2026-02-18-notes-on-clarifying-man-pages-d55372f2af
Ideas for making man pages easier to use
Julia Evans
EDITOR BRIEF
The author reflects on what makes a good man page and why many are hard to navigate. They point to examples where one tool keeps the synopsis short and adds an options summary, while another groups options by category instead of listing them alphabetically. They are exploring whether man pages could include a built-in cheat sheet.
INSIGHTS
This matters because beginners often need to find the right option quickly, not read a full reference. Try designing a short summary plus grouped sections for a tool you know, then compare how much easier it is to scan.
COMMENTS
Loading comments…