--- /dev/null
+The following document includes a continuous description of the current
+commands, functions and utilities included in the busybox.
+
+John Cooper
+johnc@lineo.com
+
+_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+ BusyBox 0.38, Functions and the Arguments they Support
+
+
+
+
+______________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+cat [file]
+ Display file contents to standard output.
+
+
+
+
+_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+chmod [-R] Mode,[Mode] file
+
+ Change file access permissions (mode) of one or more files.
+
+ -R Follows the directory tree from the current location thru all sub-directories,
+
+ applying changes.
+
+ Mode = u User
+
+ g Group
+
+ o Other
+
+ a All
+
+ Permission = r Read
+
+ w Write
+
+ s Set user (or group) ID
+
+ t Sticky bit file cannot be removed by other
+
+ than the owner.
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+chown [option] owner[group]file
+
+ Change owner and (or) group of file to owner and (or) group.
+
+ Only the current owner or a priveleged user may change an owner.
+
+ -R Follows the directory tree from the current location thru all sub-directories, applying
+
+ changes.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+
+chgrp [option] newgroup file
+
+ Change group of file or files to new group name or ID number located in /etc/group.
+
+ Only the current owner or a priveleged user may change the group name or ID
+
+ -R Follows the directory tree from the current location thru all sub-directories,
+
+ applying changes.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+chroot NEWROOT [Command...] (System Admin Command)
+
+ Run command with root directory set to NEWROOT. Only the current owner or a priveleged
+
+ user may use this command.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+clear
+
+ Clear screen.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+cp [option] fileA fileB
+
+ Copy fileA to fileB or fileA to directory maintaining fileA name.
+
+ -a archive Maintain file attributes whenever possible. Same as -dpR
+
+ -d no dereference Maintain hard link relationships between fileA and fileB.
+
+ No dereference of symbolic links.
+
+ -p maintain file Maintain all file attributes and information including owner
+
+ attributes group permissions and time information.
+
+ -R recursive Copy to the current location and all subdirectories in the tree.
+
+
+
+
+
+_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+date [option [+format] [date]
+
+date [option] [MMDDhhmm[[CC]YY][.SS]]
+
+ Display the current system date and time.
+
+ -R RFC-822 string Output an RFC-822 compliant date string.
+
+ -s set DATE Set date where date is entered in MMDDhhmm etc. format.
+
+ -u universal Print or set Coordinated Universal Time.
+
+
+
+
+
+_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+
+dd [if=name] [of=name] [bs=n] [count=n]
+
+
+ Copy a file, converting and formatting according to options. Most useful when copying from
+
+ physical input and output devices.
+
+ if=fileA (instead of standard input)
+
+ of=fileB (instead of standard output)
+
+ bs=n Read and write N Bytes at a time.
+
+ count=n Copy only n input blocks.
+
+ Bytes may be suffixed by k for x1024, b for x512 and w for x2.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+df
+
+
+ Display filesystem, number of blocks used, number of blocks available, number of blocks in use,
+
+ and mount point.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+
+dmesg [-c] [-n level] [-s bufsize] (System Admin Command)
+
+
+ Display system control messages. Stored in the kernel ring buffer are all messages since the
+
+ last system boot, or the most recent if the buffer had been full.
+
+
+ -c Clear buffer after printing messages.
+
+ -n level Set the level of system message to be displayed on the console.
+
+ -s bufsize Display the size of the kernel ring buffer.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+
+find [PATH] [EXPRESSION]
+
+ Search for files in the current directory, and all subdirectories for patterns that match
+
+ expression. Expressions may consist of the following.
+
+ -follow Dereference symbolic links.
+
+ -name PATTERN Find files that match PATTERN. Metacharacters should be escaped or
+
+ quoted.
