Questions tagged [manpage]

A manpage is a piece of documentation (not just a single page) that comes with most programs installed on Ubuntu.This is invoked with the name of a program to call up a help manual with various sections detailing the operation of the program.

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Is there any way to get table of contents of a man page?

Some man pages are very big. I want firstly to see table of contents and then go to interesting section. How to do it? For example: $ man -contents ls NAME SYNOPSIS DESCRIPTION AUTHOR REPORTING ...
limo's user avatar
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1 answer
140 views

How to change Manual pages default font?

When I type man fork, terminal output, but I dislike the default font , how to change into the other font?
douyu's user avatar
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Changing /bin/sh to zsh crashes man pages

Just a general curiosity: Man pages on my Ubuntu 18.04.03 stop working when I change /bin/sh to zsh with following error: man: nroff: Bad system call (core dumped) What I did was: rm -rf /bin/sh ...
agarg's user avatar
  • 101
2 votes
0 answers
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Yelp line is too wide for man pages

I am generally using yelp (the life preserver icon on the desktop) to view system man pages. After I open yelp, I can press Ctrl+L and enter man:man for example to view the man page for the man ...
FedKad's user avatar
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3 votes
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What does "-ls" do when used with "find"?

According to man find: -ls True; list current file in ls -dils format on standard output. The block counts are of 1K blocks, unless the environment variable POSIXLY_CORRECT is set, in ...
DK Bose's user avatar
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How do you know the manpages name for a given package?

Take for instance the python3-requests package. I see that there is /usr/share/doc/python3-requests but I can't seem to figure out the manpages "name". Given an installed package, is there a way to ...
Thomas Stringer's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
2k views

What package provides system call man pages on Ubuntu?

On Ubuntu 18.04, the following commands do not turn up any man pages: man 2 creat man 2 ioctl man 2 chown There are plenty of other examples, but these illustrate the point. I tried a bit of apt ...
Wildcard's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
214 views

How do I perform a exact match in man page?

For exmaple, I open man page of tar and I want to locate -z quickly. But when I type /-z, things like -i, --ignore-zeros also get matched. So I have to press n several times to reach -z. However, I ...
Rick's user avatar
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1 answer
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Ubuntu 18.04 LTS on my MSI laptop, man command does not work anymore

The installation had no problem and man was working fine till yesterday. However, today the man command does not work anymore. Please help troubleshoot. Thanks mas192
mas192's user avatar
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3 votes
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watch --beep doesn't work

I read watch command's manual page, found -b or --beep: -b, --beep Beep if command has a non-zero exit. So I did: $ watch --beep ls /root Using a non-root account and it doesn't make a sound like a ...
Mohammad Kholghi's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
1k views

How to reinstall man pages after deleting them

So I wanted to free up disk space from documentation and followed the instructions in this answer. Basically I did create a file /etc/dpkg/dpkg.cfg.d/01_nodoc which specifies the desired filters: ...
Fermín Franco-Medrano's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
79 views

How to include a file when writing a custom man page?

Currently I just copy the source file for my custom man page into place like this: SOURCE=man/myManPage.1 DEST_DIR=/usr/local/share/man/man.1 sudo install -g 0 -o 0 -m 0644 "$SOURCE" "$DEST_DIR/" yes ...
Mike Slinn's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
937 views

man doesn't display man pages; what to do if 'mandb -c' doesn't fix it?

I have an Ubuntu 18.04.2 LTS system that won't display man pages. # man man || echo fail # This AskUbuntu question suggests that I try running mandb -c. mandb -c runs to successful completion, but ...
Jim L.'s user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
1k views

Where to get kubectl man pages?

Any suggestion where I can get and install kubectl man pages? Asking Google all the time is getting annoying. I want to be able to see the man page from the command line like: $ man kubectl pods I ...
smrt28's user avatar
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1 answer
244 views

Man page requires space to scroll, not arrow keys

On my Ubuntu 18.04 host, running man <command> brings up the man page and I can scroll up and down using the corresponding arrow keys to read the text. On a fresh Ubuntu 18.04 docker image, I ...
Wimateeka's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
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Is --supported-target-version a supported option for mkinitramfs, as shown on the man page?

