BusyBox - Revision history

Sportech at 20:12, 8 March 2026

2026-03-08T20:12:32Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:12, 8 March 2026
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	== Replacing BusyBox utilities ==		== Replacing BusyBox utilities ==

	If you find certain utilities in busybox lacking in features or options, equivalent [[How to get regular stuff working\|full-featured utilities can easily replace]] them. This may be particularly useful when ~~intially~~ setting up hardware like [[Sound Setup\|sound]], [[Configure Networking\|networking]], [[Graphics driver\|graphics]] and [[Printer Setup\|printers]] and can be removed once done.		If you find certain utilities in busybox lacking in features or options, equivalent [[How to get regular stuff working\|full-featured utilities can easily replace]] them. This may be particularly useful when initially setting up hardware like [[Sound Setup\|sound]], [[Configure Networking\|networking]], [[Graphics driver\|graphics]] and [[Printer Setup\|printers]] and can be removed once done.

	== Ash shell ==		== Ash shell ==

Prabuanand: reworded sentence and moved headings

2025-10-16T04:14:48Z

reworded sentence and moved headings

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:14, 16 October 2025
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	Alpine Linux is built around musl libc and [https://www.busybox.net/ busybox]. To minimize footprint, Alpine Linux comes with BusyBox by default. BusyBox provides replacements for most of the utilities usually found in GNU coreutils, util-linux, etc. Built-in utility programs called as applets share code for many common operations.		Alpine Linux is built around musl libc and [https://www.busybox.net/ busybox]. To minimize footprint, Alpine Linux comes with BusyBox by default.

			BusyBox provides replacements for most of the utilities usually found in GNU coreutils, util-linux, etc. Built-in utility programs called as [[#BusyBox applets\|applets]] share code for many common operations. BusyBox is set up as an endpoint for numerous symlinks that substitute various utilities. The utilities in BusyBox generally have fewer options than their full-featured GNU counterparts.

			== BusyBox applets ==

	The command {{ic\|$ busybox}} lists the applets that have been compiled into BusyBox binary, the output of which, as of [[Release_Notes_for_Alpine_3.22.0\|v3.22]], is shown below: {{Cmd\|<nowiki>$ busybox		The command {{ic\|$ busybox}} lists the applets that have been compiled into BusyBox binary, the output of which, as of [[Release_Notes_for_Alpine_3.22.0\|v3.22]], is shown below: {{Cmd\|<nowiki>$ busybox
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	To view options supported by a specific BusyBox applet, say {{ic\|grep}}, issue the command {{ic\|$ busybox grep -h}}		To view options supported by a specific BusyBox applet, say {{ic\|grep}}, issue the command {{ic\|$ busybox grep -h}}

			== Replacing BusyBox utilities ==

			If you find certain utilities in busybox lacking in features or options, equivalent [[How to get regular stuff working\|full-featured utilities can easily replace]] them. This may be particularly useful when intially setting up hardware like [[Sound Setup\|sound]], [[Configure Networking\|networking]], [[Graphics driver\|graphics]] and [[Printer Setup\|printers]] and can be removed once done.

	== Ash shell ==		== Ash shell ==
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	Alpine Linux comes inbuilt with a basic version of [[Power_management#Busybox acpid\|acpid]] as part of BusyBox.		Alpine Linux comes inbuilt with a basic version of [[Power_management#Busybox acpid\|acpid]] as part of BusyBox.

	~~== Replacing BusyBox utilities==~~
	~~{{Main\|How to get regular stuff working}}~~
	BusyBox is set up as an endpoint for numerous symlinks that substitute various utilities.The utilities in BusyBox generally have fewer options than their full-featured GNU counterparts. If you find certain utilities in busybox lacking in features or options, it is easy to [[How to get regular stuff working\|replace]] respective endpoints by their equivalent full-featured utilities.

	== init ==		== init ==

Prabuanand: added busybox applet list with version reference

2025-10-16T03:50:45Z

added busybox applet list with version reference

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:50, 16 October 2025
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	Alpine Linux is built around musl libc and [https://www.busybox.net/ busybox]. To minimize footprint, Alpine Linux comes with BusyBox by default. BusyBox provides replacements for most of the utilities usually found in GNU coreutils, util-linux, etc. Built-in utility programs called as applets share code for many common operations. ~~To list~~ the applets that have been compiled into BusyBox binary, ~~issue~~ the ~~command with no argument~~ as ~~follows~~: {{ic\|$ busybox}}		Alpine Linux is built around musl libc and [https://www.busybox.net/ busybox]. To minimize footprint, Alpine Linux comes with BusyBox by default. BusyBox provides replacements for most of the utilities usually found in GNU coreutils, util-linux, etc. Built-in utility programs called as applets share code for many common operations.

