Man pages › Compared with Linux and the BSDs

`showmount(8)` on Solnix vs Linux and the BSDs

On Solnix, showmount is the illumos /usr/sbin/showmount with only -a, -d and -e. It has no long options, no -E script format and no -1 or -3 protocol selectors. It does not list NFS Version 4 clients.

The manual pages

Solnix: showmount(8) from pkgs.solnix.illumos-world-man · illumos.org
Linux: showmount(8) nfs-utils-2.9.1
FreeBSD: showmount(8) 15.1-RELEASE
OpenBSD: showmount(8) 8.0
NetBSD: showmount(8) 11.0

What Solnix runs

A default Solnix system runs the illumos showmount at /usr/sbin/showmount. No other variants are shipped. The page is published in pkgs.solnix.illumos-world-man.

Differences

Compared with	Topic	What differs
all four	NFSv4 clients	The Solnix page says showmount does not display the names of NFS Version 4 clients. Linux says NFSv4-only servers may not expose their MNT service. The BSD pages do not mention NFSv4 limits. Source: Solnix showmount(8) DESCRIPTION; Linux showmount(8) BUGS; FreeBSD/OpenBSD/NetBSD showmount(8) BUGS
Linux, FreeBSD	long options	Solnix showmount has only `-a`, `-d` and `-e`. Linux accepts `--all`, `--directories` and `--exports`. FreeBSD accepts `--all`, `--directories`, `--exports` and `--exports-script`. Scripts using long options fail on Solnix. Source: Solnix showmount(8) SYNOPSIS; Linux showmount(8) OPTIONS; FreeBSD showmount(8) OPTIONS
FreeBSD, NetBSD	`-E` script-friendly exports	FreeBSD and NetBSD have `-E`, which lists exports without client addresses or header and with special characters escaped. Solnix has no `-E`. Only plain `-e` is documented. Source: FreeBSD showmount(8) -E; NetBSD showmount(8) -E; Solnix showmount(8) SYNOPSIS, -e
FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD	`-3` and `-1` protocol options	Solnix has no `-3` or `-1`. OpenBSD and NetBSD `-3` selects mount protocol Version 3. FreeBSD `-3` is ignored, and FreeBSD `-1` selects Version 1. Scripts passing `-3` fail on Solnix. Source: OpenBSD showmount(8) -3; NetBSD showmount(8) -3; FreeBSD showmount(8) -1, -3; Solnix showmount(8) SYNOPSIS
Linux	`-h`, `-v` and `--no-headers`	Linux has `-h`/-`-help`, `-v`/-`-version` and `--no-headers`. Solnix documents none of them. The Solnix page does not say how to suppress headings. Source: Linux showmount(8) OPTIONS; Solnix showmount(8) OPTIONS
all four	`-a` output format	Solnix `-a` prints 'hostname : directory'. The Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD pages describe host:dir, host:dirpath or host:dirpath forms. Parsers that split on the colon need to handle spacing. Source: Solnix showmount(8) -a; Linux showmount(8) -a; FreeBSD/OpenBSD/NetBSD showmount(8) -a
all four	default output	Solnix describes the default as the clients that have remotely mounted a filesystem from host, with the host defaulting to hostname(1). The other pages describe the default as hosts or clients mounting from the host. They do not state a hostname(1) default. Source: Solnix showmount(8) DESCRIPTION; Linux showmount(8) DESCRIPTION; FreeBSD/OpenBSD/NetBSD showmount(8) DESCRIPTION
Linux	output sorting	Linux says output is designed to appear as though processed through sort `-u`, so repeated mounts of the same directory cannot be told apart. The Solnix page does not document sorting. Source: Linux showmount(8) DESCRIPTION, BUGS; Solnix showmount(8) DESCRIPTION
all four	reliability of the data	Solnix says mount info is kept by mountd(8) and saved in `/etc/rmtab` across crashes, and a crashed client's entry is not removed. Linux also warns `-a` data is unreliable. The BSD pages blame the stateless NFS server. Source: Solnix showmount(8) DESCRIPTION, BUGS; Linux showmount(8) -a; FreeBSD/OpenBSD/NetBSD showmount(8) BUGS

Standards

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

Writing portable scripts

Use only -a, -d and -e with an optional host. They exist on Solnix, Linux and all three BSDs.
Do not rely on -E, -3, -1 or long options. Parse the output tolerantly, since the -a format and headings differ.

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.