---
name: "apply"
section: "1"
platform: "freebsd"
package: "base"
version: "16.0-CURRENT-20261027-61c70dc16a79"
release: "FreeBSD 16.0-CURRENT (2026-10-27)"
platforms: ["freebsd", "openbsd", "macos"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/apply"
---

# apply(1)

apply a command to a set of arguments

## NAME

**apply** – apply a command to a set of arguments

## SYNOPSIS

**apply** \[**-a** *c*\] \[**-d**\] \[**-***#*\] *command* *argument* *...*

## DESCRIPTION

The **apply** utility runs the named *command* on each argument *argument* in turn.

Character sequences of the form “%d” in *command*, where ‘d’ is a digit from 1 to 9, are replaced by the d´th following unused *argument*. In this case, the largest digit number of arguments are discarded for each execution of *command*.

The options are as follows:

- **-***#*

  Normally arguments are taken singly; the optional number *#* specifies the number of arguments to be passed to *command*. If the number is zero, *command* is run, without arguments, once for each *argument*.

  If any sequences of “%d” occur in *command*, the **-#** option is ignored.

- **-a** *c*

  The use of the character ‘%’ as a magic character may be changed with the **-a** option.

- **-d**

  Display the commands that would have been executed, but do not actually execute them.

## ENVIRONMENT

The following environment variable affects the execution of **apply**:

- SHELL

  Pathname of shell to use. If this variable is not defined, the POSIX shell is used.

## FILES

- */bin/sh*

  default shell

## EXAMPLES

- apply echo \*

  is similar to [ls(1)](/ls/1.md);

- apply -2 cmp a1 b1 a2 b2 a3 b3

  compares the \`a' files to the \`b' files;

- apply -0 who 1 2 3 4 5

  runs [who(1)](/who/1.md) 5 times; and

- apply ´ln %1 /usr/joe´ \*

  links all files in the current directory to the directory */usr/joe*.

## HISTORY

The **apply** command appeared in 4.2BSD.

## AUTHORS

Rob Pike

## BUGS

Shell metacharacters in *command* may have bizarre effects; it is best to enclose complicated commands in single quotes ('').

The **apply** utility does not recognize multibyte characters.