BusyBox - The Swiss Army Knife of Embedded Linux
busybox <applet> [arguments...] # or
<applet> [arguments...] # if symlinked
BusyBox combines tiny versions of many common UNIX utilities into a single small executable. It provides minimalist replacements for most of the utilities you usually find in GNU coreutils, util-linux, etc. The utilities in BusyBox generally have fewer options than their full-featured GNU cousins; however, the options that are included provide the expected functionality and behave very much like their GNU counterparts.
BusyBox has been written with size-optimization and limited resources in mind. It is also extremely modular so you can easily include or exclude commands (or features) at compile time. This makes it easy to customize your embedded systems. To create a working system, just add /dev, /etc, and a Linux kernel. BusyBox provides a fairly complete POSIX environment for any small or embedded system.
BusyBox is extremely configurable. This allows you to include only the components you need, thereby reducing binary size. Run 'make config' or 'make menuconfig' to select the functionality that you wish to enable. Then run 'make' to compile BusyBox using your configuration.
After the compile has finished, you should use 'make install' to install BusyBox. This will install the 'bin/busybox' binary, in the target directory specified by CONFIG_PREFIX. CONFIG_PREFIX can be set when configuring BusyBox, or you can specify an alternative location at install time (i.e., with a command line like 'make CONFIG_PREFIX=/tmp/foo install'). If you enabled any applet installation scheme (either as symlinks or hardlinks), these will also be installed in the location pointed to by CONFIG_PREFIX.
BusyBox is a multi-call binary. A multi-call binary is an executable program that performs the same job as more than one utility program. That means there is just a single BusyBox binary, but that single binary acts like a large number of utilities. This allows BusyBox to be smaller since all the built-in utility programs (we call them applets) can share code for many common operations.
You can also invoke BusyBox by issuing a command as an argument on the command line. For example, entering
/bin/busybox ls
will also cause BusyBox to behave as 'ls'.
Of course, adding '/bin/busybox' into every command would be painful. So most people will invoke BusyBox using links to the BusyBox binary.
For example, entering
ln -s /bin/busybox ls ./ls
will cause BusyBox to behave as 'ls' (if the 'ls' command has been compiled into BusyBox). Generally speaking, you should never need to make all these links yourself, as the BusyBox build system will do this for you when you run the 'make install' command.
If you invoke BusyBox with no arguments, it will provide you with a list of the applets that have been compiled into your BusyBox binary.
Most BusyBox applets support the --help argument to provide a terse runtime description of their behavior. If the CONFIG_FEATURE_VERBOSE_USAGE option has been enabled, more detailed usage information will also be available.
Currently available applets include:
[, [[, adjtimex, ar, arp, arping, ash, awk, base64, basename, blkid, blockdev, brctl, bunzip2, bzcat, bzip2, cal, cat, catv, chattr, chgrp, chmod, chown, chpst, chroot, chrt, chvt, cksum, clear, cmp, comm, conspy, cp, cpio, crontab, cttyhack, cut, date, dc, dd, deallocvt, depmod, devmem, df, diff, dirname, dmesg, dnsdomainname, dos2unix, du, dumpkmap, echo, ed, egrep, eject, env, envdir, envuidgid, ether-wake, expand, expr, fakeidentd, false, fatattr, fbset, fbsplash, fdisk, fgconsole, fgrep, find, findfs, flash_eraseall, flash_lock, flash_unlock, flashcp, flock, fold, free, freeramdisk, fsck, fstrim, fsync, ftpget, ftpput, fuser, getopt, getty, grep, groups, gunzip, gzip, halt, hd, head, hexdump, hostid, hostname, hush, hwclock, id, ifconfig, ifdown, ifenslave, ifplugd, ifup, inetd, insmod, install, ionice, iostat, ip, ipaddr, ipcalc, ipcrm, ipcs, iplink, iproute, iprule, iptunnel, kbd_mode, kill, killall, killall5, less, linux32, linux64, ln, loadfont, loadkmap, login, logname, losetup, ls, lsattr, lsmod, lsof, lspci, lsusb, lzcat, lzma, lzop, lzopcat, makedevs, md5sum, mdev, microcom, mkdir, mkdosfs, mke2fs, mkfifo, mkfs.ext2, mkfs.vfat, mknod, mkswap, mktemp, modinfo, modprobe, more, mount, mountpoint, mpstat, mv, nameif, nanddump, nandwrite, nbd-client, nc, netstat, nice, nmeter, nohup, nslookup, ntpd, od, openvt, passwd, patch, pgrep, pidof, ping, ping6, pivot_root, pkill, pmap, poweroff, powertop, printenv, printf, ps, pscan, pstree, pwd, pwdx, raidautorun, rdate, rdev, readahead, readlink, readprofile, realpath, reboot, renice, reset, resize, rev, rfkill, rm, rmdir, rmmod, route, rtcwake, rx, script, scriptreplay, sed, seq, setarch, setconsole, setfont, setkeycodes, setlogcons, setserial, setsid, setuidgid, sh, sha1sum, sha256sum, sha3sum, sha512sum, showkey, shuf, slattach, sleep, smemcap, softlimit, sort, split, stat, strings, stty, su, sum, swapoff, swapon, switch_root, sync, sysctl, tac, tail, tar, tcpsvd, tee, telnetd, test, tftpd, time, timeout, top, touch, tr, traceroute, traceroute6, true, tty, ttysize, tunctl, tune2fs, ubiattach, ubidetach, ubimkvol, ubirmvol, ubirsvol, ubiupdatevol, udhcpc, udpsvd, umount, uname, uncompress, unexpand, uniq, unix2dos, unlink, unlzma, unlzop, unxz, unzip, uptime, users, usleep, uudecode, uuencode, vconfig, vi, watch, wc, wget, which, who, whoami, whois, xargs, xz, xzcat, yes, zcat, zcip
adjtimex [-q] [-o OFF] [-f FREQ] [-p TCONST] [-t TICK]
Read or set kernel time variables. See adjtimex(2)
-q Quiet -o OFF Time offset, microseconds -f FREQ Frequency adjust, integer kernel units (65536 is 1ppm) -t TICK Microseconds per tick, usually 10000 (positive -t or -f values make clock run faster) -p TCONST
ar [-o] [-v] [-p] [-t] [-x] ARCHIVE FILES
Extract or list FILES from an ar archive
-o Preserve original dates -p Extract to stdout -t List -x Extract -v Verbose
arp | |
[-vn] | [-H HWTYPE] [-i IF] -a [HOSTNAME] |
[-v] | [-i IF] -d HOSTNAME [pub] |
[-v] | [-H HWTYPE] [-i IF] -s HOSTNAME HWADDR [temp] |
[-v] | [-H HWTYPE] [-i IF] -s HOSTNAME HWADDR [netmask MASK] pub |
[-v] | [-H HWTYPE] [-i IF] -Ds HOSTNAME IFACE [netmask MASK] pub |
Manipulate ARP cache
-a Display (all) hosts -d Delete ARP entry -s Set new entry -v Verbose -n Don't resolve names -i IF Network interface -D Read HWADDR from IFACE -A,-p AF Protocol family -H HWTYPE Hardware address type
arping [-fqbDUA] [-c CNT] [-w TIMEOUT] [-I IFACE] [-s SRC_IP] DST_IP
Send ARP requests/replies
-f Quit on first ARP reply -q Quiet -b Keep broadcasting, don't go unicast -D Duplicated address detection mode -U Unsolicited ARP mode, update your neighbors -A ARP answer mode, update your neighbors -c N Stop after sending N ARP requests -w TIMEOUT Time to wait for ARP reply, seconds -I IFACE Interface to use (default eth0) -s SRC_IP Sender IP address DST_IP Target IP address
ash [-/+OPTIONS] [-/+o OPT]... [-c 'SCRIPT' [ARG0 [ARGS]] / FILE [ARGS]]
Unix shell interpreter
awk [OPTIONS] [AWK_PROGRAM] [FILE]...
-v VAR=VAL Set variable -F SEP Use SEP as field separator -f FILE Read program from FILE -e AWK_PROGRAM
base64 [-d] [FILE]
Base64 encode or decode FILE to standard output | ||
-d | Decode data |
basename FILE [SUFFIX]
Strip directory path and .SUFFIX from FILE
blkid [BLOCKDEV]...
Print UUIDs of all filesystems
blockdev OPTION BLOCKDEV
--setro Set ro --setrw Set rw --getro Get ro --getss Get sector size --getbsz Get block size --setbsz BYTES Set block size --getsz Get device size in 512-byte sectors --getsize64 Get device size in bytes --flushbufs Flush buffers --rereadpt Reread partition table
brctl COMMAND [BRIDGE [INTERFACE]]
Manage ethernet bridges
Commands:
show Show a list of bridges addbr BRIDGE Create BRIDGE delbr BRIDGE Delete BRIDGE addif BRIDGE IFACE Add IFACE to BRIDGE delif BRIDGE IFACE Delete IFACE from BRIDGE setageing BRIDGE TIME Set ageing time setfd BRIDGE TIME Set bridge forward delay sethello BRIDGE TIME Set hello time setmaxage BRIDGE TIME Set max message age setpathcost BRIDGE COST Set path cost setportprio BRIDGE PRIO Set port priority setbridgeprio BRIDGE PRIO Set bridge priority stp BRIDGE [1/yes/on|0/no/off] STP on/off
bunzip2 [-cf] [FILE]...
Decompress FILEs (or stdin)
-c Write to stdout -f Force
bzcat [FILE]...
Decompress to stdout
bzip2 [OPTIONS] [FILE]...
Compress FILEs (or stdin) with bzip2 algorithm
-1..9 Compression level -d Decompress -c Write to stdout -f Force
cal [-jy] [[MONTH] YEAR]
Display a calendar
-j Use julian dates -y Display the entire year
cat [FILE]...
Concatenate FILEs and print them to stdout
catv [-etv] [FILE]...
Display nonprinting characters as ^x or M-x
-e End each line with $ -t Show tabs as ^I -v Don't use ^x or M-x escapes
chattr [-R] [-+=AacDdijsStTu] [-v VERSION] [FILE]...
Change file attributes on an ext2 fs
Modifiers:
- Remove attributes + Add attributes = Set attributes Attributes:
A Don't track atime a Append mode only c Enable compress D Write dir contents synchronously d Don't backup with dump i Cannot be modified (immutable) j Write all data to journal first s Zero disk storage when deleted S Write file contents synchronously t Disable tail-merging of partial blocks with other files u Allow file to be undeleted -R Recurse -v Set the file's version/generation number
chgrp [-RhLHPcvf]... GROUP FILE...
Change the group membership of each FILE to GROUP
-R Recurse -h Affect symlinks instead of symlink targets -L Traverse all symlinks to directories -H Traverse symlinks on command line only -P Don't traverse symlinks (default) -c List changed files -v Verbose -f Hide errors
chmod [-Rcvf] MODE[,MODE]... FILE...
Each MODE is one or more of the letters ugoa, one of the symbols +-= and one or more of the letters rwxst
-R Recurse -c List changed files -v List all files -f Hide errors
chown [-RhLHPcvf]... OWNER[<.|:>[GROUP]] FILE...
