Micro stores all of the user configuration in its configuration directory.
-Micro uses the `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/micro` as the configuration directory. As per
-the XDG spec, if `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME` is not set, `~/.config/micro` is used as
-the config directory.
+Micro uses `$MICRO_CONFIG_HOME` as the configuration directory. If this
+environment variable is not set, it uses `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/micro` instead. If
+that environment variable is not set, it uses `~/.config/micro` as the
+configuration directory. In the documentation, we use `~/.config/micro` to
+refer to the configuration directory (even if it may in fact be somewhere else
+if you have set either of the above environment variables).
-Here are the options that you can set:
+Here are the available options:
* `autoindent`: when creating a new line, use the same indentation as the
previous line.
default value: `true`
-* `autosave`: micro will save the buffer every `n` seconds automatically
- (where `n` is the value of the option). Micro also will automatically
- save and quit when you exit without asking. Be careful when using this
- feature, because you might accidentally save a file, overwriting what
- was there before. If the value of the option is `0` then micro will
- not autosave.
+* `autosave`: automatically save the buffer every n seconds, where n is the
+ value of the autosave option. Also when quitting on a modified buffer, micro
+ will automatically save and quit. Be warned, this option saves the buffer
+ without prompting the user, so data may be overwritten. If this option is
+ set to `0`, no autosaving is performed.
- default value: `0`
+ default value: `0`
+
+* `autosu`: When a file is saved that the user doesn't have permission to
+ modify, micro will ask if the user would like to use super user
+ privileges to save the file. If this option is enabled, micro will
+ automatically attempt to use super user privileges to save without
+ asking the user.
+
+ default value: `false`
* `backup`: micro will automatically keep backups of all open buffers. Backups
are stored in `~/.config/micro/backups` and are removed when the buffer is
closed cleanly. In the case of a system crash or a micro crash, the contents
- of the buffer can be recovered automatically by opening the file that
- was being edited before the crash, or manually by searching for the backup
- in the backup directory. Backups are made in the background when a buffer is
- modified and the latest backup is more than 8 seconds old, or when micro
- detects a crash. It is highly recommended that you leave this feature enabled.
+ of the buffer can be recovered automatically by opening the file that was
+ being edited before the crash, or manually by searching for the backup in
+ the backup directory. Backups are made in the background for newly modified
+ buffers every 8 seconds, or when micro detects a crash.
default value: `true`
-* `basename`: in the infobar, show only the basename of the file being edited
- rather than the full path.
+* `backupdir`: the directory micro should place backups in. For the default
+ value of `""` (empty string), the backup directory will be
+ `ConfigDir/backups`, which is `~/.config/micro/backups` by default. The
+ directory specified for backups will be created if it does not exist.
+
+ default value: `""` (empty string)
+
+* `basename`: in the infobar and tabbar, show only the basename of the file
+ being edited rather than the full path.
default value: `false`
+* `clipboard`: specifies how micro should access the system clipboard.
+ Possible values are:
+ * `external`: accesses clipboard via an external tool, such as xclip/xsel
+ or wl-clipboard on Linux, pbcopy/pbpaste on MacOS, and system calls on
+ Windows. On Linux, if you do not have one of the tools installed, or if
+ they are not working, micro will throw an error and use an internal
+ clipboard.
+ * `terminal`: accesses the clipboard via your terminal emulator. Note that
+ there is limited support among terminal emulators for this feature
+ (called OSC 52). Terminals that are known to work are Kitty (enable
+ reading with `clipboard_control` setting), iTerm2 (only copying),
+ st, rxvt-unicode and xterm if enabled (see `> help copypaste` for
+ details). Note that Gnome-terminal does not support this feature. With
+ this setting, copy-paste **will** work over ssh. See `> help copypaste`
+ for details.
+ * `internal`: micro will use an internal clipboard.
+
+ default value: `external`
+
* `colorcolumn`: if this is not set to 0, it will display a column at the
- specified column. This is useful if you want column 80 to be highlighted
- special for example.
+ specified column. This is useful if you want column 80 to be highlighted
+ special for example.
default value: `0`
default value: `default`
- Note that the default colorschemes (default, solarized, and solarized-tc)
- are not located in configDir, because they are embedded in the micro binary.
