Linux 5: Working with Commands

2026-09-20 · linux, class-notes

When you type a name at the prompt, it can be any one of four things:

Class notes · William Shotts, The Linux Command Line · Chapter 5

Quick reference: the short version of this chapter is the Chapter 5 cheat sheet.

Learning objectives

By the end of these notes you should be able to:

1. Name the four kinds of command and explain how each differs.
2. Identify what a command is with type, and where a program lives with which.
3. Get help for shell builtins with help, and for programs with --help.
4. Read a man page, and choose the right man page section.
5. Search for commands by topic with apropos, and get one-line summaries with whatis.
6. Find further documentation with info and in /usr/share/doc.
7. Create, check and remove your own aliases, and run several commands on one line.
8. Use these tools to investigate an unfamiliar system safely.

1. What exactly is a command?

When you type a name at the prompt, it can be any one of four things:

Kind

What it is

Example

Executable program

A file on disk, like those in /usr/bin. Can be compiled (C, C++, Rust) or a script (Bash, Python, Perl)

ls, cp, python3

Shell builtin

A command built into Bash itself; no separate file

cd, echo, type, help

Shell function

A mini shell script stored in the shell's environment

Defined in startup files — covered later in the book

Alias

Your own name for another command or string of commands

ll for ls -l on many systems

Why builtins exist: some jobs must happen inside the shell process. cd changes the shell's own current directory — a separate program couldn't do that, because it would only change its own.

2. Identifying commands

2.1 type — what kind of command is it?

type is a shell builtin that tells you how the shell will interpret a name:

$ type type type is a shell builtin $ type cd cd is a shell builtin $ type cp cp is /usr/bin/cp $ type ls ls is aliased to `ls --color=auto'The last line is typical of Ubuntu and many other distributions: ls is an alias that adds colour. When you type ls, you're really running ls --color=auto.

2.2 which — where does the program live?

which shows the location of an executable program found on your search path:

$ which ls /usr/bin/ls $ which cd $- which cd prints nothing on many systems (or a "no cd in ..." message on others), because cd isn't a program on disk — it's a builtin.

• Prefer type when in doubt: it knows about builtins, functions and aliases as well as programs.

2.3 Worked example — the command that "does something different"

A colleague's rm asks for confirmation on every file, but yours doesn't.

1. On their machine, type rm shows rm is aliased to 'rm -i'.
2. Their account has an alias that adds -i (interactive).
3. Neither machine's rm program is different — the shell is rewriting the command before it runs.

This explains many "it works differently on that machine" puzzles. Check type before assuming the program itself differs.

3. Getting help

3.1 help — for shell builtins

Bash has built-in documentation for its builtins:

$ help cd cd: cd [-L|[-P [-e]] [-@]] [dir] Change the shell working directory. ...

Reading the syntax line:

Notation

Means

[ ]

Optional

|

Choose one of these (mutually exclusive)

...

Can repeat

So cd [-L|[-P [-e]]] [dir]:

• Every part is optional.
• You can use -L or -P, not both.
• -e only makes sense with -P.
• dir is optional (no directory means "go home").

3.2 --help — for most programs

Most executable programs (especially the GNU tools) print a usage summary with --help:

$ mkdir --help Usage: mkdir [OPTION]... DIRECTORY... Create the DIRECTORY(ies), if they do not already exist. -m, --mode=MODE set file mode (as in chmod a=rwx), not a=rwx - umask -p, --parents no error if existing, make parent directories as needed ...Not every program supports --help, but trying it is harmless — at worst you get an error message, which often includes the usage anyway.

3.3 man — the manual pages

Most command-line programs ship with a formal man page (manual page). man displays it, using less as the pager, so all the less keys work: Space to page, / to search, q to quit.

man ls

A typical man page layout:

Section heading

Contains

NAME

The command and a one-line description

SYNOPSIS

The syntax, in the notation above

DESCRIPTION

What it does, and every option

EXAMPLES

Sometimes — not every page has them

SEE ALSO

Related commands and pages

Man pages are reference documents, not tutorials. They tell you precisely what each option does, but rarely why you'd use it. Reading them is a skill that improves with practice.

3.4 The manual's sections

The manual is split into numbered sections, and the same name can appear in more than one:

Section

Contents

1

User commands

2

Programming interfaces for kernel system calls

3

Programming interfaces to the C library

4

Special files, such as device nodes and drivers

5

File formats

6

Games and amusements (such as screen savers)

7

Miscellaneous

8

System administration commands

3.5 Worked example — choosing a section

passwd is both a command (to change a password) and a file (/etc/passwd, which lists accounts).

1. man passwd shows the first match it finds — the command, from section 1.
2. To learn the format of the /etc/passwd file, ask for section 5:

man 5 passwd1. In documentation you'll see this written as passwd(5) — the name with its section in brackets.

3.6 apropos and whatis

When you don't know a command's name, search the manual by keyword:

$ apropos partition addpart (8) - tell the kernel about the existence of a partition cfdisk (8) - display or manipulate a disk partition table fdisk (8) - manipulate disk partition table ...- apropos searches man page names and short descriptions. man -k does the same thing.

• whatis gives the one-line description for an exact name:

$ whatis ls ls (1) - list directory contents

Note: apropos and whatis rely on a database of man page descriptions. If they return nothing on a fresh system, the database may need building (sudo mandb). Some minimal installs and containers omit man pages entirely.

3.7 info and package documentation

• info — the GNU Project's alternative to man pages. Info pages are hyperlinked, like a small website in the terminal. Some GNU tools (for example info coreutils) have fuller info documentation than man pages.

