source: src/router/busybox/docs/BusyBox.txt @ 17633

NAME
    BusyBox - The Swiss Army Knife of Embedded Linux

SYNTAX
     busybox <applet> [arguments...]  # or

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

DESCRIPTION
    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 GNU coreutils, util-linux, etc. 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 /dev, /etc,
    and a Linux kernel. BusyBox provides a fairly complete POSIX environment
    for any small or embedded system.

    BusyBox is extremely configurable. This allows you to include only the
    components you need, thereby reducing binary size. Run 'make config' or
    'make menuconfig' to select the functionality that you wish to enable.
    Then run 'make' to compile BusyBox using your configuration.

    After the compile has finished, you should use 'make install' to install
    BusyBox. This will install the 'bin/busybox' binary, in the target
    directory specified by CONFIG_PREFIX. CONFIG_PREFIX can be set when
    configuring BusyBox, or you can specify an alternative location at
    install time (i.e., with a command line like 'make
    CONFIG_PREFIX=/tmp/foo install'). If you enabled any applet installation
    scheme (either as symlinks or hardlinks), these will also be installed
    in the location pointed to by CONFIG_PREFIX.

USAGE
    BusyBox is a multi-call binary. A multi-call binary is an executable
    program that performs the same job as more than one utility program.
    That means there is just a single BusyBox binary, but that single binary
    acts like a large number of utilities. This allows BusyBox to be smaller
    since all the built-in utility programs (we call them applets) can share
    code for many common operations.

    You can also invoke BusyBox by issuing a command as an argument on the
    command line. For example, entering

            /bin/busybox ls

    will also cause BusyBox to behave as 'ls'.

    Of course, adding '/bin/busybox' into every command would be painful. So
    most people will invoke BusyBox using links to the BusyBox binary.

    For example, entering

            ln -s /bin/busybox ls
            ./ls

    will cause BusyBox to behave as 'ls' (if the 'ls' command has been
    compiled into BusyBox). Generally speaking, you should never need to
    make all these links yourself, as the BusyBox build system will do this
    for you when you run the 'make install' command.

    If you invoke BusyBox with no arguments, it will provide you with a list
    of the applets that have been compiled into your BusyBox binary.

COMMON OPTIONS
    Most BusyBox applets support the --help argument to provide a terse
    runtime description of their behavior. If the
    CONFIG_FEATURE_VERBOSE_USAGE option has been enabled, more detailed
    usage information will also be available.

COMMANDS
    Currently available applets include:

            [, [[, adjtimex, arp, arping, ash, awk, basename, bash, cat, chgrp,
            chmod, chown, chroot, clear, cmp, cp, cut, date, dc, dd, df,
            dirname, dmesg, dnsdomainname, du, echo, egrep, env, expr, false,
            fgrep, find, free, ftpget, ftpput, getopt, grep, gunzip, gzip, halt,
            head, hexdump, hostname, id, ifconfig, ifdown, ifup, insmod,
            install, kill, killall, klogd, less, ln, logger, login, logread, ls,
            lsmod, md5sum, mesg, mkdir, mke2fs, mkfifo, mkfs.ext2, more, mount,
            mv, nameif, nc, netstat, nohup, nslookup, pidof, ping, pivot_root,
            poweroff, printf, ps, pwd, reboot, reset, rm, rmdir, rmmod, route,
            run-parts, rx, sed, sendmail, sh, sleep, sort, strings, stty, sync,
            syslogd, tail, tar, tee, telnet, telnetd, test, time, top, touch,
            tr, traceroute, true, tty, umount, uname, uniq, uptime, usleep,
            uudecode, uuencode, vconfig, vi, watch, wc, wget, which, whoami,
            xargs, yes, zcat

COMMAND DESCRIPTIONS
    adjtimex
        adjtimex [-q] [-o OFF] [-f FREQ] [-p TCONST] [-t TICK]

    arp arp [-vn] [-H HWTYPE] [-i IF] -a [HOSTNAME] [-v] [-i IF] -d HOSTNAME
        [pub] [-v] [-H HWTYPE] [-i IF] -s HOSTNAME HWADDR [temp] [-v] [-H
        HWTYPE] [-i IF] -s HOSTNAME HWADDR [netmask MASK] pub [-v] [-H
        HWTYPE] [-i IF] -Ds HOSTNAME IFACE [netmask MASK] pub

    arping
        arping [-fqbDUA] [-c CNT] [-w TIMEOUT] [-I IFACE] [-s SRC_IP] DST_IP

    ash ash [-/+OPTIONS] [-/+o OPT]... [-c 'SCRIPT' [ARG0 [ARGS]] / FILE
        [ARGS]]

    awk awk [OPTIONS] [AWK_PROGRAM] [FILE]...

    basename
        basename FILE [SUFFIX]

    bash
        bash [-/+OPTIONS] [-/+o OPT]... [-c 'SCRIPT' [ARG0 [ARGS]] / FILE
        [ARGS]]

    cat cat [FILE]...

    chgrp
        chgrp [-RhLHP]... GROUP FILE...

