Whereis

whereis is a command on Unix and Unix-like operating systems used to locate some special files of a command like the binary file, source and manual page files. The whereis utility was first included with 2BSD, dating back to 1979.

Syntax

The whereis man page provides the following sample usage:

% # Find all files in /usr/bin which are not documented in /usr/man/man1 with source in /usr/src:
% cd /usr/bin
% whereis -u -M /usr/man/man1 -S /usr/src -f *

Analogs

The Unix type command is similar, but it identifies aliases.

Modern versions of Microsoft Windows feature a similar command: where.

It's also similar to the where utility in Multics.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Evolution of Unix section 1: User commands". dspinellis.github.io. 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  2. ↑ Clement Cole (2022). "[TUHS] whereis command". tuhs.org. Retrieved 10 October 2023. I'm pretty sure we got it in early 79, so I clearly rewrote it at some point if the dates show later
  3. ↑ Bhardwaj, Pawan K. (2006). "Locating Files with the Where Command". How to Cheat at Windows System Administration Using Command Line Scripts. Rockland, Massachusetts: Syngress. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-08-050826-9. Retrieved 2016-07-05. […] the Where command […] is equivalent to using the Search option in the Start menu.