(zsh.info.gz) Description of Options
Info Catalog
(zsh.info.gz) Specifying Options
(zsh.info.gz) Options
(zsh.info.gz) Option Aliases
16.2 Description of Options
===========================
In the following list, options set by default in all emulations are
marked <D>; those set by default only in csh, ksh, sh, or zsh emulations
are marked <C>, <K>, <S>, <Z> as appropriate. When listing options (by
'setopt', 'unsetopt', 'set -o' or 'set +o'), those turned on by default
appear in the list prefixed with 'no'. Hence (unless KSH_OPTION_PRINT
is set), 'setopt' shows all options whose settings are changed from the
default.
16.2.1 Changing Directories
---------------------------
AUTO_CD (-J)
If a command is issued that can't be executed as a normal command,
and the command is the name of a directory, perform the cd command
to that directory.
AUTO_PUSHD (-N)
Make cd push the old directory onto the directory stack.
CDABLE_VARS (-T)
If the argument to a cd command (or an implied cd with the AUTO_CD
option set) is not a directory, and does not begin with a slash,
try to expand the expression as if it were preceded by a '~' (see
Filename Expansion).
CHASE_DOTS
When changing to a directory containing a path segment '..' which
would otherwise be treated as canceling the previous segment in the
path (in other words, 'foo/..' would be removed from the path, or
if '..' is the first part of the path, the last part of the current
working directory would be removed), instead resolve the path to
the physical directory. This option is overridden by CHASE_LINKS.
For example, suppose /foo/bar is a link to the directory /alt/rod.
Without this option set, 'cd /foo/bar/..' changes to /foo; with it
set, it changes to /alt. The same applies if the current directory
is /foo/bar and 'cd ..' is used. Note that all other symbolic
links in the path will also be resolved.
CHASE_LINKS (-w)
Resolve symbolic links to their true values when changing
directory. This also has the effect of CHASE_DOTS, i.e. a '..'
path segment will be treated as referring to the physical parent,
even if the preceding path segment is a symbolic link.
POSIX_CD
Modifies the behaviour of cd, chdir and pushd commands to make them
more compatible with the POSIX standard. The behaviour with the
option unset is described in the documentation for the cd builtin
in Shell Builtin Commands. If the option is set, the shell
does not test for directories beneath the local directory ('.')
until after all directories in cdpath have been tested.
Also, if the option is set, the conditions under which the shell
prints the new directory after changing to it are modified. It is
no longer restricted to interactive shells (although printing of
the directory stack with pushd is still limited to interactive
shells); and any use of a component of CDPATH, including a '.' but
excluding an empty component that is otherwise treated as '.',
causes the directory to be printed.
PUSHD_IGNORE_DUPS
Don't push multiple copies of the same directory onto the directory
stack.
PUSHD_MINUS
Exchanges the meanings of '+' and '-' when used with a number to
specify a directory in the stack.
PUSHD_SILENT (-E)
Do not print the directory stack after pushd or popd.
PUSHD_TO_HOME (-D)
Have pushd with no arguments act like 'pushd $HOME'.
16.2.2 Completion
-----------------
ALWAYS_LAST_PROMPT <D>
If unset, key functions that list completions try to return to the
last prompt if given a numeric argument. If set these functions
try to return to the last prompt if given _no_ numeric argument.
ALWAYS_TO_END
If a completion is performed with the cursor within a word, and a
full completion is inserted, the cursor is moved to the end of the
word. That is, the cursor is moved to the end of the word if
either a single match is inserted or menu completion is performed.
AUTO_LIST (-9) <D>
Automatically list choices on an ambiguous completion.
AUTO_MENU <D>
Automatically use menu completion after the second consecutive
request for completion, for example by pressing the tab key
repeatedly. This option is overridden by MENU_COMPLETE.
AUTO_NAME_DIRS
Any parameter that is set to the absolute name of a directory
immediately becomes a name for that directory, that will be used by
the '%~' and related prompt sequences, and will be available when
completion is performed on a word starting with '~'. (Otherwise,
the parameter must be used in the form '~PARAM' first.)
AUTO_PARAM_KEYS <D>
If a parameter name was completed and a following character
(normally a space) automatically inserted, and the next character
typed is one of those that have to come directly after the name
(like '}', ':', etc.), the automatically added character is
deleted, so that the character typed comes immediately after the
parameter name. Completion in a brace expansion is affected
similarly: the added character is a ',', which will be removed if
'}' is typed next.
AUTO_PARAM_SLASH <D>
If a parameter is completed whose content is the name of a
directory, then add a trailing slash instead of a space.
AUTO_REMOVE_SLASH <D>
When the last character resulting from a completion is a slash and
the next character typed is a word delimiter, a slash, or a
character that ends a command (such as a semicolon or an
ampersand), remove the slash.
BASH_AUTO_LIST
On an ambiguous completion, automatically list choices when the
completion function is called twice in succession. This takes
precedence over AUTO_LIST. The setting of LIST_AMBIGUOUS is
respected. If AUTO_MENU is set, the menu behaviour will then start
with the third press. Note that this will not work with
MENU_COMPLETE, since repeated completion calls immediately cycle
through the list in that case.
COMPLETE_ALIASES
Prevents aliases on the command line from being internally
substituted before completion is attempted. The effect is to make
the alias a distinct command for completion purposes.
COMPLETE_IN_WORD
If unset, the cursor is set to the end of the word if completion is
started. Otherwise it stays there and completion is done from both
ends.
GLOB_COMPLETE
When the current word has a glob pattern, do not insert all the
words resulting from the expansion but generate matches as for
completion and cycle through them like MENU_COMPLETE. The matches
are generated as if a '*' was added to the end of the word, or
inserted at the cursor when COMPLETE_IN_WORD is set. This actually
uses pattern matching, not globbing, so it works not only for files
but for any completion, such as options, user names, etc.
