Generating the Manual
A listing of the pages in the Manual is stored in a system-generated
database. Accessing them is as simple as running man <command>, and
you'll usually get a detailed listing of how to use that command. Check
out Finding Help in Linux for more
info about using man.
Help! The Manual is Missing!
On a freshly created Linux system, it's common for the Manual Pages to
not be generated yet. Running man <command> might give you an error,
even for basic utilities like ls. That's a pain — especially since
new systems often mean running lots of commands with rarely-used
options. Sometimes, the Manual can also get outdated after a software
update and need a rebuild.
Most Linux distributions use a scheduled job to generate the Manual, usually once a day. But if you need it right now, you can update the Manual yourself in a flash. Just run:
Once that's done, your Manual will be fully stocked and ready for exploration. Happy learning!