busybox

Langue: en

Version: 2008-05-26 (CentOS - 06/07/09)

Section: 1 (Commandes utilisateur)

NAME

BusyBox - The Swiss Army Knife of Embedded Linux

SYNTAX

  BusyBox <function> [arguments...]  # or
 
 
  <function> [arguments...]          # if symlinked
 
 

DESCRIPTION

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 PREFIX. 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 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 PREFIX.

USAGE

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.

COMMON OPTIONS

Most BusyBox commands 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.

COMMANDS

Currently defined functions include:
         [, [[, addgroup, adduser, adjtimex, ar, arping, ash, awk, 
         basename, bbconfig, bunzip2, busybox, bzcat, cal, cat, catv, 
         chattr, chgrp, chmod, chown, chroot, chvt, cksum, clear, cmp, 
         comm, cp, cpio, crond, crontab, cut, date, dc, dd, deallocvt, 
         delgroup, deluser, devfsd, df, diff, dirname, dmesg, dnsd, 
         dos2unix, dpkg, dpkg_deb, du, dumpkmap, dumpleases, e2fsck, echo, 
         ed, eject, env, ether_wake, expr, fakeidentd, false, fbset, 
         fdflush, fdformat, fdisk, find, fold, free, freeramdisk, fsck, 
         fsck_minix, ftpget, ftpput, fuser, getopt, getty, grep, gunzip, 
         gzip, halt, hdparm, head, hexdump, hostid, hostname, httpd, 
         hwclock, id, ifconfig, ifdown, ifup, inetd, init, insmod, 
         install, ip, ipaddr, ipcalc, ipcrm, ipcs, iplink, iproute, 
         iptunnel, kill, killall, klogd, lash, last, length, less, ln, 
         load_policy, loadfont, loadkmap, logger, login, logname, logread, 
         losetup, ls, lsattr, lsmod, lzmacat, makedevs, md5sum, mdev, 
         mesg, mkdir, mke2fs, mkfifo, mkfs_minix, mknod, mkswap, mktemp, 
         modprobe, more, mount, mountpoint, mt, mv, nameif, nc, netstat, 
         nice, nohup, nslookup, od, openvt, passwd, patch, pidof, ping, 
         ping6, pivot_root, poweroff, printenv, printf, ps, pwd, rdate, 
         readlink, readprofile, realpath, reboot, renice, reset, rm, 
         rmdir, rmmod, route, rpm, rpm2cpio, run_parts, runlevel, rx, sed, 
         seq, setarch, setconsole, setkeycodes, setlogcons, setsid, 
         sha1sum, sleep, sort, start_stop_daemon, stat, strings, stty, su, 
         sulogin, sum, swapoff, swapon, switch_root, sync, sysctl, 
         syslogd, tail, tar, tee, telnet, telnetd, test, tftp, time, top, 
         touch, tr, traceroute, true, tty, tune2fs, udhcpc, udhcpd, 
         umount, uname, uncompress, uniq, unix2dos, unlzma, unzip, uptime, 
         usleep, uudecode, uuencode, vconfig, vi, vlock, watch, watchdog, 
         wc, wget, which, who, whoami, xargs, yes, zcat, zcip
 
 

COMMAND DESCRIPTIONS

addgroup
addgroup [-g GID] group_name [user_name]

Adds a group to the system

Options:

         -g GID          specify gid
 
 
adduser
adduser [OPTIONS] user_name

Adds a user to the system

Options:

         -h DIR          Assign home directory DIR
         -g GECOS        Assign gecos field GECOS
         -s SHELL        Assign login shell SHELL
         -G              Add the user to existing group GROUP
         -S              create a system user (ignored)
         -D              Do not assign a password (logins still possible via ssh)
         -H              Do not create the home directory
 
 
adjtimex
adjtimex [-q] [-o offset] [-f frequency] [-p timeconstant] [-t tick]

Reads and optionally sets system timebase parameters. See adjtimex(2).

Options:

         -q              quiet mode - do not print
         -o offset       time offset, microseconds
         -f frequency    frequency adjust, integer kernel units (65536 is 1ppm)
                         (positive values make the system clock run fast)
         -t tick         microseconds per tick, usually 10000
         -p timeconstant
 
 
ar
ar [-o] [-v] [-p] [-t] [-x] ARCHIVE FILES

Extract or list FILES from an ar archive.

Options:

         -o              preserve original dates
         -p              extract to stdout
         -t              list
         -x              extract
         -v              verbosely list files processed
 
 
arping
arping [-fqbDUA] [-c count] [-w timeout] [-i device] [-s sender] target

Ping hosts by ARP requests/replies.

Options:

         -f              Quit on first ARP reply
         -q              Be quiet
         -b              Keep broadcasting, don't go unicast
         -D              Duplicated address detection mode
         -U              Unsolicited ARP mode, update your neighbours
         -A              ARP answer mode, update your neighbours
         -c count        Stop after sending count ARP request packets
         -w timeout      Time to wait for ARP reply, in seconds
         -i device       Outgoing interface name, default is eth0
         -s sender       Set specific sender IP address
         target          Target IP address of ARP request
 
 
ash
ash [FILE]... or: ash -c command [args]...

The ash shell (command interpreter)

awk
awk [OPTION]... [program-text] [FILE ...]

Options:

         -v var=val      assign value 'val' to variable 'var'
         -F sep          use 'sep' as field separator
         -f progname     read program source from file 'progname'
 
 
basename
basename FILE [SUFFIX]

Strips directory path and suffixes from FILE. If specified, also removes any trailing SUFFIX.

Example:

         $ basename /usr/local/bin/foo
         foo
         $ basename /usr/local/bin/
         bin
         $ basename /foo/bar.txt .txt
         bar
 
 
bbconfig
bbconfig    

Print the config file which built busybox

bunzip2
bunzip2 [OPTION]... [FILE]

Uncompress FILE (or standard input if FILE is '-' or omitted).

Options:

         -c      Write output to standard output
         -f      Force
 
 
busybox
busybox

Hello world!

bzcat
bzcat FILE

Uncompress to stdout.

cal
cal [-jy] [[month] year]

Display a calendar.

Options:

         -j      Use julian dates
         -y      Display the entire year
 
 
cat
cat [-u] [FILE]...

Concatenates FILE(s) and prints them to stdout.

Options:

         -u      ignored since unbuffered i/o is always used
 
 

Example:

         $ cat /proc/uptime
         110716.72 17.67
 
 
catv
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
chattr [-R] [-+=AacDdijsStTu] [-v version] files...

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       do not 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
 Options:
 
 
         -R      recursively list subdirectories
         -v      set the file's version/generation number
 
 
chgrp
chgrp [OPTION]... GROUP FILE...

Change the group membership of each FILE to GROUP.

Options:

         -R      Changes files and directories recursively
 
 

Example:

         $ ls -l /tmp/foo
         -r--r--r--    1 andersen andersen        0 Apr 12 18:25 /tmp/foo
         $ chgrp root /tmp/foo
         $ ls -l /tmp/foo
         -r--r--r--    1 andersen root            0 Apr 12 18:25 /tmp/foo
 
 
chmod
chmod [-R] 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.

Options:

         -R      Changes files and directories recursively
 
 

Example:

         $ ls -l /tmp/foo
         -rw-rw-r--    1 root     root            0 Apr 12 18:25 /tmp/foo
         $ chmod u+x /tmp/foo
         $ ls -l /tmp/foo
         -rwxrw-r--    1 root     root            0 Apr 12 18:25 /tmp/foo*
         $ chmod 444 /tmp/foo
         $ ls -l /tmp/foo
         -r--r--r--    1 root     root            0 Apr 12 18:25 /tmp/foo
 
 
chown
chown [ -Rh ]... OWNER[<.|:>[GROUP]] FILE...

Change the owner and/or group of each FILE to OWNER and/or GROUP.

Options:

         -R      Changes files and directories recursively
         -h      Do not dereference symbolic links
 
 

Example:

         $ ls -l /tmp/foo
         -r--r--r--    1 andersen andersen        0 Apr 12 18:25 /tmp/foo
         $ chown root /tmp/foo
         $ ls -l /tmp/foo
         -r--r--r--    1 root     andersen        0 Apr 12 18:25 /tmp/foo
         $ chown root.root /tmp/foo
         ls -l /tmp/foo
         -r--r--r--    1 root     root            0 Apr 12 18:25 /tmp/foo
 
 
chroot
chroot NEWROOT [COMMAND...]

Run COMMAND with root directory set to NEWROOT.

Example:

         $ ls -l /bin/ls
         lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root          12 Apr 13 00:46 /bin/ls -> /BusyBox
         # mount /dev/hdc1 /mnt -t minix
         # chroot /mnt
         # ls -l /bin/ls
         -rwxr-xr-x    1 root     root        40816 Feb  5 07:45 /bin/ls*
 
 
chvt
chvt N

Changes the foreground virtual terminal to /dev/ttyN

cksum
cksum FILES...

Calculates the CRC32 checksums of FILES.

clear
clear    

Clear screen.

cmp
cmp [-l] [-s] FILE1 [FILE2]

Compares FILE1 vs stdin if FILE2 is not specified.

Options:

         -l      Write the byte numbers (decimal) and values (octal)
                   for all differing bytes
         -s      quiet mode - do not print
 
 
comm
comm [-123] FILE1 FILE2

Compares FILE1 to FILE2, or to stdin if = is specified.

Options:

         -1      Suppress lines unique to FILE1
         -2      Suppress lines unique to FILE2
         -3      Suppress lines common to both files
 
 
cp
cp [OPTION]... SOURCE DEST

Copies SOURCE to DEST, or multiple SOURCE(s) to DIRECTORY.

         -a      Same as -dpR
         -d,-P   Preserves links
         -H,-L   Dereference all symlinks (implied by default)
         -p      Preserves file attributes if possible
         -f      force (implied; ignored) - always set
         -i      interactive, prompt before overwrite
         -R,-r   Copies directories recursively
 
 
cpio
cpio -[dimtuv][F cpiofile]

Extract or list files from a cpio archive Main operation mode:

         d               make leading directories
         i               extract
         m               preserve mtime
         t               list
         v               verbose
         u               unconditional overwrite
         F               input from file
 
 
crond
crond -d[#] -c <crondir> -f -b
         -d [#] -l [#] -S -L logfile -f -b -c dir
         -d num  debug level
         -l num  log level (8 - default)
         -S      log to syslogd (default)
         -L file log to file
         -f      run in foreground
         -b      run in background (default)
         -c dir  working dir
 
 
crontab
crontab [-c dir] {file|-}|[-u|-l|-e|-d user]
         file <opts>  replace crontab from file
         -    <opts>  replace crontab from stdin
         -u user      specify user
         -l [user]    list crontab for user
         -e [user]    edit crontab for user
         -d [user]    delete crontab for user
         -c dir       specify crontab directory
 
 
cut
cut [OPTION]... [FILE]...

Prints selected fields from each input FILE to standard output.

Options:

         -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
 
 

Example:

         $ echo "Hello world" | cut -f 1 -d ' '
         Hello
         $ echo "Hello world" | cut -f 2 -d ' '
         world
 
 
date
date [OPTION]... [MMDDhhmm[[CC]YY][.ss]] [+FORMAT]

Displays the current time in the given FORMAT, or sets the system date.

Options:

         -R              Outputs RFC-822 compliant date string
         -d STRING       Displays time described by STRING, not `now'
 USE_FEATURE_DATE_ISOFMT(        B<-I>[TIMESPEC] Outputs an ISO-8601 compliant date/time string
 
 
                         TIMESPEC=`date' (or missing) for date only,
                         `hours', `minutes', or `seconds' for date and,
                         time to the indicated precision
         -D hint         Use 'hint' as date format, via strptime()
 )       B<-s>           Sets time described by STRING
 
 
         -r FILE         Displays the last modification time of FILE
         -u              Prints or sets Coordinated Universal Time
 
 

Example:

         $ date
         Wed Apr 12 18:52:41 MDT 2000
 
 
dc
dc expression ...

