---
name: "what"
section: "1"
platform: "macos"
package: "shell_cmds"
version: "329"
release: "macOS 26.5"
platforms: ["freebsd", "openbsd", "macos"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/what"
---

# what(1)

show what versions of object modules were used to construct a file

## NAME

**what** – show what versions of object modules were used to construct a file

## SYNOPSIS

**what** \[**-qs**\] \[*file ...*\]

## DESCRIPTION

The **what** utility searches each specified *file* for sequences of the form “@(#)” as inserted by the SCCS source code control system. It prints the remainder of the string following this marker, up to a NUL character, newline, double quote, ‘\>’ character, or backslash.

The following options are available:

- **-q**

  Only output the match text, rather than formatting it.

- **-s**

  Stop searching each file after the first match.

## EXIT STATUS

Exit status is 0 if any matches were found, otherwise 1.

## SEE ALSO

[ident(1)](/ident/1.md), [strings(1)](/strings/1.md)

## STANDARDS

The **what** utility conforms to IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 (“POSIX.1”). The **-q** option is a non-standard FreeBSD extension which may not be available on other operating systems.

## HISTORY

The **what** command appeared in 4.0BSD.

## BUGS

This is a rewrite of the SCCS command of the same name, and behavior may not be identical.