp from each line. Use the second form to print an unformatted timestamp. Use the third form to print the time in seconds between the current and the previous dump line. The final form prints the date before the timestamp on each dump line.
-u Print undecoded NFS handles.
-v, -vv, -vvv Increase the verbosity of the printout. Each additional v increases the detail of the information printed.
-w file Write the raw packet information to file without parsing or printing it. Specify - to write to standard output.
-x,-xx Print packets in hex. Use the second form to print the packet's link level header in hex as well.
-X,-XX Print packets in hex and ASCII text. Use the second form to print the packet's link level header in hex and ASCII as well.
-Z user Drop root privileges and change to the specified user. Use the primary group of the specified user.
Examples Place full packets into a file named tcpdump.cap for later analysis: tcpdump -v -w tcpdump.cap -xX -s 0
Read all packet headers received on the eth0 interface, except for arp and SSH packets: tcpdump -i eth0 not arp and not port ssh
tcpslice [options] [start [end]] files
System administration command. Reads and manipulates packet capture files created by tcpdump -w. Based on timestamps, extract portions of or piece together files. Display all packets between the given start and end times. tcpslice understands most time and date formats. tcpslice also understands a relative time format specified as a unit of timee.g., +1h10m to specify the first hour and ten minutes of packets in the specified files. This format is named ymdhmsu after the letters it uses to denote units of time: years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds, and microseconds. If no constraining dates are specified, the command will print out all packets contained in files. Options
-d Print the start and end time of the specified range, then exit.
-r Print the time and date of the first and last packet in each file, then exit.
-R Print the raw timestamp of the first and last packet in each file, then exit.
-t Print times associated with the first and last packet in each file in ymdhmsu format.
-w file Write output to file instead of standard output.
tee [options] files
Accept output from another command and send it both to standard output and to files (like a T or fork in the road). Options
-a, --append Append to files; do not overwrite.
-i, --ignore-interrupts Ignore interrupt signals.
--help Print a help message and then exit.
--version Print version information and then exit.
Example ls -l | tee savefile View listing and save for later
telinit [option] [runlevel]
System administration command. Signal init to change the system's runlevel. telinit is actually just a link to init, the ancestor of all processes. Option
-t seconds Send SIGKILL seconds after SIGTERM. Default is 20.
Runlevels The default runlevels vary from distribution to distribution, but these are standard:
0 Halt the system.
1, s, S Single user.
6 Reboot the system.
a, b, c Process only entries in /etc/inittab that are marked with runlevel a, b, or c.
q, Q Reread /etc/inittab.
Check the /etc/inittab file for runlevels on your system.
telnet [options] [host [port]]
Access remote systems. telnet is the user interface that communicates with another host using the Telnet protocol. If telnet is invoked without host, it enters command mode, indicated by its prompt, telnet>, and accepts and executes commands. Type ? at the command prompt to see the available commands. If invoked with arguments, telnet performs an open command (shown in the following list) with those arguments. host indicates the host's official name, alias, or Internet address. port indicates a port number (default is the Telnet port). The Telnet protocol is often criticized because it uses no encryption and makes it easy for snoopers to pick up user passwords. Most sites now use ssh instead. Options
-a Automatic login to the remote system.
-b hostalias Use bind to bind the local socket to an aliased address or the address of an interface other than the one that would be chosen by connect.
-c Disable reading of the user's .telnetrc file.
-d Turn on socket-level debugging.
-e [escape_char] Set initial telnet escape character to escape_char. If escape_char is omitted, no escape character is predefined.
-f With Kerberos V5 authentication, allow forwarding of the local credentials to the remote system.
-k realm With Kerberos authentication, obtain tickets for the remote host in realm, instead of in the remote host's realm.
-l user When connecting to remote system and if remote system understands ENVIRON, send user to the remote system as the value for variable USER. Implies the -a option.
-n tracefile Open tracefile for recording the trace information.
-r Emulate rlogin. The default escape character for this mode is a tilde (~); an escape character followed by a dot causes telnet to disconnect from the remote host; a ^Z instead of a dot suspends telnet; and a ^] (the default telnet escape character) generates a normal telnet prompt. These codes are accepted only at the beginning of a line.
-x Turn on data-stream encryption if possible.
-8 Request 8-bit operation.
-E Disable the escape character functionality.
-F With Kerberos V5 authentication, allow local credentials to be forwarded to the remote system, including any that were already forwarded to the local environment.
-K Do not allow automatic login to the remote system.
-L Specify an 8-bit data path on output.
-X atype Disable the atype type of authentication.
telnetd [options]
TCP/IP command. Telnet protocol server. telnetd is invoked by the Internet server for requests to connect to the Telnet port (port 23 by default). telnetd allocates a pseudo-terminal device for a client, thereby creating a login process that has the slave side of the pseudo-terminal serving as stdin, stdout, and stderr. telnetd manipulates the master side of the pseudo-terminal by implementing the Telnet protocol and by passing characters between the remote client and the login process. The Telnet protocol is often criticized because it uses no encryption and makes it easy for snoopers to pick up user passwords. Most sites now use ssh instead. Options
-a type When compiled with authentication support, this option sets the authentication type. Accepted values are:
debug Debug authentication code.
none No authentication required, but accept it if offered. Use login for any further verification needed to access an account.
off Disable authentication.
user Allow only authenticated remote users with permission to access their accounts without giving a password.
valid Allow only authenticated remote users. Use login for any additional verification needed to access an account.
-debug [port] Start telnetd manually instead of through inetd. port may be specified as an alternate TCP port number on which to run telnetd.
-D modifier(s) Debugging mode. This allows telnet to print out debugging information to the connection, enabling the user to see what telnet is doing. Several modifiers are available for the debugging mode:
netdata Display data stream received by telnetd.
options Print information about the negotiation of the Telnet options.
ptydata Display data written to the pseudo-terminal device.
report Print options information, as well as some additional information about what processing is going on.
-edebug When compiled with support for encryption, enable encryption debugging code.
-h Don't print host-specific information until after login is complete.
-U Refuse connections from IP addresses with no reverse DNS information.
-n Disable checking for lost connections with TCP keep-alives.
-X type Disable authentication type.
test expression [expression]
Evaluate an expression and, if its value is true, return a zero exit status; otherwise, return a nonzero exit status. In shell scripts, you can use the alternate form [expression]. This command is generally used with conditional constructs in shell programs. Also exists as a built-in in most shells. File testers The syntax for all of these options is test option file. If the specified file does not exist, they return false. Otherwise, they test the file as specified in the option description.
-b Is the file block special?
-c Is the file character special?
-d Is the file a directory?
-e Does the file exist?
-f Is the file a regular file?
-g Does the file have the set-group-ID bit set?
-k Does the file have the sticky bit set?
-L, -h Is the file a symbolic link?
-p Is the file a named pipe?
-r Is the file readable by the current user?
-s Is the file nonempty?
-S Is the file a socket?
-t [file-descriptor] Is the file associated with file-descriptor (or 1, standard output, by default) connected to a terminal?
-u Does the file have the set-user-ID bit set?
-w Is the file writable by the current user?
-x Is the file executable?
-O Is the file owned by the process's effective user ID?
-G Is the file owned by the process's effective group ID?
File comparisons The syntax for file comparisons is test file1 option file2. A string by itself, without options, returns true if it's at least one character long.
-nt Is file1 newer than file2? Check modification date, not creation date.
-ot Is file1 older than file2? Check modification date, not creation date.
-ef Do the files have identical device and inode numbers?
String tests The syntax for string tests is test option string or test string1 [!]= string2.
-z Is the string 0 characters long?
-n Is the string at least 1 character long?
string1 = string2 Are the two strings equal?
string1 != string2 Are the strings unequal?
Expression tests Note that an expression can consist of any of the previous tests.
(expression) Is the expression true?
! expression Is the expression false?
expression -a expression Are the expressions both true?
expression -o expression Is either expression true?
Integer tests The syntax for integer tests is test integer1 option integer2. You may substitute -l string for an integer; this evaluates to string's length.
-eq Are the two integers equal?
-ne Are the two integers unequal?
-lt Is integer1 less than integer2?
-le Is integer1 less than or equal to integer2?
-gt Is integer1 greater than integer2?
-ge Is integer1 greater than or equal to integer2?
tftp [options] [host [port]] [-c command]
User interface to TFTP (IPv4 Trivial File Transfer Protocol), which allows users to transfer files to and from a remote machine. The remote host may be specified, and optionally the port, in which case tftp uses host as the default host for future transfers. The version of tftp described here is tftp-hpa. Options
-c command Run command as though it had been entered at the tftp prompt. Must be last on the tftp command line.
-m mode Set the default transfer mode. Usually used with -c.
-v Verbose mode.
-V Print version and configuration information and exit.
Commands Once tftp is running, it issues the prompt: tftp>
and recognizes the following commands:
? [command...]
help [command...] Print help information. If no command is specified, list the commands and a brief usage message. With a command, list the usage message for that command.
ascii Shorthand for mode ascii.
binary Shorthand for mode binary.
connect hostname [port] Set the hostname, and optionally the port, for transfers.
get filename
get remotename localname
get filename1 filename2 filename3...filenameN Get a file or set of files from the specified remote sources. The filename can be specified as host:filename to set both host and filename at the same time. In that case, the last host specified becomes the default for future file transfers.
mode transfer-mode Set the mode for transfers. transfer-mode may be ascii, netascii, binary, octet, or image. The default is ascii.
put filename
put localfile remotefile
put filename1 filename2...filenameN remote-directory Transfer a file or set of files to the specified remote file or directory. The destination can be specified as host:filename to set both host and filename at the same time. In that case, the last host specified becomes the default for future file transfers. If remote-directory is specified, the remote host is assumed to be a Unix-style system that uses / as the directory path separator.
quit Exit tftp.
rexmt retransmission-timeout Set the per-packet retransmission timeout, in seconds.
status Print status information: whether tftp is connected to a remote host (i.e., whether a host has been specified for the next connection), the current mode, whether verbose and tracing modes are on, and the values for retransmission-timeout and total transmission-timeout.
timeout total-transmission-timeout Set the total transmission timeout, in seconds.
trace Toggle packet tracing.
verbose Toggle verbose mode.
in.tftpd [options] [directories]
TCP/IP command. IPv4 Trivial File Transfer Protocol server. in.tftpd is normally started by inetd and operates at the port indicated in the tftp Internet service description in /etc/services. Only publicly readable files may be accessed. By default, only files that already exist and are publicly writable can be written. In addition, if any directories are specified, access is restricted to files in those directories. The version of tftp described here is tftp-hpa. Options
-a [address][:port] Specify the address and port to listen to when run in standalone mode with -l. By default, use the address and port in /etc/services.
-B size Do not transmit blocks larger than size, a number between 512 and 65464.
