Q. For scripting and automation purpose I need the the content of a man-db database in a human readable format. How do I dump content of a man-db database in text format?
A. You need to use accessdb command, which will output the data contained within a man-db database in a human readable form. By default, it will dump the data from /var/cache/man/index.
Type the command as follows:
$ accessdb
Output:
$mtime$ -> "1157392570" $version$ -> "2.4.1" /etc/adduser.conf -> "- 5 5 1109918260 C adduser.conf - gz " /etc/deluser.conf -> "- 5 5 1109918260 C deluser.conf - gz " /etc/hosts.equiv -> "- 5 5 1097931920 C hosts.equiv - gz " /etc/login.defs -> "- 5 5 1116397991 C login.defs - gz " /etc/modules -> "- 5 5 1103452809 C modules - gz " /etc/network/interfaces -> "- 5 5 1115042953 C interfaces - gz "
Or dump output to a text file:
$ accessdb > /tmp/output.txt