(You can learn which options exist in your version by checking your current
option setting, which is reached via the 'O' command.)
-acoustics can your character hear anything [TRUE]
-autodescribe describe the terrain under cursor [FALSE]
-autodig dig if moving and wielding digging tool [FALSE]
-autoopen walking into a door attempts to open it [TRUE]
-autopickup automatically pick up objects you move over [TRUE]
-autoquiver when firing with an empty quiver, select some [FALSE]
+acoustics can your character hear anything [True]
+autodescribe describe the terrain under cursor [False]
+autodig dig if moving and wielding digging tool [False]
+autoopen walking into a door attempts to open it [True]
+autopickup automatically pick up objects you move over [True]
+autoquiver when firing with an empty quiver, select some [False]
suitable inventory weapon to fill the quiver
-autounlock when opening a locked door or looting a locked [TRUE]
+autounlock when opening a locked door or looting a locked [True]
container while carrying a key, offer to use it
-BIOS allow the use of IBM ROM BIOS calls [FALSE]
-blind your character is permanently blind [FALSE]
-bones allow loading bones files [TRUE]
-clicklook look at map by clicking right mouse button [FALSE]
-cmdassist give help for errors on direction & other commands [TRUE]
-confirm ask before hitting tame or peaceful monsters [TRUE]
-dark_room show floor not in sight in different color [TRUE]
-eight_bit_tty send 8-bit characters straight to terminal [FALSE]
-extmenu tty, curses: use menu for # (extended commands) [FALSE]
+BIOS allow the use of IBM ROM BIOS calls [False]
+blind your character is permanently blind [False]
+bones allow loading bones files [True]
+clicklook look at map by clicking right mouse button [False]
+cmdassist give help for errors on direction & other commands [True]
+confirm ask before hitting tame or peaceful monsters [True]
+dark_room show floor not in sight in different color [True]
+eight_bit_tty send 8-bit characters straight to terminal [False]
+extmenu tty, curses: use menu for # (extended commands) [False]
X11: menu has all commands (T) or traditional subset (F)
-fixinv try to retain the same letter for the same object [TRUE]
-force_invmenu commands asking for inventory item show a menu [FALSE]
-goldX when filtering objects by bless/curse state, [FALSE]
+female deprecated; use compound option gender:female [False]
+fixinv try to retain the same letter for the same object [True]
+force_invmenu commands asking for inventory item show a menu [False]
+goldX when filtering objects by bless/curse state, [False]
whether to classify gold as X (unknown) or U (uncursed)
-help print all available info when using the / command [TRUE]
+help print all available info when using the / command [True]
herecmd_menu show menu of some possible commands when clicking
- on yourself or next to you with mouse [FALSE]
-ignintr ignore interrupt signal, including breaks [FALSE]
-implicit_uncursed omit "uncursed" from inventory, if possible [TRUE]
-legacy print introductory message [TRUE]
-lit_corridor show a dark corridor as lit if in sight [FALSE]
-lootabc use a/b/c rather than o/i/b when looting [FALSE]
-mail enable the mail daemon [TRUE]
-mention_decor give feedback when walking across stairs, altars, [FALSE]
+ on yourself or next to you with mouse [False]
+ignintr ignore interrupt signal, including breaks [False]
+implicit_uncursed omit "uncursed" from inventory, if possible [True]
+legacy print introductory message [True]
+lit_corridor show a dark corridor as lit if in sight [False]
+lootabc use a/b/c rather than o/i/b when looting [False]
+mail enable the mail daemon [True]
+mention_decor give feedback when walking across stairs, altars, [False]
fountains, and such even when not obscured by objects
-mention_walls give feedback when walking against a wall [FALSE]
-menu_objsyms show object symbols in menus if it is selectable [FALSE]
-menu_overlay overlay menus on the screen and align to right [TRUE]
-nudist start your character without armor [FALSE]
