zshparam(1)
NAME
zshparam - zsh parameters
DESCRIPTION
A parameter has a name, a value, and a number of attributes. A name
may be any sequence of alphanumeric characters and underscores, or the
single characters `*', `@', `#', `?', `-', `$', or `!'. The value may
be a scalar (a string), an integer, an array (indexed numerically), or
an associative array (an unordered set of name-value pairs, indexed by
name). To declare the type of a parameter, or to assign a scalar or
integer value to a parameter, use the typeset builtin.
The value of a scalar or integer parameter may also be assigned by
writing:
name=value
If the integer attribute, -i, is set for name, the value is subject to
arithmetic evaluation. Furthermore, by replacing `=' with `+=', a
parameter can be added or appended to. See the section `Array Parame-
ters' for additional forms of assignment.
To refer to the value of a parameter, write `$name' or `${name}'. See
Parameter Expansion in zshexpn(1) for complete details.
In the parameter lists that follow, the mark `<S>' indicates that the
parameter is special. Special parameters cannot have their type
changed or their readonly attribute turned off, and if a special param-
eter is unset, then later recreated, the special properties will be
retained. `<Z>' indicates that the parameter does not exist when the
shell initializes in sh or ksh emulation mode.
ARRAY PARAMETERS
To assign an array value, write one of:
set -A name value ...
name=(value ...)
If no parameter name exists, an ordinary array parameter is created.
If the parameter name exists and is a scalar, it is replaced by a new
array. Ordinary array parameters may also be explicitly declared with:
typeset -a name
Associative arrays must be declared before assignment, by using:
typeset -A name
When name refers to an associative array, the list in an assignment is
interpreted as alternating keys and values:
set -A name key value ...
name=(key value ...)
Every key must have a value in this case. Note that this assigns to
the entire array, deleting any elements that do not appear in the list.
To create an empty array (including associative arrays), use one of:
set -A name
name=()
Array Subscripts
Individual elements of an array may be selected using a subscript. A
subscript of the form `[exp]' selects the single element exp, where exp
is an arithmetic expression which will be subject to arithmetic expan-
sion as if it were surrounded by `$((...))'. The elements are numbered
beginning with 1, unless the KSH_ARRAYS option is set in which case
they are numbered from zero.
Subscripts may be used inside braces used to delimit a parameter name,
thus `${foo[2]}' is equivalent to `$foo[2]'. If the KSH_ARRAYS option
is set, the braced form is the only one that works, as bracketed
expressions otherwise are not treated as subscripts.
The same subscripting syntax is used for associative arrays, except
that no arithmetic expansion is applied to exp. However, the parsing
rules for arithmetic expressions still apply, which affects the way
that certain special characters must be protected from interpretation.
See Subscript Parsing below for details.
A subscript of the form `[*]' or `[@]' evaluates to all elements of an
array; there is no difference between the two except when they appear
within double quotes. `"$foo[*]"' evaluates to `"$foo[1] $foo[2]
..."', whereas `"$foo[@]"' evaluates to `"$foo[1]" "$foo[2]" ...'. For
associative arrays, `[*]' or `[@]' evaluate to all the values, in no
particular order. Note that this does not substitute the keys; see the
documentation for the `k' flag under Parameter Expansion Flags in zsh-
expn(1) for complete details. When an array parameter is referenced as
`$name' (with no subscript) it evaluates to `$name[*]', unless the
KSH_ARRAYS option is set in which case it evaluates to `${name[0]}'
(for an associative array, this means the value of the key `0', which
may not exist even if there are values for other keys).
A subscript of the form `[exp1,exp2]' selects all elements in the range
exp1 to exp2, inclusive. (Associative arrays are unordered, and so do
not support ranges.) If one of the subscripts evaluates to a negative
number, say -n, then the nth element from the end of the array is used.
Thus `$foo[-3]' is the third element from the end of the array foo, and
`$foo[1,-1]' is the same as `$foo[*]'.
Subscripting may also be performed on non-array values, in which case
the subscripts specify a substring to be extracted. For example, if
FOO is set to `foobar', then `echo $FOO[2,5]' prints `ooba'.
Array Element Assignment
A subscript may be used on the left side of an assignment like so:
name[exp]=value
In this form of assignment the element or range specified by exp is
replaced by the expression on the right side. An array (but not an
associative array) may be created by assignment to a range or element.
Arrays do not nest, so assigning a parenthesized list of values to an
element or range changes the number of elements in the array, shifting
the other elements to accommodate the new values. (This is not sup-
ported for associative arrays.)
