GNU Core Utilities

Last updated

GNU Core Utilities
Developer(s) GNU Project
Stable release
9.8 [1]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg / 22 September 2025
Repository
Written in C, shell script [2]
Operating system Unix-like
Type Miscellaneous utilities
License 2007, GPL 3.0 or later since version 6.10
2002, GPL 2.0 or later until version 6.9
Website www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/

The GNU Core Utilities or coreutils is a collection of GNU software that implements many standard, Unix-based shell commands. The utilities generally provide POSIX compliant interface when the POSIXLY_CORRECT environment variable is set, but otherwise offers a superset to the standard interface. For example, the utilities support long options and options after parameters. This environment variable enables a different functionality in BSD.

Contents

Similar collections are available in the FOSS ecosystem, with a slightly different scope and focus (less functionality), or license. For example, BusyBox which is licensed under GPL-2.0-only, and Toybox which is licensed under 0BSD.

Commands

The commands implemented by coreutils are listed below. Throughout this article and customary for Unix-based systems, the term file refers to all file system items including regular files and special files such as directories.

File utilities

Text utilities

Shell utilities

History

In 1990, David MacKenzie announced GNU fileutils. [3]

In 1991, MacKenzie announced GNU shellutils and GNU textutils. [4] [5] Moreover, Jim Meyering became the maintainer of the packages (known now as coreutils) and has remained so since. [6]

In September 2002, the GNU coreutils were created by merging the earlier packages textutils, shellutils, and fileutils, along with some other miscellaneous utilities. [7]

In July 2007, the license of the GNU coreutils was updated from GPL-2.0-or-later to GPL-3.0-or-later. [8]

See also


References

  1. Pádraig Brady (22 September 2025). "coreutils-9.8 released [stable]" . Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  2. "The GNU Core Utilities Open Source Project on Open Hub: Languages Page". openhub.net. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  3. MacKenzie, David J. (8 February 1990). "GNU file utilities release 1.0". groups.google.com. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
  4. MacKenzie, David J. (16 July 1991). "GNU shell programming utilities released". groups.google.com.
  5. MacKenzie, David J. (22 August 1991). "new GNU file and text utilities released". groups.google.com. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
  6. "GNU's Who". gnu.org.
  7. Meyering, Jim (13 January 2003). "readme-package-renamed-to-coreutils". git.savannah.gnu.org. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  8. Meyering, Jim (23 July 2007). "copying: Update to Version 3". git.savannah.gnu.org. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2018.