BusyBox - The Swiss Army Knife of Embedded Linux
busybox <applet> [arguments...] # or
<applet> [arguments...] # if symlinked
BusyBox combines tiny versions of many common UNIX utilities into a single small executable. It provides minimalist replacements for most of the utilities you usually find in GNU coreutils, util-linux, etc. The utilities in BusyBox generally have fewer options than their full-featured GNU cousins; however, the options that are included provide the expected functionality and behave very much like their GNU counterparts.
BusyBox has been written with size-optimization and limited resources in mind. It is also extremely modular so you can easily include or exclude commands (or features) at compile time. This makes it easy to customize your embedded systems. To create a working system, just add /dev, /etc, and a Linux kernel. BusyBox provides a fairly complete POSIX environment for any small or embedded system.
BusyBox is extremely configurable. This allows you to include only the components you need, thereby reducing binary size. Run 'make config' or 'make menuconfig' to select the functionality that you wish to enable. Then run 'make' to compile BusyBox using your configuration.
After the compile has finished, you should use 'make install' to install BusyBox. This will install the 'bin/busybox' binary, in the target directory specified by CONFIG_PREFIX. CONFIG_PREFIX can be set when configuring BusyBox, or you can specify an alternative location at install time (i.e., with a command line like 'make CONFIG_PREFIX=/tmp/foo install'). If you enabled any applet installation scheme (either as symlinks or hardlinks), these will also be installed in the location pointed to by CONFIG_PREFIX.
BusyBox is a multi-call binary. A multi-call binary is an executable program that performs the same job as more than one utility program. That means there is just a single BusyBox binary, but that single binary acts like a large number of utilities. This allows BusyBox to be smaller since all the built-in utility programs (we call them applets) can share code for many common operations.
You can also invoke BusyBox by issuing a command as an argument on the command line. For example, entering
/bin/busybox ls
will also cause BusyBox to behave as 'ls'.
Of course, adding '/bin/busybox' into every command would be painful. So most people will invoke BusyBox using links to the BusyBox binary.
For example, entering
ln -s /bin/busybox ls ./ls
will cause BusyBox to behave as 'ls' (if the 'ls' command has been compiled into BusyBox). Generally speaking, you should never need to make all these links yourself, as the BusyBox build system will do this for you when you run the 'make install' command.
If you invoke BusyBox with no arguments, it will provide you with a list of the applets that have been compiled into your BusyBox binary.
Most BusyBox applets support the --help argument to provide a terse runtime description of their behavior. If the CONFIG_FEATURE_VERBOSE_USAGE option has been enabled, more detailed usage information will also be available.
Currently available applets include:
add-shell, arp, arping, ash, cat, chattr, chmod, date, depmod, df, dhcprelay, dmesg, dumpleases, echo, egrep, fgrep, find, fsck, getty, grep, halt, hush, ifconfig, init, insmod, kill, killall, klogd, linuxrc, logger, login, logread, ls, lsattr, lsmod, modinfo, modprobe, mount, msh, netstat, passwd, ping, poweroff, ps, reboot, rm, rmmod, route, sed, sh, sleep, syslogd, telnet, telnetd, tftp, tftpd, top, udhcpc, udhcpd, umount, vconfig, wget, xargs
add-shell SHELL...
