busybox

List available applets

$ busybox --list

$ busybox ls [-la]

$ busybox --install -s

$ busybox --help

busybox [applet] [arguments]

busybox combines many common Unix utilities into a single small executable. It implements lightweight versions of over 300 commands, making it ideal for embedded systems, containers, and minimal installations.
The tool is ubiquitous in embedded Linux, Android, and container images like Alpine Linux.

--list

List available applets

Create applet symlinks

Show help for applet

Core utilities:
- ls, cp, mv, rm - File operations
- cat, grep, sed, awk - Text processing
- sh - Shell
- tar, gzip - Archives
- wget - Download
- ping, ifconfig - Network

Direct invocation

$ busybox ls -la
busybox grep pattern file

$ # After busybox --install -s
ls -la  # Actually runs busybox ls
grep pattern file  # Actually runs busybox grep

$ # When busybox is symlinked as command name
/bin/ls -> busybox

- Single binary (~1-2MB)
- 300+ Unix utilities
- POSIX compatible
- Configurable at compile time
- Minimal dependencies
- Embedded-friendly

Simplified versions (fewer features than GNU tools). Some advanced options missing. Behavior may differ slightly from full versions. Configuration frozen at compile time. Not all applets available in all builds.

BusyBox was created by Bruce Perens in 1996 for Debian installer, becoming the standard multi-call binary for embedded Linux systems.

alpine(1), toybox(1), coreutils(7)