nanorc.5

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.TH NANORC 5 "version 2.7.0" "September 2016"
.\" Please adjust this date whenever revising the manpage.

.SH NAME
nanorc \- GNU nano's configuration file

.SH DESCRIPTION
The \fInanorc\fP file contains the default settings for \fBnano\fP, a
small and friendly editor.  The file should be in Unix format, not in
DOS or Mac format.  During startup, \fBnano\fP will first read the
system-wide settings, from \fB/etc/nanorc\fP (the exact path might be
different), and then the user-specific settings, from \fB~/.nanorc\fP.

.SH OPTIONS
The configuration file accepts a series of \fBset\fP and \fBunset\fP
commands, which can be used to configure nano on startup without using
command-line options.  Additionally, there are some commands to define
syntax highlighting and to rebind keys -- see the two separate sections
on those.  \fBnano\fP reads one command per line.
.PP
Options in \fInanorc\fP files take precedence over nano's defaults, and
command-line options override \fInanorc\fP settings.  Also, options that
do not take an argument are unset by default.  So using the \fBunset\fR
command is only needed when wanting to override a setting of the system's
\fInanorc\fR file in your own \fB~/.nanorc\fR.  Options that take an
argument cannot be unset.
.PP
Below, the \fIstring\fR parameters need to be enclosed in double quotes.
Quotes inside these string parameters don't have to be escaped with
backslashes.  The last double quote in the string will be treated as its
end.  For example, for the \fBbrackets\fP option, "\fB"')>]}\fP" will
match \fB"\fP, \fB'\fP, \fB)\fP, \fB>\fP, \fB]\fP, and \fB}\fP.
.PP
The supported commands and arguments are:

.TP 3
.B set allow_insecure_backup
When backing up files, allow the backup to succeed even if its permissions
can't be (re)set due to special OS considerations.  You should
NOT enable this option unless you are sure you need it.
.TP
.B set autoindent
Use auto-indentation.
.TP
.B set backup
When saving a file, create a backup file by adding a tilde (\fB~\fP) to
the file's name.
.TP
.B set backupdir "\fIdirectory\fP"
Make and keep not just one backup file, but make and keep a uniquely
numbered one every time a file is saved --- when backups are enabled
with \fBset backup\fR or \fB\-\-backup\fR or \fB\-B\fR.
The uniquely numbered files are stored in the specified \fIdirectory\fR.
.TP
.B set backwards
Do backwards searches by default.
.TP
.B set boldtext
Use bold instead of reverse video for the titlebar, statusbar, key combos,
and selected text.  This can be overridden for the first three by setting
the options \fBtitlecolor\fP, \fBstatuscolor\fP, and \fBkeycolor\fP.
.TP
.B set brackets "\fIstring\fP"
Set the characters treated as closing brackets when justifying
paragraphs.  This may not include blank characters.  Only closing
punctuation (see \fBpunct\fP), optionally followed by the specified
closing brackets, can end sentences.  The default value is "\fB"')>]}\fP".
.TP
.B set casesensitive
Do case-sensitive searches by default.
.TP
.B set constantshow
Constantly display the cursor position in the status bar.
(The old form of this option, '\fBset const\fR', is deprecated.)
.TP
.B set cut
Use cut-to-end-of-line by default, instead of cutting the whole line.
.TP
.B set fill \fInumber\fR
Hard-wrap lines at column number \fInumber\fR.  If \fInumber\fR is 0 or less,
the maximum line length will be the screen width less \fInumber\fP columns.
The default value is \fB\-8\fR.
.TP
.B set functioncolor \fIfgcolor\fR,\fIbgcolor\fR
Specify the color combination to use for the function descriptions
in the two help lines at the bottom of the screen.
See \fBset titlecolor\fR for more details.
.TP
.B set historylog
Enable the use of \fB~/.nano/search_history\fP for saving and reading
search/replace strings.
.TP
.B set justifytrim
When justifying text, trailing whitespace will automatically be removed.
.TP
.B set keycolor \fIfgcolor\fR,\fIbgcolor\fR
Specify the color combination to use for the shortcut key combos
in the two help lines at the bottom of the screen.
See \fBset titlecolor\fR for more details.
.TP
.B set linenumbers
Display line numbers to the left of the text area.
.TP
.B set locking
Enable vim-style lock-files for when editing files.
.TP
.B set matchbrackets "\fIstring\fP"
Set the opening and closing brackets that can be found by bracket
searches.  This may not include blank characters.  The opening set must
come before the closing set, and the two sets must be in the same order.
The default value is "\fB(<[{)>]}\fP".
.TP
.B set morespace
Use the blank line below the titlebar as extra editing space.
.TP
.B set mouse
Enable mouse support, if available for your system.  When enabled, mouse
clicks can be used to place the cursor, set the mark (with a double
click), and execute shortcuts.  The mouse will work in the X Window
System, and on the console when gpm is running.  Text can still be
selected through dragging by holding down the Shift key.
.TP
.B set multibuffer
When reading in a file with ^R, insert it into a new buffer by default.
.TP
.B set noconvert
Don't convert files from DOS/Mac format.
.TP
.B set nohelp
Don't display the two help lines at the bottom of the screen.
.TP
.B set nonewlines
Don't automatically add a newline to the ends of files.
.TP
.B set nowrap
Don't hard-wrap text at all.
.TP
.B set numbercolor \fIfgcolor\fR,\fIbgcolor\fR
Specify the color combination to use for line numbers.
See \fBset titlecolor\fR for more details.
.TP
.B set operatingdir "\fIdirectory\fP"
\fBnano\fP will only read and write files inside \fIdirectory\fP and its
subdirectories.  Also, the current directory is changed to here, so