Change the owner and/or group of each FILE to OWNER and/or GROUP
-R Recurse -h Affect symlinks instead of symlink targets -L Traverse all symlinks to directories -H Traverse symlinks on command line only -P Don't traverse symlinks (default) -c List changed files -v List all files -f Hide errors
chpst [-vP012] [-u USER[:GRP]] [-U USER[:GRP]] [-e DIR] | |
[-/ DIR] [-n NICE] [-m BYTES] [-d BYTES] [-o N] | |
[-p N] [-f BYTES] [-c BYTES] PROG ARGS |
Change the process state, run PROG
-u USER[:GRP] Set uid and gid -U USER[:GRP] Set $UID and $GID in environment -e DIR Set environment variables as specified by files in DIR: file=1st_line_of_file -/ DIR Chroot to DIR -n NICE Add NICE to nice value -m BYTES Same as -d BYTES -s BYTES -l BYTES -d BYTES Limit data segment -o N Limit number of open files per process -p N Limit number of processes per uid -f BYTES Limit output file sizes -c BYTES Limit core file size -v Verbose -P Create new process group -0 Close stdin -1 Close stdout -2 Close stderr
chroot NEWROOT [PROG ARGS]
Run PROG with root directory set to NEWROOT
chrt [-prfom] [PRIO] [PID | PROG ARGS]
Change scheduling priority and class for a process
-p Operate on PID -r Set SCHED_RR class -f Set SCHED_FIFO class -o Set SCHED_OTHER class -m Show min/max priorities
chvt N
Change the foreground virtual terminal to /dev/ttyN
cksum FILES...
Calculate the CRC32 checksums of FILES
clear
Clear screen
cmp [-l] [-s] FILE1 [FILE2 [SKIP1 [SKIP2]]]
Compare FILE1 with FILE2 (or stdin)
-l Write the byte numbers (decimal) and values (octal) for all differing bytes -s Quiet
comm [-123] FILE1 FILE2
Compare FILE1 with FILE2
-1 Suppress lines unique to FILE1 -2 Suppress lines unique to FILE2 -3 Suppress lines common to both files
conspy [-vcsndfFQ] [-x COL] [-y LINE] [CONSOLE_NO]
A text-mode VNC like program for Linux virtual consoles. To exit, quickly press ESC 3 times.
-v Don't send keystrokes to the console -c Create missing /dev/{tty,vcsa}N -s Open a SHELL session -n Black & white -d Dump console to stdout -f Follow cursor -F Assume console is on a framebuffer device -Q Disable exit on ESC-ESC-ESC -x COL Starting column -y LINE Starting line
cp [OPTIONS] SOURCE... DEST
Copy SOURCE(s) to DEST
-a Same as -dpR -R,-r Recurse -d,-P Preserve symlinks (default if -R) -L Follow all symlinks -H Follow symlinks on command line -p Preserve file attributes if possible -f Overwrite -i Prompt before overwrite -l,-s Create (sym)links
cpio [-dmvu] [-F FILE] [-H newc] [-tio] [-p DIR] [EXTR_FILE]...
Extract or list files from a cpio archive, or create an archive (-o) or copy files (-p) using file list on stdin
Main operation mode:
-t List -i Extract EXTR_FILEs (or all) -o Create (requires -H newc) -p DIR Copy files to DIR Options:
-d Make leading directories -m Preserve mtime -v Verbose -u Overwrite -F FILE Input (-t,-i,-p) or output (-o) file -H newc Archive format
crontab [-c DIR] [-u USER] [-ler]|[FILE]
-c Crontab directory -u User -l List crontab -e Edit crontab -r Delete crontab FILE Replace crontab by FILE ('-': stdin)
cttyhack [PROG ARGS]
Give PROG a controlling tty if possible. Example for /etc/inittab (for busybox init): ::respawn:/bin/cttyhack /bin/sh Giving controlling tty to shell running with PID 1: $ exec cttyhack sh Starting interactive shell from boot shell script:
setsid cttyhack sh
cut [OPTIONS] [FILE]...
Print selected fields from each input FILE to stdout
-b LIST Output only bytes from LIST -c LIST Output only characters from LIST -d CHAR Use CHAR instead of tab as the field delimiter -s Output only the lines containing delimiter -f N Print only these fields -n Ignored
date [OPTIONS] [+FMT] [TIME]
Display time (using +FMT), or set time
[-s,--set] TIME Set time to TIME -u,--utc Work in UTC (don't convert to local time) -R,--rfc-2822 Output RFC-2822 compliant date string -I[SPEC] Output ISO-8601 compliant date string SPEC='date' (default) for date only, 'hours', 'minutes', or 'seconds' for date and time to the indicated precision -r,--reference FILE Display last modification time of FILE -d,--date TIME Display TIME, not 'now' -D FMT Use FMT for -d TIME conversion
Recognized TIME formats:
hh:mm[:ss] [YYYY.]MM.DD-hh:mm[:ss] YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm[:ss] [[[[[YY]YY]MM]DD]hh]mm[.ss] 'date TIME' form accepts MMDDhhmm[[YY]YY][.ss] instead
dc EXPRESSION...
Tiny RPN calculator. Operations: +, add, -, sub, *, mul, /, div, %, mod, **, exp, and, or, not, xor, p - print top of the stack (without popping), f - print entire stack, o - pop the value and set output radix (must be 10, 16, 8 or 2). Examples: 'dc 2 2 add p' -> 4, 'dc 8 8 mul 2 2 + / p' -> 16
dd [if=FILE] [of=FILE] [ibs=N] [obs=N] [bs=N] [count=N] [skip=N] | |
[seek=N] [conv=notrunc|noerror|sync|fsync] |
Copy a file with converting and formatting
if=FILE Read from FILE instead of stdin of=FILE Write to FILE instead of stdout bs=N Read and write N bytes at a time ibs=N Read N bytes at a time obs=N Write N bytes at a time count=N Copy only N input blocks skip=N Skip N input blocks seek=N Skip N output blocks conv=notrunc Don't truncate output file conv=noerror Continue after read errors conv=sync Pad blocks with zeros conv=fsync Physically write data out before finishing conv=swab Swap every pair of bytes
N may be suffixed by c (1), w (2), b (512), kD (1000), k (1024), MD, M, GD, G
deallocvt [N]
Deallocate unused virtual terminal /dev/ttyN
devmem ADDRESS [WIDTH [VALUE]]
Read/write from physical address
ADDRESS Address to act upon WIDTH Width (8/16/...) VALUE Data to be written
df [-PkmhTai] [-B SIZE] [FILESYSTEM]...
Print filesystem usage statistics
-P POSIX output format -k 1024-byte blocks (default) -m 1M-byte blocks -h Human readable (e.g. 1K 243M 2G) -T Print filesystem type -a Show all filesystems -i Inodes -B SIZE Blocksize
diff [-abBdiNqrTstw] [-L LABEL] [-S FILE] [-U LINES] FILE1 FILE2
Compare files line by line and output the differences between them. This implementation supports unified diffs only.
-a Treat all files as text -b Ignore changes in the amount of whitespace -B Ignore changes whose lines are all blank -d Try hard to find a smaller set of changes -i Ignore case differences -L Use LABEL instead of the filename in the unified header -N Treat absent files as empty -q Output only whether files differ -r Recurse -S Start with FILE when comparing directories -T Make tabs line up by prefixing a tab when necessary -s Report when two files are the same -t Expand tabs to spaces in output -U Output LINES lines of context -w Ignore all whitespace
dirname FILENAME
Strip non-directory suffix from FILENAME
dmesg [-c] [-n LEVEL] [-s SIZE]
Print or control the kernel ring buffer
-c Clear ring buffer after printing -n LEVEL Set console logging level -s SIZE Buffer size
dos2unix [-ud] [FILE]
Convert FILE in-place from DOS to Unix format. When no file is given, use stdin/stdout.
-u dos2unix -d unix2dos
du [-aHLdclsxhmk] [FILE]...
Summarize disk space used for each FILE and/or directory
-a Show file sizes too -L Follow all symlinks -H Follow symlinks on command line -d N Limit output to directories (and files with -a) of depth < N -c Show grand total -l Count sizes many times if hard linked -s Display only a total for each argument -x Skip directories on different filesystems -h Sizes in human readable format (e.g., 1K 243M 2G) -m Sizes in megabytes -k Sizes in kilobytes (default)
dumpkmap > keymap
Print a binary keyboard translation table to stdout
echo [-neE] [ARG]...
Print the specified ARGs to stdout
-n Suppress trailing newline -e Interpret backslash escapes (i.e., \t=tab) -E Don't interpret backslash escapes (default)
ed
eject [-t] [-T] [DEVICE]
Eject DEVICE or default /dev/cdrom
-s SCSI device -t Close tray -T Open/close tray (toggle)
env [-iu] [-] [name=value]... [PROG ARGS]
Print the current environment or run PROG after setting up the specified environment
-, -i Start with an empty environment -u Remove variable from the environment
envdir DIR PROG ARGS
Set various environment variables as specified by files in the directory DIR, run PROG
envuidgid USER PROG ARGS
Set $UID to USER's uid and $GID to USER's gid, run PROG
ether-wake [-b] [-i IFACE] [-p aa:bb:cc:dd[:ee:ff]/a.b.c.d] MAC
Send a magic packet to wake up sleeping machines. MAC must be a station address (00:11:22:33:44:55) or a hostname with a known 'ethers' entry.
-b Broadcast the packet -i IFACE Interface to use (default eth0) -p PASSWORD Append four or six byte PASSWORD to the packet
expand [-i] [-t N] [FILE]...
Convert tabs to spaces, writing to stdout
-i,--initial Don't convert tabs after non blanks -t,--tabs=N Tabstops every N chars
expr EXPRESSION
Print the value of EXPRESSION to stdout
EXPRESSION may be:
ARG1 | ARG2 ARG1 if it is neither null nor 0, otherwise ARG2 ARG1 & ARG2 ARG1 if neither argument is null or 0, otherwise 0 ARG1 < ARG2 1 if ARG1 is less than ARG2, else 0. Similarly: ARG1 <= ARG2 ARG1 = ARG2 ARG1 != ARG2 ARG1 >= ARG2 ARG1 > ARG2 ARG1 + ARG2 Sum of ARG1 and ARG2. Similarly: ARG1 - ARG2 ARG1 * ARG2 ARG1 / ARG2 ARG1 % ARG2 STRING : REGEXP Anchored pattern match of REGEXP in STRING match STRING REGEXP Same as STRING : REGEXP substr STRING POS LENGTH Substring of STRING, POS counted from 1 index STRING CHARS Index in STRING where any CHARS is found, or 0 length STRING Length of STRING quote TOKEN Interpret TOKEN as a string, even if it is a keyword like 'match' or an operator like '/' (EXPRESSION) Value of EXPRESSION
Beware that many operators need to be escaped or quoted for shells. Comparisons are arithmetic if both ARGs are numbers, else lexicographical. Pattern matches return the string matched between \( and \) or null; if \( and \) are not used, they return the number of characters matched or 0.
fakeidentd [-fiw] [-b ADDR] [STRING]
Provide fake ident (auth) service
-f Run in foreground -i Inetd mode -w Inetd 'wait' mode -b ADDR Bind to specified address STRING Ident answer string (default: nobody)
false
Return an exit code of FALSE (1)
fatattr [-+rhsvda] FILE...
