This documentation is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA For more details see the file COPYING in the source distribution of Linux. BusyBox combines tiny versions of many common UNIX utilities into a single small executable. It provides minimalist replacements for most of the utilities you usually find in fileutils, shellutils, findutils, textutils, grep, gzip, tar, etc. BusyBox provides a fairly complete POSIX environment for any small or embedded system. The utilities in BusyBox generally have fewer options than their full-featured GNU cousins; however, the options that are included provide the expected functionality and behave very much like their GNU counterparts. BusyBox has been written with size-optimization and limited resources in mind. It is also extremely modular so you can easily include or exclude commands (or features) at compile time. This makes it easy to customize your embedded systems. To create a working system, just add a kernel, a shell (such as ash), and an editor (such as elvis-tiny or ae). BusyBox <function> [arguments...] # or <function> [arguments...] # if symlinked When you create a link to BusyBox for the function you wish to use, when BusyBox is called using that link it will behave as if the command itself has been invoked. For example, entering ln -s ./BusyBox ls ./ls will cause BusyBox to behave as 'ls' (if the 'ls' command has been compiled into BusyBox). You can also invoke BusyBox by issuing the command as an argument on the command line. For example, entering ./BusyBox ls will also cause BusyBox to behave as 'ls'. Most BusyBox commands support the --help option to provide a terse runtime description of their behavior. Currently defined functions include: ar, basename, cat, chgrp, chmod, chown, chroot, chvt, clear, cp, cut, date, dc, dd, deallocvt, df, dirname, dmesg, du, dutmp, echo, false, fbset, fdflush, find, free, freeramdisk, fsck.minix, grep, gunzip, gzip, halt, head, hostid, hostname, id, init, insmod, kill, killall, length, ln, loadacm, loadfont, loadkmap, logger, logname, ls, lsmod, makedevs, mkdir, mkfifo, mkfs.minix, mknod, mkswap, mktemp, more, mount, mt, mv, nc, nslookup, ping, poweroff, printf, ps, pwd, reboot, rm, rmdir, rmmod, sed, setkeycodes, sfdisk, sh, sleep, sort, swapoff, swapon, sync, syslogd, tail, tar, tee, telnet, test, touch, tr, true, tty, umount, uname, uniq, update, uptime, usleep, uudecode, uuencode, wc, which, whoami, yes, zcat, [ Usage: ar [OPTION] archive [FILENAME]... Extract or list files from an ar archive. Options: o Preserve original dates p Extract to stdout t List x Extract v Verbosely list files processed Usage: basename FILE [SUFFIX] Strip directory path and suffixes from FILE. If specified, also removes any trailing SUFFIX. Example: $ basename /usr/local/bin/foo foo $ basename /usr/local/bin/ bin $ basename /foo/bar.txt .txt bar Usage: cat [FILE]... Concatenate FILE(s) and prints them to the standard output. Example: $ cat /proc/uptime 110716.72 17.67 Usage: chgrp [OPTION]... GROUP FILE... Change the group membership of each FILE to GROUP. Options: -R Change files and directories recursively Example: $ ls -l /tmp/foo -r--r--r-- 1 andersen andersen 0 Apr 12 18:25 /tmp/foo $ chgrp root /tmp/foo $ ls -l /tmp/foo -r--r--r-- 1 andersen root 0 Apr 12 18:25 /tmp/foo Usage: chmod [-R] MODE[,MODE]... FILE... Change file access permissions for the specified FILE(s) (or directories). Each MODE is defined by combining the letters for WHO has access to the file, an OPERATOR for selecting how the permissions should be changed, and a PERMISSION for FILE(s) (or directories). WHO may be chosen from u User who owns the file g Users in the file's Group o Other users not in the file's group a All users OPERATOR may be chosen from + Add a permission - Remove a permission = Assign a permission PERMISSION may be chosen from r Read w Write x Execute (or access for directories) s Set user (or group) ID bit t Sticky bit (for directories prevents removing files by non-owners) Alternately, permissions can be set numerically where the first three numbers are calculated by adding the octal values, such as 4 Read 2 Write 1 Execute An optional fourth digit can also be used to specify 4 Set user ID 2 Set group ID 1 Sticky bit Options: -R Change files and directories recursively. Example: $ ls -l /tmp/foo -rw-rw-r-- 1 root root 0 Apr 12 18:25 /tmp/foo $ chmod u+x /tmp/foo $ ls -l /tmp/foo -rwxrw-r-- 1 root root 0 Apr 12 18:25 /tmp/foo* $ chmod 444 /tmp/foo $ ls -l /tmp/foo -r--r--r-- 1 root root 0 Apr 12 18:25 /tmp/foo Usage: chown [OPTION]... OWNER[<.