SPELL(1)

📦 version 1.053, in alpine 3.24

💖 spell(1) — the manual, but make it a group chat 💖

okay so real talk, this page is from the User Contributed Perl Documentation corner of the manual-verse (iykyk), and it's literally just spell, a whole little program that scans a file for misspelled words. she's not fancy, she's not flashy, she's just doing her job and doing it well. periodt. 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

spell — scan a file for misspelled words 🦋

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

spell [-d dict] [-c|-x] [-v] [-i] [+extra_list] [file ...]

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so here's the vibe: spell reads in a file and splits it into words, then compares each unique word against a dictionary file. and bestie, listen — all comparisons and reporting are done in lower case, no cap. the "misspelled" words get printed on standard output, and that's it, that's the whole personality. 💅

the options are as follows, and yes we're going through every single one:

  • -d file — use file as the dictionary instead of the default system dictionary. like, be your own lexicographer, go off. 👑
  • -c — check the dictionary for "close" matches. each misspelled word will be followed by a list of indented close matches. and what counts as a close match? a close match is one where it matches a word in the dictionary if 1 character is deleted, or 1 letter is added, or any 2 adjacent characters are swapped. that's the whole rule, fr fr. 🔍
  • -x — same as -c above. literally the same. she's an alias, she's an icon, she's a legend. ✨
  • -v — show suffix expansion. some words are inferred by modifying words in the dictionary, and this shows you how that was done on some of your words, so you can double check if it did it right. lowkey the most useful flag here ngl — like, trust but verify. 🙈
  • -i — use interactively. prompts for words, processes words after each line instead of after whole file(s), and quits at the first blank line. > do not use on a file. this is for typing in words from standard in, okay? also prints descriptive titles and has a very basic pager. she's giving CLI wizard energy, and the pager is basic but it's hers. 🧚
  • +extra_list — add the file extra_list to the list of dictionaries to check against. stack those dictionaries, bestie, build your own word empire. 🌸

flags may be grouped, e.g. spell -icv, and can be specified in any order. chaotic? maybe. flexible? absolutely. main character energy. 💜

if no file is specified, words to check will be read from standard input. but — and this is important — the -i flag should be used if you're going to type words in by hand. don't try to be clever, just use -i. 🫶

✨ SEE ALSO ✨

  • ispell — the other one, the classic one, the ✨vintage✨ one
  • /usr/dict/words — the word list, in its natural habitat

and okay, a little lore: the author (we'll get to him) says "I did not create a word list, but found one without restriction (compiled for linux) at:" — and then hits you with this absolute antique:

"ftp://ftp.cs.unc.edu/pub/users/faith/linux/linux.words.2.tar.gz"

an FTP URL in the year of our lord. iconic. ancient. protect her. 🏛️

✨ RESTRICTIONS ✨

okay so this is the "manage your expectations" section, and honestly? respect. 🫡

this program is only as good as your word list (and maybe not that good — use the -v switch at least once. that's not a suggestion, that's a vibe check). the author did not compile the word list and cannot vouch for it. and like, remember this is a tool and not a replacement for your own thinking. 🧠✨

anyone who depends wholly on a spell checker without doing their own proofreading deserves what they get (or worse). I accept no liability for any consequences of using this program.

😭 the delivery. the drama. the accuracy. no notes.

also, this program only finds the misspelled words — it is up to you to decide if they are really wrong and replace them yourself. she finds the problem, you fix the problem. teamwork. 🫶

and a lil dev note: the author's focus in writing this program was portability, therefore he did not use some things that may have speeded things up. however perl itself is quick enough that it still does pretty good even with the slower method. slay for portability, honestly. 🌈

✨ BUGS ✨

"I know of no bugs at this time." 💀💀💀

(he says, with a couple of things that may make it run a bit faster and documentation that may be made a little clearer. so like, not bugs. just opportunities. growth mindset. 🦋)

✨ AUTHOR ✨

Gregory L. Snow, (Greg), snow@biostat.washington.edu — the man, the myth, the perl enjoyer. 👑💖

this program is copyright (c) Gregory L. Snow 1999. 🎀

this program is free and open software. you may use, modify, or distribute this program (with or without modifications) to your hearts content. however he takes no responsibility for your use or misuse of this program. fair. balanced. legally sound. as it should be. 💅

and that's the whole page, bestie!! this one's from perl v5.42.2, dated 2026-02-15, and it was literally the most fun a manual page has ever been. go spell-check something and then go proofread it yourself like a responsible legend. mwah. 💖✨🎀🦋

📦 where this page comes from