Add SHELLs to /etc/shells
arp | |
[-vn] | [-H HWTYPE] [-i IF] -a [HOSTNAME] |
[-v] | [-i IF] -d HOSTNAME [pub] |
[-v] | [-H HWTYPE] [-i IF] -s HOSTNAME HWADDR [temp] |
[-v] | [-H HWTYPE] [-i IF] -s HOSTNAME HWADDR [netmask MASK] pub |
[-v] | [-H HWTYPE] [-i IF] -Ds HOSTNAME IFACE [netmask MASK] pub |
Manipulate ARP cache
-a Display (all) hosts -s Set new ARP entry -d Delete a specified entry -v Verbose -n Don't resolve names -i IF Network interface -D Read <hwaddr> from given device -A,-p AF Protocol family -H HWTYPE Hardware address type
arping [-fqbDUA] [-c CNT] [-w TIMEOUT] [-I IFACE] [-s SRC_IP] DST_IP
Send ARP requests/replies
-f Quit on first ARP reply -q Quiet -b Keep broadcasting, don't go unicast -D Duplicated address detection mode -U Unsolicited ARP mode, update your neighbors -A ARP answer mode, update your neighbors -c N Stop after sending N ARP requests -w TIMEOUT Time to wait for ARP reply, seconds -I IFACE Interface to use (default eth0) -s SRC_IP Sender IP address DST_IP Target IP address
ash [-/+OPTIONS] [-/+o OPT]... [-c 'SCRIPT' [ARG0 [ARGS]] / FILE [ARGS]]
Unix shell interpreter
cat [FILE]...
Concatenate FILEs and print them to stdout
chattr [-R] [-+=AacDdijsStTu] [-v VERSION] [FILE]...
Change file attributes on an ext2 fs
Modifiers:
- Remove attributes + Add attributes = Set attributes Attributes:
A Don't track atime a Append mode only c Enable compress D Write dir contents synchronously d Don't backup with dump i Cannot be modified (immutable) j Write all data to journal first s Zero disk storage when deleted S Write file contents synchronously t Disable tail-merging of partial blocks with other files u Allow file to be undeleted -R Recurse -v Set the file's version/generation number
chmod [-R] MODE[,MODE]... FILE...
Each MODE is one or more of the letters ugoa, one of the symbols +-= and one or more of the letters rwxst
-R Recurse
date [OPTIONS] [+FMT] [TIME]
Display time (using +FMT), or set time
[-s] TIME Set time to TIME -u Work in UTC (don't convert to local time) -R Output RFC-2822 compliant date string -r FILE Display last modification time of FILE -d TIME Display TIME, not 'now'
Recognized TIME formats:
hh:mm[:ss] [YYYY.]MM.DD-hh:mm[:ss] YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm[:ss] [[[[[YY]YY]MM]DD]hh]mm[.ss]
df [-Pk] [FILESYSTEM]...
Print filesystem usage statistics
-P POSIX output format -k 1024-byte blocks (default)
dhcprelay CLIENT_IFACE[,CLIENT_IFACE2]... SERVER_IFACE [SERVER_IP]
Relay DHCP requests between clients and server
dmesg [-c] [-n LEVEL] [-s SIZE]
Print or control the kernel ring buffer
-c Clear ring buffer after printing -n LEVEL Set console logging level -s SIZE Buffer size
dumpleases [-r|-a] [-f LEASEFILE]
Display DHCP leases granted by udhcpd
-f FILE Lease file -r Show remaining time -a Show expiration time
echo [ARG]...
Print the specified ARGs to stdout
find [PATH]... [OPTIONS] [ACTIONS]
Search for files and perform actions on them. First failed action stops processing of current file. Defaults: PATH is current directory, action is '-print'
-follow Follow symlinks -xdev Don't descend directories on other filesystems -maxdepth N Descend at most N levels. -maxdepth 0 applies actions to command line arguments only -mindepth N Don't act on first N levels -depth Act on directory *after* traversing it
Actions:
( ACTIONS ) Group actions for -o / -a ! ACT Invert ACT's success/failure ACT1 [-a] ACT2 If ACT1 fails, stop, else do ACT2 ACT1 -o ACT2 If ACT1 succeeds, stop, else do ACT2 Note: -a has higher priority than -o -name PATTERN Match file name (w/o directory name) to PATTERN -iname PATTERN Case insensitive -name -path PATTERN Match path to PATTERN -ipath PATTERN Case insensitive -path -regex PATTERN Match path to regex PATTERN -type X File type is X (one of: f,d,l,b,c,...) -perm MASK At least one mask bit (+MASK), all bits (-MASK), or exactly MASK bits are set in file's mode -mtime DAYS mtime is greater than (+N), less than (-N), or exactly N days in the past -mmin MINS mtime is greater than (+N), less than (-N), or exactly N minutes in the past -newer FILE mtime is more recent than FILE's -inum N File has inode number N -user NAME/ID File is owned by given user -group NAME/ID File is owned by given group -size N[bck] File size is N (c:bytes,k:kbytes,b:512 bytes(def.)) +/-N: file size is bigger/smaller than N -links N Number of links is greater than (+N), less than (-N), or exactly N -prune If current file is directory, don't descend into it If none of the following actions is specified, -print is assumed -print Print file name -print0 Print file name, NUL terminated -exec CMD ARG ; Run CMD with all instances of {} replaced by file name. Fails if CMD exits with nonzero -delete Delete current file/directory. Turns on -depth option
fsck [-ANPRTV] [-C FD] [-t FSTYPE] [FS_OPTS] [BLOCKDEV]...