Note that when the pattern matcher is used, matching control (for
example, case-insensitive or anchored matching) cannot be used.
This limitation only applies when the current word contains a
pattern; simply turning on the GLOB_COMPLETE option does not have
this effect.
HASH_LIST_ALL <D>
Whenever a command completion or spelling correction is attempted,
make sure the entire command path is hashed first. This makes the
first completion slower but avoids false reports of spelling
errors.
LIST_AMBIGUOUS <D>
This option works when AUTO_LIST or BASH_AUTO_LIST is also set. If
there is an unambiguous prefix to insert on the command line, that
is done without a completion list being displayed; in other words,
auto-listing behaviour only takes place when nothing would be
inserted. In the case of BASH_AUTO_LIST, this means that the list
will be delayed to the third call of the function.
LIST_BEEP <D>
Beep on an ambiguous completion. More accurately, this forces the
completion widgets to return status 1 on an ambiguous completion,
which causes the shell to beep if the option BEEP is also set; this
may be modified if completion is called from a user-defined widget.
LIST_PACKED
Try to make the completion list smaller (occupying less lines) by
printing the matches in columns with different widths.
LIST_ROWS_FIRST
Lay out the matches in completion lists sorted horizontally, that
is, the second match is to the right of the first one, not under it
as usual.
LIST_TYPES (-X) <D>
When listing files that are possible completions, show the type of
each file with a trailing identifying mark.
MENU_COMPLETE (-Y)
On an ambiguous completion, instead of listing possibilities or
beeping, insert the first match immediately. Then when completion
is requested again, remove the first match and insert the second
match, etc. When there are no more matches, go back to the first
one again. reverse-menu-complete may be used to loop through the
list in the other direction. This option overrides AUTO_MENU.
REC_EXACT (-S)
In completion, recognize exact matches even if they are ambiguous.
16.2.3 Expansion and Globbing
-----------------------------
BAD_PATTERN (+2) <C> <Z>
If a pattern for filename generation is badly formed, print an
error message. (If this option is unset, the pattern will be left
unchanged.)
BARE_GLOB_QUAL <Z>
In a glob pattern, treat a trailing set of parentheses as a
qualifier list, if it contains no '|', '(' or (if special) '~'
characters. See Filename Generation.
BRACE_CCL
Expand expressions in braces which would not otherwise undergo
brace expansion to a lexically ordered list of all the characters.
See Brace Expansion.
CASE_GLOB <D>
Make globbing (filename generation) sensitive to case. Note that
other uses of patterns are always sensitive to case. If the option
is unset, the presence of any character which is special to
filename generation will cause case-insensitive matching. For
example, cvs(/) can match the directory CVS owing to the presence
of the globbing flag (unless the option BARE_GLOB_QUAL is unset).
CASE_MATCH <D>
Make regular expressions using the zsh/regex module (including
matches with =~) sensitive to case.
CSH_NULL_GLOB <C>
If a pattern for filename generation has no matches, delete the
pattern from the argument list; do not report an error unless all
the patterns in a command have no matches. Overrides NOMATCH.
EQUALS <Z>
Perform = filename expansion. (See Filename Expansion.)
EXTENDED_GLOB
Treat the '#', '~' and '^' characters as part of patterns for
filename generation, etc. (An initial unquoted '~' always produces
named directory expansion.)
GLOB (+F, ksh: +f) <D>
Perform filename generation (globbing). (See Filename
Generation.)
GLOB_ASSIGN <C>
If this option is set, filename generation (globbing) is performed
on the right hand side of scalar parameter assignments of the form
'NAME=PATTERN (e.g. 'foo=*'). If the result has more than one
word the parameter will become an array with those words as
arguments. This option is provided for backwards compatibility
only: globbing is always performed on the right hand side of array
assignments of the form 'NAME=(VALUE)' (e.g. 'foo=(*)') and this
form is recommended for clarity; with this option set, it is not
possible to predict whether the result will be an array or a
scalar.
GLOB_DOTS (-4)
Do not require a leading '.' in a filename to be matched
explicitly.
GLOB_SUBST <C> <K> <S>
Treat any characters resulting from parameter expansion as being
eligible for file expansion and filename generation, and any
characters resulting from command substitution as being eligible
for filename generation. Braces (and commas in between) do not
become eligible for expansion.
HIST_SUBST_PATTERN
Substitutions using the :s and :& history modifiers are performed
with pattern matching instead of string matching. This occurs
wherever history modifiers are valid, including glob qualifiers and
parameters. See Modifiers.
IGNORE_BRACES (-I) <S>
Do not perform brace expansion. For historical reasons this also
includes the effect of the IGNORE_CLOSE_BRACES option.
IGNORE_CLOSE_BRACES
When neither this option nor IGNORE_BRACES is set, a sole close
brace character '}' is syntactically significant at any point on a
command line. This has the effect that no semicolon or newline is
necessary before the brace terminating a function or current shell
construct. When either option is set, a closing brace is
syntactically significant only in command position. Unlike
IGNORE_BRACES, this option does not disable brace expansion.
For example, with both options unset a function may be defined in
the following fashion:
args() { echo $# }
while if either option is set, this does not work and something
equivalent to the following is required:
args() { echo $#; }
KSH_GLOB <K>
In pattern matching, the interpretation of parentheses is affected
by a preceding '@', '*', '+', '?' or '!'. See Filename
Generation.
MAGIC_EQUAL_SUBST
All unquoted arguments of the form 'ANYTHING=EXPRESSION' appearing
after the command name have filename expansion (that is, where
EXPRESSION has a leading '~' or '=') performed on EXPRESSION as if
it were a parameter assignment. The argument is not otherwise
treated specially; it is passed to the command as a single
argument, and not used as an actual parameter assignment. For
example, in echo foo=~/bar:~/rod, both occurrences of ~ would be
replaced. Note that this happens anyway with typeset and similar
statements.