-c Allow new files to be written. The default permissions allow anyone to read and write the files. Use -p or -U to set other permissions.
-l Run tftpd in standalone mode, not from inetd. This mode ignores -t.
-m file Remap filenames based on rules specified in file. Each line in this file should contain an operation, an egrep-style regular expression (regex), and, optionally, a replacement pattern. If the regex matches any part of a filename, the operation is performed. The operation is specified as any of the letters shown in the next section, alone or in combination. Comment lines begin with #. See filename remapping rules below.
-p Use only normal system access controls for the user specified with -u (the tftpd username).
-r option Never accept the specified RFC 2347 option. The possible options are blksize, blksize2 (not based on a standard; like blksize but the block size must be a power of 2), tsize (transfer size), and timeout.
-s On startup, change root directory to the directory specified as directory on the command line. With -s, only one directory should be specified. Recommended for security and compatibility with certain boot ROMs.
-t timeout Specify how long in seconds the server should wait for a new connection before terminating. Default timeout is 900 (15 minutes). If terminated, inetd spawns a new server when it receives a new request.
-T timeout Wait timeout microseconds before retransmitting the first packet.
-u username Specify the name of the tftpd user. The default user is nobody.
-U umask Set the umask for newly created files. Without -p, the default is 0. With -p, it is inherited from the calling process.
-v Increase verbosity. Specify multiple times for greater verbosity.
-V Print version and configuration information, and exit.
Filename remapping rules Use one or more of the following characters to create a single remapping operation.
a If this rule matches, refuse the request and send an "access denied" error to the client.
e If this rule matches, execute it and then end rule processing.
g Repeat the rule until it no longer matches. Used with r.
G Apply this rule to GET (RRQ) requests only.
i Use case-insensitive regex matching. The default is for case-sensitive matching.
P Apply this rule to PUT (WRQ) requests only.
r Replace the matching substring with the replacement pattern.
s If this rule matches, execute it and then restart rule processing with the first rule.
~ Invert the regular expression so operation affects filenames that do not match.
The replacement pattern can include the following escape sequences:
\0 The entire string matching the regex.
\1...\9 The strings matched by each of the first nine substrings in the regex.
\e Cancel the effect of \U or \L.
\i The IP address of the requesting host, in dotted-quad notation.
\L Convert letters following this sequence to lowercase.
\U Convert letters following this sequence to uppercase.
\x The IP address of the requesting host, in hexadecimal notation.
\\ Literal backslash.
\whitespace Literal whitespace.
\# Literal hash mark.
time [options] command [arguments]
Run the specified command, passing it any arguments, and time the execution. Note that there is also a shell time command, so you might need to specify the full path, usually /usr/bin/time, to run this version of time. time displays its results on standard error. The output includes elapsed time, user CPU time, system CPU time, and other information such as memory used and number of I/O operations. The output can be formatted using printf format strings specified with the -f option or the TIME environment variable. Options
-- The end of the options. Anything after the -- is treated as the command or one of its arguments.
-a, --append Used with -o to append the output to file instead of overwriting it.
-f format, --format=format Specify the output format. Overrides any format specified in the TIME environment variable.
--help Print help message and exit.
-o file, --output=file Send the output from time to the specified file instead of to standard error. If file exists, it is overwritten.
-p, --portability Use portable output format (POSIX).
-v, --verbose Give verbose output, providing all available information.
-V, --version Print version information and exit.
Resources The following resources can be specified in format strings:
c Number of involuntary context switches because of time slice expiring.
C Name and arguments of command being timed.
D Average size of unshared data area, in kilobytes.
e Elapsed real time, in seconds.
E Elapsed real time as hours:minutes:seconds.
F Number of major (I/O-requiring) page faults.
I Number of filesystem inputs.
k Number of signals delivered to the process.
K Average total (data+stack+text) memory use, in kilobytes.
M Maximum resident set size, in kilobytes.
O Number of filesystem outputs.
p Average unshared stack size, in kilobytes.
P Percent of CPU used.
r Number of socket messages received.
R Number of minor (recoverable) page faults.
s Number of socket messages sent.
S Total CPU seconds used by the system on behalf of the process.
t Average resident set size, in kilobytes.
U Total CPU seconds used directly by the process.
w Number of voluntary context switches.
W Number of times the process was swapped out of main memory.
x Exit status of the command.
X Average shared text size, in kilobytes.
Z System page size, in bytes.
Example Time the execution of the command ls -l and display the user time, system time, and exit status of the command: /usr/bin/time -f "\t%U user,\t%S system,\t%x status" ls -Fs
tload [options] [tty]
Display system load average in graph format. If tty is specified, print it to that terminal. Options
-d delay Specify the delay, in seconds, between updates.
-s scale Specify scale (number of characters between each graph tick). A smaller number results in a larger scale.
-V Print version information and exit.
tmpwatch [options] hours directory
System administration command. Recursively remove regular files and directories in directory with access times older than hours. Specify the directory as an absolute path. This command is usually invoked by cron to remove old files in the /tmp directory. Options
-a, --all Remove all file types.
-c, --ctime Make decision on last inode change time for files and modification time for directories instead of access time
-d, --nodirs Do not remove directories.
-f, --force Force removal of read-only files (similar to rm -f).
-m, --mtime Make decision on last modification time instead of access time.
-s, --fuser Before deleting, attempt to use fuser to see if a file is in use.
-t, --test Verbosely test command, but don't actually remove files.
-u, --atime Make decision on access time. (This is the default.)
-v, --verbose Print more details. Use two times to further increase the detail of the output.
-x, --exclude=path Skip the specified path, the absolute path of a directory or file.
top [options]
Provide information (frequently refreshed) about the most CPU-intensive processes currently running. You do not need to include a - before options. See ps for explanations of the field descriptors. Options
-b Run in batch mode; don't accept command-line input. Useful for sending output to another command or to a file.
-c Show command line in display instead of just command name.
-d delay Specify delay between refreshes.
-f Add or remove fields or columns.
-h Print a help message and exit.
-i Suppress display of idle and zombie processes. -i is a toggle; top starts with the last remembered setting.
-n num Update display num times, then exit.
-p pid Monitor only processes with the specified process ID.
-s Secure mode. Disable some (dangerous) interactive commands.
-S Cumulative mode. Print total CPU time of each process, including dead child processes.
-u user Monitor only processes with the specified effective UID or username.
-U user Monitor only processes with the specified UID or username, matching real, effective, saved, and filesystem ids.
-v Print version information and exit.
Interactive commands
= Remove restrictions on which tasks are shown. Reverses the effect of an active i or n command.
space, Enter Update display immediately.
<, > Move the sort field. Use < to move one column left and > to move one column to the right.
A Toggle alternate display mode between a single window or multiple windows. See the following section Alternate display mode commands for the commands that work with A.
b Toggle between bold and reverse display. Only works with x or y.
B Globally toggle bold display.
c Toggle display of command name or full command line.
d, s Change delay between refreshes. Prompt for new delay time, which should be in seconds. Suppressed in secure mode.
f Prompt to add fields to or remove fields from the display.
F, O Select sort field.
G Select another field group and make it current, or change by selecting a number from the following list:
1 Def
2 Job
3 Mem
4 Usr
h, ? Display help about commands and the status of secure and cumulative modes.
I, 1 Toggle SMP view. Use I to toggle IRIX/Solaris mode, 1 to toggle single/separate states.
k Prompt for process ID to kill, and signal to send (default is 15) to kill it.
i Toggle suppression of idle and zombie processes.
l Toggle display of load-average and uptime information.
m Toggle display of memory information.
n, # Prompt for maximum number of processes to show. If 0 is entered, show as many as will fit on the screen (default).
N Sort numerically by process ID.
o Prompt to change order of displayed fields.
P Sort tasks by CPU usage (default).
q Exit.
r Apply renice to a process. Prompt for PID and renice value. Suppressed in secure mode.
R Toggle normal or reverse sort.
S Toggle cumulative mode. (See the -S option.)
t Toggle display of processes and CPU states lines.
T Sort tasks by time/cumulative time.
u Prompt for specific user to show.
W Write current setup to ~/.toprc. This is the recommended way to write a top configuration file.
x Toggle highlighting for sort field.
y Toggle highlights for running tests.
z Toggle between color and mono display.
Z Globally change color mappings.
Alternate display mode commands
= Rebalance tasks in the current window.
+ Rebalance tasks in every window.
- Show or hide the current window.
_ Show all invisible windows or hide all visible windows.
a Cycle forward through all four windows.
g Change the name of the current window or group.
w Cycle backward through all four windows.
Field descriptions The first five entries in the following list describe the lines that appear at the top of the top display. The rest are the fields that can be displayed for each task (sizes are in kilobytes). Use the interactive f command to add or remove fields.
top Display the time the system has been up, the number of users, and three load averages consisting of the average number of processes ready to run in the last 1, 5, and 15 minutes.
Tasks The total number of processes running when the last update was taken, shown as the number of running, sleeping, stopped, or undead tasks.
Cpu(s) The percentage of CPU time spent in user mode, in system mode, on tasks with a negative nice value, and idle.
Mem Memory statistics, including total available memory, free memory, memory used, shared memory, and memory used for buffers.
Swap Swapspace statistics, including total, available, used, and cached.
PID Process ID.
PPID Parent process ID.
UID Effective user ID of task's owner.
USER Effective username of task's owner.
RUSER Real username of task's owner.
GROUP The effective group name of task's owner.
PR Priority.
NI Nice value.
nFLT Page fault count.
CODE Code size.
DATA Data plus stack size.
RES Resident task size.
SWAP Size of swapped-out portion of task.
VIRT The total amount of virtual memory used by the task.
nDRT Size of pages marked dirty.
#C Last-used processor, for multiprocessor systems.
SHR Amount of shared memory used.
S State of the task. Values are S (sleeping), D (uninterruptible sleep), R (running), Z (zombies), or T (stopped or traced), possibly followed by < (negative nice value), N (positive nice value), or W (swapped out).
WCHAN Address or name of the kernel function in which the task is currently sleeping.
TIME Total CPU time used by task and any children.
TIME+ Like TIME, but shows the time down to hundredths of a second.
%CPU Share of CPU time since last update, as percentage of total CPU time.
%MEM Share of physical memory.
TTY Controlling tty.
COMMAND Command line (truncated if too long) if task is in memory, or command name in parentheses if swapped out.
FLAGS Task flags.
touch [options] files
For one or more files, update the access time and modification time (and dates) to the current time and date. touch is useful in forcing other commands to handle files a certain way; for example, the operation of make, and sometimes find, relies on a file's access and modification time. If a file doesn't exist, touch creates it with a file size of 0. Options
-a, --time=atime, --time=access, --time=use Update only the access time.
-c, --no-create Do not create any file that doesn't already exist.
