CoreUtils

collection of basic file, shell and text manipulation utilities

The GNU Core Utilities are the basic file, shell and text manipulation utilities of the GNU operating system. These are the core utilities which are expected to exist on every operating system. Utility http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/coreutils.htm

copy files and set attributes

In the first three forms, copy SOURCE to DEST or multi- ple SOURCE(s) to the existing DIRECTORY, while setting permission modes and owner/group. In the 4th form, cre- ate all components of the given DIRECTORY(ies).

Basename: strip directory and suffix from filenames

Print NAME with any leading directory components removed. If specified, also remove a trailing SUFFIX.

Cat: concatenate files and print on the standard output

Concatenate FILE(s), or standard input, to standard out- put.

Chgrp: change group ownership

Change the group of each FILE to GROUP. With --refer- ence, change the group of each FILE to that of RFILE.

Chmod: change file access permissions

chmod changes the permissions of each given file accord- ing to mode, which can be either a symbolic representa- tion of changes to make, or an octal number representing the bit pattern for the new permissions.

Chown: change file owner and group

chown changes the user and/or group ownership of each given file, according to its first non-option argument, which is interpreted as follows. If only a user name (or numeric user ID) is given, that user is made the owner of each given file, and the files' group is not changed. If the user name is followed by a colon or dot and a group name (or numeric group ID), with no spaces between them, the group ownership of the files is changed as well. If a colon or dot but no group name follows the user name, that user is made the owner of the files and the group of the files is changed to that user's login group. If the colon or dot and group are given, but the user name is omitted, only the group of the files is changed; in this case, chown performs the same function as chgrp.

Chroot: run command or interactive shell with special root directory

Run COMMAND with root directory set to NEWROOT.

Cksum: checksum and count the bytes in a file

Print CRC checksum and byte counts of each FILE.

Comm: compare two sorted files line by line

Compare sorted files FILE1 and FILE2 line by line. With no options, produce three-column output. Column one contains lines unique to FILE1, column two contains lines unique to FILE2, and column three contains lines common to both files.

Cp: copy files and directories

Copy SOURCE to DEST, or multiple SOURCE(s) to DIRECTORY.

Csplit: split a file into sections determined by context lines

Output pieces of FILE separated by PATTERN(s) to files `xx01', `xx02', ..., and output byte counts of each piece to standard output.

Cut: remove sections from each line of files

Print selected parts of lines from each FILE to standard output.

Date: print or set the system date and time

Display the current time in the given FORMAT, or set the system date.

Dd: convert and copy a file

Copy a file, converting and formatting according to the operands.

Df: report filesystem disk space usage

df displays the amount of disk space available on the file system containing each file name argument. If no file name is given, the space available on all currently mounted file systems is shown. Disk space is shown in 1K blocks by default, unless the environment variable POSIXLY_CORRECT is set, in which case 512-byte blocks are used.

Dir: list directory contents

List information about the FILEs (the current directory by default). Sort entries alphabetically if none of -cftuSUX nor --sort.

DirColors: color setup for ls

Output commands to set the LS_COLORS environment vari- able.

Dirname: strip non-directory suffix from file name

Print NAME with its trailing /component removed; if NAME contains no /'s, output `.' (meaning the current direc- tory).

Du: estimate file space usage

Summarize disk usage of each FILE, recursively for directories.

Echo: display a line of text

Echo the STRING(s) to standard output.

Env: run a program in a modified environment

Set each NAME to VALUE in the environment and run COM- MAND.

Expand: convert tabs to spaces

Convert tabs in each FILE to spaces, writing to standard output. With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

Expr: evaluate expressions

Print the value of EXPRESSION to standard output. A blank line below separates increasing precedence groups.

Factor: factor numbers

Print the prime factors of each NUMBER.

False: do nothing, unsuccessfully

Exit with a status code indicating failure.

Fmt: simple optimal text formatter

Reformat each paragraph in the FILE(s), writing to stan- dard output. If no FILE or if FILE is `-', read stan- dard input.

Fold: wrap each input line to fit in specified width

Wrap input lines in each FILE (standard input by default), writing to standard output.

