groff_mdoc(7)
🎀 groff_mdoc 🎀
okay bestie, welcome to groff_mdoc — that's the Miscellaneous Information Manual, section 7, and it's literally the whole guide to composing BSD-style manual (man) pages with GNU roff. buckle up 💅
✨ Name ✨
groff_mdoc — compose BSD-style manual (man) pages with GNU roff
✨ Synopsis ✨
groff -mdoc file ...🌸 Description 🌸
The GNU implementation of the mdoc macro package is part of the groff(1) document formatting system. mdoc is a structurally- and semantically-oriented package for writing Unix manual pages with troff(1). Its predecessor, the man(7) package, primarily addressed page layout and presentational concerns, leaving the selection of fonts and other typesetting details to the individual author. And that discretion? It has led to divergent styling practices among authors using it. 😬
mdoc organizes its macros into domains:
- The page structure domain lays out the page and comprises titles, section headings, displays, and lists.
- The general text domain supplies macros to quote or style text, or to interpolate common noun phrases.
- The manual domain offers semantic macros corresponding to the terminology used by practitioners in discussion of Unix commands, routines, and files.
Manual domain macros distinguish command-line arguments and options, function names, function parameters, pathnames, variables, cross references to other manual pages, and so on. These terms are meaningful both to the author and the readers of a manual page. And the hope is that the resulting increased consistency of the man page corpus will enable easier translation to future documentation tools. 🫶
Throughout Unix documentation, a manual entry is referred to simply as a “man page” — regardless of its length, without gendered implication, and irrespective of the macro package selected for its composition. periodt.
🦋 Getting started 🦋
The mdoc package attempts to simplify man page authorship and maintenance without requiring mastery of the roff language. This document presents only essential facts about roff. For further background — including a discussion of basic typographical concepts like “breaking”, “filling”, and “adjustment” — see roff(7). Specialized units of measurement also arise, namely ens, vees, inches, and points, abbreviated “n”, “v”, “i”, and “p”, respectively; see section “Measurements” of groff(7).
For brief examples, we employ an arrow notation illustrating a transformation of input on the left to rendered output on the right. Consider the .Dq macro, which double-quotes its arguments.
.Dq man page → “man page”💜 Usage 💜
An mdoc macro is called by placing the roff control character, ‘.’ (dot) at the beginning of a line followed by its name. In this document, we often discuss a macro name with this leading dot to identify it clearly, but heads up — the dot is not part of its name. Space or tab characters can separate the dot from the macro name. Arguments may follow, separated from the macro name and each other by spaces, but not tabs. The dot at the beginning of the line prepares the formatter to expect a macro name. A dot followed immediately by a newline is ignored; this is called the empty request. To begin an input line with a dot (or a neutral apostrophe ‘'’) in some context other than a macro call, precede it with the \& escape sequence; this is a dummy character, not formatted for output. The backslash is the roff escape character; it can appear anywhere and it's always followed by at least one more character. If followed by a newline, the backslash escapes the input line break; you can thus keep input lines to a reasonable length without affecting their interpretation. slay.
Macros in GNU troff accept an unlimited number of arguments; other troffs often can't handle more than nine 😭. In some cases, arguments may continue or extend onto the next input line without resort to the ‘\newline’ escape sequence; see subsection “Extended arguments” below. Neutral double quotes " can be used to group multiple words into an argument; see subsection “Passing space characters in an argument” below.
Most of mdoc's general text and manual domain macros parse their argument lists for callable macro names. This means that an argument in the list matching a general text or manual domain macro name (and defined to be callable) will be called with the remaining arguments when it is encountered. In such cases, the argument, although the name of a macro, is not preceded by a dot. Macro calls can thus be nested. This approach to macro argument processing is a unique characteristic of the mdoc package, not a general feature of roff syntax. icon behavior fr fr 🔥
For example, the option macro, .Op, may call the flag and argument macros, .Fl and .Ar, to specify an optional flag with an argument.
.Op Fl s Ar bytes → [-s bytes]To prevent a word from being interpreted as a macro name, precede it with the dummy character.
.Op \&Fl s \&Ar bytes → [Fl s Ar bytes]In this document, a macro that parses its argument list for other macro names is termed parsed; macros that permit other macros to call them thus are described as callable. Okay so this usage is technically a faux pas, since all mdoc macros are in fact interpreted (unless prevented with ‘\&’), but it's cumbersome to constantly refer to macros as “being able to call other macros”, so we employ the term “parsed” instead. Except where explicitly stated, all mdoc macros are parsed and callable. 💅
In the following, we term an mdoc macro that starts a line (with a leading dot) a command if a distinction from those appearing as arguments of other macros is necessary.
🍓 Passing space characters in an argument 🍓
Sometimes it is desirable to give a macro an argument containing one or more space characters, for instance to specify a particular arrangement of arguments demanded by the macro. Additionally, quoting multi-word arguments that are to be treated the same makes mdoc work faster; macros that parse arguments do so once (at most) for each. For example, the function command .Fn expects its first argument to be the name of a function and any remaining arguments to be function parameters. Because C language standards mandate the inclusion of types and identifiers in the parameter lists of function definitions, each ‘Fn’ parameter after the first will be at least two words in length, as in “int foo”.
There are a few ways to embed a space in a macro argument. 💭
- One is to use the unadjustable space escape sequence
\space. The formatter treats this escape sequence as if it were any other printable character, and will not break a line there as it would a word space when the output line is full. This method is useful for macro arguments that are not expected to straddle an output line boundary, but has a drawback: this space does not adjust as others do when the output line is formatted. - An alternative is to use the unbreakable space escape sequence, ‘
\~’, which cannot break but does adjust. This is a groff extension and is widely but not perfectly portable. - Another method is to enclose the string in double quotes.
.Fn fetch char\ *str → fetch(char *str)
.Fn fetch char\~*str → fetch(char *str)
.Fn fetch "char *str" → fetch(char *str)If the ‘\’ before the space in the first example or the double quotes in the third example were omitted, ‘.Fn’ would see three arguments, and the result would contain an undesired comma. 😭
.Fn fetch char *str → fetch(char, *str)🌈 Trailing space characters 🌈
It is wise to remove trailing spaces from the ends of input lines. Should the need arise to put a formattable space at the end of a line, do so with the unadjustable or unbreakable space escape sequences. no cap.
🧚 Formatting the backslash and other glyphs 🧚
When you need the roff escape character ‘\’ to appear in the output, use ‘\e’ or ‘\[rs]’ instead. Strictly, ‘\e’ formats the current escape character; it works reliably as long as no roff request is used to change it — which should never happen in man pages. ‘\[rs]’ is a groff special character escape sequence that explicitly formats the “reverse solidus” (backslash) glyph. In general, use special character escape sequences to format characters outside the ISO 646 (“ASCII”) or Unicode Basic Latin range, and to format correct glyphs for the characters ‘"’, “'”, ‘-’, ‘^’, ‘`’, and ‘~’. groff_char(7) presents the formatter's special character identifiers, annotating those that are portable to legacy systems. Section “Predefined strings” below lists characters commonly used by mdoc documents.
💀 Other possible pitfalls 💀
groff mdoc warns when an empty input line is found outside of a display — a topic presented in subsection “Examples and displays” below. Use empty requests to space the source document for maintenance.
Leading spaces cause a break and are formatted. Avoid this behaviour if possible. Similarly, do not put more than one space between words in an ordinary text line; they are not “normalized” to a single space as other text formatters might do.
Don't try to use the neutral double quote character ‘"’ to represent itself in an argument. Use the special character escape sequence ‘\[dq]’ to format it. Avoid using ‘\[dq]’ for conventional quotation; see subsection “Enclosure and quoting macros” below.
If your document must be portable to legacy systems like 4.4BSD, special character escape sequences shown here in the form \[xx] must be spelled \(xx instead. No version of groff or mandoc requires the latter form.
As a typesetting system, roff distinguishes hyphens, minus signs, and dashes of various widths. When inputting a hyphen or dash (“hyphen-minus”) (Unicode U+002D) that should be usable in URLs or copy-and-paste operations to shell prompts or program code, prefix it with the escape character: ‘\-’.
The formatter attempts to detect the ends of sentences and by default puts the equivalent of two spaces between sentences on the same output line; see roff(7). To defeat this detection in a parsed list of macro arguments, put ‘\&’ before the punctuation mark. Thus,
The
.Ql .
character.
.Pp
The
.Ql \&.
character.
.Pp
.No test .
test
.Pp
.No test.
testgives
The ‘’. character
The ‘.’ character.
test. test
test. testas output. As can be seen in the first and third output lines, mdoc handles punctuation characters specially in macro arguments. This will be explained in section “General syntax” below. 👑
A comment in the source file of a man page can begin with ‘.\"’ at the start of an input line, ‘\"’ after other input, or ‘\#’ anywhere (the last is a groff extension); the remainder of any such line is ignored.
🎀 A man page template 🎀
okay so literally the whole point: you use mdoc to build a man page out of this template, and honestly it's giving fill-in-the-blanks but make it iconic. here's the skeleton, bestie 💖
.\" The following three macro calls are required.
.Dd date
.Dt identifier [section-id [section-keyword-or-title]]
.Os [package-or-operating system [version-or-release]]
.Sh Name
.Nm topic
.Nd summary-description
.\" The next heading is used in sections 2 and 3.
.\" .Sh Library
.\" The next heading is used in sections 1-4, 6, 8, and 9.
.Sh Synopsis
.Sh Description
.\" Uncomment and populate the following sections as needed.
.\" .Sh "Implementation notes"
.\" The next heading is used in sections 2, 3, and 9.
.\" .Sh "Return values"
.\" The next heading is used in sections 1, 3, 6, and 8.
.\" .Sh Environment
.\" .Sh Files
.\" The next heading is used in sections 1, 6, and 8.
.\" .Sh "Exit status"
.\" .Sh Examples
.\" The next heading is used in sections 1, 4, 6, 8, and 9.
.\" .Sh Diagnostics
.\" .Sh Compatibility
.\" The next heading is used in sections 2, 3, 4, and 9.
