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Why does it take so long for Ubuntu to say "command not found"

rated 0 times [ 34] [ 0] / answers: 1 / hits: 1614 / 3 Years ago, sun, october 24, 2021, 7:17:25

For some reason, with my setup, it can take Ubuntu several seconds to respond with "command not found" when I accidentally typo a command. Why does it take so long? Is there any way to shorten the period of time I have to wait?

I do have 13 directories in my PATH, but even so (most of them have just a few files in them), it shouldn't take several seconds to search 13 directories for a command right?

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aradxalte

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2 Years ago

answered 3 Years ago atereress · Accepted Answer

The shell does more than just looking in $PATH. If a command is not found, the bash function command_not_found_handle is executed which in its turn call the python script /usr/lib/command-not-found. This searches in the packages list for programs that should be installed for the command to work. In the case of a typo which you know how to solve, just press Ctrl + C to abort the search process.

Example of a useful message for a typo:

$ aptget update

No command 'aptget' found, did you mean:

 Command 'apt-get' from package 'apt' (main)

aptget: command not found

Example of a useful message for a missing package:

$ deja-dup

The program 'deja-dup' is currently not installed.  You can install it by typing:

sudo apt-get install deja-dup

See also the rationale behind this, https://wiki.ubuntu.com/CommandNotFoundMagic