MLTERM(1) General Commands Manual MLTERM(1)
NAME
mlterm - Multi Lingual TERMinal emulator on X
SYNOPSIS
mlterm [options]
DESCRIPTION
mlterm is a multi-lingual terminal emulator written from scratch, which supports various character sets and encodings in the world and complex characters such as double width for East Asian, combining for Thai,
Vietnamese, and so on, and bi-direction for Arabic and Hebrew. Indic scripts are experimentally supported. It also supports various unique feature such as anti-alias using FreeType, multiple XIM, multiple win‐
dows, scrollbar API, scroll by mouse wheel, automatic selection of encoding, daemon mode, and so on.
Supported encodings are: ISO-8859-[1-11], ISO-8859-[13-16], TIS-620 (same as ISO-8859-11), KOI8-R, KOI8-U, KOI8-T, GEORGIAN-PS, TCVN5712, ISCII_(ASSAMESE|BENGALI|GUJARATI| HINDI|KANNADA|MALAYALAM|ORIYA|PUN‐
JABI|TAMIL|TELUGU), VISCII, CP125[0-8], CP874, EUC-JP, EUC-JISX0213, Shift_JIS, Shift_JISX0213, ISO-2022-JP[1-3], EUC-KR, UHC, JOHAB, ISO-2022-KR, GB2312 (EUC-CN), GBK, GB18030, ISO-2022-CN, HZ, EUC-TW, BIG5,
BIG5HKSCS, and UTF-8. If you have already set locale (for example LANG variable; see locale(7) for detail) mlterm will automatically select proper encoding.
OPTIONS
Note that bool is to be substituted by true or false.
-A, --aa(=bool)
Use anti-aliased fonts. This option works only with Xft or cairo for now. The default is false.
-B, --sbbg=color
Specify a background color of a scrollbar. A valid value for color is a color name or a RGB value. The color name should be defined in rgb.txt or "color" configuration file. The RGB value's format
should be "#RRGGBB", "#RRGGBBAA", "rgb:RR/GG/BB" or "rgba:RR/GG/BB/AA".
-C, --ctl(=bool)
Enable complex text layouting on UTF8 encoding to support indic scripts and RTL (right-to-left) languages such as Arabic and Hebrew. The default is true. (If mlterm -v outputs "no-indic" or "no-bidi",
indic scripts or RTL languages are not supported.)
-E, --km=encoding
Specify encoding. Valid encodings are listed in DESCRIPTION section above in this man page. AUTO makes mlterm determine the according according to the current locale (default AUTO).
-F, --sbfg=color
Specify a foreground color of a scrollbar. See --sbbg option for valid values.
-G, --vertical=mode
Specify vertical writing mode. cjk for RTL vertical writing and mongol for LTR one. The default is none which means horizontal writing mode.
-H, --bright=percent
Brightness of background images in percent. See -p option for details of background images. The default is 100 (keep original).
-I, --icon=name
Specify a name to be used when a mlterm window is iconified. The default is "mlterm".
-J, --dyncomb(=bool)
Enable dynamic character combining. "Dynamic" means that combining characters are stored in without combining but they are displayed using combined form. This affects calculation of column position,
i.e., a pair of base character and combining character is counted to be two columns in this mode, while it is counted to be one column in the normal mode. Under this option, a (logical) column number and
a character one-to-one correspondence. even for combining characters (though not for fullwidth characters; see -Z/--multicol option for handling of fullwidth characters). Thus, this mode enables you to
use combining characters with software which does not support combining characters. The default is false.
-K, --metakey=key
Specify a key to be interpreted as a META key. Valid values are: alt, meta, hyper, super, mod1, mod2, mod3, mod4, and none. The default is none.
See -k option also.
-L, --ls(=bool)
Whether to use login shell or not. The default is false.
-M, --im= input method : [ arguments ... ]
Specify an input method.
Examples:
--im=default
Use the default input method provided by the system.
--im=xim
Use XIM with the default XIM server specified by standard way (i.e., XMODIFIERS environmental variable).
--im=xim:Ami
Use XIM with Ami on the system locale.
--im=xim:kinput2:ja_JP.EUC-JP
Use XIM with kinput2 on ja_JP.EUC-JP locale.
--im=kbd:arabic
Use keyboard mapping input method in Arabic.
--im=kbd:hide:arabic
Use keyboard mapping input method without showing the status screen.
"kbd" input method converts US keyboard characters to other keyboard layouts. It is assumed to be used in environments with limited functionality, such as older OSs that support few keyboard lay‐
outs. Available values for "kbd" input method argument are "arabic", "hebrew", "de", "fr", "es", "pt", "jp106", "isciiassamese", "isciibengali", "isciigujarati", "isciihindi", "isciikannada",
"isciimalayalam", "isciioriya", "isciipunjabi", "isciitamil" and "isciitelugu".
--im=uim
Use uim with the default conversion engine.
--im=uim:prime
Use uim with prime conversion engine.
--im=m17nlib:ru
Use m17n library in Russian.
--im=m17nlib:or:itrans
Use m17n library in Oriya using ITRANS method.
--im=scim
Use SCIM.
--im=ibus
Use IBus with the default conversion engine.
--im=ibus:anthy
Use IBus with anthy conversion engine.
--im=fcitx
Use Fcitx.
--im=canna
Use Canna.
--im=wnn
Use Freewnn.
--im=wnn:foo.bar
Use Freewnn with jserver at foo.bar host. (JSERVER environmental variable is also available.)
--im=skk
Use SKK.
--im=skk:dict=foo.bar:utf8,sskey=\x3b
Use SKK with the use of utf8 skk server at foo.bar host and semicolon key as sticky shift key. (SKK_DICTIONARY and SKK_STICKY_SHIFT_KEY environmental variable are also available.)
--im=iiimf
Use IIIMF in the system language.