.\" .Sh Errors
.\" .Sh "See also"
.\" .Sh Standards
.\" .Sh History
.\" .Sh Authors
.\" .Sh Caveats
.\" .Sh Bugsthe very first things in the template — the head of the group chat, if you will — are the commands .Dd, .Dt, and .Os. they're the ones that identify the page ✨ and they get their own whole discussion down in the section “Title macros” 💅
everything after that is section headings (.Sh), and lowkey the only ones you literally cannot skip are “Name” and “Description” — those two are mandatory, no cap 😤. all these headings get explained in the section “Page structure domain”, which comes right after “Manual domain”. so do yourself a favor and get comfy with the manual domain macros first 🫶 — we literally use them to show you how the page structure domain macros work. iykyk 💜
🌸 Conventions 🌸
quick vibe check on how to read the macro descriptions below, because notation is a whole language:
- square brackets
[ ]wrap optional arguments — they might show up, they might not 🦋 - an ellipsis (
...) means the argument right before it can repeat zero or more times — go off, repeat yourself 🔥 - alternative values of a parameter get separated with
|— pick one, bestie - and if a mandatory parameter can take one of several alternative values, you wrap the whole set in braces, with spaces and
|splitting the items 👑
like so:
ztar {c | x} [-w [-y | -z]] [-f archive] member ...but ngl there's a glow-up alternative: instead of braces, just synopsize the distinct operation modes separately — especially when the list of valid optional arguments depends on which mandatory parameter your user picked 🙈:
ztar c [-w [-y | -z]] [-f archive] member ...
ztar x [-w [-y | -z]] [-f archive] member ...okay and this next bit is so important: most macros keep affecting the arguments that come after them until another macro or a newline shows up. so for example, .Li ls Bq Ar file does not give you ls [file] — it gives you ls [file]. literally not the same thing 😭. and because of that, a warning message gets emitted for many commands if the first argument is itself a macro, since it cancels out the effect of the one before it 💀. on rare occasions though, you might actually want to format a word together with its surrounding brackets as a literal:
.Li "ls [file]" → ls [file] # list any files named e, f, i, or llast thing, and it's the subtle one ✨: many macros have an implicit width, and that width gets used when they're sitting inside lists and displays. if you don't lean on those default measurements, you dodge any potential conflicts with site-local modifications of the mdoc package — iconic, drama-free behavior 👑. so pass explicit -width and -offset arguments to the .Bl and .Bd macros instead. preferable. periodt 💅
Title macros 👑
Okay so we're doing these first because they're mandatory and honestly iconic — even though they technically belong to the page-structure domain of macros. They set the page identifier and section of the manual, the date of last revision, and the operating system or software project the page is associated with. Call each one once at the beginning of the document. They fill in the page headers and footers — the "titles," as roff calls them. 🎀
.Dd date 🌸
This is the literal first macro of any mdoc manual, and it records the last modification date of the document source. Arguments get catenated and separated with space characters.
Historically, date was written in U.S. traditional format, "Month day , year" — where Month is the full month name in English, day an integer with no leading zero, and year the four-digit year. Bestie, that localism is not enforced, though. groff recommends ISO 8601 format, YYYY-MM-DD. A date of the form '$Mdocdate: Month day year $' is also recognized — OpenBSD manuals use it to automatically insert the current date when committing. Fancy. ✨
Heads up: this macro is neither callable nor parsed.
.Dt identifier [section-id [section-keyword-or-title]] 💅
identifier and section-id together should uniquely indicate the man page on the system. A section-id that begins with an integer in the range 1–9, or that is one of the words 'unass', 'draft', or 'paper', selects a predefined section title. And no, this use of "section" has nothing to do with the section headings we talk about elsewhere in this page — it comes from the organizational scheme of printed and bound Unix manuals. iykyk 📚
In this implementation, these are the titles defined for integral section numbers:
1 General Commands Manual
2 System Calls Manual
3 Library Functions Manual
4 Kernel Interfaces Manual
5 File Formats Manual
6 Games Manual
7 Miscellaneous Information Manual
8 System Manager's Manual
9 Kernel Developer's ManualA section title may be arbitrary, or one of these abbreviations:
USD User's Supplementary Documents
PS1 Programmer's Supplementary Documents
AMD Ancestral Manual Documents
SMM System Manager's Manual
URM User's Reference Manual
PRM Programmer's Manual
KM Kernel Manual
IND Manual Master Index
LOCAL Local Manual
CON Contributed Software ManualFor compatibility, 'MMI' can be used for 'IND', and 'LOC' for 'LOCAL'. Values from that previous table will specify a new section title. 🫶
If section-keyword-or-title designates a computer architecture recognized by groff mdoc, its value gets prepended to the default section title as specified by the second parameter. By default, these architecture keywords are defined:
acorn26, acorn32, algor, alpha, amd64, amiga, amigappc, arc,
arm, arm26, arm32, armish, atari, aviion, beagle, bebox,
cats, cesfic, cobalt, dreamcast, emips, evbarm, evbmips,
evbppc, evbsh3, ews4800mips, hp300, hp700, hpcarm, hpcmips,
hpcsh, hppa, hppa64, i386, ia64, ibmnws, iyonix, landisk,
loongson, luna68k, luna88k, m68k, mac68k, macppc, mips,
mips64, mipsco, mmeye, mvme68k, mvme88k, mvmeppc, netwinder,
news68k, newsmips, next68k, ofppc, palm, pc532,
playstation2, pmax, pmppc, powerpc, prep, rs6000, sandpoint,
sbmips, sgi, sgimips, sh3, shark, socppc, solbourne, sparc,
sparc64, sun2, sun3, tahoe, vax, x68k, x86_64, xen, zaurusIf a section title still isn't determined after all those matches have been attempted, then section-keyword-or-title is used. Periodt. 💀
Here's what varying .Dt arguments actually do to the page header content — watch how \& stops the numeral 2 from being used to look up a predefined section title:
.Dt foo 2 → foo(2) System Calls Manual foo(2)
.Dt foo 2 m68k → foo(2) m68k System Calls Manual foo(2)
.Dt foo 2 baz → foo(2) System Calls Manual foo(2)
.Dt foo \&2 baz → foo(2) baz foo(2)
.Dt foo "" baz → foo baz foo
.Dt foo M Z80 → foo(M) Z80 foo(M)roff strings define section titles and architecture identifiers. Site-specific additions might be found in the file mdoc.local — see section "Files" below. 👀
Same deal as before: this macro is neither callable nor parsed.
.Os [operating-system-or-package-name [version-or-release]] 🦋
This macro associates the document with a software distribution. When you're composing a man page that'll be included in the base installation of an operating system, do not provide an argument — mdoc will supply it. In this implementation, that default is "Debian". It can be overridden in the site configuration file mdoc.local — see section "Files" below. 🔥
A portable software package that maintains its own man pages can supply its name and version number or release identifier as optional arguments. A version-or-release argument should use the standard nomenclature for the software you specified. Recognized version-or-release arguments for some predefined operating systems are listed below. Same as with .Dt, site additions might be defined in mdoc.local.
ATT
7th, 7, III, 3, V, V.2, V.3, V.4BSD
3, 4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.3t, 4.3T, 4.3r, 4.3R,
4.4NetBSD
0.8, 0.8a, 0.9, 0.9a, 1.0, 1.0a, 1.1, 1.2,
1.2a, 1.2b, 1.2c, 1.2d, 1.2e, 1.3, 1.3a, 1.4,
1.4.1, 1.4.2, 1.4.3, 1.5, 1.5.1, 1.5.2, 1.5.3,
1.6, 1.6.1, 1.6.2, 1.6.3, 2.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.2,
2.0.3, 2.1, 3.0, 3.0.1, 3.0.2, 3.0.3, 3.1,
3.1.1, 4.0, 4.0.1, 5.0, 5.0.1, 5.0.2, 5.1,
5.1.2, 5.1.3, 5.1.4, 5.2, 5.2.1, 5.2.2, 6.0,
6.0.1, 6.0.2, 6.0.3, 6.0.4, 6.0.5, 6.0.6, 6.1,
6.1.1, 6.1.2, 6.1.3, 6.1.4, 6.1.5, 7.0, 7.0.1,
7.0.2, 7.1, 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 7.2, 8.0, 8.1FreeBSD
1.0, 1.1, 1.1.5, 1.1.5.1, 2.0, 2.0.5, 2.1,
2.1.5, 2.1.6, 2.1.7, 2.2, 2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.5,
2.2.6, 2.2.7, 2.2.8, 2.2.9, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3,
3.4, 3.5, 4.0, 4.1, 4.1.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5,
4.6, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 4.10, 4.11, 5.0,
5.1, 5.2, 5.2.1, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2,
6.3, 6.4, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 8.0, 8.1,
8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 9.0, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 10.0, 10.1,
10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 11.0, 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 12.0,
12.1OpenBSD
2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8,
2.9, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7,
3.8, 3.9, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6,
4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5,
5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4,
6.5, 6.6DragonFly
1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8,
1.8.1, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11, 1.12, 1.12.2, 1.13,
2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8,
2.9, 2.9.1, 2.10, 2.10.1, 2.11, 2.12, 2.13,
3.0, 3.0.1, 3.0.2, 3.1, 3.2, 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.3,
3.4, 3.4.1, 3.4.2, 3.4.3, 3.5, 3.6, 3.6.1,
3.6.2, 3.7, 3.8, 3.8.1, 3.8.2, 4.0, 4.0.1,
4.0.2, 4.0.3, 4.0.4, 4.0.5, 4.0.6, 4.1, 4.2,
4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3, 4.2.4, 4.3, 4.4, 4.4.1,
4.4.2, 4.4.3, 4.5, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.8,
4.8.1, 4.9, 5.0, 5.0.1, 5.0.2, 5.1, 5.2, 5.2.1,
5.2.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.4.1, 5.4.2, 5.4.3, 5.5, 5.6,
5.6.1, 5.6.2Darwin
8.0.0, 8.1.0, 8.2.0, 8.3.0, 8.4.0, 8.5.0,
8.6.0, 8.7.0, 8.8.0, 8.9.0, 8.10.0, 8.11.0,
9.0.0, 9.1.0, 9.2.0, 9.3.0, 9.4.0, 9.5.0,
9.6.0, 9.7.0, 9.8.0, 10.0.0, 10.1.0, 10.2.0,
10.3.0, 10.4.0, 10.5.0, 10.6.0, 10.7.0, 10.8.0,
11.0.0, 11.1.0, 11.2.0, 11.3.0, 11.4.0, 11.5.0,
12.0.0, 12.1.0, 12.2.0, 13.0.0, 13.1.0, 13.2.0,
13.3.0, 13.4.0, 14.0.0, 14.1.0, 14.2.0, 14.3.0,
14.4.0, 14.5.0, 15.0.0, 15.1.0, 15.2.0, 15.3.0,
15.4.0, 15.5.0, 15.6.0, 16.0.0, 16.1.0, 16.2.0,
16.3.0, 16.4.0, 16.5.0, 16.6.0, 17.0.0, 17.1.0,
17.2.0, 17.3.0, 17.4.0, 17.5.0, 17.6.0, 17.7.0,
18.0.0, 18.1.0, 18.2.0, 18.3.0, 18.4.0, 18.5.0,
18.6.0, 18.7.0, 19.0.0, 19.1.0, 19.2.0Historically, the first argument used with .Dt was BSD or ATT. An unrecognized version argument after ATT is replaced with "Unix"; for other predefined abbreviations, it's ignored and a warning diagnostic is emitted. Otherwise, unrecognized arguments are displayed verbatim in the page footer. For instance, this page uses .Os groff 1.24.2, whereas a locally produced page might employ .Os "UXYZ CS Department", omitting versioning. 🙈
You already know: this macro is neither callable nor parsed. 💜
🌈 Introduction to manual and general text domains 🌈
🎀 What's in a Name... 🎀
Okay bestie, so the manual domain macro names? They come straight from the day-to-day informal language people use to describe commands, subroutines, and all the related files. And there are slightly different variations of this language used to describe the three different aspects of writing a man page. First, there’s the description of mdoc macro command usage. Second is the description of a Unix command with mdoc macros. Third is the description of a command to a user in the verbal sense — like, literally discussing a command in the text of a man page. 💬
In the first case, troff macros are themselves a type of command; the general syntax for a troff command is:
.Xx argument1 argument2 ....Xx is a macro command, and anything following it are arguments to be processed. In the second case, describing a Unix command using the manual domain macros is a bit more involved; a typical “Synopsis” command line might be displayed as:
filter [-flag] ⟨infile⟩ ⟨outfile⟩Here, filter is the command name and the bracketed string -flag is a flag argument designated as optional by the option brackets. In mdoc terms, ⟨infile⟩ and ⟨outfile⟩ are called meta arguments; in this example, the user has to replace the meta expressions given in angle brackets with real file names. Note that in this document meta arguments are used to describe mdoc commands; in most man pages, meta variables are not specifically written with angle brackets. The macros that formatted the above example:
.Nm filter
.Op Fl flag
.Ao Ar infile Ac Ao Ar outfile AcIn the third case, discussion of commands and command syntax includes both examples above, but may add more detail. The arguments ⟨infile⟩ and ⟨outfile⟩ from the example above might be referred to as operands or file arguments. Some command-line argument lists are quite long:
make [-eiknqrstv] [-D variable] [-d flags] [-f makefile] [-I
directory] [-j max_jobs] [variable=value] [target ...]Here one might talk about the command make and qualify the argument, makefile, as an argument to the flag, -f, or discuss the optional file operand target. In the verbal context, such detail can prevent confusion, however the mdoc package does not have a macro for an argument to a flag. Instead the .Ar argument macro is used for an operand or file argument like target as well as an argument to a flag like variable. The make command line was produced from:
.Nm make
.Op Fl eiknqrstv
.Op Fl D Ar variable
.Op Fl d Ar flags
.Op Fl f Ar makefile
.Op Fl I Ar directory
.Op Fl j Ar max_jobs
.Op Ar variable Ns = Ns Ar value
.Bk
.Op Ar target ...
