How to use Linux whatis command

  • 2021-07-26 09:08:47
  • OfStack

01. Command Overview

The whatis command looks for keywords in a specific database file that contains short descriptions of system commands, and then sends the results to standard output. The lookup content must exactly match the keyword before it can be output. The whatis database file is created using the/usr/sbin/makewhatis command.

02. Command format

whatis [OPTION…] 关键词…

03. Common Options


Usage: whatis [OPTION...]  Keywords ...

 -d, --debug         Output debugging information 
 -v, --verbose        Output detailed warning information 
 -r, --regex         Interpret each keyword as a regular expression 
 -w, --wildcard        Wildcard characters are included in keywords 
 -l, --long          Do not truncate output by terminal width 
 -C, --config-file= Documents    Use this user settings file 
 -L, --locale= Region      Define the locale used for this search 
 -m, --systems= System     use manual pages from other systems
 -M, --manpath= Path      Set the path of the search man page to Path 
 -s, --sections= List , --section= List 
               search only these sections (colon-separated)
 -?, --help         give this help list
   --usage        give a short usage message
 -V, --version       print program version

04. Reference example


[deng@localhost ~]$ whatis ls
ls (1)        -  Column directory contents 
ls (1p)       - list directory contents

[deng@localhost ~]$ whatis cp
cp (1)        -  Copy files and directories 
cp (1p)       - copy files

[deng@localhost ~]$ whatis chown
chown (1)      -  Modify file owners and groups 
chown (1p)      - change the file ownership
chown (2)      - change ownership of a file
chown (3p)      - change owner and group of a file

[deng@localhost ~]$ whatis man
man (1)       -  Formatting and Displaying Online Help Pages 
man (7)       -  Formatting macros for man pages 
man (1p)       - display system documentation
[deng@localhost ~]$ 

If you need to rebuild the database of information about this command, execute the following command:


[root@localhost ~]# makewhatis

Note: Centos 7.5 does not support this command for the time being.


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