+ Note that the default colorschemes (default, solarized, and solarized-tc)
+ are not located in configDir, because they are embedded in the micro
+ binary.
The colorscheme can be selected from all the files in the
~/.config/micro/colorschemes/ directory. Micro comes by default with three
default value: `true`
+* `diffgutter`: display diff indicators before lines.
+
+ default value: `false`
+
+* `divchars`: specifies the "divider" characters used for the dividing line
+ between vertical/horizontal splits. The first character is for vertical
+ dividers, and the second is for horizontal dividers. By default, for
+ horizontal splits the statusline serves as a divider, but if the statusline
+ is disabled the horizontal divider character will be used.
+
+ default value: `|-`
+
+* `divreverse`: colorschemes provide the color (foreground and background) for
+ the characters displayed in split dividers. With this option enabled, the
+ colors specified by the colorscheme will be reversed (foreground and
+ background colors swapped).
+
+ default value: `true`
+
* `encoding`: the encoding to open and save files with. Supported encodings
are listed at https://www.w3.org/TR/encoding/.
default value: `utf-8`
-* `eofnewline`: micro will automatically add a newline to the file.
+* `eofnewline`: micro will automatically add a newline to the end of the
+ file if one does not exist.
- default value: `false`
+ default value: `true`
-* `fastdirty`: this determines what kind of algorithm micro uses to determine if
- a buffer is modified or not. When `fastdirty` is on, micro just uses a
+* `fastdirty`: this determines what kind of algorithm micro uses to determine
+ if a buffer is modified or not. When `fastdirty` is on, micro just uses a
boolean `modified` that is set to `true` as soon as the user makes an edit.
This is fast, but can be inaccurate. If `fastdirty` is off, then micro will
- hash the current buffer against a hash of the original file (created when the
- buffer was loaded). This is more accurate but obviously more resource
- intensive. This option is only for people who really care about having
- accurate modified status.
+ hash the current buffer against a hash of the original file (created when
+ the buffer was loaded). This is more accurate but obviously more resource
+ intensive. This option will be automatically disabled if the file size
+ exceeds 50KB.
- default value: `true`
+ default value: `false`
-* `fileformat`: this determines what kind of line endings micro will use for the
- file. UNIX line endings are just `\n` (linefeed) whereas dos line endings are
- `\r\n` (carriage return + linefeed). The two possible values for this option
- are `unix` and `dos`. The fileformat will be automatically detected (when you
- open an existing file) and displayed on the statusline, but this option is
- useful if you would like to change the line endings or if you are starting a
- new file.
+* `fileformat`: this determines what kind of line endings micro will use for
+ the file. Unix line endings are just `\n` (linefeed) whereas dos line
+ endings are `\r\n` (carriage return + linefeed). The two possible values for
+ this option are `unix` and `dos`. The fileformat will be automatically
+ detected (when you open an existing file) and displayed on the statusline,
+ but this option is useful if you would like to change the line endings or if
+ you are starting a new file. Changing this option while editing a file will
+ change its line endings. Opening a file with this option set will only have
+ an effect if the file is empty/newly created, because otherwise the fileformat
+ will be automatically detected from the existing line endings.
default value: `unix`
-* `filetype`: sets the filetype for the current buffer. This setting is
- `local only`.
+* `filetype`: sets the filetype for the current buffer. Set this option to
+ `off` to completely disable filetype detection.
- default value: this will be automatically set depending on the file you have
- open
+ default value: `unknown`. This will be automatically overridden depending
+ on the file you open.
-* `ignorecase`: perform case-insensitive searches.
+* `hlsearch`: highlight all instances of the searched text after a successful
+ search. This highlighting can be turned off via `UnhighlightSearch` action
+ (triggered by Esc key by default) or toggled on/off via `ToggleHighlightSearch`
+ action. Note that these actions don't change `hlsearch` setting.
+ As long as `hlsearch` is set to true, after the next search the highlighting
+ is turned on again.
default value: `false`
-* `indentchar`: sets the indentation character.
+* `incsearch`: enable incremental search in "Find" prompt (matching as you type).
+
+ default value: `true`
+
+* `ignorecase`: perform case-insensitive searches.