.EkThe .Bk and .Ek macros are explained in “Keeps”. 🫶
✨ General Syntax ✨
The manual domain and general text domain macros share a similar syntax with a few minor deviations; most notably, .Ar, .Fl, .Nm, and .Pa differ only when called without arguments; and .Fn and .Xr impose an order on their argument lists. All manual domain macros are capable of recognizing and properly handling punctuation, provided each punctuation character is separated by a leading space. If a command is given:
.Ar sptr, ptr),The result is:
sptr, ptr),The punctuation is not recognized and all is output in the font used by .Ar. If the punctuation is separated by a leading whitespace:
.Ar sptr , ptr ) ,The result is:
sptr, ptr),The punctuation is now recognized and output in the default font distinguishing it from the argument strings. To remove the special meaning from a punctuation character, escape it with \&.
The following punctuation characters are recognized by mdoc:
. , : ; (
) [ ] ? !troff is limited as a macro language, and has difficulty when presented with a string containing certain mathematical, logical, or quotation character sequences:
{+,-,/,*,%,<,>,<=,>=,=,==,&,`,',"}The problem is that troff may assume it is supposed to actually perform the operation or evaluation suggested by the characters. To prevent the accidental evaluation of these characters, escape them with \&. Typical syntax is shown in the first manual domain macro displayed below, .Ad. 💅
👑 Manual domain 👑
🏠 Addresses 🏠
The address macro identifies an address construct.
Usage: .Ad ⟨address⟩ ...
.Ad addr1 addr1
.Ad addr1 . addr1.
.Ad addr1 , file2 addr1, file2
.Ad f1 , f2 , f3 : f1, f2, f3:
.Ad addr ) ) , addr)),The default width is 12n.
✍️ Author Name ✍️
The .An macro is used to specify the name of the author of the item being documented, or the name of the author of the actual manual page.
Usage: .An ⟨author name⟩ ...
.An "Joe Author" Joe Author
.An "Joe Author" , Joe Author,
.An "Joe Author" Aq nobody@FreeBSD.org
Joe Author <nobody@FreeBSD.org>
.An "Joe Author" ) ) , Joe Author)),The default width is 12n.
In a section titled “Authors”, .An causes a break, allowing each new name to appear on its own line. If this is not desirable,
.An -nosplitcall will turn this off. To turn splitting back on, write
.An -split🧾 Arguments 🧾
The .Ar argument macro may be used whenever an argument is referenced. If called without arguments, file ... is output.
Usage: .Ar [⟨argument⟩] ...
.Ar file ...
.Ar file1 file1
.Ar file1 . file1.
.Ar file1 file2 file1 file2
.Ar file ... dest-dir file ... dest-dir
.Ar f1 f2 f3 : f1 f2 f3:
.Ar file ) ) , file)),The default width is 12n.
⚙️ Configuration Declaration (Section Four Only) ⚙️
The .Cd macro is used to demonstrate a config(8) declaration for a device interface in a section four manual.
Usage: .Cd ⟨argument⟩ ...
.Cd "device le0 at scode?" device le0 at scode?In a section titled “Synopsis”, .Cd causes a break before and after its arguments.
The default width is 12n.
🛠️ Command Modifiers 🛠️
The command modifier is identical to the .Fl (flag) command with the exception that the .Cm macro does not assert a dash in front of every argument. Traditionally flags are marked by the preceding dash, however, some commands or subsets of commands do not use them. Command modifiers may also be specified in conjunction with interactive commands such as editor commands. See “Flags”.
The default width is 10n.
📦 Defined Variables 📦
A variable (or constant) that is defined in an include file is specified by the macro .Dv.
Usage: .Dv ⟨defined-variable⟩ ...
.Dv MAXHOSTNAMELEN MAXHOSTNAMELEN
.Dv TIOCGPGRP ) TIOCGPGRP)The default width is 12n.
🚨 Errnos 🚨
The .Er errno macro specifies the error return value for section 2, 3, and 9 library routines. The second example below shows .Er used with the .Bq general text domain macro, as it would be used in a section two manual page.
Usage: .Er ⟨errno type⟩ ...
.Er ENOENT ENOENT
.Er ENOENT ) ; ENOENT);
.Bq Er ENOTDIR [ENOTDIR]The default width is 17n.
🌿 Environment Variables 🌿
The .Ev macro specifies an environment variable.
Usage: .Ev ⟨argument⟩ ...
.Ev DISPLAY DISPLAY
.Ev PATH . PATH.
.Ev PRINTER ) ) , PRINTER)),The default width is 15n.
🚩 Flags 🚩
The .Fl macro handles command-line flags. It prepends a dash, -, to the flag. For interactive command flags that are not prepended with a dash, the .Cm (command modifier) macro is identical, but without the dash.
Usage: .Fl ⟨argument⟩ ...
.Fl -
.Fl cfv -cfv
.Fl cfv . -cfv.
.Cm cfv . cfv.
.Fl s v t -s -v -t
.Fl - , --,
.Fl xyz ) , -xyz),
.Fl | - |The .Fl macro without any arguments results in a dash representing stdin/stdout. Note that giving .Fl a single dash will result in two dashes. 😭
The default width is 12n.
🧩 Function Declarations 🧩
The .Fd macro is used in the “Synopsis” section with section two or three functions. It is neither callable nor parsed.
Usage: .Fd ⟨argument⟩ ...
.Fd "#include <sys/types.h>" #include <sys/types.h>In a section titled “Synopsis”, .Fd causes a break if a function has already been presented and a break has not occurred, leaving vertical space between one function declaration and the next.
In a section titled “Synopsis”, the .In macro represents the #include statement, and is the short form of the above example. It specifies the C header file as being included in a C program. It also causes a break.
While not in the “Synopsis” section, it represents the header file enclosed in angle brackets.
Usage: .In ⟨header file⟩
.In stdio.h <stdio.h>
.In stdio.h <stdio.h>🧬 Function Types 🧬
This macro is intended for the “Synopsis” section. It may be used anywhere else in the man page without problems, but its main purpose is to present the function type (in BSD kernel normal form) for the “Synopsis” of sections two and three. (It causes a break, allowing the function name to appear on the next line.)
Usage: .Ft ⟨type⟩ ...
.Ft struct stat struct stat🧚 Functions (Library Routines) 🧚
The .Fn macro is modeled on ANSI C conventions.
Usage: .Fn ⟨function⟩ [⟨parameter⟩] ...
.Fn getchar getchar()
.Fn strlen ) , strlen()),
.Fn align "char *ptr" , align(char *ptr),Note that any call to another macro signals the end of the .Fn call (it will insert a closing parenthesis at that point). ✨
okay so for functions with many parameters (which is rare), the macros .Fo (function open) and .Fc (function close) may be used with .Fa (function argument). 💅
Example:
.Ft int
.Fo res_mkquery
.Fa "int op"
.Fa "char *dname"
.Fa "int class"
.Fa "int type"
.Fa "char *data"
.Fa "int datalen"
.Fa "struct rrec *newrr"
.Fa "char *buf"
.Fa "int buflen"
.FcProduces:
int res_mkquery(int op, char *dname, int class, int type,
char *data, int datalen, struct rrec *newrr, char *buf,
int buflen)Typically, in a “Synopsis” section, the function declaration will begin the line. If more than one function is presented in the “Synopsis” section and a function type has not been given, a break will occur, leaving vertical space between the current and prior function names. ✨
The default width values of .Fn and .Fo are 12n and 16n, respectively. 📏
🌸 Function Arguments 🌸
The .Fa macro is used to refer to function arguments (parameters) outside of the “Synopsis” section of the manual — or inside the “Synopsis” section if the enclosure macros .Fo and .Fc instead of .Fn are used. .Fa may also be used to refer to structure members. 🫶
Usage: .Fa ⟨function argument⟩ ...
.Fa d_namlen ) ) , d_namlen)),
.Fa iov_len iov_lenThe default width is 12n.