This is a Tiny RPN calculator that understands the following operations: +, add, -, sub, *, mul, /, div, %, mod, **, exp, and, or, not, eor. For example: 'dc 2 2 add' -> 4, and 'dc 8 8 \* 2 2 + /' -> 16.

Options: p - Prints the value on the top of the stack, without altering the stack f - Prints the entire contents of the stack without altering anything o - Pops the value off the top of the stack and uses it to set the output radix

     Only 10 and 16 are supported
 
 

Example:

         $ dc 2 2 + p
         4
         $ dc 8 8 \* 2 2 + / p
         16
         $ dc 0 1 and p
         0
         $ dc 0 1 or p
         1
         $ echo 72 9 div 8 mul p | dc
         64
 
 
dd
dd [if=FILE] [of=FILE] `` USE_FEATURE_DD_IBS_OBS(''[ibs=N] [obs=N] ``) ''[bs=N] [count=N] [skip=N]          [seek=N]`` USE_FEATURE_DD_IBS_OBS('' [conv=notrunc|noerror|sync]")

Copy a file, converting and formatting according to options

         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
         USE_FEATURE_DD_IBS_OBS("        ibs=N           read N bytes at a time
 ")      USE_FEATURE_DD_IBS_OBS("        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
         USE_FEATURE_DD_IBS_OBS(         conv=notrunc    don't truncate output file
         conv=noerror    continue after read errors
         conv=sync       pad blocks with zeros
         ) 
 Numbers may be suffixed by c (x1), w (x2), b (x512), kD (x1000), k (x1024),
 MD (x1000000), M (x1048576), GD (x1000000000) or G (x1073741824)
 
 

Example:

         $ dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/ram1 bs=1M count=4
         4+0 records in
         4+0 records out
 
 
deallocvt
deallocvt [N]

Deallocate unused virtual terminal /dev/ttyN

delgroup
delgroup GROUP

Deletes group GROUP from the system

deluser
deluser USER

Deletes user USER from the system

devfsd
devfsd mntpnt [-v]        USE_DEVFSD_FG_NP("[-fg][-np]" )

Optional daemon for managing devfs permissions and old device name symlinks.

Options:

         mntpnt  The mount point where devfs is mounted.
 
 
         -v      Print the protocol version numbers for devfsd
                 and the kernel-side protocol version and exits. USE_DEVFSD_FG_NP( "
 
 
         -fg     Run the daemon in the foreground.
 
 
         -np     Exit  after  parsing  the configuration file
                 and processing synthetic REGISTER events.
                 Do not poll for events.")
 
 
df
df [-`` USE_FEATURE_HUMAN_READABLE(''hm``) ''k] [FILESYSTEM ...]

Print the filesystem space used and space available.

Options:

         USE_FEATURE_HUMAN_READABLE( 
         -h      print sizes in human readable format (e.g., 1K 243M 2G )
         -m      print sizes in megabytes
         -k      print sizes in kilobytes(default)       )       SKIP_FEATURE_HUMAN_READABLE("
         -k      ignored")
 
 

Example:

         $ df
         Filesystem           1k-blocks      Used Available Use% Mounted on
         /dev/sda3              8690864   8553540    137324  98% /
         /dev/sda1                64216     36364     27852  57% /boot
         $ df /dev/sda3
         Filesystem           1k-blocks      Used Available Use% Mounted on
         /dev/sda3              8690864   8553540    137324  98% /
 
 
diff
diff [-abdiNqrTstw] [-L LABEL] [-S FILE] [-U LINES] FILE1 FILE2

Compare files line by line and output the differences between them. This diff implementation only supports unified diffs.

Options:

         -a      Treat all files as text
         -b      Ignore changes in the amount of whitespace
         -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      Recursively compare any subdirectories
         -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
dirname FILENAME

Strips non-directory suffix from FILENAME

Example:

         $ dirname /tmp/foo
         /tmp
         $ dirname /tmp/foo/
         /tmp
 
 
dmesg
dmesg [-c] [-n LEVEL] [-s SIZE]

Prints or controls the kernel ring buffer

Options:

         -c              Clears the ring buffer's contents after printing
         -n LEVEL        Sets console logging level
         -s SIZE         Use a buffer of size SIZE
 
 
dnsd
dnsd [-c config] [-t seconds] [-p port] [-i iface-ip] [-d]

Small and static DNS server daemon

Options:

         -c              config filename
         -t              TTL in seconds
         -p              listening port
         -i              listening iface ip (default all)
         -d              daemonize
 
 
dos2unix
dos2unix [option] [FILE]

Converts FILE from dos format to unix format. When no option is given, the input is converted to the opposite output format. When no file is given, uses stdin for input and stdout for output.

Options:

         -u      output will be in UNIX format
         -d      output will be in DOS format
 
 
dpkg
dpkg [-ilCPru] [-F option] package_name

dpkg is a utility to install, remove and manage Debian packages.

Options:

         -i              Install the package
         -l              List of installed packages
         -C              Configure an unpackaged package
         -F depends      Ignore dependency problems
         -P              Purge all files of a package
         -r              Remove all but the configuration files for a package
         -u              Unpack a package, but don't configure it
 
 
dpkg-deb
dpkg-deb [-cefxX] FILE [argument]

Perform actions on Debian packages (.debs)

Options:

         -c      List contents of filesystem tree
         -e      Extract control files to [argument] directory
         -f      Display control field name starting with [argument]
         -x      Extract packages filesystem tree to directory
         -X      Verbose extract
 
 

Example:

         $ dpkg-deb -X ./busybox_0.48-1_i386.deb /tmp
 
 
du
du [-aHLdclsx`` USE_FEATURE_HUMAN_READABLE(''hm``) ''k] [FILE]...

Summarizes disk space used for each FILE and/or directory. Disk space is printed in units of       USE_FEATURE_DU_DEFAULT_BLOCKSIZE_1K(``1024'')   SKIP_FEATURE_DU_DEFAULT_BLOCKSIZE_1K(``512'') bytes.

Options:

         -a      show sizes of files in addition to directories
         -H      follow symbolic links that are FILE command line args
         -L      follow all symbolic links encountered
         -d N    limit output to directories (and files with -a) of depth < N
         -c      output a grand total
         -l      count sizes many times if hard linked
         -s      display only a total for each argument
         -x      skip directories on different filesystems
         USE_FEATURE_HUMAN_READABLE(     -h      print sizes in human readable format (e.g., 1K 243M 2G )
         -m      print sizes in megabytes
         )       -k      print sizes in kilobytes        USE_FEATURE_DU_DEFAULT_BLOCKSIZE_1K("(default)")
 
 

Example:

         $ du
         16      ./CVS
         12      ./kernel-patches/CVS
         80      ./kernel-patches
         12      ./tests/CVS
         36      ./tests
         12      ./scripts/CVS
         16      ./scripts
         12      ./docs/CVS
         104     ./docs
         2417    .
 
 
dumpkmap
dumpkmap > keymap

Prints out a binary keyboard translation table to standard output.

Example:

         $ dumpkmap > keymap
 
 
dumpleases
dumpleases [-r|-a] [-f LEASEFILE]

Displays the DHCP leases granted by udhcpd.

Options:

         -f,     --file=FILENAME Leases file to load
         -r,     --remaining     Interpret lease times as time remaining
         -a,     --absolute      Interpret lease times as expire time
 
 
e2fsck
e2fsck [-panyrcdfvstDFSV] [-b superblock] [-B blocksize] [-I inode_buffer_blocks] [-P process_inode_size] [-l|-L bad_blocks_file] [-C fd] [-j external_journal] [-E extended-options] device

Check a Linux ext2/ext3 file system.

Options:

         -p      Automatic repair (no questions)
         -n      Make no changes to the filesystem
         -y      Assume 'yes' to all questions
         -c      Check for bad blocks and add them to the badblock list
         -f      Force checking even if filesystem is marked clean
         -v      Be verbose
         -b superblock   Use alternative superblock
         -B blocksize    Force blocksize when looking for superblock
         -j journal      Set location of the external journal
         -l file Add to badblocks list
         -L file Set badblocks list
 
 
echo
echo    USE_FEATURE_FANCY_ECHO("[-neE] ``) ''[ARG ...]

Prints the specified ARGs to stdout

         USE_FEATURE_FANCY_ECHO( Options:
         -n      suppress trailing newline
         -e      interpret backslash-escaped characters (i.e., \t=tab)
         -E      disable interpretation of backslash-escaped characters  )
 
 

Example:

         $ echo "Erik is cool"
         Erik is cool
                 USE_FEATURE_FANCY_ECHO("$  echo -e "Erik\nis\ncool"
         Erik
         is
         cool
         $ echo "Erik\nis\ncool"
         Erik\nis\ncool
         ")
 
 
ed
ed #define ed_full_usage
eject
eject [-t] [DEVICE]

Eject specified DEVICE (or default /dev/cdrom).

Options:

         -t      close tray
 
 
env
env [-iu] [-] [name=value]... [command]

Prints the current environment or runs a program after setting up the specified environment.

Options:

         -, -i   start with an empty environment
         -u      remove variable from the environment
 
 
ether_wake
ether_wake [-b] [-i iface] [-p aa:bb:cc:dd[:ee:ff]] 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.
 
 

Options:

         -b              Send wake-up packet to the broadcast address
         -i iface        Use interface ifname instead of the default "eth0"
         -p pass Append the four or six byte password PW to the packet
 
 
expr
expr EXPRESSION

Prints the value of EXPRESSION to standard output.

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    ARG1 is less than ARG2
         ARG1 <= ARG2    ARG1 is less than or equal to ARG2
         ARG1 =  ARG2    ARG1 is equal to ARG2
         ARG1 != ARG2    ARG1 is unequal to ARG2
         ARG1 >= ARG2    ARG1 is greater than or equal to ARG2
         ARG1 >  ARG2    ARG1 is greater than ARG2
         ARG1 +  ARG2    arithmetic sum of ARG1 and ARG2
         ARG1 -  ARG2    arithmetic difference of ARG1 and ARG2
         ARG1 *  ARG2    arithmetic product of ARG1 and ARG2
         ARG1 /  ARG2    arithmetic quotient of ARG1 divided by ARG2
         ARG1 %  ARG2    arithmetic remainder of ARG1 divided by 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
fakeidentd [-b ip] [STRING]

Returns a set string to auth requests

         -b      Bind to ip address
         STRING  The ident answer string (default is nobody)
 
 
false
false    

Return an exit code of FALSE (1).

