Get Help About Commands

The CLI provides context-sensitive help at every level of the command hierarchy. The help information tells you which commands are available at the current level in the hierarchy and provides a brief description of each.

To get help while in the CLI, type ?. You do not need to press Enter after typing the question mark.

• If you type the question mark at the command-line prompt, the CLI lists the available commands and options.
• If you type the question mark after entering the complete name of a command or command option, the CLI lists the available commands and options, then redisplays the command names and options that you typed.
• If you type the question mark in the middle of a command name, the CLI lists possible command completions that match the letters you have entered so far, then redisplays the letters that you typed.

Examples: Get Help About Commands

List all available commands at the top level of the CLI's operational mode:

 user@host> ?
 Possible completions:
   clear                            Clear information in the system
   configure                            Manipulate software configuration information
   file                            Perform file operations
   help                            Provide help information
   monitor                            Real-time debugging
   ping                            Ping a remote target
   quit                            Exit the management session
   request                            Make system-level requests
   restart                            Restart a software process
   set                            Set CLI properties, date, time, craft display text
   show                            Show information about the system
   ssh                            Open a secure shell to another host
   start                            Start a software process
   telnet                            Telnet to another host
   test                            Diagnostic debugging commands
   traceroute                            Trace the route to a remote host
 user@host>
 

List all commands that start with the letter c:

 user@host> c?
 Possible completions:
   clear                            Clear information in the system
   configure                            Manipulate software configuration information
 user@host> c
 

List all available clear commands:

 user@host> clear ? 
 Possible completions:
   arp                        Clear address-resolution information
   bgp                        Clear BGP information
   chassis                        Clear chassis information
   firewall                        Clear firewall counters
   igmp                        Clear IGMP information
   interfaces                        Clear interface information
   isis                        Clear IS-IS information
   ldp                        Clear LDP information
   log                        Clear contents of a log file
   mpls                        Clear MPLS information
   msdp                        Clear MSDP information
   multicast                        Clear Multicast information
   ospf                        Clear OSPF information
   pim                        Clear PIM information
   rip                        Clear RIP information
   route                        Clear routing table information
   rsvp                        Clear RSVP information
   snmp                        Clear SNMP information
   system                        Clear system status
   vrrp                        Clear VRRP statistics information
 user@host> clear