--im=iiimf:ar
Use IIIMF in Arabic.
--im=iiimf:ja:CannaLE
Use IIIMF in Japanese using CannaLE language engine.
--im=none
Don't use input method.
-N, --name=name
Specify application name. (WM_CLASS property) The default is "mlterm".
--role=role
Specify application role. (WM_WINDOW_ROLE property) The default is undefined.
-O, --sbmod=mode
Specify the side to show a scrollbar. left for left side and right for right side. none turns off a scrollbar. autohide shows a scrollbar only if mouse pointer is at the right edge of the screen. The
default is left.
-Q, --vcur(=bool)
Change interpretation of cursor keys to be natural in vertical writing mode. This means that up and down arrow keys are treated as backward (left arrow in horizontal LTR) and forward (right arrow in hor‐
izontal LTR), respectively. In cjk -G/--vertical mode, left and right arrow keys are also treated as next line (down arrow in horizontal LTR) and previous line (up arrow in horizontal LTR), respectively,
while vice versa in mongol mode. The default is true.
-R, --fsrange=range
Set acceptable range of font size. The format is "minsize-maxsize", where minsize and maxsize are font sizes in pixel (default 1-200 for mlterm-fb, mlterm-wl or mlterm-sdl2 with freetype support, 1-10000
otherwise). The GUI configurator and other means for setting fontsize should honor the range.
-S, --sbview=name
Select a type of scrollbar. See SCROLLBAR section below for details. The default is "simple" which means the built-in simple scrollbar.
-T, --title=name
Specify a title for a mlterm window. The default is "mlterm".
--locktitle(=bool)
Lock the title for a mlterm window. If a title is locked then OSC 0, 1 and 2 esc sequences to change it are ignored. The default is false.
-U, --viaucs(=bool)
Force to convert a selection (i.e., copy-and-paste strings) whose type is not UTF8_STRING to the current mlterm encoding via Unicode. See SELECTION section below for detail. The default is false.
-V, --varwidth(=bool)
Use variable column width. You may want to use this option when you use proportional fonts. The default is false.
-W, --sep=characterlist
Delimiter characters used for word selection, which are consulted when you double-clicked mlterm, to define what is a word. The default is " ,.:;/|@()[]{}")
-X, --alpha=number
Alpha in pseudo or true transparent. The default is 255.
-Y, --decsp(=bool)
Use dynamically composed line drawing character set of DEC special. The default is false. This overrides DEC_SPECIAL in "font" configuration file, while DEC_SPECIAL in "aafont" (for Xft or cairo) is al‐
ways overridden.
-Z, --multicol(=bool)
Treat fullwidth characters (east Asian characters in most cases; which occupies two columns on the screen) as they occupy two logical columns. It is the de-facto standard way to handle fullwidth charac‐
ters in east Asian terminal emulators (XFree86 xterm and kterm, cxterm, hanterm, rxvt, eterm) and other systems such as MS-DOS, PC-9801, and so on. In most fonts, the glyphs of fullwidth characters are
designed assuming that their width are twice of normal characters and won't display correctly without this option. The default is true.
-0, --crbg=color
Specify background color for cursor (default is same to foreground color). Valid values for color are color names defined in rgb.txt and color rgb string whose format is "#RRGGBB", "#RRGGBBAA",
"rgb:RR/GG/BB" or "rgba:RR/GG/BB/AA".
-1, --wscr=percent
Specify actual window width, by percentage against calculated value by multiplying font width by column number. This is useful when you use a proportional font which includes some glyphs with exception‐
ally large width, i.e., much larger "maximum width" than your expectation. In vertical mode this option changes actual window height. The default is 100.
-3, --contrast=percent
Contrast of background image in percent. See -p option for details of background image. The default is 100.
-4, --gamma=percent
Gamma of background image in percent. See -p option for details of background image. The default is 100.
-5, --big5bug(=bool)
Enable a workaround for Big5 CTEXT bugs (which had been existed until XFree86 4.1.0). This affects Big5 selections (i.e., copy-and-paste strings) in COMPOUND_TEXT format which mlterm sends. The default
is false.
-6, --stbs(=bool)
Don't exit backscroll mode when console applications output something. The default is false.
-7, --bel=mode
Behavior when BEL (0x07) is received. sound for beep , visual for blanking screen and sound|visual for the both. The default is none which ignores BEL.
-8, --88591(=bool)
Use ISO8859-1 fonts for US-ASCII part of various encodings.
-9, --crfg=color
Specify foreground color for cursor (default is same to background color). Valid values for color are color names defined in rgb.txt and color rgb string whose format is "#RRGGBB", "#RRGGBBAA",
"rgb:RR/GG/BB" or "rgba:RR/GG/BB/AA".
-$, --mc=number
Doubleclick/tripleclick interval in millisecond. The default is 250.
-%, --logseq(=bool)
Enable logging. Contents of stream received by mlterm will be logged under ~/.mlterm/. This option is mainly intended to be used for debugging purposes. The default is false. Note that % should be es‐
caped to be supplied as a command line option on most shells.
-&, --borderless(=bool)
Asks the window manager to use no decorations at all. Warning: You will not be able to resize the window. You probably want to use --geometry as well. The default is false.
-@, --screens=number
Specify number of screens (sessions) to be used in start up. The default is 1. Note that when one of these screens are closed, sessions which were connected to the screens do not immediately killed.
See MULTIPLE PTY section for details.
-*, --type=engine
Specify the rendering engine to be used to draw fonts. xcore is conventional X11 core font mechanism. xft means Xft mechanism and cairo means cairo mechanism. The default is cairo. On platforms except
X11, it is always xcore. (If mlterm -v outputs "no-xft" or "no-cairo", xft or cairo is unavailable.)
-#, --initstr=string
Specify a string to be automatically sent after initialization of session. The value normally will be parsed by a shell. See -e option to execute other application at start-up time.
