BusyBox - The Swiss Army Knife of Embedded Linux


SYNTAX

        BusyBox <function> [arguments...]  # or

        <function> [arguments...]          # if symlinked


DESCRIPTION

       BusyBox combines tiny versions of many common UNIX utili­
       ties into a single small executable. It provides minimal­
       ist 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 utili­
       ties 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 lim­
       ited 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).


USAGE

       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'.


COMMON OPTIONS

       Most BusyBox commands support the -h option to provide a
       terse runtime description of their behavior.

       Currently defined functions include:

       adjtimex, ar, basename, busybox, cat, chgrp, chmod, chown,
       chroot, chvt, clear, cmp, cp, cpio, cut, date, dc, dd,
       deallocvt, df, dirname, dmesg, dos2unix, dpkg, dpkg-deb,
       du, dumpkmap, dutmp, echo, expr, false, fbset, fdflush,
       find, free, freeramdisk, fsck.minix, getopt, grep, gunzip,
       gzip, halt, head, hostid, hostname, id, ifconfig, init,
       insmod, kill, killall, klogd, length, ln, loadacm, load­
       font, loadkmap, logger, logname, ls, lsmod, makedevs,
       md5sum, mkdir, mkfifo, mkfs.minix, mknod, mkswap, mktemp,
       more, mount, mt, mv, nc, nslookup, ping, pivot_root,
       poweroff, printf, ps, pwd, rdate, readlink, reboot,
       renice, reset, rm, rmdir, rmmod, route, rpm2cpio,
       rpmunpack, sed, setkeycodes, sh, sleep, sort, stty,
       swapoff, swapon, sync, syslogd, tail, tar, tee, telnet,
       test, tftp, touch, tr, true, tty, umount, uname, uniq,
       unix2dos, update, uptime, usleep, uudecode, uuencode,
       watchdog, wc, wget, which, whoami, xargs, yes, zcat, [

       adjtimex
           adjtimex [-q] [-o offset] [-f frequency] [-p timecon­
           stant] [-t tick]

           Reads and optionally sets system timebase parameters.
           See adjtimex(2).

           Options:

                   -q              quiet mode - do not print
                   -o offset       time offset, microseconds
                   -f frequency    frequency adjust, integer kernel units (65536 is 1ppm)
                                   (positive values make the system clock run fast)
                   -t tick         microseconds per tick, usually 10000
                   -p timeconstant

           -------------------------------

       ar  ar -[ov][ptx] ARCHIVE FILES

           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

           -------------------------------

           basename FILE [SUFFIX]

           Strips 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

           -------------------------------

       cat cat [FILE]...

           Concatenates FILE(s) and prints them to stdout.

           Example:

                   $ cat /proc/uptime
                   110716.72 17.67

           -------------------------------

       chgrp
           chgrp [OPTION]... GROUP FILE...

           Change the group membership of each FILE to GROUP.

           Options:

                   -R      Changes 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

           -------------------------------

       chmod
           chmod [-R] MODE[,MODE]... FILE...

           Each MODE is one or more of the letters ugoa, one of
           the symbols +-= and one or more of the letters rwxst.

           Options:


           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

           -------------------------------

       chown
           chown [ -Rh ]...  OWNER[<.|:>[GROUP]] FILE...

           Change the owner and/or group of each FILE to OWNER
           and/or GROUP.

           Options:

                   -R      Changes files and directories recursively.
                   -h      Do not dereference symbolic links.

           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

           -------------------------------

       chroot
           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*

           -------------------------------

           chvt N

           Changes the foreground virtual terminal to /dev/ttyN

           -------------------------------

       clear
           clear

           Clear screen.

           -------------------------------

       cmp cmp FILE1 [FILE2]

                   -s      quiet mode - do not print
           Compare files.

           -------------------------------

       cp  cp [OPTION]... SOURCE DEST

           Copies SOURCE to DEST, or multiple SOURCE(s) to DIREC­
           TORY.

                   -a      Same as -dpR
                   -d      Preserves links
                   -p      Preserves file attributes if possible
                   -f      force (implied; ignored) - always set
                   -R      Copies directories recursively

           -------------------------------

       cpio
           cpio -[dimtuv][F cpiofile]

           Extract or list files from a cpio archive Main opera­
           tion mode:

                   d               make leading directories
                   i               extract
                   m               preserve mtime
                   t               list
                   u               unconditional overwrite         F               input from file

           -------------------------------

       cut cut [OPTION]... [FILE]...

           Prints selected fields from each input FILE to stan­
           dard output.

           Options:

                   -c LIST         Output only characters from LIST
                   -d CHAR         Use CHAR instead of tab as the field delimiter
                   -s              Output only the lines containing delimiter
                   -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

           -------------------------------

       date
           date [OPTION]... [+FORMAT]

           Displays the current time in the given FORMAT, or sets
           the system date.