This option respects the setting of the KSH_TYPESET option. In
other words, if both options are in effect, arguments looking like
assignments will not undergo word splitting.
MARK_DIRS (-8, ksh: -X)
Append a trailing '/' to all directory names resulting from
filename generation (globbing).
MULTIBYTE <C> <K> <Z>
Respect multibyte characters when found in strings. When this
option is set, strings are examined using the system library to
determine how many bytes form a character, depending on the current
locale. This affects the way characters are counted in pattern
matching, parameter values and various delimiters.
The option is on by default if the shell was compiled with
MULTIBYTE_SUPPORT except in sh emulation; otherwise it is off by
default and has no effect if turned on. The mode is off in sh
emulation for compatibility but for interactive use may need to be
turned on if the terminal interprets multibyte characters.
If the option is off a single byte is always treated as a single
character. This setting is designed purely for examining strings
known to contain raw bytes or other values that may not be
characters in the current locale. It is not necessary to unset the
option merely because the character set for the current locale does
not contain multibyte characters.
The option does not affect the shell's editor, which always uses
the locale to determine multibyte characters. This is because the
character set displayed by the terminal emulator is independent of
shell settings.
NOMATCH (+3) <C> <Z>
If a pattern for filename generation has no matches, print an
error, instead of leaving it unchanged in the argument list. This
also applies to file expansion of an initial '~' or '='.
NULL_GLOB (-G)
If a pattern for filename generation has no matches, delete the
pattern from the argument list instead of reporting an error.
Overrides NOMATCH.
NUMERIC_GLOB_SORT
If numeric filenames are matched by a filename generation pattern,
sort the filenames numerically rather than lexicographically.
RC_EXPAND_PARAM (-P)
Array expansions of the form 'FOO${XX}BAR', where the parameter XX
is set to (A B C), are substituted with 'FOOABAR FOOBBAR FOOCBAR'
instead of the default 'FOOA B CBAR'. Note that an empty array
will therefore cause all arguments to be removed.
REMATCH_PCRE <Z>
If set, regular expression matching with the =~ operator will use
Perl-Compatible Regular Expressions from the PCRE library, if
available. If not set, regular expressions will use the extended
regexp syntax provided by the system libraries.
SH_GLOB <K> <S>
Disables the special meaning of '(', '|', ')' and '<' for globbing
the result of parameter and command substitutions, and in some
other places where the shell accepts patterns. If SH_GLOB is set
but KSH_GLOB is not, the shell allows the interpretation of
subshell expressions enclosed in parentheses in some cases where
there is no space before the opening parenthesis, e.g. !(true) is
interpreted as if there were a space after the !. This option is
set by default if zsh is invoked as sh or ksh.
UNSET (+u, ksh: +u) <K> <S> <Z>
Treat unset parameters as if they were empty when substituting.
Otherwise they are treated as an error.
WARN_CREATE_GLOBAL
Print a warning message when a global parameter is created in a
function by an assignment. This often indicates that a parameter
has not been declared local when it should have been. Parameters
explicitly declared global from within a function using typeset -g
do not cause a warning. Note that there is no warning when a local
parameter is assigned to in a nested function, which may also
indicate an error.
16.2.4 History
--------------
APPEND_HISTORY <D>
If this is set, zsh sessions will append their history list to the
history file, rather than replace it. Thus, multiple parallel zsh
sessions will all have the new entries from their history lists
added to the history file, in the order that they exit. The file
will still be periodically re-written to trim it when the number of
lines grows 20% beyond the value specified by $SAVEHIST (see also
the HIST_SAVE_BY_COPY option).
BANG_HIST (+K) <C> <Z>
Perform textual history expansion, 'csh'-style, treating the
character '!' specially.
EXTENDED_HISTORY <C>
Save each command's beginning timestamp (in seconds since the
epoch) and the duration (in seconds) to the history file. The
format of this prefixed data is:
': <BEGINNING TIME>:<ELAPSED SECONDS>;<COMMAND>'.
HIST_ALLOW_CLOBBER
Add '|' to output redirections in the history. This allows history
references to clobber files even when CLOBBER is unset.
HIST_BEEP <D>
Beep when an attempt is made to access a history entry which isn't
there.
HIST_EXPIRE_DUPS_FIRST
If the internal history needs to be trimmed to add the current
command line, setting this option will cause the oldest history
event that has a duplicate to be lost before losing a unique event
from the list. You should be sure to set the value of HISTSIZE to
a larger number than SAVEHIST in order to give you some room for
the duplicated events, otherwise this option will behave just like
HIST_IGNORE_ALL_DUPS once the history fills up with unique events.
HIST_FCNTL_LOCK
When writing out the history file, by default zsh uses ad-hoc file
locking to avoid known problems with locking on some operating
systems. With this option locking is done by means of the system's
fcntl call, where this method is available. On recent operating
systems this may provide better performance, in particular avoiding
history corruption when files are stored on NFS.
HIST_FIND_NO_DUPS
When searching for history entries in the line editor, do not
display duplicates of a line previously found, even if the
duplicates are not contiguous.
HIST_IGNORE_ALL_DUPS
If a new command line being added to the history list duplicates an
older one, the older command is removed from the list (even if it
is not the previous event).
HIST_IGNORE_DUPS (-h)
Do not enter command lines into the history list if they are
duplicates of the previous event.
HIST_IGNORE_SPACE (-g)
Remove command lines from the history list when the first character
on the line is a space, or when one of the expanded aliases
contains a leading space. Only normal aliases (not global or
suffix aliases) have this behaviour. Note that the command lingers
in the internal history until the next command is entered before it
vanishes, allowing you to briefly reuse or edit the line. If you
want to make it vanish right away without entering another command,
type a space and press return.