Change file attributes on FAT filesystem
- Clear attributes + Set attributes r Read only h Hidden s System v Volume label d Directory a Archive
fbset [OPTIONS] [MODE]
Show and modify frame buffer settings
fbsplash -s IMGFILE [-c] [-d DEV] [-i INIFILE] [-f CMD]
-s Image -c Hide cursor -d Framebuffer device (default /dev/fb0) -i Config file (var=value): BAR_LEFT,BAR_TOP,BAR_WIDTH,BAR_HEIGHT BAR_R,BAR_G,BAR_B -f Control pipe (else exit after drawing image) commands: 'NN' (% for progress bar) or 'exit'
fdisk [-ul] [-C CYLINDERS] [-H HEADS] [-S SECTORS] [-b SSZ] DISK
Change partition table
-u Start and End are in sectors (instead of cylinders) -l Show partition table for each DISK, then exit -b 2048 (for certain MO disks) use 2048-byte sectors -C CYLINDERS Set number of cylinders/heads/sectors -H HEADS -S SECTORS
fgconsole
Get active console
find [-HL] [PATH]... [OPTIONS] [ACTIONS]
Search for files and perform actions on them. First failed action stops processing of current file. Defaults: PATH is current directory, action is '-print'
-L,-follow Follow symlinks -H ...on command line only -xdev Don't descend directories on other filesystems -maxdepth N Descend at most N levels. -maxdepth 0 applies actions to command line arguments only -mindepth N Don't act on first N levels -depth Act on directory *after* traversing it
Actions:
( ACTIONS ) Group actions for -o / -a ! ACT Invert ACT's success/failure ACT1 [-a] ACT2 If ACT1 fails, stop, else do ACT2 ACT1 -o ACT2 If ACT1 succeeds, stop, else do ACT2 Note: -a has higher priority than -o -name PATTERN Match file name (w/o directory name) to PATTERN -iname PATTERN Case insensitive -name -path PATTERN Match path to PATTERN -ipath PATTERN Case insensitive -path -regex PATTERN Match path to regex PATTERN -type X File type is X (one of: f,d,l,b,c,...) -perm MASK At least one mask bit (+MASK), all bits (-MASK), or exactly MASK bits are set in file's mode -mtime DAYS mtime is greater than (+N), less than (-N), or exactly N days in the past -mmin MINS mtime is greater than (+N), less than (-N), or exactly N minutes in the past -newer FILE mtime is more recent than FILE's -inum N File has inode number N -user NAME/ID File is owned by given user -group NAME/ID File is owned by given group -size N[bck] File size is N (c:bytes,k:kbytes,b:512 bytes(def.)) +/-N: file size is bigger/smaller than N -links N Number of links is greater than (+N), less than (-N), or exactly N -prune If current file is directory, don't descend into it If none of the following actions is specified, -print is assumed -print Print file name -print0 Print file name, NUL terminated -exec CMD ARG ; Run CMD with all instances of {} replaced by file name. Fails if CMD exits with nonzero -exec CMD ARG + Run CMD with {} replaced by list of file names -delete Delete current file/directory. Turns on -depth option
findfs LABEL=label or UUID=uuid
Find a filesystem device based on a label or UUID
flash_eraseall [-jNq] MTD_DEVICE
Erase an MTD device
-j Format the device for jffs2 -N Don't skip bad blocks -q Don't display progress messages
flash_lock MTD_DEVICE OFFSET SECTORS
Lock part or all of an MTD device. If SECTORS is -1, then all sectors will be locked, regardless of the value of OFFSET
flash_unlock MTD_DEVICE
Unlock an MTD device
flashcp -v FILE MTD_DEVICE
Copy an image to MTD device
-v Verbose
flock [-sxun] FD|{FILE [-c] PROG ARGS}
[Un]lock file descriptor, or lock FILE, run PROG
-s Shared lock -x Exclusive lock (default) -u Unlock FD -n Fail rather than wait
fold [-bs] [-w WIDTH] [FILE]...
Wrap input lines in each FILE (or stdin), writing to stdout
-b Count bytes rather than columns -s Break at spaces -w Use WIDTH columns instead of 80
free [-b/k/m/g]
Display the amount of free and used system memory
freeramdisk DEVICE
Free all memory used by the specified ramdisk
fsck [-ANPRTV] [-C FD] [-t FSTYPE] [FS_OPTS] [BLOCKDEV]...
Check and repair filesystems
-A Walk /etc/fstab and check all filesystems -N Don't execute, just show what would be done -P With -A, check filesystems in parallel -R With -A, skip the root filesystem -T Don't show title on startup -V Verbose -C n Write status information to specified filedescriptor -t TYPE List of filesystem types to check
fstrim [OPTIONS] MOUNTPOINT
-o,--offset=OFFSET Offset in bytes to discard from -l,--length=LEN Bytes to discard -m,--minimum=MIN Minimum extent length -v,--verbose Print number of discarded bytes
fsync [-d] FILE...
Write files' buffered blocks to disk
-d Avoid syncing metadata
ftpget [OPTIONS] HOST [LOCAL_FILE] REMOTE_FILE
Download a file via FTP
-c,--continue Continue previous transfer -v,--verbose Verbose -u,--username USER Username -p,--password PASS Password -P,--port NUM Port
ftpput [OPTIONS] HOST [REMOTE_FILE] LOCAL_FILE
Upload a file to a FTP server
-v,--verbose Verbose -u,--username USER Username -p,--password PASS Password -P,--port NUM Port
fuser [OPTIONS] FILE or PORT/PROTO
Find processes which use FILEs or PORTs
-m Find processes which use same fs as FILEs -4,-6 Search only IPv4/IPv6 space -s Don't display PIDs -k Kill found processes -SIGNAL Signal to send (default: KILL)
getopt [OPTIONS] [--] OPTSTRING PARAMS
-a,--alternative Allow long options starting with single - -l,--longoptions=LOPT[,...] Long options to recognize -n,--name=PROGNAME The name under which errors are reported -o,--options=OPTSTRING Short options to recognize -q,--quiet No error messages on unrecognized options -Q,--quiet-output No normal output -s,--shell=SHELL Set shell quoting conventions -T,--test Version test (exits with 4) -u,--unquoted Don't quote output
Example:
O=`getopt -l bb: -- ab:c:: "$@"` || exit 1 eval set -- "$O" while true; do case "$1" in -a) echo A; shift;; -b|--bb) echo "B:'$2'"; shift 2;; -c) case "$2" in "") echo C; shift 2;; *) echo "C:'$2'"; shift 2;; esac;; --) shift; break;; *) echo Error; exit 1;; esac done
getty [OPTIONS] BAUD_RATE[,BAUD_RATE]... TTY [TERMTYPE]
Open TTY, prompt for login name, then invoke /bin/login
-h Enable hardware RTS/CTS flow control -L Set CLOCAL (ignore Carrier Detect state) -m Get baud rate from modem's CONNECT status message -n Don't prompt for login name -w Wait for CR or LF before sending /etc/issue -i Don't display /etc/issue -f ISSUE_FILE Display ISSUE_FILE instead of /etc/issue -l LOGIN Invoke LOGIN instead of /bin/login -t SEC Terminate after SEC if no login name is read -I INITSTR Send INITSTR before anything else -H HOST Log HOST into the utmp file as the hostname
BAUD_RATE of 0 leaves it unchanged
grep [-HhnlLoqvsriwFE] [-m N] [-A/B/C N] PATTERN/-e PATTERN.../-f FILE [FILE]...
Search for PATTERN in FILEs (or stdin)
-H Add 'filename:' prefix -h Do not add 'filename:' prefix -n Add 'line_no:' prefix -l Show only names of files that match -L Show only names of files that don't match -c Show only count of matching lines -o Show only the matching part of line -q Quiet. Return 0 if PATTERN is found, 1 otherwise -v Select non-matching lines -s Suppress open and read errors -r Recurse -i Ignore case -w Match whole words only -x Match whole lines only -F PATTERN is a literal (not regexp) -E PATTERN is an extended regexp -m N Match up to N times per file -A N Print N lines of trailing context -B N Print N lines of leading context -C N Same as '-A N -B N' -e PTRN Pattern to match -f FILE Read pattern from file
groups [USER]
Print the group memberships of USER or for the current process
gunzip [-cft] [FILE]...
Decompress FILEs (or stdin)
-c Write to stdout -f Force -t Test file integrity
gzip [-cfd] [FILE]...
Compress FILEs (or stdin)
-d Decompress -c Write to stdout -f Force
halt [-d DELAY] [-n] [-f] [-w]
Halt the system
-d SEC Delay interval -n Do not sync -f Force (don't go through init) -w Only write a wtmp record
hd FILE...
hd is an alias for hexdump -C
head [OPTIONS] [FILE]...
Print first 10 lines of each FILE (or stdin) to stdout. With more than one FILE, precede each with a filename header.
-n N[kbm] Print first N lines -n -N[kbm] Print all except N last lines -c [-]N[kbm] Print first N bytes -q Never print headers -v Always print headers
N may be suffixed by k (x1024), b (x512), or m (x1024^2).
hexdump [-bcCdefnosvxR] [FILE]...
Display FILEs (or stdin) in a user specified format
-b One-byte octal display -c One-byte character display -C Canonical hex+ASCII, 16 bytes per line -d Two-byte decimal display -e FORMAT_STRING -f FORMAT_FILE -n LENGTH Interpret only LENGTH bytes of input -o Two-byte octal display -s OFFSET Skip OFFSET bytes -v Display all input data -x Two-byte hexadecimal display -R Reverse of 'hexdump -Cv'
hostid
Print out a unique 32-bit identifier for the machine
hostname [OPTIONS] [HOSTNAME | -F FILE]
Get or set hostname or DNS domain name
-s Short -i Addresses for the hostname -d DNS domain name -f Fully qualified domain name -F FILE Use FILE's content as hostname
hush [-nxl] [-c 'SCRIPT' [ARG0 [ARGS]] / FILE [ARGS]]
Unix shell interpreter
hwclock [-r|--show] [-s|--hctosys] [-w|--systohc] [-t|--systz] [-l|--localtime] [-u|--utc] [-f|--rtc FILE]
Query and set hardware clock (RTC)
-r Show hardware clock time -s Set system time from hardware clock -w Set hardware clock from system time -t Set in-kernel timezone, correct system time if hardware clock is in local time -u Assume hardware clock is kept in UTC -l Assume hardware clock is kept in local time -f FILE Use specified device (e.g. /dev/rtc2)
id [OPTIONS] [USER]
Print information about USER or the current user
-u User ID -g Group ID -G Supplementary group IDs -n Print names instead of numbers -r Print real ID instead of effective ID
ifconfig [-a] interface [address]
Configure a network interface
[add ADDRESS[/PREFIXLEN]] [del ADDRESS[/PREFIXLEN]] [[-]broadcast [ADDRESS]] [[-]pointopoint [ADDRESS]] [netmask ADDRESS] [dstaddr ADDRESS] [outfill NN] [keepalive NN] [hw ether|infiniband ADDRESS] [metric NN] [mtu NN] [[-]trailers] [[-]arp] [[-]allmulti] [multicast] [[-]promisc] [txqueuelen NN] [[-]dynamic] [mem_start NN] [io_addr NN] [irq NN] [up|down] ...
ifdown [-anmvf] [-i FILE] IFACE...