|:>[GROUP] FILE... Change the owner and/or group of each FILE to OWNER and/or GROUP. Options: -R Change files and directories recursively Example: $ ls -l /tmp/foo -r--r--r-- 1 andersen andersen 0 Apr 12 18:25 /tmp/foo $ chown root /tmp/foo $ ls -l /tmp/foo -r--r--r-- 1 root andersen 0 Apr 12 18:25 /tmp/foo $ chown root.root /tmp/foo ls -l /tmp/foo -r--r--r-- 1 root root 0 Apr 12 18:25 /tmp/foo Usage: chroot NEWROOT [COMMAND...] Run COMMAND with root directory set to NEWROOT. Example: $ ls -l /bin/ls lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 12 Apr 13 00:46 /bin/ls -> /BusyBox $ mount /dev/hdc1 /mnt -t minix $ chroot /mnt $ ls -l /bin/ls -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 40816 Feb 5 07:45 /bin/ls* Usage: chvt N Change the foreground virtual terminal to /dev/ttyN Usage: clear Clear the screen. Usage: cp [OPTION]... SOURCE DEST or: cp [OPTION]... SOURCE... DIRECTORY Copy SOURCE to DEST, or multiple SOURCE(s) to DIRECTORY. Options: -a Same as -dpR -d Preserve links -p Preserve file attributes if possible -R Copy directories recursively Usage: cut [OPTION]... [FILE]... Print selected fields from each input FILE to standard output. Options: -b LIST Output only bytes from LIST -c LIST Output only characters from LIST -d CHAR Use CHAR instead of tab as the field delimiter -s Only output Lines if the include DELIM -f N Print only these fields -n Ignored Example: $ echo "Hello world" | cut -f 1 -d ' ' Hello $ echo "Hello world" | cut -f 2 -d ' ' world Usage: date [OPTION]... [+FORMAT] or: date [OPTION] [MMDDhhmm[[CC]YY][.ss]] Display the current time in the given FORMAT, or set the system date. Options: -R Output RFC-822 compliant date string -s Set time described by STRING -u Print or set Coordinated Universal Time Example: $ date Wed Apr 12 18:52:41 MDT 2000 Usage: dc [EXPRESSION] This is a Tiny RPN calculator that understands the following operations: +, -, /, *, and, or, not, eor. If no arguments are given, dc will process input from stdin. The behaviour of BusyBox/dc deviates (just a little ;-) from GNU/dc, but this will be remedied in the future. Example: $ dc 2 2 + 4 $ dc 8 8 \* 2 2 + / 16 $ dc 0 1 and 0 $ dc 0 1 or 1 $ echo 72 9 div 8 mul | dc 64 Usage: dd [OPTION]... Copy a file, converting and formatting according to options. Options: if=FILE Read from FILE instead of stdin of=FILE Write to FILE instead of stdout bs=N Read and write N bytes at a time count=N Copy only N input blocks skip=N Skip N input blocks seek=N Skip N output blocks Numbers may be suffixed by w (x2), k (x1024), b (x512), or M (x1024^2). Example: $ dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/ram1 bs=1M count=4 4+0 records in 4+0 records out Usage: deallocvt N Deallocate unused virtual terminal /dev/ttyN. Usage: df [FILE]... Print the filesystem space used and space available. Example: $ df Filesystem 1k-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on /dev/sda3 8690864 8553540 137324 98% / /dev/sda1 64216 36364 27852 57% /boot $ df /dev/sda3 Filesystem 1k-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on /dev/sda3 8690864 8553540 137324 98% / Usage: dirname NAME Strip non-directory suffix from NAME. Example: $ dirname /tmp/foo /tmp $ dirname /tmp/foo/ /tmp Usage: dmesg [OPTION]... Print or control the kernel ring buffer. Options: -c Clear the ring buffer after printing -n LEVEL Set the console logging level to LEVEL -s BUFSIZE Query ring buffer using a buffer of BUFSIZE Usage: du [OPTION]... [FILE]... Summarize the disk space used for each FILE or current directory. Disk space printed in units of 1k (i.e. 1024 bytes). Options: -l Count sizes many times if hard linked -s Display only a total for each argument Example: $ du 16 ./CVS 12 ./kernel-patches/CVS 80 ./kernel-patches 12 ./tests/CVS 36 ./tests 12 ./scripts/CVS 16 ./scripts 12 ./docs/CVS 104 ./docs 2417 . Usage: dutmp [FILE] Dump utmp file format (pipe delimited) from FILE or stdin to stdout. Example: $ dutmp /var/run/utmp 8|7||si|||0|0|0|955637625|760097|0 2|0|~|~~|reboot||0|0|0|955637625|782235|0 1|20020|~|~~|runlevel||0|0|0|955637625|800089|0 8|125||l4|||0|0|0|955637629|998367|0 6|245|tty1|1|LOGIN||0|0|0|955637630|998974|0 6|246|tty2|2|LOGIN||0|0|0|955637630|999498|0 7|336|pts/0|vt00andersen|andersen|:0.0|0|0|0|955637763|0|0 Usage: echo [OPTION]... [ARG]... Print ARGs to stdout. Options: -n Suppress trailing newline -e Enable interpretation of escaped characters -E Disable interpretation of escaped characters Example: $ echo "Erik is cool" Erik is cool $ echo -e "Erik\nis\ncool" Erik is cool $ echo "Erik\nis\ncool" Erik\nis\ncool Usage: false Returns an exit code of FALSE (1). Example: $ false $ echo $? 