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

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

    chroot
        chroot NEWROOT [PROG ARGS]

    clear
        clear

    cmp cmp [-l] [-s] FILE1 [FILE2]

    cp  cp [OPTIONS] SOURCE DEST

    cut cut [OPTIONS] [FILE]...

    date
        date [OPTIONS] [+FMT] [TIME]

    dc  dc EXPRESSION...

    dd  dd [if=FILE] [of=FILE] [bs=N] [count=N] [skip=N] [seek=N]

    df  df [-Pkmhai] [-B SIZE] [FILESYSTEM]...

    dirname
        dirname FILENAME

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

    du  du [-aHLdclsxhmk] [FILE]...

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

    env env [-iu] [-] [name=value]... [PROG ARGS]

    expr
        expr EXPRESSION

    false
        false

    find
        find [PATH]... [OPTIONS] [ACTIONS]

    free
        free

    ftpget
        ftpget [OPTIONS] HOST [LOCAL_FILE] REMOTE_FILE

    ftpput
        ftpput [OPTIONS] HOST [REMOTE_FILE] LOCAL_FILE

    getopt
        getopt [OPTIONS]

    grep
        grep [-HhnlLoqvsriwFE] [-m N] [-A/B/C N] PATTERN/-e PATTERN.../-f
        FILE [FILE]...

    gunzip
        gunzip [-cft] [FILE]...

    gzip
        gzip [-cfd] [FILE]...

    halt
        halt [-d DELAY] [-n] [-f]

    head
        head [OPTIONS] [FILE]...

    hexdump
        hexdump [-bcCdefnosvx] [FILE]...

    hostname
        hostname [OPTIONS] [HOSTNAME | -F FILE]

    id  id [OPTIONS] [USER]

    ifconfig
        ifconfig [-a] interface [address]

    ifdown
        ifdown [-anvf] [-i FILE] IFACE...

    ifup
        ifup [-anvf] [-i FILE] IFACE...

    insmod
        insmod [OPTIONS] MODULE [SYMBOL=VALUE]...

    install
        install [-cdDsp] [-o USER] [-g GRP] [-m MODE] [SOURCE]... DEST

    kill
        kill [-l] [-SIG] PID...

    killall
        killall [-l] [-q] [-SIG] PROCESS_NAME...

    klogd
        klogd [-c N] [-n]

    less
        less [-EMNmh~I?] [FILE]...

    ln  ln [OPTIONS] TARGET... LINK|DIR

    logger
        logger [OPTIONS] [MESSAGE]

    login
        login [-p] [-h HOST] [[-f] USER]

    logread
        logread [-f]

    ls  ls [-1AaCxdLHRFplinsehrSXvctu] [-w WIDTH] [FILE]...

    lsmod
        lsmod

    md5sum
        md5sum [FILE]...

    mesg
        mesg [y|n]

    mkdir
        mkdir [OPTIONS] DIRECTORY...

    mke2fs
        mke2fs [-Fn] [-b BLK_SIZE] [-i INODE_RATIO] [-I INODE_SIZE] [-m
        RESERVED_PERCENT] [-L LABEL] BLOCKDEV [KBYTES]

    mkfifo
        mkfifo [-m MODE] NAME

    mkfs.ext2
        mkfs.ext2 [-Fn] [-b BLK_SIZE] [-i INODE_RATIO] [-I INODE_SIZE] [-m
        RESERVED_PERCENT] [-L LABEL] BLOCKDEV [KBYTES]

    more
        more [FILE]...

    mount
        mount [OPTIONS] [-o OPTS] DEVICE NODE

    mv  mv [-fin] SOURCE DEST or: mv [-fin] SOURCE... DIRECTORY

    nameif
        nameif [-s] [-c FILE] [IFNAME HWADDR]...

    nc  nc [-iN] [-wN] [-l] [-p PORT] [-f FILE|IPADDR PORT] [-e PROG]

    netstat
        netstat [-ral] [-tuwx] [-en]

    nohup
        nohup PROG ARGS

    nslookup
        nslookup [HOST] [SERVER]

    pidof
        pidof [OPTIONS] [NAME]...

