freebsd-tips revision 174422
1This fortune brought to you by: 2$FreeBSD: head/games/fortune/datfiles/freebsd-tips 174422 2007-12-07 22:28:08Z dougb $ 3% 4Having trouble using fetch through a firewall? Try setting the environment 5variable FTP_PASSIVE_MODE to yes, and see fetch(3) for more details. 6% 7By pressing "Scroll Lock" you can use the arrow keys to scroll backward 8through the console output. Press "Scroll Lock" again to turn it off. 9% 10Want colour in your directory listings? Use "ls -G". "ls -F" is also useful, 11and they can be combined as "ls -FG". 12% 13If you need to ask a question on the FreeBSD-questions mailing list then 14 15 http://www.FreeBSD.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/\ 16 freebsd-questions/index.html 17 18contains lots of useful advice to help you get the best results. 19% 20If you'd like to keep track of applications in the FreeBSD ports tree, take a 21look at FreshPorts; 22 23 http://www.freshports.org/ 24% 25To search for files that match a particular name, use find(1); for example 26 27 find / -name "*GENERIC*" -ls 28 29will search '/', and all subdirectories, for files with 'GENERIC' in the name. 30 -- Stephen Hilton <nospam@hiltonbsd.com> 31% 32In tcsh, you can `set autolist' to have the shell automatically show 33all the possible matches when doing filename/directory expansion. 34% 35You can `set autologout = 30' to have tcsh log you off automatically 36if you leave the shell idle for more than 30 minutes. 37% 38If you `set filec' (file completion) in tcsh and write a part of the 39filename, pressing TAB will show you the available choices when there 40is more than one, or complete the filename if there's only one match. 41% 42You can press up-arrow or down-arrow to walk through a list of 43previous commands in tcsh. 44% 45You can disable tcsh's terminal beep if you `set nobeep'. 46% 47If you `set watch = (0 any any)' in tcsh, you will be notified when 48someone logs in or out of your system. 49% 50Nice tcsh prompt: set prompt = '%m %# ' 51% 52Nice tcsh prompt: set prompt = '%n@%m%# ' 53% 54Nice tcsh prompt: set prompt = '%n@%m:%~%# ' 55% 56Nice tcsh prompt: set prompt = '%n@%m:%/%# ' 57% 58Nice tcsh prompt: set prompt = '[%B%m%b] %B%~%b%# ' 59% 60Simple tcsh prompt: set prompt = '%# ' 61% 62If you want df(1) and other commands to display disk sizes in 63kilobytes instead of 512-byte blocks, set BLOCKSIZE in your 64environment to 'K'. You can also use 'M' for Megabytes or 'G' for 65Gigabytes. If you want df(1) to automatically select the best size 66then use 'df -h'. 67% 68To change an environment variable in tcsh you use: setenv NAME "value" 69where NAME is the name of the variable and "value" its new value. 70% 71To change an environment variable in /bin/sh use: 72 73 $ VARIABLE="value" 74 $ export VARIABLE 75% 76You can use /etc/make.conf to control the options used to compile software 77on this system. Example entries are in 78/usr/share/examples/etc/make.conf. 79% 80To do a fast search for a file, try 81 82 locate filename 83 84locate uses a database that is updated every Saturday (assuming your computer 85is running FreeBSD at the time) to quickly find files based on name only. 86% 87In order to search for a string in some files, use 'grep' like this: 88 89 grep "string" filename1 [filename2 filename3 ...] 90 91This will print out the lines in the files that contain the string. grep can 92also do a lot more advanced searches - type 'man grep' for details. 93% 94You can use the 'fetch' command to retrieve files over ftp or http. 95 96 fetch http://www.FreeBSD.org/index.html 97 98will download the front page of the FreeBSD web site. 99% 100In order to make fetch (the FreeBSD downloading tool) ask for 101username/password when it encounters a password-protected web page, you can set 102the environment variable HTTP_AUTH to 'basic:*'. 103% 104You can permanently set environment variables for your shell by putting them 105in a startup file for the shell. The name of the startup file varies 106depending on the shell - csh and tcsh uses .login, bash, sh, ksh and zsh use 107.profile. When using bash, sh, ksh or zsh, don't forget to export the 108variable. 109% 110If you are running xterm, the default TERM variable will be 'xterm'. If you 111set this environment variable to 'xterm-color' instead, a lot of programs will 112use colors. You can do this by 113 114 TERM=xterm-color; export TERM 115 116in Bourne-derived shells, and 117 118 setenv TERM xterm-color 119 120in csh-derived shells. 121% 122If you do not want to get beeps in X11 (X Windows), you can turn them off with 123 124 xset b off 125% 126You can look through a file in a nice text-based interface by typing 127 128 less filename 129% 130The default editor in FreeBSD is vi, which is efficient to use when you have 131learned it, but somewhat user-unfriendly. To use ee (an easier but less 132powerful editor) instead, set the environment variable EDITOR to /usr/bin/ee 133% 134If you accidentally end up inside vi, you can quit it by pressing Escape, colon 135(:), q (q), bang (!) and pressing return. 