-null allow nulls to be sent to your terminal [TRUE]
+mention_walls give feedback when walking against a wall [False]
+menu_objsyms show object symbols in menus if it is selectable [False]
+menu_overlay overlay menus on the screen and align to right [True]
+menucolors enable MENUCOLOR pattern matching to highlight [False]
+ lines in object menus like inventory; might highlight with
+ bold, inverse, &c even when color is unavailable or toggled off
+nudist start your character without armor [False]
+null allow nulls to be sent to your terminal [True]
try turning this option off (forcing NetHack to use its own
delay code) if moving objects seem to teleport across rooms
-perm_invent keep inventory in a permanent window [FALSE]
-pickup_thrown override pickup_types for thrown objects [TRUE]
-pushweapon when wielding a new weapon, put your previously [FALSE]
+perm_invent keep inventory in a permanent window [False]
+pickup_thrown override pickup_types for thrown objects [True]
+pushweapon when wielding a new weapon, put your previously [False]
wielded weapon into the secondary weapon slot
-quick_farsight usually skip the chance to browse the map when [FALSE]
+quick_farsight usually skip the chance to browse the map when [False]
randomly triggered clairvoyance takes place
-rawio allow the use of raw I/O [FALSE]
-rest_on_space count the space bar as a rest character [FALSE]
-safe_pet prevent you from (knowingly) attacking your pet(s) [TRUE]
-safe_wait require use of 'm' prefix before '.' or 's' to [TRUE]
+rawio allow the use of raw I/O [False]
+rest_on_space count the space bar as a rest character [False]
+safe_pet prevent you from (knowingly) attacking your pet(s) [True]
+safe_wait require use of 'm' prefix before '.' or 's' to [True]
wait or search when adjacent to a hostile monster
-sanity_check perform data sanity checks [FALSE]
-showexp display your accumulated experience points [FALSE]
-showrace show yourself by your race rather than by role [FALSE]
-silent don't use your terminal's bell sound [TRUE]
-sortpack group similar kinds of objects in inventory [TRUE]
-sparkle display sparkly effect for resisted magical [TRUE]
+sanity_check perform data sanity checks [False]
+showexp display your accumulated experience points [False]
+showrace show yourself by your race rather than by role [False]
+silent don't use your terminal's bell sound [True]
+sortpack group similar kinds of objects in inventory [True]
+sparkle display sparkly effect for resisted magical [True]
attacks (e.g. fire attack on fire-resistant monster)
-standout use standout mode for --More-- on messages [FALSE]
-status_updates update the status lines [TRUE]
-time display elapsed game time, in moves [FALSE]
-tombstone print tombstone when you die [TRUE]
-toptenwin print topten in a window rather than stdout [FALSE]
-travel enables travelling via mouse click if supported; [TRUE]
+standout use standout mode for --More-- on messages [False]
+status_updates update the status lines [True]
+time display elapsed game time, in moves [False]
+tombstone print tombstone when you die [True]
+toptenwin print topten in a window rather than stdout [False]
+travel enables travelling via mouse click if supported; [True]
can be toggled off to prevent mouse clicks on the map from
attempting to move the hero; does not affect travel via '_'
-use_darkgray use bold black instead of blue for black glyphs. [TRUE]
-use_inverse display detected monsters in highlighted manner [FALSE]
-verbose print more commentary during the game [TRUE]
-whatis_menu show menu when getting a map location [FALSE]
-whatis_moveskip skip same glyphs when getting a map location [FALSE]
+use_darkgray use bold black instead of blue for black glyphs. [True]
+use_inverse display detected monsters in highlighted manner [False]
+verbose print more commentary during the game [True]
+whatis_menu show menu when getting a map location [False]
+whatis_moveskip skip same glyphs when getting a map location [False]
There are further boolean options controlled by compilation flags.