-a, --ac=number
Specify number of columns to be occupied by a Unicode's "EastAsianAmbiguous" character. The default is 1 except "ja" locale where the default is 2. Some of asian people may want to specify 2. See Uni‐
code Standard Annex (UAX) #11 East Asian Width found at Unicode web site for details.
-b, --bg=color
Specify background color (default white). Valid values for color are color names defined in rgb.txt and color rgb string whose format is "#RRGGBB", "#RRGGBBAA", "rgb:RR/GG/BB" or "rgba:RR/GG/BB/AA".
-c, --cp932(=bool)
Use CP932 mapping table to convert from JIS X 0208 to Unicode when displaying JIS X 0208 characters using Unicode font in Xft or cairo mode. This is useful when you use proprietary Japanese true type
fonts which are intended to be used with Microsoft Windows, with mlterm with encodings (such as EUC-JP, Shift_JIS, ISO-2022-JP, and so on) which contain JIS X 0208 as a coded character set.
The reason is, such proprietary fonts may have glyphs only for Unicode code points into which JIS X 0208 code points are converted using CP932 mapping table. (CP932 is a name of mapping table which is
used by Microsoft to convert from Shift_JIS [plus Microsoft private extended characters] into Unicode. In Unicode's point of view, CP932 is a name of encoding which is similar to Shift_JIS and is used by
Japanese version of Microsoft Windows.) If you use such fonts for encodings such as EUC-JP and Shift_JIS with JIS0208.TXT mapping table which mlterm adopts as the standard, a few characters are mapped
into Unicode code points where the fonts don't have glyphs.
Both of CP932.TXT and JIS0208.TXT mapping tables are supplied by Unicode Consortium, though they are regarded to be obsolete.
The default is true.
-d, --display=display
Specify X display to connect with.
-e program [ arguments ... ]
Invoke the command in the mlterm window. This option must be the last option on the command line.
-f, --fg=color
Foreground color (default black). Valid values for color are color names defined in rgb.txt and color rgb string whose format is "#RRGGBB", "#RRGGBBAA", "rgb:RR/GG/BB" or "rgba:RR/GG/BB/AA".
-g, --geometry=geometry
Specify size and position of the window; see X(7).
-h, --help(=bool)
Show help messages.
-i, --xim(=bool)
Whether to use XIM (X Input Method). Most east Asian people will want to enable this option. Other people can also safely enable this. The default is true. The name of the XIM server to be connected
is specified by standard way (i.e., XMODIFIERS environmental variable).
-j, --daemon=mode
Start as a daemon process. Note that mlclient is executed if a daemon process has already started. Possible =modes are "blend" and "genuine". See the chapter of DAEMON MODE for details. (If mlterm -v
outputs "no-daemon", this option is unavailable.)
-k, --meta=mode
Behavior of META key. esc for sending ESC and none for ignoring META key. The default is 8bit which sets the most significant bit.
See -K option also.
-l, --sl=number
Specify number of lines of backlog or "unlimited". Over 65535(0xffff) is regarded as "unlimited". The default is 128.
-m, --comb(=bool)
Enable combining characters by overstriking glyphs (recommended for TIS-620, TCVN5712, and UTF-8). Note that fonts which contain combining characters which extend backward cannot be used, since mlterm
does combine characters by controlling the writing positions. This option is automatically turned on when using --dyncomb option. The default is true.
-n, --noucsfont(=bool)
Use non-Unicode fonts even when mlterm encoding is UTF-8. Useful when you don't have ISO10646-1 fonts and you want to use UTF-8 encoding. The default is false.
-o, --lsp=number
Specify number of extra pixels between lines. The default is 0.
-p, --pic=path
Path for a wallpaper (background) image. Note that the wallpaper cannot be used with pseudo transparent background. (If mlterm -v outputs "no-image", this option is unavailable.)
-r, --fade=ratio
Specify fading ratio for unfocused windows. 100 means no fading and 0 means darkest. The default is 100
-s, --mdi(=bool)
Whether to use multiple document interface. The default is true. If you disable this option, scrollbar and screen separation are unavailable.
-t, --transbg(=bool)
Whether to enable pseudo transparent background. Note that pseudo transparent background cannot be used with wallpaper. The default is false.
-u, --onlyucsfont(=bool)
Use Unicode fonts even when mlterm encoding is not UTF-8. Useful when you have ISO10646 fonts but you don't have other fonts and want to use non-UTF-8 encodings. Note that conversion to Unicode is
lossy. i.e. if mlterm encoding is not a subset of Unicode like ISO-2022-JP-2 or EUC-TW, characters which are regarded as a same character in Unicode will be displayed with the same glyph and cannot be
distinguished.
The default is false.
-v, --version
Show version information.
-w, --fontsize=number
Specify font size in pixel. The default is 16.
-x, --tw=number
Specify tab width. The default is 8.
-y, --term=string
Specify terminal type, i.e., the value of TERM variable. The default is xterm. Note that mlterm is deprecated.
-z, --largesmall=size
Specify the step of changing font size in pixel when you pushed "Font size larger" or "Font size smaller" button on GUI configurator. The default is 1.
--aafont=(bool) (Available for mlterm-fb, mlterm-wl or mlterm-sdl2)
Whether to use ~/.mlterm/*aafont configurations with the use of fontconfig. The default is false for mlterm-fb and true for mlterm-wl and mlterm-sdl2. (If mlterm -v doesn't output "fontconfig", this op‐
tion is unavailable.)
--ade=encodings
Specify character encodings (comma separated list) detected automatically.
--adc(=bool)
Whether to use dynamic combining to show arabic presentation forms. The default is true.
--auto(=bool)
Automatically detect appropriate character encoding from the encodings specified by --ade option. The default is false.
--altbuf(=bool)
Whether to enable alternate screen buffer. This option is similar to "titeInhibit" of xterm. The default is true.