-a De/configure all interfaces automatically -i FILE Use FILE for interface definitions -n Print out what would happen, but don't do it (note: doesn't disable mappings) -m Don't run any mappings -v Print out what would happen before doing it -f Force de/configuration
ifenslave [-cdf] MASTER_IFACE SLAVE_IFACE...
Configure network interfaces for parallel routing
-c,--change-active Change active slave -d,--detach Remove slave interface from bonding device -f,--force Force, even if interface is not Ethernet
ifplugd [OPTIONS]
Network interface plug detection daemon
-n Don't daemonize -s Don't log to syslog -i IFACE Interface -f/-F Treat link detection error as link down/link up (otherwise exit on error) -a Don't up interface at each link probe -M Monitor creation/destruction of interface (otherwise it must exist) -r PROG Script to run -x ARG Extra argument for script -I Don't exit on nonzero exit code from script -p Don't run "up" script on startup -q Don't run "down" script on exit -l Always run script on startup -t SECS Poll time in seconds -u SECS Delay before running script after link up -d SECS Delay after link down -m MODE API mode (mii, priv, ethtool, wlan, iff, auto) -k Kill running daemon
ifup [-anmvf] [-i FILE] IFACE...
-a De/configure all interfaces automatically -i FILE Use FILE for interface definitions -n Print out what would happen, but don't do it (note: doesn't disable mappings) -m Don't run any mappings -v Print out what would happen before doing it -f Force de/configuration
inetd [-fe] [-q N] [-R N] [CONFFILE]
Listen for network connections and launch programs
-f Run in foreground -e Log to stderr -q N Socket listen queue (default: 128) -R N Pause services after N connects/min (default: 0 - disabled)
insmod FILE [SYMBOL=VALUE]...
Load kernel module
install [-cdDsp] [-o USER] [-g GRP] [-m MODE] [-t DIR] [SOURCE]... DEST
Copy files and set attributes
-c Just copy (default) -d Create directories -D Create leading target directories -s Strip symbol table -p Preserve date -o USER Set ownership -g GRP Set group ownership -m MODE Set permissions -t DIR Install to DIR
ionice [-c 1-3] [-n 0-7] [-p PID] [PROG]
Change I/O priority and class
-c Class. 1:realtime 2:best-effort 3:idle -n Priority
iostat [-c] [-d] [-t] [-z] [-k|-m] [ALL|BLOCKDEV...] [INTERVAL [COUNT]]
Report CPU and I/O statistics
-c Show CPU utilization -d Show device utilization -t Print current time -z Omit devices with no activity -k Use kb/s -m Use Mb/s
ip [OPTIONS] {address | route | link | tunnel | rule} {COMMAND}
ip [OPTIONS] OBJECT {COMMAND} where OBJECT := {address | route | link | tunnel | rule} OPTIONS := { -f[amily] { inet | inet6 | link } | -o[neline] }
ipaddr { {add|del} IFADDR dev STRING | {show|flush} | |
[dev STRING] [to PREFIX] } |
ipaddr {add|delete} IFADDR dev STRING ipaddr {show|flush} [dev STRING] [scope SCOPE-ID] [to PREFIX] [label PATTERN] IFADDR := PREFIX | ADDR peer PREFIX [broadcast ADDR] [anycast ADDR] [label STRING] [scope SCOPE-ID] SCOPE-ID := [host | link | global | NUMBER]
ipcalc [OPTIONS] ADDRESS[[/]NETMASK] [NETMASK]
Calculate IP network settings from a IP address
-b,--broadcast Display calculated broadcast address -n,--network Display calculated network address -m,--netmask Display default netmask for IP -p,--prefix Display the prefix for IP/NETMASK -h,--hostname Display first resolved host name -s,--silent Don't ever display error messages
ipcrm [-MQS key] [-mqs id]
Upper-case options MQS remove an object by shmkey value. Lower-case options remove an object by shmid value.
-mM Remove memory segment after last detach -qQ Remove message queue -sS Remove semaphore
ipcs [[-smq] -i shmid] | [[-asmq] [-tcplu]]
-i Show specific resource Resource specification:
-m Shared memory segments -q Message queues -s Semaphore arrays -a All (default) Output format:
-t Time -c Creator -p Pid -l Limits -u Summary
iplink { set DEVICE { up | down | arp { on | off } | show [DEVICE] }
iplink set DEVICE { up | down | arp | multicast { on | off } | dynamic { on | off } | mtu MTU } iplink show [DEVICE]
iproute { list | flush | add | del | change | append | | |
replace | test } ROUTE |
iproute { list | flush } SELECTOR iproute get ADDRESS [from ADDRESS iif STRING] [oif STRING] [tos TOS] iproute { add | del | change | append | replace | test } ROUTE SELECTOR := [root PREFIX] [match PREFIX] [proto RTPROTO] ROUTE := [TYPE] PREFIX [tos TOS] [proto RTPROTO] [metric METRIC]
iprule {[list | add | del] RULE}
iprule [list | add | del] SELECTOR ACTION | |
SELECTOR := [from PREFIX] [to PREFIX] [tos TOS] [fwmark FWMARK] | |
[dev STRING] [pref NUMBER] | |
ACTION := [table TABLE_ID] [nat ADDRESS] | |
[prohibit | reject | unreachable] | |
[realms [SRCREALM/]DSTREALM] | |
TABLE_ID := [local | main | default | NUMBER] |
iptunnel { add | change | del | show } [NAME] | |
[mode { ipip | gre | sit }] | |
[remote ADDR] [local ADDR] [ttl TTL] |
iptunnel { add | change | del | show } [NAME] | |
[mode { ipip | gre | sit }] [remote ADDR] [local ADDR] | |
[[i|o]seq] [[i|o]key KEY] [[i|o]csum] | |
[ttl TTL] [tos TOS] [[no]pmtudisc] [dev PHYS_DEV] |
kbd_mode [-a|k|s|u] [-C TTY]
Report or set the keyboard mode
-a Default (ASCII) -k Medium-raw (keyboard) -s Raw (scancode) -u Unicode (utf-8) -C TTY Affect TTY instead of /dev/tty
kill [-l] [-SIG] PID...
Send a signal (default: TERM) to given PIDs
-l List all signal names and numbers
killall [-l] [-q] [-SIG] PROCESS_NAME...
Send a signal (default: TERM) to given processes
-l List all signal names and numbers -q Don't complain if no processes were killed
killall5 [-l] [-SIG] [-o PID]...
Send a signal (default: TERM) to all processes outside current session
-l List all signal names and numbers -o PID Don't signal this PID
less [-EIMmNh~] [FILE]...
View FILE (or stdin) one screenful at a time
-E Quit once the end of a file is reached -I Ignore case in all searches -M,-m Display status line with line numbers and percentage through the file -N Prefix line number to each line -~ Suppress ~s displayed past EOF
ln [OPTIONS] TARGET... LINK|DIR
Create a link LINK or DIR/TARGET to the specified TARGET(s)
-s Make symlinks instead of hardlinks -f Remove existing destinations -n Don't dereference symlinks - treat like normal file -b Make a backup of the target (if exists) before link operation -S suf Use suffix instead of ~ when making backup files -T 2nd arg must be a DIR -v Verbose
loadfont < font
Load a console font from stdin
loadkmap < keymap
Load a binary keyboard translation table from stdin
login [-p] [-h HOST] [[-f] USER]
Begin a new session on the system
-f Don't authenticate (user already authenticated) -h Name of the remote host -p Preserve environment
logname
Print the name of the current user
losetup [-r] [-o OFS] {-f|LOOPDEV} FILE - associate loop devices | |
losetup -d LOOPDEV - disassociate | |
losetup -a - show status | |
losetup -f - show next free loop device |
-o OFS Start OFS bytes into FILE -r Read-only -f Show/use next free loop device
ls [-1AaCxdLHRFplinsehrSXvctu] [-w WIDTH] [FILE]...
List directory contents
-1 One column output -a Include entries which start with . -A Like -a, but exclude . and .. -C List by columns -x List by lines -d List directory entries instead of contents -L Follow symlinks -H Follow symlinks on command line -R Recurse -p Append / to dir entries -F Append indicator (one of */=@|) to entries -l Long listing format -i List inode numbers -n List numeric UIDs and GIDs instead of names -s List allocated blocks -e List full date and time -h List sizes in human readable format (1K 243M 2G) -r Sort in reverse order -S Sort by size -X Sort by extension -v Sort by version -c With -l: sort by ctime -t With -l: sort by mtime -u With -l: sort by atime -w N Assume the terminal is N columns wide --color[={always,never,auto}] Control coloring
lsattr [-Radlv] [FILE]...
List file attributes on an ext2 fs
-R Recurse -a Don't hide entries starting with . -d List directory entries instead of contents -l List long flag names -v List the file's version/generation number
lsmod
List the currently loaded kernel modules
lsof
Show all open files
lspci [-mk]
List all PCI devices
-m Parsable output -k Show driver
lzcat [FILE]...
Decompress to stdout
lzma -d [-cf] [FILE]...
Decompress FILE (or stdin)
-d Decompress -c Write to stdout -f Force
lzop [-cfvd123456789CF] [FILE]...
-1..9 Compression level -d Decompress -c Write to stdout -f Force -v Verbose -F Don't store or verify checksum -C Also write checksum of compressed block
lzopcat [-vCF] [FILE]...
-v Verbose -F Don't store or verify checksum
makedevs [-d device_table] rootdir
Create a range of special files as specified in a device table. Device table entries take the form of:
<name> <type> <mode> <uid> <gid> <major> <minor> <start> <inc> <count> Where name is the file name, type can be one of: f Regular file d Directory c Character device b Block device p Fifo (named pipe) uid is the user id for the target file, gid is the group id for the target file. The rest of the entries (major, minor, etc) apply to to device special files. A '-' may be used for blank entries.
md5sum [-c[sw]] [FILE]...
Print or check MD5 checksums
-c Check sums against list in FILEs -s Don't output anything, status code shows success -w Warn about improperly formatted checksum lines
mdev [-s]
mdev -s is to be run during boot to scan /sys and populate /dev.
Bare mdev is a kernel hotplug helper. To activate it: | |
echo /sbin/mdev >/proc/sys/kernel/hotplug |
It uses /etc/mdev.conf with lines [-][ENV=regex;]...DEVNAME UID:GID PERM [>|=PATH]|[!] [@|$|*PROG] where DEVNAME is device name regex, @major,minor[-minor2], or environment variable regex. A common use of the latter is to load modules for hotplugged devices:
$MODALIAS=.* 0:0 660 @modprobe "$MODALIAS"
If /dev/mdev.seq file exists, mdev will wait for its value to match $SEQNUM variable. This prevents plug/unplug races. To activate this feature, create empty /dev/mdev.seq at boot.
If /dev/mdev.log file exists, debug log will be appended to it.
microcom [-d DELAY] [-t TIMEOUT] [-s SPEED] [-X] TTY
Copy bytes for stdin to TTY and from TTY to stdout
-d Wait up to DELAY ms for TTY output before sending every next byte to it -t Exit if both stdin and TTY are silent for TIMEOUT ms -s Set serial line to SPEED -X Disable special meaning of NUL and Ctrl-X from stdin
mkdir [OPTIONS] DIRECTORY...
