FBHELP(1)

📦
version 7.44.0 · 2 versions
, in nixpkgs unstable

💅 FBHELP(1) — the BRL-CAD glow-up guide to frame buffers ✨

okay so real talk, this is fbhelp(1) from the BRL-CAD fam, and honestly? it's the friend who explains the group chat drama before you walk in. it tells you how to pick a frame buffer, shows you every device this build knows about, and then prints that device's own help text. iconic behavior honestly 🎀

🌸 NAME 🌸

fbhelp — describes how to select a frame buffer and lists the available devices 💖

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

fbhelp [-F framebuffer]

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so fbhelp does like three things and does them all slay:

  1. it explains how to select a frame buffer display device 📺
  2. it lists every frame buffer interface compiled into the libdm(3) library — like, the whole roster 👑
  3. it then opens the selected device and prints that device's own device-specific help 🫶

the way it picks the device is literally a priority list, bestie, listen up:

  • first, the -F framebuffer option — if you gave it, that's the one, periodt 💅
  • otherwise, the FB_FILE environment variable — she's the backup plan 🌈
  • and finally, the built-in default for your system — the "we go with the vibe" option 🧚

and ngl this is a whole BRL-CAD thing: most frame buffer tools, like fb-pix(1) and pix-fb(1), accept the exact same -F convention. so once you learn it here, you're set everywhere 🔥

💜 OPTIONS 💜

  • -F framebuffer — specify the frame buffer device you want described, instead of falling back to FB_FILE or the system default. you're the main character, you choose ✨
  • -h — print a usage message. and heads up, -? is accepted as a synonym, so either one works, no cap 🙈

🍓 EXAMPLES 🍓

Example 1. List the available frame buffer devices

fbhelp

this one prints the FB_FILE selection instructions, then the list of frame buffer interfaces built into this installation (like, for example, the in-memory and file-backed devices 💾), and then the help text for the default device. it's giving "full tour of the whole fam" 🫶

Example 2. Inspect a specific frame buffer before writing an image to it

fbhelp -F /tmp/output.pix
pix-fb -F /tmp/output.pix scene.pix

first line: queries the file-backed frame buffer (/tmp/output.pix) to confirm it's actually available and to learn its capabilities — vibe check before you commit, lowkey genius 🧠✨

second line: then uses pix-fb(1) to display a pix(5) image on that same device. two-step slay, no notes 👑

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

brlcad(1), fb-pix(1), pix-fb(1), fbclear(1), libdm(3)

go read those too, they're all in the same friend group fr fr 💖

💀 AUTHOR 💀

BRL-CAD Team — legends, honestly 🫡

This software is Copyright (c) 1989-2026 by the United States Government as represented by U.S. Army Research Laboratory.

like, that's a long-running icon right there ⭐

🔥 BUG REPORTS 🔥

Reports of bugs or problems should be submitted via electronic mail to devs@brlcad.org

not me telling you to email your bugs, but yes, that's literally the move — they wanna hear it 💌

and that's the whole page bestie!! this gem comes to you from BRL-CAD, and you just read FBHELP(1) 💅✨ go pick a frame buffer and make it iconic, ily 🫶💖

📦 where this page comes from