From 9a8a226e39b6b5421f7d4befebc14f5e2e0bbe24 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Jesse Rosenstock Date: Sat, 6 Jun 2026 15:32:02 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] xargs: clarify -x and -t help text The previous text implied -x only interacts with -L/-n and used imprecise phrasing. The new text mirrors the POSIX spec: terminate when a constructed command line would exceed the size limit rather than reducing the argument count. Clarify that -t prints each command to stderr, rather than just "be verbose". --- src/xargs/mod.rs | 6 +++--- 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) diff --git a/src/xargs/mod.rs b/src/xargs/mod.rs index 19c2de67..4172eb28 100644 --- a/src/xargs/mod.rs +++ b/src/xargs/mod.rs @@ -918,8 +918,8 @@ fn do_xargs(args: &[&str]) -> Result { .short('x') .long(options::EXIT) .help( - "Exit if the number of arguments allowed by -L or -n do not \ - fit into the number of allowed characters", + "Terminate if a constructed command line would exceed the size \ + limit (see -s) rather than reducing the argument count", ) .action(ArgAction::SetTrue), ) @@ -989,7 +989,7 @@ fn do_xargs(args: &[&str]) -> Result { Arg::new(options::VERBOSE) .short('t') .long(options::VERBOSE) - .help("Be verbose") + .help("Print each command to stderr before executing it") .action(ArgAction::SetTrue), ) .arg(