How To - Linux / UNIX Create a Manpage

To create a manpage (manual page) in Linux or Unix, you will need to write the content of the manpage in a specific format and save it as a text file. The manpage content should be written in the troff markup language, which is a text formatting language used by the Unix documentation system.

To create a manpage, follow these steps:

1. Choose a name and a section for your manpage: The name of the manpage should be the name of the command, function, or file that the manpage describes. The section should be a number or letter that indicates the type of manpage. For example, section 1 is for user commands, section 2 is for system calls, and section 3 is for library functions.

2. Write the content of the manpage: The content of the manpage should include a brief description of the command, function, or file, and any options or arguments that it takes. You can use troff markup to format the text and include examples, tables, and other formatting elements.

3. Save the manpage as a text file: Save the manpage content as a text file with a .man extension. For example, if the manpage is for a command called mycommand, you can save the file as mycommand.man.

4. Convert the manpage to the .1 format: Use the groff command to convert the manpage from the .man format to the .1 format, which is the format used by the manpages system. For example:

groff -man -Tascii mycommand.man > mycommand.1

This will convert the mycommand.man file to the .1 format and save it as mycommand.1.

5. Install the manpage: To make the manpage available to users, you will need to install it in the appropriate directory. On most systems, manpages are stored in the /usr/local/share/man directory, with subdirectories for each section. For example, to install the mycommand.1 manpage in the /usr/local/share/man/man1 directory, you can use the following command:

sudo cp mycommand.1 /usr/local/share/man/man1/

This will install the mycommand.1 manpage in the /usr/local/share/man/man1 directory, where it will be available to users.

For more information about how to create a manpage in Linux or Unix, you can consult the troff documentation or seek assistance from a qualified Linux or Unix administrator.