This syntax also works as an argument to the typeset command:
typeset "name[exp]"=value
The value may not be a parenthesized list in this case; only sin-
gle-element assignments may be made with typeset. Note that quotes are
necessary in this case to prevent the brackets from being interpreted
as filename generation operators. The noglob precommand modifier could
be used instead.
To delete an element of an ordinary array, assign `()' to that element.
To delete an element of an associative array, use the unset command:
unset "name[exp]"
Subscript Flags
If the opening bracket, or the comma in a range, in any subscript
expression is directly followed by an opening parenthesis, the string
up to the matching closing one is considered to be a list of flags, as
in `name[(flags)exp]'.
The flags s, n and b take an argument; the delimiter is shown below as
`:', but any character, or the matching pairs `(...)', `{...}',
`[...]', or `<...>', may be used.
The flags currently understood are:
w If the parameter subscripted is a scalar then this flag makes
subscripting work on words instead of characters. The default
word separator is whitespace.
s:string:
This gives the string that separates words (for use with the w
flag). The delimiter character : is arbitrary; see above.
p Recognize the same escape sequences as the print builtin in the
string argument of a subsequent `s' flag.
f If the parameter subscripted is a scalar then this flag makes
subscripting work on lines instead of characters, i.e. with ele-
ments separated by newlines. This is a shorthand for `pws:\n:'.
r Reverse subscripting: if this flag is given, the exp is taken as
a pattern and the result is the first matching array element,
substring or word (if the parameter is an array, if it is a
scalar, or if it is a scalar and the `w' flag is given, respec-
tively). The subscript used is the number of the matching ele-
ment, so that pairs of subscripts such as `$foo[(r)??,3]' and
`$foo[(r)??,(r)f*]' are possible if the parameter is not an
associative array. If the parameter is an associative array,
only the value part of each pair is compared to the pattern, and
the result is that value.
If a search through an ordinary array failed, the search sets
the subscript to one past the end of the array, and hence
${array[(r)pattern]} will substitute the empty string. Thus the
success of a search can be tested by using the (i) flag, for
example (assuming the option KSH_ARRAYS is not in effect):
[[ ${array[(i)pattern]} -le ${#array} ]]
If KSH_ARRAYS is in effect, the -le should be replaced by -lt.
Note that in subscripts with both `r' and `R' pattern characters
are active even if they were substituted for a parameter
(regardless of the setting of GLOB_SUBST which controls this
feature in normal pattern matching). It is therefore necessary
to quote pattern characters for an exact string match. Given a
string in $key, and assuming the EXTENDED_GLOB option is set,
the following is sufficient to match an element of an array
$array containing exactly the value of $key:
key2=${key//(#m)[\][()\\*?#<>~^]/\\$MATCH}
print ${array[(R)$key2]}
R Like `r', but gives the last match. For associative arrays,
gives all possible matches. May be used for assigning to ordi-
nary array elements, but not for assigning to associative
arrays.
Note that this flag can give odd results on failure. For an
ordinary array the item substituted is that corresponding to
subscript 0. If the option KSH_ARRAYS is not in effect, this is
the same as the element corresponding to subscript 1, although
the form ${array[(I)pattern]} will evaluate to 0 for a failed
match. If the option KSH_ARRAYS is in effect, the subscript is
still 0 for a failed match; this cannot be distinguished from a
successful match without testing ${array[0]} against the pat-
tern.
i Like `r', but gives the index of the match instead; this may not
be combined with a second argument. On the left side of an
assignment, behaves like `r'. For associative arrays, the key
part of each pair is compared to the pattern, and the first
matching key found is the result.
See `r' for discussion of subscripts of failed matches.
I Like `i', but gives the index of the last match, or all possible
matching keys in an associative array.
See `R' for discussion of subscripts of failed matches.
k If used in a subscript on an associative array, this flag causes
the keys to be interpreted as patterns, and returns the value
for the first key found where exp is matched by the key. This
flag does not work on the left side of an assignment to an asso-
ciative array element. If used on another type of parameter,
this behaves like `r'.
K On an associative array this is like `k' but returns all values
where exp is matched by the keys. On other types of parameters
this has the same effect as `R'.
n:expr:
If combined with `r', `R', `i' or `I', makes them give the nth
or nth last match (if expr evaluates to n). This flag is
ignored when the array is associative. The delimiter character
: is arbitrary; see above.
b:expr:
If combined with `r', `R', `i' or `I', makes them begin at the
nth or nth last element, word, or character (if expr evaluates
to n). This flag is ignored when the array is associative. The
delimiter character : is arbitrary; see above.
e This flag has no effect and for ordinary arrays is retained for
backward compatibility only. For associative arrays, this flag
can be used to force * or @ to be interpreted as a single key
rather than as a reference to all values. This flag may be used
on the left side of an assignment.
