whereis Command in Linux
Summary
The whereis command is a quick and simple utility in Linux used to locate the binary, source, and manual page files for a given command. It's helpful for understanding where a command is installed and accessing related documentation.
Introduction
The whereis command is a fundamental tool for Linux users, particularly system administrators and developers. It helps in locating the executables, source code (if available), and manual pages associated with a specified command. Unlike the which command, which only finds the executable file, whereis provides a broader search by default. This is helpful when you need to understand the complete context of a command or want to quickly access its documentation.
Use case and Examples
Basic Usage: Locate the Binary, Source, and Manual Pages of ls
ls executable, its source code (if available and in a standard location), and its manual page. Locate only the binary file of bash
-b flag, this command specifically searches for the binary file associated with the bash command. Locate only the manual page of ifconfig
-m flag to find the manual page for the ifconfig command. Searching for a Command in Specific Directories
This command searches for theapache2 command, specifically looking for binaries in /usr/bin and /usr/sbin and the manual pages in /usr/share/man/man1. This example demonstrates specifying directories for binary (-B) and manual page (-M) searches. It will not search default paths. Commonly used flags
| Flag | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
-b | Searches only for binaries. | whereis -b ls |
-m | Searches only for manual pages. | whereis -m ls |
-s | Searches only for source code. | whereis -s ls |
-B <directories> | Specifies directories to search for binaries. | whereis -B /usr/bin:/usr/local/bin ls |
-M <directories> | Specifies directories to search for manual pages. | whereis -M /usr/share/man/man1:/usr/local/man/man1 ls |
-f | Terminates the option list and signals the start of filenames. Useful if filenames start with -. | whereis -f file1 file2 |