files are inserted from this directory.  By default, the operating
directory feature is turned off.
.TP
.B set positionlog
Save the cursor position of files between editing sessions.
The cursor position is remembered for the 200 most-recently edited files.
(The old form of this option, '\fBset poslog\fR', is deprecated.)
.TP
.B set preserve
Preserve the XON and XOFF keys (^Q and ^S).
.TP
.B set punct "\fIstring\fP"
Set the characters treated as closing punctuation when justifying
paragraphs.  This may not include blank characters.  Only the
specfified closing punctuation, optionally followed by closing brackets
(see \fBbrackets\fP), can end sentences.  The default value is "\fB!.?\fP".
.TP
.B set quickblank
Do quick statusbar blanking.  Statusbar messages will disappear after 1
keystroke instead of 25.
.TP
.B set quiet
\fBnano\fP will not report errors in the \fInanorc\fP file nor ask them
to be acknowledged by pressing Enter at startup.  If this is used, it
should be placed at the top of the file to be fully effective.
.TP
.B set quotestr "\fIstring\fP"
The email-quote string, used to justify email-quoted paragraphs.  This
is an extended regular expression if your system supports them,
otherwise a literal string.  The default value is
"\fB^([\ \\t]*[#:>\\|}])+\fP" if you have extended regular expression
support, and "\fB>\ \fP" otherwise.  Note that '\\t' stands for a literal
Tab character.
.TP
.B set rebinddelete
Interpret the Delete key differently so that both Backspace and Delete
work properly.  You should only need to use this option if Backspace
acts like Delete on your system.
.TP
.B set rebindkeypad
Interpret the numeric keypad keys so that they all work properly.  You
should only need to use this option if they don't, as mouse support
won't work properly with this option enabled.
.TP
.B set regexp
Do extended regular expression searches by default.
.TP
.B set showcursor
Put the cursor on the highlighted item in the file browser, to aid
braille users.
.TP
.B set smarthome
Make the Home key smarter.  When Home is pressed anywhere but at the
very beginning of non-whitespace characters on a line, the cursor will
jump to that beginning (either forwards or backwards).  If the cursor is
already at that position, it will jump to the true beginning of the
line.
.TP
.B set smooth
Use smooth scrolling by default.
.TP
.B set softwrap
Enable soft line wrapping for easier viewing of very long lines.
.TP
.B set speller "\fIspellprog\fP"
Use spelling checker \fIspellprog\fP instead of the built-in one, which
calls \fIspell\fP.
.TP
.B set statuscolor \fIfgcolor\fR,\fIbgcolor\fR
Specify the color combination to use for the statusbar.
See \fBset titlecolor\fR for more details.
.TP
.B set suspend
Allow \fBnano\fP to be suspended.
.TP
.B set tabsize \fInumber\fR
Use a tab size of \fInumber\fR columns.  The value of \fInumber\fP must be
greater than 0.  The default value is \fB8\fR.
.TP
.B set tabstospaces
Convert typed tabs to spaces.
.TP
.B set tempfile
Save automatically on exit, don't prompt.
.TP
.B set titlecolor \fIfgcolor\fR,\fIbgcolor\fR
Specify the color combination to use for the titlebar.
Valid color names for foreground and background are:
.BR white , \ black , \ red , \ blue , \ green , \ yellow , \ magenta ", and " cyan .
And either "\fIfgcolor\fR" or ",\fIbgcolor\fR" may be left out.
.TP
.B set unix
Save a file by default in Unix format.  This overrides nano's
default behavior of saving a file in the format that it had.
(This option has no effect when you also use \fBset noconvert\fR.)
.TP
.B set view
Disallow file modification.
.TP
.B set whitespace "\fIstring\fP"
Set the two characters used to indicate the presence of tabs and
spaces.  They must be single-column characters.
.TP
.B set wordbounds
Detect word boundaries differently by treating punctuation
characters as parts of words.
.TP
.B set wordchars \fIstring\fP
Specify which other characters (besides the normal alphanumeric ones)
should be considered as parts of words.  This overrides the option
\fBwordbounds\fR.