💖 Return Values 💖
The .Rv macro generates text for use in the “Return values” section.
Usage: .Rv [-std] [⟨function⟩ ...]For example, .Rv -std atexit produces:
The atexit() function returns the value 0 if successful; otherwise
the value -1 is returned and the global variable errno is set to
indicate the error.The -std option is valid only for manual page sections 2 and 3. Currently, this macro does nothing if used without the -std flag. 🚨
🎀 Exit Status 🎀
The .Ex macro generates text for use in the “Diagnostics” section.
Usage: .Ex [-std] [⟨utility⟩ ...]For example, .Ex -std cat produces:
The cat utility exits 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs.The -std option is valid only for manual page sections 1, 6 and 8. Currently, this macro does nothing if used without the -std flag. 💀
🦋 Interactive Commands 🦋
The .Ic macro designates an interactive or internal command.
Usage: .Ic ⟨argument⟩ ...
.Ic :wq :wq
.Ic "do while {...}" do while {...}
.Ic setenv , unsetenv setenv, unsetenvThe default width is 12n.
👑 Library Names 👑
The .Lb macro is used to specify the library where a particular function is compiled in.
Usage: .Lb ⟨argument⟩ ...Available arguments to .Lb and their results are — full roster, no skips, bestie: 💖
libarchive— Reading and Writing Streaming Archives Library (libarchive,-larchive)libarm— ARM Architecture Library (libarm,-larm)libarm32— ARM32 Architecture Library (libarm32,-larm32)libbluetooth— Bluetooth Library (libbluetooth,-lbluetooth)libbsm— Basic Security Module Library (libbsm,-lbsm)libc— Standard C Library (libc,-lc)libc_r— Reentrant C Library (libc_r,-lc_r)libcalendar— Calendar Arithmetic Library (libcalendar,-lcalendar)libcam— Common Access Method User Library (libcam,-lcam)libcdk— Curses Development Kit Library (libcdk,-lcdk)libcipher— FreeSec Crypt Library (libcipher,-lcipher)libcompat— Compatibility Library (libcompat,-lcompat)libcrypt— Crypt Library (libcrypt,-lcrypt)libcurses— Curses Library (libcurses,-lcurses)libdevinfo— Device and Resource Information Utility Library (libdevinfo,-ldevinfo)libdevstat— Device Statistics Library (libdevstat,-ldevstat)libdisk— Interface to Slice and Partition Labels Library (libdisk,-ldisk)libdwarf— DWARF Access Library (libdwarf,-ldwarf)libedit— Command Line Editor Library (libedit,-ledit)libelf— ELF Access Library (libelf,-lelf)libevent— Event Notification Library (libevent,-levent)libfetch— File Transfer Library for URLs (libfetch,-lfetch)libform— Curses Form Library (libform,-lform)libgeom— Userland API Library for kernel GEOM subsystem (libgeom,-lgeom)libgpib— General-Purpose Instrument Bus (GPIB) library (libgpib,-lgpib)libi386— i386 Architecture Library (libi386,-li386)libintl— Internationalized Message Handling Library (libintl,-lintl)libipsec— IPsec Policy Control Library (libipsec,-lipsec)libipx— IPX Address Conversion Support Library (libipx,-lipx)libiscsi— iSCSI protocol library (libiscsi,-liscsi)libjail— Jail Library (libjail,-ljail)libkiconv— Kernel side iconv library (libkiconv,-lkiconv)libkse— N:M Threading Library (libkse,-lkse)libkvm— Kernel Data Access Library (libkvm,-lkvm)libm— Math Library (libm,-lm)libm68k— m68k Architecture Library (libm68k,-lm68k)libmagic— Magic Number Recognition Library (libmagic,-lmagic)libmd— Message Digest (MD4, MD5, etc.) Support Library (libmd,-lmd)libmemstat— Kernel Memory Allocator Statistics Library (libmemstat,-lmemstat)libmenu— Curses Menu Library (libmenu,-lmenu)libnetgraph— Netgraph User Library (libnetgraph,-lnetgraph)libnetpgp— Netpgp signing, verification, encryption and decryption (libnetpgp,-lnetpgp)libossaudio— OSS Audio Emulation Library (libossaudio,-lossaudio)libpam— Pluggable Authentication Module Library (libpam,-lpam)libpcap— Packet Capture Library (libpcap,-lpcap)libpci— PCI Bus Access Library (libpci,-lpci)libpmc— Performance Counters Library (libpmc,-lpmc)libposix— POSIX Compatibility Library (libposix,-lposix)libprop— Property Container Object Library (libprop,-lprop)libpthread— POSIX Threads Library (libpthread,-lpthread)libpuffs— puffs Convenience Library (libpuffs,-lpuffs)librefuse— File System in Userspace Convenience Library (librefuse,-lrefuse)libresolv— DNS Resolver Library (libresolv,-lresolv)librpcsec_gss— RPC GSS-API Authentication Library (librpcsec_gss,-lrpcsec_gss)librpcsvc— RPC Service Library (librpcsvc,-lrpcsvc)librt— POSIX Real-time Library (librt,-lrt)libsdp— Bluetooth Service Discovery Protocol User Library (libsdp,-lsdp)libssp— Buffer Overflow Protection Library (libssp,-lssp)libSystem— System Library (libSystem,-lSystem)libtermcap— Termcap Access Library (libtermcap,-ltermcap)libterminfo— Terminal Information Library (libterminfo,-lterminfo)libthr— 1:1 Threading Library (libthr,-lthr)libufs— UFS File System Access Library (libufs,-lufs)libugidfw— File System Firewall Interface Library (libugidfw,-lugidfw)libulog— User Login Record Library (libulog,-lulog)libusbhid— USB Human Interface Devices Library (libusbhid,-lusbhid)libutil— System Utilities Library (libutil,-lutil)libvgl— Video Graphics Library (libvgl,-lvgl)libx86_64— x86_64 Architecture Library (libx86_64,-lx86_64)libz— Compression Library (libz,-lz)
Site-specific additions might be found in the file mdoc.local; see section “Files” below. 📁
In a section titled “Library”, Lb causes a break before and after its arguments. 🎯
🌈 Literals 🌈
The .Li literal macro may be used for special characters, symbolic constants, and other syntactical items that should be typed exactly as displayed.
Usage: .Li ⟨argument⟩ ...
.Li \en \n
.Li M1 M2 M3 ; M1 M2 M3;
.Li cntrl-D ) , cntrl-D),
.Li 1024 ... 1024 ...The default width is 16n.
🍓 Names 🍓
The .Nm macro identifies the document's central topic. Upon its first call, it has the peculiarity of remembering its argument. When subsequently called without arguments, .Nm regurgitates this initial name for the sole purpose of making less work for the document's author. Use of .Nm is also appropriate when presenting a command synopsis for the topic of a man page in section 1, 6, or 8. Its behavior changes when presented with arguments of various forms. 💅
.Nm groff_mdoc groff_mdoc
.Nm groff_mdoc
.Nm \-mdoc -mdoc
.Nm foo ) ) , foo)),
.Nm : groff_mdoc:By default, the topic is set in boldface to reflect its prime importance in the discussion. Cross references to other man page topics should use .Xr; including a second argument for the section number enables them to be hyperlinked. By default, cross-referenced topics are set in italics to avoid cluttering the page with boldface. ✨
The default width is 10n.
💜 Options 💜
The .Op macro places option brackets around any remaining arguments on the command line, and places any trailing punctuation outside the brackets. The macros .Oo and .Oc (which produce an opening and a closing option bracket, respectively) may be used across one or more lines or to specify the exact position of the closing parenthesis. 🫶
Usage: .Op [⟨option⟩] ...okay so continuing the .Op table — every combo and literally what it renders, no cap:
.Op []
.Op Fl k [-k]
.Op Fl k ) . [-k]).
.Op Fl k Ar kookfile [-k kookfile]
.Op Fl k Ar kookfile , [-k kookfile],
.Op Ar objfil Op Ar corfil [objfil [corfil]]
.Op Fl c Ar objfil Op Ar corfil , [-c objfil [corfil]],
.Op word1 word2 [word1 word2]
.Li .Op Oo Ao option Ac Oc ... .Op [⟨option⟩] ...And here's a super typical .Oo + .Oc moment 💅
.Oo
.Op Fl k Ar kilobytes
.Op Fl i Ar interval
.Op Fl c Ar count
.OcProduces:
[[-k kilobytes] [-i interval] [-c count]]The default width values of .Op and .Oo are 14n and 10n, respectively. 🎀
🦋 Pathnames 🦋
The .Pa macro is your girl for file specifications. If you call it with zero arguments, ~ gets output (yes, the one tons of shells recognize) and that's your home directory, bestie. 🏠
Usage: .Pa [⟨pathname⟩] ....Pa ~
.Pa /usr/share /usr/share
.Pa /tmp/fooXXXXX ) . /tmp/fooXXXXX).The default width is 32n.
