Type Command in Linux Terminal with Examples

In this article we are going to shows how to use type command in Linux Terminal. If you want to learn about type command in Linux with Examples then this post is ideal for you.

The type is a command-line utility that is used to show information about a Linux command and how its argument would be translated if used as commands. The type command is also used to find out whether it is built-in or external binary file.

Linux is an operating system, like Windows OS, iOS, and Mac OS. It is one of the most popular operating system on the planet, Android is also powered by Linux OS(operating system).

Linux OS(operating system) is also distributed under an open source license. Open source following these points :

• Freely to run the program, for any purpose.
• Free to study how the program works.
• Freely to re-distribute copies so you can help your friends.
• Free to distribute copies of your modified versions to others.

The type Command in Linux

In the Linux, the basic syntax of the type command is show as below:

$ type [OPTIONS] FILE_NAME...

For an example:

$ type cd

The above command display a output as below:

Output
cd is a shell builtin

The type command also allows you to provide multiple arguments at once:

type wc cd

Output
wc is /usr/bin/wc
cd is a shell builtin

Options of type Command

Display single word information of a Linux command

The -t option is used to tells the type command to display a single word information of the give command which can be one of the following:

• alias (shell alias)
• function (shell function)
• builtin (shell builtin)
• file (disk file)
• keyword (shell reserved word)

Examples

1. Alias

$ type -t ls

Output
alias

2. Function

$ type -t rvm

Output
function

3. Builtin

$ type -t cd

Output
builtin

4. File

$ type -t mkdir

Output
file

5. Keyword

$ type -t if

Output
keyword

Display all locations that contain the command

To display all information about a Linux command, use -a option with type command as below:

$ type -a pwd

Output
pwd is a shell builtin
pwd is /bin/pwd

Other options of type command

The -p option is used to force type command to return the path to the given command only if the command is an executable file on the disk:

$ type -p pwd

The above command will not display any output because the pwd command is not a file executable command. It is a shell builtin coomand.

Now use the uppercase -P option that is used to tells type command to search the Path of an executable file on the disk even if the given command is not file.

$ type -P pwd

Output
pwd is /bin/pwd

That’s all

If you face any error and issue in above steps , please use comment box below to report.