(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.
 
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