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 autodescribe describe the terrain under cursor [FALSE]
6 autodig dig if moving and wielding digging tool [FALSE]
7 autoopen walking into a door attempts to open it [TRUE]
8 autopickup automatically pick up objects you move over [TRUE]
9 autoquiver when firing with an empty quiver, select some
10 suitable inventory weapon to fill the quiver [FALSE]
11 BIOS allow the use of IBM ROM BIOS calls [FALSE]
12 cmdassist give help for errors on direction & other commands [TRUE]
13 confirm ask before hitting tame or peaceful monsters [TRUE]
14 DECgraphics use DEC/VT line-drawing characters for the dungeon [FALSE]
15 eight_bit_tty send 8-bit characters straight to terminal [FALSE]
16 extmenu use a menu for selecting extended commands (#) [FALSE]
17 fixinv try to retain the same letter for the same object [TRUE]
18 help print all available info when using the / command [TRUE]
19 IBMgraphics use IBM extended characters for the dungeon [FALSE]
20 ignintr ignore interrupt signal, including breaks [FALSE]
21 implicit_uncursed omit "uncursed" from inventory, if possible [TRUE]
22 legacy print introductory message [TRUE]
23 lit_corridor show a dark corridor as lit if in sight [FALSE]
24 lootabc use a/b/c rather than o/i/b when looting [FALSE]
25 mail enable the mail daemon [TRUE]
26 null allow nulls to be sent to your terminal [TRUE]
27 try turning this option off (forcing NetHack to use its own
28 delay code) if moving objects seem to teleport across rooms
29 perm_invent keep inventory in a permanent window [FALSE]
30 pickup_thrown override pickup_types for thrown objects [TRUE]
31 pushweapon when wielding a new weapon, put your previously
32 wielded weapon into the secondary weapon slot [FALSE]
33 rawio allow the use of raw I/O [FALSE]
34 rest_on_space count the space bar as a rest character [FALSE]
35 safe_pet prevent you from (knowingly) attacking your pet(s) [TRUE]
36 showexp display your accumulated experience points [FALSE]
37 showrace show yourself by your race rather than by role [FALSE]
38 silent don't use your terminal's bell sound [TRUE]
39 sortpack group similar kinds of objects in inventory [TRUE]
40 sound enable messages about what your character hears [TRUE]
41 (note: this has nothing to do with your computer's audio
42 capabilities, and the game resets it periodically)
43 sparkle display sparkly effect for resisted magical [TRUE]
44 attacks (e.g. fire attack on fire-resistant monster)
45 standout use standout mode for --More-- on messages [FALSE]
46 time display elapsed game time, in moves [FALSE]
47 tombstone print tombstone when you die [TRUE]
48 toptenwin print topten in a window rather than stdout [FALSE]
49 travel enable the command to travel to a map location via [TRUE]
50 a shortest-path algorithm, usually invoked by '_'.
51 use_darkgray use bold black instead of blue for black glyphs. [TRUE]
52 use_inverse display detected monsters in highlighted manner [FALSE]
53 verbose print more commentary during the game [TRUE]
57 There are further boolean options controlled by compilation flags.
59 Boolean option if INSURANCE was set at compile time:
60 checkpoint save game state after each level change, for possible [TRUE]
61 recovery after program crash
63 Boolean option if NEWS was set at compile time:
64 news print any news from game administrator on startup [TRUE]
66 Boolean option if MFLOPPY was set at compile time:
67 checkspace check free disk space before writing files to disk [TRUE]
70 Boolean option if SCORE_ON_BOTL was set at compile time:
71 showscore display your approximate accumulated score [FALSE]
73 Boolean options if TEXTCOLOR was set at compile time:
74 color use different colors for objects on screen [TRUE for micros]
75 hilite_pet display pets in a highlighted manner [FALSE]
77 Boolean option if TIMED_DELAY was set at compile time (tty interface only):
78 timed_delay on unix and VMS, use a timer instead of sending
79 extra screen output when attempting to pause for
80 display effect. on MSDOS without the termcap
81 lib, whether or not to pause for visual effect. [TRUE]
83 Boolean option for Amiga, or for others if ALTMETA was set at compile time:
84 altmeta For Amiga, treat Alt+key as Meta+key. [TRUE]
85 altmeta For unix and VMS, treat two character sequence
86 "ESC c" as M-c (Meta+c, 8th bit set) when nethack
87 obtains a command from player's keyboard. [FALSE]
89 Boolean option if USE_TILES was set at compile time (MSDOS protected mode only):
90 preload_tiles control whether tiles get pre-loaded into RAM at the
91 start of the game. Doing so enhances performance
92 of the tile graphics, but uses more memory. [TRUE]
94 Any Boolean option can be negated by prefixing it with a '!' or 'no'.
97 Compound options are written as option_name:option_value.
99 Compound options which can be set during the game are:
101 boulder override the default boulder symbol with another default: [`]
102 disclose the types of information you want offered at the end of the
103 game [ni na nv ng nc no]
104 fruit the name of a fruit you enjoy eating [slime mold]
105 (basically a whimsy which NetHack uses from time to time).
