whereis — Locate command files

Linux / Basic Linux commands / whereis.html

Locates the binary, source and manual page of a command.

Basic Information

What is this command?

whereis looks in standard directories and reports the binary, source and manual page of a command. Unlike which, it does not walk the whole PATH.

Output is grouped into binary, source and manual; -b, -m and -s filter by type. It cannot see shell aliases or functions, so use type when the actual resolution matters.

What problems does it solve?

• Checking where a command binary lives
• Finding the manual page file
• Inspecting files provided by a package
• An alternative when which returns nothing

Key features

Output by type

Shows binary, source and manual separately.

• When to use: Understanding a package layout
• What you get: You see all three locations at once.
• Limitations: Missing categories are simply omitted.

Type filter

-b, -m and -s restrict the output.

• When to use: When only the binary path matters
• What you get: Output becomes concise.
• Limitations: A wrong filter yields no output.

PATH independence

Searches standard paths regardless of PATH.

• When to use: When a script needs the real file path
• What you get: Results are independent of environment variables.
• Limitations: Tools in non-standard paths are missed.

Installation and usage

Check whether it is installed

whereis --version

sudo apt install util-linux # Debian/Ubuntu sudo dnf install util-linux # Fedora

Real-world examples

All information

Show binary and manual locations.

whereis ls

Binary only

Show only the executable.

whereis -b python3

Manual only

Show only the manual page.

whereis -m grep