apropos Command

The apropos command searches manual page names and descriptions for keywords. It's useful for finding relevant commands when you know what you want to do but don't know the exact command name.

Syntax

apropos [OPTION]... KEYWORD...

Description

The apropos command searches the manual page database for entries containing the specified keywords. It displays a list of commands and their brief descriptions that match the search criteria.

Key features:

  • Searches manual page names and descriptions
  • Helps discover relevant commands
  • Supports regular expressions
  • Can search multiple keywords
  • Useful for learning new commands

Common Options

Option Description
-e Search for exact matches only
-r Interpret keywords as regular expressions
-w Match whole words only
-a Require all keywords to match (AND logic)
-s Search specific manual sections
-l Long output format
-C Use specific configuration file

Examples

Search for file-related commands

apropos file

Finds all commands related to file operations

Search for network commands

apropos network

Lists commands related to networking

Exact match search

apropos -e copy

Searches for exact matches of "copy" only

Search with multiple keywords (OR logic)

apropos copy move

Finds commands containing either "copy" OR "move"

Search with multiple keywords (AND logic)

apropos -a file copy

Finds commands containing both "file" AND "copy"

Search using regular expressions

apropos -r "^ls"

Finds commands starting with "ls"

Search in specific manual sections

apropos -s 1 editor

Searches for "editor" only in section 1 (user commands)

Whole word search

apropos -w cat

Matches "cat" as a whole word, not as part of other words

Search for compression tools

apropos compress

Lists all compression-related commands

Search for text processing commands

apropos text

Finds commands for text manipulation and processing

See also