			The command {{ic\|$ busybox}} lists the applets that have been compiled into BusyBox binary, the output of which, as of [[Release_Notes_for_Alpine_3.22.0\|v3.22]], is shown below: {{Cmd\|<nowiki>$ busybox
			BusyBox v1.37.0 (2025-08-05 16:40:33 UTC) multi-call binary.
			BusyBox is copyrighted by many authors between 1998-2015.
			Licensed under GPLv2. See source distribution for detailed
			copyright notices.

			Usage: busybox [function [arguments]...]
			or: busybox --list[-full]
			or: busybox --install [-s] [DIR]
			or: function [arguments]...

			BusyBox is a multi-call binary that combines many common Unix
			utilities into a single executable. Most people will create a
			link to busybox for each function they wish to use and BusyBox
			will act like whatever it was invoked as.

			Currently defined functions:
			[, [[, acpid, add-shell, addgroup, adduser, adjtimex, arch, arp, arping, ash, awk, base64, basename, bbconfig, bc, beep, blkdiscard, blkid, blockdev, brctl, bunzip2,
			bzcat, bzip2, cal, cat, chattr, chgrp, chmod, chown, chpasswd, chroot, chvt, cksum, clear, cmp, comm, cp, cpio, crond, crontab, cryptpw, cut, date, dc, dd,
			deallocvt, delgroup, deluser, depmod, df, diff, dirname, dmesg, dnsdomainname, dos2unix, du, dumpkmap, echo, egrep, eject, env, ether-wake, expand, expr, factor,
			fallocate, false, fatattr, fbset, fbsplash, fdflush, fdisk, fgrep, find, findfs, flock, fold, free, fsck, fstrim, fsync, fuser, getopt, getty, grep, groups, gunzip,
			gzip, halt, hd, head, hexdump, hostid, hostname, hwclock, id, ifconfig, ifdown, ifenslave, ifup, init, inotifyd, insmod, install, ionice, iostat, ip, ipaddr, ipcalc,
			ipcrm, ipcs, iplink, ipneigh, iproute, iprule, iptunnel, kbd_mode, kill, killall, killall5, klogd, last, less, link, linux32, linux64, ln, loadfont, loadkmap,
			logger, login, logread, losetup, ls, lsattr, lsmod, lsof, lsusb, lzcat, lzma, lzop, lzopcat, makemime, md5sum, mdev, mesg, microcom, mkdir, mkdosfs, mkfifo,
			mkfs.vfat, mknod, mkpasswd, mkswap, mktemp, modinfo, modprobe, more, mount, mountpoint, mpstat, mv, nameif, nanddump, nandwrite, nbd-client, nc, netstat, nice, nl,
			nmeter, nohup, nologin, nproc, nsenter, nslookup, ntpd, od, openvt, partprobe, passwd, paste, pgrep, pidof, ping, ping6, pipe_progress, pivot_root, pkill, pmap,
			poweroff, printenv, printf, ps, pscan, pstree, pwd, pwdx, raidautorun, rdate, rdev, readahead, readlink, realpath, reboot, reformime, remove-shell, renice, reset,
			resize, rev, rfkill, rm, rmdir, rmmod, route, run-parts, sed, sendmail, seq, setconsole, setfont, setkeycodes, setlogcons, setpriv, setserial, setsid, sh, sha1sum,
			sha256sum, sha3sum, sha512sum, showkey, shred, shuf, slattach, sleep, sort, split, stat, strings, stty, su, sum, swapoff, swapon, switch_root, sync, sysctl, syslogd,
			tac, tail, tar, tee, test, time, timeout, top, touch, tr, traceroute, traceroute6, tree, true, truncate, tty, ttysize, tunctl, udhcpc, udhcpc6, umount, uname,
			unexpand, uniq, unix2dos, unlink, unlzma, unlzop, unshare, unxz, unzip, uptime, usleep, uudecode, uuencode, vconfig, vi, vlock, volname, watch, watchdog, wc, wget,
			which, who, whoami, whois, xargs, xxd, xzcat, yes, zcat, zcip</nowiki>}}

	To view options supported by a specific BusyBox applet, say {{ic\|grep}}, issue the command {{ic\|$ busybox grep -h}}		To view options supported by a specific BusyBox applet, say {{ic\|grep}}, issue the command {{ic\|$ busybox grep -h}}