-d time, --date time Change the time value to the specified time instead of the current time. time can use several formats and may contain month names, time zones, a.m. and p.m. strings, etc.
-m, --time=mtime, --time=modify Update only the modification time.
-r file, --reference file Change times to be the same as those of the specified file, instead of the current time.
-t time Use the time specified in time instead of the current time. This argument must be of the format [[cc]yy]mmddhhmm[.ss], indicating optional century and year, month, date, hours, minutes, and optional seconds.
--help Print help message and then exit.
--version Print the version number and then exit.
tr [options] [string1 [string2]]
Translate characters. Copy standard input to standard output, substituting characters from string1 to string2, or deleting characters in string1. Options
-c, --complement Complement characters in string1 with respect to ASCII 001-377.
-d, --delete Delete characters in string1 from output.
-s, --squeeze-repeats Squeeze out repeated output characters in string2.
-t, --truncate-set1 Truncate string1 to the length of string2 before translating.
--help Print help message and then exit.
--version Print the version number and then exit.
Special characters Include brackets ([ ]) where shown.
\a Ctrl-G (bell)
\b Ctrl-H (backspace)
\f Ctrl-L (form feed)
\n Ctrl-J (newline)
\r Ctrl-M (carriage return)
\t Ctrl-I (tab)
\v Ctrl-K (vertical tab)
\nnn Character with octal value nnn
\\ Literal backslash
char1-char2 All characters in the range char1 through char2. If char1 does not sort before char2, produce an error.
[char*] In string2, expand char to the length of string1.
[char*number] Expand char to number occurrences. [x*4] expands to xxxx, for instance.
[:class:] Expand to all characters in class, where class can be:
alnum Letters and digits
alpha Letters
blank Whitespace
cntrl Control characters
digit Digits
graph Printable characters except space
lower Lowercase letters
print Printable characters
punct Punctuation
space Whitespace (horizontal or vertical)
upper Uppercase letters
xdigit Hexadecimal digits
[=char=] The class of characters to which char belongs.
Examples Change uppercase to lowercase in a file: cat file | tr 'A-Z' 'a-z'
Turn spaces into newlines (ASCII code 012): tr ' ' ' ' < file
Strip blank lines from file and save in new.file (or use 011 to change successive tabs into one tab): cat file | tr -s "" " " > new.file
Delete colons from file and save result in new.file: tr -d : < file > new.file
tracepath host [port]
TCP/IP command. Trace path to host and report the Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU.) A simplified version of traceroute without options meant for use by unprivileged users. If specified, it will use port to send UDP probe packets. host is the destination hostname or the IP number of the host to reach.
traceroute [options] host [packetsize]
TCP/IP command. Trace route taken by packets to reach network host. traceroute attempts tracing by launching UDP probe packets with a small TTL (time-to-live), then listening for an ICMP "time exceeded" reply from a gateway. host is the destination hostname or the IP number of the host to reach. packetsize is the packet size in bytes of the probe datagram. Default is 40 bytes. Options
-d Turn on socket-level debugging.
-f n Set the initial time-to-live to n hops.
-F Set the "don't fragment" bit.
-g addr Enable the IP LSRR (Loose Source Record Route) option in addition to the TTL tests, to ask how someone at IP address addr can reach a particular target.
-i interface Specify the network interface for getting the source IP address for outgoing probe packets. Useful with a multi-homed host. Also see the -s option.
-I Use ICMP ECHO requests instead of UDP datagrams.
-m max_ttl Set maximum time-to-live used in outgoing probe packets to max-ttl hops. Default is 30.
-n Show numerical addresses; do not look up hostnames. (Useful if DNS is not functioning properly.)
-p port Set base UDP port number used for probe packets to port. Default is (decimal) 33434.
-q n Set number of probe packets for each time-to-live setting to the value n. Default is 3.
-r Bypass normal routing tables and send directly to a host on an attached network.
-s src_addr Use src_addr as the IP address that will serve as the source address in outgoing probe packets.
-t tos Set the type-of-service in probe packets to tos (default 0). The value must be a decimal integer in the range 0 to 255.
-v Verbose; received ICMP packets (other than TIME_EXCEEDED and PORT_UNREACHABLE) will be listed.
-w wait Set time to wait for a response to an outgoing probe packet to wait seconds (default is 5).
-x Toggle IP checksums, usually to turn them off. IP checksums are always calculated if -I is specified.
-z msecs Set the delay between probes, in milliseconds. The default is 0.
troff
See groff.
true
A null command that returns a successful (0) exit status. See also false.
tset [options] [terminal] reset [options] [terminal]
Initialize a terminal. The terminal to be initialized is whichever is found first from the value of terminal, the value of the TERM environment variable, or the default terminal type. See also the reset command. Options
-echar Set the erase character to char.
-ichar Set the interrupt character to char.
-I Do not send terminal or tab initialization strings to the terminal.
-kchar Set line-kill character to char.
-m arg Specify a mapping from a port type to a terminal, where arg looks like this: [port type][operator][baud rate][:]terminal_type
operator can be any combination of < (less than), > (greater than), @ (equal), and ! (not). The terminal type is a string (e.g., vt100 or xterm).
-q Print the terminal type on standard output but do not initialize the terminal.
-Q Don't display values for the erase, interrupt, and line kill characters.
-r Print the terminal type to standard error.
-s Print the shell commands that initialize the TERM environment variable on standard output.
-V Print the version of ncurses used for this program and exit.
tsort [option] [file]
Perform a topological sort on partially ordered strings in the specified file. Multiple strings on a line are separated by spaces, where each line indicates a partial ordering. The fully ordered results are written to standard output. See the tsort info page for an example of the use of tsort for sorting lists of functions into the order they are called. Options
--help Print help information and exit.
--version Print version information and exit.
tty [options]
Print the filename of the terminal connected to standard input. Options
--help Print help message and exit.
-s, --silent, --quiet Print nothing to standard output, but return an exit status.
--version Display version information and exit.
tune2fs [options] device
System administration command. Tune the parameters of a Linux Second Extended Filesystem by adjusting various parameters. You must specify the device on which the filesystem resides; it must not be mounted read/write when you change its parameters. Options
-c max-mount-counts Specify the maximum number of mount counts between two checks on the filesystem.
-C mount-count Specify the mount count. For use with -c to force a check the next time the system boots.
-e behavior Specify the kernel's behavior when encountering errors. behavior must be one of:
continue Continue as usual.
remount-ro Remount the offending filesystem in read-only mode.
panic Cause a kernel panic.
-f Force completion even if there are errors.
-g group Allow group (a group ID or name) to use reserved blocks.
-i interval[d|w|m] Specify the maximum interval between filesystem checks. Units may be in days (d), weeks (w), or months (m). If interval is 0, checking will not be time-dependent.
-j Add an ext3 journal to the filesystem. If specified without -J, use the default journal parameters.
-J jrnl-options Specify ext3 journal parameters as a comma-separated list of option=value pairs. The specified options override the default values. Only one size or device option can be specified for a filesystem. Possible options are:
device=ext-jrnl Attach to the journal block device on ext-jrnl, which must exist and must have the same block size as the filesystem to be journaled. ext-jrnl can be specified by its device name, by the volume label (LABEL=label), or by the Universal Unique Identifier (UUID) stored in the journal's ext2 superblock (UUID=uuid; see uuidgen). Create the external journal with: mke2fs -O jrnl-dev ext-jrnl
size=jrnl-size The size of the journal in megabytes. The size must be at least equivalent to 1024 blocks and not more than 102,400 blocks.
-l Display a list of the superblock's contents.
-L label Specify the volume label of filesystem. The label must be no more than 16 characters.
-m percentage Specify the percentage of blocks that will be reserved for use by privileged users.
-M dir Specify the filesystem's last-mounted directory.
-o mount-options Set or clear the specified default mount-options. Mount options specified in /etc/fstab or on the command line for mount will override these defaults. Specify multiple options as a comma-separated list. Prefixing an option with a caret (^) clears the option. No prefix or a plus sign (+) causes the option to be set. The following options can be cleared or set:
acl Enable Posix Acess Control Lists.
bsdgroups Assign new files the group-id of the directory in which they are created instead of the group-id of the process creating them.
debug Enable debugging code.
journal_data When journaling, commit all data to journal before writing to the filesystem.
journal_data_ordered When journaling, force data to the filesystem before committing metadata to the journal.
journal_data_writeback When journaling, force data to the filesystem after committing metadata to the journal.
-O option Set or clear the specified filesystem options in the filesystem's superblock. Specify multiple options as a comma-separated list. Prefixing an option with a caret (^) clears the option. No prefix or a plus sign (+) causes the option to be set. Run e2fsck after changing filetype or sparse_super. The following options can be cleared or set:
dir_index Use B-trees to speed up lookups on large directories.
filetype Save file type information in directory entries.
has_journal Create an ext3 journal. Same as the -j option.
sparse_super Save space on large filesystems by limiting the number of backup superblocks. Same as -s.
-r num Specify the number of blocks that will be reserved for use by privileged users.
-s [0|1] Turn the sparse superblock feature on or off. Run e2fsck after changing this feature.
-T time Set the time e2fsck was last run. The time specification is international date format, with the time optionali.e., YYYYMMDD[[HHMM]SS]. If time is specified as time-last-checked, the current time is used.
-u user Allow user (a user ID or name) to use reserved blocks.
-U uuid Set the UUID of the filesystem to a UUID generated by uuidgen or to one of the following:
clear Clear the existing UUID.
random Randomly generate a new UUID.
time Generate a new time-based UUID.
tunelp device [options]
System administration command. Control a line printer's device parameters. Without options, print information about device(s). Options
-a [on|off] Specify whether or not to abort if the printer encounters an error. By default, do not abort.
-c n Retry device n times if it refuses a character. (Default is 250.) After exhausting n, sleep before retrying.
-i irq Use irq for specified parallel port. Ignore -t and -c. If 0, restore noninterrupt-driven (polling) action.
-o [on|off] Specify whether to abort if device is not online or is out of paper.
-q [on|off] Specify whether to print current IRQ setting.
-r Reset port.
-s Display printer's current status.
-t time Specify a delay of time in jiffies to sleep before resending a refused character to the device. A jiffy is defined as either one tick of the system clock or one AC cycle time; it should be approximately 1/100 of a second.
-T [on|off] Tell the lp driver whether it can trust the IRQ. Useful only if using with interrupts, to handle IRQ printing efficiently. Requires at least Linux 2.1.131.
-w time Specify a delay of time in jiffies to sleep before resending a strobe signal.
ul [options] [names]
Translate underscores to underlining. The process will vary by terminal type. Some terminals are unable to handle underlining. Options
-i When on a separate line, translate - to underline instead of translating underscores.