1 fbset Usage: fbset [options] [mode] Show and modify frame buffer device settings Options: -h -fb -db -a -i -g -t -accel -hsync -vsync -laced -double Example: $ fbset mode "1024x768-76" # D: 78.653 MHz, H: 59.949 kHz, V: 75.694 Hz geometry 1024 768 1024 768 16 timings 12714 128 32 16 4 128 4 accel false rgba 5/11,6/5,5/0,0/0 endmode ------------------------------- fdflush Usage: fdflush device Force floppy disk drive to detect disk change ------------------------------- find Usage: find [PATH...] [EXPRESSION] Search for files in a directory hierarchy. The default PATH is the current directory; default EXPRESSION is '-print' EXPRESSION may consist of: -follow Dereference symbolic links. -name PATTERN File name (leading directories removed) matches PATTERN. -print print the full file name followed by a newline to stdout. Example: $ find / -name /etc/passwd /etc/passwd ------------------------------- free Usage: free Displays the amount of free and used system memory. Example: $ free total used free shared buffers Mem: 257628 248724 8904 59644 93124 Swap: 128516 8404 120112 Total: 386144 257128 129016 ------------------------------- freeramdisk Usage: freeramdisk DEVICE Frees all memory used by the specified ramdisk. Example: $ freeramdisk /dev/ram2 ------------------------------- fsck.minix Usage: fsck.minix [-larvsmf] /dev/name Performs a consistency check for MINIX filesystems. OPTIONS: -l Lists all filenames -r Perform interactive repairs -a Perform automatic repairs -v verbose -s Outputs super-block information -m Activates MINIX-like "mode not cleared" warnings -f Force file system check. ------------------------------- grep Usage: grep [OPTIONS]... PATTERN [FILE]... Search for PATTERN in each FILE or standard input. OPTIONS: -h suppress the prefixing filename on output -i ignore case distinctions -n print line number with output lines -q be quiet. Returns 0 if result was found, 1 otherwise -v select non-matching lines This version of grep matches full regular expressions. Example: $ grep root /etc/passwd root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash $ grep ^[rR]oo. /etc/passwd root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash ------------------------------- gunzip Usage: gunzip [OPTION]... FILE Uncompress FILE (or standard input if FILE is '-'). Options: -c Write output to standard output -t Test compressed file integrity Example: $ ls -la /tmp/BusyBox* -rw-rw-r-- 1 andersen andersen 557009 Apr 11 10:55 /tmp/BusyBox-0.43.tar.gz $ gunzip /tmp/BusyBox-0.43.tar.gz $ ls -la /tmp/BusyBox* -rw-rw-r-- 1 andersen andersen 1761280 Apr 14 17:47 /tmp/BusyBox-0.43.tar ------------------------------- gzip Usage: gzip [OPTION]... FILE Compress FILE with maximum compression. When FILE is '-', reads standard input. Implies -c. Options: -c Write output to standard output instead of FILE.gz Example: $ ls -la /tmp/BusyBox* -rw-rw-r-- 1 andersen andersen 1761280 Apr 14 17:47 /tmp/BusyBox-0.43.tar $ gzip /tmp/BusyBox-0.43.tar $ ls -la /tmp/BusyBox* -rw-rw-r-- 1 andersen andersen 554058 Apr 14 17:49 /tmp/BusyBox-0.43.tar.gz ------------------------------- halt Usage: halt This command halts the system. ------------------------------- head Usage: head [OPTION] [FILE]... Print first 10 lines of each FILE to standard output. With more than one FILE, precede each with a header giving the file name. With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input. Options: -n NUM Print first NUM lines instead of first 10 Example: $ head -n 2 /etc/passwd root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/bin/sh ------------------------------- hostid Usage: hostid Prints out a unique 32-bit identifier for the current machine. The 32-bit identifier is intended to be unique among all UNIX systems in existence. ------------------------------- hostname Usage: hostname [OPTION] {hostname | -F file} Get or set the hostname or DNS domain name. If a hostname is given (or a file with the -F parameter), the host name will be set. Options: -s Short -i Addresses for the hostname -d DNS domain name -F FILE Use the contents of FILE to specify the hostname Example: $ hostname slag ------------------------------- id Print information for USERNAME or the current user Options: -g prints only the group ID -u prints only the user ID -r prints the real user ID instead of the effective ID (with -ug) Example: $ id uid=1000(andersen) gid=1000(andersen) ------------------------------- init Usage: init Init is the parent of all processes. This version of init is designed to be run only by the kernel. BusyBox init doesn't support multiple runlevels. The runlevels field of the /etc/inittab file is completely ignored by BusyBox init. If you want runlevels, use sysvinit. BusyBox init works just fine without an inittab. If no inittab is found, it has the following default behavior: ::sysinit:/etc/init.d/rcS ::askfirst:/bin/sh if it detects that /dev/console is _not_ a serial console, it will also run: tty2::askfirst:/bin/sh If you choose to use an /etc/inittab file, the inittab entry format is as follows: <id>:<runlevels>:<action>:<process> <id>: WARNING: This field has a