Find the correct path to an executable file in Unix
Several Unix dialects use the whereis
command
to find where programs, or executables, are stored in the file
structure of the computer. To use it at the Unix prompt, enter:
whereis command
Replace command
with the name of the executable for which
you are looking. For example, if you are looking for the location of
the lpr command, you would enter:
whereis lpr
The whereis
command will return something like the
following:
lpr: /usr/ucb/lpr /usr/man/man1/lpr.1
In this example, the query asked about the lpr
command,
which spools jobs to printers. The operating system returned two
answers, and thus two paths. The first path is the location of the
lpr
executable, and the second path is the location of
the lpr
manual page.
To find the path the operating
system uses to execute a command when you enter it on the command line, use
the which
command instead, for example:
which lpr
This command will output something like the following:
/var/bsd/lpr
This means that when you enter lpr
at the command line,
the system is really executing /var/bsd/lpr
.
At Indiana University, for personal or departmental Linux or Unix systems support, see Get help for Linux or Unix at IU.
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Last modified on 2023-06-27 11:44:42.