Prabuanand: added note on busybox init

2025-09-25T11:27:42Z

added note on busybox init

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:27, 25 September 2025
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	{{Main\|How to get regular stuff working}}		{{Main\|How to get regular stuff working}}
	BusyBox is set up as an endpoint for numerous symlinks that substitute various utilities.The utilities in BusyBox generally have fewer options than their full-featured GNU counterparts. If you find certain utilities in busybox lacking in features or options, it is easy to [[How to get regular stuff working\|replace]] respective endpoints by their equivalent full-featured utilities.		BusyBox is set up as an endpoint for numerous symlinks that substitute various utilities.The utilities in BusyBox generally have fewer options than their full-featured GNU counterparts. If you find certain utilities in busybox lacking in features or options, it is easy to [[How to get regular stuff working\|replace]] respective endpoints by their equivalent full-featured utilities.

			== init ==

			Busybox init is the first process(pid 1) started during boot. It never exits. It executes [[OpenRC]] runlevel scripts according to entries in {{Path\|/etc/inittab}}.

	== Shutdown commands ==		== Shutdown commands ==
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	* [https://busybox.net/downloads/BusyBox.html Official BusyBox Manual]		* [https://busybox.net/downloads/BusyBox.html Official BusyBox Manual]
	* [http://k.japko.eu/busybox-vi-tutorial.html Busybox vi tutorial]		* [http://k.japko.eu/busybox-vi-tutorial.html Busybox vi tutorial]

	[[Category:System Administration]]		[[Category:System Administration]]

Prabuanand: moved Shutdown commands from OpenRC page

2025-08-12T04:17:20Z

moved Shutdown commands from OpenRC page

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:17, 12 August 2025
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	{{Main\|How to get regular stuff working}}		{{Main\|How to get regular stuff working}}
	BusyBox is set up as an endpoint for numerous symlinks that substitute various utilities.The utilities in BusyBox generally have fewer options than their full-featured GNU counterparts. If you find certain utilities in busybox lacking in features or options, it is easy to [[How to get regular stuff working\|replace]] respective endpoints by their equivalent full-featured utilities.		BusyBox is set up as an endpoint for numerous symlinks that substitute various utilities.The utilities in BusyBox generally have fewer options than their full-featured GNU counterparts. If you find certain utilities in busybox lacking in features or options, it is easy to [[How to get regular stuff working\|replace]] respective endpoints by their equivalent full-featured utilities.

			== Shutdown commands ==

			The busybox command equivalent for traditional GNU/Linux systems shutdown commands are as follows:{{Cmd\|<nowiki># reboot # ⇔ shutdown now -r
			# halt # ⇔ shutdown now -H
			# poweroff # ⇔ shutdown now -P</nowiki>}}

	== See also ==		== See also ==

Prabuanand: fixed typo

2025-07-20T10:11:51Z

fixed typo

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:11, 20 July 2025
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	Alpine Linux is built around musl libc and [https://www.busybox.net/ busybox]. To minimize footprint, Alpine Linux comes with BusyBox by default. BusyBox provides replacements for most of the utilities usually found in GNU coreutils, util-linux, etc. Built-in utility programs called as applets share code for many common operations. To list the applets that have been compiled into BusyBox binary, issue the command with no argument as follows: {{ic\|$ busybox}}		Alpine Linux is built around musl libc and [https://www.busybox.net/ busybox]. To minimize footprint, Alpine Linux comes with BusyBox by default. BusyBox provides replacements for most of the utilities usually found in GNU coreutils, util-linux, etc. Built-in utility programs called as applets share code for many common operations. To list the applets that have been compiled into BusyBox binary, issue the command with no argument as follows: {{ic\|$ busybox}}

	~~For~~ options supported by a specific BusyBox applet, say {{ic\|grep}}, issue the command {{ic\|$ busybox grep -h}}		To view options supported by a specific BusyBox applet, say {{ic\|grep}}, issue the command {{ic\|$ busybox grep -h}}