           Options:

                   -R              Outputs RFC-822 compliant date string
                   -d STRING       display time described by STRING, not `now'
                   -s              Sets time described by STRING
                   -u              Prints or sets Coordinated Universal Time

           Example:

                   $ date
                   Wed Apr 12 18:52:41 MDT 2000

           -------------------------------

       dc  dc expression ...

           This is a Tiny RPN calculator that understands the
           following operations: +, -, /, *, and, or, not, eor.
           i.e., 'dc 2 2 add' -> 4, and 'dc 8 8 \* 2 2 + /' -> 16

           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


       dd  dd [if=FILE] [of=FILE] [bs=N] [count=N] [skip=N]
           [seek=N] [conv=notrunc|sync]

           Copy a file, converting and formatting according to
           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
                   conv=notrunc    don't truncate output file
                   conv=sync       pad blocks with zeros

           Numbers may be suffixed by c (x1), w (x2), b (x512),
           kD (x1000), k (x1024), MD (x1000000), M (x1048576), GD
           (x1000000000) or G (x1073741824).

           Example:

                   $ dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/ram1 bs=1M count=4
                   4+0 records in
                   4+0 records out

           -------------------------------

       deallocvt
           deallocvt N

           Deallocate unused virtual terminal /dev/ttyN

           -------------------------------

       df  df [-hmk] [FILESYSTEM ...]

           Print the filesystem space used and space available.

           Options:

                   -h      print sizes in human readable format (e.g., 1K 243M 2G )
                   -m      print sizes in megabytes
                   -k      print sizes in kilobytes(default)

           Example:

                   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% /

           -------------------------------

       dirname
           dirname [FILENAME ...]

           Strips non-directory suffix from FILENAME

           Example:

                   $ dirname /tmp/foo
                   /tmp
                   $ dirname /tmp/foo/
                   /tmp

           -------------------------------

       dmesg
           dmesg [-c] [-n LEVEL] [-s SIZE]

           Prints or controls the kernel ring buffer

           Options:

                   -c              Clears the ring buffer's contents after printing
                   -n LEVEL        Sets console logging level
                   -s SIZE         Use a buffer of size SIZE

           -------------------------------

       dos2unix
           dos2unix [option] [FILE]

           Converts FILE from dos format to unix format.  When no
           option is given, the input is converted to the oppo­
           site output format.  When no file is given, uses stdin
           for input and stdout for output.

           Options:

                   -u      output will be in UNIX format
                   -d      output will be in DOS format

           -------------------------------

       dpkg
           dpkg [-i|-r|--unpack|--configure] my.deb


           -------------------------------

       dpkg_deb
           dpkg_deb [-cefItxX] FILE [argument]

           Perform actions on debian packages (.debs)

           Options:

                   -c      List contents of filesystem tree
                   -e      Extract control files to [argument] directory
                   -f      Display control field name starting with [argument]
                   -I      Display the control filenamed [argument]
                   -t      Extract filesystem tree to stdout in tar format
                   -x      Extract packages filesystem tree to directory
                   -X      Verbose extract

           Example:

                   $ dpkg-deb -X ./busybox_0.48-1_i386.deb /tmp

           -------------------------------

       du  du [-lshmk] [FILE]...

           Summarizes disk space used for each FILE and/or direc­
           tory.  Disk space is printed in units of 1024 bytes.

           Options:

                   -l      count sizes many times if hard linked
                   -s      display only a total for each argument
                   -h      print sizes in human readable format (e.g., 1K 243M 2G )
                   -m      print sizes in megabytes
                   -k      print sizes in kilobytes(default)

           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    .

           -------------------------------

           dumpkmap > keymap

           Prints out a binary keyboard translation table to
           standard output.

           Example:

                   $ dumpkmap > keymap

           -------------------------------

       dutmp
           dutmp [FILE]

           Dump utmp file format (pipe delimited) from FILE or
           stdin to stdout.  (i.e., 'dutmp /var/run/utmp')

           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

           -------------------------------

       echo
           echo [-neE] [ARG ...]

           Prints the specified ARGs to stdout

           Options:

                   -n      suppress trailing newline
                   -e      interpret backslash-escaped characters (i.e., \t=tab)
                   -E      disable interpretation of backslash-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

           -------------------------------


           Prints the current environment or runs a program after
           setting up the specified environment.

           Options:

                   -, -i   start with an empty environment
                   -u      remove variable from the environment

           -------------------------------

       expr
           expr EXPRESSION

           Prints the value of EXPRESSION to standard output.