See Parameter Expansion Flags (zshexpn(1)) for additional ways to
manipulate the results of array subscripting.
Subscript Parsing
This discussion applies mainly to associative array key strings and to
patterns used for reverse subscripting (the `r', `R', `i', etc. flags),
but it may also affect parameter substitutions that appear as part of
an arithmetic expression in an ordinary subscript.
It is possible to avoid the use of subscripts in assignments to asso-
ciative array elements by using the syntax:
aa+=('key with "*strange*" characters' 'value string')
This adds a new key/value pair if the key is not already present, and
replaces the value for the existing key if it is.
The basic rule to remember when writing a subscript expression is that
all text between the opening `[' and the closing `]' is interpreted as
if it were in double quotes (see zshmisc(1)). However, unlike double
quotes which normally cannot nest, subscript expressions may appear
inside double-quoted strings or inside other subscript expressions (or
both!), so the rules have two important differences.
The first difference is that brackets (`[' and `]') must appear as bal-
anced pairs in a subscript expression unless they are preceded by a
backslash (`\'). Therefore, within a subscript expression (and unlike
true double-quoting) the sequence `\[' becomes `[', and similarly `\]'
becomes `]'. This applies even in cases where a backslash is not nor-
mally required; for example, the pattern `[^[]' (to match any character
other than an open bracket) should be written `[^\[]' in a reverse-sub-
script pattern. However, note that `\[^\[\]' and even `\[^[]' mean the
same thing, because backslashes are always stripped when they appear
before brackets!
The same rule applies to parentheses (`(' and `)') and braces (`{' and
`}'): they must appear either in balanced pairs or preceded by a back-
slash, and backslashes that protect parentheses or braces are removed
during parsing. This is because parameter expansions may be surrounded
balanced braces, and subscript flags are introduced by balanced paren-
thesis.
The second difference is that a double-quote (`"') may appear as part
of a subscript expression without being preceded by a backslash, and
therefore that the two characters `\"' remain as two characters in the
subscript (in true double-quoting, `\"' becomes `"'). However, because
of the standard shell quoting rules, any double-quotes that appear must
occur in balanced pairs unless preceded by a backslash. This makes it
more difficult to write a subscript expression that contains an odd
number of double-quote characters, but the reason for this difference
is so that when a subscript expression appears inside true dou-
ble-quotes, one can still write `\"' (rather than `\\\"') for `"'.
To use an odd number of double quotes as a key in an assignment, use
the typeset builtin and an enclosing pair of double quotes; to refer to
the value of that key, again use double quotes:
typeset -A aa
typeset "aa[one\"two\"three\"quotes]"=QQQ
print "$aa[one\"two\"three\"quotes]"
It is important to note that the quoting rules do not change when a
parameter expansion with a subscript is nested inside another subscript
expression. That is, it is not necessary to use additional backslashes
within the inner subscript expression; they are removed only once, from
the innermost subscript outwards. Parameters are also expanded from
the innermost subscript first, as each expansion is encountered left to
right in the outer expression.
A further complication arises from a way in which subscript parsing is
not different from double quote parsing. As in true double-quoting,
the sequences `\*', and `\@' remain as two characters when they appear
in a subscript expression. To use a literal `*' or `@' as an associa-
tive array key, the `e' flag must be used:
typeset -A aa
aa[(e)*]=star
print $aa[(e)*]
A last detail must be considered when reverse subscripting is per-
formed. Parameters appearing in the subscript expression are first
expanded and then the complete expression is interpreted as a pattern.
This has two effects: first, parameters behave as if GLOB_SUBST were on
(and it cannot be turned off); second, backslashes are interpreted
twice, once when parsing the array subscript and again when parsing the
pattern. In a reverse subscript, it's necessary to use four back-
slashes to cause a single backslash to match literally in the pattern.
For complex patterns, it is often easiest to assign the desired pattern
to a parameter and then refer to that parameter in the subscript,
because then the backslashes, brackets, parentheses, etc., are seen
only when the complete expression is converted to a pattern. To match
the value of a parameter literally in a reverse subscript, rather than
as a pattern, use `${(q)name}' (see zshexpn(1)) to quote the expanded
value.
Note that the `k' and `K' flags are reverse subscripting for an ordi-
nary array, but are not reverse subscripting for an associative array!
(For an associative array, the keys in the array itself are interpreted
as patterns by those flags; the subscript is a plain string in that
case.)
One final note, not directly related to subscripting: the numeric names
of positional parameters (described below) are parsed specially, so for
example `$2foo' is equivalent to `${2}foo'. Therefore, to use sub-
script syntax to extract a substring from a positional parameter, the
expansion must be surrounded by braces; for example, `${2[3,5]}' evalu-
ates to the third through fifth characters of the second positional
parameter, but `$2[3,5]' is the entire second parameter concatenated
with the filename generation pattern `[3,5]'.