I am trying to the --supported-target-version option for mkinitramfs. The following errors are being returned: $ sudo mkinitramfs --supported-target-version=4.13.0-15-generic /usr/sbin/mkinitramfs: ...
Craig  Hicks's user avatar
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0 answers
36 views

Does apps installed via "snap" has man page? [duplicate]

Just installed kubectl via snap: sudo snap install kubectl But, man kubectl shows: No manual entry for kubectl See 'man 7 undocumented' for help when manual pages are not available. ...
Eric's user avatar
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0 answers
214 views

How to view manpage of apt-secure? [duplicate]

I get the message at the end of updating apt: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details And I just want to know where and what command I need to enter to view ...
Adam Ledger's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
7k views

Linux man pages in different languages

My Ubuntu 18.04 is set to Spanish: But man pages are displayed in English, not according to the configuration (Spanish). $ man cp | head -n4 CP(1) User Commands ...
Tankman六四's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
122 views

Missing elements in Manpages

I'm using Ubuntu Desktop 18.04. It is really weird, but in every Manpage (also in ksh and sh), there are missing elements such as the program name or flags. I posted also a picture of the incomplete ...
ferdi2003's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
153 views

How can I search the APT man page for options to install [duplicate]

I read the answer wireless - How can I check the information of currently installed WiFi drivers? - Ask Ubuntu and learn a command sudo apt-get install -y hardinfo then I tried to find the option -...
Alice's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
54 views

Dev Manpages are not completed

I cannot get 'man aton', 'man argp_parse', etc, but I have 'man memcpy', 'man 7 ip' for example. I've already installed manpages-dev. What packages I still lost to get all the basic C function's ...
Woody Wu's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
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Why can't I get the man page of the crypt function?

On my Fedora system, I can do man 3 crypt and I see the man page of the crypt function. However, when I do the same on Ubuntu it gives me: No manual entry for crypt in section 3 I know that it has ...
aboria's user avatar
  • 31
-1 votes
1 answer
3k views

How to find cipher keywords in ssh_config(5)

I see in the man page for ssh that I can find the cipher listings in "ssh_config(5)" Where can I find this? Context: I'm attempting to ssh \ sftp into a company's sftp account that they provided me. ...
Trevor Bagley's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
6k views

How do I install a man page?

After reading How do I manually install a man page file? (there is some ambiguity in this title) I did not get my answer. How to install the related man pages for a certain command? Take the ...
Sandburg's user avatar
  • 206
2 votes
2 answers
2k views

Random freezes in (X)Ubuntu 18.04 caused by filled up RAM

I have a problem with random freezes in (X)ubuntu 18.04(.1) under Kernel 4.19.0 and 4.19.4. When I check 'top' during freeze episodes, I can see that all my RAM and SWAP is slowly beeing consumed by ...
Mathias's user avatar
  • 151
3 votes
3 answers
4k views

man command not working in Ubuntu 18.04

My man command is not working at all on my Ubuntu 18.04 machine. Unlike most of the cases I have found described in the internet, where there is an error message after calling man, I do not get any ...
BCArg's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
44 views

How to find the manual of a command when `man <cmd>` doesn't work [duplicate]

When man <cmd> or <cmd> --help or <cmd> -h doesn't show you how to use the command, what should you do to get the information you need? For example, the command enable has no manual ...
Wan Chap's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
2k views

GCC compiler manual [duplicate]

I'm trying to call the manual of the GCC compiler from the terminal, but I seem to be unable to, I only get error messages when I type: gcc man Surely I'm doing it wrong, but I can't find any topics ...
Taskalino's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
2k views

No manual entry for command [duplicate]

By following this Q&A I started using command instead of which when checking for the existence of a program. But man command returns: No manual entry for command Why there is no manual for it ...
ironsand's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
1k views

/etc/manpath.config missing when I reinstall manpage

$apt install man apt-get install manpages-zh then apt-get purge manpages-zh $apt purge manpage then $apt install man $apt-get install manpages-zh it shows /usr/bin/mandb: can't open the ...
robspin's user avatar
  • 133
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

No manual entries for recvfrom, sendto, and bind commands in Ubuntu 18.04

I run Ubuntu 18.04 through Oracle VirtualBox. In the terminal man commands for recvfrom, sendto, bind do not show any manual entries as shown below. rishi@rishi-VirtualBox:~$ man recvfrom No manual ...
rishi.pathak96's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
449 views

no man pages on kubuntu 18.04

I have just installed kubuntu 18.04 and I have no man pages. I have tried all the different permutations of mandb to update the database, but I am always presented with a blank page. Any help ...
miller the gorilla's user avatar
26 votes
4 answers
3k views

Is there documentation for chown that is easier to understand?

