1 Boolean options not under specific compile flags (with default values in []):
2 (You can learn which options exist in your version by checking your current
3 option setting, which is reached via the 'O' cmd.)
5 autodig dig if moving and wielding digging tool [FALSE]
6 autoopen walking into a door attempts to open it [TRUE]
7 autopickup automatically pick up objects you move over [TRUE]
8 autoquiver when firing with an empty quiver, select some
9 suitable inventory weapon to fill the quiver [FALSE]
10 BIOS allow the use of IBM ROM BIOS calls [FALSE]
11 cmdassist give help for errors on direction & other commands [TRUE]
12 confirm ask before hitting tame or peaceful monsters [TRUE]
13 DECgraphics use DEC/VT line-drawing characters for the dungeon [FALSE]
14 eight_bit_tty send 8-bit characters straight to terminal [FALSE]
15 extmenu use a menu for selecting extended commands (#) [FALSE]
16 fixinv try to retain the same letter for the same object [TRUE]
17 help print all available info when using the / command [TRUE]
18 IBMgraphics use IBM extended characters for the dungeon [FALSE]
19 ignintr ignore interrupt signal, including breaks [FALSE]
20 implicit_uncursed omit "uncursed" from inventory, if possible [TRUE]
21 legacy print introductory message [TRUE]
22 lit_corridor show a dark corridor as lit if in sight [FALSE]
23 lootabc use a/b/c rather than o/i/b when looting [FALSE]
24 mail enable the mail daemon [TRUE]
25 null allow nulls to be sent to your terminal [TRUE]
26 try turning this option off (forcing NetHack to use its own
27 delay code) if moving objects seem to teleport across rooms
28 perm_invent keep inventory in a permanent window [FALSE]
29 pickup_thrown override pickup_types for thrown objects [TRUE]
30 pushweapon when wielding a new weapon, put your previously
31 wielded weapon into the secondary weapon slot [FALSE]
32 rawio allow the use of raw I/O [FALSE]
33 rest_on_space count the space bar as a rest character [FALSE]
34 safe_pet prevent you from (knowingly) attacking your pet(s) [TRUE]
35 showexp display your accumulated experience points [FALSE]
36 showrace show yourself by your race rather than by role [FALSE]
37 silent don't use your terminal's bell sound [TRUE]
38 sortpack group similar kinds of objects in inventory [TRUE]
39 sound enable messages about what your character hears [TRUE]
40 (note: this has nothing to do with your computer's audio
41 capabilities, and the game resets it periodically)
42 sparkle display sparkly effect for resisted magical [TRUE]
43 attacks (e.g. fire attack on fire-resistant monster)
44 standout use standout mode for --More-- on messages [FALSE]
45 time display elapsed game time, in moves [FALSE]
46 tombstone print tombstone when you die [TRUE]
47 toptenwin print topten in a window rather than stdout [FALSE]
48 travel enable the command to travel to a map location via [TRUE]
49 a shortest-path algorithm, usually invoked by '_'.
50 use_darkgray use bold black instead of blue for black glyphs. [TRUE]
51 use_inverse display detected monsters in highlighted manner [FALSE]
52 verbose print more commentary during the game [TRUE]
56 There are further boolean options controlled by compilation flags.
58 Boolean option if INSURANCE was set at compile time:
59 checkpoint save game state after each level change, for possible [TRUE]
60 recovery after program crash
62 Boolean option if NEWS was set at compile time:
63 news print any news from game administrator on startup [TRUE]
65 Boolean option if MFLOPPY was set at compile time:
66 checkspace check free disk space before writing files to disk [TRUE]
69 Boolean option if SCORE_ON_BOTL was set at compile time:
70 showscore display your approximate accumulated score [FALSE]
72 Boolean options if TEXTCOLOR was set at compile time:
73 color use different colors for objects on screen [TRUE for micros]
74 hilite_pet display pets in a highlighted manner [FALSE]
76 Boolean option if TIMED_DELAY was set at compile time (tty interface only):
77 timed_delay on unix and VMS, use a timer instead of sending
78 extra screen output when attempting to pause for
79 display effect. on MSDOS without the termcap
80 lib, whether or not to pause for visual effect. [TRUE]
82 Boolean option for Amiga, or for others if ALTMETA was set at compile time:
83 altmeta For Amiga, treat Alt+key as Meta+key. [TRUE]
84 altmeta For unix and VMS, treat two character sequence
85 "ESC c" as M-c (Meta+c, 8th bit set) when nethack
86 obtains a command from player's keyboard. [FALSE]
88 Boolean option if USE_TILES was set at compile time (MSDOS protected mode only):
89 preload_tiles control whether tiles get pre-loaded into RAM at the
90 start of the game. Doing so enhances performance
91 of the tile graphics, but uses more memory. [TRUE]
