cal ‐ #systems #utilities - five4nets/Linux-Knowledgebase GitHub Wiki

Sure! Here's a complete Markdown tutorial for using the cal command in Linux:

📅 Linux `cal` Command Tutorial

The cal command is a simple yet handy utility that displays a calendar in the terminal. It's useful for quickly checking dates without launching a graphical calendar app.

🧰 Basic Syntax

cal [options] [[month] year]

month: (Optional) Month number (1–12)
year: (Optional) Four-digit year
options: Modify output (e.g., show full year, Julian format)

🔧 Common Options

Option	Description
`-y`	Show calendar for the current year
`-m`	Display a specific month of the current year
`-3`	Show previous, current, and next month
`-j`	Display Julian calendar (day-of-year format)
`-A n`	Show `n` months after the current month
`-B n`	Show `n` months before the current month
`-n`	Show calendar for the next `n` months
`-S`	Show calendar spanning the current date
`--monday`	Start the week on Monday instead of Sunday

🧪 Examples

1. Show the current month

cal

2. Show the full calendar for the current year

cal -y

3. Show a specific month and year (e.g., August 2025)

cal 8 2025

4. Show the calendar for a specific year

cal 2023

5. Show the previous, current, and next month

cal -3

6. Show the calendar in Julian format

cal -j

7. Show a specific month of the current year

cal -m 6

8. Show 2 months before and 2 months after the current month

cal -B 2 -A 2

🧠 Pro Tips

Use man cal to view the full manual.
Combine options for custom views, like:
```
cal -m 12 -y
```

📚 References

Happy calendaring! 🗓️


Let me know if you'd like this saved as a file or expanded with `ncal` examples too!