MANDB(8)                                               Manual pager utils                                               MANDB(8)



NAME
       mandb - create or update the manual page index caches

SYNOPSIS
       mandb [-dqsucpt|-h|-V] [-C file] [manpath]
       mandb [-dqsut] [-C file] -f filename ...

DESCRIPTION
       mandb is used to initialise or manually update index database caches that are usually maintained by man.  The caches con-
       tain information relevant to the current state of the manual page system and the information stored within them  is  used
       by the man-db utilities to enhance their speed and functionality.

       When  creating  or  updating  an  index, mandb will warn of bad ROFF .so requests, bogus manual page filenames and manual
       pages from which the whatis cannot be parsed.

       Supplying mandb with an optional colon-delimited path will override the internal  system  manual  page  hierarchy  search
       path, determined from information found within the man-db configuration file.

DATABASE CACHES
       mandb can be compiled with support for any one of the following database types.


       Name                Type          Async   Filename
       ----------------------------------------------------------
       Berkeley db         Binary tree   Yes     index.bt
       GNU gdbm v >= 1.6   Hashed        Yes     index.db
       GNU gdbm v <  1.6   Hashed        No      index.db
       UNIX ndbm           Hashed        No      index.(dir|pag)

       Those  database  types that support asynchronous updates provide enhanced speed at the cost of possible corruption in the
       event of unusual termination.  In an unusual case where this has occurred, it may be necessary to rerun mandb with the -c
       option to re-create the databases from scratch.

OPTIONS
       -d, --debug
              Print debugging information.

       -q, --quiet
              Produce no warnings.

       -s, --no-straycats
              Do not spend time looking for or adding information to the databases regarding stray cats.

       -p, --no-purge
              Do not spend time checking for deleted manual pages and purging them from the databases.

       -c, --create
              By default, mandb will try to update any previously created databases.  If a database does not exist, it will cre-
              ate it.  This option forces mandb to delete previous databases and re-create them from scratch, and implies  --no-
              purge.   This  may be necessary if a database becomes corrupt or if a new database storage scheme is introduced in
              the future.

       -u, --user-db
              Create user databases only, even with write permissions necessary to create system databases.

       -t, --test
              Perform correctness checks on manual pages in the hierarchy search path.  With this option, mandb will  not  alter
              existing databases.

       -f, --filename
              Update  only the entries for the given filename.  This option is not for general use; it is used internally by man
              when it has been compiled with the MAN_DB_UPDATES option and finds that a page is out of date.  It implies -p  and
              disables -c and -s.

       -C file, --config-file=file
              Use this user configuration file rather than the default of ~/.manpath.

       -h, --help
              Show the usage message, then exit.

       -V, --version
              Show the version, then exit.

EXIT STATUS
       0      Successful program execution.

       1      Usage, syntax, or configuration file error.

       2      Operational error.

       3      A child process failed.

DIAGNOSTICS
       The following warning messages can be emitted during database building.

       <filename>: whatis parse for page(sec) failed
              An  attempt  to  extract whatis line(s) from the given <filename> failed.  This is usually due to a poorly written
              manual page, but if many such messages are emitted it is likely that the system contains non-standard manual pages
              which  are  incompatible  with  the  man-db  whatis parser.  See the WHATIS PARSING section in lexgrog(1) for more
              information.

       <filename>: is a dangling symlink
              <filename> does not exist but is referenced by a symbolic link.  Further diagnostics are usually emitted to  iden-
              tify the <filename> of the offending link.

       <filename>: bad symlink or ROFF `.so' request
              <filename> is either a symbolic link to, or contains a ROFF include request to, a non existent file.

       <filename>: ignoring bogus filename
              The  <filename>  may  or  may not be a valid manual page but its name is invalid.  This is usually due to a manual
              page with sectional extension <x> being put in manual page section <y>.

       <filename_mask>: competing extensions
              The wildcard <filename_mask> is not unique.  This is usually caused by the existence  of  both  a  compressed  and
              uncompressed version of the same manual page.  All but the most recent are ignored.

FILES
       /etc/man_db.conf
              man-db configuration file.

       /var/cache/man/index.(bt|db|dir|pag)
              An FHS compliant global index database cache.

       Older locations for the database cache included:

       /usr/man/index.(bt|db|dir|pag)
              A traditional global index database cache.

       /var/catman/index.(bt|db|dir|pag)
              An alternate or FSSTND compliant global index database cache.

SEE ALSO
       man(1), lexgrog(1), manpath(5), catman(8).

       The WHATIS PARSING section formerly in this manual page is now part of lexgrog(1).

AUTHOR
       Wilf. (G.WilfordATee.uk).
       Fabrizio Polacco (fpolaccoATdebian.org).
       Colin Watson (cjwatsonATdebian.org).



2.5.7                                                      2010-02-16                                                   MANDB(8)