apropos: search keyword in available man pages
finds related man pages based on the provided search term
Typical usage: documentation purposes, lookup command information, general system administrationIntroduction into apropos
The apropos tool is a search tool that retrieves information from the man pages that are installed on the system. It’s like a local search engine, matching related commands, system calls, and other system components. The command is easy to use, as it just needs a single word to search for to start doing its job. By using relevant command options the output can be reduced, such as filter on exact word matches or by using regular expressions.
Installation
When apropos is not installed by default, it can be added to the system using the relevant software package.
Package information for apropos
| Operating system | Package name | Installation |
|---|---|---|
| AlmaLinux | man-db | |
| Arch Linux | man-db | |
| Debian | man-db | |
| Fedora | man-db | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux | man-db | |
| Rocky Linux | man-db | |
| openSUSE | man-db | |
| Ubuntu | man-db | |
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Usage
Available options
| Long option | Short option | Description |
|---|---|---|
| --and | -a | Match multiple key words by AND instead of OR operator |
| --exact | -e | Exact word match |
| --regex | -r | Provide a regular expression to use for search queries |
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Examples using apropos
Basic usage
Return all entries related to systemd
apropos systemdSearch for a specific word by exact matching
apropos --exact networOutput: <nothing>
Using regular expressions
Search for entries that contain words like manage, managed, management
apropos --regex "manage"Return only the entries with the word 'manage' at the beginning of a name or description
apropos --regex "^manage"Frequently Asked Questions
What is the apropos command and its purpose?
The apropos command is a command-line tool to search in man pages and return the results
Which package provides the apropos command?
The command apropos is provided by the man-db package.
Related and similar commands
Linux has a lot of tools and commands available and sometimes you just need that little other tool. Here is a list of commands that are similar or related to apropos:
| Command | Category | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| whatis | documentation | Shows small description of matched entries in man pages |