+
+ default value: `true`
+
+* `indentchar`: sets the indentation character. This will not be inserted into
+ files; it is only a visual indicator that whitespace is present. If set to a
+ printing character, it functions as a subset of the "show invisibles"
+ setting available in many other text editors. The color of this character is
+ determined by the `indent-char` field in the current theme rather than the
+ default text color.
default value: ` ` (space)
* `keepautoindent`: when using autoindent, whitespace is added for you. This
option determines if when you move to the next line without any insertions
- the whitespace that was added should be deleted to remove trailing whitespace.
- By default, the autoindent whitespace is deleted if the line was left empty.
+ the whitespace that was added should be deleted to remove trailing
+ whitespace. By default, the autoindent whitespace is deleted if the line
+ was left empty.
default value: `false`
default value: `true`
-* `mkparents`: if a file is opened on a path that does not exist, the file cannot
- be saved because the parent directories don't exist. This option lets micro
- automatically create the parent directories in such a situation.
+* `mkparents`: if a file is opened on a path that does not exist, the file
+ cannot be saved because the parent directories don't exist. This option lets
+ micro automatically create the parent directories in such a situation.
default value: `false`
-* `mouse`: whether to enable mouse support. When mouse support is disabled,
+* `mouse`: mouse support. When mouse support is disabled,
usually the terminal will be able to access mouse events which can be useful
if you want to copy from the terminal instead of from micro (if over ssh for
example, because the terminal has access to the local clipboard and micro
default value: `true`
-* `rmtrailingws`: micro will automatically trim trailing whitespaces at eol.
+* `paste`: treat characters sent from the terminal in a single chunk as a paste
+ event rather than a series of manual key presses. If you are pasting using
+ the terminal keybinding (not Ctrl-v, which is micro's default paste
+ keybinding) then it is a good idea to enable this option during the paste
+ and disable once the paste is over. See `> help copypaste` for details about
+ copying and pasting in a terminal environment.
+
+ default value: `false`
+
+* `parsecursor`: if enabled, this will cause micro to parse filenames such as
+ file.txt:10:5 as requesting to open `file.txt` with the cursor at line 10
+ and column 5. The column number can also be dropped to open the file at a
+ given line and column 0. Note that with this option enabled it is not possible
+ to open a file such as `file.txt:10:5`, where `:10:5` is part of the filename.
+ It is also possible to open a file with a certain cursor location by using the
+ `+LINE:COL` flag syntax. See `micro -help` for the command line options.
+
+ default value: `false`
+
+* `permbackup`: this option causes backups (see `backup` option) to be
+ permanently saved. With permanent backups, micro will not remove backups when
+ files are closed and will never apply them to existing files. Use this option
+ if you are interested in manually managing your backup files.
+
+ default value: `false`
+
+* `pluginchannels`: list of URLs pointing to plugin channels for downloading and
+ installing plugins. A plugin channel consists of a json file with links to
+ plugin repos, which store information about plugin versions and download URLs.
+ By default, this option points to the official plugin channel hosted on GitHub
+ at https://github.com/micro-editor/plugin-channel.
+
+ default value: `https://raw.githubusercontent.com/micro-editor/plugin-channel/master/channel.json`
+
+* `pluginrepos`: a list of links to plugin repositories.
+
+ default value: ``
+
+* `readonly`: when enabled, disallows edits to the buffer. It is recommended
+ to only ever set this option locally using `setlocal`.
+
+ default value: `false`
+
+* `rmtrailingws`: micro will automatically trim trailing whitespaces at ends of
+ lines. Note: This setting overrides `keepautoindent`
default value: `false`
default value: `true`
+* `relativeruler`: make line numbers display relatively. If set to true, all lines except
+ for the line that the cursor is located will display the distance from the
+ cursor's line.
+
+ default value: `false`
+
* `savecursor`: remember where the cursor was last time the file was opened and
- put it there when you open the file again.
+ put it there when you open the file again. Information is saved to
+ `~/.config/micro/buffers/`
default value: `false`
* `savehistory`: remember command history between closing and re-opening
- micro.
+ micro. Information is saved to `~/.config/micro/buffers/history`.
default value: `true`
* `saveundo`: when this option is on, undo is saved even after you close a file
- so if you close and reopen a file, you can keep undoing.