-t terminal-type Specify terminal type. By default, TERM is consulted.
umount [options] [directory]
System administration command. Unmount filesystem specified by directory. You may also specify the filesystem by device name. umount announces to the system that the removable file structure previously mounted on the specified directory is to be removed. Any pending I/O for the filesystem is completed, and the file structure is flagged as clean. A busy filesystem cannot be unmounted. Options
-a Unmount all filesystems listed in /etc/mtab other than /proc.
-d If the unmounted device was a loop device, free the loop device too. See also the losetup command.
-f Force the unmount. This option requires kernel 2.1.116 or later.
-h Print help message and exit.
-l Lazy unmount. Detach the filesystem from the hierarchy immediately, but don't clean up references until it is no longer busy. Requires kernel 2.4.11 or later.
-n Unmount, but do not record changes in /etc/mtab.
-O options Unmount only filesystems with the specified options in /etc/fstab. Specify multiple options as a comma-separated list. Add no as a prefix to an option to indicate filesystems that should not be unmounted.
-r If unmounting fails, try to remount read-only.
-t type Unmount only filesystems of type type. Multiple types can be specified as a comma-separated list, and any type can be prefixed with no to specify that filesystems of that type should not be unmounted.
-v Verbose mode.
-V Print version information and exit.
uname [options]
Print information about the machine and operating system. Without options, print the name of the kernel (Linux). Options
-a, --all Combine all the system information from the other options.
-i, --hardware-platform Print the system's hardware platform.
-m, --machine Print the name of the hardware that the system is running on.
-n, --nodename Print the machine's hostname.
-o, --operating-system Print the operating system name.
-p, --processor Print the type of processor.
-r, --kernel-release Print the release number of the kernel.
-s, --kernel-name Print the name of the kernel (Linux). This is the default action.
-v, --kernel-version Print build information about the kernel.
--help Display a help message and then exit.
--version Print version information and then exit.
uncompress [options] files
Uncompress files that were compressed (i.e., whose names end in .Z). uncompress takes all the same options as compress, except -b and -r.
unexpand [options] [files]
Convert strings of initial whitespace, consisting of at least two spaces and/or tabs, to tabs. Read from standard input if given no file or a file named -. Options
-a, --all Convert all, not just leading, strings of spaces and tabs.
--first-only Convert only leading spaces and tabs. Overrides -a.
-t nums, --tabs nums nums is a comma-separated list of integers that specify the placement of tab stops. If a single integer is provided, the tab stops are set to every integer spaces. By default, tab stops are eight spaces apart. This option implies -a.
--help Print help message and then exit.
--version Print the version number and then exit.
unicode_start [font [umap]]
Put keyboard and console in Unicode mode, setting the font to font and the Unicode map to umap if the font doesn't have its own map. If no font is specified, use the default.
unicode_stop
Take keyboard and console out of Unicode mode.
uniq [options] [file1 [file2]]
Remove duplicate adjacent lines from sorted file1 or from standard input, sending one copy of each line to file2 (or to standard output). Often used as a filter. Specify only one of -d or -u. See also comm and sort. Options
-c, --count Print each line once, prefixing number of instances.
-d, --repeated Print duplicate lines once but no unique lines.
-D, --all-repeated[=method] Print all duplicate lines. -D takes no delimiter method. The delimiter method method takes one of the following values: none (default), prepend, or separate. Blank lines are used as the delimiter.
-f n, --skip-fields=n Ignore first n fields of a line. Fields are separated by spaces or by tabs.
-i, --ignore-case Ignore case differences when checking for duplicates.
-s n, --skip-chars=n Ignore first n characters of a field.
-u, --unique Print only unique lines (no copy of duplicate entries is kept).
-w n, --check-chars=n Compare only first n characters per line (beginning after skipped fields and characters).
--help Print a help message and then exit.
--version Print version information and then exit.
Examples Send one copy of each line from list to output file list.new: uniq list list.new
Show which names appear more than once: sort names | uniq -d
uptime [option]
Print the current time, how long the system has been running, the number of users currently logged in (which may include the same user multiple times), and system load averages. This output is also produced by the first line of the w command. Option
-V Print version information and exit.
useradd [options] [user]
System administration command. Create new user accounts or update default account information. Unless invoked with the -D option, user must be given. useradd will create new entries in system files. Home directories and initial files may also be created as needed. Options
-c comment Comment field.
-d dir Home directory. The default is to use user as the directory name under the home directory specified with the -D option.
-e date Account expiration date. Use the format MM/DD/YYYY. Two-digit year fields are also accepted. The value is stored as the number of days since January 1, 1970. This option requires the use of shadow passwords.
-f days Permanently disable account this many days after the password has expired. A value of -1 disables this feature. This option requires the use of shadow passwords.
-g group Initial group name or ID number. If a different default group has not been specified using the -D option, the default group is 1.
-G groups Supplementary groups given by name or number in a comma-separated list with no whitespace.
-k [dir] Copy default files to the user's home directory. Meaningful only when used with the -m option. Default files are copied from /etc/skel/ unless an alternate dir is specified.
-m Make user's home directory if it does not exist. The default is not to make the home directory.
-M Do not create a home directory for the user, even if the system default in /etc/login.defs is to create one.
-n Red Hat-specific option. Turn off the Red Hat default that creates a group with the same name as the username and puts the user in that group.
-o Override. Accept a nonunique uid with the -u option. (Probably a bad idea.)
-p passwd The encrypted password, as returned by crypt(3).
-r Red Hat-specific option. Create a system account with a non-expiring password and a UID lower than the minimum defined in /etc/login.defs. Do not create a home directory for the account unless -m is also specified.
-s shell Login shell.
-u uid Numerical user ID. The value must be unique unless the -o option is used. The default value is the smallest ID value greater than 99 and greater than every other uid.
-D [options] Set or display defaults. If options are specified, set them. If no options are specified, display current defaults. The options are:
-b dir Home directory prefix to be used in creating home directories. If the -d option is not used when creating an account, the user name will be appended to dir.
-e date Expire date. Requires the use of shadow passwords.
-f days Number of days after a password expires to disable an account. Requires the use of shadow passwords.
-g group Initial group name or ID number.
-s shell Default login shell.
userdel [option] user
System administration command. Delete all entries for user in system account files. Option
-r Remove the home directory of user and any files contained in it.
usermod [options] user
System administration command. Modify user account information. Options
-c comment Comment field.
-d dir Home directory.
-e date Account expiration date. date is in the format MM/DD/YYYY; two-digit year fields are also accepted. The value is stored as the number of days since January 1, 1970. This option requires the use of shadow passwords.
-f days Permanently disable account this many days after the password has expired. A value of -1 disables this feature. This option requires the use of shadow passwords.
-g group Initial group name or number.
-G groups Supplementary groups given by name or number in a comma-separated list with no whitespace. user will be removed from any groups to which it currently belongs that are not included in groups.
-l name Login name. This cannot be changed while the user is logged in.
-L Lock user's password by putting a ! in front of it. This option cannot be used with -p or -U.
-o Override. Accept a nonunique uid with the -u option.
-p pw Encrypted password, as returned from crypt(3).
-s shell Login shell.
-u uid Numerical user ID. The value must be unique unless the -o option is used. Any files owned by user in the user's home directory will have their user ID changed automatically. Files outside of the home directory will not be changed. user should not be executing any processes while this is changed.
-U Unlock the user's password by removing the ! that -L put in front of it. This option cannot be used with -p or -L.
users [file] users option
Print a space-separated list of each login session on the host. Note that this may include the same user multiple times. Consult file or, by default, /var/log/utmp or /var/log/wtmp. Options
--help Print usage information and exit.
--version Print version information and exit.
usleep [microseconds] usleep [options]
Sleep some number of microseconds (default is 1). Options
-?, --help Print help information and then exit.
--usage Print usage message and then exit.
-v, --version Print version information.
uudecode [-o outfile] [file]
Read a uuencoded file and re-create the original file with the permissions and name set in the file (see uuencode). The -o option specifies an alternate output file.
uuencode [-m] [file] name
Encode a binary file. The encoding uses only printable ASCII characters and includes the permissions and name of the file. When file is reconverted via uudecode, the output is saved as name. If the file argument is omitted, uuencode can take standard input, so a single argument is taken as the name to be given to the file when it is decoded. With the -m option, base64 encoding is used. Examples It's common to encode a file and save it with an identifying extension, such as .uue. This example encodes the binary file flower12.jpg, names it rose.jpg, and saves it to a .uue file: $ uuencode flower12.jpg rose.jpg > rose.uue
Encode flower12.jpg and mail it: $ uuencode flower12.jpg flower12.jpg | mail el@oreilly.com
uuidgen [option]
Create a new Universal Unique Identifier (UUID) and print it to standard output. The generated UUID consists of five hyphen-separated groups of hex digits (e.g., 3cdfc61d-87d3-41b5-ba50-32870b33dc67). The default is to generate a random-based UUID, but this requires that a high-quality random-number generator be available on the system. Options
-r Generate a random-based UUID.
-t Generate a time-based UUID.
vdir [options] [files]
Verbosely list directory contents. Equivalent to ls -lb. By default, list the current directory. Directory entries are sorted alphabetically unless overridden by an option. vdir takes the same options as ls.
vi [options] [files]
A screen-oriented text editor based on ex. vi is bi-modal, with a command mode and an insert mode. For more information on vi, see Chapter 9.
vidmode [option] image [mode [offset]]
System administration command. Set the video mode for a kernel image. If no arguments are specified, print current mode value. mode is a 1-byte value located at offset 506 in a kernel image. You may change the mode by specifying the kernel image to change, the new mode, and the byte offset at which to place the new information (the default is 506). Note that rdev -v is a synonym for vidmode. If LILO is used, vidmode is not needed. The video mode can be set from the LILO prompt during a boot. Modes
-3 Prompt
-2 Extended VGA
-1 Normal VGA
0 Same as entering 0 at the prompt
1 Same as entering 1 at the prompt
2 Same as entering 2 at the prompt
3 Same as entering 3 at the prompt
n Same as entering n at the prompt
Option
-o offset Same as specifying an offset as an argument.
vim
An enhanced version of the vi screen editor. Both vi and vim are covered in Chapter 9.
vmstat [options] [interval [count]]
System administration command. Print report on virtual memory statistics, including information on processes, memory, paging block I/O, traps, system and CPU usage. vmstat initially reports average values since the last system reboot. If given a sampling period interval in seconds, it prints additional statistics for each interval. If specified, vmstat exits when it has completed count reports. Otherwise, it continues until it receives a Ctrl-C, printing a new header line each time it fills the screen. Options
-a Display active and inactive memory.
-d Display disk statistics.
-f Display the number of forks since the system was booted.
-m Display the names and sizes of various kernel objects stored in a cache known as the slab layer. Also see the slabtop command.
-n Don't print new header lines when the screen is full.
-p partition Display detailed statistics for the specified partition.
-s Display various even counters and memory statistics.
-S units Switch the output units. Possible values are k, K, m or M.