--bc(=bool)
Whether to broadcast input or pasted characters to all ptys whose value of "ignore_broadcasted_chars" option is false. The default is false.
--bd=color
Specify the color to use to display bold characters.
--bdfont(=bool)
Use bold font for characters with the bold attribute. The default is true.
--bimode=mode
Specify bidi mode. Valid values are: normal, left and right. The default is normal. (If mlterm -v outputs "no-bidi", this option is unavailable.)
--bisep=characterlist
Specify separator characters to render bidi text. (If mlterm -v outputs "no-bidi", this option is unavailable.)
--bl=color
Specify the color to use to display blinking characters.
--blink(=bool)
Blink cursor. The default is false.
--blpos=number
Specify the position (offset from the default baseline) of baseline. The default is 0.
--border=number[,number2]
Specify inner border width. The default is 2. If only number is specified, it sets both the horizontal and vertical border width. If number2 is specified, number sets the horizontal border width and
number2 sets the vertical border width. The maximum value is 224.
--boxdraw=mode
Use either unicode font or DEC Special font forcibly to draw box-drawing characters. unicode for unicode font and decsp for DEC special font. The default is noconv which draw them as they are.
--chsel(=bool) (Available for platforms except x11 and wayland)
Whether to enable to change selection just after selecting text by mouse. The default is true.
--ciphlist=ciphers
Specify ciphers (comma separated list) for encrypting the ssh session. (If mlterm -v doesn't output "ssh", this option is unavailable.)
--clp(=bool)
Whether to use clipping to keep from producing dots outside the text drawing area. The default is false.
--ckm=encoding (Available for mlterm-con)
Specify encoding of the console where mlterm-con works. Valid encodings are listed in DESCRIPTION section above in this man page. AUTO makes mlterm determine the according according to the current lo‐
cale (default AUTO).
--co=color
Specify the color to use to display crossed-out characters.
--colors(=bool)
Whether to recognize ANSI color change escape sequences. The default is true.
--conpty(=bool) (Available for win32)
Whether to use ConPTY. The default is true.
--cursor=style
Specify cursor style. A valid value is block, underline, bar, block|blink, underline|blink or bar|blink. The default is block.
--crsz=width,height (Available for mlterm-fb)
Specify cursor width and height in pixel. The default is 7,15.
--csc=mode (Available for mlterm-con)
Specify the number of sixel graphics colors of the console where mlterm-con works. A valid value is 16, 256 or full. The default is 16.
--csp=number
Specify number of extra pixels between lines. (Negative value is available.) If you specify --V option, this option is ignored. The default is 0.
--csz=width,height (Available for mlterm-con)
Specify cell width and height in pixel which mlterm-con uses if it doesn't get them. The default is 8,16.
--da1=string
Specify primary device attributes string. The default is 63;1;2;3;4;6;7;15;18;22;29.
--da2=string
Specify secondary device attributes string. The default is 24;279;0.
--decscusr(=bool)
Whether to allow DECSCUSR. If this option is false, it sets "\d q,33l" to --igncsi option. The default is true.
--depth=number
Specify visual depth. (8, 16, 24 or 32) If depth is 32, you can enable semi-transparency by specifying opacity as the value of --alpha option or "rgba:RR/GG/BB/AA" as the value of --bg option.
--dndesc=mode
Specify mode in escaping DnD text. A valid value is none, backslash, quote or doublequote. The default is backslash.
--deffont=font
DEFAULT in ~/.mlterm/*font.
--emoji=path
Specify path of a directory where emoji image files exist or a open type emoji font to show unicode emoji characters. The default is ~/.mlterm/emoji.
--emojifmt=format
Specify filename format of emoji image files in the directory specified by --emoji option. The value is "[Format1](,[Format2])". [Format1] is for singleton emoji consisting of 1 code point, and [For‐
mat2] is for emoji sequence consisting of 2 code points. If you omit [Format2], [Format1 except file suffix]-[Format1] is automatically used for emoji sequence. Emoji sequence consisting of 3 or more
code points is not supported for now. The default is %.4x.png,%.4x-%.4x.png.
--exitbs(=bool)
Whether to exit backscroll mode on receiving data from pty. The default is false.
--fk(=bool)
Whether to send modified keys as parameter for CSI u. (Equivalent to "formatOtherKeys" of xterm) The default is false.
--fullwidth=ranges
Force full width regardless of EastAsianWidth.txt.
e.g.) --fullwidth=U+1234-5678,U+0123-4567
--halfwidth=ranges
Force half width regardless of EastAsianWidth.txt.
e.g.) --halfwidth=U+1234-5678,U+0123-4567
--ibc(=bool)
Whether to ignore broadcasted characters. The default is false.
--iconpath=path
Specify the file to be used as a window icon.
--igncsi=list
Specify CSI sequences which should be ignored. For example, ?8800h ignores ^[[?8800h sequence. It is possible to specify multiple sequences separated by comma such as ?8800h,?8800l. Note that , ignores
all CSI sequences.
--imcolor=color
Specify the color to show cursor in preediting text via input method.
--it=color
Specify the color to use to display italic characters.
--itfont(=bool)
Use italic font for characters with the italic attribute. The default is true.
--keepalive=number
Specify interval seconds to send keepalive message to ssh server. The default is 0. (If mlterm -v doesn't output "ssh", this option is unavailable.)
--lborder=number[,number2]
Specify inner border width of a layout manager. The default is 0. If only number is specified, it sets both the horizontal and vertical border width. If number2 is specified, number sets the horizontal
border width and number2 sets the vertical border width. The maximum value is 224.
--ldd(=bool)
Embold glyphs by drawing doubly at 1 pixel leftward instead of rightward. The default is false.
--lew=number
Specify time (msec) to keep local echo mode. The default is 250.
--locale=locale
Specify locale. The default is "".
