Man pages › Compared with Linux and the BSDs

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

On Solnix, man is the illumos man at /usr/bin/man. Several flags mean something different from Linux, FreeBSD and NetBSD. Most importantly, -w updates the whatis database instead of printing a page's location, and -l lists matching pages instead of treating arguments as files.

The manual pages

Solnix: man(1) from pkgs.solnix.illumos-world-man · illumos.org
Linux: man(1) man-db-2.13.1
FreeBSD: man(1) 15.1-RELEASE
NetBSD: man(1) 11.0
Standard: POSIX.1-2024 (IEEE Std 1003.1-2024), man

What Solnix runs

A default Solnix system runs the illumos man at /usr/bin/man, published in pkgs.solnix.illumos-world-man. No other variants are shipped. The page says -f and -k read the whatis database, which man -w creates. The page reads either man(7) or mdoc(7) markup.

Differences

Compared with	Topic	What differs
Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD	`-w` meaning	Solnix man `-w` updates the whatis database. On Linux, FreeBSD and NetBSD, `-w` prints the location of the manual page that would be shown. A script using man `-w` to find a page file gets a database rebuild on Solnix. Source: Solnix man(1) -w, NOTES; Linux man(1) -w; FreeBSD man(1) -w; NetBSD man(1) -w
Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD	`-l` meaning	Solnix man `-l` lists all manual pages matching name in the search path. On Linux, FreeBSD and NetBSD, `-l` makes man treat its arguments as manual page file names to format and display. Source: Solnix man(1) -l; Linux man(1) -l, --local-file; FreeBSD man(1) -l; NetBSD man(1) -l
Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD	`-f` argument	Solnix man `-f` takes file names, strips the leading path, and prints one-line summaries for the basename, using the whatis database. Linux, FreeBSD and NetBSD document `-f` as whatis(1) for a page or command name. FreeBSD takes an extended regular expression. Source: Solnix man(1) -f; Linux man(1) -f; FreeBSD man(1) -f; NetBSD man(1) -f
Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD	`-k` and the whatis database	Solnix `-k` matches keywords in the whatis database, which must first be built with man `-w`. The FreeBSD and Linux pages describe `-k` as a regular-expression search, and the FreeBSD text mentions no database. NetBSD `-k` works like apropos(1). Source: Solnix man(1) -k, NOTES; Linux man(1) SYNOPSIS (-k regexp); FreeBSD man(1) -k; NetBSD man(1) -k
Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD	selecting a section	The Solnix synopsis has no positional section: use `-s` section, which accepts a comma-separated list, a digit with letters such as 3head, or a word such as local. An unadorned 9 does not match 9e, 9f or 9s. Linux and FreeBSD take the section as an argument before the page name. Source: Solnix man(1) SYNOPSIS, -s, Manual Page Sections; Linux man(1) SYNOPSIS; FreeBSD man(1) SYNOPSIS
FreeBSD, NetBSD	`-S` and `-s`	Solnix has `-s` section only. FreeBSD `-S` takes a colon-delimited section list (default 1:8:2:3:3lua:n:4:5:6:7:9:l). NetBSD `-S` matches a string in the directory part of the page path, and its `-s` takes one section. Source: Solnix man(1) -s; FreeBSD man(1) -S; NetBSD man(1) -S, -s
Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD	section configuration file	Solnix reads a per-directory man.cf file with a MANSECTS=section[,section]... line, plus sections embedded in MANPATH. NetBSD uses man.conf(5) with `-C`. Linux `-C` names a user configuration file, default ~/.manpath. FreeBSD uses `-S` or MANSECT. Source: Solnix man(1) Search Path, MANPATH; NetBSD man(1) -C; Linux man(1) -C; FreeBSD man(1) -S
FreeBSD, NetBSD	pager selection	Solnix has no `-P` option. It uses PAGER, defaulting to more `-s`, and pipes through cat(1) if output is not a terminal or - is given. FreeBSD has `-P` and MANPAGER, defaulting to less. NetBSD uses `-c` to skip paging. Source: Solnix man(1) ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES, Location of Manual Pages; FreeBSD man(1) -P; NetBSD man(1) -c, PAGER
FreeBSD	`-t` meaning	Solnix man `-t` sends the page to the default printer as PostScript. FreeBSD `-t` sends the page source through troff to allow conversion to other formats. NetBSD has no `-t`. Source: Solnix man(1) -t; FreeBSD man(1) -t; NetBSD man(1) SYNOPSIS
FreeBSD, NetBSD	`-h` meaning	Solnix has no `-h`. FreeBSD `-h` prints a short help message and exits. NetBSD `-h` displays only the SYNOPSIS lines of the requested pages. Source: Solnix man(1) SYNOPSIS; FreeBSD man(1) -h; NetBSD man(1) -h
FreeBSD, NetBSD	`-M` ordering and MANPATH	On Solnix, `-M` must come first when used with `-k`, `-f` or `-w`. MANPATH may carry comma-separated sections after each directory. FreeBSD MANPATH treats a leading, trailing or doubled colon as an insertion point for the default path. Source: Solnix man(1) -M, MANPATH; FreeBSD man(1) MANPATH; NetBSD man(1) -M, -m
FreeBSD, NetBSD	no-op options	Solnix `-F` and `-T` macro-package are accepted for backwards compatibility and do nothing. The FreeBSD and NetBSD synopses have neither `-F` nor `-T`. Source: Solnix man(1) -F, -T; FreeBSD man(1) SYNOPSIS; NetBSD man(1) SYNOPSIS

Standards

POSIX: man is a POSIX.1-2024 utility.
Solnix: Interface Stability: Committed.
NetBSD: man conforms to X/Open Commands and Utilities Issue 5 (XCU5).

Writing portable scripts

Use only man name in portable scripts. Section selection (-s on Solnix, -S on FreeBSD, a positional argument elsewhere) and -w, -l, -f, -k differ between systems.
To find the file behind a page, do not use man -w on Solnix: it rebuilds the whatis database there. Use a system-specific method.

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.