-V Print version number, then exit.
VM mode fields
procs -
r Processes waiting for runtime.
b Uninterruptible sleeping processes.
memory -
swpd Virtual memory used, in kilobytes.
free Idle memory, in kilobytes.
buff Memory used as buffers, in kilobytes.
cache Cache memory, in kilobytes.
inactive Inactive memory, in kilobytes, displayed with -a.
active Active memory, in kilobytes; displayed with -a.
swap -
si Memory swapped in from disk each second, in kilobytes.
so Memory swapped out to disk each second, in kilobytes.
io -
bi Blocks sent to block devices each second.
bo Blocks received from block devices each second.
system -
in Interrupts per second, including clock interrupts.
cs Context switches per second.
cpu -
us Percentage of CPU time consumed by user processes.
sy Percentage of CPU time consumed by system processes.
id Percentage of CPU time spent idle.
wa Percentage of CPU time spent waiting for I/O.
Disk mode fields
Reads and Writes -
total Total reads or writes completed successfully.
merged Reads or writes grouped into one I/O.
sectors Sectors read or written successfully.
ms Milliseconds spent reading or writing.
IO -
cur I/O in progress
s Seconds spent doing I/O.
Disk partition mode fields
reads Total reads issued to this partition.
read sectors Total sectors read for this partition.
writes Total writes issued to this partition.
requested writes Total write requests for this partition.
Slab mode fields
cache Cache name.
num Number of currently active objects.
total Total number of available objects.
size Size of each object.
pages Number of pages with at least one active object.
totpages Total number of allocated pages.
pslab Number of pages per slab.
volname [devfile]
Return the volume name for a device such as a CD-ROM that was formatted with an ISO-9660 filesystem. The default device file devfile is /dev/cdrom.
w [options] [user]
Print summaries of system usage, currently logged-in users, and what those users are doing. w is essentially a combination of uptime, who, and ps -a. Display output for one user by specifying user. Options
-f Toggle printing the from (remote hostname) field.
-h Suppress headings and uptime information.
-s Use the short format.
-u Ignore the username while figuring out the current process and CPU times.
-V Display version information.
File
/var/run/utmp List of users currently logged in.
wall [file] wall [-n] [message]
Write to all users. Depending on your Linux distribution, wall uses one of the two syntaxes shown. In both versions, the default is for wall to read a message from standard input and send the message to all users currently logged in, preceded by "Broadcast Message from..." With the first syntax, which comes with Debian, for example, if file is specified, wall reads input from that file rather than from standard input, and only the superuser can write to a terminal if the user has disallowed messages. With the second syntax, distributed by Red Hat, for example, the text of the message can be included on the command line, and the message is limited to 20 lines. In this form, if -n is specified, the default banner message is replaced with "Remote broadcast message". -n can only be specified by the superuser, and only if wall was installed set-group-id. Example Send the message contained in the file message.txt to all users: $ wall < message.txt
warnquota [options] [filesystem]
System administration command. Mail warning messages to users that have exceeded their soft limit. Options
-a file Read group administrator information from file instead of /etc/quotagrpadmins.
-c file Read configuration information from file instead of /etc/warnquota.conf.
-C Translate UIDs and GIDs individually. (Faster for database lookups.)
-d Send messages without attaching quota reports.
-F format Read quota information of the specified format. (See quota for valid formats.)
-g Send messages for group quotas. Send the message to the user specified in /etc/quotagrpadmins.
-i Ignore automount mount points.
-q file Read device description strings from file instead of /etc/quotagrpadmins.
-s Report sizes in more human-readable units.
-u Send messages for user quotas. (This is the default.)
watch [options] command [cmd_options]
Run the specified command repeatedly (by default, every two seconds) and display the output so you can watch it change over time. The command and any options are passed to sh -c, so you may need to use quotes to get correct results. Options
-d, --differences[=cumulative] Highlight changes between iterations. If cumulative is specified, the highlighting remains on the screen throughout, giving a cumulative picture of the changes.
-h, --help Display help message and exit.
-n secs, --interval=secs Run the command every secs seconds.
-t, --no-title Do not display the header or the blank line following the header.
-v, --version Print version information and exit.
wc [options] [files]
Print byte, word, and line counts for each file. Print a total line for multiple files. If no files are given, read standard input. See other examples under ls and sort. Options
-c, --bytes Print byte count only.
-l, --lines Print line count only.
-L, --max-line-length Print length of longest line.
-m, --chars Print character count only.
-w, --words Print word count only.
--help Print help message and then exit.
--version Print the version number and then exit.
Examples Count the number of users logged in: who | wc -l
Count the words in three essay files: wc -w essay.[123]
Count lines in the file named by variable $file (don't display filename): wc -l < $file
wget [options] [urls]
Perform non-interactive file downloads from the Web. wget works in the background and can be used to set up and run a download without the user having to remain logged on. wget supports HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, as well as downloads through HTTP proxies. wget uses a global startup file that you may find at /etc/wgetrc or /usr/local/etc/wgetrc. In addition, users can define their own $HOME/.wgetrc files. Options
-a logfile, --append-output=logfile Append output messages to logfile, instead of overwriting the contents. If logfile doesn't exist, create it.
-A acclist, --accept=acclist Specify a comma-separated list of filename suffixes or patterns to accept.
-b, --background Go into the background immediately after startup, writing output to the file specified with -o or to wget-log.
-B url, --base=url Used with -F to prepend the specified URL to relative links in the input file specified with -i.
--bind-address=address When making client TCP/IP connections, bind( ) to the specified local address, which can be specified as a hostname or IP address. Useful if your system is bound to multiple IP addresses.
-c, --continue Continue getting a partially downloaded file. Affects the restarting of downloads from an earlier invocation of wget. Works only with FTP servers and HTTP servers that support the Range header.
--connect-timeout=seconds Set the timeout for a connection to be established in seconds. The default is never to time out, unless a timeout is implemented by system libraries.
--cut-dirs=num Ignore the specified number of directory components when creating the local directory structure.
-d, --debug Turn on debugging. wget must have been compiled with debug support.
-D domainlist, --domains=domainlist Specify a comma-separated list of domains to be followed. Does not turn on -H.
--delete-after Delete each retrieved file from the local machine after downloading it. Useful for prefetching pages through a proxy. -k is ignored if specified with --delete-after.
--dns-cache=off Turn off DNS-lookup caching.
--dns-timeout=seconds Set the DNS lookup timeout to seconds. The default is to never time out.
-e command, --execute=command Execute the specified command after the commands in .wgetrc, overriding any .wgetrc commands. Can be included multiple times, once for each command to execute.
--exclude-domains=domain-list Specify a comma-separated list of names that are never to be followed.
-F, --force-html When reading input from a file, force the file to be treated as an HTML file.
--follow-ftp Follow FTP links from HTML documents. The default is to ignore FTP links.
--follow-tags=list Specify a comma-separated list of tags to be considered, overriding the internal table that wget normally uses during a recursive retrieval.
-h, --help Display usage information and exit.
-H, --span-hosts Enable spanning across hosts when doing recursive retrieval.
--header=header Add an additional header to be passed to the HTTP server. The header must include a colon (:) preceded by at least one nonblank character, and with no newline characters. Can be specified multiple times. If header is an empty string, all user-defined headers are cleared.
--html-extension Append the suffix .html to the filenames of downloaded files where the URL does not include it (for example, an .asp file).
--http-user=user, --http-password=password Specify the username and password on an HTTP server.
-i file, --input-file=file Read URLs from the specified file. URLs specified on the command line are accessed before URLs in the file.
-I list, --include-directories=list Specify a comma-separated list of directories to follow when downloading. The list elements may contain wildcards.
--ignore-length Ignore the "Content-Length" header on the HTTP server.
--ignore-tags=list Specify a comma-separated list of tags to be ignored for recursive retrievals.
-k, --convert-links Convert document links after the download is complete so they work locally.
-K, --backup-converted When converting a file, back up the original and add a .orig suffix. Affects the behavior of -N.
--keep-session-cookies Causes --save-cookies to also save session cookies.
-l depth, --level=depths For recursive retrievals, specify the maximum recursion depth. The default depth is 5.
-L, --relative Follow relative links only.
--limit-rate=rate Set the maximum download speed, The default is to specify the rate in bytes, or add a k suffix for kilobytes or m for megabytes.
--load-cookies=file Load cookies from the specified file before the first HTTP retrieval.
-m, --mirror Turn on options suitable for mirroring a remote site. Equivalent to -r -N -l inf --no-remove-listing.
-N, --timestamping Turn on timestamping.
-nc, --no-clobber Do not download a file if there is already a copy on the disk. The default is to preserve the original copy and rename successive downloads, adding .1, .2, etc. to their name. May not be specified with -N.
-nd, --no-directories Do not create a directory hierarchy when doing recursive retrievals.
-nH, --no-host-directories Disable creation of directories prefixed by the name of the host. The default is to include the hostname.
--no-cache Disable server-side cache for an HTTP retrieval. The default is for caching to be on.
--no-cookies Disable the use of cookies.
--no-glob Turn off FTP globbing to prevent the use of wildcards for multiple file retrievals.
--no-http-keep-alive Turn off the keep-alive feature for HTTP retrievals.
--np, --no-parent In recursive retrievals, do not ever go up to the parent directory.
--no-remove-listing Do not remove the temporary .listing files generated by FTP retrievals.
-nv, --non-verbose Turn off verbose mode, but don't run completely quietly. Displays error messages and basic information.
-o logfile, --output-file=logfile Log output messages to logfile, instead of the default standard error.
-O file, --output-documents=file Concatenate all documents into the specified file. If the file exists, it is overwritten. Specify the file as - to write to standard output.
-p, --page-requisites Download all files necessary to display an HTML page.
-P prefix, --directory-prefix=prefix Set the directory prefix to the specified value.
--passive-ftp Perform a passive FTP retrieval.
--post-data=string, --post-file=file Use POST as the method for HTTP requests and send the specified data in the request body. Use --post-data to send string as data and --post-file to send the file contents.
--progress=type[:style] Set the progress indicator to type. Valid types are dot and bar; the default is bar. With --progress=dot, you can also set a style. The default style is for each dot to represent 1K, with 10 dots in a cluster and 50 dots per line. Alternatives are binary, with each dot representing 8K, 16-dot clusters, and 48 dots per line; mega, for downloading very large files, with each dot representing 64K, 8 dots per cluster, and 48 dots per line; and giga, with each dot representing 1M, 8 dots per cluster, and 4 clusters per line.
--protocol-directories Use the protocol name as part of the local filename.
--proxy-user=user, --proxy-passwd=password Specify the username and password for authentication on a proxy server.
-q, --quiet Run quietly; don't produce output.
-Q quota, --quota=quota Specify download quota for automatic retrievals. The default value is in bytes; add k suffix for kilobytes, or m for megabytes.
