DEBMANY(1)

💖 DEBMANY(1) 💖

okay bestie, pull up a chair, we're doing the debmany manual page and it's genuinely iconic. this is a User Commands situation, and it's giving "I just want to read a manpage without losing my entire mind" energy. let's go 🦋

✨ NAME ✨

debmany — select manpages or documentation files from installed packages, packages from the repository or .deb-files for viewing using man, sensible-pager or an alternative viewer.

like. she picks your docs FOR you. no cap. 👑

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

debmany --help
debmany [-v[v]] [-k|-x] [-m manpageviewer] [-o otherviewer] [-L limit]
[-l lang1[,...]] package|package.deb
debmany [-v[v]] [-k|-x] [-m manpageviewer] [-o otherviewer] [-L limit]
[-l lang1[,...]] -z [package|package.deb]

💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

Select a manpage or files in /usr/share/doc from a Debian package for viewing with man, sensible-pager or an alternative viewer. The list of files is displayed in a dialog. Supported locations for Debian packages are: local .deb-file, a package in the repository or an installed package.

that's it. that's the whole vibe. local file, repo package, or already-installed package — she does all three, fr fr. ✨

• --help — display a short usage guide and exit. quick lil "hey here's how I work", then she's out. 💨
• -k — Display the manpage using your preferred viewer (must support .gz files) if you use KDE — this is the short form of -m 'kfmclient exec man:%s'. kfmclient is a part of the package konqueror (at least in Debian Buster). KDE girlies, this one's for you. 💜
• -x — Display the manpage using your preferred viewer (must support .gz files) if you use KDE/GNOME/Xfce — this is the short form of -m 'xdg-open man:%s'. xdg-open is a part of the package xdg-utils (at least in Debian Buster). the universal bestie option, lowkey. 🌈
• -m manpageviewer — Optionally set a manpage viewer. The viewer must support .gz files. You must define the complete request. %s gets replaced with the path to the manpage. If %s is missing %s is appended to the manpageviewer. The manpageviewer must be enclosed with "" or '' — see examples. If you use a graphical viewer you must ensure that you have access to your desktop (if necessary: sux or ssh with X-forwarding).

ngl the "you must ensure you have access to your desktop" part is the sneaky gotcha. graphical viewer + no desktop access = sadness. you've been warned, bestie. 😭

• -o otherviewer — Optionally set a viewer for other files (/usr/share/doc). for when the docs aren't manpages and need their own lil handler. 🎀
• -L limit — If a file which must be downloaded exceeds this limit, you are asked if the download should start. Without unit the value is in bytes. You can append K, M, G or T to the value to change the unit. she's not just gonna go download a whole gigabyte without asking first. consent king. 👑
• -l lang1[,...] — English manpages are displayed always. If you want more languages you can specify them here. Provide a comma separated list of the folder names in the manpage folders (/usr/share/man) — e.g. de,fr or "zh*" if you want to see all Chinese manpages (Simplified and Traditional Chinese as well). It is safe always to use "*" at the end of your language. Character set versions automatically generated during installation are not available for selection.

lowkey the "*" tip is the move. wildcard at the end = you get everything for that language, and it's safe. periodt. ✨

• -z — Zenity (a graphical dialog) is used to select the files and if necessary to enter the package name. You must have the rights to start X programs. This option combined with the parameters -k, -x or -m and -o make it possible to use debmany without console.

okay this is the full no-terminal run. main character energy. combine it with -k, -x or -m and -o and you literally never have to touch a console. 💅

The manpages are temporarily extracted to a temporary directory under /tmp (or /var/tmp, if /tmp is not a directory). You can override the path if you set and export the environment variable TMPDIR or set it as a temporary variable.

You need to have the Debian package whiptail (preferred) or dialog as well as apt installed.

bestie. READ THIS PART. no whiptail/dialog and no apt = no debmany. she's not magic, she just has good dependencies. 🫶

🔥 EXAMPLES 🔥

• debmany coreutils — Show all manpages from the installed Debian package coreutils using man.
• debmany 3dchess — Show all manpages from the package 3dchess using man. Since it is not already installed the package is accessed from the repository — even downloading is done if needed.

not installed? doesn't matter, she'll go get it. obsessed. 😌

• debmany test.deb — Show all manpages from the local Debian package ./test.deb using man.
• debmany -k sc — Use your preferred man-viewer (for KDE users).
• debmany -g sc — Use your preferred man-viewer (for GNOME users).
• debmany -x sc — Use your preferred man-viewer (for KDE/GNOME/XFCE users).
• debmany -z -k — Uses zenity to select files and to enter the package name.
• TMPDIR=~/tmp debmany -m 'konqueror man:%s' sc — Use ~/tmp as temporary folder and Konqueror as viewer.
• alias debmany='debmany -l de -L 5M -k'; debmany -m man -l "zh*" foo — Set an alias with your preferred options and override them if needed.
• vi /usr/local/bin/ask # after saving: chmod 755 ask — Every time you select other files from a package you will be asked which program to use.

#!/bin/dash
read -p "program to use: " pgm
eval $pgm "$1"

debmany -o ask

yes the last one is a whole lil script AND a command, and yes we're keeping it exactly as written. copy it, chmod 755 it, slay. 🎀

💜 AUTHOR 💜

Written by Michael Arlt.

🌈 LICENSE 🌈

This is free software. You may redistribute copies of it under the terms of the GNU General Public License <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

fr fr: free as in freedom, but NO WARRANTY. she said what she said. 💀

and that's the page, bestie — debmany version 1.3, by Michael Arlt, in the User Commands manual. go read some manpages, you deserve it. 💖✨🦋