NAME
zshcompctl - zsh programmable completion
DESCRIPTION
This version of zsh has two ways of performing completion of words on
the command line. New users of the shell may prefer to use the newer
and more powerful system based on shell functions; this is described in
zshcompsys(1), and the basic shell mechanisms which support it are
described in zshcompwid(1). This manual entry describes the older
compctl command.
compctl [ -CDT ] options [ command ... ]
compctl [ -CDT ] options [ -x pattern options - ... -- ] [ + options [
-x ... -- ] ... [+] ] [ command ... ]
compctl -M match-specs ...
compctl -L [ -CDTM ] [ command ... ]
compctl + command ...
Control the editor's completion behavior according to the supplied set
of options. Various editing commands, notably expand-or-complete-word,
usually bound to tab, will attempt to complete a word typed by the
user, while others, notably delete-char-or-list, usually bound to ^D in
EMACS editing mode, list the possibilities; compctl controls what those
possibilities are. They may for example be filenames (the most common
case, and hence the default), shell variables, or words from a
user-specified list.
COMMAND FLAGS
Completion of the arguments of a command may be different for each
command or may use the default. The behavior when completing the
command word itself may also be separately specified. These correspond
to the following flags and arguments, all of which (except for -L) may
be combined with any combination of the options described subsequently
in the section `Option Flags':
command ...
controls completion for the named commands, which must be listed
last on the command line. If completion is attempted for a
command with a pathname containing slashes and no completion
definition is found, the search is retried with the last
pathname component. If the command starts with a =, completion
is tried with the pathname of the command.
Any of the command strings may be patterns of the form normally
used for filename generation. These should be be quoted to
protect them from immediate expansion; for example the command
string 'foo*' arranges for completion of the words of any
command beginning with foo. When completion is attempted, all
pattern completions are tried in the reverse order of their
definition until one matches. By default, completion then
proceeds as normal, i.e. the shell will try to generate more
matches for the specific command on the command line; this can
be overridden by including -tn in the flags for the pattern
completion.
Note that aliases are expanded before the command name is
determined unless the COMPLETE_ALIASES option is set. Commands
may not be combined with the -C, -D or -T flags.
-C controls completion when the command word itself is being
completed. If no compctl -C command has been issued, the names
of any executable command (whether in the path or specific to
the shell, such as aliases or functions) are completed.
-D controls default completion behavior for the arguments of
commands not assigned any special behavior. If no compctl -D
command has been issued, filenames are completed.
-T supplies completion flags to be used before any other processing
is done, even before processing for compctls defined for
specific commands. This is especially useful when combined with
extended completion (the -x flag, see the section `Extended
Completion' below). Using this flag you can define default
behavior which will apply to all commands without exception, or
you can alter the standard behavior for all commands. For
example, if your access to the user database is too slow and/or
it contains too many users (so that completion after `~' is too
slow to be usable), you can use
compctl -T -x 's[~] C[0,[^/]#]' -k friends -S/ -tn
to complete the strings in the array friends after a `~'. The
C[...] argument is necessary so that this form of ~-completion
is not tried after the directory name is finished.
-L lists the existing completion behavior in a manner suitable for
putting into a start-up script; the existing behavior is not
changed. Any combination of the above forms, or the -M flag
(which must follow the -L flag), may be specified, otherwise all
defined completions are listed. Any other flags supplied are
ignored.
no argument
If no argument is given, compctl lists all defined completions
in an abbreviated form; with a list of options, all completions
with those flags set (not counting extended completion) are
listed.
If the + flag is alone and followed immediately by the command list,
the completion behavior for all the commands in the list is reset to
the default. In other words, completion will subsequently use the
options specified by the -D flag.
The form with -M as the first and only option defines global matching
specifications (see zshcompwid). The match specifications given will be
used for every completion attempt (only when using compctl, not with
the new completion system) and are tried in the order in which they are
defined until one generates at least one match. E.g.:
compctl -M '' 'm:{a-zA-Z}={A-Za-z}'
This will first try completion without any global match specifications
(the empty string) and, if that generates no matches, will try case
insensitive completion.
OPTION FLAGS
[ -fcFBdeaRGovNAIOPZEnbjrzu/12 ]
[ -k array ] [ -g globstring ] [ -s subststring ]
[ -K function ]
[ -Q ] [ -P prefix ] [ -S suffix ]
[ -W file-prefix ] [ -H num pattern ]
[ -q ] [ -X explanation ] [ -Y explanation ]
[ -y func-or-var ] [ -l cmd ] [ -h cmd ] [ -U ]
[ -t continue ] [ -J name ] [ -V name ]
[ -M match-spec ]
The remaining options specify the type of command arguments to look for
during completion. Any combination of these flags may be specified;
the result is a sorted list of all the possibilities. The options are
as follows.
