Man pages › Compared with Linux and the BSDs

`rusers(1)` on Solnix vs Linux and the BSDs

On Solnix, rusers is the illumos /usr/bin/rusers, which lists users logged in on the remote hosts you name. It implements the sort options -h, -i and -u, which FreeBSD and NetBSD document as not implemented. Linux has no counterpart page in the bundle.

The manual pages

Solnix: rusers(1) from pkgs.solnix.illumos-world-man · illumos.org
FreeBSD: rusers(1) 15.1-RELEASE
OpenBSD: rusers(1) 8.0
NetBSD: rusers(1) 11.0

What Solnix runs

A default Solnix system runs the illumos rusers at /usr/bin/rusers, published in pkgs.solnix.illumos-world-man. No other variants are shipped. A remote host answers only if it runs the rusersd daemon, started from inetd(8) or listen(8).

Differences

Compared with	Topic	What differs
FreeBSD, NetBSD	sort options	Solnix rusers has `-h` (sort by host name), `-i` (sort by idle time) and `-u` (sort by number of users). FreeBSD and NetBSD accept only `-a` and `-l`, and their pages say the sorting options are not implemented. Source: Solnix rusers(1) OPTIONS -h, -i, -u; FreeBSD rusers(1) SYNOPSIS, BUGS; NetBSD rusers(1) SYNOPSIS, BUGS
OpenBSD	`-i` with `-l`	OpenBSD sorts `-i` `-l` output by the idle time of each individual user and says this is unlike other implementations. If `-l` is absent, it uses the lowest idle time of any user on the host. The Solnix page documents no such behaviour. Source: OpenBSD rusers(1) -i; Solnix rusers(1) -i
OpenBSD	sort option exclusivity	The OpenBSD synopsis allows only one of `-h`, `-i` or `-u` at a time: [`-h` \| `-i` \| `-u`]. The Solnix synopsis is rusers [`-ahilu`] and the page does not say how combined sort options behave. Source: OpenBSD rusers(1) SYNOPSIS; Solnix rusers(1) SYNOPSIS
FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD	host argument	On Solnix, host... is required in the synopsis. On FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD, hosts are optional, and with none given rusers queries all machines on the local network. The Solnix page describes no such local-network query. Source: Solnix rusers(1) SYNOPSIS; FreeBSD rusers(1) SYNOPSIS, DESCRIPTION; OpenBSD rusers(1) SYNOPSIS, DESCRIPTION; NetBSD rusers(1) SYNOPSIS, DESCRIPTION
FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD	default output order	Solnix lists hosts in the order responses arrive unless you choose a sort option. The BSD pages say nothing about default order. They state a wait for late responders: one minute on FreeBSD and NetBSD, 30 seconds on OpenBSD. The Solnix page states no wait time. Source: Solnix rusers(1) DESCRIPTION; FreeBSD rusers(1) DESCRIPTION; OpenBSD rusers(1) DESCRIPTION; NetBSD rusers(1) DESCRIPTION
FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD	long format fields	Solnix `-l` prints userid hostname:terminal login_date login_time idle_time login_host. It omits login_host when it equals hostname, and omits idle_time when the host is not idle. NetBSD says idle time is in minutes. The BSD pages do not document the omissions. Source: Solnix rusers(1) DESCRIPTION; NetBSD rusers(1) -l; FreeBSD rusers(1) -l; OpenBSD rusers(1) -l
OpenBSD	COLUMNS	OpenBSD rusers reads COLUMNS to set the output width, defaulting to the terminal width or 80 columns. The Solnix page documents no environment variables. Source: OpenBSD rusers(1) ENVIRONMENT; Solnix rusers(1) (no ENVIRONMENT section)
FreeBSD, NetBSD	server side and RPC services	The Solnix page names rusersd, started from inetd(8) or listen(8). FreeBSD and NetBSD point to rpc.rusersd(8) and rpcbind(8). OpenBSD points to rpc.rusersd(8) and portmap(8). Source: Solnix rusers(1) DESCRIPTION, SEE ALSO; FreeBSD rusers(1) SEE ALSO; NetBSD rusers(1) SEE ALSO; OpenBSD rusers(1) SEE ALSO
FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD	host names without a name service	On Solnix, without a name service such as LDAP or NIS, rusers shows host names as numeric IP addresses. The BSD pages do not say this. Source: Solnix rusers(1) DESCRIPTION; FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD rusers(1) DESCRIPTION

Standards

POSIX: rusers is not a POSIX.1-2024 utility.
FreeBSD: HISTORY: the rusers command appeared in Sun-OS.
OpenBSD: HISTORY: the rusers command appeared in SunOS.
NetBSD: HISTORY: the rusers command appeared in SunOS.

Writing portable scripts

Use only -a and -l in scripts that must run on Solnix, FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD. Sort in the script instead of using -h, -i or -u, which FreeBSD and NetBSD do not implement.
Always pass explicit host names. Solnix requires at least one, while the BSDs default to the local network.

Every difference here is taken from the manual pages linked above: Solnix's published page, Linux (man-pages and the GNU and util-linux manuals), FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD. Each row names its source. Where a manual is silent, this page is too. Compiled 2026-10-26. Found a mistake? Mail hackers@lists.solnix.io.