Whereis

whereis is a command on Unix and Unix-like operating systems used to locate some special files of a command like the binary file, source and manual page files. The whereis utility was first included with 2BSD,^[1] dating back to 1979.^[2]

Syntax

The whereis man page provides the following sample usage:

% # Find all files in /usr/bin which are not documented in /usr/man/man1 with source in /usr/src:
% cd /usr/bin
% whereis -u -M /usr/man/man1 -S /usr/src -f *

Analogs

The Unix type command is similar, but it identifies aliases.

Modern versions of Microsoft Windows feature a similar command: where.^[3]

It's also similar to the where utility in Multics.

References

^ "Evolution of Unix section 1: User commands". dspinellis.github.io. 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
^ Clement Cole (2022). "[TUHS] whereis command". tuhs.org. Retrieved 10 October 2023. I'm pretty sure we got it in early 79, so I clearly rewrote it at some point if the dates show later
^ Bhardwaj, Pawan K. (2006). "Locating Files with the Where Command". How to Cheat at Windows System Administration Using Command Line Scripts. How to Cheat. Rockland, Massachusetts: Syngress. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-08-050826-9. Retrieved 2016-07-05. […] the Where command […] is equivalent to using the Search option in the Start menu.