Simple Flags
These produce completion lists made up by the shell itself:
-f Filenames and filesystem paths.
-/ Just filesystem paths.
-c Command names, including aliases, shell functions, builtins and
reserved words.
-F Function names.
-B Names of builtin commands.
-m Names of external commands.
-w Reserved words.
-a Alias names.
-R Names of regular (non-global) aliases.
-G Names of global aliases.
-d This can be combined with -F, -B, -w, -a, -R and -G to get names
of disabled functions, builtins, reserved words or aliases.
-e This option (to show enabled commands) is in effect by default,
but may be combined with -d; -de in combination with -F, -B, -w,
-a, -R and -G will complete names of functions, builtins,
reserved words or aliases whether or not they are disabled.
-o Names of shell options (see zshoptions(1)).
-v Names of any variable defined in the shell.
-N Names of scalar (non-array) parameters.
-A Array names.
-I Names of integer variables.
-O Names of read-only variables.
-p Names of parameters used by the shell (including special
parameters).
-Z Names of shell special parameters.
-E Names of environment variables.
-n Named directories.
-b Key binding names.
-j Job names: the first word of the job leader's command line.
This is useful with the kill builtin.
-r Names of running jobs.
-z Names of suspended jobs.
-u User names.
Flags with Arguments
These have user supplied arguments to determine how the list of
completions is to be made up:
-k array
Names taken from the elements of $array (note that the `$' does
not appear on the command line). Alternatively, the argument
array itself may be a set of space- or comma-separated values in
parentheses, in which any delimiter may be escaped with a
backslash; in this case the argument should be quoted. For
example,
compctl -k "(cputime filesize datasize stacksize
coredumpsize resident descriptors)" limit
-g globstring
The globstring is expanded using filename globbing; it should be
quoted to protect it from immediate expansion. The resulting
filenames are taken as the possible completions. Use `*(/)'
instead of `*/' for directories. The fignore special parameter
is not applied to the resulting files. More than one pattern
may be given separated by blanks. (Note that brace expansion is
not part of globbing. Use the syntax `(either|or)' to match
alternatives.)
-s subststring
The subststring is split into words and these words are than
expanded using all shell expansion mechanisms (see zshexpn(1)).
The resulting words are taken as possible completions. The
fignore special parameter is not applied to the resulting files.
Note that -g is faster for filenames.
-K function
Call the given function to get the completions. Unless the name
starts with an underscore, the function is passed two arguments:
the prefix and the suffix of the word on which completion is to
be attempted, in other words those characters before the cursor
position, and those from the cursor position onwards. The whole
command line can be accessed with the -c and -l flags of the
read builtin. The function should set the variable reply to an
array containing the completions (one completion per element);
note that reply should not be made local to the function. From
such a function the command line can be accessed with the -c and
-l flags to the read builtin. For example,
function whoson { reply=(`users`); }
compctl -K whoson talk
completes only logged-on users after `talk'. Note that `whoson'
must return an array, so `reply=`users`' would be incorrect.
-H num pattern
The possible completions are taken from the last num history
lines. Only words matching pattern are taken. If num is zero
or negative the whole history is searched and if pattern is the
empty string all words are taken (as with `*'). A typical use
is
compctl -D -f + -H 0 ''
which forces completion to look back in the history list for a
word if no filename matches.
Control Flags
These do not directly specify types of name to be completed, but
manipulate the options that do:
-Q This instructs the shell not to quote any metacharacters in the
possible completions. Normally the results of a completion are
inserted into the command line with any metacharacters quoted so
that they are interpreted as normal characters. This is
appropriate for filenames and ordinary strings. However, for
special effects, such as inserting a backquoted expression from
a completion array (-k) so that the expression will not be
evaluated until the complete line is executed, this option must
be used.
-P prefix
The prefix is inserted just before the completed string; any
initial part already typed will be completed and the whole
prefix ignored for completion purposes. For example,
compctl -j -P "%" kill
inserts a `%' after the kill command and then completes job
names.
-S suffix
When a completion is found the suffix is inserted after the
completed string. In the case of menu completion the suffix is
inserted immediately, but it is still possible to cycle through
the list of completions by repeatedly hitting the same key.
-W file-prefix
With directory file-prefix: for command, file, directory and
globbing completion (options -c, -f, -/, -g), the file prefix is
implicitly added in front of the completion. For example,
compctl -/ -W ~/Mail maildirs
completes any subdirectories to any depth beneath the directory
~/Mail, although that prefix does not appear on the command
line. The file-prefix may also be of the form accepted by the
-k flag, i.e. the name of an array or a literal list in
parenthesis. In this case all the directories in the list will
be searched for possible completions.