⭐ Standards ⭐
.St is iconic — it swaps a standard abbreviation for its formal, full government-name era title. 👑
Usage: .St ⟨abbreviation⟩ ...Here are all the "Abbreviation/Formal Name" pairs available:
ANSI/ISO C
-ansiC ANSI X3.159-1989 (“ANSI C89”)
-ansiC-89 ANSI X3.159-1989 (“ANSI C89”)
-isoC ISO/IEC 9899:1990 (“ISO C90”)
-isoC-90 ISO/IEC 9899:1990 (“ISO C90”)
-isoC-99 ISO/IEC 9899:1999 (“ISO C99”)
-isoC-2011 ISO/IEC 9899:2011 (“ISO C11”)
-isoC-2023POSIX Part 1: System API
-iso9945-1-90 ISO/IEC 9945-1:1990 (“POSIX.1”)
-iso9945-1-96 ISO/IEC 9945-1:1996 (“POSIX.1”)
-p1003.1 IEEE Std 1003.1 (“POSIX.1”)
-p1003.1-88 IEEE Std 1003.1-1988 (“POSIX.1”)
-p1003.1-90 ISO/IEC 9945-1:1990 (“POSIX.1”)
-p1003.1-96 ISO/IEC 9945-1:1996 (“POSIX.1”)
-p1003.1b-93 IEEE Std 1003.1b-1993 (“POSIX.1”)
-p1003.1c-95 IEEE Std 1003.1c-1995 (“POSIX.1”)
-p1003.1g-2000 IEEE Std 1003.1g-2000 (“POSIX.1”)
-p1003.1i-95 IEEE Std 1003.1i-1995 (“POSIX.1”)
-p1003.1-2001 IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 (“POSIX.1”)
-p1003.1-2004 IEEE Std 1003.1-2004 (“POSIX.1”)
-p1003.1-2008 IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 (“POSIX.1”)
-p1003.1-2024POSIX Part 2: Shell and Utilities
-iso9945-2-93 ISO/IEC 9945-2:1993 (“POSIX.2”)
-p1003.2 IEEE Std 1003.2 (“POSIX.2”)
-p1003.2-92 IEEE Std 1003.2-1992 (“POSIX.2”)
-p1003.2a-92 IEEE Std 1003.2a-1992 (“POSIX.2”)X/Open
-susv1 Version 1 of the Single UNIX Specification
(“SUSv1”)
-susv2 Version 2 of the Single UNIX Specification
(“SUSv2”)
-susv3 Version 3 of the Single UNIX Specification
(“SUSv3”)
-susv4 Version 4 of the Single UNIX Specification
(“SUSv4”)
-svid4 System V Interface Definition, Fourth Edition
(“SVID4”)
-xbd5 X/Open Base Definitions Issue 5 (“XBD5”)
-xcu5 X/Open Commands and Utilities Issue 5 (“XCU5”)
-xcurses4.2 X/Open Curses Issue 4, Version 2 (“XCURSES4.2”)
-xns5 X/Open Networking Services Issue 5 (“XNS5”)
-xns5.2 X/Open Networking Services Issue 5.2 (“XNS5.2”)
-xpg3 X/Open Portability Guide Issue 3 (“XPG3”)
-xpg4 X/Open Portability Guide Issue 4 (“XPG4”)
-xpg4.2 X/Open Portability Guide Issue 4, Version 2
(“XPG4.2”)
-xsh5 X/Open System Interfaces and Headers Issue 5
(“XSH5”)Miscellaneous
-ieee754 IEEE Std 754-1985
-iso8601 ISO 8601
-iso8802-3 ISO/IEC 8802-3:1989🧚 Variable Types 🧚
Use .Vt any time you're referencing a type, fr fr. And heads up: in a section titled "Synopsis", Vt causes a break — which is super useful for those old-style C variable declarations. 💀
Usage: .Vt ⟨type⟩ ....Vt extern char *optarg ; extern char *optarg;
.Vt FILE * FILE *🍓 Variables 🍓
Generic variable reference, your everyday go-to:
Usage: .Va ⟨variable⟩ ....Va count count
.Va settimer , settimer,
.Va "int *prt" ) : int *prt):
.Va "char s" ] ) ) , char s])),The default width is 12n.
💜 Manual Page Cross References 💜
.Xr wants the first argument to be a manual page name — that's the whole vibe. The optional second argument, if it's a string (aka the manual section), gets dropped into parentheses. 🫶
Usage: .Xr ⟨man page name⟩ [⟨section⟩] ....Xr mdoc mdoc
.Xr mdoc , mdoc,
.Xr mdoc 7 mdoc(7)
.Xr xinit 1x ; xinit(1x);The default width is 10n.
🌈 General text domain 🌈
🌸 AT&T Macro 🌸
Usage: .At [⟨version⟩] ....At AT&T UNIX
.At v6 . Version 6 AT&T UNIX.The following values for ⟨version⟩ are possible:
32v, v1, v2, v3, v4, v5, v6, v7, III, V, V.1, V.2, V.3, V.4
🎀 BSD Macro 🎀
Usage: .Bx {-alpha | -beta | -devel} ...
.Bx [⟨version⟩ [⟨release⟩]] ....Bx BSD
.Bx 4.3 . 4.3BSD.
.Bx -devel BSD (currently under development)⟨version⟩ will be prepended to the string BSD, bestie. The following values for ⟨release⟩ are possible:
Reno, reno, Tahoe, tahoe, Lite, lite, Lite2, lite2
⭐ NetBSD Macro ⭐
Usage: .Nx [⟨version⟩] ....Nx NetBSD
.Nx 1.4 . NetBSD 1.4.For possible values of ⟨version⟩ see the description of the .Os command above in section "Title macros". 👀
💖 FreeBSD Macro 💖
Usage: .Fx [⟨version⟩] ....Fx FreeBSD
.Fx 2.2 . FreeBSD 2.2.For possible values of ⟨version⟩ see the description of the .Os command above in section "Title macros".
🦋 DragonFly Macro 🦋
Usage: .Dx [⟨version⟩] ....Dx DragonFly
.Dx 1.4 . DragonFly 1.4.For possible values of ⟨version⟩ see the description of the .Os command above in section "Title macros".
🌸 OpenBSD Macro 🌸
Usage: .Ox [⟨version⟩] ....Ox 1.0 OpenBSD 1.0🍓 BSD/OS Macro 🍓
Usage: .Bsx [⟨version⟩] ....Bsx 1.0 BSD/OS 1.0👑 Unix Macro 👑
Usage: .Ux ....Ux Unix✨ Emphasis Macro ✨
You can stress or emphasize text with .Em — the usual font for emphasis is italic, iykyk.
Usage: .Em ⟨argument⟩ ....Em does not does not
.Em exceed 1024 . exceed 1024.
.Em vide infra ) ) , vide infra)),The default width is 10n.
🧚 Font Mode 🧚
Okay so important: the .Bf font mode must be ended with the .Ef macro — and .Ef takes no arguments at all. Font modes may be nested inside other font modes, which is kind of a slay. ✨
.Bf has the following syntax:
.Bf ⟨font mode⟩⟨font mode⟩ must be one of the following three types:
Em | -emphasis— same as if the.Emmacro was used for the entire block of text.Li | -literal— same as if the.Limacro was used for the entire block of text.Sy | -symbolic— same as if the.Symacro was used for the entire block of text.
Both macros are neither callable nor parsed. 🫶
💅 Enclosure and Quoting Macros 💅
So enclosure is basically quoting's cousin — the whole idea is wrapping one or more strings between a pair of characters like quotes or parentheses. The terms quoting and enclosure are used interchangeably all through this document, so don't let that jump-scare you. Most of the one-line enclosure macros end in the small letter q as a little hint of quoting, but there are a few irregulars keeping it spicy. For each enclosure macro there's a pair of opening and closing macros that end with the lowercase letters o and c respectively. 🎀
.Aq,.Ao,.Ac— Angle Bracket Enclosure —<string>.Bq,.Bo,.Bc— Bracket Enclosure —[string].Brq,.Bro,.Brc— Brace Enclosure —{string}.Dq,.Do,.Dc— Double Quote —“string”.Eq,.Eo,.Ec— Enclose String (in XY) —XstringY.Pq,.Po,.Pc— Parenthesis Enclosure —(string).Ql— Quoted or Literal —“string”orstring.Qq,.Qo,.Qc— Straight Double Quote —"string".Sq,.So,.Sc— Single Quote —‘string’
All macros ending with q and o have a default width value of 12n.
.Eo,.Ec— these macros expect the first argument to be the opening and closing strings, respectively..Es,.En— to work around the nine-argument limit in the original troff program, mdoc supports two other macros that are now obsolete..Esuses its first and second parameters as opening and closing marks which are then used to enclose the arguments of.En. The default width value is12nfor both macros..Eq— the first and second arguments of this macro are the opening and closing strings respectively, followed by the arguments to be enclosed..Ql— the quoted-or-literal macro behaves differently in troff and nroff modes. When formatting withnroff(1), mdoc quotes the arguments. With troff, mdoc sets them in a constant-width font. The default width is16n..Pf— the prefix macro suppresses the whitespace between its first and second argument:
.Pf ( Fa name2 (name2The default width is 12n.
The .Ns macro (see below) performs the analogous suffix function.
.Ap— the.Apmacro inserts an apostrophe and exits any special text modes, continuing in.Nomode.
Examples of quoting:
.Aq—⟨⟩(angle brackets, empty).Aq Pa ctype.h ) ,—⟨ctype.h⟩),.Bq—[].Bq Em Greek , French .—[Greek, French]..Dq—“”.Dq string abc .—“string abc”..Dq '\[ha][A-Z]'—“'^[A-Z]'”.Ql man mdoc—‘man mdoc’.Qq—"".Qq string ) ,—"string"),.Qq string Ns ),—"string),".Sq—‘’.Sq string—‘string’.Em or Ap ing—or'ing✨ iconic, honestly
For a good example of nested enclosure macros, see the .Op option macro. It was created from the same underlying enclosure macros as those presented in the list above. The .Xo and .Xc extended argument list macros are discussed below.
Normal text macro
No formats subsequent argument(s) normally, ending the effect of Em and similar. Heads up bestie: parsing is not suppressed, so you must prefix words like No with \& to avoid their interpretation as mdoc macros.
Usage: .No argument ... .Em Use caution No here . → Use caution here.
.Em No dogs allowed . → No dogs allowed.
.Em \&No dogs allowed . → No dogs allowed.The default width is 12n.
No-Space Macro
The .Ns macro suppresses insertion of a space between the current position and its first parameter. Like, it is useful for old style argument lists where there is no space between the flag and argument:
Usage: ... ⟨argument⟩ Ns [⟨argument⟩] ...
.Ns ⟨argument⟩ ... .Op Fl I Ns Ar directory [-Idirectory]Note: the.Nsmacro always invokes the.Nomacro after eliminating the space unless another macro name follows it. If used as a command (i.e., the second form above in theUsageline),.Nsis identical to.No.
(Sub)section cross references
Use the .Sx macro to cite a (sub)section heading within the given document. It's giving "go read that part" energy. 🫶
Usage: .Sx ⟨section-reference⟩ ... .Sx Files → “Files”The default width is 16n.
Symbolics
The symbolic emphasis macro is generally a boldface macro, in either the symbolic sense or the traditional English usage. Slay.
Usage: .Sy ⟨symbol⟩ ... .Sy Important Notice → Important NoticeThe default width is 6n.
Mathematical Symbols
Use this macro for mathematical symbols and similar things. Math girlies rise 🧚
Usage: .Ms ⟨math symbol⟩ ... .Ms sigma → sigmaThe default width is 6n.
References and Citations
The following macros make a modest attempt to handle references. At best, the macros make it convenient to manually drop in a subset of refer(1) style references. No cap, "modest attempt" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there 😭
.Rs— Reference start (does not take arguments). In a section titled “See also”, it causes a break and begins collection of reference information until the reference end macro is read..Re— Reference end (does not take arguments). The reference is printed..%A— Reference author name; one name per invocation..%B— Book title..%C— City/place..%D— Date..%I— Issuer/publisher name..%J— Journal name..%N— Issue number..%O— Optional information..%P— Page number..%Q— Corporate or foreign author..%R— Report name..%T— Title of article..%U— Optional hypertext reference..%V— Volume.