Example:

         $ false
         $ echo $?
         1
 
 
fbset
fbset [options] [mode]

Show and modify frame buffer settings

Example:

         $ fbset
         mode "1024x768-76"
                 # D: 78.653 MHz, H: 59.949 kHz, V: 75.694 Hz
                 geometry 1024 768 1024 768 16
                 timings 12714 128 32 16 4 128 4
                 accel false
                 rgba 5/11,6/5,5/0,0/0
         endmode
 
 
fdflush
fdflush DEVICE

Forces floppy disk drive to detect disk change

fdformat
fdformat [-n] DEVICE

Low-level formats a floppy disk

Options:

         -n      Don't verify after format
 
 
fdisk
fdisk [-luv] [-C CYLINDERS] [-H HEADS] [-S SECTORS] [-b SSZ] DISK

Change partition table Options:

         -l  List partition table(s)
         -u  Give Start and End in sector (instead of cylinder) units
         -s PARTITION  Give partition size(s) in blocks
         -b 2048: (for certain MO disks) use 2048-byte sectors
         -C CYLINDERS  Set the number of cylinders
         -H HEADS  Set the number of heads
         -S SECTORS  Set the number of sectors
         -v  Give fdisk version
 
 
find
find [PATH...] [EXPRESSION]

Search for files in a directory hierarchy. The default PATH is the current directory; default EXPRESSION is '-print'

EXPRESSION may consist of:

         -follow         Dereference symbolic links
         -name PATTERN   File name (leading directories removed) matches PATTERN
         -print          Print (default and assumed)
         USE_FEATURE_FIND_PRINT0(        -print0         Delimit output with null characters rather than
                         newlines) USE_FEATURE_FIND_TYPE( 
         -type X         Filetype matches X (where X is one of: f,d,l,b,c,...)) USE_FEATURE_FIND_PERM( 
         -perm PERMS     Permissions match any of (+NNN); all of (-NNN);
                         or exactly (NNN)) USE_FEATURE_FIND_MTIME( 
         -mtime DAYS     Modified time is greater than (+N); less than (-N);
                         or exactly (N) days) USE_FEATURE_FIND_MMIN( 
         -mmin MINS      Modified time is greater than (+N); less than (-N);
                         or exactly (N) minutes) USE_FEATURE_FIND_NEWER( 
         -newer FILE     Modified time is more recent than FILE's) USE_FEATURE_FIND_INUM( 
         -inum N         File has inode number N) USE_FEATURE_FIND_EXEC( 
         -exec CMD       Execute CMD with all instances of {} replaced by the
                         files matching EXPRESSION")
 
 

Example:

         $ find / -name passwd
         /etc/passwd
 
 
fold
fold [-bs] [-w WIDTH] [FILE]

Wrap input lines in each FILE (standard input by default), writing to standard output.

Options:

         -b      count bytes rather than columns
         -s      break at spaces
         -w      use WIDTH columns instead of 80
 
 
free
free    

Displays the amount of free and used system memory

Example:

         $ free
                       total         used         free       shared      buffers
           Mem:       257628       248724         8904        59644        93124
          Swap:       128516         8404       120112
         Total:       386144       257128       129016
 
 
freeramdisk
freeramdisk DEVICE

Frees all memory used by the specified ramdisk.

Example:

         $ freeramdisk /dev/ram2
 
 
fsck
fsck [-ANPRTV] [ -C [ fd ] ] [-t fstype] [fs-options] [filesys ...]

Check and repair filesystems.

Options:

         -A      Walk /etc/fstab and check all filesystems
         -N      Don't execute, just show what would be done
         -P      When using -A, check filesystems in parallel
         -R      When using -A, skip the root filesystem
         -T      Don't show title on startup
         -V      Verbose mode
         -C      Write status information to specified filedescriptor
         -t      List of filesystem types to check
 
 
fsck.minix
fsck.minix [-larvsmf] /dev/name

Performs a consistency check for MINIX filesystems.

Options:

         -l      Lists all filenames
         -r      Perform interactive repairs
         -a      Perform automatic repairs
         -v      verbose
         -s      Outputs super-block information
         -m      Activates MINIX-like "mode not cleared" warnings
         -f      Force file system check
 
 
ftpget
ftpget [options] remote-host local-file remote-file

Retrieve a remote file via FTP.

Options:

         -c, --continue         Continue a previous transfer
         -v, --verbose          Verbose
         -u, --username         Username to be used
         -p, --password         Password to be used
         -P, --port             Port number to be used
 
 
ftpput
ftpput [options] remote-host remote-file local-file

Store a local file on a remote machine via FTP.

Options:

         -v, --verbose          Verbose
         -u, --username         Username to be used
         -p, --password         Password to be used
         -P, --port             Port number to be used
 
 
fuser
fuser [options] file OR port/proto

Options:

         -m         Show all processes on the same mounted fs
         -k         Kill all processes that match.
         -s         Don't print or kill anything.
         -4         When using port/proto only search IPv4 space
         -6         When using port/proto only search IPv6 space
         -SIGNAL    When used with -k, this signal will be used to kill
 
 
getopt
getopt [OPTIONS]...

Parse command options

         -a, --alternative               Allow long options starting with single -
         -l, --longoptions=longopts      Long options to be recognized
         -n, --name=progname             The name under which errors are reported
         -o, --options=optstring Short options to be recognized
         -q, --quiet                     Disable error reporting by getopt(3)
         -Q, --quiet-output              No normal output
         -s, --shell=shell               Set shell quoting conventions
         -T, --test                      Test for getopt(1) version
         -u, --unquoted          Do not quote the output
 
 

Example:

         $ cat getopt.test
         #!/bin/sh
         GETOPT=`getopt -o ab:c:: --long a-long,b-long:,c-long:: \
                -n 'example.busybox' -- "$@"`
         if [ $? != 0 ] ; then  exit 1 ; fi
         eval set -- "$GETOPT"
         while true ; do
          case $1 in
            -a|--a-long) echo "Option a" ; shift ;;
            -b|--b-long) echo "Option b, argument `$2'" ; shift 2 ;;
            -c|--c-long)
              case "$2" in
                "") echo "Option c, no argument"; shift 2 ;;
                *)  echo "Option c, argument `$2'" ; shift 2 ;;
              esac ;;
            --) shift ; break ;;
            *) echo "Internal error!" ; exit 1 ;;
          esac
         done
 
 
getty
getty [OPTIONS]... baud_rate,... line [termtype]

Opens a tty, prompts for a login name, then invokes /bin/login

Options:

         -h              Enable hardware (RTS/CTS) flow control
         -i              Do not display /etc/issue before running login
         -L              Local line, so do not do carrier detect
         -m              Get baud rate from modem's CONNECT status message
         -w              Wait for a CR or LF before sending /etc/issue
         -n              Do not prompt the user for a login name
         -f issue_file   Display issue_file instead of /etc/issue
         -l login_app    Invoke login_app instead of /bin/login
         -t timeout      Terminate after timeout if no username is read
         -I initstring   Sets the init string to send before anything else
         -H login_host   Log login_host into the utmp file as the hostname
 
 
grep
grep [-ihHnqvs  USE_FEATURE_GREP_EGREP_ALIAS(``E'')     USE_FEATURE_GREP_CONTEXT(``ABC'') ] PATTERN [FILEs...]

Search for PATTERN in each FILE or standard input.

Options:

         -H      prefix output lines with filename where match was found
         -h      suppress the prefixing filename on output
         -i      ignore case distinctions
         -l      list names of files that match
         -L      list names of files that do not match
         -n      print line number with output lines
         -q      be quiet. Returns 0 if PATTERN was found, 1 otherwise
         -v      select non-matching lines
         -s      suppress file open/read error messages
         -c      only print count of matching lines
         -f      read PATTERN from file
         -e      PATTERN is a regular expression
         -F      PATTERN is a set of newline-separated strings   USE_FEATURE_GREP_EGREP_ALIAS("
         -E      PATTERN is an extended regular expression")     USE_FEATURE_GREP_CONTEXT("
         -A      print NUM lines of trailing context")   USE_FEATURE_GREP_CONTEXT("
         -B      print NUM lines of leading context")    USE_FEATURE_GREP_CONTEXT("
         -C      print NUM lines of output context")
 
 

Example:

         $ grep root /etc/passwd
         root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
         $ grep ^[rR]oo. /etc/passwd
         root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
 
 
gunzip
gunzip [OPTION]... FILE

Uncompress FILE (or standard input if FILE is '-').

Options:

         -c      Write output to standard output
         -f      Force read when source is a terminal
         -t      Test compressed file integrity
 
 

Example:

         $ ls -la /tmp/BusyBox*
         -rw-rw-r--    1 andersen andersen   557009 Apr 11 10:55 /tmp/BusyBox-0.43.tar.gz
         $ gunzip /tmp/BusyBox-0.43.tar.gz
         $ ls -la /tmp/BusyBox*
         -rw-rw-r--    1 andersen andersen  1761280 Apr 14 17:47 /tmp/BusyBox-0.43.tar
 
 
gzip
gzip [OPTION]... [FILE]...

Compress FILE(s) with maximum compression. When FILE is '-' or unspecified, reads standard input. Implies -c.

Options:

         -c      Write output to standard output instead of FILE.gz
         -d      Decompress
         -f      Force write when destination is a terminal
 
 

Example:

         $ ls -la /tmp/busybox*
         -rw-rw-r--    1 andersen andersen  1761280 Apr 14 17:47 /tmp/busybox.tar
         $ gzip /tmp/busybox.tar
         $ ls -la /tmp/busybox*
         -rw-rw-r--    1 andersen andersen   554058 Apr 14 17:49 /tmp/busybox.tar.gz
 
 
halt
halt [-d<delay>] [-n<nosync>] [-f<force>]

Halt the system. Options:

         -d              delay interval for halting
         -n              no call to sync()
         -f              force halt (don't go through init)
 
 
hdparm
hdparm [options] [device] ..
         USE_FEATURE_HDPARM_GET_IDENTITY("       If no device name is specified try to read from stdin.
 ") 
 Options:
 
 
         -a   get/set fs readahead
         -A   set drive read-lookahead flag (0/1)
         -b   get/set bus state (0 == off, 1 == on, 2 == tristate)
         -B   set Advanced Power Management setting (1-255)
         -c   get/set IDE 32-bit IO setting
         -C   check IDE power mode status
         USE_FEATURE_HDPARM_HDIO_GETSET_DMA("    -d   get/set using_dma flag
 ")      B<-D>   enable/disable drive defect-mgmt
 
 
         -f   flush buffer cache for device on exit
         -g   display drive geometry
         -h   display terse usage information
         USE_FEATURE_HDPARM_GET_IDENTITY("       -i   display drive identification
 ")      USE_FEATURE_HDPARM_GET_IDENTITY("       B<-I>   detailed/current information directly from drive
 ")      B<-k>   get/set keep_settings_over_reset flag (0/1)
 
 
         -K   set drive keep_features_over_reset flag (0/1)
         -L   set drive doorlock (0/1) (removable harddisks only)
         -m   get/set multiple sector count
         -n   get/set ignore-write-errors flag (0/1)
         -p   set PIO mode on IDE interface chipset (0,1,2,3,4,...)
         -P   set drive prefetch count
         -q   change next setting quietly
         -Q   get/set DMA tagged-queuing depth (if supported)
         -r   get/set readonly flag (DANGEROUS to set)
         USE_FEATURE_HDPARM_HDIO_SCAN_HWIF("     -R   register an IDE interface (DANGEROUS)
 ")      B<-S>   set standby (spindown) timeout
 
 
         -t   perform device read timings
         -T   perform cache read timings
         -u   get/set unmaskirq flag (0/1)
         USE_FEATURE_HDPARM_HDIO_UNREGISTER_HWIF("       -U   un-register an IDE interface (DANGEROUS)
 ")      B<-v>   defaults; same as B<-mcudkrag> for IDE drives
 
 
         -V   display program version and exit immediately
         USE_FEATURE_HDPARM_HDIO_DRIVE_RESET("   -w   perform device reset (DANGEROUS)
 ")      B<-W>   set drive write-caching flag (0/1) (DANGEROUS)
 
 
         USE_FEATURE_HDPARM_HDIO_TRISTATE_HWIF(" -x   tristate device for hotswap (0/1) (DANGEROUS)
 ")      B<-X>   set IDE xfer mode (DANGEROUS)
 
 
         -y   put IDE drive in standby mode
         -Y   put IDE drive to sleep
         -Z   disable Seagate auto-powersaving mode
         -z   re-read partition table
 
 
head
head [OPTION]... [FILE]...

Print first 10 lines of each FILE to standard output. With more than one FILE, precede each with a header giving the file name. With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

Options:

         -n NUM          Print first NUM lines instead of first 10       USE_FEATURE_FANCY_HEAD( 
         -c NUM          output the first NUM bytes
         -q              never output headers giving file names
         -v              always output headers giving file names" )
 
 

Example:

         $ head -n 2 /etc/passwd
         root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
         daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/bin/sh
 
 
hexdump
hexdump [-[bcCdefnosvx]] [OPTION] FILE

The hexdump utility is a filter which displays the specified files, or the standard input, if no files are specified, 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 byte
         -v              display all input data
         -x              Two-byte hexadecimal display
 
 
hostid
hostid    

Print out a unique 32-bit identifier for the machine.

hostname
hostname [OPTION] {hostname | -F FILE}

Get or set the hostname or DNS domain name. If a hostname is given (or FILE with the -F parameter), the host name will be set.