--logmsg(=bool)
Enable logging messages of mlterm to ~/.mlterm/msg.log. The default is true.
--loecho(=bool)
Whether to use local echo mode or not. The default is false.
--maxptys=number
Specify maximum number of ptys (sessions) to be opened simultaneously. It should be multiple of 32. The default is 32.
See MULTIPLE PTY section for detail.
--metaprefix=string
Specify prefix characters in pressing meta key if mod_meta_mode = esc. The default is \x1b.
--multivram(=bool) (Available for mlterm-fb on NetBSD/x68k)
Whether to draw the wall picture on Text VRAM instead of Graphic VRAM to improve the performance of scrolling. The default is true.
--norepkey=key
Specify modifier keys to stop mouse reporting. Valid values are: shift, control, mod1, mod2, mod3, mod4, mod5, mod and alt. The default is shift,control.
--noul(=bool)
Don't draw underline. The default is false.
--oft=features
Specify features of glyph substitution. The default is fliga,clig,dlig,hlig,rlig.
--osc52(=bool)
Allow access to clipboard(selection) by OSC 52 sequence. The default is false.
--ost=script
Specify script of glyph substitution. The default is latn.
--otl(=bool)
Whether to show substituting glyphs in open type fonts with the use of libotf or harfbuzz. Don't specify --ctl=false if you want to use substituting glyphs. --ctl option disables automatic search of al‐
ternative glyphs in other fonts on cairo/xlib and freetype+fontconfig/{wayland|framebuffer}. The default is false. (If mlterm -v doesn't output "otl", this option is unavailable.)
--parent=ID
Specify parent Window ID. The default is 0.
--point(=bool)
Treat the value of -w option as point instead of pixel. Note that this option works on xft, cairo or win32. The default is false.
--pubkey=path
Specify public key file for ssh connection. The default is ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub(%HOMEPATH%termid_rsa.pub in win32). (If mlterm -v doesn't output "ssh", this option is unavailable.)
--privkey=path
Specify private key file for ssh connection. The default is ~/.ssh/id_rsa(%HOMEPATH%termid_rsa in win32). (If mlterm -v doesn't output "ssh", this option is unavailable.)
--rcn(=bool)
Reconnect to ssh server automatically in unexpected disconnection. The default is false. (If mlterm -v doesn't output "ssh", this option is unavailable.)
--recvdir=path
Specify the directory to save received files via zmodem or scp. The default is ~/.mlterm/recv.
--restart(=bool)
Whether to restart mlterm with all opened ptys except ssh if SIGSEGV, SIGBUS, SIGFPE or SIGILL is received. The default is true.
--rotate=mode (Available for mlterm-fb, mlterm-wl and mlterm-sdl2)
Specify display rotation. Valid values are right, left and none. The default is none.
--rv=color
Specify the color to use to display reverse characters.
--rz=mode
Specify the way to display text on the screen when it is resized. Valid values are: none, scroll and wrap. The default is wrap.
--scp(=bool)
Allow OSC 5379 scp. The default is false. Even if allow_scp = false, it is possible to transfer a file to "." directory (~/.mlterm/scp).
--sdpr=number
Specify device pixel ratio to determine the width of "simple" scrollbar. The default is 1.
--seqfmt=mode
Specify the format of logging vt100 sequence. raw for logging as it is and ttyrec for logging by ttyrec format. The default is raw.
--serv=server
Specify a host you want to connect via ssh etc. This option is enabled only if mlterm is built with MinGW or --enable-ssh2 option.
Value format: (<protocol>://)(<user>@)<server>(:<port>)(:<encoding>)
e.g.) mlterm --serv ssh://user@host:22:eucjp
mlterm --serv mosh://user@host:22:utf8
--shortcut(=bool)
Whether to allow dynamic change of shortcut keys by OSC 5379 set_shortcut sequence. The default is false.
--slp(=bool) (Available for Android or win32)
Whether to start mlterm with local pty instead of ssh connection. The default is false.
--trim(=bool)
Whether to trim new line characters at the end in pasting text. The default is false.
--ul=color
Specify the color to use to display underlined characters.
--ulpos=number
Specify the position (offset from the baseline) of underline. The default is 0.
--ucsnoconv=ranges
Use unicode fonts partially regardless of -n option.
e.g.) --ucsnoconv=U+1234-5678,U+0123-4567
--urgent(=bool)
Draw the user's attention when making a bell sound in the unfocused window. The default is false.
--uriword(=bool)
Select URI by double clicking it regardless of -W option. The default is false.
--vtcolor=mode
Set vt color mode. 256 for pseudo color, high for high color and true for true color. The default is high.
--winsize(=bool) (Available for win32)
Output XTWINOPS sequence when the screen is resized unless --conpty option is specified. The default is false.
--working-directory=path
Working directory.
--x11(=bool)
Enable x11 forwarding for ssh connection. The default is false. (If mlterm -v doesn't output "ssh", this option is unavailable.)
--xtrz(=bool)
Allow resizing by XTWINOPS sequence. The default is true.
GUI CONFIGURATOR
Pushing control key and mouse button 3 invokes GUI configurator (mlconfig). It can modify encoding, foreground and background color, tab size, backlog size, font size, usage of combining character, and so on.
GUI configurator has six pages (Encoding, Font, Background, Color, Scrollbar, and Others), OK/Apply/Cancel buttons, and four special buttons.
Note this feature needs GTK+ 2.x or later.
Encoding page
Encoding-related configurations are located in this page. Note that configurations will be enabled when you push Apply button.
Encoding
Specify encoding. (-E, --km)
Auto detect
Whether to detect appropriate character encoding automatically. (--auto)
Encoding list
Specify character encodings (comma separated list) detected automatically. (--ade)
Input Method
Specify which input method to be used. (-M, --im)
XIM:
XIM Server
Specify the name of XIM server to be connected. You can input from your keyboard or you can choose one of registered XIM servers. This doesn't have equivalent command option. See the section of
XIM Configuration File for registration of XIM servers.
