Man pages › Compared with Linux and the BSDs

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

toe is the ncurses utility that lists the terminfo terminal types available to the terminfo library. It is not in the base Solnix system; install pkgs.solnix.ncurses. The option set and descriptions match the Linux and FreeBSD pages, so the differences are small.

The manual pages

Solnix: toe(1) from pkgs.solnix.ncurses
Linux: toe(1m) ncurses-6.6
FreeBSD: toe(1) 15.1-RELEASE

What Solnix runs

Not installed by default: add pkgs.solnix.ncurses. The bundle shows no other illumos variant of toe. The published Solnix page is the ncurses page, dated 2024-04-20 and marked ncurses 6.5.

Differences

Compared with	Topic	What differs
Linux, FreeBSD	same program and options	Solnix, Linux and FreeBSD document the same ncurses toe, with the same synopsis and the same flags: `-a`, `-h`, `-s`, `-u`, `-U`, `-v` [n] and `-V`. The option descriptions agree in substance. A script using these flags needs no change. Source: Solnix toe(1) SYNOPSIS and OPTIONS; Linux toe(1m) SYNOPSIS and OPTIONS; FreeBSD toe(1) SYNOPSIS and OPTIONS
Linux	ncurses version of the page	The Solnix page is marked ncurses 6.5 (2024-04-20). The Linux page is marked ncurses 6.6 (2025-11-11). The option text in the bundle is the same, so the manual shows no behavioural change between these two releases. Source: Solnix toe(1) footer; Linux toe(1m) footer
FreeBSD	ncurses version of the page	Both the Solnix page and the FreeBSD 15.1 page are marked ncurses 6.5. The FreeBSD page is dated 2025-11-11 and the Solnix page 2024-04-20. The option text is the same. Source: Solnix toe(1) footer; FreeBSD toe(1) footer
Linux, FreeBSD	section number	The Solnix page is toe(1). The footer on all three pages reads toe(1M), and the Linux page is filed as toe(1m). Look in section 1 on Solnix and FreeBSD, and section 1m on Linux, as the bundle names them. Source: Solnix toe(1) footer; Linux toe(1m) header; FreeBSD toe(1) header
OpenBSD, NetBSD	no counterpart page	The bundle has no OpenBSD or NetBSD toe page. The manual in the bundle cannot say whether toe exists there or what its options are. Source: Bundle header lists COUNTERPART pages for linux and freebsd only
Linux, FreeBSD	`-h` heading text	The Solnix `-h` text has a doubled word ("each each directory"). The Linux and FreeBSD text does not. The described behaviour is the same: it writes a heading naming each directory as it is accessed. Source: Solnix toe(1) -h; Linux toe(1m) -h; FreeBSD toe(1) -h

Standards

POSIX: toe is not a POSIX.1-2024 utility.
Solnix: The page has no STANDARDS section. It has a HISTORY section: toe replaces a -T option briefly supported by infocmp in 1995, and -a and -s were added in 2006 and 2011.

Writing portable scripts

toe is not POSIX. On Solnix, install pkgs.solnix.ncurses before relying on it in a script, and check that it is on PATH.
The flags -a, -h, -s, -u, -U, -v and -V are documented the same way on Solnix, Linux and FreeBSD. Do not assume the same of other systems, since the bundle has no OpenBSD or NetBSD page.

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.