Options:

         -s      Short
         -i      Addresses for the hostname
         -d      DNS domain name
         -f      Fully qualified domain name
         -F FILE Use the contents of FILE to specify the hostname
 
 

Example:

         $ hostname
         sage
 
 
httpd
httpd [-c <conf file>]   USE_FEATURE_HTTPD_WITHOUT_INETD(" [-p <port>]``)        USE_FEATURE_HTTPD_SETUID('' [-u user]``) USE_FEATURE_HTTPD_BASIC_AUTH('' [-r <realm>]``) USE_FEATURE_HTTPD_AUTH_MD5('' [-m pass]") [-h home] [-d/-e <string>]

Listens for incoming http server requests.

Options:

         -c FILE         Specifies configuration file. (default httpd.conf)
         USE_FEATURE_HTTPD_WITHOUT_INETD("       -p PORT Server port (default 80)
 ")      USE_FEATURE_HTTPD_SETUID("      B<-u> USER      Set uid to USER after listening privileges port
 ")      USE_FEATURE_HTTPD_BASIC_AUTH("  B<-r> REALM     Authentication Realm for Basic Authentication
 ")      USE_FEATURE_HTTPD_AUTH_MD5("    B<-m> PASS              Crypt PASS with md5 algorithm
 ")      B<-h> HOME      Specifies http HOME directory (default ./)
 
 
         -e STRING       Html encode STRING
         -d STRING       URL decode STRING
 
 
hwclock
hwclock [-r|--show] [-s|--hctosys] [-w|--systohc] [-l|--localtime] [-u|--utc]

Query and set the hardware clock (RTC)

Options:

         -r      read hardware clock and print result
         -s      set the system time from the hardware clock
         -w      set the hardware clock to the current system time
         -u      the hardware clock is kept in coordinated universal time
         -l      the hardware clock is kept in local time
 
 
id
id [OPTIONS]... [USERNAME]

Print information for USERNAME or the current user

Options:

         -Z      prints only the security context
         -g      prints only the group ID
         -u      prints only the user ID
         -n      print a name instead of a number
         -r      prints the real user ID instead of the effective ID
 
 

Example:

         $ id
         uid=1000(andersen) gid=1000(andersen)
 
 
ifconfig
ifconfig [-a] <interface> [<address>]

configure a network interface

Options:

         [add <address>[/<prefixlen>]]
         [del <address>[/<prefixlen>]]
         [[-]broadcast [<address>]]  [[-]pointopoint [<address>]]
         [netmask <address>]  [dstaddr <address>]
         [outfill <NN>] [keepalive <NN>]
         [hw ether <address>]  [metric <NN>]  [mtu <NN>]
         [[-]trailers]  [[-]arp]  [[-]allmulti]
         [multicast]  [[-]promisc]  [txqueuelen <NN>]  [[-]dynamic]
         [mem_start <NN>]  [io_addr <NN>]  [irq <NN>]
         [up|down] ...
 
 
ifdown
ifdown <-ahinv> <ifaces...>

ifdown <options> <ifaces...>

Options:

         -h      this help
         -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 that this option doesn't disable mappings)
         -v      print out what would happen before doing it
         -m      don't run any mappings
         -f      force de/configuration
 
 
ifup
ifup <-ahinv> <ifaces...>

ifup <options> <ifaces...>

Options:

         -h      this help
         -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 that this option doesn't disable mappings)
         -v      print out what would happen before doing it
         -m      don't run any mappings
         -f      force de/configuration
 
 
inetd
inetd [-f] [-q len] [conf]

Listens for network connections and launches programs

Option:

         -f      Run as a foreground progress
         -q      Sets the size of the socket listen queue to
                 the specified value. Default is 128
 
 
init
init    

Init is the parent of all processes.

This version of init is designed to be run only by the kernel.

BusyBox init doesn't support multiple runlevels. The runlevels field of the /etc/inittab file is completely ignored by BusyBox init. If you want runlevels, use sysvinit.

BusyBox init works just fine without an inittab. If no inittab is found, it has the following default behavior:

         ::sysinit:/etc/init.d/rcS
         ::askfirst:/bin/sh
         ::ctrlaltdel:/sbin/reboot
         ::shutdown:/sbin/swapoff -a
         ::shutdown:/bin/umount -a -r
         ::restart:/sbin/init
 
 

if it detects that /dev/console is _not_ a serial console, it will also run:

         tty2::askfirst:/bin/sh
         tty3::askfirst:/bin/sh
         tty4::askfirst:/bin/sh
 
 

If you choose to use an /etc/inittab file, the inittab entry format is as follows:

         <id>:<runlevels>:<action>:<process>
 
 
         <id>:
 
 
                 WARNING: This field has a non-traditional meaning for BusyBox init!
                 The id field is used by BusyBox init to specify the controlling tty for
                 the specified process to run on.  The contents of this field are
                 appended to "/dev/" and used as-is.  There is no need for this field to
                 be unique, although if it isn't you may have strange results.  If this
                 field is left blank, the controlling tty is set to the console.  Also
                 note that if BusyBox detects that a serial console is in use, then only
                 entries whose controlling tty is either the serial console or /dev/null
                 will be run.  BusyBox init does nothing with utmp.  We don't need no
                 stinkin' utmp.
 
 
         <runlevels>:
 
 
                 The runlevels field is completely ignored.
 
 
         <action>:
 
 
                 Valid actions include: sysinit, respawn, askfirst, wait,
                 once, restart, ctrlaltdel, and shutdown.
 
 
                 The available actions can be classified into two groups: actions
                 that are run only once, and actions that are re-run when the specified
                 process exits.
 
 
                 Run only-once actions:
 
 
                         'sysinit' is the first item run on boot.  init waits until all
                         sysinit actions are completed before continuing.  Following the
                         completion of all sysinit actions, all 'wait' actions are run.
                         'wait' actions, like  'sysinit' actions, cause init to wait until
                         the specified task completes.  'once' actions are asynchronous,
                         therefore, init does not wait for them to complete.  'restart' is
                         the action taken to restart the init process.  By default this should
                         simply run /sbin/init, but can be a script which runs pivot_root or it
                         can do all sorts of other interesting things.  The 'ctrlaltdel' init
                         actions are run when the system detects that someone on the system
                        console has pressed the CTRL-ALT-DEL key combination.  Typically one
                        wants to run 'reboot' at this point to cause the system to reboot.
                         Finally the 'shutdown' action specifies the actions to taken when
                        init is told to reboot.  Unmounting filesystems and disabling swap
                        is a very good here
 
 
                 Run repeatedly actions:
 
 
                         'respawn' actions are run after the 'once' actions.  When a process
                         started with a 'respawn' action exits, init automatically restarts
                         it.  Unlike sysvinit, BusyBox init does not stop processes from
                         respawning out of control.  The 'askfirst' actions acts just like
                         respawn, except that before running the specified process it
                         displays the line "Please press Enter to activate this console."
                         and then waits for the user to press enter before starting the
                         specified process.
 
 
                 Unrecognized actions (like initdefault) will cause init to emit an
                 error message, and then go along with its business.  All actions are
                 run in the order they appear in /etc/inittab.
 
 
         <process>:
 
 
                 Specifies the process to be executed and its command line.
 
 

Example /etc/inittab file:

         # This is run first except when booting in single-user mode.
         #
         ::sysinit:/etc/init.d/rcS
 
 
         # /bin/sh invocations on selected ttys
         #
         # Start an "askfirst" shell on the console (whatever that may be)
         ::askfirst:-/bin/sh
         # Start an "askfirst" shell on /dev/tty2-4
         tty2::askfirst:-/bin/sh
         tty3::askfirst:-/bin/sh
         tty4::askfirst:-/bin/sh
 
 
         # /sbin/getty invocations for selected ttys
         #
         tty4::respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty4
         tty5::respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty5
 
 
         # Example of how to put a getty on a serial line (for a terminal)
         #
         #::respawn:/sbin/getty -L ttyS0 9600 vt100
         #::respawn:/sbin/getty -L ttyS1 9600 vt100
         #
         # Example how to put a getty on a modem line.
         #::respawn:/sbin/getty 57600 ttyS2
 
 
         # Stuff to do when restarting the init process
         ::restart:/sbin/init
 
 
         # Stuff to do before rebooting
         ::ctrlaltdel:/sbin/reboot
         ::shutdown:/bin/umount -a -r
         ::shutdown:/sbin/swapoff -a
 
 
insmod
insmod [OPTION]... MODULE [symbol=value]...

Loads the specified kernel modules into the kernel.

Options:

         -f      Force module to load into the wrong kernel version
         -k      Make module autoclean-able
         -v      verbose output
         -q      quiet output
         -L      Lock to prevent simultaneous loads of a module
         -m      Output load map to stdout
         -o NAME Set internal module name to NAME
         -x      do not export externs
 
 
install
install [-cgmops] [sources] <dest|directory>

Copies files and set attributes

Options:

         -c      copy the file, default
         -d      create directories
         -g      set group ownership
         -m      set permission modes
         -o      set ownership
         -p      preserve date
         -s      strip symbol tables
 
 
ip
ip [ OPTIONS ] { address | link | route | tunnel } { COMMAND | help }

ip [ OPTIONS ] OBJECT { COMMAND | help } where OBJECT := { link | addr | route | tunnel } OPTIONS := { -f[amily] { inet | inet6 | link } | -o[neline] }

ipaddr
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
ipcalc [OPTION]... <ADDRESS>[[/]<NETMASK>] [NETMASK]

Calculate IP network settings from a IP address

Options:

         -b      --broadcast     Display calculated broadcast address
         -n      --network       Display calculated network address
         -m      --netmask       Display default netmask for IP  X 
         -p      --prefix        Display the prefix for IP/NETMASK
         -h      --hostname      Display first resolved host name
         -s      --silent        Don't ever display error messages
 
 
ipcrm
ipcrm [-[MQS] key] [-[mqs] id]

The upper-case options MQS are used to remove a shared memory segment by an shmkey value. The lower-case options mqs are used to remove a segment by shmid value.

         -m | -M Remove the memory segment after the last detach
         -q | -Q Remove the message queue
         -s | -S Remove the semaphore
 
 
ipcs
ipcs [[-smq] -i shmid] | [[-asmq] [-tclup]]
         -i      specify a specific resource id
 Resource specification:
 
 
         -m      shared memory segments
         -q      message queues
         -s      semaphore arrays
         -a      all (default)
 Output format:
 
 
         -t      time
         -p      pid
         -s      creator
         -a      limits
         -i      summary
 
 
iplink
iplink

iplink set DEVICE { up | down | arp { on | off } |

                         dynamic { on | off } |
                         mtu MTU }
         iplink show [ DEVICE ]
 
 
iproute
iproute { list | flush | { add | del | change | append |                 replace | monitor } ROUTE }

iproute { list | flush } SELECTOR iproute get ADDRESS [ from ADDRESS iif STRING ]

                         [ oif STRING ]  [ tos TOS ]
         iproute { add | del | change | append | replace | monitor } ROUTE
                         SELECTOR := [ root PREFIX ] [ match PREFIX ] [ proto RTPROTO ]
                         ROUTE := [ TYPE ] PREFIX [ tos TOS ] [ proto RTPROTO ]
 
 
iptunnel
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 ]
 
 
kill
kill [-signal] process-id [process-id ...]

Send a signal (default is SIGTERM) to the specified process(es).