Macros beginning with % are not callable but accept multiple arguments in the usual way. Only the .Tn macro is handled properly as a parameter; other macros will cause strange output. .%B and .%T can be used outside of the .Rs/.Re environment.
Example:
.Rs
.%A "Matthew Bar"
.%A "John Foo"
.%T "Implementation Notes on foobar(1)"
.%R "Technical Report ABC-DE-12-345"
.%Q "Drofnats College"
.%C "Nowhere"
.%D "April 1991"
.Reproduces
Matthew Bar and John Foo, Implementation Notes on foobar(1),
Technical Report ABC-DE-12-345, Drofnats College, Nowhere, April
1991.Trade Names or Acronyms
The trade name macro prints its arguments at a smaller type size. It is intended to imitate a small caps fonts for fully capitalized acronyms. so fancy, so demure 💅
Usage: .Tn ⟨symbol⟩ ... .Tn DEC DEC
.Tn ASCII ASCIIThe default width is 10n.
Extended Arguments
The .Xo and .Xc macros allow one to extend an argument list on a macro boundary for the .It macro (see below). Note that .Xo and .Xc are implemented similarly to all other macros opening and closing an enclosure (without inserting characters, of course). This means that the following is true for those macros also.
Here is an example of .Xo using the space mode macro to turn spacing off:
.Bd -literal -offset indent
.Sm off
.It Xo Sy I Ar operation
.No \en Ar count No \en
.Xc
.Sm on
.Edproduces
Ioperation\ncount\nAnother one:
.Bd -literal -offset indent
.Sm off
.It Cm S No / Ar old_pattern Xo
.No / Ar new_pattern
.No / Op Cm g
.Xc
.Sm on
.Edproduces
S/old_pattern/new_pattern/[g]Another example of .Xo and enclosure macros: test the value of a variable.
.Bd -literal -offset indent
.It Xo
.Ic .ifndef
.Oo \&! Oc Ns Ar variable Oo
.Ar operator variable No ...
.Oc Xc
.Edproduces
.ifndef [!]variable [operator variable ...]🌸 Page structure domain 🌸
Section headings
The following .Sh section heading macros are required in every man page. The remaining section headings are recommended at the discretion of the author writing the manual page. The .Sh macro is parsed but not generally callable. It can be used as an argument in a call to .Sh only; it then reactivates the default font for .Sh.
The default width is 8n.
.Sh Name— The.Sh Namemacro is mandatory. If not specified, headers, footers, and page layout defaults will not be set and things will be rather unpleasant. The Name section consists of at least three items. The first is the.Nmname macro naming the subject of the man page. The second is the name description macro,.Nd, which separates the subject name from the third item, which is the description. The description should be the most terse and lucid possible, as the space available is small.
.Nd first prints -, then all its arguments.
.Sh Library— This section is for section two and three function calls. It should consist of a single.Lbmacro call; see “Library Names”..Sh Synopsis— The “Synopsis” section describes the typical usage of the subject of a man page. The macros required are either.Nm,.Cd, or.Fn(and possibly.Fo,.Fc,.Fd, and.Ft). The function name macro.Fnis required for manual page sections 2 and 3; the command and general name macro.Nmis required for sections 1, 5, 6, 7, and 8. Section 4 manuals require a.Nm,.Fdor a.Cdconfiguration device usage macro. Several other macros may be necessary to produce the synopsis line as shown below:
cat [-benstuv] [-] file ...The following macros were used:
.Nm cat
.Op Fl benstuv
.Op Fl
.Ar file No ....Sh Description— In most cases the first text in the “Description” section is a brief paragraph on the command, function or file, followed by a lexical list of options and respective explanations. To create such a list, the.Bl(begin list),.It(list item) and.El(end list) macros are used (see “Lists and Columns” below)..Sh Implementation notes— Implementation specific information should be placed here..Sh Return values— Sections 2, 3 and 9 function return values should go here. The.Rvmacro may be used to generate text for use in the “Return values” section for most section 2 and 3 library functions; see “Return Values”.
The following .Sh section headings are part of the preferred manual page layout and must be used appropriately to maintain consistency. They are listed in the order in which they would be used. Order matters bestie, don't freestyle it 🦋
.Sh Environment— The Environment section should reveal any related environment variables and clues to their behavior and/or usage..Sh Files— Files which are used or created by the man page subject should be listed via the.Pamacro in the “Files” section..Sh Examples— There are several ways to create examples. See subsection “Examples and Displays” below for details..Sh Diagnostics— Diagnostic messages from a command should be placed in this section. The.Exmacro may be used to generate text for use in the “Diagnostics” section for most section 1, 6 and 8 commands; see “Exit Status”..Sh Compatibility— Known compatibility issues (e.g. deprecated options or parameters) should be listed here..Sh Errors— Specific error handling, especially from library functions (man page sections 2, 3, and 9) should go here. The.Ermacro is used to specify an error (errno)..Sh See also— this is the ✨ "go look at these too" ✨ section, bestie. References to other material on the man page topic go here, plus cross references to other relevant man pages. You make those cross references with the.Xrmacro. Ngl though: currentlyrefer(1)-style references are not accommodated, so don't come for me about that. 🙈
The recommendation (and she is just recommending, but like, do it) is that cross references get sorted by section number first, then alphabetically by name within each section, then separated by commas. Like so:
ls(1), ps(1), group(5), passwd(5).Sh Standards— if the command, library function, or file actually adheres to a specific implementation — think IEEE Std 1003.2 (“POSIX.2”) or ANSI X3.159-1989 (“ANSI C89”) — then you note that right here. 💅 And if the command adheres to no standard at all? Then its history should be noted in the History section instead. No standard, no problem, just be honest about it. 🫶.Sh History— any command that doesn't adhere to any specific standards gets outlined historically in this section. It's giving ✨lore✨, and we respect the lore..Sh Authors— credits live here, queen. Use the.Anmacro for names, and the.Aqmacro for email addresses within that optional contact info. And please — explicitly say whether the person authored the initial manual page or the software, or whatever else it is they're being credited for. Vague credits are lowkey a crime. 😭.Sh Bugs— blatant problems with the topic go here. Yes, blatant. This is not the place to be shy. 💀
User-specified .Sh sections may be added too — you're not locked into the standard lineup. For example, the section you're reading right now was set with:
.Sh "Page structure domain"Subsection headings
Subsection headings have exactly the same syntax as section headings, no cap. 🎀 One little catch: .Ss is parsed but not generally callable. It can be used as an argument in a call to .Ss only — and when you do that, it reactivates the default font for .Ss.
The default width is 8n. Slay, noted, moving on. 💖
Paragraphs and Line Spacing
.Pp — the paragraph command, your bestie for inserting a line space exactly where you need one. That said, the macro is not necessary after a .Sh or .Ss macro, and it's also not necessary before a .Bl or .Bd macro (both of those assert a vertical distance anyway — unless the -compact flag is given, iconic exception 👑).
The macro is neither callable nor parsed, and it takes no arguments. Alternative name? .Lp. Two names, same vibe. 🌸
Keeps
Okay so the only keep that's implemented at this time is for words. The macros are .Bk (begin keep) and .Ek (end keep). The only option .Bk currently accepts is -words — which is also the default — and what it does is prevent breaks in the middle of options. In the example for make command-line arguments (see “What's in a Name”), the keep is the whole reason nroff doesn't put the flag and the argument on separate lines. 🧚
Neither macro is callable or parsed.
More work needs to be done on the keep macros; specifically, a -line option should be added. That's straight from the source, fr fr — not me making stuff up. 💀
Examples and Displays
There are seven types of displays. Seven! A whole little display family. 🌈
.D1— (this is D-one, say it with me) display one line of indented text. This macro is parsed but not callable.
-ldghfstruThe above was produced by: .D1 Fl ldghfstru.
.Dl— (this is D-ell 💅) display one line of indented literal text. The.Dlexample macro has been used all throughout this very file. It lets you indent (display) one line of text, and its default font is set to constant width (literal)..Dlis parsed but not callable.
% ls -ldg /usr/local/binThe above was produced by: .Dl % ls \-ldg /usr/local/bin.
.Bd— begin display. A.Bddisplay must be ended with the.Edmacro, no exceptions. It has the following syntax:
.Bd {-literal | -filled | -unfilled | -ragged | -centered}
[-offset ⟨string⟩] [-file ⟨file name⟩] [-compact]-ragged— fill, but do not adjust (leave the right margin ragged). Messy on purpose, love that for her. 🦋-centered— center lines between the current left and right margin. Note that each single line is centered.-unfilled— do not fill; break lines where their input lines are broken. Heads up though: this can produce overlong lines without warning messages. 👀-filled— display a filled block. Text is filled and adjusted; the left and right margins are straight.-literal— display block with literal font (usually fixed-width). Perfect for source code or simple tabbed or spaced text. Obsessed. 🎀-file ⟨file name⟩— the file whose name follows the-fileflag is read and displayed before any data enclosed with.Bdand.Ed, using the selected display type. Anytroff/mdoccommands in the file will be processed. Wild but true. ✨-offset ⟨string⟩— if-offsetis specified with one of the following strings, the string is interpreted to indicate the level of indentation for the forthcoming block of text:left— align block on the current left margin; this is the default mode of.Bd.center— supposedly center the block. At this time, unfortunately, the block merely gets left aligned about an imaginary center margin. She's doing her best. 😭indent— indent by one default indent value or tab. The default indent value is also used for the.D1and.Dlmacros, so you're guaranteed the two types of displays will line up. The indentation value is normally set to6nor about two thirds of an inch (six constant width characters). Gorgeous, consistent, iconic. 💜indent-two— indent two times the default indent value.right— this left aligns the block about two inches from the right side of the page. This macro needs work and perhaps may never do the right thing within troff. 💀 We're rooting for her anyway.
If ⟨string⟩ is a valid numeric expression instead (with a scaling indicator other than ‘u’), use that value for indentation. The most useful scaling indicators are ‘m’ and ‘n’, specifying the so-called Em and En square — that's approximately the width of the letters ‘m’ and ‘n’ respectively of the current font (for nroff output, both scaling indicators give the same values). If ⟨string⟩ isn't a numeric expression, it is tested whether it's an mdoc macro name, and the default offset value associated with this macro is used. And finally, if all tests fail, the width of ⟨string⟩ (typeset with a fixed-width font) is taken as the offset. She tries everything, and honestly? Respect. 🫶
-compact— suppress insertion of vertical space before the begin of the display. Cozy. 🌸
.Ed— end display (takes no arguments). The closing bracket of the display world. 🎬
Lists and Columns
There are several types of lists, and they all get initiated with the .Bl begin-list macro. Items inside the list are specified with the .It item macro, and every list must end with the .El macro. Lists may be nested within themselves and within displays. Now — the use of columns inside of lists, or lists inside of columns, is untested. ⚠️ So like, go off, but know what you're getting into.
