TYPE(1P)

📦 version 2017a, in alpine 3.22, alpine 3.23, alpine 3.24, arch rolling, nixpkgs unstable, opensuse-leap 16.0

💖 type(1P) — bestie edition 💖

okay so this is a page from the POSIX Programmer's Manual, and the utility it's about is type — as in TYPE(1P). it's giving "who even ARE you" but for commands. let's go 🦋

🚨 PROLOG 🚨

quick vibe check before we start: this manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual. The Linux implementation of this interface may differ (consult the corresponding Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may not be implemented on Linux.

no cap, that's a real warning. POSIX says "here's the spec", Linux says "we did our own thing bestie" 😭 always check the Linux page too.

✨ NAME ✨

type — write a description of command type

like. it tells you what kind of thing a name is. iconic behavior honestly 👑

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

type name...

that's it. that's the whole vibe. one or more *name*s, go off 💅

💫 DESCRIPTION 💫

The type utility shall indicate how each argument would be interpreted if used as a command name.

so basically: "hey, if I typed this word into my shell, what would actually happen?" and type is like "okay so listen—" 🫶

🌸 OPTIONS 🌸

None.

literally none. zero flags. no -a, no nothing. it's a bare-bones queen and she doesn't need accessories ✨

🧚 OPERANDS 🧚

The following operand shall be supported:

  • name — a name to be interpreted. just the word you want decoded, bestie.

🌈 STDIN 🌈

Not used.

she does not read from your keyboard. she said no thank you 🙈

📁 INPUT FILES 📁

None.

nothing to see here. no files consulted. periodt.

💜 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES 💜

The following environment variables shall affect the execution of type:

  • LANG — provides a default value for the internationalization variables that are unset or null. (See the Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2017, Section 8.2, Internationalization Variables for the precedence of internationalization variables used to determine the values of locale categories.) it's the fallback bestie, the "if nobody else shows up, I got you" energy 💖
  • LC_ALL — if set to a non-empty string value, override the values of all the other internationalization variables. she's the main character and she overrides everyone 👑
  • LC_CTYPE — determine the locale for the interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data as characters (for example, single-byte as opposed to multi-byte characters in arguments). byte-to-character decoding duties, very technical, very slay 🎀
  • LC_MESSAGES — determine the locale that should be used to affect the format and contents of diagnostic messages written to standard error. yes, even the error messages get localized. multilingual queen 🌍
  • NLSPATH — determine the location of message catalogs for the processing of LC_MESSAGES. she knows where the message catalogs live, iykyk 🗺️
  • PATH — determine the location of name, as described in the Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2017, Chapter 8, Environment Variables. this is how she goes looking for your command, like a little scavenger hunt 🔍

⚡ ASYNCHRONOUS EVENTS ⚡

Default.

nothing spicy happening here, standard behavior, carry on 🫶

🔥 STDOUT 🔥

The standard output of type contains information about each operand in an unspecified format. The information provided typically identifies the operand as a shell built-in, function, alias, or keyword, and where applicable, may display the operand's pathname.

bestie pay attention: unspecified format means the output isn't standardized. don't go parsing it like it's a fixed contract, because it is NOT. 💀 it's informative, not machine-readable.

😭 STDERR 😭

The standard error shall be used only for diagnostic messages.

errors only. no small talk. she's not chatting on stderr, she's just reporting problems when there are problems.

📂 OUTPUT FILES 📂

None.

she creates nothing. she leaves no trace. ghost behavior 🦋

🌟 EXTENDED DESCRIPTION 🌟

None.

nope! nothing extra. short and sweet.

👑 EXIT STATUS 👑

The following exit values shall be returned:

  1. 0 — Successful completion. ate. no crumbs. 💅
  2. >0 — An error occurred. something went sideways bestie 😔

💀 CONSEQUENCES OF ERRORS 💀

Default.

standard error handling, nothing special.

The following sections are informative.

🍓 APPLICATION USAGE 🍓

okay this part actually matters, listen up:

Since type must be aware of the contents of the current shell execution environment (such as the lists of commands, functions, and built-ins processed by hash), it is always provided as a shell regular built-in.

that's the whole tea ☕ she's a built-in, not some random binary you can just run anywhere.

If it is called in a separate utility execution environment, such as one of the following:

nohup type writer
find . -type f | xargs type

it might not produce accurate results.

fr fr, those examples are in the original and they're literally showing you how to break it. type needs to see YOUR shell's state. if you yeet it into another environment it's gonna be clueless. not her fault, it's the architecture 🙈

🧁 EXAMPLES 🧁

None.

no examples provided. she's mysterious like that ✨

🧠 RATIONALE 🧠

None.

no rationale given. sometimes the standard just says "because" and we move on.

🔮 FUTURE DIRECTIONS 🔮

None.

nothing planned. she's staying exactly as she is, timeless icon 🎀

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

  • command
  • hash
  • The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2017, Chapter 8, Environment Variables

go read those too bestie, they're the supporting cast 🫶

Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1-2017, Standard for Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7, 2018 Edition, Copyright (C) 2018 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .

Any typographical or formatting errors that appear in this page are most likely to have been introduced during the conversion of the source files to man page format. To report such errors, see https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .

okay that's the whole page bestie!! 🎀 this gorgeous thing came to you courtesy of IEEE/The Open Group, 2017, and yes that's the TYPE(1P) footer energy right there. now go type something and feel powerful 💅✨🦋

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