-q If used with a suffix as specified by the -S option, this causes
the suffix to be removed if the next character typed is a blank
or does not insert anything or if the suffix consists of only
one character and the next character typed is the same
character; this the same rule used for the AUTO_REMOVE_SLASH
option. The option is most useful for list separators (comma,
colon, etc.).
-l cmd This option restricts the range of command line words that are
considered to be arguments. If combined with one of the
extended completion patterns `p[...]', `r[...]', or `R[...]'
(see the section `Extended Completion' below) the range is
restricted to the range of arguments specified in the brackets.
Completion is then performed as if these had been given as
arguments to the cmd supplied with the option. If the cmd string
is empty the first word in the range is instead taken as the
command name, and command name completion performed on the first
word in the range. For example,
compctl -x 'r[-exec,;]' -l '' -- find
completes arguments between `-exec' and the following `;' (or
the end of the command line if there is no such string) as if
they were a separate command line.
-h cmd Normally zsh completes quoted strings as a whole. With this
option, completion can be done separately on different parts of
such strings. It works like the -l option but makes the
completion code work on the parts of the current word that are
separated by spaces. These parts are completed as if they were
arguments to the given cmd. If cmd is the empty string, the
first part is completed as a command name, as with -l.
-U Use the whole list of possible completions, whether or not they
actually match the word on the command line. The word typed so
far will be deleted. This is most useful with a function (given
by the -K option) which can examine the word components passed
to it (or via the read builtin's -c and -l flags) and use its
own criteria to decide what matches. If there is no completion,
the original word is retained. Since the produced possible
completions seldom have interesting common prefixes and
suffixes, menu completion is started immediately if AUTO_MENU is
set and this flag is used.
-y func-or-var
The list provided by func-or-var is displayed instead of the
list of completions whenever a listing is required; the actual
completions to be inserted are not affected. It can be provided
in two ways. Firstly, if func-or-var begins with a $ it defines
a variable, or if it begins with a left parenthesis a literal
array, which contains the list. A variable may have been set by
a call to a function using the -K option. Otherwise it contains
the name of a function which will be executed to create the
list. The function will be passed as an argument list all
matching completions, including prefixes and suffixes expanded
in full, and should set the array reply to the result. In both
cases, the display list will only be retrieved after a complete
list of matches has been created.
Note that the returned list does not have to correspond, even in
length, to the original set of matches, and may be passed as a
scalar instead of an array. No special formatting of characters
is performed on the output in this case; in particular, newlines
are printed literally and if they appear output in columns is
suppressed.
-X explanation
Print explanation when trying completion on the current set of
options. A `%n' in this string is replaced by the number of
matches that were added for this explanation string. The
explanation only appears if completion was tried and there was
no unique match, or when listing completions. Explanation
strings will be listed together with the matches of the group
specified together with the -X option (using the -J or -V
option). If the same explanation string is given to multiple -X
options, the string appears only once (for each group) and the
number of matches shown for the `%n' is the total number of all
matches for each of these uses. In any case, the explanation
string will only be shown if there was at least one match added
for the explanation string.
The sequences %B, %b, %S, %s, %U, and %u specify output
attributes (bold, standout, and underline), %F, %f, %K, %k
specify foreground and background colours, and %{...%} can be
used to include literal escape sequences as in prompts.
-Y explanation
Identical to -X, except that the explanation first undergoes
expansion following the usual rules for strings in double
quotes. The expansion will be carried out after any functions
are called for the -K or -y options, allowing them to set
variables.
-t continue
The continue-string contains a character that specifies which
set of completion flags should be used next. It is useful:
(i) With -T, or when trying a list of pattern completions, when
compctl would usually continue with ordinary processing after
finding matches; this can be suppressed with `-tn'.
(ii) With a list of alternatives separated by +, when compctl
would normally stop when one of the alternatives generates
matches. It can be forced to consider the next set of
completions by adding `-t+' to the flags of the alternative
before the `+'.
(iii) In an extended completion list (see below), when compctl
would normally continue until a set of conditions succeeded,
then use only the immediately following flags. With `-t-',
compctl will continue trying extended completions after the next
`-'; with `-tx' it will attempt completion with the default
flags, in other words those before the `-x'.
-J name
This gives the name of the group the matches should be placed
in. Groups are listed and sorted separately; likewise, menu
completion will offer the matches in the groups in the order in
which the groups were defined. If no group name is explicitly
given, the matches are stored in a group named default. The
first time a group name is encountered, a group with that name
is created. After that all matches with the same group name are
stored in that group.
This can be useful with non-exclusive alternative completions.
For example, in
compctl -f -J files -t+ + -v -J variables foo
both files and variables are possible completions, as the -t+
forces both sets of alternatives before and after the + to be
considered at once. Because of the -J options, however, all
files are listed before all variables.