93 Any Boolean option can be negated by prefixing it with a '!' or 'no'.
96 Compound options are written as option_name:option_value.
98 Compound options which can be set during the game are:
100 boulder override the default boulder symbol with another default: [`]
101 disclose the types of information you want offered at the end of the
102 game [ni na nv ng nc no]
103 fruit the name of a fruit you enjoy eating [slime mold]
104 (basically a whimsy which NetHack uses from time to time).
105 menustyle user interface for selection of multiple objects:
106 Traditional -- prompt for classes of interest, then
107 prompt item-by-item for those classes;
108 Combination -- prompt for classes of interest, then
109 use a menu for choosing items;
110 Full -- menu for classes of interest, then item menu;
111 Partial -- skip class filtering, use menu of all items;
112 only the first letter ('T','C','P','F') matters; 'N' (None)
113 is a synonym for 'T', as is boolean style negation [Full]
114 number_pad alphabetic versus numeric control over movement:
115 0 -- traditional hjkl + yubn movement (default);
116 1 -- digits control movement, for use with numeric keypad;
117 2 -- same as 1, but '5' works as 'g' prefix rather than 'G';
118 3 -- numeric for phone keypad (1,2,3 above, 7,8,9 below);
119 4 -- phone keypad (3) combined with MSDOS compatibility (2);
120 -1 -- alphabetic movement but 'z' swapped with 'y'. [0]
121 packorder a list of default symbols for kinds of objects that gives the
122 order in which your pack will be displayed [")[%?+!=/(*`0_]
123 (If you specify only some kinds of items, the others from the
124 default order will be appended to the end.)
125 paranoid_confirmation space separated list of situations where alternate
126 prompting is desired [paranoid_confirmation:pray]
127 Confirm -- when requiring yes, also require no to reject
128 quit -- yes vs y to confirm quitting or to enter explore mode
129 die -- yes vs y to confirm dying (for explore or debug mode)
130 bones -- yes vs y to confirm saving bones data in debug mode
131 attack -- yes vs y to confirm attacking a peaceful monster
132 pray -- y to confirm an attempt to pray; on by default
133 Remove -- always pick from inventory for 'R' and 'T' even when
134 wearing just one applicable item to remove or take off
135 pickup_burden when you pick up an item that exceeds this encumberance
136 level (Unencumbered, Burdened, streSsed, straiNed, overTaxed,
137 or overLoaded), you will be asked if you want to continue. [S]
138 pickup_types a list of default symbols for kinds of objects to autopickup
139 when that option is on [all]
140 pile_limit for feedback when walking across floor objects, threshold at
141 which "there are many objects here" is displayed instead of
142 listing the objects. (0 means "always list objects.") [5]
143 runmode controls how often the map window is updated when performing
144 multi-step movement (various running modes or travel command):
145 teleport -- don't update map until movement stops;
146 run -- periodically update map (interval is seven steps);
147 walk -- update map after every step;
148 crawl -- like walk, but delay after making each step.
149 (This only affects screen display, not actual movement.) [run]
150 scores the parts of the score list you wish to see when the game ends
151 You choose a combination of top scores, scores around the top
152 scores, and all of your own scores. [!own/3 top/2 around]
153 suppress_alert disable various version-specific warnings about changes
154 in game play or the user interface, such as notification given
155 for the 'Q' command that quitting is now done via #quit
156 (e.g., use suppress_alert:3.3.1 to stop that and any other
157 notifications added in that version or earlier) default: [(none)]
159 Compound options which may be set only on startup are:
161 align Your starting alignment (align:lawful, align:neutral,
162 or align:chaotic). You may specify just the first letter. [RANDOM]
163 catname the name of your first cat [NONE]
164 dogname the name of your first dog [NONE]
165 dungeon a list of symbols to be used in place of the default ones for
167 The symbols are subjected to a fair amount of processing, so
168 that you can use C-style escapes such as \n or \081 as well as
169 indicate control characters by ^x or meta characters by \Mx.
