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