Options:

         -l      List all signal names and numbers
 
 

Example:

         $ ps | grep apache
         252 root     root     S [apache]
         263 www-data www-data S [apache]
         264 www-data www-data S [apache]
         265 www-data www-data S [apache]
         266 www-data www-data S [apache]
         267 www-data www-data S [apache]
         $ kill 252
 
 
killall
killall [-q] [-signal] process-name [process-name ...]

Send a signal (default is SIGTERM) to the specified process(es).

Options:

         -l      List all signal names and numbers
         -q      Do not complain if no processes were killed
 
 

Example:

         $ killall apache
 
 
klogd
klogd [-c n] [-n]

Kernel logger. Options:

         -c n    Sets the default log level of console messages to n
         -n      Run as a foreground process
 
 
lash
lash [FILE]... or: sh -c command [args]...

The BusyBox LAme SHell (command interpreter)

This command does not yet have proper documentation.

Use lash just as you would use any other shell. It properly handles pipes, redirects, job control, can be used as the shell for scripts, and has a sufficient set of builtins to do what is needed. It does not (yet) support Bourne Shell syntax. If you need things like ``if-then-else'', ``while'', and such use ash or bash. If you just need a very simple and extremely small shell, this will do the job.

last
last    

Shows listing of the last users that logged into the system

length
length STRING

Prints out the length of the specified STRING.

Example:

         $ length Hello
         5
 
 
less
less [-EMNmh~?] FILE1 FILE2...

View a file or list of files. The position within files can be changed, and files can be manipulated in various ways with the following options:

         -E      Quit once the end of a file is reached
         -M      Display a status line containing the current line numbers
                 and the percentage through the file
         -N      Prefix line numbers to each line
         -m      Display a status line containing the percentage through the
                 file
         -~      Suppress ~s displayed when input past the end of the file is
                 reached.
         -h, -?  Display this help message
 
 
ln
ln [OPTION] TARGET... LINK_NAME|DIRECTORY

Create a link named LINK_NAME or DIRECTORY to the specified TARGET

You may use '--' to indicate that all following arguments are non-options.

Options:

         -s      make symbolic links instead of hard links
         -f      remove existing destination files
         -n      no dereference symlinks - treat like normal file
         -b      make a backup of the target (if exists) before link operation
         -S suffix       use suffix instead of ~ when making backup files
 
 

Example:

         $ ln -s BusyBox /tmp/ls
         $ ls -l /tmp/ls
         lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            7 Apr 12 18:39 ls -> BusyBox*
 
 
load_policy
load_policy

load SELinux policy

Example:

         $ load_policy /etc/selinux/strict/policy/policy.17
 
 
loadfont
loadfont < font

Loads a console font from standard input.

Example:

         $ loadfont < /etc/i18n/fontname
 
 
loadkmap
loadkmap < keymap

Loads a binary keyboard translation table from standard input.

Example:

         $ loadkmap < /etc/i18n/lang-keymap
 
 
logger
logger [OPTION]... [MESSAGE]

Write MESSAGE to the system log. If MESSAGE is omitted, log stdin.

Options:

         -s      Log to stderr as well as the system log
         -t TAG  Log using the specified tag (defaults to user name)
         -p PRIORITY     Enter the message with the specified priority
                 This may be numerical or a ``facility.level'' pair
 
 

Example:

         $ logger "hello"
 
 
login
login [OPTION]... [username] [ENV=VAR ...]

Begin a new session on the system

Options:

         -f      Do not authenticate (user already authenticated)
         -h      Name of the remote host for this login
         -p      Preserve environment
 
 
logname
logname    

Print the name of the current user.

Example:

         $ logname
         root
 
 
logread
logread [OPTION]...

Shows the messages from syslogd (using circular buffer).

Options:

         -f              output data as the log grows
 
 
losetup
losetup [-od] LOOPDEVICE [FILE]

Associate LOOPDEVICE with FILE, or display current association.

Options:

         -d              Disassociate LOOPDEVICE
         -o OFFSET       Start OFFSET bytes into FILE
 
 

One argument (losetup /dev/loop1) will display the current association (if any), or disassociate it (with -d). The display shows the offset and filename of the file the loop device is currently bound to.

Two arguments (losetup /dev/loop1 file.img) create a new association, with an optional offset (-o 12345). Encryption is not yet supported.

ls
ls [-1AacCdeFilnpLRrSsTtuvwxX`` USE_FEATURE_HUMAN_READABLE(''h``) ''kK] [filenames...]

List directory contents

Options:

         -1      list files in a single column
         -A      do not list implied . and ..
         -a      do not hide entries starting with .
         -C      list entries by columns
         -c      with -l: show ctime
         --color[={always,never,auto}]   to control coloring
         -d      list directory entries instead of contents
         -e      list both full date and full time
         -F      append indicator (one of */=@|) to entries
         -i      list the i-node for each file
         -l      use a long listing format
         -n      list numeric UIDs and GIDs instead of names
         -p      append indicator (one of /=@|) to entries
         -L      list entries pointed to by symbolic links
         -R      list subdirectories recursively
         -r      sort the listing in reverse order
         -S      sort the listing by file size
         -s      list the size of each file, in blocks
         -T NUM  assume Tabstop every NUM columns
         -t      with -l: show modification time
         -u      with -l: show access time
         -v      sort the listing by version
         -w NUM  assume the terminal is NUM columns wide
         -x      list entries by lines instead of by columns
         -X      sort the listing by extension
         USE_FEATURE_HUMAN_READABLE(     -h      print sizes in human readable format (e.g., 1K 243M 2G )
 ")      B<-k>   print security context
 
 
         -K      print security context in long format
 
 
lsattr
lsattr [-Radlv] [files...]

list file attributes on an ext2 fs

Options:

         -R      recursively list subdirectories
         -a      do not hide entries starting with .
         -d      list directory entries instead of contents
         -l      print long flag names
         -v      list the file's version/generation number
 
 
lsmod
lsmod    

List the currently loaded kernel modules.

lzmacat
lzmacat FILE

Uncompress to stdout.

makedevs
makedevs [-d device_table] rootdir

Creates a range of special files as specified in a device table. Device table entries take the form of: <type> <mode> <uid> <gid> <major> <minor> <start> <inc> <count> Where name is the file name, type can be one of:

       f       A regular file
       d       Directory
       c       Character special device file
       b       Block special device file
       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.
 
 

Example:

         For example:
         <name>    <type> <mode><uid><gid><major><minor><start><inc><count>
         /dev         d   755    0    0    -      -      -      -    -
         /dev/console c   666    0    0    5      1      -      -    -
         /dev/null    c   666    0    0    1      3      0      0    -
         /dev/zero    c   666    0    0    1      5      0      0    -
         /dev/hda     b   640    0    0    3      0      0      0    -
         /dev/hda     b   640    0    0    3      1      1      1    15
 
 
         Will Produce:
         /dev
         /dev/console
         /dev/null
         /dev/zero
         /dev/hda
         /dev/hda[0-15]
 
 
md5sum
md5sum [OPTION] [FILEs...]
   or: md5sum [OPTION-c [FILE]

Print or check MD5 checksums.

Options: With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

         -c      check MD5 sums against given list
 
 

The following two options are useful only when verifying checksums:

         -s      don't output anything, status code shows success
         -w      warn about improperly formated MD5 checksum lines
 
 

Example:

         $ md5sum < busybox
         6fd11e98b98a58f64ff3398d7b324003
         $ md5sum busybox
         6fd11e98b98a58f64ff3398d7b324003  busybox
         $ md5sum -c -
         6fd11e98b98a58f64ff3398d7b324003  busybox
         busybox: OK
         ^D
 
 
mdev
mdev [-s]
         -s      Scan /sys and populate /dev during system boot
 
 

Called with no options (via hotplug) it uses environment variables to determine which device to add/remove.

USE_FEATURE_MDEV_CONFIG( The mdev config file contains lines that look like:
  hd[a-z][0-9]* 0:3 660

That's device name (with regex match), uid:gid, and permissions.

         USE_FEATURE_MDEV_EXEC( Optionally, that can be followed (on the same line) by a special character
 and a command line to run after creating/before deleting the corresponding
 device(s).  The environment variable $MDEV indicates the active device node
 (which is useful if it's a regex match).  For example:
 
 
   hdc root:cdrom 660  *ln -s $MDEV cdrom
 
 

The special characters are @ (run after creating), $ (run before deleting), and * (run both after creating and before deleting). The commands run in the /dev directory, and use system() which calls /bin/sh.

         ) Config file parsing stops on the first matching line.  If no config
 entry is matched, devices are created with default 0:0 660.  (Make
 the last line match .* to override this.)
 
 

)

mesg
mesg [y|n]

mesg controls write access to your terminal

         y       Allow write access to your terminal
         n       Disallow write access to your terminal
 
 
mkdir
mkdir [OPTION] DIRECTORY...

Create the DIRECTORY(ies) if they do not already exist

Options:

         -m      set permission mode (as in chmod), not rwxrwxrwx - umask
         -p      no error if existing, make parent directories as needed
 
 

Example:

         $ mkdir /tmp/foo
         $ mkdir /tmp/foo
         /tmp/foo: File exists
         $ mkdir /tmp/foo/bar/baz
         /tmp/foo/bar/baz: No such file or directory
         $ mkdir -p /tmp/foo/bar/baz
 
 
mke2fs
mke2fs [-c|-l filename] [-b block-size] [-f fragment-size] [-g blocks-per-group] [-i bytes-per-inode] [-j] [-J journal-options] [-N number-of-inodes] [-n] [-m reserved-blocks-percentage] [-o creator-os] [-O feature[,...]] [-q] [r fs-revision-level] [-E extended-options] [-v] [-F] [-L volume-label] [-M last-mounted-directory] [-S] [-T filesystem-type] device [blocks-count]
         -b size block size in bytes
         -c      check for bad blocks before creating
         -E opts set extended options
         -f size fragment size in bytes
         -F      force (ignore sanity checks)
         -g num  number of blocks in a block group
         -i ratio        the bytes/inode ratio
         -j      create a journal (ext3)
         -J opts set journal options (size/device)
         -l file read bad blocks list from file
         -L lbl  set the volume label
         -m percent      percent of fs blocks to reserve for admin
         -M dir  set last mounted directory
         -n      do not actually create anything
         -N num  number of inodes to create
         -o os   set the 'creator os' field
         -O features     dir_index/filetype/has_journal/journal_dev/sparse_super
         -q      quiet execution
         -r rev  set filesystem revision
         -S      write superblock and group descriptors only
         -T fs-type      set usage type (news/largefile/largefile4)
         -v      verbose execution
 
 
mkfifo
mkfifo [OPTIONS] name

Creates a named pipe (identical to 'mknod name p')

Options:

         -m      create the pipe using the specified mode (default a=rw)
 
 
mkfs.minix
mkfs.minix [-c | -l filename] [-nXX] [-iXX] /dev/name [blocks]

Make a MINIX filesystem.

Options:

         -c              Check the device for bad blocks
         -n [14|30]      Specify the maximum length of filenames
         -i INODES       Specify the number of inodes for the filesystem
         -l FILENAME     Read the bad blocks list from FILENAME
         -v              Make a Minix version 2 filesystem
 
 
mknod
mknod [OPTIONS] NAME TYPE MAJOR MINOR

Create a special file (block, character, or pipe).

Options:

         -m      create the special file using the specified mode (default a=rw)
 
 

TYPEs include:

         b:      Make a block (buffered) device
         c or u: Make a character (un-buffered) device
         p:      Make a named pipe. MAJOR and MINOR are ignored for named pipes
 
 

Example:

         $ mknod /dev/fd0 b 2 0
         $ mknod -m 644 /tmp/pipe p
 
 
mkswap
mkswap [-c] [-v0|-v1] device [block-count]

Prepare a disk partition to be used as a swap partition.