XIM locale
Specify the name of the locale to be used for connection to the XIM server. Popular XIM servers usually have acceptable locales to be used for connection. If you choose registered XIM server in
Input Method, this will be set automatically. You can also input the locale name from your keyboard.
keyboard:
Option
Specify the name of key mapping table. When using ISCII encoding, Indic key mapping is used automatically. In other encodings, this will be automatically selected according to the current locale.
uim:
Option
Specify the name of the conversion engine to be used. If you choose auto, the conversion engine will be automatically selected according to the current locale.
Note this feature needs uim library.
m17n library:
Option
Specify the language and the input method to be used. If you choose auto, the language and input method will be automatically selected according to the current locale.
Note this feature needs m17n library and m17n-db.
SCIM:
No option
iBus:
No option
Fcitx:
No option
Freewnn:
Option
Specify the address of the host where jserver works.
Canna:
No option
SKK:
Option
Specify the place of skk dictionary (server or file) and the key used as sticky shift key.
IIIMF:
Option
Specify the language id (RFC1766) and the language engine to be used. If you choose auto, the language id/engine will be automatically selected according to the current locale.
Note this feature needs IIIMCF library.
Complex Text Layout
Whether to enable complex text layouting on UTF8 encoding to support indic scripts and RTL (right-to-left) languages such as Arabic and Hebrew. (-C, --ctl)
Combining
Whether to support combining characters by overstriking. (-m, --comb)
Combining = 1 (or 0) logical column(s)
Processing combining characters as if it occupies one column logically while it occupies zero column on the screen. (-J, --dyncomb)
Process received strings via Unicode
When you paste some strings into mlterm, the strings are converted into Unicode and then to mlterm encoding. (-U, --viaucs)
OpenType Layout
Whether to show substituting glyphs in open type fonts with the use of libotf or harfbuzz. (--otl)
Ambiguouswidth = fullwidth (UTF8 only)
Processing Unicode characters with EastAsianAmbiguous property as fullwidth. (-a, --ac)
Fullwidth = 2 (or 1) logical column(s)
Processing CJK fullwidth characters as it occupies two columns logically since it occupies two columns on the screen. (-Z, --multicol)
Font page
Configurations related to appearance (or look&feel) are located in this page.
Font size
Font size in pixel. (-w, --fontsize)
Foreground color
Foreground color for letters. (-f, --fg)
Xft Use xft for rendering engine. (-*, --type)
Cairo Use cairo for rendering engine. (-*, --type)
Anti Alias
Use anti-alias fonts by using Xft or cairo. (-A, --aa)
Variable column width
Use variable column width. (-V, --varwidth)
Vertical mode
Vertical writing mode. (-G, --vertical)
Font name
Specify XLFD, Xft or cairo font for character sets. "Select" button shows a dialog to choose it.
Font policy
Whether to use unicode fonts (or non-unicode fonts) all the time regardless of a selected encoding. (-u, --onlyucsfont) (-n, --noucsfont)
Unicode areas you won't convert to other charsets
Specify code point areas which are shown by unicode fonts regardless of -n option. (--ucsnoconv)
Box drawing
Whether to use a unicode font or (a dec special font) all the time to draw box drawing characters. (--boxdraw)
Line space
Specify number of extra dots between lines. (-o, --lsp)
Letter space
Specify number of extra dots between characters. (--csp)
Underline position
Specify the position (offset from the baseline) of underline. (--ulpos)
Baseline position
Specify the position (offset from the default baseline) of baseline. (--blpos)
Screen size ratio against font size
Specify actual screen width (screen height in vertical mode). (-1, --wscr)
Background page
Configurations related to background are located in this page.
Background color
Background color. (-b, --bg)
Picture
Specify the image file to be used for background image. (-p, --pic)
Pseudo Transparent
Pseudo transparent background. (-t, --transbg)
Picture/Transparent Brightness, Contrast, Gamma and Alpha.
Brightness, contrast, gamma alpha of the background image. (-H, --bright) (-3, --contrast) (-4, --gamma) (-X, --alpha)
Fade ratio on unfocus
Fading ratio when window is unfocused. (-r, --fade)
Color page
Configurations related to color are located in this page.
Cursor color
Specify color to show cursor. (-9, --crfg) (-0, --crbg)
Substituting color
Specify color to show instead of bold, underlined, italic, blinking or crossed-out attribute. (--bd) (--ul) (--it) (--bl) (--co)
VT basic 16 colors
Customize VT basic 16 text colors.
Scrollbar page
Configurations related to scrollbar are located in this page.
Position
Specify scrollbar position. (-O, --sbmod)
View Specify name of scrollbar. (-S, --sbview)
Foreground color
Specify foreground color of scrollbar. (-F, --sbfg)
Background color
Specify background color of scrollbar. (-B, --sbbg)
Others page
Other configurations are located in this page.
Tab width
Column number of tab. (-x, --tw)
Backlog size
Number of lines of backlog. (-l, --sl)
Columns/Rows
Number of columns and rows of the screen. (-g, --geometry)
Word separators
Delimiter characters used for word selection, which are consulted when you double-clicked mlterm, to define what is a word. (-W, --sep)
Double click interval (msec)
Doubleclick/tripleclick interval in millisecond. (-$, --mc)
Meta key outputs
Behavior of META key. (-k, --meta)
Bell mode
Behavior when mlterm receives BEL (0x07) code. (-7, --bel)
Save log
Whether to log sequence received from pty in ~/.mlterm/[pty].log in raw or ttyrec format. (--logseq) (--seqfmt)
Local echo
Whether to use local echo mode. (--loecho)
Blink cursor
Whether to blink cursor. (--blink)
Don't scroll automatically in scrolling back.