HIST_LEX_WORDS
By default, shell history that is read in from files is split into
words on all white space. This means that arguments with quoted
whitespace are not correctly handled, with the consequence that
references to words in history lines that have been read from a
file may be inaccurate. When this option is set, words read in
from a history file are divided up in a similar fashion to normal
shell command line handling. Although this produces more
accurately delimited words, if the size of the history file is
large this can be slow. Trial and error is necessary to decide.
HIST_NO_FUNCTIONS
Remove function definitions from the history list. Note that the
function lingers in the internal history until the next command is
entered before it vanishes, allowing you to briefly reuse or edit
the definition.
HIST_NO_STORE
Remove the history (fc -l) command from the history list when
invoked. Note that the command lingers in the internal history
until the next command is entered before it vanishes, allowing you
to briefly reuse or edit the line.
HIST_REDUCE_BLANKS
Remove superfluous blanks from each command line being added to the
history list.
HIST_SAVE_BY_COPY <D>
When the history file is re-written, we normally write out a copy
of the file named $HISTFILE.new and then rename it over the old
one. However, if this option is unset, we instead truncate the old
history file and write out the new version in-place. If one of the
history-appending options is enabled, this option only has an
effect when the enlarged history file needs to be re-written to
trim it down to size. Disable this only if you have special needs,
as doing so makes it possible to lose history entries if zsh gets
interrupted during the save.
When writing out a copy of the history file, zsh preserves the old
file's permissions and group information, but will refuse to write
out a new file if it would change the history file's owner.
HIST_SAVE_NO_DUPS
When writing out the history file, older commands that duplicate
newer ones are omitted.
HIST_VERIFY
Whenever the user enters a line with history expansion, don't
execute the line directly; instead, perform history expansion and
reload the line into the editing buffer.
INC_APPEND_HISTORY
This options works like APPEND_HISTORY except that new history
lines are added to the $HISTFILE incrementally (as soon as they are
entered), rather than waiting until the shell exits. The file will
still be periodically re-written to trim it when the number of
lines grows 20% beyond the value specified by $SAVEHIST (see also
the HIST_SAVE_BY_COPY option).
SHARE_HISTORY <K>
This option both imports new commands from the history file, and
also causes your typed commands to be appended to the history file
(the latter is like specifying INC_APPEND_HISTORY). The history
lines are also output with timestamps ala EXTENDED_HISTORY (which
makes it easier to find the spot where we left off reading the file
after it gets re-written).
By default, history movement commands visit the imported lines as
well as the local lines, but you can toggle this on and off with
the set-local-history zle binding. It is also possible to create a
zle widget that will make some commands ignore imported commands,
and some include them.
If you find that you want more control over when commands get
imported, you may wish to turn SHARE_HISTORY off,
INC_APPEND_HISTORY on, and then manually import commands whenever
you need them using 'fc -RI'.
16.2.5 Initialisation
---------------------
ALL_EXPORT (-a, ksh: -a)
All parameters subsequently defined are automatically exported.
GLOBAL_EXPORT (<Z>)
If this option is set, passing the -x flag to the builtins declare,
float, integer, readonly and typeset (but not local) will also set
the -g flag; hence parameters exported to the environment will not
be made local to the enclosing function, unless they were already
or the flag +g is given explicitly. If the option is unset,
exported parameters will be made local in just the same way as any
other parameter.
This option is set by default for backward compatibility; it is not
recommended that its behaviour be relied upon. Note that the
builtin export always sets both the -x and -g flags, and hence its
effect extends beyond the scope of the enclosing function; this is
the most portable way to achieve this behaviour.
GLOBAL_RCS (-d) <D>
If this option is unset, the startup files /etc/zprofile,
/etc/zshrc, /etc/zlogin and /etc/zlogout will not be run. It can
be disabled and re-enabled at any time, including inside local
startup files (.zshrc, etc.).
RCS (+f) <D>
After /etc/zshenv is sourced on startup, source the .zshenv,
/etc/zprofile, .zprofile, /etc/zshrc, .zshrc, /etc/zlogin, .zlogin,
and .zlogout files, as described in Files. If this option
is unset, the /etc/zshenv file is still sourced, but any of the
others will not be; it can be set at any time to prevent the
remaining startup files after the currently executing one from
being sourced.
16.2.6 Input/Output
-------------------
ALIASES <D>
Expand aliases.
CLOBBER (+C, ksh: +C) <D>
Allows '>' redirection to truncate existing files, and '>>' to
create files. Otherwise '>!' or '>|' must be used to truncate a
file, and '>>!' or '>>|' to create a file.
CORRECT (-0)
Try to correct the spelling of commands. Note that, when the
HASH_LIST_ALL option is not set or when some directories in the
path are not readable, this may falsely report spelling errors the
first time some commands are used.
The shell variable CORRECT_IGNORE may be set to a pattern to match
words that will never be offered as corrections.
CORRECT_ALL (-O)
Try to correct the spelling of all arguments in a line.
DVORAK
Use the Dvorak keyboard instead of the standard qwerty keyboard as
a basis for examining spelling mistakes for the CORRECT and
CORRECT_ALL options and the spell-word editor command.
FLOW_CONTROL <D>
If this option is unset, output flow control via start/stop
characters (usually assigned to ^S/^Q) is disabled in the shell's
editor.
IGNORE_EOF (-7)
Do not exit on end-of-file. Require the use of exit or logout
instead. However, ten consecutive EOFs will cause the shell to
exit anyway, to avoid the shell hanging if its tty goes away.
Also, if this option is set and the Zsh Line Editor is used,
widgets implemented by shell functions can be bound to EOF
(normally Control-D) without printing the normal warning message.
This works only for normal widgets, not for completion widgets.
INTERACTIVE_COMMENTS (-k) <K> <S>
Allow comments even in interactive shells.
HASH_CMDS <D>
Note the location of each command the first time it is executed.
