GETUNIMAP(8)

💖 GETUNIMAP — bestie edition 💖

okay so this one is getunimap from section 8 of the manual (System Manager's Manual, for the sysadmin girlies 🫶), and it's basically the "dump ur console's unicode map to stdout" tool. it's giving vintage. it's giving legacy. let's get into it ✨

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🌸 NAME 🌸

getunimap — dump the unicode map for the current console to stdout 💅

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🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

getunimap [options]

that's it. that's the whole vibe. no positional args, just options, slay ✨

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so first thing's first, bestie, and I need you to sit down for this one: the getunimap program is old and obsolete. 😭 like, not me being dramatic, that's literally what the manpage says. it's now part of setfont(1), so if you're out here living ur best modern life you probably wanna be over there instead. periodt.

but anyway, here's what it does: getunimap outputs the unicode map — also called a "Screen Font Map" (cute name, obsessed) — for the current console, and sends it straight to standard output. 💖

now, the -C option can be used with Linux 2.6.1 and later to grab the map for a console that isn't the current one. its argument is a pathname. lowkey iconic of it.

the output of getunimap looks like this:

0xAA U+1234 # comment

where 0xAA is the font character code and U+1234 is a unicode character. the deal is: if that unicode character gets displayed, it'll be displayed using glyph 0xAA in the font. and here's the tea — many unicode characters may be mapped to the same glyph. so it's not a one-to-one situation, it's a whole polycule of mappings, no cap.

also the hash symbol # is used as a comment delimiter. characters after a hash sign (all the way to the end of the line) are comments. so don't be confused when you see # doing its little commentary thing. 🙈

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✨ the -s option glow-up ✨

the -s option will sort and merge elements, sorting on font character. so instead of the messy version, it produces output like:

0x22 U+1234 U+5678 U+3456
0x23 U+0023

etc., etc., listing the multiple unicode characters that map to a font glyph. it's giving organized. it's giving curated. we love a girl who consolidates. 💅

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🌈 and the big flex 🌈

the output of getunimap is of the form accepted by setfont and psfaddtable. so like, it plays nice with the other tools. compatibility queen. 👑

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💜 OPTIONS 💜

• -s, --sort — sort and merge elements. the tidy-up option, the "I organize my desktop icons" option, the "my notes app is alphabetized" option. 🎀
• -C, --console=DEV — the console device to be used. yes bestie, you get to pick which console. this is the one that works on Linux 2.6.1 and later for consoles that aren't the current one. 🌟
• -V, --version — print version number. just a lil "who am I, what am I, what era am I from" moment. 💫
• -h, --help — print this usage message. ur best friend when you forget everything (which is valid, we've all been there). 🫶

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👀 SEE ALSO 👀

• psfaddtable(1)
• setfont(1)

go read those too, they're the glow-up versions of this whole situation, iykyk 💖

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🚨 real talk though: this program is old and obsolete and it's now part of setfont(1). I'm not saying don't use it, I'm saying the universe is gently suggesting you consider setfont(1) instead. do with that information what you will, bestie. 💀

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okay that's the whole page!! mwah 💋 this came from the kbd source, dated 24 October 2024, and honestly? iconic of them to still be maintaining this vintage little number. stay unicode-mapped, bestie 🦋✨💖