Boolean option if INSURANCE was set at compile time:
-checkpoint save game state after each level change, for [TRUE]
+checkpoint save game state after each level change, for [True]
possible recovery after program crash
Boolean option if NEWS was set at compile time:
-news print any news from game administrator on startup [TRUE]
+news print any news from game administrator on startup [True]
Boolean option if SCORE_ON_BOTL was set at compile time:
-showscore display your approximate accumulated score [FALSE]
+showscore display your approximate accumulated score [False]
Boolean options if TEXTCOLOR was set at compile time:
-color use different colors for objects on screen [TRUE for micros]
-hilite_pet display pets in a highlighted manner [FALSE]
-hilite_pile display item piles in a highlighted manner [FALSE]
+color use different colors for objects on screen [True for micros]
+hilite_pet display pets in a highlighted manner [False]
+hilite_pile display item piles in a highlighted manner [False]
Boolean option if TIMED_DELAY was set at compile time (tty interface only):
-timed_delay on unix and VMS, use a timer instead of sending [TRUE]
+timed_delay on unix and VMS, use a timer instead of sending [True]
extra screen output when attempting to pause for
display effect. on MSDOS without the termcap
lib, whether or not to pause for visual effect.
Boolean option for Amiga, or for others if ALTMETA was set at compile time:
-altmeta For Amiga, treat Alt+key as Meta+key. [TRUE]
+altmeta For Amiga, treat Alt+key as Meta+key. [True]
altmeta For unix and VMS, treat two character sequence
- "ESC c" as M-c (Meta+c, 8th bit set) when nethack [FALSE]
+ "ESC c" as M-c (Meta+c, 8th bit set) when nethack [False]
obtains a command from player's keyboard.
Boolean option if USE_TILES was set at compile time (MSDOS protected mode):
-preload_tiles control whether tiles get pre-loaded into RAM at [TRUE]
+preload_tiles control whether tiles get pre-loaded into RAM at [True]
the start of the game. Doing so enhances performance
of the tile graphics, but uses more memory.
Boolean option if TTY_TILES_ESCCODES was set at compile time (tty only):
-vt_tiledata insert extra data escape code markers into output [FALSE]
+vt_tiledata insert extra data escape code markers into output [False]
Boolean option if TTY_SOUND_ESCCODES was set at compile time (tty only):
-vt_sounddata insert sound data escape code markers into output [FALSE]
+vt_sounddata insert sound data escape code markers into output [False]
-Any Boolean option can be negated by prefixing it with a '!' or 'no'.
+Boolean options which may be available depending upon which interfaces
+the program has been built to support. If it supports multiple such,
+some of these may show as available for setting but not do anything if
+you happen to be using a different interface than the one(s) they're for:
+ascii_map show map as text, forces tiles_map Off; Qt, X11
+guicolor curses
+hitpointbar curses, tty, Windows GUI if statushilites enabled;
+ Qt without statushilites; X11 if 'fancy_status' disabled
+ (via X application defaults) and statushilities enabled
+popup_dialog curses, Qt, Windows GUI
+selectsaved tty (Qt and Windows GUI do this unconditionally)
+splash_screen curses, Qt, Windows GUI
+tiled_map show map as tiles, forces ascii_map Off; Qt, X11
+Boolean options available when running in debug mode (aka wizard mode):
+menu_tab_sep menu formatting--do not touch
+monpolycontrol have player choose shape-changing monsters' new shapes
+travel_debug not implemented?
+wizweight include item weights in inventory display
+
+Any Boolean option can be set to True by including it among options being
+set, or negated (set to False) by prefixing its name with a '!' or 'no'.
+Alternatively, the compound option syntax can be used: 'optname:true' and
+'optname:false'.
+
+ - - - - -
Compound options are written as option_name:option_value.
'n' prompt with default "no", 'y' prompt with default "yes",
'a' prompt to select sorting order (for suffix 'v' only);
suffix: 'i' inventory, 'a' attributes, 'v' vanquished
- monsters, 'g' genocided and extinct monsters, 'c' conduct,
- 'o' dungeon overview)
+ monsters, 'g' genocided and extinct monsters, 'c' conduct
+ and achievements, 'o' dungeon overview)
fruit the name of a fruit you enjoy eating [slime mold]
(basically a whimsy which NetHack uses from time to time).
hilite_status specifies a rule for highlighting a status field []
startup; also unlike tty and curses, 2 is recommended over 3)
windowtype windowing system to be used [depends on operating system and
compile-time setup] if more than one choice is available.
- Most instances of the program support only one window-type;
+ Some instances of the program support only one window-type;
when that is the case, you don't need to specify anything.
The list of supported window-types in your program can be
seen while the program is running by using the #version
projects / nethack / commitdiff