Check and repair filesystems
-A Walk /etc/fstab and check all filesystems -N Don't execute, just show what would be done -P With -A, check filesystems in parallel -R With -A, skip the root filesystem -T Don't show title on startup -V Verbose -C n Write status information to specified filedescriptor -t TYPE List of filesystem types to check
getty [OPTIONS] BAUD_RATE[,BAUD_RATE]... TTY [TERMTYPE]
Open a tty, prompt for a login name, then invoke /bin/login
-h Enable hardware RTS/CTS flow control -L Set CLOCAL (ignore Carrier Detect state) -m Get baud rate from modem's CONNECT status message -n Don't prompt for login name -w Wait for CR or LF before sending /etc/issue -i Don't display /etc/issue -f ISSUE_FILE Display ISSUE_FILE instead of /etc/issue -l LOGIN Invoke LOGIN instead of /bin/login -t SEC Terminate after SEC if no login name is read -I INITSTR Send INITSTR before anything else -H HOST Log HOST into the utmp file as the hostname
BAUD_RATE of 0 leaves it unchanged
grep [-HhnlLoqvsriwFE] [-m N] [-A/B/C N] PATTERN/-e PATTERN.../-f FILE [FILE]...
Search for PATTERN in FILEs (or stdin)
-H Add 'filename:' prefix -h Do not add 'filename:' prefix -n Add 'line_no:' prefix -l Show only names of files that match -L Show only names of files that don't match -c Show only count of matching lines -o Show only the matching part of line -q Quiet. Return 0 if PATTERN is found, 1 otherwise -v Select non-matching lines -s Suppress open and read errors -r Recurse -i Ignore case -w Match whole words only -F PATTERN is a literal (not regexp) -E PATTERN is an extended regexp -m N Match up to N times per file -A N Print N lines of trailing context -B N Print N lines of leading context -C N Same as '-A N -B N' -e PTRN Pattern to match -f FILE Read pattern from file
halt [-d DELAY] [-n] [-f]
Halt the system
-d SEC Delay interval -n Do not sync -f Force (don't go through init)
hush [-nxl] [-c 'SCRIPT' [ARG0 [ARGS]] / FILE [ARGS]]
Unix shell interpreter
ifconfig [-a] interface [address]
Configure a network interface
[add ADDRESS[/PREFIXLEN]] [del ADDRESS[/PREFIXLEN]] [[-]broadcast [ADDRESS]] [[-]pointopoint [ADDRESS]] [netmask ADDRESS] [dstaddr ADDRESS] [outfill NN] [keepalive NN] [hw ether|infiniband ADDRESS] [metric NN] [mtu NN] [[-]trailers] [[-]arp] [[-]allmulti] [multicast] [[-]promisc] [txqueuelen NN] [[-]dynamic] [mem_start NN] [io_addr NN] [irq NN] [up|down] ...
init
Init is the parent of all processes
insmod FILE [SYMBOL=VALUE]...
Load the specified kernel modules into the kernel
kill [-l] [-SIG] PID...
Send a signal (default: TERM) to given PIDs
-l List all signal names and numbers
killall [-l] [-q] [-SIG] PROCESS_NAME...
