INSTALL-INFO(1)

📦
version 7.3 · 5 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💖 INSTALL-INFO(1) 💖

okay bestie, so this is install-info, and it lives in the User Commands section of the manual. she's the girl who keeps your Info directory tidy — adding and removing entries in the dir file like it's her whole personality. let's get into it ✨

✨ NAME ✨

install-info — update info/dir entries 🎀

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

install-info [OPTION]... [INFO-FILE [DIR-FILE]]

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

So basically: she adds or removes entries in INFO-FILE from the Info directory DIR-FILE. that's the whole vibe 💅

important though — INFO-FILE and DIR-FILE are required, unless you hand over the --info-file or --dir-file (or --info-dir) options instead. so like, one way or the other, she needs to know what she's working with. no info, no service, periodt.

👑 OPTIONS 👑

every single one of these, in order, no skips, fr fr 💖

  • --add-once — only add to the first matching section, not all of them. one and done, she's not doing laps 🏃‍♀️
  • --align=COL — start the description of new entries at column COL.
  • --calign=COL — format the second and every description line after that to start at column COL.
  • --debug — report what is being done. she's narrating her own life, honestly relatable 🙈
  • --delete — delete existing entries for INFO-FILE from DIR-FILE, and don't insert any new entries. it's giving ghosting 💀
  • --defsection=TEXT — like --section, but only use TEXT if there are no sections present in INFO-FILE (this replaces "Miscellaneous").
  • --description=TEXT — the description of the entry is TEXT; used together with the --name option it becomes synonymous with the --entry option.
  • --dir-file=NAME — specify the file name of the Info directory file; equivalent to using the DIR-FILE argument.
  • --dry-run — same as --test.
  • --entry=TEXT — insert TEXT as an Info directory entry, overriding any corresponding entry from DIR-FILE. TEXT is written as an Info menu item line followed by zero or more extra lines starting with whitespace.
    • if you specify more than one entry, all of them are added.
    • if you don't specify any entries, they are determined from information in the Info file itself.
  • --help — display this help and exit. 🫶
  • --info-dir=DIR — same as --dir-file=DIR/dir.
  • --info-file=FILE — specify the Info file to install in the directory; equivalent to using the INFO-FILE argument.
  • --item=TEXT — same as --entry=TEXT.
  • --keep-old — do not replace entries, or remove empty sections. she's sentimental, leave her alone 😭
  • --maxwidth, --max-width=COL — wrap the description at column COL.
  • --menuentry=TEXT — same as --name=TEXT.
  • --name=TEXT — the name of the entry is TEXT; used with --description to become synonymous with the --entry option.
  • --no-indent — do not format new entries in the DIR file.
  • --quiet — suppress warnings. 🤫
  • --regex=R — put this file's entries in all sections that match the regular expression R (ignoring case).
  • --remove — same as --delete.
  • --remove-exactly — only remove if the info file name matches exactly; suffixes such as .info and .gz are not ignored. no shortcuts, no mercy 🔥
  • --section=SEC — put entries in section SEC of the directory.
    • if you specify more than one section, all the entries are added in each of the sections.
    • if you don't specify any sections, they are determined from information in the Info file itself;
    • if nothing is available there, the --defsection value is used;
    • if that is not specified, the final default is "Miscellaneous".
  • --section R SEC — equivalent to --regex=R --section=SEC --add-once.
  • --silent — suppress warnings.
  • --test — suppress updating of DIR-FILE.
  • --version — display version information and exit. ✨

😭 REPORTING BUGS 😭

found a bug? bestie, tell the people who care:

Copyright © 2026 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html

This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law. 🫶

like, genuinely no warranty. she's free and she's yours to remix, but she is not legally responsible for your dir file, okay? 💀

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

The full documentation for install-info is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If the info and install-info programs are properly installed at your site, the command

info install-info

should give you access to the complete manual. iykyk 💅

and that's the whole page, bestie. this was GNU texinfo 7.3, dated March 2026, and honestly? iconic. go update your dir entries, you absolute main character. 👑✨🎀

📦 where this page comes from