Create DIRECTORY
-m MODE Mode -p No error if exists; make parent directories as needed
mkdosfs [-v] [-n LABEL] BLOCKDEV [KBYTES]
Make a FAT32 filesystem
-v Verbose -n LBL Volume label
mke2fs [-Fn] [-b BLK_SIZE] [-i INODE_RATIO] [-I INODE_SIZE] [-m RESERVED_PERCENT] [-L LABEL] BLOCKDEV [KBYTES]
-b BLK_SIZE Block size, bytes -F Force -i RATIO Max number of files is filesystem_size / RATIO -I BYTES Inode size (min 128) -L LBL Volume label -m PERCENT Percent of blocks to reserve for admin -n Dry run
mkfifo [-m MODE] NAME
Create named pipe
-m MODE Mode (default a=rw)
mkfs.ext2 [-Fn] [-b BLK_SIZE] [-i INODE_RATIO] [-I INODE_SIZE] [-m RESERVED_PERCENT] [-L LABEL] BLOCKDEV [KBYTES]
-b BLK_SIZE Block size, bytes -F Force -i RATIO Max number of files is filesystem_size / RATIO -I BYTES Inode size (min 128) -L LBL Volume label -m PERCENT Percent of blocks to reserve for admin -n Dry run
mkfs.vfat [-v] [-n LABEL] BLOCKDEV [KBYTES]
Make a FAT32 filesystem
-v Verbose -n LBL Volume label
mknod [-m MODE] NAME TYPE MAJOR MINOR
Create a special file (block, character, or pipe)
-m MODE Creation mode (default a=rw) TYPE: b Block device c or u Character device p Named pipe (MAJOR and MINOR are ignored)
mkswap [-L LBL] BLOCKDEV [KBYTES]
Prepare BLOCKDEV to be used as swap partition
-L LBL Label
mktemp [-dt] [-p DIR] [TEMPLATE]
Create a temporary file with name based on TEMPLATE and print its name. TEMPLATE must end with XXXXXX (e.g. [/dir/]nameXXXXXX). Without TEMPLATE, -t tmp.XXXXXX is assumed.
-d Make directory, not file -q Fail silently on errors -t Prepend base directory name to TEMPLATE -p DIR Use DIR as a base directory (implies -t) -u Do not create anything; print a name
Base directory is: -p DIR, else $TMPDIR, else /tmp
modinfo [-adlp0] [-F keyword] MODULE
-a Shortcut for '-F author' -d Shortcut for '-F description' -l Shortcut for '-F license' -p Shortcut for '-F parm' -F keyword Keyword to look for -0 Separate output with NULs
modprobe [-qfwrsv] MODULE [SYMBOL=VALUE]...
-r Remove MODULE (stacks) or do autoclean -q Quiet -v Verbose -f Force -w Wait for unload -s Report via syslog instead of stderr
more [FILE]...
View FILE (or stdin) one screenful at a time
mount [OPTIONS] [-o OPTS] DEVICE NODE
Mount a filesystem. Filesystem autodetection requires /proc.
-a Mount all filesystems in fstab -f Dry run -i Don't run mount helper -v Verbose -r Read-only mount -w Read-write mount (default) -t FSTYPE[,...] Filesystem type(s) -O OPT Mount only filesystems with option OPT (-a only) -o OPT: loop Ignored (loop devices are autodetected) [a]sync Writes are [a]synchronous [no]atime Disable/enable updates to inode access times [no]diratime Disable/enable atime updates to directories [no]relatime Disable/enable atime updates relative to modification time [no]dev (Dis)allow use of special device files [no]exec (Dis)allow use of executable files [no]suid (Dis)allow set-user-id-root programs [r]shared Convert [recursively] to a shared subtree [r]slave Convert [recursively] to a slave subtree [r]private Convert [recursively] to a private subtree [un]bindable Make mount point [un]able to be bind mounted [r]bind Bind a file or directory [recursively] to another location move Relocate an existing mount point remount Remount a mounted filesystem, changing flags ro/rw Same as -r/-w
There are filesystem-specific -o flags.
mountpoint [-q] <[-dn] DIR | -x DEVICE>
Check if the directory is a mountpoint
-q Quiet -d Print major/minor device number of the filesystem -n Print device name of the filesystem -x Print major/minor device number of the blockdevice
mpstat [-A] [-I SUM|CPU|ALL|SCPU] [-u] [-P num|ALL] [INTERVAL [COUNT]]
Per-processor statistics
-A Same as -I ALL -u -P ALL -I SUM|CPU|ALL|SCPU Report interrupt statistics -P num|ALL Processor to monitor -u Report CPU utilization
mv [-fin] SOURCE DEST or: mv [-fin] SOURCE... DIRECTORY
Rename SOURCE to DEST, or move SOURCE(s) to DIRECTORY
-f Don't prompt before overwriting -i Interactive, prompt before overwrite -n Don't overwrite an existing file
nameif [-s] [-c FILE] [IFNAME SELECTOR]...
Rename network interface while it in the down state. The device matched by SELECTOR is renamed to IFACE. SELECTOR can be a combination of:
driver=STRING bus=STRING phy_address=NUM [mac=]XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
-c FILE Configuration file (default: /etc/mactab) -s Log to syslog
nanddump [-o] [--bb=padbad|skipbad] [-s ADDR] [-l LEN] [-f FILE] MTD_DEVICE
Dump MTD_DEVICE
-o Dump oob data -s ADDR Start address -l LEN Length -f FILE Dump to file ('-' for stdout) --bb=METHOD: skipbad: skip bad blocks padbad: substitute bad blocks by 0xff (default)
nandwrite [-p] [-s ADDR] MTD_DEVICE [FILE]
Write to MTD_DEVICE
-p Pad to page size -s ADDR Start address
nbd-client HOST PORT BLOCKDEV
Connect to HOST and provide a network block device on BLOCKDEV
nc [-iN] [-wN] [-l] [-p PORT] [-f FILE|IPADDR PORT] [-e PROG]
Open a pipe to IP:PORT or FILE
-l Listen mode, for inbound connects (use -ll with -e for persistent server) -p PORT Local port -w SEC Connect timeout -i SEC Delay interval for lines sent -f FILE Use file (ala /dev/ttyS0) instead of network -e PROG Run PROG after connect
netstat [-ral] [-tuwx] [-enWp]
Display networking information
-r Routing table -a All sockets -l Listening sockets Else: connected sockets -t TCP sockets -u UDP sockets -w Raw sockets -x Unix sockets Else: all socket types -e Other/more information -n Don't resolve names -W Wide display -p Show PID/program name for sockets
nice [-n ADJUST] [PROG ARGS]
Change scheduling priority, run PROG
-n ADJUST Adjust priority by ADJUST
nmeter [-d MSEC] FORMAT_STRING
Monitor system in real time
-d MSEC Milliseconds between updates (default:1000)
Format specifiers:
%Nc or %[cN] CPU. N - bar size (default:10) (displays: S:system U:user N:niced D:iowait I:irq i:softirq) %[nINTERFACE] Network INTERFACE %m Allocated memory %[mf] Free memory %[mt] Total memory %s Allocated swap %f Number of used file descriptors %Ni Total/specific IRQ rate %x Context switch rate %p Forks %[pn] # of processes %b Block io %Nt Time (with N decimal points) %r Print <cr> instead of <lf> at EOL
nohup PROG ARGS
Run PROG immune to hangups, with output to a non-tty
nslookup [HOST] [SERVER]
Query the nameserver for the IP address of the given HOST optionally using a specified DNS server
ntpd [-dnqNwl -I IFACE] [-S PROG] [-p PEER]...
NTP client/server
-d Verbose -n Do not daemonize -q Quit after clock is set -N Run at high priority -w Do not set time (only query peers), implies -n -l Run as server on port 123 -I IFACE Bind server to IFACE, implies -l -S PROG Run PROG after stepping time, stratum change, and every 11 mins -p PEER Obtain time from PEER (may be repeated) If -p is not given, read /etc/ntp.conf
od [-abcdfhilovxs] [-t TYPE] [-A RADIX] [-N SIZE] [-j SKIP] [-S MINSTR] [-w WIDTH] [FILE]...
Print FILEs (or stdin) unambiguously, as octal bytes by default
openvt [-c N] [-sw] [PROG ARGS]
Start PROG on a new virtual terminal
-c N Use specified VT -s Switch to the VT -w Wait for PROG to exit
passwd [OPTIONS] [USER]
Change USER's password (default: current user)
-a ALG Encryption method -d Set password to '' -l Lock (disable) account -u Unlock (enable) account
patch [OPTIONS] [ORIGFILE [PATCHFILE]]
-p,--strip N Strip N leading components from file names -i,--input DIFF Read DIFF instead of stdin -R,--reverse Reverse patch -N,--forward Ignore already applied patches -E,--remove-empty-files Remove output files if they become empty
pgrep [-flnovx] [-s SID|-P PPID|PATTERN]
Display process(es) selected by regex PATTERN
-l Show command name too -f Match against entire command line -n Show the newest process only -o Show the oldest process only -v Negate the match -x Match whole name (not substring) -s Match session ID (0 for current) -P Match parent process ID
pidof [OPTIONS] [NAME]...
List PIDs of all processes with names that match NAMEs
-s Show only one PID -o PID Omit given pid Use %PPID to omit pid of pidof's parent
ping [OPTIONS] HOST
Send ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets to network hosts
-4,-6 Force IP or IPv6 name resolution -c CNT Send only CNT pings -s SIZE Send SIZE data bytes in packets (default:56) -t TTL Set TTL -I IFACE/IP Use interface or IP address as source -W SEC Seconds to wait for the first response (default:10) (after all -c CNT packets are sent) -w SEC Seconds until ping exits (default:infinite) (can exit earlier with -c CNT) -q Quiet, only display output at start and when finished -p Pattern to use for payload
ping6 [OPTIONS] HOST
Send ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets to network hosts
-c CNT Send only CNT pings -s SIZE Send SIZE data bytes in packets (default:56) -I IFACE/IP Use interface or IP address as source -q Quiet, only display output at start and when finished -p Pattern to use for payload
pivot_root NEW_ROOT PUT_OLD
Move the current root file system to PUT_OLD and make NEW_ROOT the new root file system
pkill [-l|-SIGNAL] [-fnovx] [-s SID|-P PPID|PATTERN]
Send a signal to process(es) selected by regex PATTERN
-l List all signals -f Match against entire command line -n Signal the newest process only -o Signal the oldest process only -v Negate the match -x Match whole name (not substring) -s Match session ID (0 for current) -P Match parent process ID
pmap [-xq] PID
Display detailed process memory usage
-x Show details -q Quiet
poweroff [-d DELAY] [-n] [-f]
Halt and shut off power
-d SEC Delay interval -n Do not sync -f Force (don't go through init)
powertop
Analyze power consumption on Intel-based laptops
printenv [VARIABLE]...
Print environment VARIABLEs. If no VARIABLE specified, print all.
printf FORMAT [ARG]...
