---
name: "sos-help"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "sos"
version: "4.9.1-1"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/sos-help"
---

# sos-help(1)

get detailed help information on sos commands and components

## NAME

sos\_help - get detailed help information on sos commands and components

## SYNOPSIS

**sos help TOPIC**

## DESCRIPTION

**sos help** is used to retrieve more detailed information on the various SoS commands and components than is directly available in either other manpages or --help output.

This information could for example be investigating a specific plugin to learn more about its purpose, use case, collections, available plugin options, edge cases, and more.

Most aspects of SoS' operation can be investigated this way - the top level functions such as  **report, clean,** and **collect**, as well as constructs that allow those functions to work; e.g. **transports** within **sos collect** that define how that function connects to remote nodes.

## REQUIRED ARGUMENTS

**TOPIC**

- The section or topic to retrieve detailed help information for. TOPIC takes the general

  form of **command.component.entity**, with **component** and **entity** being optional.

Top-level **command** help sections will often direct users to **component** sections which in turn may point to further **entity** subsections.

Some of the more useful or interesting sections are listed below:

    **Topic**                     **Description**

    **report**                    The **sos report** command\
     **report.plugins**            Information on what report plugins are\
     **report.plugins.$plugin**    Information on a specific plugin\
     **clean** or **mask**             The **sos clean\|mask** command\
     **collect**                   The **sos collect** command\
     **collect.clusters**          How **collect** enumerates nodes in a cluster\
     **policies**                  How SoS behaves on different distributions