-r, --recursive Turn on recursive retrieving.
-R rejlist, --reject=rejlist Specify a comma-separated list of filename suffixes or patterns to reject.
--random-wait Set a random wait time to prevent being identified by web sites that look for patterns in time between requests so they can block access.
--read-timeout=seconds Set the read (and write) timeout to the specified number of seconds. The default is 900 seconds.
--referer=url Include a "Referer: url" header in an HTTP request.
--restrict-file-names=mode[,nocontrol] Restrict the characters found in remote URLs from appearing in local filenames. The value of mode is the operating systeme.g., unix or windows (use unix for Linux). Such characters are escaped with a percent sign (%). The default is to escape characters not valid on your operating system. Appending ,nocontrol turns off escaping of control characters.
--retr-symlinks When retrieving FTP directories recursively, follow symbolic links and retrieve the linked-to files.
-S, --server-response Print HTTP server headers and FTP server responses.
--save-cookies=file Save cookies in the specified file before exiting. Does not save expired cookies, and only saves session cookies if --keep-session-cookies is also specified.
--save-headers Save the headers sent by an HTTP server to the file, preceding the contents and separated by a blank line.
--spider Behave like a web spider, checking that pages exist but not downloading them.
--strict-comments Turn on strict parsing of HTML comments, instead of terminating comments at the first occurrence of -->.
-t num, --tries=num Set the number of retries to the specified value of num. Set num to 0 or inf to keep trying forever (infinitely) (default is 20 retries), unless there is a fatal error such as "connection refused."
-T seconds, --timeout=seconds Set network timeout to the specified number of seconds. Equivalent to specifying all of --dns-timeout,--connect-timeout, and --read-timeout.
-U agent,--user-agent=agent Specify an agent string to the HTTP server to replace the default identification of Wget/version, where version is the current wget version. This string is used in the User-Agent header field.
-v, --verbose Turn on verbose output, printing all available data. This is the default.
-V, --version Display version information and exit.
-w seconds, --wait=seconds Specify the wait in seconds between retrievals. Used to lighten server load. Use the suffix m to specify the wait in minutes, h for hours, or d for days.
--waitretry=seconds Specify the number of seconds to wait between retries if the download fails. The default in the global configuration file is to not wait.
-x, --force-directories Create a hierarchy of directories even if one wouldn't otherwise be created.
-X list, --exclude-directories=list Specify a comma-separated list of directories to exclude from download. List elements may contain wildcards.
-Y on|off, --proxy=on|off Turn proxy support on or off (default is on).
whatis keywords
Search the short manual page descriptions in the whatis database for each keyword and print a one-line description to standard output for each match. Like apropos, except that it searches only for complete words. Equivalent to man -f.
whereis [options] files
Locate the binary, source, and manual page files for specified commands/files. The supplied filenames are first stripped of leading pathname components and any (single) trailing extension of the form .ext (for example, .c). Prefixes of s. resulting from use of source code control are also dealt with. whereis then attempts to locate the desired program in a list of standard Linux directories (/bin, /etc, /usr/bin, /usr/local/bin/, etc.). Options
-b Search only for binaries.
-f Terminate the last directory list and signal the start of filenames. Required when the -B, -M, or -S option is used.
-m Search only for manual sections.
-s Search only for sources.
-u Search for unusual entriesthat is, files that do not have one entry of each requested type. Thus, the command whereis -m -u * asks for those files in the current directory that have no documentation.
-B directories Change or otherwise limit the directories to search for binaries.
-M directory Change or otherwise limit the directories to search for manual sections.
-S directory Change or otherwise limit the directories to search for sources.
Example Find all files in /usr/bin that are not documented in /usr/share/man/man1 but that have source in /usr/src: $ cd /usr/bin $ whereis -u -M /usr/share/man/man1 -S /usr/src -f *
which [options] [--] [commands]
List the full pathnames of the files that would be executed if the named commands had been run. which searches the user's $PATH environment variable. Options
-a, --all Print all matches, not just the first.
-i, --read-alias Read aliases from standard input and write matches to standard output. Useful for using an alias for which.
--read-functions Read shell functions from standard input and report matches to standard output. Useful for also using a shell function for which itself.
--skip-alias Ignore --read-alias if present. Useful for finding normal binaries while using --read-alias in an alias for which.
--skip-dot Skip directories that start with a dot.
--skip-functions Ignore --read-functions if present. Useful when searching for normal binaries while using --read-functions in an alias or function for which.
--skip-tilde Skip directories that start with a tilde (~) and executables in $HOME.
--show-dot If a matching command is found in a directory that starts with a dot, print ./cmdname instead of the full pathname.
--show-tilde Print a tilde (~) to indicate the user's home directory. Ignored if the user is root.
--tty-only Stop processing options on the right if not on a terminal.
-v, -V, --version Print version information and then exit.
--help Print help information and then exit.
Example $ which cc ls /usr/bin/cc ls: aliased to ls -sFC
who [options] [file] who am i
Show who is logged into the system. With no options, list the names of users currently logged in, their terminal, the time they have been logged in, and the name of the host from which they have logged in. An optional system file (default is /etc/utmp) can be supplied to give additional information. Options
-a, --all Equivalent to -b -d --login -p -r -t -T -u.
am i Print the username of the invoking user.
-b, --boot Print time of last system boot.
-d, --dead Print a list of dead processes.
--help Print a help message and then exit.
-i, --idle Include idle times. An idle time of . indicates activity within the last minute; one of old indicates no activity in more than a day.
-l, --login Print list of system login processes.
--lookup Attempt to include canonical hostnames via DNS.
-m Same as who am i.
-p, --process Print active processes spawned by init.
-q, --count "Quick." Display only the usernames and total number of users.
-r, --runlevel Print the current runlevel.
-s, --short Print only name, line, and time. This is the default behaviour.
-t, --time Print the last system clock change.
-u, --users Print a list of the users who are logged in.
--version Print version information and then exit.
-w, -T, --mesg, --message, --writable Include user's message status in the output:
+ mesg y (write messages allowed)
- mesg n (write messages refused)
? Cannot find terminal device
-H, --heading Print headings.
Example This sample output was produced at 8 a.m. on April 17: $ who -uH NAME LINE TIME IDLE PID COMMENTS Earvin ttyp3 Apr 16 08:14 16:25 2240 Larry ttyp0 Apr 17 07:33 . 15182
Since Earvin has been idle since yesterday afternoon (16 hours), it appears that he isn't at work yet. He simply left himself logged in. Larry's terminal is currently in use.
whoami
Print current user ID. Equivalent to id -un.
whois[options] query[@server[:port]] jwhois [options] query[@server[:port]]
Search a whois database for a domain name, IP address, or NIC name. The information returned varies, but usually contains administrative and technical contacts so that you can find a person to handle problems at that domain. By default, the command returns information on .com, .net, and .edu domains, but other hosts can be queried for other domains using host or the -h option. Options
-- Indicate the end of options. A subsequent string that begins with a hyphen on the command line is taken as a query string.
-a, --raw Do not rewrite query according to configuration before sending to server.
-c file, --config=file Specify a configuration file to use instead of the default /etc/jwhois.conf.
-d, --disable-cache Disable reading and writing to the cache.
-f, --force-lookup Force the lookup query to go to the host, even if it is available from the cache.
-h host, --host=host Query the whois server on the specified host. Same as host on the command line. By default, queries the server in the environment variable NICNAMESERVER or WHOISSERVER if either is set; otherwise queries whois.internic.net.
--help Print help message and exit.
-i, --display-redirections Display every step in a redirection. The default is to display only the last step.
-n, --no-redirect Disable redirection from one server to the next.
-p port, --port=port Connect to the specified port. Same as port on the command line. Default is 43.
-r, --rwhois Force use of the rwhois protocol, instead of HTTP or whois.
--rwhois-display=display Request receiving rwhois servers to display the results in the specified display instead of the default.
--rwhois-limit=limit Request receiving rwhois servers to limit the number of matches to the specified limit.
-s, --no-whoisservers Disable built-in support for whois-servers.net.
-v Verbose. Display the query before sending it to the server.
--version Print version information and exit.
write user [tty] message
Initiate or respond to an interactive conversation with user. A write session is terminated with EOF. If the user is logged into more than one terminal, specify a tty number. See also talk; use mesg to keep other users from writing to your terminal.
xargs [options] [command]
Execute command (with any initial arguments), but read remaining arguments from standard input instead of specifying them directly. xargs passes these arguments in several bundles to command, allowing command to process more arguments than it could normally handle at once. The arguments are typically a long list of filenames (generated by ls or find, for example) that get passed to xargs via a pipe. Options
-0, --null Expect filenames to be terminated by NULL instead of whitespace. Do not treat quotes or backslashes specially.
-e[string], -E [string], --eof[=string] Set EOF to _ or, if specified, to string.
--help Print a summary of the options to xargs and then exit.
-i[string], -I [string], --replace[=string] Replace all occurrences of { }, or string, with the names read from standard input. Unquoted blanks are not considered argument terminators. Implies -x and -L 1.
-l[lines], -L [lines], --max-lines[=lines] Allow no more than lines nonblank input lines on the command line (default is 1). Implies -x.
-n args, --max-args=args Allow no more than args arguments on the command line. Overridden by the maximum number of characters set with -s.
-p, --interactive Prompt for confirmation before running each command line. Implies -t.
-P max, --max-procs=max Allow no more than max processes to run at once. The default is 1. A maximum of 0 allows as many as possible to run at once.
-r, --no-run-if-empty Do not run command if standard input contains only blanks.
-s max, --max-chars=max Allow no more than max characters per command line.
-t, --verbose Verbose mode. Print command line on standard error before executing.
-x, --exit If the maximum size (as specified by -s) is exceeded, exit.
--version Print the version number of xargs and then exit.
Examples grep for pattern in all files on the system: find / | xargs grep pattern > out &
Run diff on file pairs (e.g., f1.a and f1.b, f2.a and f2.b, etc.): echo $* | xargs -n2 diff
The previous line would be invoked as a shell script, specifying filenames as arguments. Display file, one word per line (same as deroff -w): cat file | xargs -n1
Move files in olddir to newdir, showing each command: ls olddir | xargs -i -t mv olddir/{ } newdir/{ }
xinetd [options]
TCP/IP command. The extended Internet services daemon. xinetd saves system resources by listening to multiple sockets on the behalf of other server programs, invoking necessary programs as requests are made for their services. Beyond this, xinetd provides better logging facilities, including remote user ID, access times, and server-specific information. It also provides access-control facilities. Not limited to system administration use, it can launch services that are not listed in /etc/services. Unprivileged users can use this tool to start their own servers. Options
-cc num Perform an internal-state consistency check every num seconds.
-d Turn on debugging support.
-dontfork Execute in the foreground. This option automatically sets the -stayalive option.