POSITIONAL PARAMETERS
The positional parameters provide access to the command-line arguments
of a shell function, shell script, or the shell itself; see the section
`Invocation', and also the section `Functions'. The parameter n, where
n is a number, is the nth positional parameter. The parameters *, @
and argv are arrays containing all the positional parameters; thus
`$argv[n]', etc., is equivalent to simply `$n'.
Positional parameters may be changed after the shell or function starts
by using the set builtin, by assigning to the argv array, or by direct
assignment of the form `n=value' where n is the number of the posi-
tional parameter to be changed. This also creates (with empty values)
any of the positions from 1 to n that do not already have values. Note
that, because the positional parameters form an array, an array assign-
ment of the form `n=(value ...)' is allowed, and has the effect of
shifting all the values at positions greater than n by as many posi-
tions as necessary to accommodate the new values.
LOCAL PARAMETERS
Shell function executions delimit scopes for shell parameters. (Param-
eters are dynamically scoped.) The typeset builtin, and its alterna-
tive forms declare, integer, local and readonly (but not export), can
be used to declare a parameter as being local to the innermost scope.
When a parameter is read or assigned to, the innermost existing parame-
ter of that name is used. (That is, the local parameter hides any
less-local parameter.) However, assigning to a non-existent parameter,
or declaring a new parameter with export, causes it to be created in
the outermost scope.
Local parameters disappear when their scope ends. unset can be used to
delete a parameter while it is still in scope; any outer parameter of
the same name remains hidden.
Special parameters may also be made local; they retain their special
attributes unless either the existing or the newly-created parameter
has the -h (hide) attribute. This may have unexpected effects: there
is no default value, so if there is no assignment at the point the
variable is made local, it will be set to an empty value (or zero in
the case of integers). The following:
typeset PATH=/new/directory:$PATH
is valid for temporarily allowing the shell or programmes called from
it to find the programs in /new/directory inside a function.
Note that the restriction in older versions of zsh that local parame-
ters were never exported has been removed.
PARAMETERS SET BY THE SHELL
The following parameters are automatically set by the shell:
! <S> The process ID of the last command started in the background
with &, or put into the background with the bg builtin.
# <S> The number of positional parameters in decimal. Note that some
confusion may occur with the syntax $#param which substitutes
the length of param. Use ${#} to resolve ambiguities. In par-
ticular, the sequence `$#-...' in an arithmetic expression is
interpreted as the length of the parameter -, q.v.
ARGC <S> <Z>
Same as #.
$ <S> The process ID of this shell. Note that this indicates the
original shell started by invoking zsh; all processes forked
from the shells without executing a new program, such as sub-
shells started by (...), substitute the same value.
- <S> Flags supplied to the shell on invocation or by the set or
setopt commands.
* <S> An array containing the positional parameters.
argv <S> <Z>
Same as *. Assigning to argv changes the local positional
parameters, but argv is not itself a local parameter. Deleting
argv with unset in any function deletes it everywhere, although
only the innermost positional parameter array is deleted (so *
and @ in other scopes are not affected).
@ <S> Same as argv[@], even when argv is not set.
? <S> The exit status returned by the last command.
0 <S> The name used to invoke the current shell. If the FUNC-
TION_ARGZERO option is set, this is set temporarily within a
shell function to the name of the function, and within a sourced
script to the name of the script.
status <S> <Z>
Same as ?.
pipestatus <S> <Z>
An array containing the exit statuses returned by all commands
in the last pipeline.
_ <S> The last argument of the previous command. Also, this parameter
is set in the environment of every command executed to the full
pathname of the command.
CPUTYPE
The machine type (microprocessor class or machine model), as
determined at run time.
EGID <S>
The effective group ID of the shell process. If you have suffi-
cient privileges, you may change the effective group ID of the
shell process by assigning to this parameter. Also (assuming
sufficient privileges), you may start a single command with a
different effective group ID by `(EGID=gid; command)'
EUID <S>
The effective user ID of the shell process. If you have suffi-
cient privileges, you may change the effective user ID of the
shell process by assigning to this parameter. Also (assuming
sufficient privileges), you may start a single command with a
different effective user ID by `(EUID=uid; command)'
ERRNO <S>
The value of errno (see errno(3)) as set by the most recently
failed system call. This value is system dependent and is
intended for debugging purposes. It is also useful with the
zsh/system module which allows the number to be turned into a
name or message.