    ping
        ping [OPTIONS] HOST

    pivot_root
        pivot_root NEW_ROOT PUT_OLD

    poweroff
        poweroff [-d DELAY] [-n] [-f]

    printf
        printf FORMAT [ARGUMENT]...

    ps  ps

    pwd pwd

    reboot
        reboot [-d DELAY] [-n] [-f]

    reset
        reset

    rm  rm [-irf] FILE...

    rmdir
        rmdir [OPTIONS] DIRECTORY...

    rmmod
        rmmod [-wfa] [MODULE]...

    route
        route [{add|del|delete}]

    run-parts
        run-parts [-t] [-a ARG] [-u MASK] DIRECTORY

    rx  rx FILE

    sed sed [-efinr] SED_CMD [FILE]...

    sendmail
        sendmail [OPTIONS] [RECIPIENT_EMAIL]...

    sh  sh [-/+OPTIONS] [-/+o OPT]... [-c 'SCRIPT' [ARG0 [ARGS]] / FILE
        [ARGS]]

    sleep
        sleep [N]...

    sort
        sort [-nrugMcszbdfimSTokt] [-o FILE] [-k
        start[.offset][opts][,end[.offset][opts]] [-t CHAR] [FILE]...

    strings
        strings [-afo] [-n LEN] [FILE]...

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

    sync
        sync

    syslogd
        syslogd [OPTIONS]

    tail
        tail [OPTIONS] [FILE]...

    tar tar -[cxtzhvO] [-f TARFILE] [-C DIR] [FILE]...

    tee tee [-ai] [FILE]...

    telnet
        telnet [-a] [-l USER] HOST [PORT]

    telnetd
        telnetd [OPTIONS]

    test
        test EXPRESSION ]

    time
        time [-v] PROG ARGS

    top top [-b] [-nCOUNT] [-dSECONDS] [-m]

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

    tr  tr [-cds] STRING1 [STRING2]

    traceroute
        traceroute [-FIldnrv] [-f 1ST_TTL] [-m MAXTTL] [-p PORT] [-q PROBES]
        [-s SRC_IP] [-t TOS] [-w WAIT_SEC] [-g GATEWAY] [-i IFACE] [-z
        PAUSE_MSEC] HOST [BYTES]

    true
        true

    tty tty

    umount
        umount [OPTIONS] FILESYSTEM|DIRECTORY

    uname
        uname [-amnrspv]

    uniq
        uniq [-cdu][-f,s,w N] [INPUT [OUTPUT]]

    uptime
        uptime

    usleep
        usleep N

    uudecode
        uudecode [-o OUTFILE] [INFILE]

    uuencode
        uuencode [-m] [INFILE] STORED_FILENAME

    vconfig
        vconfig COMMAND [OPTIONS]

    vi  vi [OPTIONS] [FILE]...

    watch
        watch [-n SEC] [-t] PROG ARGS

    wc  wc [-clwL] [FILE]...

    wget
        wget [-csq] [-O FILE] [-Y on/off] [-P DIR] [-U AGENT] URL...

    which
        which [COMMAND]...

    whoami
        whoami

    xargs
        xargs [OPTIONS] [PROG ARGS]

    yes yes [STRING]

    zcat
        zcat FILE

LIBC NSS
    GNU Libc (glibc) 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. This
    is implemented using an /etc/nsswitch.conf configuration file, and using
    one or more of the /lib/libnss_* libraries. BusyBox tries to avoid using
    any libc calls that make use of NSS. Some applets however, such as login
    and su, will use libc functions that require NSS.

    If you enable CONFIG_USE_BB_PWD_GRP, BusyBox will use internal functions
    to directly access the /etc/passwd, /etc/group, and /etc/shadow files
    without using NSS. This may allow you to run your system without the
    need for installing any of the NSS configuration files and libraries.

    When used with glibc, the BusyBox 'networking' applets will similarly
    require that you install at least some of the glibc NSS stuff (in
    particular, /etc/nsswitch.conf, /lib/libnss_dns*, /lib/libnss_files*,
    and /lib/libresolv*).

    Shameless Plug: As an alternative, one could use a C library such as
    uClibc. In addition to making your system significantly smaller, uClibc
    does not require the use of any NSS support files or libraries.