Send a signal (default: TERM) to given processes
-l List all signal names and numbers -q Don't complain if no processes were killed
klogd [-c N] [-n]
Kernel logger
-c N Print to console messages more urgent than prio N (1-8) -n Run in foreground
logger [OPTIONS] [MESSAGE]
Write MESSAGE (or stdin) to syslog
-s Log to stderr as well as the system log -t TAG Log using the specified tag (defaults to user name) -p PRIO Priority (numeric or facility.level pair)
login [-p] [-h HOST] [[-f] USER]
Begin a new session on the system
-f Don't authenticate (user already authenticated) -h Name of the remote host -p Preserve environment
logread [-f]
Show messages in syslogd's circular buffer
-f Output data as log grows
ls [-1AaCxdLHlinserSXvctu] [-w WIDTH] [FILE]...
List directory contents
-1 One column output -a Include entries which start with . -A Like -a, but exclude . and .. -C List by columns -x List by lines -d List directory entries instead of contents -L Follow symlinks -H Follow symlinks on command line -l Long listing format -i List inode numbers -n List numeric UIDs and GIDs instead of names -s List allocated blocks -e List full date and time -r Sort in reverse order -S Sort by size -X Sort by extension -v Sort by version -c With -l: sort by ctime -t With -l: sort by mtime -u With -l: sort by atime -w N Assume the terminal is N columns wide
lsattr [-Radlv] [FILE]...
List file attributes on an ext2 fs
-R Recurse -a Don't hide entries starting with . -d List directory entries instead of contents -l List long flag names -v List the file's version/generation number
lsmod
List the currently loaded kernel modules
modinfo [-adlp0] [-F keyword] MODULE
-a Shortcut for '-F author' -d Shortcut for '-F description' -l Shortcut for '-F license' -p Shortcut for '-F parm' -F keyword Keyword to look for -0 Separate output with NULs
modprobe [-alrqvsDb] MODULE [symbol=value]...
-a Load multiple MODULEs -l List (MODULE is a pattern) -r Remove MODULE (stacks) or do autoclean -q Quiet -v Verbose -s Log to syslog -D Show dependencies -b Apply blacklist to module names too
mount [OPTIONS] [-o OPTS] DEVICE NODE
Mount a filesystem. Filesystem autodetection requires /proc.
-a Mount all filesystems in fstab -r Read-only mount -w Read-write mount (default) -t FSTYPE Filesystem type -O OPT Mount only filesystems with option OPT (-a only) -o OPT: remount Remount a mounted filesystem, changing flags ro/rw Same as -r/-w
There are filesystem-specific -o flags.
msh [-nxl] [-c 'SCRIPT' [ARG0 [ARGS]] / FILE [ARGS]]
Unix shell interpreter
netstat [-ral] [-tuwx] [-enWp]
Display networking information
-r Routing table -a All sockets -l Listening sockets Else: connected sockets -t TCP sockets -u UDP sockets -w Raw sockets -x Unix sockets Else: all socket types -e Other/more information -n Don't resolve names -W Wide display -p Show PID/program name for sockets
passwd [OPTIONS] [USER]
Change USER's password (default: current user)
-a ALG Encryption method -d Set password to '' -l Lock (disable) account -u Unlock (enable) account
ping [OPTIONS] HOST
Send ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets to network hosts
-4,-6 Force IP or IPv6 name resolution -c CNT Send only CNT pings -s SIZE Send SIZE data bytes in packets (default:56) -t TTL Set TTL -I IFACE/IP Use interface or IP address as source -W SEC Seconds to wait for the first response (default:10) (after all -c CNT packets are sent) -w SEC Seconds until ping exits (default:infinite) (can exit earlier with -c CNT) -q Quiet, only displays output at start and when finished
poweroff [-d DELAY] [-n] [-f]
Halt and shut off power
-d SEC Delay interval -n Do not sync -f Force (don't go through init)
ps
Show list of processes
w Wide output
reboot [-d DELAY] [-n] [-f]
Reboot the system
-d SEC Delay interval -n Do not sync -f Force (don't go through init)
rm [-irf] FILE...