GID <S>
The real group ID of the shell process. If you have sufficient
privileges, you may change the group ID of the shell process by
assigning to this parameter. Also (assuming sufficient privi-
leges), you may start a single command under a different group
ID by `(GID=gid; command)'
HISTCMD
The current history line number in an interactive shell, in
other words the line number for the command that caused $HISTCMD
to be read.
HOST The current hostname.
LINENO <S>
The line number of the current line within the current script,
sourced file, or shell function being executed, whichever was
started most recently. Note that in the case of shell functions
the line number refers to the function as it appeared in the
original definition, not necessarily as displayed by the func-
tions builtin.
LOGNAME
If the corresponding variable is not set in the environment of
the shell, it is initialized to the login name corresponding to
the current login session. This parameter is exported by default
but this can be disabled using the typeset builtin.
MACHTYPE
The machine type (microprocessor class or machine model), as
determined at compile time.
OLDPWD The previous working directory. This is set when the shell ini-
tializes and whenever the directory changes.
OPTARG <S>
The value of the last option argument processed by the getopts
command.
OPTIND <S>
The index of the last option argument processed by the getopts
command.
OSTYPE The operating system, as determined at compile time.
PPID <S>
The process ID of the parent of the shell. As for $$, the value
indicates the parent of the original shell and does not change
in subshells.
PWD The present working directory. This is set when the shell ini-
tializes and whenever the directory changes.
RANDOM <S>
A pseudo-random integer from 0 to 32767, newly generated each
time this parameter is referenced. The random number generator
can be seeded by assigning a numeric value to RANDOM.
The values of RANDOM form an intentionally-repeatable
pseudo-random sequence; subshells that reference RANDOM will
result in identical pseudo-random values unless the value of
RANDOM is referenced or seeded in the parent shell in between
subshell invocations.
SECONDS <S>
The number of seconds since shell invocation. If this parameter
is assigned a value, then the value returned upon reference will
be the value that was assigned plus the number of seconds since
the assignment.
Unlike other special parameters, the type of the SECONDS parame-
ter can be changed using the typeset command. Only integer and
one of the floating point types are allowed. For example,
`typeset -F SECONDS' causes the value to be reported as a float-
ing point number. The precision is six decimal places, although
not all places may be useful.
SHLVL <S>
Incremented by one each time a new shell is started.
signals
An array containing the names of the signals.
TRY_BLOCK_ERROR <S>
In an always block, indicates whether the preceding list of code
caused an error. The value is 1 to indicate an error, 0 other-
wise. It may be reset, clearing the error condition. See Com-
plex Commands in zshmisc(1)
TTY The name of the tty associated with the shell, if any.
TTYIDLE <S>
The idle time of the tty associated with the shell in seconds or
-1 if there is no such tty.
UID <S>
The real user ID of the shell process. If you have sufficient
privileges, you may change the user ID of the shell by assigning
to this parameter. Also (assuming sufficient privileges), you
may start a single command under a different user ID by
`(UID=uid; command)'
USERNAME <S>
The username corresponding to the real user ID of the shell
process. If you have sufficient privileges, you may change the
username (and also the user ID and group ID) of the shell by
assigning to this parameter. Also (assuming sufficient privi-
leges), you may start a single command under a different user-
name (and user ID and group ID) by `(USERNAME=username; com-
mand)'
VENDOR The vendor, as determined at compile time.
ZSH_NAME
Expands to the basename of the command used to invoke this
instance of zsh.
ZSH_VERSION
The version number of this zsh.
PARAMETERS USED BY THE SHELL
The following parameters are used by the shell.
In cases where there are two parameters with an upper- and lowercase
form of the same name, such as path and PATH, the lowercase form is an
array and the uppercase form is a scalar with the elements of the array
joined together by colons. These are similar to tied parameters cre-
ated via `typeset -T'. The normal use for the colon-separated form is
for exporting to the environment, while the array form is easier to
manipulate within the shell. Note that unsetting either of the pair
will unset the other; they retain their special properties when recre-
ated, and recreating one of the pair will recreate the other.
ARGV0 If exported, its value is used as the argv[0] of external com-
mands. Usually used in constructs like `ARGV0=emacs nethack'.
BAUD The rate in bits per second at which data reaches the terminal.
The line editor will use this value in order to compensate for a
slow terminal by delaying updates to the display until neces-
sary. If the parameter is unset or the value is zero the com-
pensation mechanism is turned off. The parameter is not set by
default.
This parameter may be profitably set in some circumstances, e.g.
for slow modems dialing into a communications server, or on a
slow wide area network. It should be set to the baud rate of
the slowest part of the link for best performance.
cdpath <S> <Z> (CDPATH <S>)
An array (colon-separated list) of directories specifying the
search path for the cd command.
