Man pages › Compared with Linux and the BSDs

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

On Solnix, pr is the illumos pr at /usr/bin/pr, with an XPG4 variant at /usr/xpg4/bin/pr. The biggest trap is -F. On Solnix /usr/bin/pr it folds long lines, while on Linux and the BSDs it selects form feeds. Linux also uses -c, -T and -D for different things.

The manual pages

Solnix: pr(1) from pkgs.solnix.illumos-world-man · illumos.org
Linux: pr(1) coreutils-full-9.11
FreeBSD: pr(1) 15.1-RELEASE
OpenBSD: pr(1) 8.0
NetBSD: pr(1) 11.0
Standard: POSIX.1-2024 (IEEE Std 1003.1-2024), pr

What Solnix runs

A default Solnix system runs the illumos /usr/bin/pr. /usr/xpg4/bin/pr is also shipped. Its synopsis accepts -c column as a synonym for -column, and it lists no -F. The -F and -i entries appear under 'supported for /usr/bin/pr only'. The bundle text is trimmed after -i, so any further differences between the two variants are not shown.

Differences

Compared with	Topic	What differs
all four	`-F` meaning	Solnix `/usr/bin/pr` `-F` folds input lines to the column width, or to an 80-column line width in single-column mode. On Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD, `-F` uses form feeds between pages. Solnix `-f` is the form-feed option. Source: Solnix pr(1) -F (/usr/bin/pr only), -f; Linux pr(1) -F, -f, --form-feed; FreeBSD pr(1) -F; OpenBSD pr(1) -F; NetBSD pr(1) -F
all four	`-f` and pausing	Solnix `-f` uses form feeds and pauses before the first page when stdout is a terminal. FreeBSD and NetBSD match this. OpenBSD `-f` is the same as `-F`, with no pause stated. Linux `-f` is the same as `-F`, with no pause stated. Source: Solnix pr(1) -f; FreeBSD pr(1) -f; NetBSD pr(1) -f; OpenBSD pr(1) -f; Linux pr(1) -F, -f
Linux	`-c` meaning	On Linux, `-c` (`--show-control-chars`) prints control characters in hat notation such as ^G. The Solnix `/usr/xpg4/bin/pr` synopsis uses `-c` column for the column count, and the Solnix text shown has no control-character option. Linux also has `-v` for octal notation. Source: Solnix pr(1) SYNOPSIS (/usr/xpg4/bin/pr: -column \| -c column); Linux pr(1) -c, -v
Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD	`-T`, `-D` and `-L`	Solnix has no `-T`, `-D` or `-L`. Linux `-T` omits pagination and `-D` sets the header date format. NetBSD `-T` takes an strftime(3) format for the header date. FreeBSD `-L` sets the locale. Source: Linux pr(1) -T, -D; NetBSD pr(1) -T timefmt; FreeBSD pr(1) -L locale; Solnix pr(1) SYNOPSIS
Linux, OpenBSD	`-p` pause per page	Solnix `-p` pauses before each page on a terminal, writing an alert to stderr and waiting for a carriage return on /dev/tty. OpenBSD's STANDARDS section says `-p` is unsupported, and its synopsis has no `-p`. The Linux options list has no `-p`. Source: Solnix pr(1) -p; OpenBSD pr(1) SYNOPSIS, STANDARDS; Linux pr(1) options
Linux	GNU-only options	Linux pr has long options and extra flags that Solnix lacks: `-J` join lines, `-N` first line number, `-S` separator string, `-W` page width, `-v` octal notation, and `--pages`. Scripts using them will not run on Solnix. Source: Linux pr(1) -J, -N, -S, -W, -v, +FIRST_PAGE[:LAST_PAGE], --pages; Solnix pr(1) SYNOPSIS
Linux	column balancing	Linux `-COLS` balances the number of lines in each column on a page. Solnix says only that whether columns have identical vertical lengths is unspecified, though a column never exceeds the page length. Source: Linux pr(1) -COLS; Solnix pr(1) -column
FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD	files merged with `-m`	Solnix says implementations support merging at least nine files. FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD say the maximum depends on page width and the per-process open-file limit. Source: Solnix pr(1) -m; FreeBSD pr(1) -m; OpenBSD pr(1) -m; NetBSD pr(1) -m
FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD	standard input operand '-'	FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD document '-' as the standard-input operand, and FreeBSD and NetBSD show it in the SYNOPSIS. The Solnix synopsis has no '-' operand. The visible Solnix text does not say whether '-' is accepted. Source: FreeBSD pr(1) SYNOPSIS, file; OpenBSD pr(1) file; NetBSD pr(1) SYNOPSIS, file; Solnix pr(1) SYNOPSIS
FreeBSD	multibyte input	FreeBSD's BUGS section says pr does not recognize multibyte characters. The Solnix text in the bundle makes no statement about multibyte input. Source: FreeBSD pr(1) BUGS; Solnix pr(1) DESCRIPTION
NetBSD	`-e` and `-i` digit handling	NetBSD `-e` and `-i` say that if the first character of char is a digit, char is treated as gap. The Solnix text says char is a non-digit character, and does not describe the digit case. Source: NetBSD pr(1) -e, -i; Solnix pr(1) -e, -n

Standards

POSIX: pr is a POSIX.1-2024 utility.
FreeBSD: The pr utility is IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 (“POSIX.1”) compatible.
OpenBSD: Compliant with IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 (“POSIX.1”) except that -p is unsupported. -f is marked as an X/Open System Interfaces option.
NetBSD: The pr utility is IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 (“POSIX.1”) compatible.
Linux: The Linux pr(1) text in the bundle has no STANDARDS section; it is the GNU coreutils page.

Writing portable scripts

Avoid -F, -c, -T and -p in portable scripts. They mean different things on Solnix, Linux and the BSDs, or are missing on some.
Stick to +page, -column, -a, -d, -h, -l, -m, -n, -o, -t and -w, which are documented on all five systems. Pass options with attached arguments (-e, -i, -n, -s) and put filenames last.

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.