Options:

         -c              Check for read-ability
         -v0             Make version 0 swap [max 128 Megs]
         -v1             Make version 1 swap [big!] (default for kernels >
                         2.1.117)
         block-count     Number of block to use (default is entire partition)
 
 
mktemp
mktemp [-dq] TEMPLATE

Creates a temporary file with its name based on TEMPLATE. TEMPLATE is any name with six `Xs' (i.e., /tmp/temp.XXXXXX).

Options:

         -d              Make a directory instead of a file
         -q              Fail silently if an error occurs
 
 

Example:

         $ mktemp /tmp/temp.XXXXXX
         /tmp/temp.mWiLjM
         $ ls -la /tmp/temp.mWiLjM
         -rw-------    1 andersen andersen        0 Apr 25 17:10 /tmp/temp.mWiLjM
 
 
modprobe
modprobe [-knqrsv] MODULE [symbol=value ...]

Options:

         -k      Make module autoclean-able
         -n      Just show what would be done
         -q      Quiet output
         -r      Remove module (stacks) or do autoclean
         -s      Report via syslog instead of stderr
         -v      Verbose output
 
 

modprobe can (un)load a stack of modules, passing each module options (when loading). modprobe uses a configuration file to determine what option(s) to pass each module it loads.

The configuration file is searched (in order) amongst:

     /etc/modprobe.conf (2.6 only)
     /etc/modules.conf
     /etc/conf.modules (deprecated)
 
 

They all have the same syntax (see below). If none is present, it is _not_ an error; each loaded module is then expected to load without options. Once a file is found, the others are tested for.

/etc/modules.conf entry format:

   alias <alias_name> <mod_name>
     Makes it possible to modprobe alias_name, when there is no such module.
     It makes sense if your mod_name is long, or you want a more representative
     name for that module (eg. 'scsi' in place of 'aha7xxx').
     This makes it also possible to use a different set of options (below) for
     the module and the alias.
     A module can be aliased more than once.
 
 
   options <mod_name|alias_name> <symbol=value ...>
     When loading module mod_name (or the module aliased by alias_name), pass
     the "symbol=value" pairs as option to that module.
 
 

Sample /etc/modules.conf file:

   options tulip irq=3
   alias tulip tulip2
   options tulip2 irq=4 io=0x308
 
 

Other functionality offered by 'classic' modprobe is not available in this implementation.

If module options are present both in the config file, and on the command line, then the options from the command line will be passed to the module _after_ the options from the config file. That way, you can have defaults in the config file, and override them for a specific usage from the command line.

Example:

         (with the above /etc/modules.conf):
 
 
         $ modprobe tulip
            will load the module 'tulip' with default option 'irq=3'
 
 
         $ modprobe tulip irq=5
            will load the module 'tulip' with option 'irq=5', thus overriding the default
 
 
         $ modprobe tulip2
            will load the module 'tulip' with default options 'irq=4 io=0x308',
            which are the default for alias 'tulip2'
 
 
         $ modprobe tulip2 irq=8
            will load the module 'tulip' with default options 'irq=4 io=0x308 irq=8',
            which are the default for alias 'tulip2' overridden by the option 'irq=8'
 
 
            from the command line
 
 
         $ modprobe tulip2 irq=2 io=0x210
            will load the module 'tulip' with default options 'irq=4 io=0x308 irq=4 io=0x210',
            which are the default for alias 'tulip2' overridden by the options 'irq=2 io=0x210'
 
 
            from the command line
 
 
more
more [FILE ...]

More is a filter for viewing FILE one screenful at a time.

Example:

         $ dmesg | more
 
 
mount
mount [flags] DEVICE NODE [-o options,more-options]

Mount a filesystem. Filesystem autodetection requires /proc be mounted.

Flags:

         -a:             Mount all filesystems in fstab
         -f:             "Fake" Add entry to mount table but don't mount it
         -n:             Don't write a mount table entry
         -o option:      One of many filesystem options, listed below
         -r:             Mount the filesystem read-only
         -t fs-type:     Specify the filesystem type
         -w:             Mount for reading and writing (default)
 
 

Options for use with the "-o" flag:

         async/sync:     Writes are asynchronous / synchronous
         atime/noatime:  Enable / disable updates to inode access times
         dev/nodev:      Allow use of special device files / disallow them
         exec/noexec:    Allow use of executable files / disallow them
         loop:            Ignored (loop devices are autodetected)
         suid/nosuid:    Allow set-user-id-root programs / disallow them
         remount:        Re-mount a mounted filesystem, changing its flags
         ro/rw:          Mount for read-only / read-write
         bind:           Bind a directory to an additional location
         move:           Relocate an existing mount point.
 
 

There are EVEN MORE flags that are specific to each filesystem You'll have to see the written documentation for those filesystems

Returns 0 for success, number of failed mounts for -a, or errno for one mount.

Example:

         $ mount
         /dev/hda3 on / type minix (rw)
         proc on /proc type proc (rw)
         devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw)
         $ mount /dev/fd0 /mnt -t msdos -o ro
         $ mount /tmp/diskimage /opt -t ext2 -o loop
         $ mount cd_image.iso mydir
 
 
mountpoint
mountpoint [-q] <[-d] DIR | -x DEVICE>

mountpoint checks if the directory is a mountpoint

Options:

         -q:             Be more quiet
         -d:             Print major/minor device number of the filesystem
         -x:             Print major/minor device number of the blockdevice
 
 

Example:

         $ mountpoint /proc
         /proc is not a mountpoint
         $ mountpoint /sys
         /sys is a mountpoint
 
 
mt
mt [-f device] opcode value

Control magnetic tape drive operation

Available Opcodes:

bsf bsfm bsr bss datacompression drvbuffer eof eom erase fsf fsfm fsr fss load lock mkpart nop offline ras1 ras2 ras3 reset retension rewind rewoffline seek setblk setdensity setpart tell unload unlock weof wset

mv
mv [OPTION]... SOURCE DEST or: mv [OPTION]... SOURCE... DIRECTORY

Rename SOURCE to DEST, or move SOURCE(s) to DIRECTORY.

Options:

         -f      don't prompt before overwriting
         -i      interactive, prompt before overwrite
 
 

Example:

         $ mv /tmp/foo /bin/bar
 
 
nameif
nameif [-s] [-c FILE] [{IFNAME MACADDR}]

Nameif renaming network interface while it in the down state.

Options:

         -c FILE         Use configuration file (default is /etc/mactab)
         -s              Use syslog (LOCAL0 facility)
         IFNAME MACADDR  new_interface_name interface_mac_address
 
 

Example:

         $ nameif -s dmz0 00:A0:C9:8C:F6:3F
          or
         $ nameif -c /etc/my_mactab_file
 
 
nc
nc [OPTIONS] [IP] [port]

Netcat opens a pipe to IP:port

Options:

         -l              listen mode, for inbound connects
         -p PORT         local port number
         -i SECS         delay interval for lines sent
         -e PROG         program to exec after connect (dangerous!)
         -w SECS         timeout for connects and final net reads
 
 

Example:

         $ nc foobar.somedomain.com 25
         220 foobar ESMTP Exim 3.12 #1 Sat, 15 Apr 2000 00:03:02 -0600
         help
         214-Commands supported:
         214-    HELO EHLO MAIL RCPT DATA AUTH
         214     NOOP QUIT RSET HELP
         quit
         221 foobar closing connection
 
 
netstat
netstat [-laenrtuwx]

Netstat displays Linux networking information.

Options:

         -l display listening server sockets
         -a display all sockets (default: connected)
         -e display other/more information
         -n don't resolve names
         -r display routing table
         -t tcp sockets
         -u udp sockets
         -w raw sockets
         -x unix sockets
 
 
nice
nice [-n ADJUST] [COMMAND [ARG] ...]

Nice runs a program with modified scheduling priority.

Options:

         -n ADJUST       Adjust the scheduling priority by ADJUST
 
 
nohup
nohup COMMAND [ARGS]

run a command immune to hangups, with output to a non-tty

Example:

         $ nohup make &
 
 
nslookup
nslookup [HOST] [SERVER]

Queries the nameserver for the IP address of the given HOST optionally using a specified DNS server

Example:

         $ nslookup localhost
         Server:     default
         Address:    default
 
 
         Name:       debian
         Address:    127.0.0.1
 
 
od
od [-aBbcDdeFfHhIiLlOovXx] [FILE]

Write an unambiguous representation, octal bytes by default, of FILE to standard output. With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

openvt
openvt <vtnum> <COMMAND> [ARGS...]

Start a command on a new virtual terminal

Example:

         openvt 2 /bin/ash
 
 
passwd
passwd [OPTION] [name]

Change a user password. If no name is specified, changes the password for the current user. Options:

         -a      Define which algorithm shall be used for the password
                         (Choices: des, md5      PASSWORD_ALG_TYPES(", sha1") )
         -d      Delete the password for the specified user account
         -l      Locks (disables) the specified user account
         -u      Unlocks (re-enables) the specified user account
 
 
patch
patch [-p<num>] [-i <diff>]
         -p <num>        Strip <num> leading components from file names
         -i <diff>       Read <diff> instead of stdin
 
 

Example:

         $ patch -p1 < example.diff
         $ patch -p0 -i example.diff
 
 
pidof
pidof process-name [OPTION] [process-name ...]

Lists the PIDs of all processes with names that match the names on the command line.

         USAGE_PIDOF 
         -s              display only a single PID
         -o              omit given pid.
                         Use %PPID to omit the parent pid of pidof itself
 
 

Example:

         $ pidof init
         1
         $ pidof /bin/sh
         20351 5973 5950
         $ pidof /bin/sh -o %PPID
         20351 5950
 
 
ping
ping [OPTION]... host

Send ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets to network hosts.

Options:

         -c COUNT        Send only COUNT pings
         -s SIZE         Send SIZE data bytes in packets (default=56)
         -q              Quiet mode, only displays output at start
                         and when finished
 
 

Example:

         $ ping localhost
         PING slag (127.0.0.1): 56 data bytes
         64 bytes from 127.0.0.1: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=20.1 ms
 
 
         --- debian ping statistics ---
         1 packets transmitted, 1 packets received, 0% packet loss
         round-trip min/avg/max = 20.1/20.1/20.1 ms
 
 
ping6
ping6 [OPTION]... host

Send ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets to network hosts.

Options:

         -c COUNT        Send only COUNT pings
         -s SIZE         Send SIZE data bytes in packets (default=56)
         -q              Quiet mode, only displays output at start
                         and when finished
 
 

Example:

         $ ping6 ip6-localhost
         PING ip6-localhost (::1): 56 data bytes
         64 bytes from ::1: icmp6_seq=0 ttl=64 time=20.1 ms
 
 
         --- ip6-localhost ping statistics ---
         1 packets transmitted, 1 packets received, 0% packet loss
         round-trip min/avg/max = 20.1/20.1/20.1 ms
 
 
pivot_root
pivot_root NEW_ROOT PUT_OLD

Move the current root file system to PUT_OLD and make NEW_ROOT the new root file system.

poweroff
poweroff [-d<delay>] [-n<nosync>] [-f<force>]

Halt and shut off power. Options:

         -d              delay interval for halting
         -n              no call to sync()
         -f              force power off (don't go through init)
 
 
printenv
printenv [VARIABLES...]

print all or part of environment

If no environment VARIABLE specified, print them all.

printf
printf FORMAT [ARGUMENT...]

Formats and prints ARGUMENT(s) according to FORMAT, Where FORMAT controls the output exactly as in C printf.

Example:

         $ printf "Val=%d\n" 5
         Val=5
 
 
ps
ps    

Report process status

         USAGE_PS 
         -Z      show SE Linux context
         w       wide output
 
 

Example:

         $ ps
           PID  Uid      Gid State Command
             1 root     root     S init
             2 root     root     S [kflushd]
             3 root     root     S [kupdate]
             4 root     root     S [kpiod]
             5 root     root     S [kswapd]
           742 andersen andersen S [bash]
           743 andersen andersen S -bash
           745 root     root     S [getty]
          2990 andersen andersen R ps
 
 
pwd
pwd    

Print the full filename of the current working directory.