COLUMNS <S>
The number of columns for this terminal session. Used for
printing select lists and for the line editor.
DIRSTACKSIZE
The maximum size of the directory stack. If the stack gets
larger than this, it will be truncated automatically. This is
useful with the AUTO_PUSHD option.
ENV If the ENV environment variable is set when zsh is invoked as sh
or ksh, $ENV is sourced after the profile scripts. The value of
ENV is subjected to parameter expansion, command substitution,
and arithmetic expansion before being interpreted as a pathname.
Note that ENV is not used unless zsh is emulating sh or ksh.
FCEDIT The default editor for the fc builtin. If FCEDIT is not set,
the parameter EDITOR is used; if that is not set either, a
builtin default, usually vi, is used.
fignore <S> <Z> (FIGNORE <S>)
An array (colon separated list) containing the suffixes of files
to be ignored during filename completion. However, if comple-
tion only generates files with suffixes in this list, then these
files are completed anyway.
fpath <S> <Z> (FPATH <S>)
An array (colon separated list) of directories specifying the
search path for function definitions. This path is searched
when a function with the -u attribute is referenced. If an exe-
cutable file is found, then it is read and executed in the cur-
rent environment.
histchars <S>
Three characters used by the shell's history and lexical analy-
sis mechanism. The first character signals the start of a his-
tory expansion (default `!'). The second character signals the
start of a quick history substitution (default `^'). The third
character is the comment character (default `#').
The characters must be in the ASCII character set; any attempt
to set histchars to characters with a locale-dependent meaning
will be rejected with an error message.
HISTCHARS <S> <Z>
Same as histchars. (Deprecated.)
HISTFILE
The file to save the history in when an interactive shell exits.
If unset, the history is not saved.
HISTSIZE <S>
The maximum number of events stored in the internal history
list. If you use the HIST_EXPIRE_DUPS_FIRST option, setting
this value larger than the SAVEHIST size will give you the dif-
ference as a cushion for saving duplicated history events.
HOME <S>
The default argument for the cd command. This is not set auto-
matically by the shell in sh, ksh or csh emulation, but it is
typically present in the environment anyway, and if it becomes
set it has its usual special behaviour.
IFS <S>
Internal field separators (by default space, tab, newline and
NUL), that are used to separate words which result from command
or parameter expansion and words read by the read builtin. Any
characters from the set space, tab and newline that appear in
the IFS are called IFS white space. One or more IFS white space
characters or one non-IFS white space character together with
any adjacent IFS white space character delimit a field. If an
IFS white space character appears twice consecutively in the
IFS, this character is treated as if it were not an IFS white
space character.
KEYTIMEOUT
The time the shell waits, in hundredths of seconds, for another
key to be pressed when reading bound multi-character sequences.
LANG <S>
This variable determines the locale category for any category
not specifically selected via a variable starting with `LC_'.
LC_ALL <S>
This variable overrides the value of the `LANG' variable and the
value of any of the other variables starting with `LC_'.
LC_COLLATE <S>
This variable determines the locale category for character col-
lation information within ranges in glob brackets and for sort-
ing.
LC_CTYPE <S>
This variable determines the locale category for character han-
dling functions.
LC_MESSAGES <S>
This variable determines the language in which messages should
be written. Note that zsh does not use message catalogs.
LC_NUMERIC <S>
This variable affects the decimal point character and thousands
separator character for the formatted input/output functions and
string conversion functions. Note that zsh ignores this setting
when parsing floating point mathematical expressions.
LC_TIME <S>
This variable determines the locale category for date and time
formatting in prompt escape sequences.
LINES <S>
The number of lines for this terminal session. Used for print-
ing select lists and for the line editor.
LISTMAX
In the line editor, the number of matches to list without asking
first. If the value is negative, the list will be shown if it
spans at most as many lines as given by the absolute value. If
set to zero, the shell asks only if the top of the listing would
scroll off the screen.
LOGCHECK
The interval in seconds between checks for login/logout activity
using the watch parameter.
MAIL If this parameter is set and mailpath is not set, the shell
looks for mail in the specified file.
MAILCHECK
The interval in seconds between checks for new mail.
mailpath <S> <Z> (MAILPATH <S>)
An array (colon-separated list) of filenames to check for new
mail. Each filename can be followed by a `?' and a message that
will be printed. The message will undergo parameter expansion,
command substitution and arithmetic expansion with the variable
$_ defined as the name of the file that has changed. The
default message is `You have new mail'. If an element is a
directory instead of a file the shell will recursively check
every file in every subdirectory of the element.
manpath <S> <Z> (MANPATH <S> <Z>)
An array (colon-separated list) whose value is not used by the
shell. The manpath array can be useful, however, since setting
it also sets MANPATH, and vice versa.
module_path <S> <Z> (MODULE_PATH <S>)
An array (colon-separated list) of directories that zmodload
searches for dynamically loadable modules. This is initialized
to a standard pathname, usually `/usr/local/lib/zsh/$ZSH_VER-
SION'. (The `/usr/local/lib' part varies from installation to
installation.) For security reasons, any value set in the envi-
ronment when the shell is started will be ignored.