           EXPRESSION may be:

                   ARG1 |  ARG2    ARG1 if it is neither null nor 0, otherwise ARG2
                   ARG1 &  ARG2    ARG1 if neither argument is null or 0, otherwise 0
                   ARG1 <  ARG2    ARG1 is less than ARG2
                   ARG1 <= ARG2    ARG1 is less than or equal to ARG2
                   ARG1 =  ARG2    ARG1 is equal to ARG2
                   ARG1 != ARG2    ARG1 is unequal to ARG2
                   ARG1 >= ARG2    ARG1 is greater than or equal to ARG2
                   ARG1 >  ARG2    ARG1 is greater than ARG2
                   ARG1 +  ARG2    arithmetic sum of ARG1 and ARG2
                   ARG1 -  ARG2    arithmetic difference of ARG1 and ARG2
                   ARG1 *  ARG2    arithmetic product of ARG1 and ARG2
                   ARG1 /  ARG2    arithmetic quotient of ARG1 divided by ARG2
                   ARG1 %  ARG2    arithmetic remainder of ARG1 divided by ARG2
                   STRING : REGEXP             anchored pattern match of REGEXP in STRING
                   match STRING REGEXP         same as STRING : REGEXP
                   substr STRING POS LENGTH    substring of STRING, POS counted from 1
                   index STRING CHARS          index in STRING where any CHARS is found,
                                               or 0
                   length STRING               length of STRING
                   quote TOKEN                 interpret TOKEN as a string, even if
                                               it is a keyword like `match' or an
                                               operator like `/'
                   ( EXPRESSION )              value of EXPRESSION

           Beware that many operators need to be escaped or
           quoted for shells.  Comparisons are arithmetic if both
           ARGs are numbers, else lexicographical.  Pattern
           matches return the string matched between \( and \) or
           null; if \( and \) are not used, they return the num­
           ber of characters matched or 0.

           -------------------------------

       false
           false


           Example:

                   $ false
                   $ echo $?
                   1

           -------------------------------

       fbset
           fbset [options] [mode]

           Show and modify frame buffer settings

           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
           fdflush DEVICE

           Forces floppy disk drive to detect disk change

           -------------------------------

       find
           find [PATH...] [EXPRESSION]

           Search for files in a directory hierarchy.  The
           default PATH is the current directory; default EXPRES­
           SION is '-print'

           EXPRESSION may consist of:

                   -follow         Dereference symbolic links.
                   -name PATTERN   File name (leading directories removed) matches PATTERN.
                   -print          Print (default and assumed).

                   -type X         Filetype matches X (where X is one of: f,d,l,b,c,...)
                   -perm PERMS     Permissions match any of (+NNN); all of (-NNN);
                                   or exactly (NNN)
                   -mtime TIME     Modified time is greater than (+N); less than (-N);
                                   or exactly (N) days


                   $ find / -name /etc/passwd
                   /etc/passwd

           -------------------------------

       free
           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
           freeramdisk DEVICE

           Frees all memory used by the specified ramdisk.

           Example:

                   $ freeramdisk /dev/ram2

           -------------------------------

       fsck_minix
           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.

           -------------------------------

       getopt
           getopt [OPTIONS]...

           Parse command options

                   -l, --longoptions=longopts      Long options to be recognized
                   -n, --name=progname             The name under which errors are reported
                   -o, --options=optstring Short options to be recognized
                   -q, --quiet                     Disable error reporting by getopt(3)
                   -Q, --quiet-output              No normal output
                   -s, --shell=shell               Set shell quoting conventions
                   -T, --test                      Test for getopt(1) version
                   -u, --unqote                    Do not quote the output

           Example:

                   $ cat getopt.test
                   #!/bin/sh
                   GETOPT=`getopt -o ab:c:: --long a-long,b-long:,c-long:: \
                          -n 'example.busybox' -- "$@"`
                   if [ $? != 0 ] ; then  exit 1 ; fi
                   eval set -- "$GETOPT"
                   while true ; do
                    case $1 in
                      -a|--a-long) echo "Option a" ; shift ;;
                      -b|--b-long) echo "Option b, argument `$2'" ; shift 2 ;;
                      -c|--c-long)
                        case "$2" in
                          "") echo "Option c, no argument"; shift 2 ;;
                          *)  echo "Option c, argument `$2'" ; shift 2 ;;
                        esac ;;
                      --) shift ; break ;;
                      *) echo "Internal error!" ; exit 1 ;;
                    esac
                   done

           -------------------------------

       grep
           grep [-ihHnqvs] PATTERN [FILEs...]

           Search for PATTERN in each FILE or standard input.