136% 137You can use aliases to decrease the amount of typing you need to do to get 138commands you commonly use. Examples of fairly popular aliases include (in 139Bourne shell style, as in /bin/sh, bash, ksh, and zsh): 140 141 alias lf="ls -FA" 142 alias ll="ls -lA" 143 alias su="su -m" 144 145In csh or tcsh, these would be 146 147 alias lf ls -FA 148 alias ll ls -lA 149 alias su su -m 150 151To remove an alias, you can usually use 'unalias aliasname'. To list all 152aliases, you can usually type just 'alias'. 153% 154In order to support national characters for European languages in tools like 155less without creating other nationalisation aspects, set the environment 156variable LC_ALL to 'en_US.ISO8859-1'. 157% 158You can search for documentation on a keyword by typing 159 160 apropos keyword 161% 162Man pages are divided into section depending on topic. There are 9 different 163sections numbered from 1 (General Commands) to 9 (Kernel Developer's Manual). 164You can get an introduction to each topic by typing 165 166 man <number> intro 167 168In other words, to get the intro to general commands, type 169 170 man 1 intro 171% 172FreeBSD is started up by the program 'init'. The first thing init does when 173starting multiuser mode (ie, starting the computer up for normal use) is to 174run the shell script /etc/rc. By reading /etc/rc and the /etc/rc.d/ scripts, 175you can learn a lot about how the system is put together, which again will 176make you more confident about what happens when you do something with it. 177% 178If you want to play CDs with FreeBSD, a utility for this is already included. 179Type 'cdcontrol' then 'help' to learn more. (You may need to set the CDROM 180environment variable in order to make cdcontrol want to start.) 181% 182If you have a CD-ROM drive in your machine, you can make the CD-ROM that is 183presently inserted available by typing 'mount /cdrom' as root. The CD-ROM 184will be available under /cdrom/. Remember to do 'umount /cdrom' before 185removing the CD-ROM (it will usually not be possible to remove the CD-ROM 186without doing this.) 187 188Note: This tip may not work in all configurations. 189% 190You can install extra packages for FreeBSD by using the ports system. 191If you have installed it, you can download, compile, and install software by 192just typing 193 194 # cd /usr/ports/<category>/<portname> 195 # make install && make clean 196 197as root. The ports infrastructure will download the software, change it so 198it works on FreeBSD, compile it, install it, register the installation so it 199will be possible to automatically uninstall it, and clean out the temporary 200working space it used. You can remove an installed port you decide you do not 201want after all by typing 202 203 # cd /usr/ports/<category>/<portname> 204 # make deinstall 205 206as root. 207% 208Nice bash prompt: PS1='(\[$(tput md)\]\t <\w>\[$(tput me)\]) $(echo $?) \$ ' 209 -- Mathieu <mathieu@hal.interactionvirtuelle.com> 210% 211To see the output from when your computer started, run dmesg(8). If it has 212been replaced with other messages, look at /var/run/dmesg.boot. 213 -- Francisco Reyes <lists@natserv.com> 214% 215You can use "whereis" to search standard binary, manual page and source 216directories for the specified programs. This can be particularly handy 217when you are trying to find where in the ports tree an application is. 218 219Try "whereis netscape" and "whereis whereis". 220 -- Konstantinos Konstantinidis <kkonstan@duth.gr> 221% 222You can press Ctrl-D to quickly exit from a shell, or logout from a 223login shell. 224 -- Konstantinos Konstantinidis <kkonstan@duth.gr> 225% 226You can use "pkg_info" to see a list of packages you have installed. 227 -- Konstantinos Konstantinidis <kkonstan@duth.gr> 228% 229You can change the video mode on all consoles by adding something like 230the following to /etc/rc.conf: 231 232 allscreens="80x30" 233 234You can use "vidcontrol -i mode | grep T" for a list of supported text 235modes. 236 -- Konstantinos Konstantinidis <kkonstan@duth.gr> 237% 238Any user that is a member of the wheel group can use "su -" to simulate 239a root login. You can add a user to the wheel group by editing /etc/group. 240 -- Konstantinos Konstantinidis <kkonstan@duth.gr> 241% 242Over quota? "du -s * | sort -n " will give you a sorted list of your 243directory sizes. 244 -- David Scheidt <dscheidt@tumbolia.com> 245% 246Handy bash(1) prompt: PS1="\u@\h \w \!