Subsequent invocations of the same command will use the saved
location, avoiding a path search. If this option is unset, no path
hashing is done at all. However, when CORRECT is set, commands
whose names do not appear in the functions or aliases hash tables
are hashed in order to avoid reporting them as spelling errors.
HASH_DIRS <D>
Whenever a command name is hashed, hash the directory containing
it, as well as all directories that occur earlier in the path. Has
no effect if neither HASH_CMDS nor CORRECT is set.
HASH_EXECUTABLES_ONLY
When hashing commands because of HASH_COMMANDS, check that the file
to be hashed is actually an executable. This option is unset by
default as if the path contains a large number of commands, or
consists of many remote files, the additional tests can take a long
time. Trial and error is needed to show if this option is
beneficial.
MAIL_WARNING (-U)
Print a warning message if a mail file has been accessed since the
shell last checked.
PATH_DIRS (-Q)
Perform a path search even on command names with slashes in them.
Thus if '/usr/local/bin' is in the user's path, and he or she types
'X11/xinit', the command '/usr/local/bin/X11/xinit' will be
executed (assuming it exists). Commands explicitly beginning with
'/', './' or '../' are not subject to the path search. This also
applies to the '.' builtin.
Note that subdirectories of the current directory are always
searched for executables specified in this form. This takes place
before any search indicated by this option, and regardless of
whether '.' or the current directory appear in the command search
path.
PATH_SCRIPT <K> <S>
If this option is not set, a script passed as the first non-option
argument to the shell must contain the name of the file to open.
If this option is set, and the script does not specify a directory
path, the script is looked for first in the current directory, then
in the command path. See Invocation.
PRINT_EIGHT_BIT
Print eight bit characters literally in completion lists, etc.
This option is not necessary if your system correctly returns the
printability of eight bit characters (see man page ctype(3)).
PRINT_EXIT_VALUE (-1)
Print the exit value of programs with non-zero exit status.
RC_QUOTES
Allow the character sequence '''' to signify a single quote within
singly quoted strings. Note this does not apply in quoted strings
using the format $'...', where a backslashed single quote can be
used.
RM_STAR_SILENT (-H) <K> <S>
Do not query the user before executing 'rm *' or 'rm path/*'.
RM_STAR_WAIT
If querying the user before executing 'rm *' or 'rm path/*', first
wait ten seconds and ignore anything typed in that time. This
avoids the problem of reflexively answering 'yes' to the query when
one didn't really mean it. The wait and query can always be
avoided by expanding the '*' in ZLE (with tab).
SHORT_LOOPS <C> <Z>
Allow the short forms of for, repeat, select, if, and function
constructs.
SUN_KEYBOARD_HACK (-L)
If a line ends with a backquote, and there are an odd number of
backquotes on the line, ignore the trailing backquote. This is
useful on some keyboards where the return key is too small, and the
backquote key lies annoyingly close to it. As an alternative the
variable KEYBOARD_HACK lets you choose the character to be removed.
16.2.7 Job Control
------------------
AUTO_CONTINUE
With this option set, stopped jobs that are removed from the job
table with the disown builtin command are automatically sent a CONT
signal to make them running.
AUTO_RESUME (-W)
Treat single word simple commands without redirection as candidates
for resumption of an existing job.
BG_NICE (-6) <C> <Z>
Run all background jobs at a lower priority. This option is set by
default.
CHECK_JOBS <Z>
Report the status of background and suspended jobs before exiting a
shell with job control; a second attempt to exit the shell will
succeed. NO_CHECK_JOBS is best used only in combination with
NO_HUP, else such jobs will be killed automatically.
The check is omitted if the commands run from the previous command
line included a 'jobs' command, since it is assumed the user is
aware that there are background or suspended jobs. A 'jobs'
command run from one of the hook functions defined in the section
Special Functions in Functions is not counted for this
purpose.
HUP <Z>
Send the HUP signal to running jobs when the shell exits.
LONG_LIST_JOBS (-R)
List jobs in the long format by default.
MONITOR (-m, ksh: -m)
Allow job control. Set by default in interactive shells.
NOTIFY (-5, ksh: -b) <Z>
Report the status of background jobs immediately, rather than
waiting until just before printing a prompt.
POSIX_JOBS <K> <S>
This option makes job control more compliant with the POSIX
standard.
When the option is not set, the MONITOR option is unset on entry to
subshells, so that job control is no longer active. When the
option is set, the MONITOR option and job control remain active in
the subshell, but note that the subshell has no access to jobs in
the parent shell.
When the option is not set, jobs put in the background or
foreground with bg or fg are displayed with the same information
that would be reported by jobs. When the option is set, only the
text is printed. The output from jobs itself is not affected by
the option.
When the option is not set, job information from the parent shell
is saved for output within a subshell (for example, within a
pipeline). When the option is set, the output of jobs is empty
until a job is started within the subshell.
When the option is set, it becomes possible to use the wait builtin
to wait for the last job started in the background (as given by $!)
even if that job has already exited. This works even if the option
is turned on temporarily around the use of the wait builtin.
16.2.8 Prompting
----------------
PROMPT_BANG <K>
If set, '!' is treated specially in prompt expansion. See
Prompt Expansion.
PROMPT_CR (+V) <D>
Print a carriage return just before printing a prompt in the line
editor. This is on by default as multi-line editing is only
possible if the editor knows where the start of the line appears.
PROMPT_SP <D>
Attempt to preserve a partial line (i.e. a line that did not end
with a newline) that would otherwise be covered up by the command
prompt due to the PROMPT_CR option. This works by outputting some
cursor-control characters, including a series of spaces, that
should make the terminal wrap to the next line when a partial line
is present (note that this is only successful if your terminal has
automatic margins, which is typical).
When a partial line is preserved, by default you will see an
inverse+bold character at the end of the partial line: a "%" for a
normal user or a "#" for root. If set, the shell parameter
PROMPT_EOL_MARK can be used to customize how the end of partial
lines are shown.