           Options:

                   -H      prefix output lines with filename where match was found
                   -h      suppress the prefixing filename on output
                   -i      ignore case distinctions
                   -l      list names of files that match
                   -n      print line number with output lines
                   -q      be quiet. Returns 0 if result was found, 1 otherwise
                   -v      select non-matching lines
                   -s      suppress file open/read error messages

           Example:

                   root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
                   $ grep ^[rR]oo. /etc/passwd
                   root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash

           -------------------------------

       gunzip
           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
           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
                   -d      decompress

           Example:

                   $ ls -la /tmp/busybox*
                   -rw-rw-r--    1 andersen andersen  1761280 Apr 14 17:47 /tmp/busybox.tar
                   $ gzip /tmp/busybox.tar
                   $ ls -la /tmp/busybox*
                   -rw-rw-r--    1 andersen andersen   554058 Apr 14 17:49 /tmp/busybox.tar.gz

           -------------------------------

       halt
           halt

           Halt the system.

           -------------------------------

           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
           hostid

           Print out a unique 32-bit identifier for the machine.

           -------------------------------

       hostname
           hostname [OPTION] {hostname | -F FILE}

           Get or set the hostname or DNS domain name. If a host­
           name is given (or 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 FILE Use the contents of FILE to specify the hostname

           Example:

                   $ hostname
                   sage

           -------------------------------

       id  id [OPTIONS]... [USERNAME]

           Print information for USERNAME or the current user

           Options:

                   -u      prints only the user ID
                   -n      print a name instead of a number (with for -ug)
                   -r      prints the real user ID instead of the effective ID (with -ug)

           Example:

                   $ id
                   uid=1000(andersen) gid=1000(andersen)

           -------------------------------

       ifconfig
           ifconfig [-a] <interface> [<address>]

           configure a network interface

           Options:

                   [[-]broadcast [<address>]]  [[-]pointopoint [<address>]]
                   [netmask <address>]  [dstaddr <address>]
                   [outfill <NN>] [keepalive <NN>]
                   [hw ether <address>]  [metric <NN>]  [mtu <NN>]
                   [[-]trailers]  [[-]arp]  [[-]allmulti]
                   [multicast]  [[-]promisc]  [txqueuelen <NN>]  [[-]dynamic]
                   [mem_start <NN>]  [io_addr <NN>]  [irq <NN>]
                   [up|down] ...

           -------------------------------

       init
           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
                   ::ctrlaltdel:/sbin/reboot
                   ::shutdown:/sbin/swapoff -a
                   ::shutdown:/bin/umount -a -r

           if it detects that /dev/console is _not_ a serial


                   tty2::askfirst:/bin/sh
                   tty3::askfirst:/bin/sh
                   tty4::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, the controlling tty is set to the console.  Also
                           note that if BusyBox detects that a serial console is in use, then only
                           entries whose controlling tty is either the serial console or /dev/null
                           will 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, ctrlaltdel, and shutdown.

                           The available actions can be classified into two groups: actions
                           that are run only once, and actions that are re-run when the specified
                           process exits.

                           Run only-once actions:

                                   'sysinit' is the first item run on boot.  init waits until all
                                   sysinit actions are completed before continuing.  Following the
                                   completion of all sysinit actions, all 'wait' actions are run.
                                   'wait' actions, like  'sysinit' actions, cause init to wait until
                                   the specified task completes.  'once' actions are asynchronous,
                                   therefore, init does not wait for them to complete.  'ctrlaltdel'
                                   actions are run when the system detects that someone on the system
                                  console has pressed the CTRL-ALT-DEL key combination.  Typically one
                                  wants to run 'reboot' at this point to cause the system to reboot.
                                   Finally the 'shutdown' action specifies the actions to taken when
                                  init is told to reboot.  Unmounting filesystems and disabling swap
                                  is a very good here

                           Run repeatedly actions:

                                   started with a 'respawn' action exits, init automatically restarts
                                   it.  Unlike sysvinit, BusyBox init does not stop processes from
                                   respawning out of control.  The 'askfirst' actions acts just like
                                   respawn, except that 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.  All actions are
                           run in the reverse order from how they appear in /etc/inittab.

                   <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/tty2-4
                   tty2::askfirst:-/bin/sh
                   tty3::askfirst:-/bin/sh
                   tty4::askfirst:-/bin/sh

                   # /sbin/getty invocations for selected ttys
                   #
                   tty4::respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty5
                   tty5::respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty6

                   # Example of how to put a getty on a serial line (for a terminal)
                   #
                   #::respawn:/sbin/getty -L ttyS0 9600 vt100
                   #::respawn:/sbin/getty -L ttyS1 9600 vt100
                   #
                   # Example how to put a getty on a modem line.
                   #::respawn:/sbin/getty 57600 ttyS2

                   # Stuff to do before rebooting
                   ::ctrlaltdel:/sbin/reboot
                   ::shutdown:/bin/umount -a -r
                   ::shutdown:/sbin/swapoff -a

           -------------------------------

       insmod
           insmod [OPTION]... MODULE [symbol=value]...