non-traditional meaning for BusyBox init! The id field is used by BusyBox init to specify the controlling tty for the specified process to run on. The contents of this field are appended to "/dev/" and used as-is. There is no need for this field to be unique, although if it isn't you may have strange results. If this field is left blank, it is completely ignored. Also note that if BusyBox detects that a serial console is in use, then all entries containing non-empty id fields will _not_ be run. BusyBox init does nothing with utmp. We don't need no stinkin' utmp. <runlevels>: The runlevels field is completely ignored. <action>: Valid actions include: sysinit, respawn, askfirst, wait, once, and ctrlaltdel. askfirst acts just like respawn, but before running the specified process it displays the line "Please press Enter to activate this console." and then waits for the user to press enter before starting the specified process. Unrecognized actions (like initdefault) will cause init to emit an error message, and then go along with its business. <process>: Specifies the process to be executed and it's command line. Example /etc/inittab file: # This is run first except when booting in single-user mode. # ::sysinit:/etc/init.d/rcS # /bin/sh invocations on selected ttys # # Start an "askfirst" shell on the console (whatever that may be) ::askfirst:/bin/sh # Start an "askfirst" shell on /dev/tty2 tty2::askfirst:/bin/sh # /sbin/getty invocations for selected ttys # tty4::respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty4 tty5::respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty5 # Example of how to put a getty on a serial line (for a terminal) # #ttyS0::respawn:/sbin/getty -L ttyS0 9600 vt100 #ttyS1::respawn:/sbin/getty -L ttyS1 9600 vt100 # # Example how to put a getty on a modem line. #ttyS2::respawn:/sbin/getty -x0 -s 57600 ttyS2 # Stuff to do before rebooting ::ctrlaltdel:/bin/umount -a -r > /dev/null 2>&1 ::ctrlaltdel:/sbin/swapoff -a > /dev/null 2>&1 ------------------------------- insmod Usage: insmod [OPTION]... MODULE [symbol=value]... Loads the specified kernel modules into the kernel. Options: -f Force module to load into the wrong kernel version. -k Make module autoclean-able. -v verbose output -x do not export externs ------------------------------- kill Usage: kill [-signal] process-id [process-id ...] Send a signal (default is SIGTERM) to the specified process(es). Options: -l List all signal names and numbers. Example: $ ps | grep apache 252 root root S [apache] 263 www-data www-data S [apache] 264 www-data www-data S [apache] 265 www-data www-data S [apache] 266 www-data www-data S [apache] 267 www-data www-data S [apache] $ kill 252 ------------------------------- killall Usage: killall [-signal] process-name [process-name ...] Send a signal (default is SIGTERM) to the specified process(es). Options: -l List all signal names and numbers. Example: $ killall apache ------------------------------- length Usage: length STRING Prints out the length of the specified STRING. Example: $ length "Hello" 5 ------------------------------- ln Usage: ln [OPTION] TARGET... LINK_NAME|DIRECTORY Create a link named LINK_NAME or DIRECTORY to the specified TARGET You may use '--' to indicate that all following arguments are non-options. Options: -s make symbolic links instead of hard links -f remove existing destination files Example: $ ln -s BusyBox /tmp/ls $ ls -l /tmp/ls lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 7 Apr 12 18:39 ls -> BusyBox* ------------------------------- loadacm Usage: loadacm Loads an acm from standard input. Example: $ loadacm < /etc/i18n/acmname ------------------------------- loadfont Usage: loadfont Loads a console font from standard input. Example: $ loadfont < /etc/i18n/fontname ------------------------------- loadkmap Usage: loadkmap Loads a binary keyboard translation table from standard input. Example: $ loadkmap < /etc/i18n/lang-keymap ------------------------------- logger Usage: logger [OPTION]... [MESSAGE] Write MESSAGE to the system log. If MESSAGE is '-', log stdin. Options: -s Log to stderr as well as the system log. -t Log using the specified tag (defaults to user name). -p Enter the message with the specified priority. This may be numerical or a ``facility.level'' pair. Example: $ logger "hello" ------------------------------- logname Usage: logname Print the name of the current user. Example: $ logname root ------------------------------- ls Usage: ls [-1acdelnpuxACFR] [filenames...] Options: -a do not hide entries starting with . -c with -l: show ctime (the time of last modification of file status information) -d list directory entries instead of contents -e list both full date and full time -l use a long listing format -n list numeric UIDs and GIDs instead of names -p append indicator (one of /=@|) to entries -u with -l: show access time (the time of last access of the file) -x list entries by lines instead of by columns -A do not list implied . and .. -C list entries by columns -F append indicator (one of */=@|) to entries -R list subdirectories recursively ------------------------------- lsmod Usage: lsmod Shows a list of all currently loaded kernel modules. ------------------------------- makedevs Usage: makedevs NAME TYPE MAJOR MINOR FIRST LAST [s] Creates a range of block or character special files TYPEs include: b: Make a block (buffered) device. c or u: Make a character (un-buffered) device. p: Make a named pipe. MAJOR and MINOR are ignored for named pipes. FIRST specifies the number appended to NAME to create the first device. LAST specifies the number of the last item that should be created. If 's' is the last argument, the base device is created as well. Example: $ makedevs /dev/ttyS c 4 66 2 63 [creates ttyS2-ttyS63] $ makedevs /dev/hda b 3 0 0 8 s [creates hda,hda1-hda8] ------------------------------- md5sum Usage: md5sum [OPTION] [file ...] Print or check MD5 checksums. Options: -b read files in binary mode -c check MD5 sums against given list -t read files in text mode (default) -g read a string The following two options are useful only when verifying checksums: -s don't output anything, status code shows success -w warn about improperly formated MD5 checksum lines Example: $ md5sum busybox 6fd11e98b98a58f64ff3398d7b324003 busybox $ md5sum -c - 6fd11e98b98a58f64ff3398d7b324003 busybox busybox: OK ^D ------------------------------- mkdir Usage: mkdir [OPTION] DIRECTORY... Create the DIRECTORY(ies), if they do not already exist Options: -m set permission mode (as in chmod), not rwxrwxrwx - umask -p no error if directory exists, make parent directories as needed Example: $ mkdir /tmp/foo $ mkdir /tmp/foo /tmp/foo: File exists $ mkdir /tmp/foo/bar/baz /tmp/foo/bar/baz: No such file or directory $ mkdir -p /tmp/foo/bar/baz ------------------------------- mkfifo Usage: mkfifo [OPTIONS] name Creates a named pipe (identical to 'mknod name p') Options: -m create the pipe using the specified mode (default a=rw) ------------------------------- mkfs.minix Usage: mkfs.minix [-c | -l filename] [-nXX] [-iXX] /dev/name [blocks] Make a MINIX filesystem. OPTIONS: -c Check the device for bad blocks -n [14|30] Specify the maximum length of filenames -i Specify the number of inodes for the filesystem -l FILENAME Read the bad blocks list from FILENAME -v Make a Minix version 2 filesystem ------------------------------- mknod Usage: mknod [OPTIONS] NAME TYPE MAJOR MINOR Create a special file (block, character, or pipe). Options: -m create the special file using the specified mode (default a=rw) TYPEs include: b: Make a block (buffered) device. c or u: Make a character (un-buffered) device. p: Make a named pipe. MAJOR and MINOR are ignored for named pipes. Example: $ mknod /dev/fd0 b 2 0 $ mknod -m 644 /tmp/pipe p ------------------------------- mkswap Usage: mkswap [-c] [-v0|-v1] device [block-count] Prepare a disk partition to be used as a swap partition. Options: -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 block to use (default is entire partition). ------------------------------- mktemp Usage: mktemp [-q] TEMPLATE Creates a temporary file with its name based on TEMPLATE. TEMPLATE is any name with six `Xs' (i.e. /tmp/temp.XXXXXX). Example: $ mktemp /tmp/temp.XXXXXX /tmp/temp.mWiLjM $ ls -la /tmp/temp.mWiLjM -rw------- 1 andersen andersen 0 Apr 25 17:10 /tmp/temp.mWiLjM ------------------------------- more Usage: more [file ...] More is a filter for paging through text one screenful at a time. Example: $ dmesg | more ------------------------------- mount Usage: mount [flags] mount [flags] device directory [-o options,more-options] Flags: -a: Mount all file systems in fstab. -o option: One of many filesystem options, listed below. -r: Mount the filesystem read-only. -t fs-type: Specify the filesystem type. -w: Mount for reading and writing (default). Options for use with the ``-o'' flag: async/sync: Writes are asynchronous / synchronous. atime/noatime: Enable / disable updates to inode access times. dev/nodev: Allow use of special device files / disallow them. exec/noexec: Allow use of executable files / disallow them. loop: Mounts a file via loop device. suid/nosuid: Allow set-user-id-root programs / disallow them. remount: Re-mount a currently-mounted filesystem, changing its flags. ro/rw: Mount for read-only / read-write. There are EVEN MORE flags that are specific to each filesystem. You'll have to see the written documentation for those. Example: $ mount /dev/hda3 on / type minix (rw) proc on /proc type proc (rw) devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw) $ mount /dev/fd0 /mnt -t msdos -o ro $ mount /tmp/diskimage /opt -t ext2 -o loop ------------------------------- mt Usage: mt [-f device] opcode value Control magnetic tape drive operation ------------------------------- mv Usage: mv SOURCE DEST or: mv SOURCE... DIRECTORY Rename SOURCE to DEST, or move SOURCE(s) to DIRECTORY. Example: $ mv /tmp/foo /bin/bar ------------------------------- nc Usage: nc [IP] [port] Netcat opens a pipe to IP:port Example: $ nc foobar.somedomain.com 25 220 foobar ESMTP Exim 3.12 #1 Sat, 15 Apr 2000 00:03:02 -0600 help 214-Commands supported: 214- HELO EHLO MAIL RCPT DATA AUTH 214 NOOP QUIT RSET HELP quit 221 foobar closing connection ------------------------------- nslookup Usage: nslookup [HOST] Queries the nameserver for the IP address of the given HOST Example: $ nslookup localhost Server: default Address: default Name: debian Address: 127.0.0.1 ------------------------------- ping Usage: ping [OPTION]... host Send ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets to network hosts. Options: -c COUNT Send only COUNT pings. -s SIZE Send SIZE data bytes in packets (default=56). -q Quiet mode, only displays output at start and when finished. Example: $ ping localhost PING slag (127.0.0.1): 56 data bytes 64 bytes from 127.0.0.1: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=20.1 ms --- debian ping statistics --- 1 packets transmitted, 1 packets received, 0% packet loss round-trip min/avg/max = 20.1/20.1/20.1 ms ------------------------------- poweroff Shuts down the system, and requests that the kernel turn off power upon halting. ------------------------------- printf Usage: printf format [argument...] Formats and prints the given data in a manner similar to the C printf command. Example: $ printf "Val=%d\n" 5 Val=5 ------------------------------- ps Usage: ps Report process status This version of ps accepts no options. Example: $ ps PID Uid Gid State Command 1 root root S init 2 root root S [kflushd] 3 root root S [kupdate] 4 root root S [kpiod] 5 root root S [kswapd] 742 andersen andersen S [bash] 743 andersen andersen S -bash 745 root root S [getty] 2990 andersen andersen R ps ------------------------------- pwd Prints the full filename of the current working directory. Example: $ pwd /root ------------------------------- reboot Instructs the kernel to reboot the system. ------------------------------- rm Usage: rm [OPTION]... FILE... Remove (unlink) the FILE(s). You may use '--' to indicate that all following arguments are non-options. Options: -f remove existing destinations, never prompt -r or -R remove the contents of directories recursively Example: $ rm -rf /tmp/foo ------------------------------- rmdir Usage: rmdir [OPTION]... DIRECTORY... Remove the DIRECTORY(ies), if they are empty. Example: # rmdir /tmp/foo ------------------------------- rmmod Usage: rmmod [OPTION]... [MODULE]... Unloads the specified kernel modules from the kernel. Options: -a Try to remove all unused kernel modules. Example: $ rmmod tulip ------------------------------- sed Usage: sed [-n] -e script [file...] Allowed sed scripts come in the following form: 'ADDR [!] COMMAND' where address ADDR can be: NUMBER Match specified line number $ Match last line /REGEXP/ Match specified regexp (! inverts the meaning of the match) and COMMAND can be: s/regexp/replacement/[igp] which attempt to match regexp against the pattern space and if successful replaces the matched portion with replacement. aTEXT which appends TEXT after the pattern space Options: -e add the script to the commands to be executed -n suppress automatic printing of pattern space This version of sed matches full regular expressions. Example: $ echo "foo" | sed -e 's/f[a-zA-Z]o/bar/g' bar ------------------------------- setkeycodes Usage: setkeycodes SCANCODE KEYCODE ... Set entries into the kernel's scancode-to-keycode map, allowing unusual keyboards to generate usable keycodes. SCANCODE may be either xx or e0xx (hexadecimal), and KEYCODE is given in decimal Example: # setkeycodes e030 127 ------------------------------- sfdisk Usage: sfdisk [options] device ... device: something like /dev/hda or /dev/sda useful options: -s [or --show-size]: list size of a partition -c [or --id]: print or change partition Id -l [or --list]: list partitions of each device -d [or --dump]: idem, but in a format suitable for later input -i [or --increment]: number cylinders etc. from 1 instead of from 0 -uS, -uB, -uC, -uM: accept/report in units of sectors/blocks/cylinders/MB -T [or --list-types]:list the known partition types -D [or --DOS]: for DOS-compatibility: waste a little space -R [or --re-read]: make kernel reread partition table -N# : change only the partition with number # -n : do not actually write to disk -O file : save the sectors that will be