ZSHOPTIONS(1)ZSHOPTIONS(1)NAMEzshoptions - zsh options
SPECIFYING OPTIONS
Options are primarily referred to by name. These names are case insen‐
sitive and underscores are ignored. For example, `allexport' is equiv‐
alent to `A__lleXP_ort'.
The sense of an option name may be inverted by preceding it with `no',
so `setopt No_Beep' is equivalent to `unsetopt beep'. This inversion
can only be done once, so `nonobeep' is not a synonym for `beep'. Sim‐
ilarly, `tify' is not a synonym for `nonotify' (the inversion of
`notify').
Some options also have one or more single letter names. There are two
sets of single letter options: one used by default, and another used to
emulate sh/ksh (used when the SH_OPTION_LETTERS option is set). The
single letter options can be used on the shell command line, or with
the set, setopt and unsetopt builtins, as normal Unix options preceded
by `-'.
The sense of the single letter options may be inverted by using `+'
instead of `-'. Some of the single letter option names refer to an
option being off, in which case the inversion of that name refers to
the option being on. For example, `+n' is the short name of `exec',
and `-n' is the short name of its inversion, `noexec'.
In strings of single letter options supplied to the shell at startup,
trailing whitespace will be ignored; for example the string `-f '
will be treated just as `-f', but the string `-f i' is an error. This
is because many systems which implement the `#!' mechanism for calling
scripts do not strip trailing whitespace.
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 emula‐
tions 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.
Changing Directories
AUTO_CD (-J)
If a command is issued that can't be executed as a normal com‐
mand, 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 the section `Filename Expansion').
CHASE_DOTS
When changing to a directory containing a path segment `..'
which would otherwise be treated as canceling the previous seg‐
ment 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 $PWD would be deleted), 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 direc‐
tory. 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.
PUSHD_IGNORE_DUPS
Don't push multiple copies of the same directory onto the direc‐
tory 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'.
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 func‐
tions try to return to the last prompt if given no numeric argu‐
ment.
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 per‐
formed.
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 `~'. (Oth‐
erwise, 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 charac‐
ter 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 amper‐
sand), 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 sub‐
stituted 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 con‐
tains a pattern; simply turning on the GLOB_COMPLETE option does
not have this effect.
HASH_LIST_ALL <D>
Whenever a command completion is attempted, make sure the entire
command path is hashed first. This makes the first completion
slower.
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 com‐
pletion, 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 comple‐
tion 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 ambigu‐
ous.
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 the section `Filename Generation'.
BRACE_CCL
Expand expressions in braces which would not otherwise undergo
brace expansion to a lexically ordered list of all the charac‐
ters. See the section `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 spe‐
cial to filename generation will cause case-insensitive match‐
ing. 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 the section `Filename Expan‐
sion'.)
EXTENDED_GLOB
Treat the `#', `~' and `^' characters as part of patterns for
filename generation, etc. (An initial unquoted `~' always pro‐
duces named directory expansion.)
GLOB (+F, ksh: +f) <D>
Perform filename generation (globbing). (See the section `File‐
name Generation'.)
GLOB_ASSIGN <C>
If this option is set, filename generation (globbing) is per‐
formed 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 com‐
patibility 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 explic‐
itly.
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 per‐
formed with pattern matching instead of string matching. This
occurs wherever history modifiers are valid, including glob
qualifiers and parameters. See the section Modifiers in zsh‐
exp(1).
IGNORE_BRACES (-I) <S>
Do not perform brace expansion.
KSH_GLOB <K>
In pattern matching, the interpretation of parentheses is
affected by a preceding `@', `*', `+', `?' or `!'. See the sec‐
tion `Filename Generation'.
MAGIC_EQUAL_SUBST
All unquoted arguments of the form `anything=expression' appear‐
ing after the command name have filename expansion (that is,
where expression has a leading `~' or `=') performed on expres‐
sion 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 cur‐
rent 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 interative 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 cur‐
rent 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 pat‐
tern, sort the filenames numerically rather than lexicographi‐
cally.
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'.
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 glob‐
bing the result of parameter and command substitutions, and in
some other places where the shell accepts patterns. 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 parame‐
ter 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 func‐
tion, which may also indicate an error.
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 paral‐
lel zsh sessions will all have the new entries from their his‐
tory 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 char‐
acter `!' 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 his‐
tory 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_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 char‐
acter on the line is a space, or when one of the expanded
aliases contains a leading space. 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_NO_FUNCTIONS
Remove function definitions from the history list. Note that
the function lingers in the internal history until the next com‐
mand is entered before it vanishes, allowing you to briefly re‐
use 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 his‐
tory 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 $SAVE‐
HIST (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_HIS‐
TORY (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 when‐
ever you need them using `fc -RI'.
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 func‐
tion; 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, .zlo‐
gin, and .zlogout files, as described in the section `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 execut‐
ing one from being sourced.
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.
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 (nor‐
mally 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, com‐
mands 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.
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.
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 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 sin‐
gle 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.
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 candi‐
dates 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 exit‐
ing 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 com‐
mand 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 zshmisc(1) 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.
Prompting
PROMPT_BANG <K>
If set, `!' is treated specially in prompt expansion. See the
section `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 com‐
mand prompt due to the PROMPT_CR option. This works by out‐
putting 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, you will see an inverse+bold
character at the end of the partial line: a "%" for a normal
user or a "#" for root.
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 the
section `Prompt Expansion'.