           Options:

                   -f      Force module to load into the wrong kernel version.
                   -k      Make module autoclean-able.
                   -v      verbose output
                   -L      Lock to prevent simultaneous loads of a module
                   -x      do not export externs

           -------------------------------

       kill
           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
           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

           -------------------------------

       klogd
           klogd -n


                   -n      Run as a foreground process.

           -------------------------------

       length
           length STRING

           Prints out the length of the specified STRING.

           Example:

                   $ length Hello
                   5

           -------------------------------

       ln  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 argu­
           ments are non-options.

           Options:

                   -s      make symbolic links instead of hard links
                   -f      remove existing destination files
                   -n      no dereference symlinks - treat like normal file

           Example:

                   $ ln -s BusyBox /tmp/ls
                   $ ls -l /tmp/ls
                   lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            7 Apr 12 18:39 ls -> BusyBox*

           -------------------------------

       loadacm
           loadacm < mapfile

           Loads an acm from standard input.

           Example:

                   $ loadacm < /etc/i18n/acmname

           -------------------------------

       loadfont
           loadfont < font


           Example:

                   $ loadfont < /etc/i18n/fontname

           -------------------------------

       loadkmap
           loadkmap < keymap

           Loads a binary keyboard translation table from stan­
           dard input.

           Example:

                   $ loadkmap < /etc/i18n/lang-keymap

           -------------------------------

       logger
           logger [OPTION]... [MESSAGE]

           Write MESSAGE to the system log.  If MESSAGE is omit­
           ted, 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
           logname

           Print the name of the current user.

           Example:

                   $ logname
                   root

           -------------------------------

       logread
           logread

           buffer).

           -------------------------------

       ls  ls [-1AacCdeFilnpLRrSsTtuvwxXhk] [filenames...]

           List directory contents

           Options:

                   -1      list files in a single column
                   -A      do not list implied . and ..
                   -a      do not hide entries starting with .
                   -C      list entries by columns
                   -c      with -l: show ctime
                   -d      list directory entries instead of contents
                   -e      list both full date and full time
                   -F      append indicator (one of */=@|) to entries
                   -i      list the i-node for each file
                   -l      use a long listing format
                   -n      list numeric UIDs and GIDs instead of names
                   -p      append indicator (one of /=@|) to entries
                   -L      list entries pointed to by symbolic links
                   -R      list subdirectories recursively
                   -r      sort the listing in reverse order
                   -S      sort the listing by file size
                   -s      list the size of each file, in blocks
                   -T NUM  assume Tabstop every NUM columns
                   -t      with -l: show modification time
                   -u      with -l: show access time
                   -v      sort the listing by version
                   -w NUM  assume the terminal is NUM columns wide
                   -x      list entries by lines instead of by columns
                   -X      sort the listing by extension
                   -h      print sizes in human readable format (e.g., 1K 243M 2G )
                   -k      print sizes in kilobytes(default)

           -------------------------------

       lsmod
           lsmod

           List the currently loaded kernel modules.

           -------------------------------

       makedevs
           makedevs NAME TYPE MAJOR MINOR FIRST LAST [s]

           Creates a range of block or character special files

           TYPEs include:

                   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.

           For example:

                   makedevs /dev/ttyS c 4 66 2 63   ->  ttyS2-ttyS63
                   makedevs /dev/hda b 3 0 0 8 s    ->  hda,hda1-hda8

           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
           md5sum [OPTION] [FILE]...  or: md5sum [OPTION] -c
           [FILE]

           Print or check MD5 checksums.

           Options: With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read stan­
           dard input.

                   -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 verify­
           ing checksums:

                   -s      don't output anything, status code shows success
                   -w      warn about improperly formated MD5 checksum lines

           Example:

                   $ md5sum < busybox
                   6fd11e98b98a58f64ff3398d7b324003
                   $ md5sum busybox
                   6fd11e98b98a58f64ff3398d7b324003  busybox
                   $ md5sum -c -
                   6fd11e98b98a58f64ff3398d7b324003  busybox
                   busybox: OK
                   ^D


       mkdir
           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 existing, 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
           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
           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 INODES       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
           mknod [OPTIONS] NAME TYPE MAJOR MINOR

           Create a special file (block, character, or pipe).


                   -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
           mkswap [-c] [-v0|-v1] device [block-count]

           Prepare a disk partition to be used as a swap parti­
           tion.

           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
           mktemp [-q] TEMPLATE

           Creates a temporary file with its name based on TEM­
           PLATE.  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
           more [FILE ...]

           More is a filter for viewing FILE one screenful at a
           time.


                   $ dmesg | more

           -------------------------------

       mount
           mount [flags] DEVICE NODE [-o options,more-options]

           Mount a filesystem

           Flags:

                   -a:             Mount all filesystems in fstab.
                   -f:             "Fake" Add entry to mount table but don't mount it.
                   -n:             Don't write a mount table entry.
                   -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 mounted filesystem, changing its flags.
                   ro/rw:          Mount for read-only / read-write.
                   bind:           Use the linux 2.4.x "bind" feature.

