From Linux Man Pages
mandb - create or update the manual page index caches
SYNOPSIS
mandb [-dqsucp|-h|-V] [-C file] [manpath]
mandb [-dqsu] [-C file] -f filename ...
DESCRIPTION
mandb is used to initialise or manually update index database caches that are usually maintained by man. The
caches contain information relevant to the current state of the manual page system and the information stored
within them is used by the man-db utilities to enhance their speed and functionality.
When creating or updating an index, mandb will warn of bad ROFF .so requests, bogus manual page filenames and
manual pages from which the whatis cannot be parsed.
Supplying mandb with an optional colon-delimited path will override the internal system manual page hierarchy
search path, determined from information found within the man-db configuration file.
DATABASE CACHES
mandb can be compiled with support for any one of the following database types.
tab (@); l l l l. Name@Type@Async@Filename _ Berkeley db@Binary tree@Yes@index.bt GNU gdbm v >=
1.6@Hashed@Yes@index.db GNU gdbm v < 1.6@Hashed@No@index.db UNIX ndbm@Hashed@No@index.(dir|pag)
Those database types that support asynchronous updates provide enhanced speed at the cost of possible corruption
in the event of unusual termination. In an unusual case where this has occured, it may be necessary to rerun
mandb with the -c option to re-create the databases from scratch.
OPTIONS
-d, --debug
Produce debugging information.
-q, --quiet
Produce no warnings.
-s, --no-straycats
Do not spend time looking for or adding information to the databases regarding stray cats.
-p, --no-purge
Do not spend time checking for deleted manual pages and purging them from the databases.
-c, --create
By default, mandb will try to update any previously created databases. If a database does not exist, it
will create it. This option forces mandb to delete previous databases and re-create them from scratch,
and implies --no-purge. This may be necessary if a database becomes corrupt or if a new database storage
scheme is introduced in the future.
-u, --user-db
Create user databases only, even with write permissions necessary to create system databases.
-t, --test
Perform correctness checks on manual pages in the hierarchy search path. With this option, mandb will not
alter existing databases.
-f, --filename
Update only the entries for the given filename. This option is not for general use; it is used internally
by man when it has been compiled with the MAN_DB_UPDATES option and finds that a page is out of date. It
implies -p and disables -c and -s.
-C file, --config-file=file
Use this user configuration file rather than the default of ~/.manpath.
-h, --help
Show the usage message, then exit.
-V, --version
Show the version, then exit.
EXIT STATUS
0 Successful program execution.
1 Usage, syntax, or configuration file error.
2 Operational error.
3 A child process failed.
DIAGNOSTICS
The following warning messages can be emitted during database building.
<filename>: whatis parse for page(sec) failed
An attempt to extract whatis line(s) from the given <filename> failed. This is usually due to a poorly
written manual page, but if many such messages are emitted it is likely that the system contains non-stan-
dard manual pages which are incompatible with the man-db whatis parser. See the WHATIS PARSING section in
lexgrog(1) for more information.
<filename>: is a dangling symlink
<filename> does not exist but is referenced by a symbolic link. Further diagnostics are usually emitted
to identify the <filename> of the offending link.
<filename>: bad symlink or ROFF `.so' request
<filename> is either a symbolic link to, or contains a ROFF include request to, a non existent file.
<filename>: ignoring bogus filename
The <filename> may or may not be a valid manual page but its name is invalid. This is usually due to a
manual page with sectional extension <x> being put in manual page section <y>.
<filename_mask>: competing extensions
The wildcard <filename_mask> is not unique. This is usually caused by the existence of both a compressed
and uncompressed version of the same manual page. All but the most recent are ignored.
FILES
/etc/manpath.config
man-db configuration file.
/usr/man/index.(bt|db|dir|pag)
A traditional global index database cache.
/var/catman/index.(bt|db|dir|pag)
An alternate or FSSTND compliant global index database cache.
/var/cache/man/index.(bt|db|dir|pag)
An FHS compliant global index database cache.
RELATED
man(1), lexgrog(1), manpath(5), catman(8).
The WHATIS PARSING section formerly in this manual page is now part of lexgrog(1).
CATEGORY