Date: print or set the system date and time

Display the current time in the given FORMAT, or set the system date.

Echo: display a line of text

Echo the STRING(s) to standard output.

Install: copy files and set attributes

In the first three forms, copy SOURCE to DEST or multi- ple SOURCE(s) to the existing DIRECTORY, while setting permission modes and owner/group. In the 4th form, cre- ate all components of the given DIRECTORY(ies).

Ln: make links between files

In the 1st form, create a link to TARGET with the name LINK_NAME. In the 2nd form, create a link to TARGET in the current directory. In the 3rd and 4th forms, create links to each TARGET in DIRECTORY. Create hard links by default, symbolic links with --symbolic. When creating hard links, each TARGET must exist.

Mkdir: make directories

Create the DIRECTORY(ies), if they do not already exist.

Rmdir: remove empty directories

Remove the DIRECTORY(ies), if they are empty. groups

groups - print the groups a user is in

Same as id -Gn. If no USERNAME, use current process.

Sort: sort lines of text files

Write sorted concatenation of all FILE(s) to standard output.

Head: output the first part of files

Print the first 10 lines of each FILE to standard out- put. With more than one FILE, precede each with a header giving the file name. With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

Hostid: print the numeric identifier for the current host

Print the numeric identifier (in hexadecimal) for the current host.

Hostname: set or print the name of the current host system

Print or set the hostname of the current system.

Id: print real and effective UIDs and GIDs

Print information for USERNAME, or the current user.

Join: join lines of two files on a common field

For each pair of input lines with identical join fields, write a line to standard output. The default join field is the first, delimited by whitespace. When FILE1 or FILE2 (not both) is -, read standard input.

Kill: send signals to processes, or list signals

Send signals to processes, or list signals.

Link: call the link function to create a link to a file

Call the link function to create a link named FILE2 to an existing FILE1.

Ln: make links between files

In the 1st form, create a link to TARGET with the name LINK_NAME. In the 2nd form, create a link to TARGET in the current directory. In the 3rd and 4th forms, create links to each TARGET in DIRECTORY. Create hard links by default, symbolic links with --symbolic. When creating hard links, each TARGET must exist.

Logname: print user's login name

Print the name of the current user.

Ls: list directory contents

List information about the FILEs (the current directory by default). Sort entries alphabetically if none of -cftuSUX nor --sort.

Md5Sum: compute and check MD5 message digest

Print or check MD5 (128-bit) checksums. With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

Mkdir: make directories

Create the DIRECTORY(ies), if they do not already exist.

Mkfifo: make FIFOs (named pipes)

Create named pipes (FIFOs) with the given NAMEs.

Mknod: make block or character special files

Create the special file NAME of the given TYPE.

Mv: move (rename) files

Rename SOURCE to DEST, or move SOURCE(s) to DIRECTORY.

Nice: run a program with modified scheduling priority

Run COMMAND with an adjusted nice value, which affects the scheduling priority. With no COMMAND, print the current nice value. Nice values range from -20 (most favorable scheduling) to 19 (least favorable).

Nl: number lines of files

Write each FILE to standard output, with line numbers added. With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

Nohup: run a command immune to hangups, with output to a non-tty

Run COMMAND, ignoring hangup signals.

Od: dump files in octal and other formats

Write an unambiguous representation, octal bytes by default, of FILE to standard output. With more than one FILE argument, concatenate them in the listed order to form the input. With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

Paste: merge lines of files

Write lines consisting of the sequentially corresponding lines from each FILE, separated by TABs, to standard output. With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

Pathchk: check whether file names are valid or portable

Diagnose unportable constructs in NAME.

Pinky: lightweight finger

A lightweight `finger' program; print user information.

Pr: convert text files for printing

Paginate or columnate FILE(s) for printing.

Printenv: print all or part of environment

If no environment VARIABLE specified, print them all.

Printf: format and print data

Print ARGUMENT(s) according to FORMAT.

Ptx: produce a permuted index of file contents

Output a permuted index, including context, of the words in the input files.

Pwd: print name of current/working directory

Print the full filename of the current working direc- tory.