On top of that, several list attributes can be specified, such as the width of a tag, the list offset, and compactness (blank lines between items allowed or disallowed). Most of this very document has been formatted with a tag style list (-tag). We're trendsetters like that. 👑
It has the following syntax forms:
.Bl {-hang | -ohang | -tag | -diag | -inset} [-width ⟨string⟩]
[-offset ⟨string⟩] [-compact]
.Bl -column [-offset ⟨string⟩] ⟨string1⟩ ⟨string2⟩ ...
.Bl {-item | -enum [-nested] | -bullet | -hyphen | -dash} [-offset
⟨string⟩] [-compact]And now, a detailed description of the list types. Sit down, bestie, we're doing a tour. 🚶♀️✨
-bullet— a bullet list.
.Bl -bullet -offset indent -compact
.It
Bullet one goes here.
.It
Bullet two here.
.ElProduces:
• Bullet one goes here.
• Bullet two here.-dash(or-hyphen) — a dash list.
.Bl -dash -offset indent -compact
.It
Dash one goes here.
.It
Dash two here.
.ElProduces:
- Dash one goes here.
- Dash two here.-enum— an enumerated list.
.Bl -enum -offset indent -compact
.It
Item one goes here.
.It
And item two here.
.ElThe result:
1. Item one goes here.
2. And item two here.If you want to nest enumerated lists, use the -nested flag (starting with the second-level list):
.Bl -enum -offset indent -compact
.It
Item one goes here
.Bl -enum -nested -compact
.It
Item two goes here.
.It
And item three here.
.El
.It
And item four here.
.ElResult:
1. Item one goes here.
1.1. Item two goes here.
1.2. And item three here.
2. And item four here.-item— a list of type-itemwithout list markers.-item— the no-label list, literally just text blocks stacked one after another. The rest of that example looks like:
.Bl -item -offset indent
.It
Item one goes here.
Item one goes here.
Item one goes here.
.It
Item two here.
Item two here.
Item two here.
.ElProduces:
Item one goes here. Item one goes here. Item one goes
here.
Item two here. Item two here. Item two here.-tag— the tagged-list icon. Use-widthto tell it how wide the tags should be. It's giving very "reference manual but make it organized" energy:
SL sleep time of the process (seconds blocked)
PAGEIN
number of disk I/O operations resulting from
references by the process to pages not loaded in
core.
UID numerical user-id of process owner
PPID numerical id of parent of process priority (non-
positive when in non-interruptible wait)The raw text:
.Bl -tag -width "PPID" -compact -offset indent
.It SL
sleep time of the process (seconds blocked)
.It PAGEIN
number of disk I/O operations resulting from references
by the process to pages not loaded in core.
.It UID
numerical user-id of process owner
.It PPID
numerical id of parent of process priority
(non-positive when in non-interruptible wait)
.El-diag— diag lists create section four diagnostic lists and are similar to inset lists, except callable macros are ignored. The-widthflag is not meaningful in this context. Periodt.
Example:
.Bl -diag
.It You can't use Sy here.
The message says all.
.Elproduces
You can't use Sy here. The message says all.-hang— a list with hanging tags. Cute little labels that hang out to the left, and the text does its thing next to them.
Hanged labels appear similar to tagged lists when the
label is smaller than the label width.
Longer hanged list labels blend into the paragraph unlike
tagged paragraph labels.And the unformatted text which created it:
.Bl -hang -offset indent
.It Em Hanged
labels appear similar to tagged lists when the
label is smaller than the label width.
.It Em Longer hanged list labels
blend into the paragraph unlike
tagged paragraph labels.
.El-ohang— lists with overhanging tags do not use indentation for the items; tags are written to a separate line. Very "main character tag, then the paragraph shows up underneath" vibes:
SL
sleep time of the process (seconds blocked)
PAGEIN
number of disk I/O operations resulting from references
by the process to pages not loaded in core.
UID
numerical user-id of process owner
PPID
numerical id of parent of process priority (non-positive
when in non-interruptible wait)The raw text:
.Bl -ohang -offset indent
.It Sy SL
sleep time of the process (seconds blocked)
.It Sy PAGEIN
number of disk I/O operations resulting from references
by the process to pages not loaded in core.
.It Sy UID
numerical user-id of process owner
.It Sy PPID
numerical id of parent of process priority
(non-positive when in non-interruptible wait)
.El-inset— inset labels are a whole little moment. Here is an example of inset labels:
Tag The tagged list (also called a tagged paragraph) is
the most common type of list used in the Berkeley
manuals. Use a -width attribute as described below.
Diag Diag lists create section four diagnostic lists and
are similar to inset lists except callable macros are
ignored.
Hang Hanged labels are a matter of taste.
Ohang Overhanging labels are nice when space is
constrained.
Inset Inset labels are useful for controlling blocks of
paragraphs and are valuable for converting mdoc manuals
to other formats.Here is the source text which produced the above example:
.Bl -inset -offset indent
.It Em Tag
The tagged list (also called a tagged paragraph)
is the most common type of list used in the
Berkeley manuals.
.It Em Diag
Diag lists create section four diagnostic lists
and are similar to inset lists except callable
macros are ignored.
.It Em Hang
Hanged labels are a matter of taste.
.It Em Ohang
Overhanging labels are nice when space is constrained.
.It Em Inset
Inset labels are useful for controlling blocks of
paragraphs and are valuable for converting
.Xr mdoc
manuals to other formats.
.El-column— this list type generates multiple columns. The number of columns and the width of each column is determined by the arguments to the-columnlist, ⟨string1⟩, ⟨string2⟩, etc. If ⟨stringN⟩ starts with a.(dot) immediately followed by a valid mdoc macro name, interpret ⟨stringN⟩ and use the width of the result. Otherwise, the width of ⟨stringN⟩ (typeset with a fixed-width font) is taken as the Nth column width.
Each .It argument is parsed to make a row, each column within the row is a separate argument separated by a tab or the .Ta macro.
The table:
String Nroff Troff
<= <= ≤
>= >= ≥was produced by:
.Bl -column -offset indent ".Sy String" ".Sy Nroff" ".Sy Troff"
.It Sy String Ta Sy Nroff Ta Sy Troff
.It Li <= Ta <= Ta \*(<=
.It Li >= Ta >= Ta \*(>=
.ElDon't abuse this list type! For more complicated cases it might be far better and easier to use tbl(1), the table preprocessor. 💅
Other keywords 🎀
-width⟨string⟩ — if ⟨string⟩ starts with a.(dot) immediately followed by a valid mdoc macro name, interpret ⟨string⟩ and use the width of the result. Almost all lists in this document use this option. Obsessed, honestly.
Example:
.Bl -tag -width ".Fl test Ao Ar string Ac"
.It Fl test Ao Ar string Ac
This is a longer sentence to show how the
.Fl width
flag works in combination with a tag list.
.Elgives:
-test ⟨string⟩ This is a longer sentence to show how
the -width flag works in combination
with a tag list.(Note that the current state of mdoc is saved before ⟨string⟩ is interpreted; afterward, all variables are restored again. However, boxes (used for enclosures) can't be saved in GNU troff(1); as a consequence, arguments must always be balanced to avoid nasty errors. For example, do not write .Ao Ar string but .Ao Ar string Xc instead if you really need only an opening angle bracket.)
Otherwise, if ⟨string⟩ is a valid numeric expression (with a scaling indicator other than u), use that value for indentation. The most useful scaling indicators are m and n, specifying the so-called Em and En square. This is approximately the width of the letters m and n respectively of the current font (for nroff output, both scaling indicators give the same values). If ⟨string⟩ isn't a numeric expression, it is tested whether it is an mdoc macro name, and the default width value associated with this macro is used. Finally, if all tests fail, the width of ⟨string⟩ (typeset with a fixed-width font) is taken as the width.
If a width is not specified for the tag list type, 6n is used.
-offset⟨string⟩ — if ⟨string⟩ isindent, a default indent value (normally set to6n, similar to the value used in.Dlor.Bd) is used. If ⟨string⟩ is a valid numeric expression instead (with a scaling indicator other thanu), use that value for indentation. The most useful scaling indicators aremandn, specifying the so-called Em and En square. This is approximately the width of the lettersmandnrespectively of the current font (for nroff output, both scaling indicators give the same values). If ⟨string⟩ isn't a numeric expression, it is tested whether it is an mdoc macro name, and the default offset value associated with this macro is used. Finally, if all tests fail, the width of ⟨string⟩ (typeset with a fixed-width font) is taken as the offset.-compact— suppress insertion of vertical space before the list and between list items. It's the "no extra gaps, we're being efficient" setting ✨
Miscellaneous macros 💅✨
Okay bestie, this is the little odds-and-ends drawer of mdoc macros — a double handful of them that fit only uncomfortably into one of the sections above. Two of them, Me and Ot, don’t even have attested examples we could find, so they’re documented here for completeness. If you know their proper usage, please send a mail to groff@gnu.org and include a specimen with its provenance. Archival queen behavior, honestly. 🎀
.Bt— formats boilerplate text.
.Bt → is currently in beta test.It is neither callable nor parsed and takes no arguments. Its default width is 6n.
.Fr— is an obsolete means of specifying a function return value.
Usage:
.Fr return-value ...Heads up: Fr allows a break right before the return value (usually a single digit), which is bad typographical behaviour. Instead, set the return value with the rest of the code, using \~ to tie the return value to the previous word. Its default width is 12n.
.Hf— inlines the contents of a (header) file into the document.
Usage:
.Hf fileIt first prints File: followed by the file name, then the contents of file. It is neither callable nor parsed.
.Lk— embed hyperlink. This is a GNU extension introduced in groff 1.17 (April 2001).
Usage:
.Lk uri [link-text]Its default width is 6n.
.Me— usage unknown. The mdoc sources describe it as a macro for “menu entries”.
Its default width is 6n.
.Mt— embed email address. This is a GNU extension introduced in groff 1.17 (April 2001).
Usage:
.Mt email-addressIts default width is 6n.
.Ot— usage unknown. The mdoc sources describe it as “old function type (fortran)”..Sm— manipulate or toggle argument-spacing mode.
Usage:
.Sm [on | off] ...If argument-spacing mode is off, no spaces between macro arguments are inserted. If called without a parameter (or if the next parameter is neither on nor off), Sm toggles argument-spacing mode. Its default width is 8n.
.Ud— formats boilerplate text.
.Ud → currently under development.It is neither callable nor parsed and takes no arguments. Its default width is 8n.