           There are EVEN MORE flags that are specific to each
           filesystem.  You'll have to see the written documenta­
           tion for those filesystems.

           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  mt [-f device] opcode value

           Control magnetic tape drive operation

           Available Opcodes:

           erase fsf fsfm fsr fss load lock mkpart nop offline
           ras1 ras2 ras3 reset retension rew rewoffline seek
           setblk setdensity setpart tell unload unlock weof wset

           -------------------------------

       mv  mv SOURCE DEST or: mv SOURCE... DIRECTORY

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

           Example:

                   $ mv /tmp/foo /bin/bar

           -------------------------------

       nc  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
           nslookup [HOST] [SERVER]

           Queries the nameserver for the IP address of the given
           HOST optionally using a specified DNS server

           Example:

                   $ nslookup localhost
                   Server:     default
                   Address:    default

                   Name:       debian
                   Address:    127.0.0.1

           -------------------------------

       ping
           ping [OPTION]... host


           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

           -------------------------------

       pivot_root
           pivot_root NEW_ROOT PUT_OLD

           Move the current root file system to PUT_OLD and make
           NEW_ROOT the new root file system.

           -------------------------------

       poweroff
           poweroff

           Halt the system and request that the kernel shut off
           the power.

           -------------------------------

       printf
           printf FORMAT [ARGUMENT...]

           Formats and prints ARGUMENT(s) according to FORMAT,
           Where FORMAT controls the output exactly as in C
           printf.

           Example:

                   $ printf "Val=%d\n" 5
                   Val=5

           -------------------------------

       ps  ps

           Report process status


           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 pwd

           Print the full filename of the current working direc­
           tory.

           Example:

                   $ pwd
                   /root

           -------------------------------

       rdate
           rdate [OPTION] HOST

           Get and possibly set the system date and time from a
           remote HOST.

           Options:

                   -s      Set the system date and time (default).
                   -p      Print the date and time.

           -------------------------------

       readlink
           readlink

           Read a symbolic link.

           -------------------------------

       reboot
           reboot

           Reboot the system.


       renice
           renice priority pid [pid ...]

           Changes priority of running processes. Allowed priori­
           ties range from 20 (the process runs only when nothing
           else is running) to 0 (default priority) to -20
           (almost nothing else ever gets to run).

           -------------------------------

       reset
           reset

           Resets the screen.

           -------------------------------

       rm  rm [OPTION]... FILE...

           Remove (unlink) the FILE(s).  You may use '--' to
           indicate that all following arguments are non-options.

           Options:

                   -i              always prompt before removing each destination  -f              remove existing destinations, never prompt
                   -r or -R        remove the contents of directories recursively

           Example:

                   $ rm -rf /tmp/foo

           -------------------------------

       rmdir
           rmdir [OPTION]... DIRECTORY...

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

           Example:

                   # rmdir /tmp/foo

           -------------------------------

       rmmod
           rmmod [OPTION]... [MODULE]...

           Unloads the specified kernel modules from the kernel.

           Options:

                   -a      Try to remove all unused kernel modules.


                   $ rmmod tulip

           -------------------------------

       route
           route [{add|del|flush}]

           Edit the kernel's routing tables

           -------------------------------

       rpm2cpio
           rpm2cpio package.rpm

           Outputs a cpio archive of the rpm file.

           -------------------------------

       rpmunpack
           rpmunpack < package.rpm | gunzip | cpio -idmuv

           Extracts an rpm archive.

           -------------------------------

       sed sed [-nef] pattern [files...]

           Options:

                   -n              suppress automatic printing of pattern space
                   -e script       add the script to the commands to be executed
                   -f scriptfile   add the contents of script-file to the commands to be executed

           If no -e or -f is given, the first non-option argument
           is taken as the sed script to interpret. All remaining
           arguments are names of input files; if no input files
           are specified, then the standard input is read.

           Example:

                   $ echo "foo" | sed -e 's/f[a-zA-Z]o/bar/g'
                   bar

           -------------------------------

       setkeycodes
           setkeycodes SCANCODE KEYCODE ...

           Set entries into the kernel's scancode-to-keycode map,
           allowing unusual keyboards to generate usable key­
           codes.

           KEYCODE is given in decimal

           Example:

                   $ setkeycodes e030 127

           -------------------------------

       sh  sh [FILE]...  or: sh -c command [args]...

           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, 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
           sleep N

           Pause for N seconds.

           Example:

                   $ sleep 2
                   [2 second delay results]

           -------------------------------

       sort
           sort [-nru] [FILE]...

