The man command in Linux and Unix-like systems stands for “manual”. It is used to display the manual pages for a specified command. The manual pages contain information about the command including its options, usage, and examples.
Here is the basic syntax for the man command:
man [command]
command is the command for which you want to view the manual page. Here are some examples of the man command in action:
1. To view the manual page for the cat command:
$ man cat
2. To search a manual page for a specific keyword
$ man -k keyword
3. To find the manual page of a command in a specific section
$ man 2 open
Note: The number before the command name is the section number, the above example is looking for the manual page of open command in section 2.
4. To quit or exit the man page
Press 'q' on your keyboard
The man command is a useful tool for learning about commands and their options. It provides detailed information about a command and its usage, which can be helpful when you are trying to learn a new command or troubleshoot an issue. The man pages are divided by sections, and typically the most common commands are in section 1. The sections are numbered and are used to specify the desired section of a man page when running the command.