---
name: "bos_help"
section: "8"
platform: "linux"
package: "openafs-client"
version: "1.8.13.2-1"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/bos_help"
---

# bos\_help(8)

Displays help for bos commands

## NAME

bos\_help - Displays help for bos commands

## SYNOPSIS

**bos help** \[**-topic** \<*help string*\>+\] \[**-help**\]

**bos h** \[**-t** \<*help string*\>+\] \[**-h**\]

## DESCRIPTION

The **bos help** command displays the complete online help entry (short description and syntax statement) for each command operation code specified by the **-topic** argument. If the **-topic** argument is omitted, the output includes the first line (name and short description) of the online help entry for every **bos** command.

To list every bos command whose name or short description includes a specified keyword, use the **bos apropos** command.

## OPTIONS

- **-topic** \<*help string*\>+

  Indicates each command for which to display the complete online help entry. Omit the **bos** part of the command name, providing only the operation code (for example, specify **status**, not **bos status**). If this argument is omitted, the output briefly describes every **bos** command.

- **-help**

  Prints the online help for this command. All other valid options are ignored.

## OUTPUT

The online help entry for each bos command consists of the following two or three lines:

- •

  The first line names the command and briefly describes its function.

- •

  The second line lists aliases for the command, if any.

- •

  The final line, which begins with the string `"Usage"`, lists the command's options in the prescribed order. Online help entries use the same symbols (for example, brackets) as the reference pages in this document.

## EXAMPLES

The following command displays the online help entry for the **bos status** command:

```
   % bos help status
   bos status: show server instance status
   Usage: bos status -server <machine name> [-instance <server
   process name>+] [-long] [-cell <cell name>] [-noauth]
   [-localauth] [-help]
```

## PRIVILEGE REQUIRED

None

## SEE ALSO

[**bos**(8)](/bos/8.md), [**bos\_apropos**(8)](/bos_apropos/8.md)

## COPYRIGHT

IBM Corporation 2000. \<http://www.ibm.com/\> All Rights Reserved.

This documentation is covered by the IBM Public License Version 1.0.  It was converted from HTML to POD by software written by Chas Williams and Russ Allbery, based on work by Alf Wachsmann and Elizabeth Cassell.