NOTE: if the PROMPT_CR option is not set, enabling this option will
have no effect. This option is on by default.
PROMPT_PERCENT <C> <Z>
If set, '%' is treated specially in prompt expansion. See
Prompt Expansion.
PROMPT_SUBST <K> <S>
If set, _parameter expansion_, _command substitution_ and
_arithmetic expansion_ are performed in prompts. Substitutions
within prompts do not affect the command status.
TRANSIENT_RPROMPT
Remove any right prompt from display when accepting a command line.
This may be useful with terminals with other cut/paste methods.
16.2.9 Scripts and Functions
----------------------------
C_BASES
Output hexadecimal numbers in the standard C format, for example
'0xFF' instead of the usual '16#FF'. If the option OCTAL_ZEROES is
also set (it is not by default), octal numbers will be treated
similarly and hence appear as '077' instead of '8#77'. This option
has no effect on the choice of the output base, nor on the output
of bases other than hexadecimal and octal. Note that these formats
will be understood on input irrespective of the setting of C_BASES.
C_PRECEDENCES
This alters the precedence of arithmetic operators to be more like
C and other programming languages; Arithmetic Evaluation has an
explicit list.
DEBUG_BEFORE_CMD
Run the DEBUG trap before each command; otherwise it is run after
each command. Setting this option mimics the behaviour of ksh 93;
with the option unset the behaviour is that of ksh 88.
ERR_EXIT (-e, ksh: -e)
If a command has a non-zero exit status, execute the ZERR trap, if
set, and exit. This is disabled while running initialization
scripts.
The behaviour is also disabled inside DEBUG traps. In this case
the option is handled specially: it is unset on entry to the trap.
If the option DEBUG_BEFORE_CMD is set, as it is by default, and the
option ERR_EXIT is found to have been set on exit, then the command
for which the DEBUG trap is being executed is skipped. The option
is restored after the trap exits.
ERR_RETURN
If a command has a non-zero exit status, return immediately from
the enclosing function. The logic is identical to that for
ERR_EXIT, except that an implicit return statement is executed
instead of an exit. This will trigger an exit at the outermost
level of a non-interactive script.
EVAL_LINENO <Z>
If set, line numbers of expressions evaluated using the builtin
eval are tracked separately of the enclosing environment. This
applies both to the parameter LINENO and the line number output by
the prompt escape %i. If the option is set, the prompt escape %N
will output the string '(eval)' instead of the script or function
name as an indication. (The two prompt escapes are typically used
in the parameter PS4 to be output when the option XTRACE is set.)
If EVAL_LINENO is unset, the line number of the surrounding script
or function is retained during the evaluation.
EXEC (+n, ksh: +n) <D>
Do execute commands. Without this option, commands are read and
checked for syntax errors, but not executed. This option cannot be
turned off in an interactive shell, except when '-n' is supplied to
the shell at startup.
FUNCTION_ARGZERO <C> <Z>
When executing a shell function or sourcing a script, set $0
temporarily to the name of the function/script.
LOCAL_OPTIONS <K>
If this option is set at the point of return from a shell function,
most options (including this one) which were in force upon entry to
the function are restored; options that are not restored are
PRIVILEGED and RESTRICTED. Otherwise, only this option and the
XTRACE and PRINT_EXIT_VALUE options are restored. Hence if this is
explicitly unset by a shell function the other options in force at
the point of return will remain so. A shell function can also
guarantee itself a known shell configuration with a formulation
like 'emulate -L zsh'; the -L activates LOCAL_OPTIONS.
LOCAL_TRAPS <K>
If this option is set when a signal trap is set inside a function,
then the previous status of the trap for that signal will be
restored when the function exits. Note that this option must be
set _prior_ to altering the trap behaviour in a function; unlike
LOCAL_OPTIONS, the value on exit from the function is irrelevant.
However, it does not need to be set before any global trap for that
to be correctly restored by a function. For example,
unsetopt localtraps
trap - INT
fn() { setopt localtraps; trap '' INT; sleep 3; }
will restore normal handling of SIGINT after the function exits.
MULTI_FUNC_DEF <Z>
Allow definitions of multiple functions at once in the form 'fn1
fn2...()'; if the option is not set, this causes a parse error.
Definition of multiple functions with the function keyword is
always allowed. Multiple function definitions are not often used
and can cause obscure errors.
MULTIOS <Z>
Perform implicit 'tee's or 'cat's when multiple redirections are
attempted (see Redirection).
OCTAL_ZEROES <S>
Interpret any integer constant beginning with a 0 as octal, per
IEEE Std 1003.2-1992 (ISO 9945-2:1993). This is not enabled by
default as it causes problems with parsing of, for example, date
and time strings with leading zeroes.
Sequences of digits indicating a numeric base such as the '08'
component in '08#77' are always interpreted as decimal, regardless
of leading zeroes.
SOURCE_TRACE
If set, zsh will print an informational message announcing the name
of each file it loads. The format of the output is similar to that
for the XTRACE option, with the message <sourcetrace>. A file may
be loaded by the shell itself when it starts up and shuts down
(Startup/Shutdown Files) or by the use of the 'source' and 'dot'
builtin commands.
TYPESET_SILENT
If this is unset, executing any of the 'typeset' family of commands
with no options and a list of parameters that have no values to be
assigned but already exist will display the value of the parameter.
If the option is set, they will only be shown when parameters are
selected with the '-m' option. The option '-p' is available
whether or not the option is set.
VERBOSE (-v, ksh: -v)
Print shell input lines as they are read.
XTRACE (-x, ksh: -x)
Print commands and their arguments as they are executed. The
output is proceded by the value of $PS4, formatted as described in
Prompt Expansion.
