help2man

Generate a man page for an executable

$ help2man [executable]

$ help2man [executable] [[-n|--name]] [name]

$ help2man [executable] [[-s|--section]] [section]

$ help2man [executable] [[-o|--output]] [path/to/file]

$ help2man --help

help2man [OPTION...] [PROGRAM [ARG...]]

--help
    display this help and exit

--version
    output version information and exit

--error-limit=N
    exit after N errors (default 3)

--no-info
    omit reference to an info page

--source
    output in source code format (nroff)

--version-string=STRING
    use exact STRING for version

--help-string=STRING
    use exact STRING for help intro

--name=STRING
    use STRING as program name

--section=NUM
    use NUM as man section (default 1)

--output=FILE, -o FILE
    write output to FILE

--include=FILE
    include extra material from FILE

--no-include
    omit any extra included material

--opt-only
    include options only from --help

--help-all
    include all long options

--help-gnu
    use GNU help2man extensions

--help-synopsis
    use synopsis from --help output

--synopsis=STRING
    use STRING as synopsis

--footer=STRING
    use STRING as footer text

--no-discard-stderr
    retain stderr from program

--program-name=STRING
    use STRING to run program

help2man is a GNU utility that automatically generates basic Unix manual pages (man pages) by parsing the --help and --version output of target programs. It extracts key elements like the synopsis, description, options list, author, and bug reporting info to create a formatted man page in troff/nroff source format.

This tool is ideal for quick documentation of command-line tools, scripts, or packages lacking dedicated man pages. It runs the program with special flags, captures stdout/stderr, and structures the content into standard sections: NAME, SYNOPSIS, DESCRIPTION, OPTIONS, EXIT STATUS, AUTHOR, COPYRIGHT, BUGS.

Customization is possible via options to override strings, include extra files, or adjust formatting. If the program has a corresponding Texinfo manual, help2man can reference it, though primary reliance is on help text. Output can be directed to a file for installation in /usr/share/man.

While efficient, results depend on the quality of the program's help output; poor formatting yields incomplete pages requiring manual tweaks.

Depends on well-formatted --help/--version in target program; output may need manual editing for accuracy or completeness. Not suitable for complex documentation.

help2man ./myscript > myscript.1
Runs myscript --help, generates myscript.1 man page.

help2man --name='My Tool' --section=8 --include=extra.texi ls -o ls.1
Custom name, section 8, includes extra file.

Created by Brendan O'Dea in 2000 for Debian; integrated into GNU in 2004. Maintained by the GNU project with contributions up to version 1.49.3 (2023), focusing on better parsing and portability.

pod2man(1), txt2man(1), man(1), groff(1)