Remove (unlink) FILEs
-i Always prompt before removing -f Never prompt -R,-r Recurse
rmmod [-wfa] [MODULE]...
Unload kernel modules
-w Wait until the module is no longer used -f Force unload -a Remove all unused modules (recursively)
route [{add|del|delete}]
Edit kernel routing tables
-n Don't resolve names -e Display other/more information -A inet{6} Select address family
sed [-efinr] SED_CMD [FILE]...
-e CMD Add CMD to sed commands to be executed -f FILE Add FILE contents to sed commands to be executed -i Edit files in-place (else sends result to stdout) -n Suppress automatic printing of pattern space -r Use extended regex syntax
If no -e or -f, the first non-option argument is the sed command string. Remaining arguments are input files (stdin if none).
sh [-/+OPTIONS] [-/+o OPT]... [-c 'SCRIPT' [ARG0 [ARGS]] / FILE [ARGS]]
Unix shell interpreter
sleep N
Pause for N seconds
syslogd [OPTIONS]
System logging utility (this version of syslogd ignores /etc/syslog.conf)
-n Run in foreground -O FILE Log to FILE (default:/var/log/messages) -l N Log only messages more urgent than prio N (1-8) -S Smaller output -R HOST[:PORT] Log to IP or hostname on PORT (default PORT=514/UDP) -L Log locally and via network (default is network only if -R) -C[size_kb] Log to shared mem buffer (use logread to read it)
telnet [-a] [-l USER] HOST [PORT]
Connect to telnet server
-a Automatic login with $USER variable -l USER Automatic login as USER
telnetd [OPTIONS]
Handle incoming telnet connections
-l LOGIN Exec LOGIN on connect -f ISSUE_FILE Display ISSUE_FILE instead of /etc/issue -K Close connection as soon as login exits (normally wait until all programs close slave pty) -p PORT Port to listen on -b ADDR[:PORT] Address to bind to -F Run in foreground -i Inetd mode -w SEC Inetd 'wait' mode, linger time SEC -S Log to syslog (implied by -i or without -F and -w)
tftp [OPTIONS] HOST [PORT]
Transfer a file from/to tftp server
-l FILE Local FILE -r FILE Remote FILE -g Get file -p Put file -b SIZE Transfer blocks of SIZE octets
tftpd [-cr] [-u USER] [DIR]
Transfer a file on tftp client's request
tftpd should be used as an inetd service. tftpd's line for inetd.conf: 69 dgram udp nowait root tftpd tftpd -l /files/to/serve It also can be ran from udpsvd:
udpsvd -vE 0.0.0.0 69 tftpd /files/to/serve
-r Prohibit upload -c Allow file creation via upload -u Access files as USER -l Log to syslog (inetd mode requires this)
top [-b] [-nCOUNT] [-dSECONDS] [-m]
Provide a view of process activity in real time. Read the status of all processes from /proc each SECONDS and display a screenful of them. Keys:
N/M/P/T: show CPU usage, sort by pid/mem/cpu/time S: show memory R: reverse sort 1: toggle SMP Q,^C: exit
Options:
-b Batch mode -n N Exit after N iterations -d N Delay between updates -m Same as 's' key
udhcpc [-fbnqvoCRB] [-i IFACE] [-r IP] [-s PROG] [-p PIDFILE] | |
[-H HOSTNAME] [-V VENDOR] [-x OPT:VAL]... [-O OPT]... |
-i IFACE Interface to use (default eth0) -p FILE Create pidfile -s PROG Run PROG at DHCP events (default /usr/share/udhcpc/default.script) -B Request broadcast replies -t N Send up to N discover packets -T N Pause between packets (default 3 seconds) -A N Wait N seconds (default 20) after failure -f Run in foreground -b Background if lease is not obtained -n Exit if lease is not obtained -q Exit after obtaining lease -R Release IP on exit -S Log to syslog too -a Use arping to validate offered address -O OPT Request option OPT from server (cumulative) -o Don't request any options (unless -O is given) -r IP Request this IP address -x OPT:VAL Include option OPT in sent packets (cumulative) Examples of string, numeric, and hex byte opts: -x hostname:bbox - option 12 -x lease:3600 - option 51 (lease time) -x 0x3d:0100BEEFC0FFEE - option 61 (client id) -F NAME Ask server to update DNS mapping for NAME -H,-h NAME Send NAME as client hostname (default none) -V VENDOR Vendor identifier (default 'udhcp VERSION') -C Don't send MAC as client identifier -v Verbose Signals:
USR1 Renew current lease USR2 Release current lease
udhcpd [-fS] [CONFFILE]
DHCP server
-f Run in foreground -S Log to syslog too
umount [OPTIONS] FILESYSTEM|DIRECTORY
Unmount file systems
-a Unmount all file systems -r Try to remount devices as read-only if mount is busy -l Lazy umount (detach filesystem) -f Force umount (i.e., unreachable NFS server)
vconfig COMMAND [OPTIONS]
Create and remove virtual ethernet devices
add [interface-name] [vlan_id] rem [vlan-name] set_flag [interface-name] [flag-num] [0 | 1] set_egress_map [vlan-name] [skb_priority] [vlan_qos] set_ingress_map [vlan-name] [skb_priority] [vlan_qos] set_name_type [name-type]
wget [-csq] [-O FILE] [-Y on/off] [-P DIR] [-U AGENT] [-T SEC] URL...
Retrieve files via HTTP or FTP
-s Spider mode - only check file existence -c Continue retrieval of aborted transfer -q Quiet -P DIR Save to DIR (default .) -T SEC Network read timeout is SEC seconds -O FILE Save to FILE ('-' for stdout) -U STR Use STR for User-Agent header -Y Use proxy ('on' or 'off')
xargs [OPTIONS] [PROG ARGS]
Run PROG on every item given by stdin
-p Ask user whether to run each command -r Don't run command if input is empty -0 Input is separated by NUL characters -t Print the command on stderr before execution -e[STR] STR stops input processing -n N Pass no more than N args to PROG -s N Pass command line of no more than N bytes -x Exit if size is exceeded
GNU Libc (glibc) uses the Name Service Switch (NSS) to configure the behavior of the C library for the local environment, and to configure how it reads system data, such as passwords and group information. This is implemented using an /etc/nsswitch.conf configuration file, and using one or more of the /lib/libnss_* libraries. BusyBox tries to avoid using any libc calls that make use of NSS. Some applets however, such as login and su, will use libc functions that require NSS.
If you enable CONFIG_USE_BB_PWD_GRP, BusyBox will use internal functions to directly access the /etc/passwd, /etc/group, and /etc/shadow files without using NSS. This may allow you to run your system without the need for installing any of the NSS configuration files and libraries.
When used with glibc, the BusyBox 'networking' applets will similarly require that you install at least some of the glibc NSS stuff (in particular, /etc/nsswitch.conf, /lib/libnss_dns*, /lib/libnss_files*, and /lib/libresolv*).
Shameless Plug: As an alternative, one could use a C library such as uClibc. In addition to making your system significantly smaller, uClibc does not require the use of any NSS support files or libraries.
Denis Vlasenko <vda.linux@googlemail.com>
The following people have contributed code to BusyBox whether they know it or not. If you have written code included in BusyBox, you should probably be listed here so you can obtain your bit of eternal glory. If you should be listed here, or the description of what you have done needs more detail, or is incorrect, please send in an update.
Emanuele Aina <emanuele.aina@tiscali.it> run-parts
Erik Andersen <andersen@codepoet.org>
Tons of new stuff, major rewrite of most of the core apps, tons of new apps as noted in header files. Lots of tedious effort writing these boring docs that nobody is going to actually read.