overwritten to file -I file : restore these sectors again -v [or --version]: print version -? [or --help]: print this message dangerous options: -g [or --show-geometry]: print the kernel's idea of the geometry -x [or --show-extended]: also list extended partitions on output or expect descriptors for them on input -L [or --Linux]: do not complain about things irrelevant for Linux -q [or --quiet]: suppress warning messages You can override the detected geometry using: -C# [or --cylinders #]:set the number of cylinders to use -H# [or --heads #]: set the number of heads to use -S# [or --sectors #]: set the number of sectors to use You can disable all consistency checking with: -f [or --force]: do what I say, even if it is stupid ------------------------------- sh Usage: sh lash -- the BusyBox LAme SHell (command interpreter) This command does not yet have proper documentation. Use lash just as you would use any other shell. It properly handles pipes, redirects, job control, can be used as the shell for scripts (#!/bin/sh), and has a sufficient set of builtins to do what is needed. It does not (yet) support Bourne Shell syntax. If you need things like ``if-then-else'', ``while'', and such, use ash or bash. If you just need a very simple and extremely small shell, this will do the job. ------------------------------- sleep Usage: sleep N Pause for N seconds. Example: $ sleep 2 [2 second delay results] ------------------------------- sort Usage: sort [-n] [-r] [FILE]... Sorts lines of text in the specified files Example: $ echo -e "e\nf\nb\nd\nc\na" | sort a b c d e f ------------------------------- swapoff Usage: swapoff [OPTION] [device] Stop swapping virtual memory pages on the given device. Options: -a Stop swapping on all swap devices ------------------------------- swapon Usage: swapon [OPTION] [device] Start swapping virtual memory pages on the given device. Options: -a Start swapping on all swap devices ------------------------------- sync Usage: sync Write all buffered filesystem blocks to disk. ------------------------------- syslogd Usage: syslogd [OPTION]... Linux system and kernel (provides klogd) logging utility. Note that this version of syslogd/klogd ignores /etc/syslog.conf. Options: -m NUM Interval between MARK lines (default=20min, 0=off) -n Run as a foreground process -K Do not start up the klogd process -O FILE Use an alternate log file (default=/var/log/messages) ------------------------------- tail Usage: tail [OPTION] [FILE]... Print last 10 lines of each FILE to standard output. With more than one FILE, precede each with a header giving the file name. With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input. Options: -n NUM Print last NUM lines instead of first 10 -f Output data as the file grows. This version of 'tail -f' supports only one file at a time. Example: $ tail -n 1 /etc/resolv.conf nameserver 10.0.0.1 ------------------------------- tar Usage: tar -[cxtvO] [--exclude File] [-f tarFile] [FILE] ... Create, extract, or list files from a tar file. Note that this version of tar treats hard links as separate files. Main operation mode: c create x extract t list File selection: f name of tarfile or "-" for stdin O extract to stdout --exclude file to exclude Informative output: v verbosely list files processed Example: $ zcat /tmp/tarball.tar.gz | tar -xf - $ tar -cf /tmp/tarball.tar /usr/local ------------------------------- tee Usage: tee [OPTION]... [FILE]... Copy standard input to each FILE, and also to standard output. Options: -a append to the given FILEs, do not overwrite Example: $ echo "Hello" | tee /tmp/foo $ cat /tmp/foo Hello ------------------------------- telnet Usage: telnet host [port] Telnet is used to establish interactive communication with another computer over a network using the TELNET protocol. ------------------------------- test, [ Usage: test EXPRESSION or [ EXPRESSION ] Checks file types and compares values returning an exit code determined by the value of EXPRESSION. Example: $ test 1 -eq 2 $ echo $? 1 $ test 1 -eq 1 $ echo $? 0 $ [ -d /etc ] $ echo $? 0 $ [ -d /junk ] $ echo $? 1 ------------------------------- touch Usage: touch [-c] file [file ...] Update the last-modified date on (or create) the selected file[s]. Example: $ ls -l /tmp/foo /bin/ls: /tmp/foo: No such file or directory $ touch /tmp/foo $ ls -l /tmp/foo -rw-rw-r-- 1 andersen andersen 0 Apr 15 01:11 /tmp/foo ------------------------------- tr Usage: tr [-cds] STRING1 [STRING2] Translate, squeeze, and/or delete characters from standard input, writing to standard output. Options: -c take complement of STRING1 -d delete input characters coded STRING1 -s squeeze multiple output characters of STRING2 into one character Example: $ echo "gdkkn vnqkc" | tr [a-y] [b-z] hello world ------------------------------- true Returns an exit code of TRUE (0) Example: $ true $ echo $? 