$ " 247 -- David Scheidt <dscheidt@tumbolia.com> 248% 249Ever wonder what those numbers after command names were, as in cat(1)? It's 250the section of the manual the man page is in. "man man" will tell you more. 251 -- David Scheidt <dscheidt@tumbolia.com> 252% 253"man hier" will explain the way FreeBSD filesystems are normally laid out. 254 -- David Scheidt <dscheidt@tumbolia.com> 255% 256"man tuning" gives some tips how to tune performance of your FreeBSD system. 257 -- David Scheidt <dscheidt@tumbolia.com> 258% 259"man firewall" will give advice for building a FreeBSD firewall 260 -- David Scheidt <dscheidt@tumbolia.com> 261% 262You can often get answers to your questions about FreeBSD by searching in the 263FreeBSD mailing list archives at 264 265 http://www.FreeBSD.org/search/search.html 266% 267You can adjust the volume of various parts of the sound system in your 268computer by typing 'mixer <type> <volume>'. To get a list of what you can 269adjust, just type 'mixer'. 270% 271You can automatically download and install binary packages by doing 272 273 pkg_add -r <URL> 274 275where you replace <URL> with the URL to the package. This will also 276automatically install the packages the package you download is dependent on 277(ie, the packages it needs in order to work.) 278% 279You can get a good standard workstation install by using the 280instant-workstation port/package. If you have ports installed, you can 281install it by doing 282 283 # cd /usr/ports/misc/instant-workstation 284 # make install && make clean 285 286as root. This will install a collection of packages that is convenient to 287have on a workstation. 288% 289You can get a good generic server install by using the 290instant-server port/package. If you have ports installed, you can 291install it by doing 292 293 # cd /usr/ports/misc/instant-server 294 # make install && make clean 295 296as root. This will install a collection of packages that is appropriate for 297running a "generic" server. 298% 299You can make a log of your terminal session with script(1). 300% 301"man ports" gives many useful hints about installing FreeBSD ports. 302% 303"man security" gives very good advice on how to tune the security of your 304FreeBSD system. 305% 306Want to find a specific port, just type the following under /usr/ports, 307or one its subdirectories: 308 309 "make search name=<port-name>" 310 or 311 "make search key=<keyword>" 312% 313Want to see how much virtual memory you're using? Just type "swapinfo" to 314be shown information about the usage of your swap partitions. 315% 316ports/net/netcat port is useful not only for redirecting input/output 317to TCP or UDP connections, but also for proxying them with inetd(8). 318% 319If other operating systems have damaged your Master Boot Record, you can 320reinstall it either with /usr/sbin/sysinstall or with boot0cfg(8). See 321"man boot0cfg" for details. 322% 323Need to see the calendar for this month? Simply type "cal". To see the 324whole year, type "cal -y". 325 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 326% 327Need to quickly return to your home directory? Type "cd". 328 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 329% 330To see the last time that you logged in, use lastlogin(8). 331 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 332% 333To clear the screen, use "clear". To re-display your screen buffer, press 334the scroll lock key and use your page up button. When you're finished, 335press the scroll lock key again to get your prompt back. 336 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 337% 338To save disk space in your home directory, compress files you rarely 339use with "gzip filename". 340 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 341% 342To read a compressed file without having to first uncompress it, use 343"zcat" or "zmore" to view it. 344 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 345% 346To see how much disk space is left on your partitions, use 347 348 df -h 349 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 350% 351To see the 10 largest files on a directory or partition, use 352 353 du /partition_or_directory_name | sort -rn | head 354 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 355% 356To determine whether a file is a text file, executable, or some other type 357of file, use 358 359 file filename 360 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 361% 362Time to change your password? Type "passwd" and follow the prompts. 363 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 364% 365Want to know how many words, lines, or bytes are contained in a file? Type 366"wc filename". 367 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 368% 369Need to print a manpage? Use 370 371 man name_of_manpage | col -bx | lpr 372 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 373% 374Need to remove all those ^M characters from a DOS file? Try 375 376 tr -d \\r < dosfile > newfile 377 -- Originally by Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 378% 379Forget what directory you are in? Type "pwd". 