Mastering the Linux ‘help’ Command: Options, Syntax, and Real‑World Examples

help: display help information

Function description

The help command shows help for internal shell commands. It cannot display help for most external commands, which require man or info instead.

Command syntax

help [options] [builtin]

Option meanings

The options are defined as follows:

-d – display a short description of the built‑in command

-m – display help in the format of a man page

-s – display a short syntax summary of the built‑in command

Reference examples

Example 1

Show a short description for the pwd command:

# help -d pwd
pwd - Print the name of the current working directory.

Example 2

Show man‑page‑style help for the pwd command:

# help -m pwd
NAME
    pwd - print name of current working directory.

SYNOPSIS
    pwd [-LP]

DESCRIPTION
    Print the name of the current working directory.
    Options:
      -L    print the value of $PWD, which may contain symbolic links
      -P    print the physical directory without any symbolic links

EXIT STATUS
    Returns 0 unless an invalid option is used or the current directory is unreadable.

Example 3

Show a short syntax description for the pwd command:

# help -s pwd
pwd: pwd [-LP]