These parameters only exist if the installation supports dynamic
module loading.
NULLCMD <S>
The command name to assume if a redirection is specified with no
command. Defaults to cat. For sh/ksh behavior, change this to
:. For csh-like behavior, unset this parameter; the shell will
print an error message if null commands are entered.
path <S> <Z> (PATH <S>)
An array (colon-separated list) of directories to search for
commands. When this parameter is set, each directory is scanned
and all files found are put in a hash table.
POSTEDIT <S>
This string is output whenever the line editor exits. It usu-
ally contains termcap strings to reset the terminal.
PROMPT <S> <Z>
PROMPT2 <S> <Z>
PROMPT3 <S> <Z>
PROMPT4 <S> <Z>
Same as PS1, PS2, PS3 and PS4, respectively.
prompt <S> <Z>
Same as PS1.
PS1 <S>
The primary prompt string, printed before a command is read.
the default is `%m%# '. It undergoes a special form of expan-
sion before being displayed; see the section `Prompt Expansion'.
PS2 <S>
The secondary prompt, printed when the shell needs more informa-
tion to complete a command. It is expanded in the same way as
PS1. The default is `%_> ', which displays any shell constructs
or quotation marks which are currently being processed.
PS3 <S>
Selection prompt used within a select loop. It is expanded in
the same way as PS1. The default is `?# '.
PS4 <S>
The execution trace prompt. Default is `+%N:%i> ', which dis-
plays the name of the current shell structure and the line num-
ber within it. In sh or ksh emulation, the default is `+ '.
psvar <S> <Z> (PSVAR <S>)
An array (colon-separated list) whose first nine values can be
used in PROMPT strings. Setting psvar also sets PSVAR, and vice
versa.
READNULLCMD <S>
The command name to assume if a single input redirection is
specified with no command. Defaults to more.
REPORTTIME
If nonnegative, commands whose combined user and system execu-
tion times (measured in seconds) are greater than this value
have timing statistics printed for them.
REPLY This parameter is reserved by convention to pass string values
between shell scripts and shell builtins in situations where a
function call or redirection are impossible or undesirable. The
read builtin and the select complex command may set REPLY, and
filename generation both sets and examines its value when evalu-
ating certain expressions. Some modules also employ REPLY for
similar purposes.
reply As REPLY, but for array values rather than strings.
RPROMPT <S>
RPS1 <S>
This prompt is displayed on the right-hand side of the screen
when the primary prompt is being displayed on the left. This
does not work if the SINGLELINEZLE option is set. It is
expanded in the same way as PS1.
RPROMPT2 <S>
RPS2 <S>
This prompt is displayed on the right-hand side of the screen
when the secondary prompt is being displayed on the left. This
does not work if the SINGLELINEZLE option is set. It is
expanded in the same way as PS2.
SAVEHIST
The maximum number of history events to save in the history
file.
SPROMPT <S>
The prompt used for spelling correction. The sequence `%R'
expands to the string which presumably needs spelling correc-
tion, and `%r' expands to the proposed correction. All other
prompt escapes are also allowed.
STTY If this parameter is set in a command's environment, the shell
runs the stty command with the value of this parameter as argu-
ments in order to set up the terminal before executing the com-
mand. The modes apply only to the command, and are reset when it
finishes or is suspended. If the command is suspended and con-
tinued later with the fg or wait builtins it will see the modes
specified by STTY, as if it were not suspended. This (inten-
tionally) does not apply if the command is continued via `kill
-CONT'. STTY is ignored if the command is run in the back-
ground, or if it is in the environment of the shell but not
explicitly assigned to in the input line. This avoids running
stty at every external command by accidentally exporting it.
Also note that STTY should not be used for window size specifi-
cations; these will not be local to the command.
TERM <S>
The type of terminal in use. This is used when looking up term-
cap sequences. An assignment to TERM causes zsh to re-initial-
ize the terminal, even if the value does not change (e.g.,
`TERM=$TERM'). It is necessary to make such an assignment upon
any change to the terminal definition database or terminal type
in order for the new settings to take effect.
TIMEFMT
The format of process time reports with the time keyword. The
default is `%E real %U user %S system %P %J'. Recognizes the
following escape sequences, although not all may be available on
all systems, and some that are available may not be useful:
%% A `%'.
