---
name: "paper"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "libpaper"
version: "2.2.8-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/paper"
---

# paper(1)

print paper size information

## NAME

paper - print paper size information

## SYNOPSIS

**paper** \[*OPTION*...\] \[*PAPER*...*\|--all*\]

## DESCRIPTION

Print paper size information.

- **--all**

  show information about all known paper sizes

- **--no-size**

  do not show paper sizes (width followed by height)

- **--unit** UNIT

  unit in which to show sizes \[pt, mm, in; default: natural units\]

- **--help**

  display this help message and exit

- **--version**

  display version information and exit

**paper** prints information about the given paper sizes, which can include the standard form of its name, its width and height. The output is designed to be both human- and machine-readable. The name is matched case-insensitively, and ignoring spaces.

If neither a paper size nor the **--all** option is given, the current paper size is used.

The current paper size is obtained by looking in order at the following values until a non-empty value is found. If no paper size is configured, paper exits with an error.

- •

  The **PAPERSIZE** environment variable

- •

  The user's default paper size in **$XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/papersize**

- •

  The current locale's default paper size (if supported by the system)

- •

  The system default paper size in **/etc/papersize**

- •

  The first paper size in the system list

- •

  The first paper size in the user's list

## ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

- **PAPERSIZE**

  Paper size to use.

## FILES

- **/etc/papersize**

  System default paper size.

- **$XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/papersize**

  User's default paper size.

## AUTHOR

Written by Reuben Thomas.

## REPORTING BUGS

Report bugs at https://github.com/rrthomas/libpaper

## COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2013-2022 Reuben Thomas \<rrt@sc3d.org\>. paper comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. You may redistribute copies of paper under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 3, or, at your option, any later version.See \<https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html\>.

## SEE ALSO

[**paperspecs**(5)](/paperspecs/5.md)