+
+ -print Print full file name, followed by a newline, to standard out.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+chvt N
+
+ Change foreground virtual terminal to /dev/ttyN.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+deallocvt N
+
+ Deallocate unused virtual terminal /dev/ttyN.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+fsck.minix [-larvsmf] /dev/name
+
+ Perform a consistency check for minix filesystems.
+
+ -l List filenames.
+
+ -r Perform interactive repairs.
+
+ -q Perform automatic repairs
+
+ -v Verbose
+
+ -s Output superblock information
+
+ -m Activates minix-like "mode not cleared" warnings.
+
+ -f Force file system check.
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+mkfs.minix [-c | -l filename ] [-nXX] [-iXX] /dev/name [blocks]
+
+ Make a minix file system.
+
+ -c Check device for bad blocks.
+
+ -n [ 14|30 ] Specify max length of filenames.
+
+ -i Specify number of inodes for filesystem.
+
+ -l filename
+
+ Read the bad blocks list from filename.
+
+ -v Make a minix version 2 filesystem.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+grep [OPTIONS] PATTERN [FILE]
+
+ Search for PATTERN in each FILE or from standard input.
+
+ -h Suppress prefixing filename on output.
+
+ -i Ignore case distinctions.
+
+ -n Print line number with output lines.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+init
+
+ The parent of all processes. Only to be run by the kernel.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+kill [ -s sigspec | -signum | -sigspec ] [pid | job ] or
+
+kill -l [ exitstatus ]
+
+ Currently no information help page for this command
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+ln [option] TARGET... LINK_NAME|DIRECTORY
+
+ Create a link named LINK_NAME or DIRECTORY to TARGET.
+
+ -s Make symbolic links instead of hard links.
+
+ -f Remove existing destination files.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+ls [ -1acdelnpuxACF ] [FILENAMES]
+
+ List contents of directories.
+
+ -1 Single entry per column of output.
+
+ -a All files including hidden files beginning with a ..
+
+ -c Files are listed by status change time.
+
+ -d List directories, not there contents.
+
+ -e (no information on this option)
+
+ -l List in long format including permissions, owner, size
+
+ modification time etc.
+
+ -n Similar to -l, except use group ID and user ID instead
+
+ of owner and group names.
+
+ -p Directories are marked with a /.
+
+ -u Display files sorted by file access time.
+
+ -x Display files across the screen in rows.
+
+ -A Display hidden and all other files except . and ...
+
+ -C (Default, display files in columns)
+
+ -F Tag files by type by appending:
+
+ / to directories
+
+ * to executables
+
+ @ to symbolic links
+
+ | to fifo's
+
+ = to sockets
+
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+mkdir [OPTION] directory
+
+ Create directories if they do not already exist. You must have write permission to create
+
+ directories. Default mode can be modified by users umask.
+
+ -m Used to set permission mode. (See chmod description)
+
+ -p Make parent directories if they don't already exist. Return error code if
+
+ they already exist.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+mknod (Segmentation Fault when executing this command)
+
+ (No embedix information available for this command.)
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+
+mkswap [-c] [ -v0|-v1 ] device [block-count]
+
+ Prepare a disk partition to be used as a swap partition.
+
+ -c Check for read-ability.
+
+ -v0 Make version 0 swap [max 128 megs]
+
+ -v1 Make version 1 swap [big |] default for
+
+ kernels > 2.1.117.
+
+ block-count
+
+ Number of blocks to use. (Default is the entire
+
+ partition).
+
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+more [file]
+
+ Display file one screen page at a time.
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+mount [flags]
+
+mount [flags] device directory [-o options, more options ]
+
+ Mount a filesystem for file access.
+
+ -a Mount all file systems in fstab.
+
+ -o option
+
+ async/sync: Writes are asynchronous/synchronous.
+
+ dev/nodev: Allow use of special device files
+
+ /disallow them.
+
+ exec/noexec: Allow use of executable files
+
+ /disallow them.
+
+ suid/nosuid: Allow set-user-id-root programs
+
+ /disallow them.