MAINTAINER
    Denis Vlasenko <vda.linux@googlemail.com>

AUTHORS
    The following people have contributed code to BusyBox whether they know
    it or not. If you have written code included in BusyBox, you should
    probably be listed here so you can obtain your bit of eternal glory. If
    you should be listed here, or the description of what you have done
    needs more detail, or is incorrect, please send in an update.

    Emanuele Aina <emanuele.aina@tiscali.it> run-parts

    Erik Andersen <andersen@codepoet.org>

        Tons of new stuff, major rewrite of most of the
        core apps, tons of new apps as noted in header files.
        Lots of tedious effort writing these boring docs that
        nobody is going to actually read.

    Laurence Anderson <l.d.anderson@warwick.ac.uk>

        rpm2cpio, unzip, get_header_cpio, read_gz interface, rpm

    Jeff Angielski <jeff@theptrgroup.com>

        ftpput, ftpget

    Edward Betts <edward@debian.org>

        expr, hostid, logname, whoami

    John Beppu <beppu@codepoet.org>

        du, nslookup, sort

    Brian Candler <B.Candler@pobox.com>

        tiny-ls(ls)

    Randolph Chung <tausq@debian.org>

        fbset, ping, hostname

    Dave Cinege <dcinege@psychosis.com>

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

    Jordan Crouse <jordan@cosmicpenguin.net>

        ipcalc

    Magnus Damm <damm@opensource.se>

        tftp client insmod powerpc support

    Larry Doolittle <ldoolitt@recycle.lbl.gov>

        pristine source directory compilation, lots of patches and fixes.

    Glenn Engel <glenne@engel.org>

        httpd

    Gennady Feldman <gfeldman@gena01.com>

        Sysklogd (single threaded syslogd, IPC Circular buffer support,
        logread), various fixes.

    Karl M. Hegbloom <karlheg@debian.org>

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

    Daniel Jacobowitz <dan@debian.org>

        mktemp.c

    Matt Kraai <kraai@alumni.cmu.edu>

        documentation, bugfixes, test suite

    Stephan Linz <linz@li-pro.net>

        ipcalc, Red Hat equivalence

    John Lombardo <john@deltanet.com>

        tr

    Glenn McGrath <bug1@iinet.net.au>

        Common unarchiving code and unarchiving applets, ifupdown, ftpgetput,
        nameif, sed, patch, fold, install, uudecode.
        Various bugfixes, review and apply numerous patches.

    Manuel Novoa III <mjn3@codepoet.org>

        cat, head, mkfifo, mknod, rmdir, sleep, tee, tty, uniq, usleep, wc, yes,
        mesg, vconfig, make_directory, parse_mode, dirname, mode_string,
        get_last_path_component, simplify_path, and a number trivial libbb routines

        also bug fixes, partial rewrites, and size optimizations in
        ash, basename, cal, cmp, cp, df, du, echo, env, ln, logname, md5sum, mkdir,
        mv, realpath, rm, sort, tail, touch, uname, watch, arith, human_readable,
        interface, dutmp, ifconfig, route

    Vladimir Oleynik <dzo@simtreas.ru>

        cmdedit; xargs(current), httpd(current);
        ports: ash, crond, fdisk, inetd, stty, traceroute, top;
        locale, various fixes
        and irreconcilable critic of everything not perfect.

    Bruce Perens <bruce@pixar.com>

        Original author of BusyBox in 1995, 1996. Some of his code can
        still be found hiding here and there...

    Tim Riker <Tim@Rikers.org>

        bug fixes, member of fan club

    Kent Robotti <robotti@metconnect.com>

        reset, tons and tons of bug reports and patches.

    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@codepoet.org>

        grep, sed, cut, xargs(previous),
        style-guide, new-applet-HOWTO, bug fixes, etc.

    Charles P. Wright <cpwright@villagenet.com>

        gzip, mini-netcat(nc)

    Enrique Zanardi <ezanardi@ull.es>

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

    Tito Ragusa <farmatito@tiscali.it>

        devfsd and size optimizations in strings, openvt and deallocvt.

    Paul Fox <pgf@foxharp.boston.ma.us>

        vi editing mode for ash, various other patches/fixes

    Roberto A. Foglietta <me@roberto.foglietta.name>

        port: dnsd

    Bernhard Reutner-Fischer <rep.dot.nop@gmail.com>

        misc

    Mike Frysinger <vapier@gentoo.org>

        initial e2fsprogs, printenv, setarch, sum, misc

    Jie Zhang <jie.zhang@analog.com>

        fixed two bugs in msh and hush (exitcode of killed processes)