16.2.10 Shell Emulation
-----------------------
BASH_REMATCH
When set, matches performed with the =~ operator will set the
BASH_REMATCH array variable, instead of the default MATCH and match
variables. The first element of the BASH_REMATCH array will
contain the entire matched text and subsequent elements will
contain extracted substrings. This option makes more sense when
KSH_ARRAYS is also set, so that the entire matched portion is
stored at index 0 and the first substring is at index 1. Without
this option, the MATCH variable contains the entire matched text
and the match array variable contains substrings.
BSD_ECHO <S>
Make the echo builtin compatible with the BSD man page echo(1)
command. This disables backslashed escape sequences in echo
strings unless the -e option is specified.
CONTINUE_ON_ERROR
If a fatal error is encountered (see Errors), and the code
is running in a script, the shell will resume execution at the next
statement in the script at the top level, in other words outside
all functions or shell constructs such as loops and conditions.
This mimics the behaviour of interactive shells, where the shell
returns to the line editor to read a new command; it was the normal
behaviour in versions of zsh before 5.0.1.
CSH_JUNKIE_HISTORY <C>
A history reference without an event specifier will always refer to
the previous command. Without this option, such a history
reference refers to the same event as the previous history
reference, defaulting to the previous command.
CSH_JUNKIE_LOOPS <C>
Allow loop bodies to take the form 'LIST; end' instead of 'do LIST;
done'.
CSH_JUNKIE_QUOTES <C>
Changes the rules for single- and double-quoted text to match that
of 'csh'. These require that embedded newlines be preceded by a
backslash; unescaped newlines will cause an error message. In
double-quoted strings, it is made impossible to escape '$', '`' or
'"' (and '\' itself no longer needs escaping). Command
substitutions are only expanded once, and cannot be nested.
CSH_NULLCMD <C>
Do not use the values of NULLCMD and READNULLCMD when running
redirections with no command. This make such redirections fail
(see Redirection).
KSH_ARRAYS <K> <S>
Emulate 'ksh' array handling as closely as possible. If this
option is set, array elements are numbered from zero, an array
parameter without subscript refers to the first element instead of
the whole array, and braces are required to delimit a subscript
('${path[2]}' rather than just '$path[2]').
KSH_AUTOLOAD <K> <S>
Emulate 'ksh' function autoloading. This means that when a
function is autoloaded, the corresponding file is merely executed,
and must define the function itself. (By default, the function is
defined to the contents of the file. However, the most common
'ksh'-style case - of the file containing only a simple definition
of the function - is always handled in the 'ksh'-compatible
manner.)
KSH_OPTION_PRINT <K>
Alters the way options settings are printed: instead of separate
lists of set and unset options, all options are shown, marked 'on'
if they are in the non-default state, 'off' otherwise.
KSH_TYPESET <K>
Alters the way arguments to the typeset family of commands,
including declare, export, float, integer, local and readonly, are
processed. Without this option, zsh will perform normal word
splitting after command and parameter expansion in arguments of an
assignment; with it, word splitting does not take place in those
cases.
KSH_ZERO_SUBSCRIPT
Treat use of a subscript of value zero in array or string
expressions as a reference to the first element, i.e. the element
that usually has the subscript 1. Ignored if KSH_ARRAYS is also
set.
If neither this option nor KSH_ARRAYS is set, accesses to an
element of an array or string with subscript zero return an empty
element or string, while attempts to set element zero of an array
or string are treated as an error. However, attempts to set an
otherwise valid subscript range that includes zero will succeed.
For example, if KSH_ZERO_SUBSCRIPT is not set,
array[0]=(element)
is an error, while
array[0,1]=(element)
is not and will replace the first element of the array.
This option is for compatibility with older versions of the shell
and is not recommended in new code.
POSIX_ALIASES <K> <S>
When this option is set, reserved words are not candidates for
alias expansion: it is still possible to declare any of them as an
alias, but the alias will never be expanded. Reserved words are
described in Reserved Words.
Alias expansion takes place while text is being read; hence when
this option is set it does not take effect until the end of any
function or other piece of shell code parsed as one unit. Note
this may cause differences from other shells even when the option
is in effect. For example, when running a command with 'zsh -c',
or even 'zsh -o posixaliases -c', the entire command argument is
parsed as one unit, so aliases defined within the argument are not
available even in later lines. If in doubt, avoid use of aliases
in non-interactive code.
POSIX_BUILTINS <K> <S>
When this option is set the command builtin can be used to execute
shell builtin commands. Parameter assignments specified before
shell functions and special builtins are kept after the command
completes unless the special builtin is prefixed with the command
builtin. Special builtins are ., :, break, continue, declare,
eval, exit, export, integer, local, readonly, return, set, shift,
source, times, trap and unset.
In addition, various error conditions associated with the above
builtins or exec cause a non-interactive shell to exit and an
interactive shell to return to its top-level processing.
POSIX_IDENTIFIERS <K> <S>
When this option is set, only the ASCII characters a to z, A to Z,
0 to 9 and _ may be used in identifiers (names of shell parameters
and modules).
When the option is unset and multibyte character support is enabled
(i.e. it is compiled in and the option MULTIBYTE is set), then
additionally any alphanumeric characters in the local character set
may be used in identifiers. Note that scripts and functions
written with this feature are not portable, and also that both
options must be set before the script or function is parsed;
setting them during execution is not sufficient as the syntax
VARIABLE=VALUE has already been parsed as a command rather than an
assignment.
If multibyte character support is not compiled into the shell this
option is ignored; all octets with the top bit set may be used in
identifiers. This is non-standard but is the traditional zsh
behaviour.
POSIX_STRINGS <K> <S>
This option affects processing of quoted strings. Currently it
only affects the behaviour of null characters, i.e. character 0 in
the portable character set corresponding to US ASCII.
When this option is not set, null characters embedded within
strings of the form $'...' are treated as ordinary characters. The
entire string is maintained within the shell and output to files
where necessary, although owing to restrictions of the library
interface the string is truncated at the null character in file
names, environment variables, or in arguments to external programs.
