LinuxCommandLibrary

box

Draw boxes/comments around text in a file

TLDR

Compile a new Phar file

$ box compile
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Compile a new Phar file using a specific configuration file
$ box compile [[-c|--config]] [path/to/config]
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Display information about the PHAR PHP extension
$ box info
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Display information about a specific Phar file
$ box info [path/to/phar_file]
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Validate the first found configuration file in the working directory
$ box validate
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Verify the signature of a specific Phar file
$ box verify [path/to/phar_file]
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Display help
$ box help
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SYNOPSIS

As 'box' is not a standard Linux command, a universal synopsis cannot be provided. If you encountered a box command, it is likely a custom script, an alias, or a very specific utility installed in your environment. Its syntax would depend entirely on its custom implementation.

PARAMETERS

N/A
    No universally defined parameters or options exist for 'box' as it is not a standard Linux command. Any parameters would be specific to a custom implementation.

DESCRIPTION

The term 'box' as a direct, standalone Linux command (box(1)) is not a standard or widely recognized utility across most mainstream Linux distributions. Unlike commands such as ls or cd, there is no universal man box page.

However, the concept of 'boxing' in Linux often refers to creating isolated environments or sandboxes for applications or processes. This can involve technologies like containers (e.g., Docker, Podman), virtual machines (e.g., KVM, VirtualBox, Vagrant), or more lightweight chroot jails or namespaces (like systemd-nspawn). These tools effectively 'box in' an application, providing it with its own set of resources (filesystem, network, process IDs) and preventing it from directly interacting with the host system or other processes outside its designated 'box'.

Some niche or custom scripts might be named box for specific purposes (e.g., a script to automate container creation or a tool for drawing ASCII art boxes), but these are not part of the standard Linux command set.

CAVEATS

The most significant caveat is that box is not a standard or widely adopted Linux command. Users expecting a built-in utility will not find it in typical distributions. Its functionality, if present, is entirely context-dependent, referring either to a specific, often localized, script or a broader concept of isolation and virtualization. Therefore, any usage or expected behavior must be derived from its specific implementation on a given system, rather than general Linux documentation.

POTENTIAL APPEARANCES OF 'BOX'

A command named box might arise in specific contexts such as:
- Custom Scripts: System administrators or developers may create a shell script or program named box to encapsulate specific actions, e.g., to launch a pre-configured container, manage a development environment, or perform system cleanup within an isolated context.
- Niche Utilities: Less common or specialized software packages might include a utility named box (e.g., for drawing ASCII art boxes on a terminal, or specific project packaging tools like 'The Box Project' for PHP applications).
- Aliases/Functions: A user's shell configuration might define box as an alias or shell function, redirecting to a more complex command or sequence of commands.

HISTORY

As a non-standard command, box does not have a formal, widely documented history of development and usage comparable to core Linux utilities. Any specific box command you might encounter would have its own localized history based on its creation and evolution within a particular project or organization. The concept of 'boxing' (i.e., isolation) has evolved significantly in Linux, from early chroot environments to modern containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes) and hypervisors, but this is a history of concepts and tools, not a single 'box' command.

SEE ALSO

docker(1), podman(1), systemd-nspawn(1), chroot(1), namespaces(7), firejail(1)

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