whatis command and apropos in #linux #bash

Ever wonder what a command you are using is? Turns out linux has the answers for you!

Simply type whatis followed by the name of the command.

Examples:

$ whatis bc
bc(1)         - An arbitrary precision calculator language
$ whatis brew
brew(1)       - The missing package manager for macOS
brew-cask(1)  - a friendly binary installer for macOS

whatis uses the man pages to search your entered query.

There is also a reverse search, which searches the descriptions of commands. For example say you are looking for a calculator:

$ apropos calculator
bc(1)         - An arbitrary precision calculator language
dc(1)         - an arbitrary precision calculator

h/t this tweet by Peter Cooper

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