---
name: "manconv"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "man-db"
version: "2.13.1-2"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/manconv"
---

# manconv(1)

convert manual page from one encoding to another

## NAME

manconv - convert manual page from one encoding to another

## SYNOPSIS

**manconv** **-f** \[*from-code*\[:*from-code*...\]\] **-t** *to-code* \[**-dqhV**\] \[*filename*\]

## DESCRIPTION

**manconv** converts a manual page from one encoding to another, like **iconv**. Unlike **iconv**, it can try multiple possible input encodings in sequence. This is useful for manual pages installed in directories without an explicit encoding declaration, since they may be in UTF-8 or in a legacy character set.

If an encoding declaration is found on the first line of the manual page, that declaration overrides any input encodings specified on **manconv**'s command line. Encoding declarations have the following form:

```
'\" -*- coding: UTF-8 -*-
```

or (if manual page preprocessors are also to be declared):

```
'\" t -*- coding: ISO-8859-1 -*-
```

## OPTIONS

- **-f** *encodings*, **--from-code** *encodings*

  Try each of *encodings* (a colon-separated list) in sequence as the input encoding. The default is to guess likely input encodings based on the file name.

- **-t** *encoding*, **--to-code** *encoding*

  Convert the manual page to *encoding*.

- **-q**, **--quiet**

  Do not issue error messages when the page cannot be converted.

- **-d**, **--debug**

  Print debugging information.

- **-h**, **--help**

  Print a help message and exit.

- **-V**, **--version**

  Display version information.

## SEE ALSO

[*iconv*(1)](/iconv/1.md), [*man*(1)](/man/1.md), [*man-recode*(1)](/man-recode/1.md)

## AUTHOR

```
Colin Watson (cjwatson@debian.org).
```

## BUGS

https://gitlab.com/man-db/man-db/-/issues\
 https://savannah.nongnu.org/bugs/?group=man-db