106 menustyle user interface for selection of multiple objects:
107 Traditional -- prompt for classes of interest, then
108 prompt item-by-item for those classes;
109 Combination -- prompt for classes of interest, then
110 use a menu for choosing items;
111 Full -- menu for classes of interest, then item menu;
112 Partial -- skip class filtering, use menu of all items;
113 only the first letter ('T','C','P','F') matters; 'N' (None)
114 is a synonym for 'T', as is boolean style negation [Full]
115 number_pad alphabetic versus numeric control over movement:
116 0 -- traditional hjkl + yubn movement (default);
117 1 -- digits control movement, for use with numeric keypad;
118 2 -- same as 1, but '5' works as 'g' prefix rather than 'G';
119 3 -- numeric for phone keypad (1,2,3 above, 7,8,9 below);
120 4 -- phone keypad (3) combined with MSDOS compatibility (2);
121 -1 -- alphabetic movement but 'z' swapped with 'y'. [0]
122 packorder a list of default symbols for kinds of objects that gives the
123 order in which your pack will be displayed [")[%?+!=/(*`0_]
124 (If you specify only some kinds of items, the others from the
125 default order will be appended to the end.)
126 paranoid_confirmation space separated list of situations where alternate
127 prompting is desired [paranoid_confirmation:pray]
128 Confirm -- when requiring yes, also require no to reject
129 quit -- yes vs y to confirm quitting or to enter explore mode
130 die -- yes vs y to confirm dying (for explore or debug mode)
131 bones -- yes vs y to confirm saving bones data in debug mode
132 attack -- yes vs y to confirm attacking a peaceful monster
133 pray -- y to confirm an attempt to pray; on by default
134 Remove -- always pick from inventory for 'R' and 'T' even when
135 wearing just one applicable item to remove or take off
136 pickup_burden when you pick up an item that exceeds this encumberance
137 level (Unencumbered, Burdened, streSsed, straiNed, overTaxed,
138 or overLoaded), you will be asked if you want to continue. [S]
139 pickup_types a list of default symbols for kinds of objects to autopickup
140 when that option is on [all]
141 pile_limit for feedback when walking across floor objects, threshold at
142 which "there are many objects here" is displayed instead of
143 listing the objects. (0 means "always list objects.") [5]
144 runmode controls how often the map window is updated when performing
145 multi-step movement (various running modes or travel command):
146 teleport -- don't update map until movement stops;
147 run -- periodically update map (interval is seven steps);
148 walk -- update map after every step;
149 crawl -- like walk, but delay after making each step.
150 (This only affects screen display, not actual movement.) [run]
151 scores the parts of the score list you wish to see when the game ends
152 You choose a combination of top scores, scores around the top
153 scores, and all of your own scores. [!own/3 top/2 around]
154 suppress_alert disable various version-specific warnings about changes
155 in game play or the user interface, such as notification given
156 for the 'Q' command that quitting is now done via #quit
157 (e.g., use suppress_alert:3.3.1 to stop that and any other
158 notifications added in that version or earlier) default: [(none)]
160 Compound options which may be set only on startup are:
162 align Your starting alignment (align:lawful, align:neutral,
163 or align:chaotic). You may specify just the first letter. [RANDOM]
164 catname the name of your first cat [NONE]
165 dogname the name of your first dog [NONE]
166 gender Your starting gender (gender:male or gender:female).
167 You may specify just the first letter. Although you can
168 still denote your gender using the "male" and "female"
169 options, the "gender" option will take precedence. [RANDOM]
170 horsename the name of your first horse [NONE]
171 menu_* create single character accelerators for menu commands. Below
172 is a list of all commands. Each is followed by a list of window-
173 ports that implement them: 'x' is X11, 't' is tty, 'g' is Gem,
175 menu_deselect_all deselect all items in a menu [-](gxta)
176 menu_deselect_page deselect all items on this menu page [\](gta)
177 menu_first_page jump to the first page in a menu [^](gta)
178 menu_invert_all invert all items in a menu [@](gxta)
179 menu_invert_page invert all items on this menu page [~](gta)
180 menu_last_page jump to the last page in a menu [|](gta)
181 menu_next_page goto the next menu page [>](gta)
182 menu_previous_page goto the previous menu page [<](gta)
183 menu_search search for a menu item [:](gxta)
184 menu_select_all select all items in a menu [.](gxta)
185 menu_select_page select all items on this menu page [,](gta)
186 msghistory number of top line messages to save [20]
187 name the name of your character [obtained by asking the system or
189 pettype your preferred type of pet (cat or dog), if your character
190 class uses both types; or none for no pet [RANDOM]
191 playmode normal play or non-scoring explore mode or debug mode [normal]
192 race Your starting race (e.g., race:Human, race:Elf). [RANDOM]
193 role Your starting role (e.g., role:Barbarian, role:Valk).
194 Although you can specify just the first letter(s), it will
195 choose only the first role it finds that matches; thus, it
196 is recommended that you spell out as much of the role name
197 as possible. You can also still denote your role by
198 appending it to the "name" option (e.g., name:Vic-V), but the
199 "role" option will take precedence. [RANDOM]
201 windowtype windowing system to be used [depends on operating system]
203 Compound option if TTY_GRAPHICS was set at compile time:
204 msg_window the type of message window to use:
205 single -- One message at a time
206 full -- Full window with all saved top line messages
207 reverse -- Same as full, but messages printed most-recent-first
208 combination -- Two single messages, then as full
211 Some sample options lists are:
212 !autopickup,!tombstone,name:Gandalf,scores:own/3 top/2 around
213 female,nonews,dogname:Rover,rest_on_space,!verbose,menustyle:traditional