When this option is set, the $'...' expression is truncated at the
null character. Note that remaining parts of the same string
beyond the termination of the quotes are not trunctated.
For example, the command line argument a$'b\0c'd is treated with
the option off as the characters a, b, null, c, d, and with the
option on as the characters a, b, d.
POSIX_TRAPS <K> <S>
When the is option is set, the usual zsh behaviour of executing
traps for EXIT on exit from shell functions is suppressed. In that
case, manipulating EXIT traps always alters the global trap for
exiting the shell; the LOCAL_TRAPS option is ignored for the EXIT
trap.
SH_FILE_EXPANSION <K> <S>
Perform filename expansion (e.g., ~ expansion) _before_ parameter
expansion, command substitution, arithmetic expansion and brace
expansion. If this option is unset, it is performed _after_ brace
expansion, so things like '~$USERNAME' and '~{pfalstad,rc}' will
work.
SH_NULLCMD <K> <S>
Do not use the values of NULLCMD and READNULLCMD when doing
redirections, use ':' instead (see Redirection).
SH_OPTION_LETTERS <K> <S>
If this option is set the shell tries to interpret single letter
options (which are used with set and setopt) like 'ksh' does. This
also affects the value of the - special parameter.
SH_WORD_SPLIT (-y) <K> <S>
Causes field splitting to be performed on unquoted parameter
expansions. Note that this option has nothing to do with word
splitting. (See Parameter Expansion.)
TRAPS_ASYNC
While waiting for a program to exit, handle signals and run traps
immediately. Otherwise the trap is run after a child process has
exited. Note this does not affect the point at which traps are run
for any case other than when the shell is waiting for a child
process.
16.2.11 Shell State
-------------------
INTERACTIVE (-i, ksh: -i)
This is an interactive shell. This option is set upon
initialisation if the standard input is a tty and commands are
being read from standard input. (See the discussion of
SHIN_STDIN.) This heuristic may be overridden by specifying a
state for this option on the command line. The value of this
option can only be changed via flags supplied at invocation of the
shell. It cannot be changed once zsh is running.
LOGIN (-l, ksh: -l)
This is a login shell. If this option is not explicitly set, the
shell becomes a login shell if the first character of the argv[0]
passed to the shell is a '-'.
PRIVILEGED (-p, ksh: -p)
Turn on privileged mode. This is enabled automatically on startup
if the effective user (group) ID is not equal to the real user
(group) ID. Turning this option off causes the effective user and
group IDs to be set to the real user and group IDs. This option
disables sourcing user startup files. If zsh is invoked as 'sh' or
'ksh' with this option set, /etc/suid_profile is sourced (after
/etc/profile on interactive shells). Sourcing ~/.profile is
disabled and the contents of the ENV variable is ignored. This
option cannot be changed using the -m option of setopt and
unsetopt, and changing it inside a function always changes it
globally regardless of the LOCAL_OPTIONS option.
RESTRICTED (-r)
Enables restricted mode. This option cannot be changed using
unsetopt, and setting it inside a function always changes it
globally regardless of the LOCAL_OPTIONS option. See
Restricted Shell.
SHIN_STDIN (-s, ksh: -s)
Commands are being read from the standard input. Commands are read
from standard input if no command is specified with -c and no file
of commands is specified. If SHIN_STDIN is set explicitly on the
command line, any argument that would otherwise have been taken as
a file to run will instead be treated as a normal positional
parameter. Note that setting or unsetting this option on the
command line does not necessarily affect the state the option will
have while the shell is running - that is purely an indicator of
whether on not commands are _actually_ being read from standard
input. The value of this option can only be changed via flags
supplied at invocation of the shell. It cannot be changed once zsh
is running.
SINGLE_COMMAND (-t, ksh: -t)
If the shell is reading from standard input, it exits after a
single command has been executed. This also makes the shell
non-interactive, unless the INTERACTIVE option is explicitly set on
the command line. The value of this option can only be changed via
flags supplied at invocation of the shell. It cannot be changed
once zsh is running.
16.2.12 Zle
-----------
BEEP (+B) <D>
Beep on error in ZLE.
COMBINING_CHARS
Assume that the terminal displays combining characters correctly.
Specifically, if a base alphanumeric character is followed by one
or more zero-width punctuation characters, assume that the
zero-width characters will be displayed as modifications to the
base character within the same width. Not all terminals handle
this. If this option is not set, zero-width characters are
displayed separately with special mark-up.
If this option is set, the pattern test [[:WORD:]] matches a
zero-width punctuation character on the assumption that it will be
used as part of a word in combination with a word character.
Otherwise the base shell does not handle combining characters
specially.
EMACS
If ZLE is loaded, turning on this option has the equivalent effect
of 'bindkey -e'. In addition, the VI option is unset. Turning it
off has no effect. The option setting is not guaranteed to reflect
the current keymap. This option is provided for compatibility;
bindkey is the recommended interface.
OVERSTRIKE
Start up the line editor in overstrike mode.
SINGLE_LINE_ZLE (-M) <K>
Use single-line command line editing instead of multi-line.
Note that although this is on by default in ksh emulation it only
provides superficial compatibility with the ksh line editor and
reduces the effectiveness of the zsh line editor. As it has no
effect on shell syntax, many users may wish to disable this option
when using ksh emulation interactively.
VI
If ZLE is loaded, turning on this option has the equivalent effect
of 'bindkey -v'. In addition, the EMACS option is unset. Turning
it off has no effect. The option setting is not guaranteed to
reflect the current keymap. This option is provided for
compatibility; bindkey is the recommended interface.
ZLE (-Z)
Use the zsh line editor. Set by default in interactive shells
connected to a terminal.
Info Catalog
(zsh.info.gz) Specifying Options
(zsh.info.gz) Options
(zsh.info.gz) Option Aliases
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