170 As usual, \ can force the next character to be taken literally.
171 Since many of the default symbols are overloaded, they are
172 given here by name instead of symbol, with some added notes:
173 stone (solid rock, normally ' ')
174 vwall hwall tlcorn trcorn blcorn brcorn (room boundaries)
175 crwall tuwall tdwall tlwall trwall (wallified maze characters)
176 nodoor vodoor hodoor (no, vertical, horizontal open door)
177 vcdoor hcdoor (vertical, horizontal closed door)
178 ironbars tree room darkcorr litcorr
179 upstair dnstair upladder dnladder
180 altar grave throne sink fountain pool ice lava
181 vodbridge hodbridge (vertical, horizontal open drawbridge)
182 vcdbridge hcdbridge (vertical, horizontal closed drawbridge)
184 default: \ |--------||.-|++##.##<><>_\\#{}.}..##\ #}
185 effects like dungeon, but for special effects symbols
186 vbeam hbeam lslant rslant (generic zap beams)
187 digbeam flashbeam (special beams for digging and cameras)
188 boomleft boomright (boomerangs)
189 ss1 ss2 ss3 ss4 (shielding sequence)
190 sw_topl, sw_topm, sw_topr, (swallow, top row)
191 sw_midl, sw_midr, (swallow, middle row [no center])
192 sw_botl, sw_botm, sw_botr (swallow, bottom row)
193 extl extm extr (explosion matrix top row)
194 exml exmm exmr (explosion matrix middle row)
195 exbl exbm exbr (explosion matrix bottom row)
196 default: |-\\/*!)(0#@*/-\\||\\-//-\\|\ |\\-/
197 gender Your starting gender (gender:male or gender:female).
198 You may specify just the first letter. Although you can
199 still denote your gender using the "male" and "female"
200 options, the "gender" option will take precedence. [RANDOM]
201 horsename the name of your first horse [NONE]
202 menu_* create single character accelerators for menu commands. Below
203 is a list of all commands. Each is followed by a list of window-
204 ports that implement them: 'x' is X11, 't' is tty, 'g' is Gem,
206 menu_deselect_all deselect all items in a menu [-](gxta)
207 menu_deselect_page deselect all items on this menu page [\](gta)
208 menu_first_page jump to the first page in a menu [^](gta)
209 menu_invert_all invert all items in a menu [@](gxta)
210 menu_invert_page invert all items on this menu page [~](gta)
211 menu_last_page jump to the last page in a menu [|](gta)
212 menu_next_page goto the next menu page [>](gta)
213 menu_previous_page goto the previous menu page [<](gta)
214 menu_search search for a menu item [:](gxta)
215 menu_select_all select all items in a menu [.](gxta)
216 menu_select_page select all items on this menu page [,](gta)
217 monsters like dungeon, but for monster symbols
218 default: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
219 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ@\ \\&;:~]
220 msghistory number of top line messages to save [20]
221 name the name of your character [obtained by asking the system or
223 objects like dungeon, but for object symbols
224 default: ])[="(%!?+/$*`0_.
225 pettype your preferred type of pet (cat or dog), if your character
226 class uses both types; or none for no pet [RANDOM]
227 playmode normal play or non-scoring explore mode or debug mode [normal]
228 race Your starting race (e.g., race:Human, race:Elf). [RANDOM]
229 role Your starting role (e.g., role:Barbarian, role:Valk).
230 Although you can specify just the first letter(s), it will
231 choose only the first role it finds that matches; thus, it
232 is recommended that you spell out as much of the role name
233 as possible. You can also still denote your role by
234 appending it to the "name" option (e.g., name:Vic-V), but the
235 "role" option will take precedence. [RANDOM]
236 traps like dungeon, but for trap symbols
237 arrow_trap dart_trap falling_rock_trap squeaky_board
238 bear_trap land_mine rolling_boulder_trap sleeping_gas_trap
239 rust_trap fire_trap pit spiked_pit hole trap_door
240 teleportation_trap level_teleporter magic_portal web statue_trap
241 magic_trap anti_magic_trap polymorph_trap
242 default: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^"^^^^
244 windowtype windowing system to be used [depends on operating system]
246 Compound option if TTY_GRAPHICS was set at compile time:
247 msg_window the type of message window to use:
248 single -- One message at a time
249 full -- Full window with all saved top line messages
250 reverse -- Same as full, but messages printed most-recent-first
251 combination -- Two single messages, then as full
254 Some sample options lists are:
255 !autopickup,!tombstone,name:Gandalf,scores:own/3 top/2 around
256 female,nonews,dogname:Rover,dungeon: |--------||.-|++.##<><>_\\#{}.}..## #}
257 rest_on_space,!verbose,menustyle:traditional