+
+ remount: Remount a currently-mounted filesystem
+
+ changing it's flags.
+
+ ro/rw: Mount for read-only/read-write.
+
+ (There are more flags specific to each filesystem.
+
+ See the written documentation for those.)
+
+ -r Mount the filesystem read only.
+
+ -t FILESYSTEM TYPE
+
+ Specify the filesystem type.
+
+ -w Mount for reading and writing default
+
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+
+mv fileA fileB or
+
+mv fileA dirA
+
+ Move fileA to fileB. (Renames fileA to fileB)
+
+ Move fileA to dirA (Moves fileA into dirA)
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+ps
+
+ Report process status. No options are currently supported.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+pwd
+
+ Print working directory
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+reboot
+
+ Reboot system. No options are currently supported.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+rm [option] file
+
+ Remove or unlink the files.
+
+ -f Remove existing destinations. Never prompt.
+
+ -r or -R Remove contents of directories recursively.
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+rmdir [OPTION] ... directory
+
+ Remove directories if they are empty.
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+sed
+
+ Sed scripts are subject to the following format: 's/regexp/replacement/[gp]' which attempts to
+
+ to match regexp against the pattern space and if successful, replaces the matched portion with
+
+ replacement -r or -R Remove contents of directories recursively.
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+rmdir [OPTION] ... directory
+
+ Remove directories if they are empty.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+rmdir [OPTION] ... directory
+
+ Remove directories if they are empty.
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+sed
+
+ Sed scripts are subject to the following format: 's/regexp/replacement/[gp]' which attempts to
+
+ match regexp against the pattern space and if successful, replaces the matched portion with
+
+ replacement. This version of sed matches
+
+ full regular expressions.
+
+ -e Add the script to the commands to be executed.
+
+ -n Suppress automatic printing of pattern space..
+
+ -e Add the script to the commands to be executed.
+
+ -n Suppress automatic printing of pattern space..
+
+ -e Add the script to the commands to be executed.
+
+ -n Suppress automatic printing of pattern space.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+sleep N
+
+ Pause for N seconds.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+tar -[cxtvOf] [tarFileName] [file]
+
+ Create, extract or list files from a tar file.
+
+ c=create
+
+ x=extract
+
+ t=list contents
+
+ v=verbose
+
+ O=extract to stdout
+
+ f=tarfile or "-" for standard input
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+swapon device
+
+ Start swapping virtual memory pages on the given device.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+swapoff device
+
+ Stop swapping virtual memory pages on the given device.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+sync
+
+ Write all buffered filesystem blocks to disk.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+touch [-c] file [file...]
+
+ Update the last modified date on given file(s).
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+true
+
+ A null command that returns a successful 0 exit status code. (See false)
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+false
+
+ A null command that returns an unsuccessful or non-zero exit status.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+uname [option]
+
+ Print certain system information. With no option, same as -s.
+
+ -a Display all information
+
+ -m Display machine hardware type.
+
+ -n Display machine network node hostname.
+
+ -r Display OS release
+
+ -s Display OS Name.
+
+ -p Display Host processor type.
+
+ -v Display OS Version.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+umount [flags] filesystem | directory
+
+ Unmounts designated filesystem previously mounted on device.
+
+ -a Unmount all file systems.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+update
+
+cvs update [options] files
+
+ Incorporates recent changes from the repository into files in your working directory. No
+
+ options are currently supported.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+zcat [options] files
+
+ Uncompress file from gzip, gunzip or compress command or standard input if file is '-'.
+
+ -c Write output to standard output.
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+gunzip (Same as zcat)
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+
+gzip (Same as zcat)
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+
+loadfont
+
+ No information available with --help.
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+loadkmap
+
+ No information available with --help
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
+
+
+
+
+linuxrc
+
+ No information available with --help
+
+
+
+
+
+________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+
projects / oweals / busybox.git / commitdiff