.SH SYNTAX HIGHLIGHTING
Coloring the different syntactic elements of a file
is done via regular expressions (see the \fBcolor\fR command below).
This is inherently imperfect, because regular expressions are not
powerful enough to fully parse a file.  Nevertheless, regular
expressions can do a lot and are easy to make, so they are a
good fit for a small editor like \fBnano\fR.
.sp
A separate syntax can be defined for each kind of file
via the following commands:
.TP
.BR syntax " ""\fIstr\fR"" [""\fIfileregex\fR"" ...]"
Defines a syntax named \fIstr\fP which can be activated via the
.BR \-Y / \-\-syntax
command-line option, or will be automatically activated if
the current filename matches the extended regular expression
\fIfileregex\fP.  All subsequent \fBcolor\fR, \fBicolor\fR,
\fBheader\fR and other such statements will apply to this
\fIstr\fP syntax until a new \fBsyntax\fR command is encountered.

The \fBnone\fP syntax is reserved; specifying it on the command line is
the same as not having a syntax at all.  The \fBdefault\fP syntax is
special: it takes no \fIfileregex\fP, and applies to files that don't
match any syntax's \fIfileregex\fP.
.TP
.BI linter " program " \fR[ "arg " \fR...]
Use the given \fIprogram\fR to run a syntax check on the current file
(this overrides the speller function when defined).
.TP
.BI formatter " program " \fR[ "arg " \fR...]
Use the given \fIprogram\fR to automatically reformat text.
Useful in certain programming languages (e.g. Go).
.TP
.BR header " \fIregex\fR " ...
Add one or more regexes which will
be compared against the very first line of the file to be edited,
to determine whether this syntax should be used for that file.
.TP
.BR magic " \fIregex\fR " ...
Add one or more regexes which
will be compared against the result of querying the \fBmagic\fP
database about the file to be edited, to determine whether this
syntax should be used for that file.  This
functionality only works when \fBlibmagic\fP is installed on the
system and will be silently ignored otherwise.
.TP
.BI comment " string"
Use the given string for commenting and uncommenting lines.  A vertical bar or
pipe character (|) designates bracket-style comments; for example, "/*|*/" for
CSS files.  The characters before the pipe are prepended to the line and the
characters after the pipe are appended at the end of the line.  If no pipe
character is present, the entire string is prepended; for example, "#" for
Python files.  If empty double quotes are specified, the comment/uncomment
function is disabled; for example, "" for JSON.  Double quotes or backslashes
may be escaped with a backslash; for example, ".\\"" for man page source.
.TP
.B color \fIfgcolor\fR,\fIbgcolor\fR """\fIregex\fR""" ...
Display all pieces of text that match
the extended regular expression \fIregex\fP with foreground color
\fIfgcolor\fP and background color \fIbgcolor\fP, at least one of which
must be specified.  Valid colors for foreground and background
are: white, black, red, blue, green, yellow, magenta, and cyan.  You may
use the prefix "bright" to get a stronger color highlight for the
foreground.  If your terminal supports transparency, not specifying a
\fIbgcolor\fP tells \fBnano\fP to attempt to use a transparent
background.
.TP
.B icolor \fIfgcolor\fR,\fIbgcolor\fR """\fIregex\fR""" ...
Same as above, except that the text matching is case insensitive.
.TP
.BR color " \fIfgcolor\fR,\fIbgcolor\fR " start= """\fIsr\fR"" " end= """\fIer\fR""
Display all pieces of text whose start matches extended regular expression
\fIsr\fP and whose end matches extended regular expression \fIer\fP with
foreground color \fIfgcolor\fP and background color \fIbgcolor\fP,
at least one of which must be specified.  This means that, after an
initial instance of \fIsr\fP, all text will be highlighted until the
first instance of \fIer\fP.  This allows syntax highlighting to span
multiple lines.
.TP
.BR icolor " \fIfgcolor\fR,\fIbgcolor\fR " start= """\fIsr\fR"" " end= """\fIer\fR""
Same as above, except that the text matching is case insensitive.
.TP
.BR include " ""\fIsyntaxfile\fR"""
Read in self-contained color syntaxes from \fIsyntaxfile\fP.  Note that
\fIsyntaxfile\fP may contain only the above commands, from \fBsyntax\fP
to \fBicolor\fP.
.TP
.BI extendsyntax " str directive " \fR[ "arg " \fR...]
Extend the syntax previously defined as \fIstr\fP to include
new information.  This allows you to add a new \fBcolor\fP, \fBicolor\fP,
\fBheader\fP, \fBmagic\fP, \fBcomment\fP, \fBlinter\fP, or \fBformatter\fP directive
to an already defined syntax -- useful when you want to
slightly improve a syntax defined in one of the system-installed
files (which are normally not writable)
.SH REBINDING KEYS
Key bindings can be changed via the following two commands:
.TP
.BI bind " key function menu"
Rebinds the key \fIkey\fP to a new function named \fIfunction\fP in the
context of menu \fImenu\fP (or in all menus where the function exists
by using \fBall\fP).
.TP
.BI unbind " key menu"
Unbinds the key \fIkey\fP from the menu named \fImenu\fP (or from all
menus where it exists by using \fBall\fP).

.TP
The format of \fIkey\fP should be one of:
.RS 3
.TP 3
.B ^
followed by an alpha character or the word "Space".
Example: ^C
.TP
.B M-
followed by a printable character or the word "Space".
Example: M-C
.TP
.B F
followed by a numeric value from 1 to 16.
Example: F10
.RE