Readlink: display value of a symbolic link

Display value of a symbolic link on standard output.

Rm: remove files or directories

rm removes each specified file. By default, it does not remove directories.

Rmdir: remove empty directories

Remove the DIRECTORY(ies), if they are empty.

Seq: print a sequence of numbers

Print numbers from FIRST to LAST, in steps of INCREMENT.

Setuidgid: run a command as a specified user

Drop any supplemental groups, assume the user-ID and group-ID of the specified USERNAME, and run COMMAND with any specified ARGUMENTs. Exit with status 111 if unable to assume the required UID and GID. Otherwise, exit with the exit status of COMMAND. This program is useful only when run by root (UID=0).

Sha1sum: compute and check SHA1 message digest

Print or check SHA1 (160-bit) checksums. With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

Shred: delete a file securely

Overwrite the specified FILE(s) repeatedly, in order to make it harder for even very expensive hardware probing to recover the data.

Sleep: delay for a specified amount of time

Pause for NUMBER seconds. SUFFIX may be `s' for seconds (the default), `m' for minutes, `h' for hours or `d' for days. Unlike most implementations that require NUMBER be an integer, here NUMBER may be an arbitrary floating point number.

Sort: sort lines of text files

Write sorted concatenation of all FILE(s) to standard output.

Split: split a file into pieces

Output fixed-size pieces of INPUT to PREFIXaa, PREFIXab, ...; default PREFIX is `x'. With no INPUT, or when INPUT is -, read standard input.

Stat: display file or filesystem status

Display file or file system status.

Stty: change and print terminal line settings

Print or change terminal characteristics.

Su: run a shell with substitute user and group IDs

Change the effective user id and group id to that of USER.

Sum: checksum and count the blocks in a file

Print checksum and block counts for each FILE.

Sync: flush filesystem buffers

Force changed blocks to disk, update the super block.

Tac: concatenate and print files in reverse

Write each FILE to standard output, last line first. With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

Tail: output the last part of files

Print the last 10 lines of each FILE to standard output. With more than one FILE, precede each with a header giv- ing the file name. With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

Tee: read from standard input and write to standard output and files

Copy standard input to each FILE, and also to standard output.

Test: check file types and compare values

Exit with the status determined by EXPRESSION.

Touch: change file timestamps

Update the access and modification times of each FILE to the current time.

Tr: translate or delete characters

Translate, squeeze, and/or delete characters from stan- dard input, writing to standard output.

True: do nothing, successfully

Exit with a status code indicating success.

Tsort: perform topological sort

Write totally ordered list consistent with the partial ordering in FILE. With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

Tty: print the file name of the terminal connected to standard input

Print the file name of the terminal connected to stan- dard input.

Uname: print system information

Print certain system information. With no OPTION, same as -s.

Unexpand: convert spaces to tabs

Convert blanks in each FILE to tabs, writing to standard output. With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

Uniq: remove duplicate lines from a sorted file

Discard all but one of successive identical lines from INPUT (or standard input), writing to OUTPUT (or stan- dard output).

Unlink: call the unlink function to remove the specified file

Call the unlink function to remove the specified FILE.

Uptime: tell how long the system has been running

Print the current time, the length of time the system has been up, the number of users on the system, and the average number of jobs in the run queue over the last 1, 5 and 15 minutes. If FILE is not specified, use /var/run/utmp. /var/log/wtmp as FILE is common.

Users: print the user names of users currently logged in to the current host

Output who is currently logged in according to FILE. If FILE is not specified, use /var/run/utmp. /var/log/wtmp as FILE is common.

Vdir: list directory contents

List information about the FILEs (the current directory by default). Sort entries alphabetically if none of -cftuSUX nor --sort.

Wc: print the number of bytes, words, and lines in files

Print newline, word, and byte counts for each FILE, and a total line if more than one FILE is specified. With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

Who: show who is logged on

Whoami: print effective userid

Print the user name associated with the current effec- tive user id. Same as id -un.

Yes: output a string repeatedly until killed

Repeatedly output a line with all specified STRING(s), or `y'.

[: test expression

Exit with the status determined by EXPRESSION.