Nowadays, the browser is always open on my computer and I spend most of my time there. If there is a problem or I need to look up the parameters of a command, the first thing I do is look it up on the web. Now I want to go back to using man pages and rediscover the romance and essence that they convey.

Why Man Pages?

  • Always there when you need them: Unlike the internet, which requires connectivity, man pages are always right there on your system. Whether you’re on a plane, in a remote area, or just want to avoid the distractions of the web, man pages are a reliable companion.

  • Straight to the point: Man pages don’t mess around. They deliver exactly what you need: clear, concise information about commands, their options, and examples without any ads in the middle.

  • A deeper understanding: Using man pages isn’t just about finding quick answers; it’s about truly understanding the system you’re working with. They encourage you to think, to explore the underlying principles of Linux, and to become a more competent and confident user.

Consuming man pages

Under Arch Linux, before you can use man pages, you must install them:

pacman -S man-db man-pages

Instead on Debian they are available out of the box with the installation, just use it:

man man

Tricks

Colors on man pages

To bring some happiness and have more readable man pages, you can add colours by editing your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc and adding them:

# Man pages in Monokai-style
export LESS_TERMCAP_mb=$'\e[1;35m'
export LESS_TERMCAP_md=$'\e[1;33m'
export LESS_TERMCAP_so=$'\e[01;44;37m'
export LESS_TERMCAP_us=$'\e[1;32m'
export LESS_TERMCAP_me=$'\e[0m'
export LESS_TERMCAP_se=$'\e[0m'
export LESS_TERMCAP_ue=$'\e[0m'
export GROFF_NO_SGR=1

Efficient Navigation

Man pages are displayed using the less pager, which has numerous powerful navigation features:

  • Search within man pages: Press / followed by the search term to find specific text within the page. Use n to move to the next occurrence and N to move to the previous one.
  • Navigate by sections: Use g to go to the beginning and G to go to the end of the document.