	== Ash shell ==		== Ash shell ==

Prabuanand: reformatted sentence

2025-07-20T10:11:21Z

reformatted sentence

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:11, 20 July 2025
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	Alpine Linux is built around musl libc and [https://www.busybox.net/ busybox]. To minimize footprint, Alpine Linux comes with BusyBox by default. BusyBox provides replacements for most of the utilities usually found in GNU coreutils, util-linux, etc. Built-in utility programs called as applets share code for many common operations. ~~Invoking BusyBox with no argument lists~~ the applets that have been compiled into BusyBox binary~~. Refer [https~~://busybox~~.net/downloads/BusyBox.html BusyBox Manual] for~~ options supported by BusyBox.		Alpine Linux is built around musl libc and [https://www.busybox.net/ busybox]. To minimize footprint, Alpine Linux comes with BusyBox by default. BusyBox provides replacements for most of the utilities usually found in GNU coreutils, util-linux, etc. Built-in utility programs called as applets share code for many common operations. To list the applets that have been compiled into BusyBox binary, issue the command with no argument as follows: {{ic\|$ busybox}}

			For options supported by a specific BusyBox applet, say {{ic\|grep}}, issue the command {{ic\|$ busybox grep -h}}

	== Ash shell ==		== Ash shell ==

Prabuanand: to match with the style of the page

2025-07-20T09:43:23Z

to match with the style of the page

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:43, 20 July 2025
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	== Ash shell ==		== Ash shell ==
	~~{{Main\|Shell_management#Ash shell}}~~
	Alpine Linux uses Busybox [[Shell_management#Ash_shell\|Ash]] ~~shell~~ for its default shell.		Alpine Linux uses Busybox [[Shell_management#Ash_shell\|Ash shell]] for its default shell.

	== vi ==		== vi ==

Prabuanand: added wikilinks

2025-07-20T09:42:05Z

added wikilinks

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:42, 20 July 2025
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	Busybox uses [https://git.busybox.net/busybox/plain/editors/vi.c tiny vi], a small 'vi' clone. Refer [http://k.japko.eu/busybox-vi-tutorial.html Busybox vi tutorial] for an excellent introduction.		Busybox uses [https://git.busybox.net/busybox/plain/editors/vi.c tiny vi], a small 'vi' clone. Refer [http://k.japko.eu/busybox-vi-tutorial.html Busybox vi tutorial] for an excellent introduction.

			== udhcpc ==

			[[udhcpc]] is the default DHCP client that comes inbuilt with Busybox.

			== Cron ==

			[[Cron#Busybox_crond\|Busybox crond]] is the default cron implementation in Alpine Linux.

			== acpid ==

			Alpine Linux comes inbuilt with a basic version of [[Power_management#Busybox acpid\|acpid]] as part of BusyBox.

	== Replacing BusyBox utilities==		== Replacing BusyBox utilities==

Prabuanand: moved content to Shell management and added link here

2025-07-20T04:06:22Z

moved content to Shell management and added link here

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:06, 20 July 2025
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	== Ash shell ==		== Ash shell ==
			{{Main\|Shell_management#Ash shell}}
	Alpine Linux uses Busybox ~~Ash for its default shell. To change the default shell to other shells like {{Pkg\|bash}}, {{Pkg\|zsh}}, {{Pkg\|fish}} etc..refer~~ [[~~Change default shell~~\|~~change default shell~~]].		Alpine Linux uses Busybox [[Shell_management#Ash_shell\|Ash]] shell for its default shell.

	~~When using Ash~~ shell, one can’t set aliases in the {{Path\|~/.profile}}, but environment variables can be set in it. In order to use aliases with Busybox Ash, you must set the ENV environment variable to refer the aliases file.

	~~First create the file {{Path\|/etc/profile.d/profile.sh}} as follows:~~
	~~{{Cat\|/etc/profile.d/profile.sh\|if [ -f "$HOME/.config/ash/profile" ]; then~~
	~~. "$HOME/~~.~~config/ash/profile"~~
	fi
	}}
	~~Next create the file {{path\|~/.config/ash/profile}} as follows:~~
	~~{{Cat\|~/.config/ash/profile\|export ENV{{=}}"$HOME/.config/ash/ashrc"~~
	}}
	~~Now aliases can be added in the file {{Path\|~/.config/ash/ashrc}}:~~

	~~{{Cat\|~/.config/ash/ashrc\|su{{=}}"doas -s"~~
	}}

	== vi ==		== vi ==
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	== See also ==		== See also ==

	* [https://www.busybox.net/ Official website]		* [https://www.busybox.net/ Official website]
	* [https://busybox.net/downloads/BusyBox.html Official BusyBox Manual]		* [https://busybox.net/downloads/BusyBox.html Official BusyBox Manual]
	* [http://k.japko.eu/busybox-vi-tutorial.html Busybox vi tutorial]		* [http://k.japko.eu/busybox-vi-tutorial.html Busybox vi tutorial]
	[[Category:System Administration]]		[[Category:System Administration]]