-f file Read configuration from the specified file instead of /etc/xinetd.conf.
-filelog file Write log messages to the specified file. Cannot be combined with -syslog or -d.
-inetd_compat Read the /etc/inetd.conf file after reading /etc/xinetd.conf.
-limit num Start no more than num concurrent processes.
-logprocs num Limit processes used to look up remote user IDs to num.
-pidfile file Write xinetd's process ID to file.
-stayalive Keep running even when no services have been specified.
-syslog facility Log messages to the specified syslogd facility. Accepted values are daemon, auth, user, and localn, where n can range from 0 to 7. Cannot be combined with -syslog or -d. The default behavior is to write messages to syslogd using the daemon facility.
-version Print version information, then exit.
Configuration files By default xinetd reads its configuration information from file /etc/xinetd.conf. Lines in this file beginning with # are treated as comments. The entries for each service differ completely from /etc/inetd entries. xinetd configuration entries for services follow the pattern: service servicename { attribute1 = valueset1 attribute2 = valueset2 }
Some attributes allow assignment operators other than =. Other operators are +=, to add to a value set, and -=, to remove a value from a value set. There are many attributes available to control services. The following are the most common:
cps Limit incoming connection rate. Accepts two numeric arguments: the number of connections per second to allow and the number of seconds to wait to accept a new connection when the rate is exceeded. The default is 50 incoming connections and a 10-second wait.
disable Accept a Boolean yes or no. When disabled, xinetd will ignore the entry.
flags Accept a set of the following values defining xinetd's behavior:
IDONLY Accept only connections when the remote user's ID can be verified by an identification server. Cannot be used with USERID logging.
INTERCEPT Intercept packets to ensure they are coming from allowed locations. Cannot be used with internal or multithreaded services.
IPv4 Service is an IPv4 service.
IPv6 Service is an IPv6 service.
KEEPALIVE Set flag on socket, enabling periodic checks to determine if the line is still receiving data.
NAMEINARGS Expect the first argument for the server_args attribute to be the command to run. This flag is necessary to wrap services with tcpd.
NODELAY Set socket's NODELAY flag.
NOLIBWRAP Don't use xinetd's internal TCP wrapping facilities.
NORETRY If service fails to fork, don't try to fork again.
SENSOR Instead of launching a service, add IP addresses that attempt to access this service to a list of denied addresses for a time specified by the deny_time attribute.
group Specify a group ID for the server process. This may be used only when xinetd runs as root.
nice Set service priority. This attribute accepts the same values as the renice command.
id Specify a unique identifier for the service. Useful when creating multiple entries with the servicename. For example, two versions of the echo service, one supporting UDP and the other TCP, might be given the identifiers echo-stream and echo-dgram.
log_on_failure Specify values to log when a server cannot be started. Accepted values are HOST, USERID, or just ATTEMPT.
log_on_success Specify values to log when a server is started. Accepted values are PID, HOST, USERID, EXIT, and DURATION.
no_access Specify hosts that should not be allowed access to a service. May be given as an IP address, a netmask, a hostname, a network name from /etc/networks, or a group of IP addresses like so: 192.168.1.{10,11,12,15,32}.
only_from Restrict access to the service to the specified hosts. This attribute accepts the same values as no_access.
per_source Specify the maximum number of instances allowed to a single source IP address. The default is "UNLIMITED".
port Specify the service port to listen to. This attribute is required for non-RPC services not listed in /etc/services. If the service is listed, the value of port cannot differ from what is listed.
protocol Specify protocol to use, usually tcp or udp. The protocol must be listed in /etc/protocols. This attribute is required for RPC services, as well as services not found in /etc/services.
rpc_version The RPC version used by the service. This can be a single number or a range of numbers from x-y. This attribute is required for RPC services.
rpc_number Specify RPC ID number. This is required only for services not listed in /etc/rpc; otherwise it's ignored.
server The program to execute for the service. When using tcpd to wrap a service, also set the NAMEINARGS flag and use the server's program name as the first argument for server_args. This attribute is required for all non-internal services.
server_args Arguments to pass to the server program.
socket_type Specify the socket type to create. Accepted values are stream, dgram, raw, and seqpacket.
type Describe the type of service. Accepted values are RPC, INTERNAL, and UNLISTED.
user Specify a user ID for the server process. This may be used only when xinetd runs as root.
wait Determine whether services should be treated as single-threaded (yes) and xinetd should wait until the server exits to resume listening for new connections, or multithreaded (no) and xinetd should not wait to resume listening. This attribute is required for all serices.
Files
/etc/xinetd.conf Default configuration file.
/etc/xinetd.d Common directory containing configuration files included from /etc/xinetd.conf.
yacc [options] file
Given a file containing context-free grammar, convert file into tables for subsequent parsing, and send output to y.tab.c. This command name stands for yet another compiler-compiler. See also flex, bison, and lex & yacc (O'Reilly). Options
-b prefix Prepend prefix, instead of y, to the output file.
-d Generate y.tab.h, producing #define statements that relate yacc's token codes to the token names declared by the user.
-g Generate a VCG description.
-l Exclude #line constructs from code produced in y.tab.c. (Use after debugging is complete.)
-o outfile Write generated code to outfile instead of the default y.tab.c.
-p prefix Change the symbol yacc uses for symbols it generates from the default yy to prefix.
-t Compile runtime debugging code.
-v Generate y.output, a file containing diagnostics and notes about the parsing tables.
yes [strings] yes [option]
Print the command-line arguments, separated by spaces and followed by a newline, until killed. If no arguments are given, print y followed by a newline until killed. Useful in scripts and in the background; its output can be piped to a program that issues prompts. Options
--help Print a help message and then exit.
--version Print version information and then exit.
ypbind [options]
NFS/NIS command. NIS binder process. ypbind is a daemon process typically activated at system startup time. Its function is to remember information that lets client processes on a single node communicate with some ypserv process. The information ypbind remembers is called a binding--the association of a domain name with the Internet address of the NIS server and the port on that host at which the ypserv process is listening for service requests. This information is cached in the file /var/yp/bindings/domainname.version. Options
-broadcast Ignore configuration information in /etc/yp.conf and directly request configuration information from a remote system using ypset.
-broken-server Allow connections to servers using normally illegal port numbers. Sometimes needed for compatibility with other versions of ypserv.
-c Check configuration file for syntax errors, then exit.
-debug Run in the foreground process instead of detaching and running as a daemon.
-f file Read configuration information from file instead of /etc/yp.conf.
-no-ping Don't ping remote servers to make sure they are alive.
--version Print version information, then exit.
-ypset Allow remote machine to change the local server's bindings. This option is very dangerous and should be used only for debugging the network from a remote machine.
-ypsetme ypset requests may be issued from this machine only. Security is based on IP address checking, which can be defeated on networks on which untrusted individuals may inject packets. This option is not recommended.
ypcat [options] map
NFS/NIS command. Print values in an NIS database specified by map name or nickname. Options
-d domain Specify domain other than the default domain.
-h host Specify a ypbind host other than the default.
--help, -? Print help message, then exit.
-k Display keys for maps in which values are null or key is not part of value.
-t Do not translate mname to map name.
--version, -? Print version number, then exit.
-x Display map nickname table listing the nicknames (mnames) known and map name associated with each nickname. Do not require an mname argument.
ypinit [options]
NFS/NIS command. Build and install an NIS database on an NIS server. ypinit can be used to set up a master server, slave server, or slave copier. Only a privileged user can run ypinit. Options
-m Indicate that the local host is to be the NIS master server.
-s master_name Set up a slave server database. master_name should be the hostname of an NIS server, either the master server for all the maps, or a server on which the database is up to date and stable.
ypmatch [options] key... mname
NFS/NIS command. Print value of one or more keys from an NIS map specified by mname. mname may be either a map name or a map nickname. Options
-d domain Specify domain other than default domain.
-k Before printing value of a key, print the key itself, followed by a colon (:).
-t Do not translate nickname to map name.
-x Display map nickname table listing the nicknames (mnames) known, and the map name associated with each nickname. Do not require an mname argument.
yppasswd [options] [name]
NFS/NIS command. Change login password in Network Information Service. Create or change your password, and distribute the new password over NIS. The superuser can change the password for any user. This command may also be invoked as ypchfn and ypchsh. Options
-f Update the password information field (the GECOS field). Using this option is the same as ypchfn.
-l Update the login shell. Using this option is the same as ypchsh.
-p Update the password. This is the default behavior for yppasswd.
--help, -? Print help message, then exit.
--version, -? Print version number, then exit.
rpc.yppasswdd [options]
NFS/NIS command. Server for modifying the NIS password file. yppasswdd handles password-change requests from yppasswd. It changes a password entry only if the password represented by yppasswd matches the encrypted password of that entry and if the user ID and group ID match those in the server's /etc/passwd file. Then it updates /etc/passwd and the password maps on the local server. If the server was compiled with the CHECKROOT=1 option, the password is also checked against the root password. Options
-D dir Specify a directory that contains the passwd and shadow files for rpc.yppasswdd to use instead of /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow. Useful to prevent all users in the NIS database from automatically gaining access to the NIS server.
-e chsh|chfn] Permit users to change the shell or user information in the GECOS field of their passwd entry. By default, rpc.yppasswdd does not permit users to change these fields.
-E program Specify a program to edit the passwd and shadow files instead of rpc.yppasswdd. The program should return 0 for successful completion; 1 for successful completion, but the pwupdate program should not be run to update the NIS server's maps; and anything else if the change failed.
-p pwfile Specify an alternative passwd file to /etc/passwd, to prevent all users in the NIS database from automatically gaining access to the NIS server.
--port num Specify a port that rpc.yppasswdd will try to register itself, allowing a router to filter packets to the NIS ports.
-s shadowfile Use shadowfile instead of /etc/passwd for shadow password support.
-v Print version information and whether the package was compiled with CHECKROOT.
-x program Modify files using the specified program instead of using internal default functions. rpc.yppasswdd passes information to program in the following format: username o:oldpassword p:password s:shell g:gcos
Any of the fields p, s, or g may be missing.
yppoll [options] map
NFS/NIS command. Determine version of NIS map at NIS server. yppoll asks a ypserv process for the order number and the hostname of the master NIS server for the map. Options
-h host Ask the ypserv process at host about the map parameters. If host is not specified, the hostname of the NIS server for the local host (the one returned by ypwhich) is used.
-d domain Use domain instead of the default domain.
yppush [options] mapnames
NFS/NIS command. Force propagation of changed NIS map. yppush copies a new version of an NIS map, mapname, from the master NIS server to the slave NIS servers. It first constructs a list of NIS server hosts by reading the NIS map ypservers with the -d option's domain argument. Keys within this map are the ASCII names of the machines on which the NIS servers run. A map transfer request is sent to the NIS server at each host, along with the information needed by the transfer agent to call back to yppush. When the attempt has been completed and the transfer agent has sent yppush a status message, the results may be printed to standard error. Normally invoked by /var/yp/Makefile after commenting out the NOPUSH=true line. Options
-d domain Specify a domain.