+ so if you close and reopen a file, you can keep undoing. Information is
+ saved to `~/.config/micro/buffers/`.
default value: `false`
default value: `false`
-* `scrollmargin`: amount of lines you would like to see above and below the
- cursor.
+* `scrollmargin`: margin at which the view starts scrolling when the cursor
+ approaches the edge of the view.
default value: `3`
default value: `2`
-* `smartpaste`: should micro add leading whitespace when pasting multiple lines?
+* `smartpaste`: add leading whitespace when pasting multiple lines.
This will attempt to preserve the current indentation level when pasting an
unindented block.
default value: `true`
-* `softwrap`: should micro wrap lines that are too long to fit on the screen.
+* `softwrap`: wrap lines that are too long to fit on the screen.
default value: `false`
-* `splitbottom`: when a horizontal split is created, should it be created below
- the current split?
+* `splitbottom`: when a horizontal split is created, create it below the
+ current split.
default value: `true`
-* `splitright`: when a vertical split is created, should it be created to the
- right of the current split?
+* `splitright`: when a vertical split is created, create it to the right of the
+ current split.
default value: `true`
* `statusformatl`: format string definition for the left-justified part of the
statusline. Special directives should be placed inside `$()`. Special
- directives include: `filename`, `modified`, `line`, `col`, `opt`, `bind`.
+ directives include: `filename`, `modified`, `line`, `col`, `lines`, `percentage`, `opt`, `bind`.
The `opt` and `bind` directives take either an option or an action afterward
and fill in the value of the option or the key bound to the action.
- default value: `$(filename) $(modified)($(line),$(col)) $(opt:filetype)
- $(opt:fileformat) $(opt:encoding)`
+ default value: `$(filename) $(modified)($(line),$(col)) $(status.paste)|
+ ft:$(opt:filetype) | $(opt:fileformat) | $(opt:encoding)`
-* `statusformatl`: format string definition for the left-justified part of the
+* `statusformatr`: format string definition for the right-justified part of the
statusline.
- default value: `$(bind:ToggleKeyMenu): show bindings, $(bind:ToggleHelp):
- toggle help`
+ default value: `$(bind:ToggleKeyMenu): bindings, $(bind:ToggleHelp): help`
* `statusline`: display the status line at the bottom of the screen.
default value: `sudo`
-* `syntax`: turns syntax on or off.
+* `syntax`: enables syntax highlighting.
default value: `true`
default value: `false`
-* `tabsize`: sets the tab size to `option`
+* `tabsize`: the size in spaces that a tab character should be displayed with.
default value: `4`
-* `tabstospaces`: use spaces instead of tabs
+* `tabstospaces`: use spaces instead of tabs. Note: This option will be
+ overridden by [the `ftoptions` plugin](https://github.com/zyedidia/micro/blob/master/runtime/plugins/ftoptions/ftoptions.lua)
+ for certain filetypes. To disable this behavior, add `"ftoptions": false` to
+ your config. See [issue #2213](https://github.com/zyedidia/micro/issues/2213)
+ for more details.
default value: `false`
-* `termtitle`: defines whether or not your terminal's title will be set by micro
- when opened.
+* `useprimary` (only useful on unix): defines whether or not micro will use the
+ primary clipboard to copy selections in the background. This does not affect
+ the normal clipboard using Ctrl-c and Ctrl-v.
+
+ default value: `true`
+
+* `wordwrap`: wrap long lines by words, i.e. break at spaces. This option
+ only does anything if `softwrap` is on.
default value: `false`
-* `useprimary` (only useful on *nix): defines whether or not micro will use the
- primary clipboard to copy selections in the background. This does not affect
- the normal clipboard using Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V.
+* `xterm`: micro will assume that the terminal it is running in conforms to
+ `xterm-256color` regardless of what the `$TERM` variable actually contains.
+ Enabling this option may cause unwanted effects if your terminal in fact
+ does not conform to the `xterm-256color` standard.
- default value: `true`
+ Default value: `false`
---
-Plugin options: all plugins come with a special option to enable or disable them. THe option
-is a boolean with the same name as the plugin itself.
-
-Any option you set in the editor will be saved to the file
+Plugin options: all plugins come with a special option to enable or disable
+them. The option is a boolean with the same name as the plugin itself.