Predefined strings 🧚♀️✨
The following strings are predefined for compatibility with legacy mdoc documents. Contemporary ones should use the alternatives shown in the Prefer column below. See groff_char(7) for a full discussion of these special character escape sequences.
\*(<=— 7-bit:<=; 8-bit:<=; UCS:≤; prefer:\[<=]; meaning: less than or equal to.\*(>=— 7-bit:>=; 8-bit:>=; UCS:≥; prefer:\[>=]; meaning: greater than or equal to.\*(Rq— 7-bit:"; 8-bit:"; UCS:”; prefer:\[rq]; meaning: right double quote.\*(Lq— 7-bit:"; 8-bit:"; UCS:“; prefer:\[lq]; meaning: left double quote.\*(ua— 7-bit:^; 8-bit:^; UCS:↑; prefer:\[ua]; meaning: vertical arrow up.\*(aa— 7-bit:'; 8-bit:´; UCS:´; prefer:\[aa]; meaning: acute accent.\*(ga— 7-bit:`; 8-bit:`; UCS:`; prefer:\[ga]; meaning: grave accent.\*(q— 7-bit:"; 8-bit:"; UCS:"; prefer:\[dq]; meaning: neutral double quote.\*(Pi— 7-bit:pi; 8-bit:pi; UCS:π; prefer:\[*p]; meaning: lowercase pi.\*(Ne— 7-bit:!=; 8-bit:!=; UCS:≠; prefer:\[!=]; meaning: not equals.\*(Le— 7-bit:<=; 8-bit:<=; UCS:≤; prefer:\[<=]; meaning: less than or equal to.\*(Ge— 7-bit:>=; 8-bit:>=; UCS:≥; prefer:\[>=]; meaning: greater than or equal to.\*(Lt— 7-bit:<; 8-bit:<; UCS:<; prefer:<; meaning: less than.\*(Gt— 7-bit:>; 8-bit:>; UCS:>; prefer:>; meaning: greater than.\*(Pm— 7-bit:+-; 8-bit:±; UCS:±; prefer:\[+-]; meaning: plus or minus.\*(If— 7-bit:infinity; 8-bit:infinity; UCS:∞; prefer:\[if]; meaning: infinity.\*(Am— 7-bit:&; 8-bit:&; UCS:&; prefer:&; meaning: ampersand.\*(Na— 7-bit:NaN; 8-bit:NaN; UCS:NaN; prefer:.Em NaN; meaning: not a number (slanted).\*(Ba— 7-bit:|; 8-bit:|; UCS:|; prefer:|; meaning: bar (upright).
Some column headings are shorthand for standardized character encodings; “7-bit” for ISO 646:1991 IRV (US-ASCII), “8-bit” for ISO Latin-1 (8859-1), and “UCS” for ISO 10646 (Unicode character set). Historically, mdoc configured the string definitions to fit the capabilities expected of the output device. Old typesetters lacked directional double quotes, producing repeated directional single quotes ‘‘like this’’; early versions of mdoc in fact defined the Lq and Rq strings this way. Nowadays, output drivers take on the responsibility of glyph substitution, as they possess relevant knowledge of their available repertoires. The Ba and Na strings imply a mandatory typeface: upright (roman) in the former, and slanted (italics) with the latter.
Diagnostics 🩺👀
The debugging macro .Db offered by previous versions of mdoc is unavailable in GNU troff(1) since the latter provides better facilities to check parameters; additionally, groff mdoc implements many error and warning messages, making the package more robust and more verbose.
The remaining debugging macro is .Rd, which dumps the package's global register and string contents to the standard error stream. A normal user will never need it.
Options 🎛️✨
The following groff options set registers (with -r) and strings (with -d) recognized and used by the mdoc macro package. To ensure rendering consistent with output device capabilities and reader preferences, man pages should never manipulate them.
🚨 Bestie warning: this is a “look, don’t touch” situation for man pages. For real.
- String
AD— configures the adjustment mode for most formatted text. Typical values arebfor adjustment to both margins (the default), orlfor left alignment (ragged right margin). Any valid argument to groff’sadrequest may be used. Seegroff(7)for less-common choices.
groff -Tutf8 -dAD=l -mdoc groff_mdoc.7 | less -R- Register
C— setting it to1numbers output pages consecutively, rather than resetting the page number to1(or the value of registerP) with each new mdoc document. - Register
cR— by default, the package inhibits page breaks, headers, and footers in the midst of the document text if it is being displayed with a terminal device such aslatin1orutf8, to enable more efficient viewing of the page. This behavior can be changed to format the page as if for 66-line Teletype output by setting the continuous rendering registercRto zero while callinggroff(1).
groff -Tlatin1 -rcR=0 -mdoc foo.man > foo.txtOn HTML devices, it cannot be disabled.
- Registers
CSandCT— section headings (defined with.Sh) and page titles in headers (defined with.Dt) can be presented in full capitals by setting the registersCSandCT, respectively, to1. These transformations are off by default because they discard case distinction information. - Register
D— setting it to1enables double-sided page layout, which is only distinct when not continuously rendering. It places the page number at the bottom right on odd-numbered (recto) pages, and at the bottom left on even-numbered (verso) pages, swapping places with the arguments to.Os.
groff -Tps -rD1 -mdoc foo.man > foo.ps- Register
FT— the value of theFTregister determines the footer’s distance from the page bottom; this amount is always negative and should specify a scaling unit. At one half-inch above this location, the page text is broken before writing the footer. It is ignored if continuous rendering is enabled. The default is-0.5i - 1v. - String
HF— sets the font used for section and subsection headings; the default isB(bold style of the default family). Any valid argument to groff’sftrequest may be used. - Register
HY— normally, automatic hyphenation is enabled using a mode appropriate to the groff locale; see section “Localization” ofgroff(7). It can be disabled by setting theHYregister to zero.
groff -Tutf8 -rHY=0 -mdoc foo.man | less -R- Registers
BPandSN— the paragraph and subsection heading indentation amounts can be changed by setting the registersBPandSN.
groff -Tutf8 -rBP=4n -rSN=2n -mdoc foo.man | less -RThe default paragraph and subsection heading indentation amounts are 5n and 3n, respectively. Section headings are set with an indentation of zero.
- Registers
LLandLT— the line and title lengths can be changed by setting the registersLLandLT, respectively:
groff -Tutf8 -rLL=100n -rLT=100n -mdoc foo.man | less -RIf not set, both registers default to 80n for terminal devices and 6.5i otherwise.
- String
MF— sets the font used for man page identifiers in document headers and footers and in the formatted output of theXrmacro. The default isI(italic style of the default family). Any valid argument to groff’sftrequest may be used. - Register
P— setting thePregister starts enumeration of pages at its value. The default is1. - Register
PO— configures the page offset. The default is device-dependent; typically0for terminal devices and1iotherwise. - Register
S— to change the document font size to11por12p, set registerSaccordingly:
groff -Tdvi -rS11 -mdoc foo.man > foo.dviRegister S is ignored when formatting for terminal devices.
- Register
U— by default, groff hyperlinks the formatted text ofLk,Mt, andXrcalls on output devices that support hyperlinking (“html”, “pdf”, and terminal devices). Set theUregister to0to disable this feature. - Register
X— setting theXregister to a page number p numbers its successors as pa, pb, pc, and so forth. The register tracking the suffixed page letter uses formata(see theafrequest ingroff(7)).
periodt. 💅
📁 Files
okay bestie, here’s the backstage tour of the actual files doing the work ✨
/usr/share/groff/1.24.2/tmac/andoc.tmac— this brief groff program detects whether themanormdocmacro package is being used by a document and loads the correct macro definitions, taking advantage of the fact that pages using them must callTHorDd, respectively, before any other macros. A user typing, for example,
groff -mandoc page.1need not know which package the file page.1 uses. Multiple man pages, in either format, can be handled; andoc.tmac reloads each macro package as necessary. 💅
/usr/share/groff/1.24.2/tmac/doc.tmac— implements the bulk of the groffmdocpackage and loads further components as needed from themdocsubdirectory. 👑/usr/share/groff/1.24.2/tmac/doc-old.tmac— implements a legacy version of themdocpackage; it was superseded in 4.4BSD (1994) and is needed only to render certain man pages from 4.3BSD-Reno. kinda vintage, kinda niche 🫶/usr/share/groff/1.24.2/tmac/mdoc.tmac— is a wrapper enabling the package to be loaded with the option-m mdoc. 🎀/usr/share/groff/1.24.2/tmac/mdoc/doc-common— defines macros, registers, and strings concerned with the production of formatted output. It includes strings of the formdoc-volume-ds-Xanddoc-volume-as-Xfor manual section titles and architecture identifiers, respectively, whereXis an argument recognized by.Dt. 🌸/usr/share/groff/1.24.2/tmac/mdoc/doc-nroff— defines parameters appropriate for rendering to terminal devices. 🖥️/usr/share/groff/1.24.2/tmac/mdoc/doc-ditroff— defines parameters appropriate for rendering to typesetter devices. ✨/usr/share/groff/1.24.2/tmac/mdoc/doc-syms— defines many strings and macros that interpolate formatted text, such as names of operating system releases, *BSD libraries, and standards documents. The string names are of the formdoc-str-O-V,doc-str-St--S-I(observe the double dashes), ordoc-str-Lb-L, whereOis one of the operating system macros from section “General text domain” above,Vis an encoding of an operating system release (sometimes omitted along with the-preceding it),San identifier for a standards body or committee,Ione for an issue of a standard promulgated byS, andLa keyword identifying a *BSD library. iykyk 🧚/usr/share/groff/site-tmac/mdoc.local— This file houses local additions and customizations to the package. It can be empty. lowkey iconic for that 😌
👀 See also
The mandoc project (https://mandoc.bsd.lv/) maintains an independent implementation of the mdoc language and a renderer that directly parses its markup as well as that of man. 🦋
like, go read the whole friend group 💖
💀 Bugs
not the bugs section 💀 but we keep it real:
- Section 3f has not been added to the header routines.
.Fnneeds to have a check to prevent splitting up the line if its length is too short. Occasionally it separates the last parenthesis, and sometimes looks ridiculous if output lines are being filled. 😭- The list and display macros do not do any keeps and certainly should be able to.
- As of groff 1.23,
Tnno longer changes the type size; this functionality may return in a future release. 🙈
and that’s the whole page, bestie 🫶 this one came from groff 1.24.2, dated 2026-10-01 — footer details delivered, periodt 💅✨
📦 where this page comes from
- alpine 3.24: groff-doc 1.24.2-r0 · GPL-3.0-or-later
- Copyright (C) 1990, 1993 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved
- Copyright 2001-2024 Free Software Foundation, Inc
- 💖 girlified by deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 on : a language model's rewrite of the original, under its terms