Example:

         $ pwd
         /root
 
 
rdate
rdate [-sp] HOST

Get and possibly set the system date and time from a remote HOST.

Options:

         -s      Set the system date and time (default)
         -p      Print the date and time
 
 
readlink
readlink [-f] FILE

Displays the value of a symbolic link.

Options:

         -f      canonicalize by following all symlinks
 
 
readprofile
readprofile [OPTIONS]...

Options:

          -m <mapfile>  (default: /boot/System.map)
          -p <profile>  (default: /proc/profile)
          -M <mult>     set the profiling multiplier to <mult>
          -i            print only info about the sampling step
          -v            print verbose data
          -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
realpath pathname ...

Returns the absolute pathnames of given argument.

reboot
reboot [-d<delay>] [-n<nosync>] [-f<force>]

Reboot the system. Options:

         -d              delay interval for rebooting
         -n              no call to sync()
         -f              force reboot (don't go through init)
 
 
renice
renice {{-n INCREMENT} | PRIORITY} [[ -p | -g | -u ] ID ...]

Changes priority of running processes.

Options:

         -n      adjusts 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    

Resets the screen.

rm
rm [OPTION]... FILE...

Remove (unlink) the FILE(s). You may use '--' to indicate that all following arguments are non-options.

Options:

         -i              always prompt before removing each destination
         -f              remove existing destinations, never prompt
         -r or -R        remove the contents of directories recursively
 
 

Example:

         $ rm -rf /tmp/foo
 
 
rmdir
rmdir [OPTION]... DIRECTORY...

Remove the DIRECTORY(ies), if they are empty.

Example:

         # rmdir /tmp/foo
 
 
rmmod
rmmod [OPTION]... [MODULE]...

Unloads the specified kernel modules from the kernel.

Options:

         -a      Remove all unused modules (recursively)
 
 

Example:

         $ rmmod tulip
 
 
route
route [{add|del|delete}]

Edit the kernel's routing tables.

Options:

         -n              Dont resolve names
         -e              Display other/more information
         -A inet{6}      Select address family
 
 
rpm
rpm -i -q[ildc]p package.rpm

Manipulates RPM packages

Options:

         -i Install package
         -q Query package
         -p Query uninstalled package
         -i Show information
         -l List contents
         -d List documents
         -c List config files
 
 
rpm2cpio
rpm2cpio package.rpm

Outputs a cpio archive of the rpm file.

run-parts
run-parts [-t] [-a ARG] [-u MASK] DIRECTORY

Run a bunch of scripts in a directory.

Options:

         -t      Prints what would be run, but does not actually run anything
         -a ARG  Pass ARG as an argument for every program invoked
         -u MASK Set the umask to MASK before executing every program
 
 
runlevel
runlevel [utmp]

Example:

         $ runlevel /var/run/utmp
         N 2
 
 
rx
rx FILE

Receive a file using the xmodem protocol.

Example:

         $ rx /tmp/foo
 
 
sed
sed [-efinr] pattern [files...]

Options:

         -e script       add the script to the commands to be executed
         -f scriptfile   add script-file contents to the
                         commands to be executed
         -i              edit files in-place
         -n              suppress automatic printing of pattern space
         -r              use extended regular expression syntax
 
 

If no -e or -f is given, the first non-option argument is taken as the sed script to interpret. All remaining arguments are names of input files; if no input files are specified, then the standard input is read. Source files will not be modified unless -i option is given.

Example:

         $ echo "foo" | sed -e 's/f[a-zA-Z]o/bar/g'
         bar
 
 
seq
seq [first [increment]] last

Print numbers from FIRST to LAST, in steps of INCREMENT. FIRST, INCREMENT default to 1 Arguments:

         LAST
         FIRST   LAST
         FIRST   INCREMENT       LAST
 
 
setarch
setarch <personality> <program> [args ...]

Personality may be:

         linux32 Set 32bit uname emulation
         linux64 Set 64bit uname emulation
 
 
setconsole
setconsole [-r|--reset] [DEVICE]

Redirects system console output to DEVICE (default: /dev/tty).

Options:

         -r      Reset output to /dev/console.
 
 
setkeycodes
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

Example:

         $ setkeycodes e030 127
 
 
setlogcons
setlogcons N

Redirects the kernel output to console N (0 for current).

setsid
setsid program [arg ...]

Runs any program in a new session by calling setsid() before exec'ing the rest of its arguments. See setsid(2) for details.

sha1sum
sha1sum [OPTION] [FILEs...]
   or: sha1sum [OPTION-c [FILE]

Print or check SHA1 checksums.

Options: With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

         -c      check SHA1 sums against given list
 
 

The following two options are useful only when verifying checksums:

         -s      don't output anything, status code shows success
         -w      warn about improperly formated SHA1 checksum lines
 
 
sleep
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.
 
 

Example:

         $ sleep 2
         [2 second delay results]
         $ sleep 1d 3h 22m 8s
         [98528 second delay results]
 
 
sort
sort [-nrugMcszbdfimSTokt] [-o outfile] [-k start[.offset][opts][,end[.offset][opts]] [-t char] [FILE]...

Sorts lines of text in the specified files

Options:

         -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      specify sort key
         -M      sort month
         -n      sort numbers
         -o      output to file
         -k      sort by key
         -t      use key separator other than whitespace
         -r      reverse sort order
         -s      stable (don't sort ties alphabetically)
         -u      suppress duplicate lines
         -z      input terminated by nulls, not newlines
         -mST    ignored for GNU compatibility
 
 

Example:

         $ echo -e "e\nf\nb\nd\nc\na" | sort
         a
         b
         c
         d
         e
         f
         $ echo -e "c 3\nb 2\nd 2" | $SORT -k 2,2n -k 1,1r
         d 2
         b 2
         c 3
 
 
start-stop-daemon
start-stop-daemon [OPTIONS] [--start|--stop] ... [-- arguments...]

Program to start and stop services.

Options:

         -S|--start                      start
         -K|--stop                       stop
         -a|--startas <pathname>         starts process specified by pathname
         -b|--background                 force process into background
         -u|--user <username>|<uid>      stop this user's processes
         -x|--exec <executable>          program to either start or check
         -m|--make-pidfile <filename>    create the -p file and enter pid in it
         -n|--name <process-name>        stop processes with this name
         -p|--pidfile <pid-file>         save or load pid using a pid-file
         -q|--quiet                      be quietUSE_FEATURE_START_STOP_DAEMON_FANCY( 
         -o|--oknodo                     exit status 0 if nothing done
         -v|--verbose                    be verbose) 
         -s|--signal <signal>            signal to send (default TERM)
 
 
stat
stat [OPTION] FILE...

display file (default) or filesystem status.

Options:

         -c fmt  use the specified format
         -f      display filesystem status
         -L,-l   dereference 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   Quoted file name with dereference if symbolic link
   %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 transfers)
   %S   Fundamental block size (for block counts)
   %t   Type in hex
   %T   Type in human readable form
 
 
strings
strings [-afo] [-n length] [file ... ]

Display printable strings in a binary file.

Options:

         -a      Scan the whole files (this is the default).
         -f      Precede each string with the name of the file where it was found.
         -n N    Specifies that at least N characters forms a sequence (default 4)
         -o      Each string is preceded by its decimal offset in the file
 
 
stty
stty [-a|g] [-F DEVICE] [SETTING]...

Without arguments, prints baud rate, line discipline, and deviations from stty sane.

Options:

         -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
su [OPTION]... [-] [username]

Change user id or become root. Options:

         -p, -m  Preserve environment
         -c      Command to pass to 'sh -c'
         -s      Shell to use instead of default shell
 
 
sulogin
sulogin [OPTION]... [tty-device]

Single user login Options:

         -f      Do not authenticate (user already authenticated)
         -h      Name of the remote host for this login
         -p      Preserve environment
 
 
sum
sum [rs] [files...]

checksum and count the blocks in a file

Options:

         -r      use BSD sum algorithm (1K blocks)
         -s      use System V sum algorithm (512byte blocks)
 
 
swapoff
swapoff [-a] [DEVICE]

Stop swapping virtual memory pages on DEVICE.

Options:

         -a      Stop swapping on all swap devices
 
 
swapon
swapon [-a] [DEVICE]

Start swapping virtual memory pages on DEVICE.

Options:

         -a      Start swapping on all swap devices
 
 
switch_root
switch_root [-c /dev/console] NEW_ROOT NEW_INIT [ARGUMENTS_TO_INIT]

Use from PID 1 under initramfs to free initramfs, chroot to NEW_ROOT, and exec NEW_INIT.

Options:

         -c      Redirect console to device on new root
 
 
sync
sync    

Write all buffered filesystem blocks to disk.

sysctl
sysctl [OPTIONS]... [VALUE]...

configure kernel parameters at runtime

Options:

         -n      Use this option to disable printing of the key name when printing values
         -w      Use this option when you want to change a sysctl setting
         -p      Load in sysctl settings from the file specified or /etc/sysctl.conf if none given
         -a      Display all values currently available
         -A      Display all values currently available in table form
 
 

Example:

         sysctl [-n] variable ...
         sysctl [-n] -w variable=value ...
         sysctl [-n] -a
         sysctl [-n] -p <file>   (default /etc/sysctl.conf)
         sysctl [-n] -A
 
 
syslogd
syslogd [OPTION]...

Linux system and kernel logging utility. Note that this version of syslogd ignores /etc/syslog.conf.

Options:

         -m MIN          Minutes between MARK lines (default=20, 0=off)
         -n              Run as a foreground process
         -O FILE         Use an alternate log file (default=/var/log/messages)
         -S              Make logging output smaller.
         -s SIZE         Max size (KB) before rotate (default=200KB, 0=off)
         -b NUM          Number of rotated logs to keep (default=1, max=99, 0=purge)
         -R HOST[:PORT]  Log to IP or hostname on PORT (default PORT=514/UDP)
         -L              Log locally and via network logging (default is network only)
         -C [size(KiB)]  Log to a circular buffer (read the buffer using logread)
 
 

Example:

         $ syslogd -R masterlog:514
         $ syslogd -R 192.168.1.1:601
 
 
tail
tail [OPTION]... [FILE]...

Print last 10 lines of each FILE to standard output. With more than one FILE, precede each with a header giving the file name. With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

Options:

         -c N[kbm]       output the last N bytes
         -n N[kbm]       print last N lines instead of last 10
         -f              output data as the file grows
         -q              never output headers giving file names
         -s SEC          wait SEC seconds between reads with -f
         -v              always output headers giving file names
 
 

If the first character of N (bytes or lines) is a '+', output begins with the Nth item from the start of each file, otherwise, print the last N items in the file. N bytes may be suffixed by k (x1024), b (x512), or m (1024^2).

Example:

         $ tail -n 1 /etc/resolv.conf
         nameserver 10.0.0.1
 
 
tar
tar -[czjaZxtvO] [-X FILE][-f TARFILE] [-C DIR] [FILE(s)] ...

Create, extract, or list files from a tar file.

Options:

         c               create
         x               extract
         t               list
 
 

Archive format selection:

         z               Filter the archive through gzip
         j               Filter the archive through bzip2
         a               Filter the archive through lzma
         Z               Filter the archive through compress
 
 

File selection:

         f               name of TARFILE or "-" for stdin
         O               extract to stdout
         exclude         file to exclude
         X               file with names to exclude
         C               change to directory DIR before operation
         v               verbosely list files processed
 
 

Example:

         $ zcat /tmp/tarball.tar.gz | tar -xf -
         $ tar -cf /tmp/tarball.tar /usr/local
 
 
tee
tee [OPTION]... [FILE]...

Copy standard input to each FILE, and also to standard output.

