GTK# + .NET 8

GMan is a fast, focused man page viewer for Linux.

Search programs, highlight results, and fall back to --help when no man page exists. Built for GNOME-friendly workflows and keyboard-first use. Download the source code from github below to download the latest release. See installation instructions for details on building and running GMan on your system.

Download View usage
Context-aware search Filters list or searches page based on state
Help fallback Shows program --help with warning banner
CLI friendly Open program and search from terminal
GMan screenshot showing search and highlight features

Designed for speed, built for clarity

Everything you need for deep man page browsing without leaving your desktop workflow.

Live program filtering

Type to filter the full program list in real time when no page is loaded.

Search and highlight

Find every match inside the man page with yellow highlight and auto scroll.

Smart mode switching

The search box changes behavior automatically based on what is loaded.

Help fallback

If a man page is missing, GMan runs program --help.

CLI arguments

Open a program and auto-search with -s or --search.

Readable output

Word-wrapped text, scrollable view, and status updates for results.

Installation

Choose your distro and get going in minutes.

Ubuntu / Debian

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y dotnet-sdk-8.0 libgtk-3-0 libgtk-3-dev man

# Build
cd gman

dotnet build -c Release
./bin/Release/net8.0/gman

Fedora / RHEL

sudo dnf update
sudo dnf install -y dotnet-sdk-8.0 gtk3 gtk3-devel man

# Build
cd gman

dotnet build -c Release
./bin/Release/net8.0/gman

Arch

sudo pacman -S dotnet-sdk gtk3 man

# Build
cd gman

dotnet build -c Release
./bin/Release/net8.0/gman

Usage

Launch with no arguments or open a program with an auto search.

GUI mode

gman

gman ls

gman ls -s malloc

Command-line arguments

gman [program-name] [-s|--search search-term]

Search only applies when a program name is provided.

Examples

gman grep

gman grep --search "pattern"

gman gcc -s "optimization"

Changelog

Recent releases and highlights.

v0.3

Search and highlight

  • Added search highlighting within man pages.
  • Help fallback for missing man pages with warning banner.
  • CLI argument parsing for auto search.
Released 2026-02-08 14:18
v0.2

About dialog

  • Added an about button and dialog.
  • Single click opens documentation in viewer.
Released 2026-02-07 10:32
v0.1

First release

  • Initial public release.
Released 2026-02-06 12:23

Requirements

Built for Linux/X11 and GTK 3.

Runtime

.NET 8 LTS or later

UI

GTK+ 3.0 libraries

System

Linux with the man utility