man

Overview

The man command is used to display the system’s manual pages. It provides detailed documentation for commands, system calls, library functions, and various other aspects of the Linux system.

Syntax

man [section] command

Common Options

Option Description
-f Display a short description from the manual page, equivalent to whatis
-k Search manual page names and descriptions, equivalent to apropos
-w Print the location of manual page files that would be displayed
-a Display all matching manual pages

Key Use Cases

  1. View detailed documentation for commands
  2. Learn about system calls and library functions
  3. Search for commands by keyword
  4. Find the location of manual pages

Examples with Explanations

Example 1: Basic Usage

man ls

Shows the manual page for the ls command.

Example 2: Viewing Specific Manual Section

man 2 write

Shows the manual page for the write system call (section 2).

Understanding Output

Manual pages are typically divided into sections: 1. User Commands 2. System Calls 3. Library Functions 4. Special Files 5. File Formats 6. Games 7. Miscellaneous 8. System Administration

Common Usage Patterns

  • Use man -k keyword to search for commands
  • Press ‘q’ to exit the manual page
  • Use ‘/’ to search within a manual page
  • Use ‘n’ and ‘N’ to navigate between search results

Performance Analysis

The man command is generally lightweight and doesn’t require performance optimization.

Additional Resources