Coreutils - GNU core utilities
Introduction to Coreutils
The GNU Core Utilities are the basic file, shell and text manipulation utilities of the GNU operating system. These are the core utilities which are expected to exist on every operating system.
Previously these utilities were offered as three individual sets of GNU utilities, Fileutils, Shellutils, and Textutils. Those three have been combined into a single set of utilities called Coreutils.
Downloading Coreutils
Coreutils can be found on http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/coreutils/ [via http] and ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/coreutils/ [via FTP]. It can also be found on one of our FTP mirrors.
Test versions of Coreutils can be found on ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/coreutils/ [via FTP]. The latest bleeding-edge version of the source code, along with a revision history, can be found in the Coreutils Savannah repository. Assuming you have git installed, you can retrieve the bleeding-edge version with the following command:
git clone git://git.sv.gnu.org/coreutilsThe bleeding-edge version contains a file README-hacking that contains instructions for building from bleeding-edge sources. Please note that we do not suggest using test versions of Coreutils for production use.
Documentation
A manual is available in several formats. You may also find more information about Coreutils by looking at your local documentation. For example, you might try info coreutils at the shell prompt.
Please check the FAQ for the core utilities for answers to your most frequently asked questions. This FAQ contains answers to questions asked on the mailing lists and newsgroups. FAQs are by definition asked frequently and these questions will be asked again regardless of the existence of an FAQ. However, it does make answering questions easier as a more complete answer can be provided here than on the public forums.
Mailing Lists
You do not need to be subscribed in order to post messages to any GNU mailing list. However non-subscribers are moderated by humans so please be patient when waiting for your email to arrive.
You can subscribe to any GNU mailing list via the web as described below. Or you can send an empty mail with a Subject: header line of just "subscribe" to the relevant -request list. For example, to subscribe yourself to the main coreutils list, you would send mail to coreutils-request@gnu.org with no body and a Subject: header line of just "subscribe".
It has been necessary to moderate the Coreutils mailing lists to prevent the flood of spam. Postings to the lists are held for release by the list moderator. Sometimes the moderators are unavailable for brief periods of time. Please be patient when posting. If you don't eventually see the message in the list archive then it did not get posted.
Announcements
The low-volume mailing list <coreutils-announce@gnu.org> contains all announcements about Coreutils.
Important announcements about Coreutils and most other GNU Software are also made on <info-gnu@gnu.org>.
Discussion List
The main discussion list for all things related to coreutils is <coreutils@gnu.org>. This is a recent change as previously general discussion took place on the bug list. If you have questions, comments, or other general discussion about coreutils then this is the mailing list for that discussion. If you don't know where to start then this is the place to start. You can browse and search past postings to the coreutils archive. Discussion prior to its creation in March 2010 is available in the bug mailing list archive.
Bug Reports
If you think you have found a bug in Coreutils, then please send as complete a bug report as possible to <bug-coreutils@gnu.org>, and it will automatically be entered into the Coreutils bug tracker. Before reporting bugs please read the FAQ. A very useful and often referenced guide on how to write bug reports and ask good questions is the document How To Ask Questions The Smart Way . You can browse previous postings and search the bug-coreutils archive.
Enhancement Requests
If you would like any new feature to be included in future versions of Coreutils, please send a request to <coreutils@gnu.org>. This is the general discussion list and a good place to start discussion of a new feature. After consideration you may be asked to log a request into the bug tracker so that the issue is not lost.
There is a nice coreutils summary of previous news and enhancements.
Mailing List Etiquette
Please do not send messages encoded as HTML nor encoded as base64 MIME nor included as multiple formats. Please send messages as plain text. Please include a descriptive subject line. If all of the subjects are bug then it is impossible to differentiate them. Please avoid sending large messages, such as log files, system call trace output, and other content resulting in messages over about 40 kB, to the mailing lists without prior contact. Those are best sent directly to those requesting that information after initial contact.
Please remember that development of Coreutils is a volunteer effort, and you can also contribute to its development. For information about contributing to the GNU Project, please read How to help GNU.
Previous Mailing Lists
Since coreutils had existed as the three individual packages for a long time you may want to read the archives of those previous mailing lists. The Fileutils archive, Shellutils archive, and Textutils archive contain archives of these older mailing lists.
Maintainer
Coreutils is currently being maintained by Jim Meyering jim@meyering.net, Pádraig Brady P@draigBrady.com, and Eric Blake ebb9@byu.net.