coreutils/coreutils

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About coreutils/coreutils

GNU core utilities is the union of the GNU fileutils, sh-utils, and textutils packages. It provides a comprehensive set of basic command-line tools for file management, text processing, and shell operations on Unix-like systems. Most programs offer significant advantages over traditional Unix counterparts, including greater speed, additional options, and fewer arbitrary limits. The package includes over 100 utilities such as cat, cp, cut, date, dir, echo, grep-equivalent (not listed but implied), ls, mkdir, rm, sort, tail, wc, and many more. These tools mostly conform to POSIX with BSD and other extensions, and users can enforce stricter POSIX conformance by setting environment variables. This repository is the official public mirror of the GNU coreutils source code, accepting pull requests and issues on GitHub.

Key Features

Union of fileutils, sh-utils, and textutils

Greater speed than traditional Unix counterparts

Additional options and fewer arbitrary limits

POSIX conformance with BSD and other extensions

Over 100 utilities including cat, ls, cp, sort, and more

Supports environment variables for closer POSIX conformance

Separate executables for ls, dir, vdir for flexibility

Open source mirror with contribution capabilities on GitHub

Pros & Cons

Pros

Faster execution and more options than traditional Unix tools
Fewer arbitrary limits (e.g., on file size, line length)
POSIX-conformant with useful extensions from BSD
Extensive collection of well-tested utilities
Active development and open source community via GitHub mirror

Best For

Replacing standard Unix file manipulation commandsText processing and stream editing in shell scriptsSystem administration tasks on Linux and Unix-like systemsCross-platform command-line productivityLearning and experimenting with GNU utilities

FAQ

What is the GNU coreutils package?

GNU coreutils is the union of the GNU fileutils, sh-utils, and textutils packages. It provides essential command-line utilities for file, shell, and text manipulation on Unix-like systems.

How do these utilities differ from standard Unix commands?

Most GNU coreutils programs have significant advantages over their Unix counterparts, including greater speed, additional options, and fewer arbitrary limits. They conform to POSIX with BSD and other extensions.

Is this the official GNU coreutils repository?

Yes, this is the public mirror of the official GNU coreutils repository, mirrored from git://git.sv.gnu.org/coreutils.git. Pull requests and issues are accepted on GitHub.

Can I contribute to coreutils?

Yes, contributions via pull requests are welcome. The repository also accepts issues for bug reports and feature requests.