Options:

         -a      append to the given FILEs, do not overwrite
         -i      ignore interrupt signals (SIGINT)
 
 

Example:

         $ echo "Hello" | tee /tmp/foo
         $ cat /tmp/foo
         Hello
 
 
telnet
telnet HOST [PORT]

Telnet is used to establish interactive communication with another computer over a network using the TELNET protocol.

telnetd
telnetd [OPTION]

Telnetd listens for incoming TELNET connections on PORT. Options:

         -p PORT listen for connections on PORT (default 23)
         -l LOGIN        exec LOGIN on connect (default /bin/sh)
         -f issue_file   Display issue_file instead of /etc/issue
 
 
test
test EXPRESSION
  or   [ EXPRESSION ]

Checks file types and compares values returning an exit code determined by the value of EXPRESSION.

Example:

         $ test 1 -eq 2
         $ echo $?
         1
         $ test 1 -eq 1
         $ echo $?
         0
         $ [ -d /etc ]
         $ echo $?
         0
         $ [ -d /junk ]
         $ echo $?
         1
 
 
tftp
tftp [OPTION]... HOST [PORT]

Transfers a file from/to a tftp server using ``octet'' mode.

Options:

         -l FILE Local FILE
         -r FILE Remote FILE
         -g      Get file
         -p      Put file
         -b SIZE Transfer blocks of SIZE octets
 
 
time
time [OPTION]... COMMAND [ARGS...]

Runs the program COMMAND with arguments ARGS. When COMMAND finishes, COMMAND's resource usage information is displayed

Options:

         -v      Displays verbose resource usage information
 
 
top
top [-d <seconds>]

top provides an view of processor activity in real time. This utility reads the status for all processes in /proc each <seconds> and shows the status for however many processes will fit on the screen. This utility will not show processes that are started after program startup, but it will show the EXIT status for and PIDs that exit while it is running.

touch
touch [-c] FILE [FILE ...]

Update the last-modified date on the given FILE[s].

Options:

         -c      Do not create any files
 
 

Example:

         $ ls -l /tmp/foo
         /bin/ls: /tmp/foo: No such file or directory
         $ touch /tmp/foo
         $ ls -l /tmp/foo
         -rw-rw-r--    1 andersen andersen        0 Apr 15 01:11 /tmp/foo
 
 
tr
tr [-cds] STRING1 [STRING2]

Translate, squeeze, and/or delete characters from standard input, writing to standard output.

Options:

         -c      take complement of STRING1
         -d      delete input characters coded STRING1
         -s      squeeze multiple output characters of STRING2 into one character
 
 

Example:

         $ echo "gdkkn vnqkc" | tr [a-y] [b-z]
         hello world
 
 
traceroute
traceroute [-FIldnrv] [-f 1st_ttl] [-m max_ttl] [-p port#] [-q nqueries]         [-s src_addr] [-t tos] [-w wait] [-g gateway] [-i iface]
        [-z pausemsecs] host [data size]

trace the route ip packets follow going to ``host'' Options:

         -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 hop addresses numerically rather than symbolically
         -r      Bypass the normal routing tables and send directly to a host
         -v      Verbose output
         -m max_ttl      Set the max time-to-live (max number of hops)
         -p port#        Set the base UDP port number used in probes
                 (default is 33434)
         -q nqueries     Set the number of probes per ``ttl'' to nqueries
                 (default is 3)
         -s src_addr     Use the following IP address as the source address
         -t tos  Set the type-of-service in probe packets to the following value
                 (default 0)
         -w wait Set the time (in seconds) to wait for a response to a probe
                 (default 3 sec)
         -g      Specify a loose source route gateway (8 maximum)
 
 
true
true    

Return an exit code of TRUE (0).

Example:

         $ true
         $ echo $?
         0
 
 
tty
tty    

Print the file name of the terminal connected to standard input.

Options:

         -s      print nothing, only return an exit status
 
 

Example:

         $ tty
         /dev/tty2
 
 
tune2fs
tune2fs [-c max-mounts-count] [-e errors-behavior] [-g group] [-i interval[d|m|w]] [-j] [-J journal-options] [-l] [-s sparse-flag] [-m reserved-blocks-percent] [-o [^]mount-options[,...]] [-r reserved-blocks-count] [-u user] [-C mount-count] [-L volume-label] [-M last-mounted-dir] [-O [^]feature[,...]] [-T last-check-time] [-U UUID] device

Adjust filesystem options on ext[23] filesystems.

udhcpc
udhcpc [-Cfbnqtv] [-c CID] [-V VCLS] [-H HOSTNAME] [-i INTERFACE] [-p pidfile] [-r IP] [-s script]
         -c,     --clientid=CLIENTID     Set client identifier
         -C,     --clientid-none Suppress default client identifier
         -V,     --vendorclass=CLASSID   Set vendor class identifier
         -H,     --hostname=HOSTNAME     Client hostname
         -h,                             Alias for -H
         -f,     --foreground    Do not fork after getting lease
         -b,     --background    Fork to background if lease cannot be immediately negotiated
         -i,     --interface=INTERFACE   Interface to use (default: eth0)
         -n,     --now   Exit with failure if lease cannot be immediately negotiated
         -p,     --pidfile=file  Store process ID of daemon in file
         -q,     --quit  Quit after obtaining lease
         -r,     --request=IP    IP address to request (default: none)
         -s,     --script=file   Run file at dhcp events (default: /usr/share/udhcpc/default.script)
         -t,     --retries=NUM   Send up to NUM request packets
         -v,     --version       Display version
 
 
udhcpd
udhcpd [configfile]
umount
umount [flags] FILESYSTEM|DIRECTORY

Unmount file systems

Flags:

         -a      Unmount all file systems in /etc/mtab
         -n      Don't erase /etc/mtab entries
         -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      Do not free loop device (if a loop device has been used)
 
 

Example:

         $ umount /dev/hdc1
 
 
uname
uname [OPTION]...

Print certain system information. With no OPTION, same as -s.

Options:

         -a      print all information
         -m      the machine (hardware) type
         -n      print the machine's network node hostname
         -r      print the operating system release
         -s      print the operating system name
         -p      print the host processor type
         -v      print the operating system version
 
 

Example:

         $ uname -a
         Linux debian 2.4.23 #2 Tue Dec 23 17:09:10 MST 2003 i686 GNU/Linux
 
 
uncompress
uncompress [-c] [-f] [ name ... ]

Uncompress .Z file[s] Options:

         -c      extract to stdout
         -f      force overwrite an existing file
 
 
uniq
uniq [-fscdu]... [INPUT [OUTPUT]]

Discard all but one of successive identical lines from INPUT (or standard input), writing to OUTPUT (or standard output).

Options:

         -c      prefix lines by the number of occurrences
         -d      only print duplicate lines
         -u      only print unique lines
         -f N    skip the first N fields
         -s N    skip the first N chars (after any skipped fields)
 
 

Example:

         $ echo -e "a\na\nb\nc\nc\na" | sort | uniq
         a
         b
         c
 
 
unix2dos
unix2dos [option] [FILE]

Converts FILE from unix format to dos format. When no option is given, the input is converted to the opposite output format. When no file is given, uses stdin for input and stdout for output. Options:

         -u      output will be in UNIX format
         -d      output will be in DOS format
 
 
unlzma
unlzma [OPTION]... [FILE]

Uncompress FILE (or standard input if FILE is '-' or omitted).

Options:

         -c      Write output to standard output
         -f      Force
 
 
unzip
unzip [-opts[modifiers]] file[.zip] [list] [-x xlist] [-d exdir]

Extracts files from ZIP archives.

Options:

         -l      list archive contents (short form)
         -n      never overwrite existing files (default)
         -o      overwrite files without prompting
         -p      send output to stdout
         -q      be quiet
         -x      exclude these files
         -d      extract files into this directory
 
 
uptime
uptime    

Display the time since the last boot.

Example:

         $ uptime
           1:55pm  up  2:30, load average: 0.09, 0.04, 0.00
 
 
usleep
usleep N

Pause for N microseconds.

Example:

         $ usleep 1000000
         [pauses for 1 second]
 
 
uudecode
uudecode [FILE]...

Uudecode a file that is uuencoded.

Options:

         -o FILE direct output to FILE
 
 

Example:

         $ uudecode -o busybox busybox.uu
         $ ls -l busybox
         -rwxr-xr-x   1 ams      ams        245264 Jun  7 21:35 busybox
 
 
uuencode
uuencode [OPTION] [INFILE] REMOTEFILE

Uuencode a file.

Options:

         -m      use base64 encoding per RFC1521
 
 

Example:

         $ uuencode busybox busybox
         begin 755 busybox
         <encoded file snipped>
         $ uudecode busybox busybox > busybox.uu
         $
 
 
vconfig
vconfig COMMAND [OPTIONS] ...

vconfig lets you create and remove virtual ethernet devices.

Options:

         add             [interface-name] [vlan_id]
         rem             [vlan-name]
         set_flag        [interface-name] [flag-num]       [0 | 1]
         set_egress_map  [vlan-name]      [skb_priority]   [vlan_qos]
         set_ingress_map [vlan-name]      [skb_priority]   [vlan_qos]
         set_name_type   [name-type]
 
 
vi
vi [OPTION] [FILE]...

edit FILE.

Options:

         -R      Read-only- do not write to the file
 
 
vlock
vlock [OPTIONS]

Lock a virtual terminal. A password is required to unlock Options:

         -a      Lock all VTs
 
 
watch
watch [-n <seconds>] COMMAND...

Executes a program periodically. Options:

         -n      Loop period in seconds - default is 2
 
 

Example:

         $ watch date
         Mon Dec 17 10:31:40 GMT 2000
         Mon Dec 17 10:31:42 GMT 2000
         Mon Dec 17 10:31:44 GMT 2000
 
 
watchdog
watchdog [-t <seconds>] [-F] DEV

Periodically write to watchdog device DEV. Options:

         -t      Timer period in seconds - default is 30
         -F      Stay in the foreground and don't fork
 
 
wc
wc [OPTION]... [FILE]...

Print line, word, and byte counts for each FILE, and a total line if more than one FILE is specified. With no FILE, read standard input.

Options:

         -c      print the byte counts
         -l      print the newline counts
         -L      print the length of the longest line
         -w      print the word counts
 
 

Example:

         $ wc /etc/passwd
              31      46    1365 /etc/passwd
 
 
wget
wget [-c|--continue] [-q|--quiet] [-O|--output-document file]                 [--header 'header: value'] [-Y|--proxy on/off] [-P DIR] url

wget retrieves files via HTTP or FTP

Options:

         -c      continue retrieval of aborted transfers
         -q      quiet mode - do not print
         -P      Set directory prefix to DIR
         -O      save to filename ('-' for stdout)
         -Y      use proxy ('on' or 'off')
 
 
which
which [COMMAND ...]

Locates a COMMAND.

Example:

         $ which login
         /bin/login
 
 
who
who    

Prints the current user names and related information

whoami
whoami    

Prints the user name associated with the current effective user id.

xargs
xargs [COMMAND] [OPTIONS] [ARGS...]

Executes COMMAND on every item given by standard input.

Options:

         -p      Prompt the user about whether to run each command
         -r      Do not run command for empty read lines
         -x      Exit if the size is exceeded
         -0      Input filenames are terminated by a null character
         -t      Print the command line on stderr before executing it
 
 

Example:

         $ ls | xargs gzip
         $ find . -name '*.c' -print | xargs rm
 
 
yes
yes [OPTION]... [STRING]...

Repeatedly outputs a line with all specified STRING(s), or 'y'.

zcat
zcat FILE

Uncompress to stdout.

zcip
zcip [OPTIONS] ifname script

zcip manages a ZeroConf IPv4 link-local address. Options:

         -f              foreground mode
         -q              quit after address (no daemon)
         -r 169.254.x.x  request this address first
         -v              verbose
 
 

LIBC NSS

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.

MAINTAINER

Rob Landley <rob@landley.net>

AUTHORS

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 incorect, 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 unarchving 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.