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man

displays manual pages

TLDR

View man page
$ man [command]
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View specific section
$ man [5 passwd]
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Search descriptions
$ man -k [keyword]
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Show all sections
$ man -a [command]
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Show file path
$ man -w [command]
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Export as PDF via PostScript
$ man -t [command] | ps2pdf - [output.pdf]
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SYNOPSIS

man [options] [section] page

DESCRIPTION

man displays manual pages. Man pages document commands, system calls, and configuration.The tool is the primary Unix documentation system. Sections organize different types of documentation.

PARAMETERS

PAGE

Manual page name.
SECTION
Section number (1-9).
-k KEYWORD
Search by keyword.
-a
Show all matching pages.
-w
Show file location.
-f NAME
Display short description (equivalent to whatis).
-K STRING
Search all man pages for a string.
-t
Format the man page using groff to PostScript for printing or PDF conversion.
--help
Display help information.

CAVEATS

Sections vary by system. Some commands lack man pages. Use info for GNU docs.

HISTORY

man dates back to the first Unix system at Bell Labs, remaining the standard documentation format.

SEE ALSO

info(1), apropos(1), whatis(1), mandb(8), manpath(1), less(1)

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