.TP
Valid \fIfunction\fP names to be bound are:
.RS 3
.TP 2
.B help
Invokes the help viewer.
.TP
.B cancel
Cancels the current command.
.TP
.B exit
Exits from the program (or from the help viewer or the file browser).
.TP
.B writeout
Writes the current buffer to disk, asking for a name.
.TP
.B savefile
Writes the current file to disk without prompting or warning.
.TP
.B insert
Inserts a file into the current buffer (at the current cursor position),
or into a new buffer when option \fBmultibuffer\fR is set.
.TP
.B whereis
Searches for text in the current buffer -- or for filenames matching
a string in the current list in the file browser.
.TP
.B searchagain
Repeats the last search command without prompting.
(The form 'research' is deprecated.)
.TP
.B findprevious
As \fBsearchagain\fR, but always in the backward direction.
.TP
.B findnext
As \fBsearchagain\fR, but always in the forward direction.
.TP
.B replace
Interactively replaces text within the current buffer.
.TP
.B cut
Cuts and stores the current line (or the marked region).
.TP
.B copytext
Copies the current line (or the marked region) without deleting it.
.TP
.B uncut
Copies the currently stored text into the current buffer at the
current cursor position.
.TP
.B mark
Sets the mark at the current position, to start selecting text.
.TP
.B cutwordleft
Cuts from the cursor position to the beginning of the preceding word.
.TP
.B cutwordright
Cuts from the cursor position to the beginning of the next word.
.TP
.B cutrestoffile
Cuts all text from the cursor position till the end of the buffer.
.TP
.B curpos
Shows the current cursor position: the line, column, and character positions.
(The form 'cursorpos' is deprecated.)
.TP
.B wordcount
Counts the number of words, lines and characters in the current buffer.
.TP
.B speller
Invokes a spell-checking program (or a linting program, if the current
syntax highlighting defines one).
.TP
.B linter
A synonym of \fBspeller\fR (for when the speller has not been configured).
.TP
.B justify
Justifies the current paragraph.
.TP
.B fulljustify
Justifies the entire current buffer.
.TP
.B indent
Indents (shifts to the right) the currently marked text.
.TP
.B unindent
Unindents (shifts to the left) the currently marked text.
.TP
.B comment
Comments or uncomments the current line or marked lines, using the comment
style specified in the active syntax.
.TP
.B left
Goes left one position (in the editor or browser).
.TP
.B right
Goes right one position (in the editor or browser).
.TP
.B up
Goes one line up (in the editor or browser).
.TP
.B down
Goes one line down (in the editor or browser).
.TP
.B scrollup
Scrolls up one line of text from the current position.
.TP
.B scrolldown
Scrolls down one line of text from the current position.
.TP
.B prevword
Moves the cursor to the beginning of the previous word.
.TP
.B nextword
Moves the cursor to the beginning of the next word.
.TP
.B home
Moves the cursor to the beginning of the current line.
.TP
.B end
Moves the cursor to the end of the current line.
.TP
.B beginpara
Moves the cursor to the beginning of the current paragraph.
.TP
.B endpara
Moves the cursor to the end of the current paragraph.
.TP
.B prevblock
Moves the cursor to the beginning of the current or preceding block of text.
(Blocks are separated by one or more blank lines.)
.TP
.B nextblock
Moves the cursor to the beginning of the next block of text.
.TP
.B prevpage
Goes up one screenful.
.TP
.B nextpage
Goes down one screenful.
.TP
.B firstline
Goes to the first line of the file.
.TP
.B lastline
Goes to the last line of the file.
.TP
.B gotoline
Goes to a specific line (and column if specified).  Negative numbers count
from the end of the file (and end of the line).
.TP
.B gototext
Switches from targeting a line number to searching for text.
.TP
.B findbracket
Moves the cursor to the bracket (brace, parenthesis, etc.) that matches
(pairs) with the one under the cursor.
.TP
.B prevbuf
Switches to editing/viewing the previous buffer when multiple buffers are open.
.TP
.B nextbuf
Switches to editing/viewing the next buffer when multiple buffers are open.
.TP
.B verbatim
Inserts the next keystroke verbatim into the file.
.TP
.B tab
Inserts a tab at the current cursor location.
.TP
.B enter
Inserts a new line below the current one.
.TP
.B delete
Deletes the character under the cursor.
.TP
.B backspace
Deletes the character before the cursor.
.TP
.B undo
Undoes the last performed text action (add text, delete text, etc).
.TP
.B redo
Redoes the last undone action (i.e., it undoes an undo).
.TP
.B refresh
Refreshes the screen.
.TP
.B suspend
Suspends the editor (if the suspending function is enabled, see the
"suspendenable" entry below).
.TP
.B casesens
Toggles case sensitivity in searching (search/replace menus only).
.TP
.B regexp
Toggles whether searching/replacing is based on literal strings or regular expressions.
(The form 'regex' is deprecated.)
.TP
.B backwards
Toggles whether searching/replacing goes forward or backward.
.TP
.B prevhistory
Shows the previous history entry in the prompt menus (e.g. search).
.TP
.B nexthistory
Shows the next history entry in the prompt menus (e.g. search).
.TP
.B flipreplace
Toggles between searching for something and replacing something.
(The form 'dontreplace' is deprecated.)
.TP
.B flipexecute
Toggles between inserting a file and executing a command.
.TP
.B flipnewbuffer
Toggles between inserting into the current buffer and into a new
empty buffer.
(The form 'newbuffer' is deprecated.)
.TP
.B dosformat
When writing a file, switches to writing a DOS format (CR/LF).
.TP
.B macformat
When writing a file, switches to writing a Mac format.
.TP
.B append
When writing a file, appends to the end instead of overwriting.
.TP
.B prepend
When writing a file, 'prepends' (writes at the beginning) instead of overwriting.
.TP
.B backup
When writing a file, creates a backup of the current file.
.TP
.B discardbuffer
When about to write a file, discard the current buffer without saving.
(This function is bound by default only when option \fB\-\-tempfile\fR
is in effect.)
.TP
.B tofiles
Starts the file browser, allowing to select a file from a list.
.TP
.B gotodir
Goes to a directory to be specified, allowing to browse anywhere
in the filesystem.
.TP
.B firstfile
Goes to the first file when using the file browser (reading or writing files).
.TP
.B lastfile
Goes to the last file when using the file browser (reading or writing files).
.TP
.B nohelp
Toggles the presence of the two-line list of key bindings at the bottom of the screen.
.TP
.B constupdate
Toggles the constant display of the current line, column, and character positions.
.TP
.B morespace
Toggles the presence of the blank line which 'separates' the titlebar from the file text.
.TP
.B smoothscroll
Toggles smooth scrolling (when moving around with the arrow keys).
.TP
.B softwrap
Toggles the displaying of overlong lines on multiple screen lines.
.TP
.B whitespacedisplay
Toggles the showing of whitespace.
.TP
.B nosyntax
Toggles syntax highlighting.
.TP
.B smarthome
Toggles the smartness of the Home key.
.TP
.B autoindent
Toggles whether new lines will contain the same amount of whitespace as the preceding line.
.TP
.B cuttoend
Toggles whether cutting text will cut the whole line or just from the current cursor
position to the end of the line.
.TP
.B nowrap
Toggles whether long lines will be hard-wrapped to the next line.
.TP
.B tabstospaces
Toggles whether typed tabs will be converted to spaces.
.TP
.B backupfile
Toggles whether a backup will be made of the file being edited.
.TP
.B multibuffer
Toggles whether a file is inserted into the current buffer
or read into a new buffer.
.TP
.B mouse
Toggles mouse support.
.TP
.B noconvert
Toggles automatic conversion of files from DOS/Mac format.
.TP
.B suspendenable
Toggles whether the suspend sequence (normally ^Z) will suspend the editor window.
.RE