380 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 381% 382If you are in the C shell and have just installed a new program, you won't 383be able to run it unless you first type "rehash". 384 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 385% 386Need to leave your terminal for a few minutes and don't want to logout? 387Use "lock -p". When you return, use your password as the key to unlock the 388terminal. 389 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 390% 391Need to find the location of a program? Use "locate program_name". 392 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 393% 394Forget how to spell a word or a variation of a word? Use 395 396 look portion_of_word_you_know 397 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 398% 399To see the last 10 lines of a long file, use "tail filename". To see the 400first 10 lines, use "head filename". 401 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 402% 403To see how long it takes a command to run, type the word "time" before the 404command name. 405 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 406% 407To quickly create an empty file, use "touch filename". 408 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 409% 410To find out the hostname associated with an IP address, use 411 412 dig -x IP_address 413 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 414% 415If you use the C shell, add the following line to the .cshrc file in your 416home directory to prevent core files from being written to disk: 417 418 limit coredumpsize 0 419 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 420% 421If you need a reminder to leave your terminal, type "leave +hhmm" where 422"hhmm" represents in how many hours and minutes you need to leave. 423 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 424% 425Need to do a search in a manpage or in a file you've sent to a pager? Use 426"/search_word". To repeat the same search, type "n" for next. 427 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 428% 429Forget when Easter is? Try "ncal -e". If you need the date for Orthodox 430Easter, use "ncal -o" instead. 431 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 432% 433Need to see your routing table? Type "netstat -rn". The entry with the G 434flag is your gateway. 435 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 436% 437Need to see which daemons are listening for connection requests? Use 438"sockstat -4l" for IPv4, and "sockstat -l" for IPv4 and IPv6. 439 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 440% 441Can't remember if you've installed a certain port or not? Try "pkg_info 442-Ix port_name". 443% 444To erase a line you've written at the command prompt, use "Ctrl-U". 445 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 446% 447To repeat the last command in the C shell, type "!!". 448 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 449% 450Need to quickly empty a file? Use ": > filename". 451 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 452% 453To see all of the directories on your FreeBSD system, type 454 455 ls -R / | more 456 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 457% 458To see the IP addresses currently set on your active interfaces, type 459"ifconfig -u". 460 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 461% 462To see the MAC addresses of the NICs on your system, type 463 464 ifconfig -a 465 -- Dru <genesis@istar.ca> 466% 467You can open up a new split-screen window in (n)vi with :N or :E and then 468use ^w to switch between the two. 469% 470sh (the default Bourne shell in FreeBSD) supports command-line editing. Just 471``set -o emacs'' or ``set -o vi'' to enable it. 472% 473When you've made modifications to a file in vi(1) and then find that 474you can't write it, type ``<ESC>!rm -f %'' then ``:w!'' to force the 475write 476 477This won't work if you don't have write permissions to the directory 478and probably won't be suitable if you're editing through a symbolic link. 479% 480If you want to quickly check for duplicate package/port installations, 481try the following pkg_info command. 482 483 pkg_info | sort | sed -e 's/-[0-9].*$//' | \ 484 uniq -c | grep -v '^[[:space:]]*1' 485% 486Want to use sed(1) to edit a file in place? Well, to replace every 'e' with 487an 'o', in a file named 'foo', you can do: 488 489 sed -i.bak s/e/o/g foo 490 491And you'll get a backup of the original in a file named 'foo.bak', but if you 492want no backup: 493 494 sed -i '' s/e/o/g foo 495% 496To obtain a neat PostScript rendering of a manual page, use ``-t'' switch 497of the man(1) utility: ``man -t <topic>''. For example: 498 499 man -t grep > grep.ps # Save the PostScript version to a file 500or 501 man -t printf | lp # Send the PostScript directly to printer 502% 503Want to strip UTF-8 BOM(Byte Order Mark) from given files? 504 505 sed -e '1s/^\xef\xbb\xbf//' < bomfile > newfile 506% 507