Key in info

Does

Space / Page Down

Next page

Enter on a link

Follow it

u

Up to the parent node

n / p

Next / previous node

q

Quit

• /usr/share/doc — many packages install READMEs, change logs and examples here, one directory per package.
  • Text files can be read with less.
  • Files ending in .gz are compressed: read them with zless.

3.8 Worked example — where do I look?

Question

First place to look

How do I use cd's options?

help cd (it's a builtin)

What options does cp have?

cp --help, then man cp for detail

Is there a command for managing partitions?

apropos partition

What's the format of /etc/fstab?

man 5 fstab

What does this package's config file support?

/usr/share/doc//

4. Creating your own commands with alias

4.1 Several commands on one line

Separate commands with a semicolon and they run one after another:

cd /usr; ls; cd -This goes to /usr, lists it, then returns to where you started.

4.2 Worked example — building an alias

1. Choose a name and check it's free. You don't want to hide an existing command:

$ type foo bash: type: foo: not found1. Create the alias. The syntax is alias name='string', with no spaces around the =:

alias foo='cd /usr; ls; cd -'1. Test it: type foo — it lists /usr and brings you back. 2. Confirm what it is:

$ type foo foo is aliased to `cd /usr; ls; cd -'1. Remove it when you no longer want it:

unalias foo

4.3 Managing aliases

Command

Does

alias

List every alias defined in this shell

alias name='string'

Create or replace an alias

unalias name

Remove an alias

type name

Show whether a name is an alias, and what it expands to

Aliases disappear when the shell session ends. To keep them, add them to a startup file such as ~/.bashrc — covered later in the book.

5. Security perspective

• Check what a command really is. On a system you're investigating, type reveals aliases and functions that could change a command's behaviour. An attacker with access to a user's ~/.bashrc can alias sudo, ls or ssh to something malicious — for example, a sudo alias that captures the password. Checking alias and type on key commands is a quick integrity test.
• The search path decides which program runs. which and type show the path of the program that would actually run. A lookalike program placed earlier in the path can take over a common command name. If which ls shows anything other than the usual system location, investigate.
• Documentation is part of the toolkit. Security tools on Linux are driven by options. --help, man and apropos let you work out a tool you've never seen — on an isolated system with no internet — rather than guessing.
• Know what a command will do before running it. Reading --help or the man page first is the safe habit, especially for commands you find in scripts, tickets or online posts.

Summary

• Four kinds of command: executable programs, shell builtins, shell functions and aliases.
• type says which kind a name is (and expands aliases); which shows where an executable program lives.
• Help sources: help for builtins; --help for most programs; man for full reference pages.
• Man page sections: 1 user commands, 5 file formats, 8 admin commands, among others. Use man 5 passwd to pick a section.
• Searching the manual: apropos (or man -k) finds commands by keyword; whatis gives one-line summaries.
• More documentation: info pages are hyperlinked; package docs live in /usr/share/doc (use zless for .gz files).
• Aliases: alias name='commands' creates one (check the name with type first); unalias removes it; ; chains commands. Aliases last only for the session unless saved in ~/.bashrc.

Glossary

Term

Definition

Executable program

A command stored as a file on disk

Compiled program

A program translated to machine code, e.g. from C

Script

A program run by an interpreter, e.g. Bash or Python

Shell builtin

A command built into the shell itself

Shell function

A small shell script stored in the shell's environment

Alias

A user-defined name standing in for another command or commands

type

Shows how the shell interprets a command name

which

Shows the location of an executable program

help

Displays help for Bash builtins

--help

A common option that prints a program's usage summary

Man page

A formal reference document for a command, file or interface

Man page section

A numbered part of the manual, e.g. 1 (commands) or 5 (file formats)

SYNOPSIS

The man page section showing a command's syntax

apropos / man -k

Search man page names and descriptions by keyword

whatis

Show a command's one-line man page description

info

The GNU hyperlinked documentation reader

/usr/share/doc

Directory of package documentation

zless

Read gzip-compressed text files

unalias

Remove an alias

Command separator (;)

Runs commands one after another on one line

Review questions

1. Name the four kinds of command.
2. Why must cd be a shell builtin rather than a separate program?
3. type ls reports ls is aliased to 'ls --color=auto'. What does that mean?
4. Why might which cd print nothing?
5. How do you get help for a builtin such as cd?
6. In a syntax line, what do square brackets and a vertical bar mean?
7. You want to learn the format of the /etc/passwd file. Which command?
8. What does the notation fstab(5) mean?
9. You need a command for working with partitions but don't know its name. What do you type?
10. What is whatis ls likely to print?
11. Where would you look for a package's README and change log?
12. Write an alias called today that runs date then cal.
13. Why check a name with type before creating an alias?
14. How could an attacker misuse aliases, and how would you spot it?

Answer key

1. Executable programs, shell builtins, shell functions and aliases.
2. cd must change the shell's own current directory. A separate program could only change its own, which would be lost when it exited.
3. Typing ls actually runs ls --color=auto — an alias adds colour to the output.
4. cd is a builtin, not a file on disk, so which (which only finds programs on the path) has nothing to report.
5. help cd.
6. Square brackets mark optional items; a vertical bar separates mutually exclusive choices.
7. man 5 passwd.
8. The fstab man page in section 5 (file formats).
9. apropos partition (or man -k partition).
10. ls (1) - list directory contents.
11. /usr/share/doc//.
12. alias today='date; cal'.
13. To avoid hiding an existing command with the same name.
14. By adding malicious aliases to startup files (e.g. aliasing sudo to capture passwords). Spot it by running alias and type on key commands, and by checking ~/.bashrc and similar files.