.TP
Valid \fImenu\fP sections are:
.RS 3
.TP 2
.B main
The main editor window where text is entered and edited.
.TP
.B search
The search menu (AKA whereis).
.TP
.B replace
The 'search to replace' menu.
.TP
.B replacewith
The 'replace with' menu, which comes up after 'search to replace'.
(The form 'replace2' is deprecated.)
.TP
.B gotoline
The 'goto line (and column)' menu.
.TP
.B writeout
The 'write file' menu.
.TP
.B insert
The 'insert file' menu.
.TP
.B extcmd
The menu for inserting output from an external command, reached from the insert menu.
.TP
.B help
The help-viewer menu.
.TP
.B spell
The interactive spell checker Yes/no menu.
.TP
.B linter
The linter menu.
.TP
.B browser
The file browser for inserting or writing a file.
.TP
.B whereisfile
The 'search for a file' menu in the file browser.
.TP
.B gotodir
The 'go to directory' menu in the file browser.
.TP
.B all
A special name that encompasses all menus.
For \fBbind\fR it means all menus where the specified \fIfunction\fR exists;
for \fBunbind\fR it means all menus where the specified \fIkey\fR exists.
.RE

.SH FILES
.TP
.B /etc/nanorc
System-wide configuration file.
.TP
.B ~/.nanorc
Per-user configuration file.

.SH SEE ALSO
.BR nano (1)

.SH AUTHOR
Chris Allegretta and others (see the files \fIAUTHORS\fP and
\fITHANKS\fP for details).  This manual page was originally written by
Jordi Mallach for the Debian system (but may be used by others).