-h host Specify one or a group of systems to which a map should be transferred instead of using the list of servers in the ypservers map. Multiple -h options can be specified to create a list of hosts.
-p count Send maps to count NIS slaves simultaneously (in parallel). By default, yppush sends maps to one server at a time (serially).
--port num Specify a port to listen on for callbacks. This will not work when sending maps in parallel. By default, the command chooses a random port.
-t secs Specify a timeout value in seconds. The timeout determines how long yppush will wait for a response from a slave server before sending a map transfer request to the next server. The default timeout is 90 seconds, but for big maps a longer timeout may be needed.
-v Verbose; print message when each server is called and for each response. Specify twice to make yppush even more verbose.
ypserv [options]
NFS/NIS command. NIS server process. ypserv is a daemon process typically activated at system startup time. It runs only on NIS server machines with a complete NIS database. Its primary function is to look up information in its local database of NIS maps. The operations performed by ypserv are defined for the implementor by the NIS protocol specification, and for the programmer by the header file <rpcvc/yp_prot.h>. Communication to and from ypserv is by means of RPC calls. On startup or when receiving the signal SIGHUP, ypserv parses the file /etc/ypserv.conf. ypserv supports securenets, which can be used to restrict access to a given set of hosts. Options
-b, --dns Query the DNS service for host information if not found in the hosts maps.
-d [path], --debug [path] Run in debugging mode without going into background mode, and print extra status messages to standard error for each request. If path is specified, use it instead of /var/yp.
-p port, --port port Bind to the specified port. For use with a router to filter packets so that access from outside hosts can be restricted.
-v, --version Print version information and exit.
Files and directories
/etc/yp.conf Configuration file.
/var/yp/domainname Location of NIS databases for domainname.
/var/yp/Makefile Makefile that is responsible for creating NIS databases.
/var/yp/securenets securenets information containing netmask/network pairs separated by whitespace.
ypset [options] server
NFS/NIS command. Point ypbind at a particular server. ypset tells ypbind to get NIS services for the specified domain from the ypserv process running on server. server indicates the NIS server to bind to and can be specified as a name or an IP address. Options
-d domain Use domain instead of the default domain.
-h host Set ypbind's binding on host instead of the local host. host can be specified as a name or an IP address.
yptest [options]
NFS/NIS command. Check configuration of NIS services by calling various NIS functions. Without arguments, yptest queries the NIS server for the local machine. Options
-d domainname Use domainname instead of the current host's default domain. This option may cause some tests to fail.
-h host Test ypserv on the specified host instead of the current host. This option may cause some tests to fail.
-m map Use the specified map instead of the default map.
-q Quiet mode. Print no messages.
-u user Run tests as user instead of as nobody.
ypwhich [options] [host]
NFS/NIS command. Return hostname of NIS server or map master. Without arguments, ypwhich cites the NIS server for the local machine. If host is specified, that machine is queried to find out which NIS master it is using. Options
-d domain Use domain instead of the default domain.
-m [map] Find master NIS server for a map. No host can be specified with -m. map may be a map name or a nickname for a map. If no map is specified, display a list of available maps.
-t mapname Inhibit nickname translation.
-Vn Version of ypbind (default is v2).
-x Display map nickname table. Do not allow any other options.
ypxfr [options] mapname
NFS/NIS command. Transfer an NIS map from the server to the local host by making use of normal NIS services. ypxfr creates a temporary map in the directory /var/yp/domain (where domain is the default domain for the local host), fills it by enumerating the map's entries, and fetches the map parameters and loads them. If run interactively, ypxfr writes its output to the terminal. However, if it is invoked without a controlling terminal, its output is sent to syslogd. Options
-c Do not send a "Clear current map" request to the local ypserv process.
-C tid prog ipadd port This option is for use only by ypserv. When ypserv invokes ypxfr, it specifies that ypxfr should call back a yppush process at the host with IP address ipadd, registered as program number prog, listening on port port, and waiting for a response to transaction tid.
-d domain Specify a domain other than the default domain.
-f Force the transfer to occur even if the version on the master server is older than the local version.
-h host Get the map from host instead of querying NIS for the map's master server. host may be specified by name or IP address.
-p dir Use dir as the path to the NIS map directory instead of /var/yp.
-s domain Specify a source domain from which to transfer a map that should be the same across domains (such as the services.byname map).
zcat [options] [files]
Read one or more files that have been compressed with gzip or compress and write them to standard output. Read standard input if no files are specified or if - is specified as one of the files; end input with EOF. zcat is identical to gunzip -c and takes the options described for gzip/gunzip.
zcmp [options] files
Read compressed files and pass them uncompressed to the cmp command, along with any command-line options. If a second file is not specified for comparison, look for a file called file.gz.
zdiff [options] files
Read compressed files and pass them, uncompressed, to the diff command, along with any command-line options. If a second file is not specified for comparison, look for a file called file.gz.
zdump [options] [zones]
System administration command. Dump a list of all known time zones or, if an argument is provided, a specific zone or list of zones. Include each zone's current time with its name. Options
-c year Specify a cutoff year to limit verbose output. Meaningful only with -v.
-v Verbose mode. Include additional information about each zone.
zforce [names]
Rename all gzipped files to filename.gz, unless file already has a .gz extension.
zgrep [options] [files]
Uncompress files and pass to grep, along with any command-line arguments. If no files are provided, read from (and attempt to uncompress) standard input. May be invoked as zegrep or zfgrep and will in those cases invoke egrep or fgrep.
zic [options] [files]
System administration command. Create time conversion information files from the file or files specified. If the specified file is -, read information from standard input. Options
-d directory Place the newly created files in directory. Default is /usr/local/etc/zoneinfo.
-l timezone Specify a timezone to use for local time. zic links the zone information for timezone with the zone localtime.
-p timezone Set the default rules for handling POSIX-format environment variables to the zone name specified by timezone.
-s Store time values only if they are the same when signed as when unsigned.
-v Verbose mode. Include extra error checking and warnings.
-y command Check year types with command. Default is yearistype.
-L file Consult file for information about leap seconds.
The source files for zic should be formatted as a sequence of rule lines, zone lines, and link lines. An optional file containing leap-second rules can be specified on the command line. Rule lines describe how time should be calculated. They describe changes in time, daylight savings time, and any other changes that might affect a particular time zone. Zone lines specify which rules apply to a given zone. Link lines link similar zones together. Leap lines describe the exact time when leap seconds should be added or subtracted. Each of these lines is made up of fields. Fields are separated from one another by any number of whitespace characters. Comment lines are preceded by #. The fields used in each line are listed in the next section. Rule line fields The format of a rule line is: Rule NAME FROM TO TYPE IN ON AT SAVE LETTERS
NAME Name this set of rules.
FROM Specify the first year to which this rule applies. Gregorian calendar dates are assumed. Instead of specifying an actual year, you may specify minimum or maximum for the minimum or maximum year, representable as an integer.
TO Specify the last year to which this rule applies. Syntax is the same as for the FROM field.
TYPE Specify the type of year to which this rule should be applied. The wildcard - instructs that all years be included. Any given year's type will be checked with the command given with the -y option or the default yearistype year type. An exit status of 0 is taken to mean the year is of the given type; an exit status of 1 means that it is not of the given type (see -y option).
IN Specify month in which this rule should be applied.
ON Specify day on which this rule should be applied. Whitespace is not allowed. For example:
1 The 1st.
firstSun The first Sunday.
Sun>=3 The first Sunday to occur before or on the 3rd.
AT Specify the time after which the rule is in effect. For example, you may use 13, 13:00, or 13:00:00 for 1:00 p.m. You may include one of several suffixes (without whitespace between):
s Local standard time.
u, g, z Universal time.
w Wall clock time (default).
SAVE Add this amount of time to the local standard time. Formatted like AT, without suffixes.
LETTERS Specify letter or letters to be used in time zone abbreviations (for example, S for EST). For no abbreviation, enter -.
Zone line fields The format of a zone line is: Zone NAME GMTOFF RULES/SAVE FORMAT [UNTIL]
NAME Time zone name.
GMTOFF The amount of hours by which this time zone differs from GMT. Formatted like AT. Negative times are subtracted from GMT; by default, times are added to it.
RULES/SAVE Either the name of the rule to apply to this zone or the amount of time to add to local standard time. To make the zone the same as local standard time, specify -.
FORMAT The format of time zone abbreviations. Specify the variable part with %s.
UNTIL Change the rule for the zone at this date. The next line must specify the new zone information and therefore must omit the string "Zone" and the NAME field.
Link line fields The format of a link line is: Link LINK-FROM LINK-TO
LINK-FROM The name of the zone that is being linked.
LINK-TO An alternate name for the zone that was specified as LINK-FROM.
Leap line fields The format of a leap line is: Leap YEAR MONTH DAY HH:MM:SS CORR R|S
YEAR MONTH DAY HH:MM:SS Specify when the leap second happened.
CORR Uses + or - to show whether the second was added or skipped.
R|S Rolling or Stationary. Describe whether the leap second should be applied to local wall-clock time or GMT, respectively.
zless files
Uncompress files and allow paging through them. Equivalent to running zmore with the environment variable PAGER set to less. See zmore for the available commands.
zmore [files]
Similar to more. Uncompress files and print them one screenful at a time. Works on files compressed with compress, gzip, or pack, and with uncompressed files. Commands
space Print next screenful.
ispace Print next i lines.
Return Print one more line.
d, ^D Print next i, or 11, lines.
iz Print next i lines or a screenful. If i is specified, treat it as the new window size for the rest of the current file, then revert back to the default.
is Skip i lines. Print next screenful.
if Skip i screens. Print next screenful.
q, Q, :q, :Q Go to next file or, if current file is the last, exit zmore.
e, q Exit zmore when the prompt "--More--(Next file: file)" is displayed.
s Skip next file and continue when the prompt "--More--(Next file: file)" is displayed.
= Print line number.
i/expr Search forward for ith occurrence (in all files) of expr, which should be a regular expression. Display occurrence, including the two previous lines of context.
in Search forward for the ith occurrence of the last regular expression searched for.
!command Execute command in shell. If command is not specified, execute last shell command. To invoke a shell without passing it a command, enter \!.
. Repeat the previous command.
znew [options] [files]
Uncompress .Z files and recompress them in .gz format. Options
-9 Optimal (and slowest) compression method.
-f Recompress even if filename.gz already exists.
-K If the original .Z file is smaller than the .gz file, keep it.
-P Pipe data to conversion program. This saves disk space.
-t Test new .gz files before removing .Z files.
-v Verbose mode.
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