Man pages › Compared with Linux and the BSDs

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

msggrep is the GNU gettext tool that extracts messages from a PO catalog by pattern or source file. It is not in the base Solnix system: install pkgs.solnix.gettext. The Solnix page is gettext-tools 0.22.5 and lacks the -W and -S flag selectors that the Linux gettext 1.0 page documents.

The manual pages

Solnix: msggrep(1) from pkgs.solnix.gettext
Linux: msggrep(1) gettext-1.0

What Solnix runs

Not installed by default: add pkgs.solnix.gettext. The bundle shows no illumos variant and no other msggrep shipped on Solnix. The published page is GNU gettext-tools 0.22.5 (February 2024).

Differences

Compared with	Topic	What differs
Linux	`-W` workflow-flag selector	The Linux page (gettext-tools 1.0) documents `-W`, `--workflow-flag=FLAG` to select messages whose flags contain FLAG. The Solnix page (0.22.5) has no `-W`. A script using `-W` fails on Solnix if the installed version matches its page. Source: Linux msggrep(1) -W, --workflow-flag; Solnix msggrep(1) Message selection (no -W)
Linux	`-S` sticky-flag selector	The Linux page documents `-S`, `--sticky-flag=FLAG` to select messages whose flags contain FLAG. The Solnix page has no `-S`. Source: Linux msggrep(1) -S, --sticky-flag; Solnix msggrep(1) Message selection (no -S)
Linux	selection rule	On Linux, a message is also selected if `-W` or `-S` is given and its flags contain the named flag. On Solnix the union of criteria covers only source file, domain, msgctxt, msgid, msgstr, comment and extracted comment. Source: Linux msggrep(1) Message selection paragraph; Solnix msggrep(1) Message selection paragraph
Linux	same program, different version	Both pages describe GNU msggrep with the same synopsis, pattern syntax (basic regular expressions by default, `-E` extended, `-F` fixed strings) and output options. Solnix documents version 0.22.5 and Linux 1.0. Apart from `-W` and `-S` the option lists match. Source: Solnix msggrep(1) footer GNU gettext-tools 0.22.5; Linux msggrep(1) footer GNU gettext-tools 1.0
FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD	no BSD counterpart page	The bundle includes no msggrep page for FreeBSD, OpenBSD or NetBSD, so the manual does not say whether or how they provide it. On Solnix it is only available through the gettext package. Source: Bundle header: only a linux counterpart is listed

Standards

POSIX: msggrep is not a POSIX.1-2024 utility.

Writing portable scripts

Do not rely on -W or -S: they appear only in the gettext 1.0 page, not in the 0.22.5 page Solnix publishes.
In scripts, check that msggrep is on PATH, since it is not in the Solnix base system and comes from pkgs.solnix.gettext.

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.