Don't exit backscroll mode when console applications output something. (-6, --stbs)
Select URI by double click
Select URI by double clicking it regardless of -W option. (--uriword)
Send keys to all windows
Whether to broadcast input or pasted characters to all ptys whose value of "ignore_broadcasted_chars" option is false. (--bc)
Trim trailing CR/LF in pasting
Whether to trim new line characters at the end in pasting text. (--trim)
Buttons
There are buttons which is independent from OK/Apply/Cancel buttons.
Save&Exit / Apply&Exit / Apply / Cancel
Save&Exit button applies the modified configuration to the current mlterm session, saves it to "~/.mlterm/main" configuration file, and quits the GUI Configurator. Apply button just applies the modified
configuration to the current mlterm session.
Font size (Larger and Smaller)
Change font size.
Full reset
Reset internal status.
Snapshot
Snapshot the screen and save it to ~/.mlterm/*.snp.
SCP Transfer a file via SCP.
PTY List
One process of mlterm may have multiple sessions and screens. The sessions may or may not have corresponding screen, i.e., the number of sessions can be more than the number of screens. Such situation
can be achieved by closing a part of multiple screens from -@/--screens option. In such case, the screen-less session can be designated to one of screens by choosing the session (pty) from this list and
push "select" button.
CONFIGURABLE MENU
Pushing control key and mouse button 1 invokes configurable menu displayer (mlterm-menu). It displays a menu with items such as "Larger Font" or "UTF-8 encoding". Though a default menu definition is supplied,
you can freely define menu items by writing a menu configuration file. See Menu Configuration File section for detail.
Note this feature needs GTK+ 2.x or later.
MULTIPLE XIM
mlterm can use multiple XIM (X Input Method) servers. The current XIM is specified by the GUI configurator. Using this feature you can input multiple complex languages such as Japanese and Korean. Locale to
be used for communication with XIM can also be specified for each XIM. In the GUI configurator, you can choose one of registered pair of XIM and its locale or you can input your favorite XIM and its locale.
The locale for XIM is only used for communication with the XIM and is not related to the current mlterm locale. You have to properly configure the XIM locale only when your XIM has preference on the locale of
XIM client (i.e., mlterm in this case). mlterm automatically convert the inputed string into proper encoding and you don't have to care about it.
Of course the initial XIM is chosen by using standard configuration, i.e., using XMODIFIERS environmental variable. See X(7) for detail on XIM and XMODIFIERS variable.
DAEMON MODE
When invoked with -j/--daemon command line option, mlterm starts to listen on a unix domain socket and accept requests from mlclient.
With blend mlterm will exit when the final terminal window is closed. But with genuine, mlterm will disconnect from X server windows and continues to work. In latter case, it's possible to stop and restart a
X server and revive the lasting sessions on mlterm.
SCROLLBAR
mlterm supports scrollbar API so that users can develop scrollbar libraries with arbitrary look and feel. The scrollbar libraries can be used by putting the libraries at the specified directory (determined on
the compilation process) and invoke mlterm with -s -S name option. Scrollbar libraries named "sample", "sample3", "athena", "motif", "mozmodern", and "next" are supplied.
ANTI-ALIAS
mlterm can use True Type fonts using -A option via FreeType library when it has been compiled with anti-alias option.
Note this feature needs XFree86 4.0.2 or above and FreeType 2.0.2 or above.
WALLPAPER
mlterm can use background image (as known as wallpaper), by using -p/--pic option. You can also specify the brightness of the image by using -H/--bright option.
Note this feature needs gdk-pixbuf.
MULTIPLE PTY
This is one of most unique features of mlterm. The number of windows can be specified using -P option. Typing control + F1 opens another window which shares the same process. The maximum number of windows can
be specified using --maxptys option.
BACKSCROLL MODE
mlterm enters into backscroll mode by typing Shift + up or Shift + PageUp key. In the mode, you can use the following keys.
j or Down
Scroll down one line.
k or Up
Scroll up one line.
u or PageUp
Scroll up one page.
d or PageDown
Scroll down one page.
keys defined in key configuration file
Shortcut keys work the same way as in normal mode. (INSERT_SELECTION, INSERT_CLIPBOARD, RESET and COPY_MODE exit from the backscroll mode.)
other keys
Exit from the backscroll mode.
SELECTION
Selection is a mechanism to be used for copy-and-paste in X Window System. Thus, this section describes on so-called copy-and-paste.
There are many encodings in the world. Though copy-and-paste needs sender and receiver and each of them can use one of various encodings, mlterm is designed to be able to receive characters from various encod‐
ings as much as possible.
There are two internationalized types of selection. One is COMPOUND_TEXT is the another is UTF8_STRING. COMPOUND_TEXT is ISO2022-based and can distinguish character sets which a character belongs to. However,
the character sets which COMPOUND_TEXT supports are limited to ISO8859-* and East Asian character sets. On the other hand, UTF8_STRING is Unicode-based and can express all characters from Unicode character set.
However, it cannot distinguish characters from different character sets which share one codepoint in Unicode, which can be a problem especially for CJK Han Ideogram (in other words, Kanji, Hanji, or Hanja).
Note that UTF8_STRING is rather new and can be used only with XFree86.
Though the receiver of copy-and-paste can request the preferable type of selection, the sender may not support the requested type. Thus mlterm has to be able to process both of COMPOUND_TEXT and UTF8_STRING.
On the other hand, encodings supported by mlterm (see DESCRIPTION section for detail) are classified into four categories;
(a) Unicode itself
UTF-8.
(b) subset of Unicode and ISO-2022-compliant
"Subset of Unicode" means that Unicode supports round-trip compatibility for the encoding, i.e., the conversion of the encoding --> Unicode --> the encoding doesn't lose any information. "ISO-2022-com‐
pliant" means that the encoding can be regarded as a subset of ISO-2022 where a part of ISO-2022 control codes and escape sequences are not supported. Many popular encodings belong to this category such
as ISO-8859-*, EUC-*, ISO-2022-KR, TIS-620, TCVN5712, and so on.