-V name
Like -J, but matches within the group will not be sorted in
listings nor in menu completion. These unsorted groups are in a
different name space from the sorted ones, so groups defined as
-J files and -V files are distinct.
-1 If given together with the -V option, makes only consecutive
duplicates in the group be removed. Note that groups with and
without this flag are in different name spaces.
-2 If given together with the -J or -V option, makes all duplicates
be kept. Again, groups with and without this flag are in
different name spaces.
-M match-spec
This defines additional matching control specifications that
should be used only when testing words for the list of flags
this flag appears in. The format of the match-spec string is
described in zshcompwid.
ALTERNATIVE COMPLETION
compctl [ -CDT ] options + options [ + ... ] [ + ] command ...
The form with `+' specifies alternative options. Completion is tried
with the options before the first `+'. If this produces no matches
completion is tried with the flags after the `+' and so on. If there
are no flags after the last `+' and a match has not been found up to
that point, default completion is tried. If the list of flags contains
a -t with a + character, the next list of flags is used even if the
current list produced matches.
Additional options are available that restrict completion to some part
of the command line; this is referred to as `extended completion'.
EXTENDED COMPLETION
compctl [ -CDT ] options -x pattern options - ... --
[ command ... ]
compctl [ -CDT ] options [ -x pattern options - ... -- ]
[ + options [ -x ... -- ] ... [+] ] [ command ... ]
The form with `-x' specifies extended completion for the commands
given; as shown, it may be combined with alternative completion using
`+'. Each pattern is examined in turn; when a match is found, the
corresponding options, as described in the section `Option Flags'
above, are used to generate possible completions. If no pattern
matches, the options given before the -x are used.
Note that each pattern should be supplied as a single argument and
should be quoted to prevent expansion of metacharacters by the shell.
A pattern is built of sub-patterns separated by commas; it matches if
at least one of these sub-patterns matches (they are `or'ed). These
sub-patterns are in turn composed of other sub-patterns separated by
white spaces which match if all of the sub-patterns match (they are
`and'ed). An element of the sub-patterns is of the form `c[...][...]',
where the pairs of brackets may be repeated as often as necessary, and
matches if any of the sets of brackets match (an `or'). The example
below makes this clearer.
The elements may be any of the following:
s[string]...
Matches if the current word on the command line starts with one
of the strings given in brackets. The string is not removed and
is not part of the completion.
S[string]...
Like s[string] except that the string is part of the completion.
p[from,to]...
Matches if the number of the current word is between one of the
from and to pairs inclusive. The comma and to are optional; to
defaults to the same value as from. The numbers may be
negative: -n refers to the n'th last word on the line.
c[offset,string]...
Matches if the string matches the word offset by offset from the
current word position. Usually offset will be negative.
C[offset,pattern]...
Like c but using pattern matching instead.
w[index,string]...
Matches if the word in position index is equal to the
corresponding string. Note that the word count is made after
any alias expansion.
W[index,pattern]...
Like w but using pattern matching instead.
n[index,string]...
Matches if the current word contains string. Anything up to and
including the indexth occurrence of this string will not be
considered part of the completion, but the rest will. index may
be negative to count from the end: in most cases, index will be
1 or -1. For example,
compctl -s '`users`' -x 'n[1,@]' -k hosts -- talk
will usually complete usernames, but if you insert an @ after
the name, names from the array hosts (assumed to contain
hostnames, though you must make the array yourself) will be
completed. Other commands such as rcp can be handled similarly.
N[index,string]...
Like n except that the string will be taken as a character
class. Anything up to and including the indexth occurrence of
any of the characters in string will not be considered part of
the completion.
m[min,max]...
Matches if the total number of words lies between min and max
inclusive.
r[str1,str2]...
Matches if the cursor is after a word with prefix str1. If
there is also a word with prefix str2 on the command line after
the one matched by str1 it matches only if the cursor is before
this word. If the comma and str2 are omitted, it matches if the
cursor is after a word with prefix str1.
R[str1,str2]...
Like r but using pattern matching instead.
q[str]...
Matches the word currently being completed is in single quotes
and the str begins with the letter `s', or if completion is done
in double quotes and str starts with the letter `d', or if
completion is done in backticks and str starts with a `b'.
EXAMPLE
compctl -u -x 's[+] c[-1,-f],s[-f+]' \
-g '~/Mail/*(:t)' - 's[-f],c[-1,-f]' -f -- mail
This is to be interpreted as follows:
If the current command is mail, then
if ((the current word begins with + and the previous word is -f)
or (the current word begins with -f+)), then complete the
non-directory part (the `:t' glob modifier) of files in the directory
~/Mail; else
if the current word begins with -f or the previous word was -f, then
complete any file; else
complete user names.