uutils/coreutils

missing "Usage:" in true/false

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#10279 opened on Jan 17, 2026

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U - falseU - truegood first issuereported-launchpad

Description

it should start with Usage:

Reported here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/rust-coreutils/+bug/2137580

$ LANG=C cargo run -q --features unix false --help|head -1
Returns false, an unsuccessful exit status.

with GNU:

LANG=C /usr/bin/false --help|head -1
Usage: /usr/bin/false [ignored command line arguments]

same for true

Contributor guide

Tech stack
rust
Domain
cli
Issue type
bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
1
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
under 1 hour
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
fresh
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
basic Rust
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
90
Research direction
The issue is to add 'Usage:' prefix to the help output of `true` and `false` commands, matching GNU behavior. The relevant files are likely `src/uu/true/src/true.rs` and `src/uu/false/src/false.rs`. Modify the help string or the clap configuration to include 'Usage: ...' as shown in the GNU output. Check the clap derive macros or manual help implementations in these files. No linked PRs yet, so the fix is straightforward.