Format and print ARG(s) according to FORMAT (a-la C printf)
ps [-o COL1,COL2=HEADER] [-T]
Show list of processes
-o COL1,COL2=HEADER Select columns for display -T Show threads
pscan [-cb] [-p MIN_PORT] [-P MAX_PORT] [-t TIMEOUT] [-T MIN_RTT] HOST
Scan a host, print all open ports
-c Show closed ports too -b Show blocked ports too -p Scan from this port (default 1) -P Scan up to this port (default 1024) -t Timeout (default 5000 ms) -T Minimum rtt (default 5 ms, increase for congested hosts)
pstree [-p] [PID|USER]
Display process tree, optionally start from USER or PID
-p Show pids
pwd
Print the full filename of the current working directory
pwdx PID...
Show current directory for PIDs
raidautorun DEVICE
Tell the kernel to automatically search and start RAID arrays
rdate [-sp] HOST
Get and possibly set the system date/time from a remote HOST
-s Set the system date/time (default) -p Print the date/time
rdev
Print the device node associated with the filesystem mounted at '/'
readahead [FILE]...
Preload FILEs to RAM
readlink [-fnv] FILE
Display the value of a symlink
-f Canonicalize by following all symlinks -n Don't add newline -v Verbose
readprofile [OPTIONS]
-m mapfile (Default: /boot/System.map) -p profile (Default: /proc/profile) -M NUM Set the profiling multiplier to NUM -i Print only info about the sampling step -v Verbose -a Print all symbols, even if count is 0 -b Print individual histogram-bin counts -s Print individual counters within functions -r Reset all the counters (root only) -n Disable byte order auto-detection
realpath FILE...
Return the absolute pathnames of given FILE
reboot [-d DELAY] [-n] [-f]
Reboot the system
-d SEC Delay interval -n Do not sync -f Force (don't go through init)
renice {{-n INCREMENT} | PRIORITY} [[-p | -g | -u] ID...]
Change scheduling priority for a running process
-n Adjust current nice value (smaller is faster) -p Process id(s) (default) -g Process group id(s) -u Process user name(s) and/or id(s)
reset
Reset the screen
resize
Resize the screen
rev [FILE]...
Reverse lines of FILE
rfkill COMMAND [INDEX|TYPE]
Enable/disable wireless devices
Commands:
list [INDEX|TYPE] List current state block INDEX|TYPE Disable device unblock INDEX|TYPE Enable device
TYPE: all, wlan(wifi), bluetooth, uwb(ultrawideband), wimax, wwan, gps, fm
rm [-irf] FILE...
Remove (unlink) FILEs
-i Always prompt before removing -f Never prompt -R,-r Recurse
rmdir [OPTIONS] DIRECTORY...
Remove DIRECTORY if it is empty
-p|--parents Include parents --ignore-fail-on-non-empty
rmmod [-wfa] [MODULE]...
Unload kernel modules
-w Wait until the module is no longer used -f Force unload -a Remove all unused modules (recursively)
route [{add|del|delete}]
Edit kernel routing tables
-n Don't resolve names -e Display other/more information -A inet{6} Select address family
rtcwake [-a | -l | -u] [-d DEV] [-m MODE] [-s SEC | -t TIME]
Enter a system sleep state until specified wakeup time
-a,--auto Read clock mode from adjtime -l,--local Clock is set to local time -u,--utc Clock is set to UTC time -d,--device=DEV Specify the RTC device -m,--mode=MODE Set the sleep state (default: standby) -s,--seconds=SEC Set the timeout in SEC seconds from now -t,--time=TIME Set the timeout to TIME seconds from epoch
rx FILE
Receive a file using the xmodem protocol
script [-afqt] [-c PROG] [OUTFILE]
-a Append output -c PROG Run PROG, not shell -f Flush output after each write -q Quiet -t Send timing to stderr
scriptreplay timingfile [typescript [divisor]]
Play back typescripts, using timing information
sed [-inrE] [-f FILE]... [-e CMD]... [FILE]... or: sed [-inrE] CMD [FILE]...
-e CMD Add CMD to sed commands to be executed -f FILE Add FILE contents to sed commands to be executed -i[SFX] Edit files in-place (otherwise sends to stdout) Optionally back files up, appending SFX -n Suppress automatic printing of pattern space -r,-E Use extended regex syntax
If no -e or -f, the first non-option argument is the sed command string. Remaining arguments are input files (stdin if none).
seq [-w] [-s SEP] [FIRST [INC]] LAST
Print numbers from FIRST to LAST, in steps of INC. FIRST, INC default to 1.
-w Pad to last with leading zeros -s SEP String separator
setarch personality PROG ARGS
Personality may be:
linux32 Set 32bit uname emulation linux64 Set 64bit uname emulation
setconsole [-r|--reset] [DEVICE]
Redirect system console output to DEVICE (default: /dev/tty)
-r Reset output to /dev/console
setfont FONT [-m MAPFILE] [-C TTY]
Load a console font
-m MAPFILE Load console screen map -C TTY Affect TTY instead of /dev/tty
setkeycodes SCANCODE KEYCODE...
Set entries into the kernel's scancode-to-keycode map, allowing unusual keyboards to generate usable keycodes.
SCANCODE may be either xx or e0xx (hexadecimal), and KEYCODE is given in decimal.
setlogcons [N]
Redirect the kernel output to console N. Default:0 (current console)
setserial [-gabGvzV] DEVICE [PARAMETER [ARG]]...
Request or set Linux serial port information
-g Interpret parameters as list of devices for reporting -a Print all available information -b Print summary information -G Print in form which can be fed back to setserial as command line parameters -z Zero out serial flags before setting -v Verbose
Parameters: (* = takes an argument, ^ = can be turned off by preceding ^) | |
*port, *irq, *divisor, *uart, *baud_base, *close_delay, *closing_wait, | |
^fourport, ^auto_irq, ^skip_test, ^sak, ^session_lockout, ^pgrp_lockout, | |
^callout_nohup, ^split_termios, ^hup_notify, ^low_latency, autoconfig, | |
spd_normal, spd_hi, spd_vhi, spd_shi, spd_warp, spd_cust |
UART types:
unknown, 8250, 16450, 16550, 16550A, Cirrus, 16650, 16650V2, 16750, 16950, 16954, 16654, 16850, RSA, NS16550A, XSCALE, RM9000, OCTEON, AR7, U6_16550A
setsid PROG ARGS
Run PROG in a new session. PROG will have no controlling terminal
and will not be affected by keyboard signals (Ctrl-C etc).
See setsid(2)
for details.
setuidgid USER PROG ARGS
Set uid and gid to USER's uid and gid, drop supplementary group ids, run PROG
sh [-/+OPTIONS] [-/+o OPT]... [-c 'SCRIPT' [ARG0 [ARGS]] / FILE [ARGS]]
Unix shell interpreter
sha1sum [-c[sw]] [FILE]...
Print or check SHA1 checksums
-c Check sums against list in FILEs -s Don't output anything, status code shows success -w Warn about improperly formatted checksum lines
sha256sum [-c[sw]] [FILE]...
Print or check SHA256 checksums
-c Check sums against list in FILEs -s Don't output anything, status code shows success -w Warn about improperly formatted checksum lines
sha3sum [-c[sw]] [FILE]...
Print or check SHA3-512 checksums
-c Check sums against list in FILEs -s Don't output anything, status code shows success -w Warn about improperly formatted checksum lines
sha512sum [-c[sw]] [FILE]...
Print or check SHA512 checksums
-c Check sums against list in FILEs -s Don't output anything, status code shows success -w Warn about improperly formatted checksum lines
showkey [-a | -k | -s]
Show keys pressed
-a Display decimal/octal/hex values of the keys -k Display interpreted keycodes (default) -s Display raw scan-codes
shuf [-e|-i L-H] [-n NUM] [-o FILE] [-z] [FILE|ARG...]
Randomly permute lines
-e Treat ARGs as lines -i L-H Treat numbers L-H as lines -n NUM Output at most NUM lines -o FILE Write to FILE, not standard output -z End lines with zero byte, not newline
slattach [-cehmLF] [-s SPEED] [-p PROTOCOL] DEVICE
Attach network interface(s) to serial line(s)
-p PROT Set protocol (slip, cslip, slip6, clisp6 or adaptive) -s SPD Set line speed -e Exit after initializing device -h Exit when the carrier is lost -c PROG Run PROG when the line is hung up -m Do NOT initialize the line in raw 8 bits mode -L Enable 3-wire operation -F Disable RTS/CTS flow control
sleep [N]...
Pause for a time equal to the total of the args given, where each arg can have an optional suffix of (s)econds, (m)inutes, (h)ours, or (d)ays
smemcap >SMEMDATA.TAR
Collect memory usage data in /proc and write it to stdout
softlimit [-a BYTES] [-m BYTES] [-d BYTES] [-s BYTES] [-l BYTES] | |
[-f BYTES] [-c BYTES] [-r BYTES] [-o N] [-p N] [-t N] | |
PROG ARGS |
Set soft resource limits, then run PROG
-a BYTES Limit total size of all segments -m BYTES Same as -d BYTES -s BYTES -l BYTES -a BYTES -d BYTES Limit data segment -s BYTES Limit stack segment -l BYTES Limit locked memory size -o N Limit number of open files per process -p N Limit number of processes per uid Options controlling file sizes:
-f BYTES Limit output file sizes -c BYTES Limit core file size Efficiency opts:
-r BYTES Limit resident set size -t N Limit CPU time, process receives a SIGXCPU after N seconds
sort [-nrugMcszbdfimSTokt] [-o FILE] [-k start[.offset][opts][,end[.offset][opts]] [-t CHAR] [FILE]...
Sort lines of text
-b Ignore leading blanks -c Check whether input is sorted -d Dictionary order (blank or alphanumeric only) -f Ignore case -g General numerical sort -i Ignore unprintable characters -k Sort key -M Sort month -n Sort numbers -o Output to file -k Sort by key -t CHAR Key separator -r Reverse sort order -s Stable (don't sort ties alphabetically) -u Suppress duplicate lines -z Lines are terminated by NUL, not newline -mST Ignored for GNU compatibility
split [OPTIONS] [INPUT [PREFIX]]
-b N[k|m] Split by N (kilo|mega)bytes -l N Split by N lines -a N Use N letters as suffix
stat [OPTIONS] FILE...
Display file (default) or filesystem status
-c fmt Use the specified format -f Display filesystem status -L Follow links -t Display info in terse form
Valid format sequences for files:
%a Access rights in octal %A Access rights in human readable form %b Number of blocks allocated (see %B) %B The 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 Group ID of owner %G Group name of owner %h Number of hard links %i Inode number %n File name %N File name, with -> TARGET if symlink %o I/O block size %s Total size, in bytes %t Major device type in hex %T Minor device type in hex %u User ID of owner %U User name of owner %x Time of last access %X Time of last access as seconds since Epoch %y Time of last modification %Y Time of last modification as seconds since Epoch %z Time of last change %Z Time of last change as seconds since Epoch
Valid format sequences for file systems:
%a Free blocks available to non-superuser %b Total data blocks in file system %c Total file nodes in file system %d Free file nodes in file system %f Free blocks in file system %i File System ID in hex %l Maximum length of filenames %n File name %s Block size (for faster transfer) %S Fundamental block size (for block counts) %t Type in hex %T Type in human readable form
strings [-afo] [-n LEN] [FILE]...
Display printable strings in a binary file
-a Scan whole file (default) -f Precede strings with filenames -n LEN At least LEN characters form a string (default 4) -o Precede strings with decimal offsets
stty [-a|g] [-F DEVICE] [SETTING]...