I am relatively knew to Ubuntu and I want to learn about the chown command, so I tried to read the man chown but I find it very difficult to understand. Is there a document for this that is simpler ...
Jagdeep Tannenbaum's user avatar
25 votes
2 answers
1k views

How do I access that basic command line tutorial man document?

I need to find that documentation that acts like a simple description and tutorial of how the command line works. It's "man something" I knw that much, so it's a man page, but not an actual command. ...
Jessica's user avatar
  • 311
1 vote
0 answers
372 views

In the 18.04/bionic docker container, how do I restore manpages?

When building a container based on the official 18.04/bionic docker image, It appears to be impossible to install manages. even if I explicitly install them, they do not appear to be on the file ...
user2166700's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
4k views

Setting up man-db crashes system with Bad system calls

Ubuntu 18.04 x86_64. Ever since I upgraded from 17.10 to 18.04, whenever I install or run updates and the subsequent man-db update occurs, the system gets stuck for ten minutes or so spitting out ...
Huaidan's user avatar
  • 351
0 votes
0 answers
432 views

man command not showing output

my man command has quit working no output or error message and not sure how I managed to muck it up. However, if I type sudo man [item] it works. I tried running mandb and that didn't work. Any other ...
ddivittorio's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
49 views

Why do I automatically get a period (.) in my MANPATH?

I'm setting MANPATH to :bla, yet when I try to use it, its value has suddenly turned into .:bla and this completely changes the meaning of it.
Bram Geron's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
1k views

man <command> doesn't display anything after package installation with conda on Ubuntu 17.10

When I try to get the manpages with man it seems to display nothing and behaves as though I just pressed enter ~$ man ls ~$ man man I have tried solutions from these pages to no avail question1 ...
Abhilash's user avatar
  • 161
13 votes
4 answers
7k views

How to open .8 file with man?

How do I properly open a local .8 file like named.8 with the man command? I have the man command and I have a .8 file. In my case it is bind9/bin/named/named.8 (which can be found on github) I'm ...
Timothy Swan's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
13k views

Permission denied every installing/ removing pack

UPDATE: I fixed it OK by removing/deleting the "/var/cache/man" folder Then all things is OK now. (The system will recreate the "/var/cache/man" folder automatically. Every time I install or remove ...
joeubuntu's user avatar
  • 143
8 votes
1 answer
2k views

man pages broken after dist-upgrade

After a recent dist-upgrade, I have broken man pages. Symptoms are that man <any command here> refuses to load anything and shows a blank console, except for the line in the upper left: Manual ...
emk2203's user avatar
  • 4,166
1 vote
0 answers
28 views

getting synopsis inline [duplicate]

So this might be wierd question but is there anyway to get the synomposis of a command in the terminal? what I mean by this is that if I write for example find I would like the terminal to write out ...
munHunger's user avatar
  • 143
3 votes
1 answer
58 views

Where to report mistakes in a translated man page?

I just discovered a mistake in the German version of the man page for adduser: Einen System-Benutzer einrichten Wird adduser ohne die Option --system und mit einem nicht optionalen Argument ...
Stefan Hamcke's user avatar
11 votes
4 answers
878 views

How to find required information in man [duplicate]

The man command brings up a nice manual for many programs, but how can I use it more effectively? For example man gcc brings: NAME gcc - GNU project C and C++ compiler SYNOPSIS gcc [-c|...
vico's user avatar
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37 votes
9 answers
15k views

How can I get help on terminal commands?

I often see things like read man xyz For more information read xyz's man page. see info xyz so I wonder: How can I get help on terminal commands generally? What exactly are these man and ...
dessert's user avatar
  • 40k
4 votes
1 answer
740 views

No output from some paginated commands (man, git log)

Something has gone wrong with both the man and git log commands on my Ubuntu system over the holidays. Neither produce any output, and I have no clues as to what the issue is, bar that they both ...
Eoin's user avatar
  • 143
-1 votes
2 answers
62 views

What part of the sed manpage explains how to delete lines in a file

sed -e '4,17d' filename deletes lines 4 through 17 in the file filename. I wondered how they explain such a thing in the manpage. I looked it up the manpage. However I don't see how people are getting ...
Smile's user avatar
  • 1,099
0 votes
2 answers
151 views

Where is the GIT (or other) repo for the Ubuntu (or Linux) man pages?

I don't know whether all of the man pages are under the same source control repository or not; specifically, I'm interested in the Vim man pages source. Where can I find the source control repository ...
Ofer Zelig's user avatar