%U CPU seconds spent in user mode.
%S CPU seconds spent in kernel mode.
%E Elapsed time in seconds.
%P The CPU percentage, computed as (100*%U+%S)/%E.
%W Number of times the process was swapped.
%X The average amount in (shared) text space used in Kbytes.
%D The average amount in (unshared) data/stack space used in
Kbytes.
%K The total space used (%X+%D) in Kbytes.
%M The maximum memory the process had in use at any time in
Kbytes.
%F The number of major page faults (page needed to be
brought from disk).
%R The number of minor page faults.
%I The number of input operations.
%O The number of output operations.
%r The number of socket messages received.
%s The number of socket messages sent.
%k The number of signals received.
%w Number of voluntary context switches (waits).
%c Number of involuntary context switches.
%J The name of this job.
A star may be inserted between the percent sign and flags print-
ing time. This cause the time to be printed in `hh:mm:ss.ttt'
format (hours and minutes are only printed if they are not
zero).
TMOUT If this parameter is nonzero, the shell will receive an ALRM
signal if a command is not entered within the specified number
of seconds after issuing a prompt. If there is a trap on
SIGALRM, it will be executed and a new alarm is scheduled using
the value of the TMOUT parameter after executing the trap. If
no trap is set, and the idle time of the terminal is not less
than the value of the TMOUT parameter, zsh terminates. Other-
wise a new alarm is scheduled to TMOUT seconds after the last
keypress.
TMPPREFIX
A pathname prefix which the shell will use for all temporary
files. Note that this should include an initial part for the
file name as well as any directory names. The default is
`/tmp/zsh'.
watch <S> <Z> (WATCH <S>)
An array (colon-separated list) of login/logout events to
report. If it contains the single word `all', then all
login/logout events are reported. If it contains the single
word `notme', then all events are reported as with `all' except
$USERNAME. An entry in this list may consist of a username, an
`@' followed by a remote hostname, and a `%' followed by a line
(tty). Any or all of these components may be present in an
entry; if a login/logout event matches all of them, it is
reported.
WATCHFMT
The format of login/logout reports if the watch parameter is
set. Default is `%n has %a %l from %m'. Recognizes the follow-
ing escape sequences:
%n The name of the user that logged in/out.
%a The observed action, i.e. "logged on" or "logged off".
%l The line (tty) the user is logged in on.
%M The full hostname of the remote host.
%m The hostname up to the first `.'. If only the IP address
is available or the utmp field contains the name of an
X-windows display, the whole name is printed.
NOTE: The `%m' and `%M' escapes will work only if there
is a host name field in the utmp on your machine. Other-
wise they are treated as ordinary strings.
%S (%s)
Start (stop) standout mode.
%U (%u)
Start (stop) underline mode.
%B (%b)
Start (stop) boldface mode.
%t
%@ The time, in 12-hour, am/pm format.
%T The time, in 24-hour format.
%w The date in `day-dd' format.
%W The date in `mm/dd/yy' format.
%D The date in `yy-mm-dd' format.
%(x:true-text:false-text)
Specifies a ternary expression. The character following
the x is arbitrary; the same character is used to sepa-
rate the text for the "true" result from that for the
"false" result. Both the separator and the right paren-
thesis may be escaped with a backslash. Ternary expres-
sions may be nested.
The test character x may be any one of `l', `n', `m' or
`M', which indicate a `true' result if the corresponding
escape sequence would return a non-empty value; or it may
be `a', which indicates a `true' result if the watched
user has logged in, or `false' if he has logged out.
Other characters evaluate to neither true nor false; the
entire expression is omitted in this case.
If the result is `true', then the true-text is formatted
according to the rules above and printed, and the
false-text is skipped. If `false', the true-text is
skipped and the false-text is formatted and printed.
Either or both of the branches may be empty, but both
separators must be present in any case.
WORDCHARS <S>
A list of non-alphanumeric characters considered part of a word
by the line editor.
ZBEEP If set, this gives a string of characters, which can use all the
same codes as the bindkey command as described in the zsh/zle
module entry in zshmodules(1), that will be output to the termi-
nal instead of beeping. This may have a visible instead of an
audible effect; for example, the string `\e[?5h\e[?5l' on a
vt100 or xterm will have the effect of flashing reverse video on
and off (if you usually use reverse video, you should use the
string `\e[?5l\e[?5h' instead). This takes precedence over the
NOBEEP option.
ZDOTDIR
The directory to search for shell startup files (.zshrc, etc),
if not $HOME.
zsh 4.3.4 April 19, 2006 ZSHPARAM(1)
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