The Linux command whatis prints a brief ex­plan­a­tion of a par­tic­u­lar command on the command line. This way you can remember the use­ful­ness of different commands and tools while working in the shell.

What is Linux whatis?

One of the ad­vant­ages of Linux and Linux dis­tri­bu­tions like Debian or Ubuntu is the freedom the operating system and its com­pon­ents provide. Depending on the dis­tri­bu­tion, the pos­sib­il­it­ies are almost unlimited. One of the pre­requis­ites is the correct use of the numerous Linux commands. To un­der­stand each of these commands, it helps to check out the manual, in addition to a guide like this one. Manuals offer extensive in­form­a­tion about a command, its options and lim­it­a­tions. For a quick reminder about a command, the whatis command is a useful al­tern­at­ive.

How does the Linux whatis command work?

When you use the whatis command, you’ll get a concise de­scrip­tion of the use­ful­ness or purpose of a specific command directly on the command line. This in­form­a­tion is typically just a few words long, serving as a helpful memory aid. For regular Linux users or in­di­vidu­als engaged in command line tutorials, this brief de­scrip­tion often provides suf­fi­cient in­form­a­tion to identify and utilise the desired command for their projects.

What is the syntax of Linux whatis?

The official syntax of the whatis command looks a bit com­plic­ated. However, the command is simple to use. This is the syntax:

$ whatis [-dlv?V] [-r|-w] [-s  list] [-m system[,...]] [-M path] [-L locale] [-C file] name ...
bash

You can get in­form­a­tion about more than one command. To do this, write the different commands one after the other.

What are the options of Linux whatis?

There are some options to customise the whatis command. The most important ones are:

  • -d or –debug: This option outputs the debugging in­form­a­tion.
  • -v or –verbose: This option outputs ad­di­tion­al detailed warnings.

Examples of the whatis command

To un­der­stand how whatis works, we’ll show you a few simple examples of how to use the command.

$ whatis passwd
bash

This outputs brief in­form­a­tion about the Linux passwd command.

$ whatis cd killall
bash

This outputs in­form­a­tion about the Linux cd command and the Linux killall command. These are specified one below the other.

$ whatis -d wget
bash

This way you can view the debugging in­form­a­tion of the Linux wget command.

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