+
+By default, the following plugins are provided, each with an option to enable
+or disable them:
+
+* `autoclose`: automatically closes brackets, quotes, etc...
+* `comment`: provides automatic commenting for a number of languages
+* `ftoptions`: alters some default options depending on the filetype
+* `linter`: provides extensible linting for many languages
+* `literate`: provides advanced syntax highlighting for the Literate
+ programming tool.
+* `status`: provides some extensions to the status line (integration with
+ Git and more).
+* `diff`: integrates the `diffgutter` option with Git. If you are in a Git
+ directory, the diff gutter will show changes with respect to the most
+ recent Git commit rather than the diff since opening the file.
+
+Any option you set in the editor will be saved to the file
~/.config/micro/settings.json so, in effect, your configuration file will be
created for you. If you'd like to take your configuration with you to another
machine, simply copy the settings.json to the other machine.
+## Settings.json file
+
+The settings.json file should go in your configuration directory (by default
+at `~/.config/micro`), and should contain only options which have been modified
+from their default setting. Here is the full list of options in json format,
+so that you can see what the formatting should look like.
+
+```json
+{
+ "autoclose": true,
+ "autoindent": true,
+ "autosave": 0,
+ "autosu": false,
+ "backup": true,
+ "backupdir": "",
+ "basename": false,
+ "clipboard": "external",
+ "colorcolumn": 0,
+ "colorscheme": "default",
+ "comment": true,
+ "cursorline": true,
+ "diff": true,
+ "diffgutter": false,
+ "divchars": "|-",
+ "divreverse": true,
+ "encoding": "utf-8",
+ "eofnewline": true,
+ "fastdirty": false,
+ "fileformat": "unix",
+ "filetype": "unknown",
+ "incsearch": true,
+ "ftoptions": true,
+ "ignorecase": false,
+ "indentchar": " ",
+ "infobar": true,
+ "initlua": true,
+ "keepautoindent": false,
+ "keymenu": false,
+ "linter": true,
+ "literate": true,
+ "matchbrace": true,
+ "mkparents": false,
+ "mouse": true,
+ "parsecursor": false,
+ "paste": false,
+ "permbackup": false,
+ "pluginchannels": [
+ "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/micro-editor/plugin-channel/master/channel.json"
+ ],
+ "pluginrepos": [],
+ "readonly": false,
+ "relativeruler": false,
+ "rmtrailingws": false,
+ "ruler": true,
+ "savecursor": false,
+ "savehistory": true,
+ "saveundo": false,
+ "scrollbar": false,
+ "scrollmargin": 3,
+ "scrollspeed": 2,
+ "smartpaste": true,
+ "softwrap": false,
+ "splitbottom": true,
+ "splitright": true,
+ "status": true,
+ "statusformatl": "$(filename) $(modified)($(line),$(col)) $(status.paste)| ft:$(opt:filetype) | $(opt:fileformat) | $(opt:encoding)",
+ "statusformatr": "$(bind:ToggleKeyMenu): bindings, $(bind:ToggleHelp): help",
+ "statusline": true,
+ "sucmd": "sudo",
+ "syntax": true,
+ "tabmovement": false,
+ "tabsize": 4,
+ "tabstospaces": false,
+ "useprimary": true,
+ "xterm": false
+}
+```
+
## Global and local settings
You can set these settings either globally or locally. Locally means that the
setting won't be saved to `~/.config/micro/settings.json` and that it will only
be set in the current buffer. Setting an option globally is the default, and
-will set the option in all buffers.
+will set the option in all buffers. Use the `setlocal` command to set an option
+locally rather than globally.
The `colorscheme` option is global only, and the `filetype` option is local
only. To set an option locally, use `setlocal` instead of `set`.
-In the `settings.json` file you can also put set options locally by specifying either
-a glob or a filetype. Here is an example which has `tabstospaces` on for all files except Go
-files, and `tabsize` 4 for all files except Ruby files:
+In the `settings.json` file you can also put set options locally by specifying
+either a glob or a filetype. Here is an example which has `tabstospaces` on for
+all files except Go files, and `tabsize` 4 for all files except Ruby files:
```json
{
projects / micro.git / blobdiff