           Sorts lines of text in the specified files

           Options:

                   -u      suppress duplicate lines
                   -r      sort in reverse order
                   -n      sort numerics

           Example:

                   a
                   b
                   c
                   d
                   e
                   f

           -------------------------------

       stty
           stty [-a|g] [-F DEVICE] [SETTING]...

           Without arguments, prints baud rate, line discipline,
           and deviations from stty sane.

           Options:

                   -F DEVICE       open device instead of stdin
                   -a              print all current settings in human-readable form
                   -g              print in stty-readable form
                   [SETTING]       see manpage

           -------------------------------

       swapoff
           swapoff [OPTION] [DEVICE]

           Stop swapping virtual memory pages on DEVICE.

           Options:

                   -a      Stop swapping on all swap devices

           -------------------------------

       swapon
           swapon [OPTION] [DEVICE]

           Start swapping virtual memory pages on DEVICE.

           Options:

                   -a      Start swapping on all swap devices

           -------------------------------

       sync
           sync

           Write all buffered filesystem blocks to disk.

           -------------------------------

           syslogd [OPTION]...

           Linux system and kernel logging utility.  Note that
           this version of syslogd ignores /etc/syslog.conf.

           Options:

                   -m NUM          Interval between MARK lines (default=20min, 0=off)
                   -n              Run as a foreground process
                   -O FILE         Use an alternate log file (default=/var/log/messages)
                   -R HOST[:PORT]  Log to IP or hostname on PORT (default PORT=514/UDP)
                   -L              Log locally and via network logging (default is network only)

           Example:

                   $ syslogd -R masterlog:514
                   $ syslogd -R 192.168.1.1:601

           -------------------------------

       tail
           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:

                   -c N[kbm]       output the last N bytes
                   -n N[kbm]       print last N lines instead of last 10
                   -f              output data as the file grows
                   -q              never output headers giving file names
                   -s SEC          wait SEC seconds between reads with -f
                   -v              always output headers giving file names

           If the first character of N (bytes or lines) is a '+',
           output begins with the Nth item from the start of each
           file, otherwise, print the last N items in the file. N
           bytes may be suffixed by k (x1024), b (x512), or m
           (1024^2).

           Example:

                   $ tail -n 1 /etc/resolv.conf
                   nameserver 10.0.0.1

           -------------------------------

       tar tar -[cxtvO] [--exclude FILE] [-X FILE][-f TARFILE]
           [-C DIR] [FILE(s)] ...


           Options:

                   c               create
                   x               extract
                   t               list

           File selection:

                   f               name of TARFILE or "-" for stdin
                   O               extract to stdout
                   exclude         file to exclude
                   X               file with names to exclude
                   C               change to directory DIR before operation
                   v               verbosely list files processed

           Example:

                   $ zcat /tmp/tarball.tar.gz | tar -xf -
                   $ tar -cf /tmp/tarball.tar /usr/local

           -------------------------------

       tee 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
           telnet HOST [PORT]

           Telnet is used to establish interactive communication
           with another computer over a network using the TELNET
           protocol.

           -------------------------------

       test
           test EXPRESSION
             or   [ EXPRESSION ]

           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

           -------------------------------

       tftp
           tftp command SOURCE DEST

           Transfers a file from/to a tftp server using "octet"
           mode.

           Commands:

                   get     Get file from server SOURCE and store to local DEST.
                   put     Put local file SOURCE to server DEST.

           When naming a server, use the syntax "server:file".

           -------------------------------

       touch
           touch [-c] FILE [FILE ...]

           Update the last-modified date on the given FILE[s].

           Options:

                   -c      Do not create any files

           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

           -------------------------------


           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
           true

           Return an exit code of TRUE (0).

           Example:

                   $ true
                   $ echo $?
                   0

           -------------------------------

       tty tty

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

           Options:

                   -s      print nothing, only return an exit status

           Example:

                   $ tty
                   /dev/tty2

           -------------------------------

       umount
           umount [flags] FILESYSTEM|DIRECTORY

           Unmount file systems

           Flags:

                   -n      Don't erase /etc/mtab entries
                   -r      Try to remount devices as read-only if mount is busy
                   -f      Force umount (i.e., unreachable NFS server)
                   -l      Do not free loop device (if a loop device has been used)

           Example:

                   $ umount /dev/hdc1

           -------------------------------

       uname
           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
           uniq [OPTION]... [INPUT [OUTPUT]]

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

           Options:

                   -c      prefix lines by the number of occurrences
                   -d      only print duplicate lines
                   -u      only print unique lines

           Example:

                   $ echo -e "a\na\nb\nc\nc\na" | sort | uniq
                   a
                   b
                   c


       unix2dos
           unix2dos [option] [FILE]

           Converts FILE from unix format to dos format.  When no
           option is given, the input is converted to the oppo­
           site output format.  When no file is given, uses stdin
           for input and stdout for output.  Options:

                   -u      output will be in UNIX format
                   -d      output will be in DOS format

           -------------------------------

       update
           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
           uptime

           Display the time since the last boot.

