toe

toe [-a] [-s] [-u] [dir...]

-a
    Lists all entries found in the terminfo database, including those with incomplete capabilities, not just fully capable ones.

-s
    Provides a short list, showing only the first alias for each terminal entry. This makes the output more concise and easier to read.

-u
    Displays a usage summary for the command, providing information on its syntax and available options.

[dir...]
    Specifies one or more directory paths to search for terminfo entries. These directories are searched in addition to the standard system paths, allowing for custom or temporary terminfo definitions.

The toe command, part of the ncurses library, is a utility designed to list the available terminal descriptions, also known as terminfo entries, installed on a Linux system. These entries are crucial for text-based applications to correctly interact with various terminal types by describing their capabilities (e.g., cursor movement, color support). toe helps system administrators and developers identify which terminal types are supported and can be invaluable for debugging terminal-related issues or configuring the TERM environment variable.

It provides a snapshot of the terminal environments that the system understands, drawing information from default system paths or user-specified directories. While not a daily command for most users, its role in managing terminal capabilities is fundamental for consistent application behavior across diverse terminal emulators and physical terminals.

The toe command is distributed as part of the ncurses-bin or similar package and might not be pre-installed by default on all minimal Linux distributions.
Its primary use case is for developers and system administrators debugging terminal-related issues or managing terminfo databases, rather than general user interaction.
Without options, the output can be very extensive, listing hundreds of terminal types.

The terminfo database is a sophisticated system that stores detailed descriptions of various character-cell terminals. It enables screen-oriented applications to function correctly by providing machine-readable information about a terminal's capabilities, such as how to move the cursor, change colors, or interpret special key sequences. Each entry is a compiled binary file representing a specific terminal type (e.g., xterm-256color, vt220).

Most applications that interact with the terminal rely on the TERM environment variable to determine the current terminal's type. For instance, if TERM is set to xterm, applications will look up the xterm entry in the terminfo database to understand the terminal's features. toe is useful for verifying which TERM values correspond to available terminfo descriptions on a system.

The toe command is an integral part of the ncurses project, which is a free software implementation of the venerable curses library, originally developed in the 1970s. ncurses itself emerged as a replacement for System V Release 4.0 curses. toe likely originated as a practical tool to inspect and verify the installed terminal capabilities as the terminfo database became the standard, superseding the older termcap system. Its evolution is closely linked to the development and maintenance of ncurses and the continuous need for robust terminal description management tools.

terminfo(5), infocmp(1), tic(1), tput(1), ncurses(3)