---
name: "bcomps"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "graphviz"
version: "16.1.0-2"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/bcomps"
---

# bcomps(1)

biconnected components filter for graphs

## NAME

bcomps - biconnected components filter for graphs

## SYNOPSIS

**bcomps** \[ **-stvx?** \] \[ **-o***outfile* \] \[  *files* \]

## DESCRIPTION

**bcomps** decomposes graphs into their biconnected components, printing the components to standard output.

## OPTIONS

The following options are supported:

- **-s**

  No output graph is printed. Implies the **-v** flag.

- **-t**

  Print the underlying block-cutvertex tree.

- **-x**

  Each biconnected component is printed as a separate root graph.

- **-v**

  Prints number of blocks and cutvertices.

- **-o** *outfile*

  If specified, each root graph will be written to a different file with the names derived from *outfile*. In particular,  if both **-o** and **-x** flags are used, then each block is written to a different file. If *outfile* does not have a suffix, the nth block of the ith graph is written  to *outfile\_n\_i*. However, the 0th block of the 0th graph is written to *outfile*.

  If *outfile* has a suffix, i.e., has the form *base.sfx*, then the files will have the same name as above, except appended with *.sfx*.

  The block-cutvertex tree of ith graph is written to *outfile\_n\_T*, with an appended suffix if specified.

By default, each input graph is printed, with each block given as a subgraph whose name is a concatenation of the name of the input graph, the string "\_bcc\_" and the number of the block.

## OPERANDS

The following operand is supported:

- *files*

  Names of files containing 1 or more graphs in dot format. If no *files* operand is specified, the standard input will be used.

## RETURN CODES

**bcomps** returns **0** if all the input graphs are biconnected; and non-zero if any graph has multiple blocks, or any error occurred.

## BUGS

It is possible, though unlikely, that the names used for connected components and their subgraphs may conflict with existing subgraph names.

## AUTHORS

Emden R. Gansner \<erg@research.att.com\>

## SEE ALSO

[ccomps(1)](/ccomps/1.md), [gc(1)](/gc/1.md), [dot(1)](/dot/1.md), [gvpr(1)](/gvpr/1.md), [gvcolor(1)](/gvcolor/1.md), [acyclic(1)](/acyclic/1.md), [sccmap(1)](/sccmap/1.md), [tred(1)](/tred/1.md), libgraph(3)