Without arguments, prints baud rate, line discipline, and deviations from stty sane
-F DEVICE Open device instead of stdin -a Print all current settings in human-readable form -g Print in stty-readable form [SETTING] See manpage
su [OPTIONS] [-] [USER]
Run shell under USER (by default, root)
-,-l Clear environment, run shell as login shell -p,-m Do not set new $HOME, $SHELL, $USER, $LOGNAME -c CMD Command to pass to 'sh -c' -s SH Shell to use instead of user's default
sum [-rs] [FILE]...
Checksum and count the blocks in a file
-r Use BSD sum algorithm (1K blocks) -s Use System V sum algorithm (512byte blocks)
swapoff [-a] [DEVICE]
Stop swapping on DEVICE
-a Stop swapping on all swap devices
swapon [-a] [-d[POL]] [-p PRI] [DEVICE]
Start swapping on DEVICE
-a Start swapping on all swap devices -d[POL] Discard blocks at swapon (POL=once), as freed (POL=pages), or both (POL omitted) -p PRI Set swap device priority
switch_root [-c /dev/console] NEW_ROOT NEW_INIT [ARGS]
Free initramfs and switch to another root fs:
chroot to NEW_ROOT, delete all in /, move NEW_ROOT to /, execute NEW_INIT. PID must be 1. NEW_ROOT must be a mountpoint.
-c DEV Reopen stdio to DEV after switch
sync
Write all buffered blocks to disk
sysctl [OPTIONS] [KEY[=VALUE]]...
Show/set kernel parameters
-e Don't warn about unknown keys -n Don't show key names -a Show all values -w Set values -p FILE Set values from FILE (default /etc/sysctl.conf) -q Set values silently
tac [FILE]...
Concatenate FILEs and print them in reverse
tail [OPTIONS] [FILE]...
Print last 10 lines of each FILE (or stdin) to stdout. With more than one FILE, precede each with a filename header.
-f Print data as file grows -c [+]N[kbm] Print last N bytes -n N[kbm] Print last N lines -n +N[kbm] Start on Nth line and print the rest -q Never print headers -s SECONDS Wait SECONDS between reads with -f -v Always print headers -F Same as -f, but keep retrying
N may be suffixed by k (x1024), b (x512), or m (x1024^2).
tar -[cxtZzJjahmvO] [-X FILE] [-T FILE] [-f TARFILE] [-C DIR] [FILE]...
Create, extract, or list files from a tar file
Operation:
c Create x Extract t List f Name of TARFILE ('-' for stdin/out) C Change to DIR before operation v Verbose Z (De)compress using compress z (De)compress using gzip J (De)compress using xz j (De)compress using bzip2 a (De)compress using lzma O Extract to stdout h Follow symlinks m Don't restore mtime exclude File to exclude X File with names to exclude T File with names to include
tcpsvd [-hEv] [-c N] [-C N[:MSG]] [-b N] [-u USER] [-l NAME] IP PORT PROG
Create TCP socket, bind to IP:PORT and listen for incoming connection. Run PROG for each connection.
IP IP to listen on, 0 = all PORT Port to listen on PROG ARGS Program to run -l NAME Local hostname (else looks up local hostname in DNS) -u USER[:GRP] Change to user/group after bind -c N Handle up to N connections simultaneously -b N Allow a backlog of approximately N TCP SYNs -C N[:MSG] Allow only up to N connections from the same IP New connections from this IP address are closed immediately. MSG is written to the peer before close -h Look up peer's hostname -E Don't set up environment variables -v Verbose
tee [-ai] [FILE]...
Copy stdin to each FILE, and also to stdout
-a Append to the given FILEs, don't overwrite -i Ignore interrupt signals (SIGINT)
telnetd [OPTIONS]
Handle incoming telnet connections
-l LOGIN Exec LOGIN on connect -f ISSUE_FILE Display ISSUE_FILE instead of /etc/issue -K Close connection as soon as login exits (normally wait until all programs close slave pty) -p PORT Port to listen on -b ADDR[:PORT] Address to bind to -F Run in foreground -i Inetd mode -w SEC Inetd 'wait' mode, linger time SEC -S Log to syslog (implied by -i or without -F and -w)
test EXPRESSION ]
Check file types, compare values etc. Return a 0/1 exit code depending on logical value of EXPRESSION
tftpd [-cr] [-u USER] [DIR]
Transfer a file on tftp client's request
tftpd should be used as an inetd service. tftpd's line for inetd.conf: 69 dgram udp nowait root tftpd tftpd -l /files/to/serve It also can be ran from udpsvd:
udpsvd -vE 0.0.0.0 69 tftpd /files/to/serve
-r Prohibit upload -c Allow file creation via upload -u Access files as USER -l Log to syslog (inetd mode requires this)
time [-v] PROG ARGS
Run PROG, display resource usage when it exits
-v Verbose
timeout [-t SECS] [-s SIG] PROG ARGS
Runs PROG. Sends SIG to it if it is not gone in SECS seconds. Defaults: SECS: 10, SIG: TERM.
top [-b] [-nCOUNT] [-dSECONDS] [-m]
Provide a view of process activity in real time. Read the status of all processes from /proc each SECONDS and display a screenful of them. Keys:
N/M/P/T: show CPU usage, sort by pid/mem/cpu/time S: show memory R: reverse sort H: toggle threads, 1: toggle SMP Q,^C: exit
Options:
-b Batch mode -n N Exit after N iterations -d N Delay between updates -m Same as 's' key
touch [-c] [-d DATE] [-t DATE] [-r FILE] FILE...
Update the last-modified date on the given FILE[s]
-c Don't create files -h Don't follow links -d DT Date/time to use -t DT Date/time to use -r FILE Use FILE's date/time
tr [-cds] STRING1 [STRING2]
Translate, squeeze, or delete characters from stdin, writing to stdout
-c Take complement of STRING1 -d Delete input characters coded STRING1 -s Squeeze multiple output characters of STRING2 into one character
traceroute [-46FIldnrv] [-f 1ST_TTL] [-m MAXTTL] [-p PORT] [-q PROBES] | |
[-s SRC_IP] [-t TOS] [-w WAIT_SEC] [-g GATEWAY] [-i IFACE] | |
[-z PAUSE_MSEC] HOST [BYTES] |
Trace the route to HOST
-4,-6 Force IP or IPv6 name resolution -F Set the don't fragment bit -I Use ICMP ECHO instead of UDP datagrams -l Display the TTL value of the returned packet -d Set SO_DEBUG options to socket -n Print numeric addresses -r Bypass routing tables, send directly to HOST -v Verbose -m Max time-to-live (max number of hops) -p Base UDP port number used in probes (default 33434) -q Number of probes per TTL (default 3) -s IP address to use as the source address -t Type-of-service in probe packets (default 0) -w Time in seconds to wait for a response (default 3) -g Loose source route gateway (8 max)
traceroute6 [-dnrv] [-m MAXTTL] [-p PORT] [-q PROBES] | |
[-s SRC_IP] [-t TOS] [-w WAIT_SEC] [-i IFACE] | |
HOST [BYTES] |
Trace the route to HOST
-d Set SO_DEBUG options to socket -n Print numeric addresses -r Bypass routing tables, send directly to HOST -v Verbose -m Max time-to-live (max number of hops) -p Base UDP port number used in probes (default is 33434) -q Number of probes per TTL (default 3) -s IP address to use as the source address -t Type-of-service in probe packets (default 0) -w Time in seconds to wait for a response (default 3)
true
Return an exit code of TRUE (0)
tty
Print file name of stdin's terminal
-s Print nothing, only return exit status
ttysize [w] [h]
Print dimension(s) of stdin's terminal, on error return 80x25
tunctl [-f device] ([-t name] | -d name) [-u owner] [-g group] [-b]
Create or delete tun interfaces
-f name tun device (/dev/net/tun) -t name Create iface 'name' -d name Delete iface 'name' -u owner Set iface owner -g group Set iface group -b Brief output
tune2fs [-c MAX_MOUNT_COUNT] [-i DAYS] [-C MOUNT_COUNT] [-L LABEL] BLOCKDEV
Adjust filesystem options on ext[23] filesystems
ubiattach -m MTD_NUM [-d UBI_NUM] UBI_CTRL_DEV
Attach MTD device to UBI
-m MTD_NUM MTD device number to attach -d UBI_NUM UBI device number to assign
ubidetach -d UBI_NUM UBI_CTRL_DEV
Detach MTD device from UBI
-d UBI_NUM UBI device number
ubimkvol UBI_DEVICE -N NAME [-s SIZE | -m]
Create UBI volume
-a ALIGNMENT Volume alignment (default 1) -m Set volume size to maximum available -n VOLID Volume ID. If not specified, assigned automatically -N NAME Volume name -s SIZE Size in bytes -t TYPE Volume type (static|dynamic)
ubirmvol UBI_DEVICE -n VOLID
Remove UBI volume
-n VOLID Volume ID
ubirsvol UBI_DEVICE -n VOLID -s SIZE
Resize UBI volume
-n VOLID Volume ID -s SIZE Size in bytes
ubiupdatevol UBI_DEVICE [-t | [-s SIZE] IMG_FILE]
Update UBI volume
-t Truncate to zero size -s SIZE Size in bytes to resize to
udhcpc [-fbqvRB] [-a[MSEC]] [-t N] [-T SEC] [-A SEC/-n] | |
[-i IFACE] [-s PROG] [-p PIDFILE] | |
[-oC] [-r IP] [-V VENDOR] [-F NAME] [-x OPT:VAL]... [-O OPT]... |
-i,--interface IFACE Interface to use (default eth0) -s,--script PROG Run PROG at DHCP events (default /usr/share/udhcpc/default.script) -p,--pidfile FILE Create pidfile -B,--broadcast Request broadcast replies -t,--retries N Send up to N discover packets (default 3) -T,--timeout SEC Pause between packets (default 3) -A,--tryagain SEC Wait if lease is not obtained (default 20) -n,--now Exit if lease is not obtained -q,--quit Exit after obtaining lease -R,--release Release IP on exit -f,--foreground Run in foreground -b,--background Background if lease is not obtained -S,--syslog Log to syslog too -a[MSEC],--arping[=MSEC] Validate offered address with ARP ping -r,--request IP Request this IP address -o,--no-default-options Don't request any options (unless -O is given) -O,--request-option OPT Request option OPT from server (cumulative) -x OPT:VAL Include option OPT in sent packets (cumulative) Examples of string, numeric, and hex byte opts: -x hostname:bbox - option 12 -x lease:3600 - option 51 (lease time) -x 0x3d:0100BEEFC0FFEE - option 61 (client id) -F,--fqdn NAME Ask server to update DNS mapping for NAME -V,--vendorclass VENDOR Vendor identifier (default 'udhcp VERSION') -C,--clientid-none Don't send MAC as client identifier -v Verbose Signals:
USR1 Renew lease USR2 Release lease
udpsvd [-hEv] [-c N] [-u USER] [-l NAME] IP PORT PROG
Create UDP socket, bind to IP:PORT and wait for incoming packets. Run PROG for each packet, redirecting all further packets with same peer ip:port to it.