           Example:

                   $ uptime
                     1:55pm  up  2:30, load average: 0.09, 0.04, 0.00

           -------------------------------

       usleep
           usleep N

           Pause for N microseconds.

           Example:

                   $ usleep 1000000
                   [pauses for 1 second]

           -------------------------------

       uudecode
           uudecode [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
           uuencode [OPTION] [INFILE] REMOTEFILE

           Uuencode a file.

           Options:

                   -m      use base64 encoding per RFC1521

           Example:

                   $ uuencode busybox busybox
                   begin 755 busybox
                   <encoded file snipped>
                   $ uudecode busybox busybox > busybox.uu
                   $

           -------------------------------

       vi  vi [OPTION] [FILE]...

           edit FILE.

           Options:

                   -R      Read-only- do not write to the file.

           -------------------------------

       watchdog
           watchdog DEV

           Periodically write to watchdog device DEV

           -------------------------------

       wc  wc [OPTION]... [FILE]...

           Print line, word, and byte counts for each FILE, and a
           total line if more than one FILE is specified.  With


           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

           -------------------------------

       wget
           wget [-c|--continue] [-q|--quiet] [-O|--output-docu­
           ment file]      [--header 'header: value'] [-P DIR]
           url

           wget retrieves files via HTTP or FTP

           Options:

                   -c      continue retrieval of aborted transfers
                   -q      quiet mode - do not print
                   -P      Set directory prefix to DIR
                   -O      save to filename ('-' for stdout)

           -------------------------------

       which
           which [COMMAND ...]

           Locates a COMMAND.

           Example:

                   $ which login
                   /bin/login

           -------------------------------

       whoami
           whoami

           Prints the user name associated with the current
           effective user id.

           -------------------------------

       xargs
           xargs [COMMAND] [ARGS...]

           input.

           Example:

                   $ ls | xargs gzip
                   $ find . -name '*.c' -print | xargs rm

           -------------------------------

       yes yes [OPTION]... [STRING]...

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

           -------------------------------

       zcat
           zcat FILE

           Uncompress to stdout.

           -------------------------------


LIBC NSS

       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 pass­
       words 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.


SEE ALSO

       textutils(1), shellutils(1), etc...


MAINTAINER

       Erik Andersen <andersee@debian.org> <andersen@lineo.com>


AUTHORS

       The following people have contributed code to BusyBox
       whether they know it or not.

       Erik Andersen <andersen@lineo.com>, <andersee@debian.org>

           core apps, tons of new apps as noted in header files.

       John Beppu <beppu@lineo.com>

           du, head, nslookup, sort, tee, uniq (so Kraai could rewrite them ;-),
           documentation

       Edward Betts <edward@debian.org>

           expr, hostid, logname, tty, wc, whoami, yes

       Brian Candler <B.Candler@pobox.com>

           tiny-ls(ls)

       Randolph Chung <tausq@debian.org>

           fbset, ping, hostname, and mkfifo

       Dave Cinege <dcinege@psychosis.com>

           more(v2), makedevs, dutmp, modularization, auto links file,
           various fixes, Linux Router Project maintenance

       Larry Doolittle <ldoolitt@recycle.lbl.gov>

           various fixes, shell rewrite

       Karl M. Hegbloom <karlheg@debian.org>

           cp_mv.c, the test suite, various fixes to utility.c, &c.

       Sterling Huxley <sterling@europa.com>

           vi (!!!)

       Daniel Jacobowitz <dan@debian.org>

           mktemp.c

       Matt Kraai <kraai@alumni.carnegiemellon.edu>

           documentation, bugfixes

       John Lombardo <john@deltanet.com>

           dirname, tr

       Glenn McGrath <bug1@netconnect.com.au>

           ar.c

       Vladimir Oleynik <dzo@simtreas.ru>

           and irreconcilable critic of everything not perfect.

       Bruce Perens <bruce@pixar.com>

           Original author of BusyBox. His code is still in many apps.

       Chip Rosenthal <chip@unicom.com>, <crosenth@covad.com>

           wget - Contributed by permission of Covad Communications

       Pavel Roskin <proski@gnu.org>

           Lots of bugs fixes and patches.

       Gyepi Sam <gyepi@praxis-sw.com>

           Remote logging feature for syslogd

       Linus Torvalds <torvalds@transmeta.com>

           mkswap, fsck.minix, mkfs.minix

       Mark Whitley <markw@lineo.com>

           sed remix, bug fixes, style-guide, etc.

       Charles P. Wright <cpwright@villagenet.com>

           gzip, mini-netcat(nc)

       Enrique Zanardi <ezanardi@ull.es>

           tarcat (since removed), loadkmap, various fixes, Debian maintenance


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