coreutils
Provide fundamental system utilities
TLDR
Run a utility with arguments
List files in [l]ong format
Display help for ls
SYNOPSIS
coreutils is a package, not a single command.
Example tools:
ls [OPTION]... [FILE]...
cat [OPTION]... [FILE]...
cp [OPTION]... SOURCE... DEST
See man utility for specifics.
PARAMETERS
--help
Display usage summary and exit
--version
Output version information and exit
DESCRIPTION
The coreutils package provides the GNU implementations of standard Unix command-line utilities for file management, text processing, and shell operations. Essential for Linux and Unix-like systems, it includes over 100 tools used in daily administration, scripting, and development.
Key categories include:
File and directory operations: cp, mv, rm, mkdir, rmdir, ln, touch.
Directory listing: ls, dir, vdir.
Text viewing/processing: cat, head, tail, cut, sort, uniq, wc, tr, expand.
Disk and system info: df, du, uptime, uname, id, who.
Permissions: chmod, chown, chgrp.
Others: date, echo, env, test (via [), sleep, seq, shred for secure deletion.
These tools emphasize POSIX compatibility with GNU extensions for power users, such as colorized ls output or parallel processing hints. They are lightweight, fast, and form the foundation of shell environments like Bash.
CAVEATS
Options vary by utility; not all support listed parameters.
Always check man COMMAND. Some tools like rm have dangerous defaults (e.g., no confirmation).
KEY INCLUDED TOOLS
Over 100: basename(1), chroot(8), dd(1), df(1), du(1), env(1), md5sum(1), shred(1), sort(1), tac(1), test(1), timeout(1), true(1), yes(1).
USAGE NOTE
Pre-installed on most distros. Source: https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/. Build with ./configure && make.
HISTORY
Formed in 1997 by merging GNU fileutils (1987), sh-utils, textutils. Version 5.0 (2002) stabilized the suite. Maintained by Pádraig Brady since 2008; latest (9.5, 2024) adds features like numfmt enhancements and bug fixes.