0 ------------------------------- tty Usage: tty Print the file name of the terminal connected to standard input. Options: -s print nothing, only return an exit status Example: $ tty /dev/tty2 ------------------------------- umount Usage: umount [flags] filesystem|directory Flags: -a: Unmount all file systems -r: Try to remount devices as read-only if mount is busy -f: Force filesystem umount (i.e. unreachable NFS server) -l: Do not free loop device (if a loop device has been used) Example: $ umount /dev/hdc1 ------------------------------- uname Usage: uname [OPTION]... Print certain system information. With no OPTION, same as -s. Options: -a print all information -m the machine (hardware) type -n print the machine's network node hostname -r print the operating system release -s print the operating system name -p print the host processor type -v print the operating system version Example: $ uname -a Linux debian 2.2.15pre13 #5 Tue Mar 14 16:03:50 MST 2000 i686 unknown ------------------------------- uniq Usage: uniq [OPTION]... [INPUT [OUTPUT]] Discard all but one of successive identical lines from INPUT (or standard input), writing to OUTPUT (or standard output). Example: $ echo -e "a\na\nb\nc\nc\na" | sort | uniq a b c ------------------------------- update Usage: update [options] Periodically flushes filesystem buffers. Options: -S force use of sync(2) instead of flushing -s SECS call sync this often (default 30) -f SECS flush some buffers this often (default 5) ------------------------------- uptime Usage: uptime Tells how long the system has been running since boot. Example: $ uptime 1:55pm up 2:30, load average: 0.09, 0.04, 0.00 ------------------------------- usleep Usage: usleep N Pauses for N microseconds. Example: $ usleep 1000000 [pauses for 1 second] ------------------------------- uudecode Usage: uudecode [OPTION] [FILE] Uudecode a uuencoded file Options: -o FILE direct output to FILE Example: $ uudecode -o busybox busybox.uu $ ls -l busybox -rwxr-xr-x 1 ams ams 245264 Jun 7 21:35 busybox ------------------------------- uuencode Usage: uuencode [OPTION] [INFILE] REMOTEFILE Uuencode a file. Options: -m use base64 encoding as of RFC1521 Example: $ uuencode busybox busybox begin 755 busybox M?T5,1@$!`0````````````(``P`!````L+@$"#0```!0N@,``````#0`(``& ..... $ uudecode busybox busybox > busybox.uu $ ------------------------------- wc Usage: wc [OPTION]... [FILE]... Print line, word, and byte counts for each FILE, and a total line if more than one FILE is specified. With no FILE, read standard input. Options: -c print the byte counts -l print the newline counts -L print the length of the longest line -w print the word counts Example: $ wc /etc/passwd 31 46 1365 /etc/passwd ------------------------------- which Usage: which [COMMAND ...] Locates a COMMAND. Example: $ which login /bin/login ------------------------------- whoami Usage: whoami Prints the user name associated with the current effective user id. Example: $ whoami andersen ------------------------------- yes Usage: yes [OPTION]... [STRING]... Repeatedly outputs a line with all specified STRING(s), or `y'. ------------------------------- zcat This is essentially an alias for invoking ``gunzip -c'', where it decompresses the file in question and send the output to stdout. ------------------------------- GNU Libc uses the Name Service Switch (NSS) to configure the behavior of the C library for the local environment, and to configure how it reads system data, such as passwords and group information. BusyBox has made it Policy that it will never use NSS, and will never use and libc calls that make use of NSS. This allows you to run an embedded system without the need for installing an /etc/nsswitch.conf file and without and /lib/libnss_* libraries installed. If you are using a system that is using a remote LDAP server for authentication via GNU libc NSS, and you want to use BusyBox, then you will need to adjust the BusyBox source. Chances are though, that if you have enough space to install of that stuff on your system, then you probably want the full GNU utilities. textutils(1), shellutils(1), etc... Erik Andersen <andersee@debian.org> <andersen@lineo.com> The following people have contributed code to BusyBox whether they know it or not. Erik Andersen <andersee@debian.org> John Beppu <beppu@lineo.com> Brian Candler <B.Candler@pobox.com> Randolph Chung <tausq@debian.org> Dave Cinege <dcinege@psychosis.com> Karl M. Hegbloom <karlheg@debian.org> John Lombardo <john@deltanet.com> Glenn McGrath <bug1@netconnect.com.au> Bruce Perens <bruce@perens.com> Pavel Roskin <proski@gnu.org> Linus Torvalds <torvalds@transmeta.com> Charles P. Wright <cpwright@villagenet.com> Enrique Zanardi <ezanardi@ull.es>