IP IP to listen on, 0 = all PORT Port to listen on PROG ARGS Program to run -l NAME Local hostname (else looks up local hostname in DNS) -u USER[:GRP] Change to user/group after bind -c N Handle up to N connections simultaneously -h Look up peer's hostname -E Don't set up environment variables -v Verbose
umount [OPTIONS] FILESYSTEM|DIRECTORY
Unmount file systems
-a Unmount all file systems -r Try to remount devices as read-only if mount is busy -l Lazy umount (detach filesystem) -f Force umount (i.e., unreachable NFS server) -D Don't free loop device even if it has been used
uname [-amnrspvio]
Print system information
-a Print all -m The machine (hardware) type -n Hostname -r Kernel release -s Kernel name (default) -p Processor type -v Kernel version -i The hardware platform -o OS name
uncompress [-cf] [FILE]...
Decompress .Z file[s]
-c Write to stdout -f Overwrite
unexpand [-fa][-t N] [FILE]...
Convert spaces to tabs, writing to stdout
-a,--all Convert all blanks -f,--first-only Convert only leading blanks -t,--tabs=N Tabstops every N chars
uniq [-cdu][-f,s,w N] [INPUT [OUTPUT]]
Discard duplicate lines
-c Prefix lines by the number of occurrences -d Only print duplicate lines -u Only print unique lines -f N Skip first N fields -s N Skip first N chars (after any skipped fields) -w N Compare N characters in line
unix2dos [-ud] [FILE]
Convert FILE in-place from Unix to DOS format. When no file is given, use stdin/stdout.
-u dos2unix -d unix2dos
unlink FILE
Delete FILE by calling unlink()
unlzma [-cf] [FILE]...
Decompress FILE (or stdin)
-c Write to stdout -f Force
unlzop [-cfvCF] [FILE]...
-c Write to stdout -f Force -v Verbose -F Don't store or verify checksum
unxz [-cf] [FILE]...
Decompress FILE (or stdin)
-c Write to stdout -f Force
unzip [-lnopq] FILE[.zip] [FILE]... [-x FILE...] [-d DIR]
Extract FILEs from ZIP archive
-l List contents (with -q for short form) -n Never overwrite files (default: ask) -o Overwrite -p Print to stdout -q Quiet -x FILE Exclude FILEs -d DIR Extract into DIR
uptime
Display the time since the last boot
users
Print the users currently logged on
usleep N
Pause for N microseconds
uudecode [-o OUTFILE] [INFILE]
Uudecode a file Finds OUTFILE in uuencoded source unless -o is given
uuencode [-m] [FILE] STORED_FILENAME
Uuencode FILE (or stdin) to stdout
-m Use base64 encoding per RFC1521
vconfig COMMAND [OPTIONS]
Create and remove virtual ethernet devices
add IFACE VLAN_ID rem VLAN_NAME set_flag IFACE 0|1 VLAN_QOS set_egress_map VLAN_NAME SKB_PRIO VLAN_QOS set_ingress_map VLAN_NAME SKB_PRIO VLAN_QOS set_name_type NAME_TYPE
vi [OPTIONS] [FILE]...
Edit FILE
-c CMD Initial command to run ($EXINIT also available) -R Read-only -H List available features
watch [-n SEC] [-t] PROG ARGS
Run PROG periodically
-n Loop period in seconds (default 2) -t Don't print header
wc [-cmlwL] [FILE]...
Count lines, words, and bytes for each FILE (or stdin)
-c Count bytes -m Count characters -l Count newlines -w Count words -L Print longest line length
wget [-c|--continue] [-s|--spider] [-q|--quiet] [-O|--output-document FILE] | |
[--header 'header: value'] [-Y|--proxy on/off] [-P DIR] | |
[-U|--user-agent AGENT] [-T SEC] URL... |
Retrieve files via HTTP or FTP
-s Spider mode - only check file existence -c Continue retrieval of aborted transfer -q Quiet -P DIR Save to DIR (default .) -T SEC Network read timeout is SEC seconds -O FILE Save to FILE ('-' for stdout) -U STR Use STR for User-Agent header -Y Use proxy ('on' or 'off')
which [COMMAND]...
Locate a COMMAND
who [-a]
Show who is logged on
-a Show all -H Print column headers
whoami
Print the user name associated with the current effective user id
whois [-h SERVER] [-p PORT] NAME...
Query WHOIS info about NAME
-h,-p Server to query
xargs [OPTIONS] [PROG ARGS]
Run PROG on every item given by stdin
-p Ask user whether to run each command -r Don't run command if input is empty -0 Input is separated by NUL characters -t Print the command on stderr before execution -e[STR] STR stops input processing -n N Pass no more than N args to PROG -s N Pass command line of no more than N bytes -I STR Replace STR within PROG ARGS with input line -x Exit if size is exceeded
xz -d [-cf] [FILE]...
Decompress FILE (or stdin)
-d Decompress -c Write to stdout -f Force
xzcat [FILE]...
Decompress to stdout
yes [STRING]
Repeatedly output a line with STRING, or 'y'
zcat [FILE]...
Decompress to stdout
zcip [OPTIONS] IFACE SCRIPT
Manage a ZeroConf IPv4 link-local address
-f Run in foreground -q Quit after obtaining address -r 169.254.x.x Request this address first -l x.x.0.0 Use this range instead of 169.254 -v Verbose
$LOGGING=none | Suppress logging |
$LOGGING=syslog | Log to syslog |
With no -q, runs continuously monitoring for ARP conflicts, exits only on I/O errors (link down etc)
GNU Libc (glibc) uses the Name Service Switch (NSS) to configure the behavior of the C library for the local environment, and to configure how it reads system data, such as passwords and group information. This is implemented using an /etc/nsswitch.conf configuration file, and using one or more of the /lib/libnss_* libraries. BusyBox tries to avoid using any libc calls that make use of NSS. Some applets however, such as login and su, will use libc functions that require NSS.
If you enable CONFIG_USE_BB_PWD_GRP, BusyBox will use internal functions to directly access the /etc/passwd, /etc/group, and /etc/shadow files without using NSS. This may allow you to run your system without the need for installing any of the NSS configuration files and libraries.
When used with glibc, the BusyBox 'networking' applets will similarly require that you install at least some of the glibc NSS stuff (in particular, /etc/nsswitch.conf, /lib/libnss_dns*, /lib/libnss_files*, and /lib/libresolv*).
Shameless Plug: As an alternative, one could use a C library such as uClibc. In addition to making your system significantly smaller, uClibc does not require the use of any NSS support files or libraries.
Denis Vlasenko <vda.linux@googlemail.com>
The following people have contributed code to BusyBox whether they know it or not. If you have written code included in BusyBox, you should probably be listed here so you can obtain your bit of eternal glory. If you should be listed here, or the description of what you have done needs more detail, or is incorrect, please send in an update.
Emanuele Aina <emanuele.aina@tiscali.it> run-parts
Erik Andersen <andersen@codepoet.org>
Tons of new stuff, major rewrite of most of the core apps, tons of new apps as noted in header files. Lots of tedious effort writing these boring docs that nobody is going to actually read.
Laurence Anderson <l.d.anderson@warwick.ac.uk>
rpm2cpio, unzip, get_header_cpio, read_gz interface, rpm
Jeff Angielski <jeff@theptrgroup.com>
ftpput, ftpget
Edward Betts <edward@debian.org>
expr, hostid, logname, whoami
John Beppu <beppu@codepoet.org>
du, nslookup, sort
Brian Candler <B.Candler@pobox.com>
tiny-ls(ls)
Randolph Chung <tausq@debian.org>
fbset, ping, hostname
Dave Cinege <dcinege@psychosis.com>
more(v2), makedevs, dutmp, modularization, auto links file, various fixes, Linux Router Project maintenance
Jordan Crouse <jordan@cosmicpenguin.net>
ipcalc
Magnus Damm <damm@opensource.se>
tftp client insmod powerpc support
Larry Doolittle <ldoolitt@recycle.lbl.gov>
pristine source directory compilation, lots of patches and fixes.
Glenn Engel <glenne@engel.org>
httpd
Gennady Feldman <gfeldman@gena01.com>
Sysklogd (single threaded syslogd, IPC Circular buffer support, logread), various fixes.
Karl M. Hegbloom <karlheg@debian.org>
cp_mv.c, the test suite, various fixes to utility.c, &c.
Daniel Jacobowitz <dan@debian.org>
mktemp.c
Matt Kraai <kraai@alumni.cmu.edu>
documentation, bugfixes, test suite
Stephan Linz <linz@li-pro.net>
ipcalc, Red Hat equivalence
John Lombardo <john@deltanet.com>
tr
Glenn McGrath <bug1@iinet.net.au>
Common unarchiving code and unarchiving applets, ifupdown, ftpgetput, nameif, sed, patch, fold, install, uudecode. Various bugfixes, review and apply numerous patches.
Manuel Novoa III <mjn3@codepoet.org>
cat, head, mkfifo, mknod, rmdir, sleep, tee, tty, uniq, usleep, wc, yes, mesg, vconfig, make_directory, parse_mode, dirname, mode_string, get_last_path_component, simplify_path, and a number trivial libbb routines
also bug fixes, partial rewrites, and size optimizations in ash, basename, cal, cmp, cp, df, du, echo, env, ln, logname, md5sum, mkdir, mv, realpath, rm, sort, tail, touch, uname, watch, arith, human_readable, interface, dutmp, ifconfig, route
Vladimir Oleynik <dzo@simtreas.ru>
cmdedit; xargs(current), httpd(current); ports: ash, crond, fdisk, inetd, stty, traceroute, top; locale, various fixes and irreconcilable critic of everything not perfect.
Bruce Perens <bruce@pixar.com>
Original author of BusyBox in 1995, 1996. Some of his code can still be found hiding here and there...
Tim Riker <Tim@Rikers.org>
bug fixes, member of fan club
Kent Robotti <robotti@metconnect.com>
reset, tons and tons of bug reports and patches.
Chip Rosenthal <chip@unicom.com>, <crosenth@covad.com>
wget - Contributed by permission of Covad Communications
Pavel Roskin <proski@gnu.org>
Lots of bugs fixes and patches.
Gyepi Sam <gyepi@praxis-sw.com>
Remote logging feature for syslogd
Linus Torvalds <torvalds@transmeta.com>
mkswap, fsck.minix, mkfs.minix
Mark Whitley <markw@codepoet.org>
grep, sed, cut, xargs(previous), style-guide, new-applet-HOWTO, bug fixes, etc.
Charles P. Wright <cpwright@villagenet.com>
gzip, mini-netcat(nc)
Enrique Zanardi <ezanardi@ull.es>
tarcat (since removed), loadkmap, various fixes, Debian maintenance
Tito Ragusa <farmatito@tiscali.it>
devfsd and size optimizations in strings, openvt and deallocvt.
Paul Fox <pgf@foxharp.boston.ma.us>
vi editing mode for ash, various other patches/fixes
Roberto A. Foglietta <me@roberto.foglietta.name>
port: dnsd
Bernhard Reutner-Fischer <rep.dot.nop@gmail.com>
misc
Mike Frysinger <vapier@gentoo.org>
initial e2fsprogs, printenv, setarch, sum, misc
Jie Zhang <jie.zhang@analog.com>
fixed two bugs in msh and hush (exitcode of killed processes)