Laurence Anderson <l.d.anderson@warwick.ac.uk>
rpm2cpio, unzip, get_header_cpio, read_gz interface, rpm
Jeff Angielski <jeff@theptrgroup.com>
ftpput, ftpget
Edward Betts <edward@debian.org>
expr, hostid, logname, whoami
John Beppu <beppu@codepoet.org>
du, nslookup, sort
Brian Candler <B.Candler@pobox.com>
tiny-ls(ls)
Randolph Chung <tausq@debian.org>
fbset, ping, hostname
Dave Cinege <dcinege@psychosis.com>
more(v2), makedevs, dutmp, modularization, auto links file, various fixes, Linux Router Project maintenance
Jordan Crouse <jordan@cosmicpenguin.net>
ipcalc
Magnus Damm <damm@opensource.se>
tftp client insmod powerpc support
Larry Doolittle <ldoolitt@recycle.lbl.gov>
pristine source directory compilation, lots of patches and fixes.
Glenn Engel <glenne@engel.org>
httpd
Gennady Feldman <gfeldman@gena01.com>
Sysklogd (single threaded syslogd, IPC Circular buffer support, logread), various fixes.
Karl M. Hegbloom <karlheg@debian.org>
cp_mv.c, the test suite, various fixes to utility.c, &c.
Daniel Jacobowitz <dan@debian.org>
mktemp.c
Matt Kraai <kraai@alumni.cmu.edu>
documentation, bugfixes, test suite
Stephan Linz <linz@li-pro.net>
ipcalc, Red Hat equivalence
John Lombardo <john@deltanet.com>
tr
Glenn McGrath <bug1@iinet.net.au>
Common unarchiving code and unarchiving applets, ifupdown, ftpgetput, nameif, sed, patch, fold, install, uudecode. Various bugfixes, review and apply numerous patches.
Manuel Novoa III <mjn3@codepoet.org>
cat, head, mkfifo, mknod, rmdir, sleep, tee, tty, uniq, usleep, wc, yes, mesg, vconfig, make_directory, parse_mode, dirname, mode_string, get_last_path_component, simplify_path, and a number trivial libbb routines
also bug fixes, partial rewrites, and size optimizations in ash, basename, cal, cmp, cp, df, du, echo, env, ln, logname, md5sum, mkdir, mv, realpath, rm, sort, tail, touch, uname, watch, arith, human_readable, interface, dutmp, ifconfig, route
Vladimir Oleynik <dzo@simtreas.ru>
cmdedit; xargs(current), httpd(current); ports: ash, crond, fdisk, inetd, stty, traceroute, top; locale, various fixes and irreconcilable critic of everything not perfect.
Bruce Perens <bruce@pixar.com>
Original author of BusyBox in 1995, 1996. Some of his code can still be found hiding here and there...
Tim Riker <Tim@Rikers.org>
bug fixes, member of fan club
Kent Robotti <robotti@metconnect.com>
reset, tons and tons of bug reports and patches.
Chip Rosenthal <chip@unicom.com>, <crosenth@covad.com>
wget - Contributed by permission of Covad Communications
Pavel Roskin <proski@gnu.org>
Lots of bugs fixes and patches.
Gyepi Sam <gyepi@praxis-sw.com>
Remote logging feature for syslogd
Linus Torvalds <torvalds@transmeta.com>
mkswap, fsck.minix, mkfs.minix
Mark Whitley <markw@codepoet.org>
grep, sed, cut, xargs(previous), style-guide, new-applet-HOWTO, bug fixes, etc.
Charles P. Wright <cpwright@villagenet.com>
gzip, mini-netcat(nc)
Enrique Zanardi <ezanardi@ull.es>
tarcat (since removed), loadkmap, various fixes, Debian maintenance
Tito Ragusa <farmatito@tiscali.it>
devfsd and size optimizations in strings, openvt and deallocvt.
Paul Fox <pgf@foxharp.boston.ma.us>
vi editing mode for ash, various other patches/fixes
Roberto A. Foglietta <me@roberto.foglietta.name>
port: dnsd
Bernhard Reutner-Fischer <rep.dot.nop@gmail.com>
misc
Mike Frysinger <vapier@gentoo.org>
initial e2fsprogs, printenv, setarch, sum, misc
Jie Zhang <jie.zhang@analog.com>
fixed two bugs in msh and hush (exitcode of killed processes)