PROMPT_SUBST <K>
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.
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.
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.
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 evalua‐
tion.
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 sup‐
plied 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 func‐
tion, all the options (including this one) which were in force
upon entry to the function are restored. 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 func‐
tion, 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 normally handling of SIGINT after the function
exits.
MULTIOS <Z>
Perform implicit tees or cats when multiple redirections are
attempted (see the section `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, regard‐
less of leading zeroes.
TYPESET_SILENT
If this is unset, executing any of the `typeset' family of com‐
mands with no options and a list of parameters that have no val‐
ues 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.
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 echo(1) command.
This disables backslashed escape sequences in echo strings
unless the -e option is specified.
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 ref‐
erence, 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 the section `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 sub‐
script (`${path[2]}' rather than just `$path[2]').
KSH_AUTOLOAD <K> <S>
Emulate ksh function autoloading. This means that when a func‐
tion 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 com‐
mon ksh-style case - of the file containing only a simple defi‐
nition 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 argu‐
ments 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 ele‐
ment 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_BUILTINS <K> <S>
When this option is set the command builtin can be used to exe‐
cute 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, con‐
tinue, declare, eval, exit, export, integer, local, readonly,
return, set, shift, source, times, trap and unset.
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 tradi‐
tional zsh behaviour.
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 the section `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 the section `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.
Shell State
INTERACTIVE (-i, ksh: -i)
This is an interactive shell. This option is set upon initiali‐
sation 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 cannot be
changed anywhere other than the command line.
LOGIN (-l, ksh: -l)
This is a login shell. If this option is not explicitly set,
the shell is 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 effec‐
tive 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_pro‐
file 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 the sec‐
tion `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 explic‐
itly 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 cannot be changed
anywhere other than the command line.
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 cannot be changed
anywhere other than the command line.
Zle
BEEP (+B) <D>
Beep on error in ZLE.
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 guaran‐
teed 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.
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 guaran‐
teed 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.
OPTION ALIASES
Some options have alternative names. These aliases are never used for
output, but can be used just like normal option names when specifying
options to the shell.
BRACE_EXPAND
NO_IGNORE_BRACES (ksh and bash compatibility)
DOT_GLOB
GLOB_DOTS (bash compatibility)
HASH_ALL
HASH_CMDS (bash compatibility)
HIST_APPEND
APPEND_HISTORY (bash compatibility)
HIST_EXPAND
BANG_HIST (bash compatibility)
LOG NO_HIST_NO_FUNCTIONS (ksh compatibility)
MAIL_WARN
MAIL_WARNING (bash compatibility)
ONE_CMD
SINGLE_COMMAND (bash compatibility)
PHYSICAL
CHASE_LINKS (ksh and bash compatibility)
PROMPT_VARS
PROMPT_SUBST (bash compatibility)
STDIN SHIN_STDIN (ksh compatibility)
TRACK_ALL
HASH_CMDS (ksh compatibility)
SINGLE LETTER OPTIONS
Default set
-0 CORRECT
-1 PRINT_EXIT_VALUE
-2 NO_BAD_PATTERN
-3 NO_NOMATCH
-4 GLOB_DOTS
-5 NOTIFY
-6 BG_NICE
-7 IGNORE_EOF
-8 MARK_DIRS
-9 AUTO_LIST
-B NO_BEEP
-C NO_CLOBBER
-D PUSHD_TO_HOME
-E PUSHD_SILENT
-F NO_GLOB
-G NULL_GLOB
-H RM_STAR_SILENT
-I IGNORE_BRACES
-J AUTO_CD
-K NO_BANG_HIST
-L SUN_KEYBOARD_HACK
-M SINGLE_LINE_ZLE
-N AUTO_PUSHD
-O CORRECT_ALL
-P RC_EXPAND_PARAM
-Q PATH_DIRS
-R LONG_LIST_JOBS
-S REC_EXACT
-T CDABLE_VARS
-U MAIL_WARNING
-V NO_PROMPT_CR
-W AUTO_RESUME
-X LIST_TYPES
-Y MENU_COMPLETE
-Z ZLE
-a ALL_EXPORT
-e ERR_EXIT
-f NO_RCS
-g HIST_IGNORE_SPACE
-h HIST_IGNORE_DUPS
-i INTERACTIVE
-k INTERACTIVE_COMMENTS
-l LOGIN
-m MONITOR
-n NO_EXEC
-p PRIVILEGED
-r RESTRICTED
-s SHIN_STDIN
-t SINGLE_COMMAND
-u NO_UNSET
-v VERBOSE
-w CHASE_LINKS
-x XTRACE
-y SH_WORD_SPLIT
sh/ksh emulation set
-C NO_CLOBBER
-T TRAPS_ASYNC
-X MARK_DIRS
-a ALL_EXPORT
-b NOTIFY
-e ERR_EXIT
-f NO_GLOB
-i INTERACTIVE
-l LOGIN
-m MONITOR
-n NO_EXEC
-p PRIVILEGED
-r RESTRICTED
-s SHIN_STDIN
-t SINGLE_COMMAND
-u NO_UNSET
-v VERBOSE
-x XTRACE
Also note
-A Used by set for setting arrays
-b Used on the command line to specify end of option processing
-c Used on the command line to specify a single command
-m Used by setopt for pattern-matching option setting
-o Used in all places to allow use of long option names
-s Used by set to sort positional parameters
zsh 4.3.6 April 2, 2008 ZSHOPTIONS(1)