(c) subset of Unicode and non-ISO-2022-compliant
Some of popular encodings such as Shift_JIS, Big5, GBK, GB18030, Johab, and so on belongs to this category.
(d) not subset of Unicode
ISO-2022-JP, ISO-2022-JP-2, ISO-2022-JP-3, EUC-TW, and so on. All of them are ISO-2022-compliant.
Now the behavior of mlterm can be explained.
-------------------------------------------------------
encoding received selection how to process?
-------------------------------------------------------
a COMPOUND_TEXT convert to Unicode
a UTF8_STRING no need for conversion
b COMPOUND_TEXT user preference *1
b UTF8_STRING convert to the encoding *2
c COMPOUND_TEXT user preference *1
c UTF8_STRING convert to the encoding *2
d COMPOUND_TEXT no need for conversion *3
d UTF8_STRING convert to the encoding *2
-------------------------------------------------------
*1 Characters from unsupported character sets (i.e., characters which cannot be expressed in the mlterm encoding) may appear in the selection (received copy-and-paste string). If you want to receive characters
which are equivalent to characters which are supported in the current mlterm encoding (i.e., characters which share the same codepoint in Unicode), you can use -U (or --viaucs) option. Otherwise, these charac‐
ters are pasted into mlterm using ISO-2022 escape sequence (when mlterm encoding is category b). Note such ISO-2022 escape sequences are illegal in the current mlterm encoding and the application software will
need special feature to treat them properly, though it is displayed well in mlterm. When mlterm encoding is category c, such characters are simply ignored (when -U option is not enabled).
*2 Characters which cannot be converted into mlterm encoding are simply ignored.
*3 Characters from unsupported character sets will be pasted into mlterm using ISO-2022 escape sequence.
COPY MODE
mlterm enters into copy mode by typing Shift + Control + Return key. In the mode, you can move in the screen including backlog, select region and copy it by the following keys.
j, Down or Ctrl+n
Scroll down one line.
k, Up or Ctrl+p
Scroll up one line.
l, Right or Ctrl+f
Move right.
h, Left or Ctrl+b
Move left.
u or PageUp
Scroll up one page.
d or PageDown
Scroll down one page.
/ Input search string. (forward)
? Input search string. (backward)
Control+g
Cancel search string.
Space or Return
Start or finish selection.
Mod+Space or Mod+Return
Start rectangle selection.
Escape or q
If the color of the selected text is reversed, restore it; otherwise, exit from the copy mode.
CONFIGURATION
mlterm loads configuration files of "main", "font", "vfont", "tfont", "aafont", "vaafont", "taafont", "color", "key", "termcap", and "xim" on start up. "menu" configuration file is loaded by the configurable
menu displayer (mlterm-menu). See the section of CONFIGURABLE MENU for detail.
Configuration files for one user are to be located in "~/.mlterm/" directory, while location for configuration files for all users depends on the compilation option. Possible locations are "/etc/", "/etc/X11/",
"/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/mlterm/", and so on.
The names and the roles of configuration files are:
main Main configuration items which can be overridden by command line options.
font Configurations for ordinary X fonts.
vfont Configurations for ordinary X fonts of variable column width.
tfont Configurations for ordinary X fonts of vertical writing.
aafont
Configurations for Xft or cairo fonts.
vaafont
Configurations for Xft or cairo fonts of variable column width.
taafont
Configurations for Xft or cairo fonts of vertical writing.
color Designate concrete RGB values for color names.
key Key definitions for special features of mlterm.
termcap
Define mlterm's behaviors which affects terminfo and termcap definition.
xim Define preset locales for X Input Methods which are shown in the GUI configurator. Of course you can input XIM names and locales for the GUI configurator which are not listed in this configuration file.
menu Define menu items which is displayed by configurable menu displayer.
The contents of these configuration files (other than menu) consist of lines of "key=value" format. Lines beginning with "#" are ignored.
Note that the configuration files are changed since version 1.9.44.
Main Configuration File
This file contains main configuration items which can be overridden by command line options. The main configuration file "main" has the following keys. Parentheses show the corresponding command-line options.
See the explanation on these command-line options for detail.
allow_decscusr=bool (--decscusr)
Allow DECSCUSR.
allow_osc52=bool (--osc52)
Allow access to clipboard(selection) by OSC 52 sequence.
allow_scp=bool (--scp)
Allow OSC 5379 scp.
allow_xtwinops_resize=bool (--xtrz)
Allow resizing by XTWINOPS sequence.
allow_change_shortcut=bool (--shortcut)
Allow dynamic change of shortcut keys by OSC 5379 set_shortcut sequence.
alpha=name (-X, --alpha)
Alpha in pseudo or true transparent.
app_name=name (-N, --name)
Application name. (WM_CLASS property)
auto_detect_encodings=encodings (--ade)
Specify character encodings detected automatically.
auto_restart=bool (--restart)
Restart mlterm with all opened ptys except ssh if SIGSEGV, SIGBUS, SIGFPE or SIGILL is received. If you want to get core image, specify "false".
baseline_offset=number (--blpos)
Specify the position of baseline. The default is 0.
bel_mode=mode (-7, --bel)
Behavior when BEL (0x07) is received.
bd_color=color (--bd)
Specify the color to use to display bold characters.
bl_color=color (--bl)
Specify the color to use to display blinking characters.
bg_color=color (-b, --bg)
Background color.
bidi_mode=mode (--bimode)
Specify bidi mode.
bidi_separators=characterlist (--bisep)
Specify separator characters (\x00-\xFF is also available) to render bidi text.
big5_buggy=bool (-5, --big5bug)
Support Big5 CTEXT bugs (which exist in XFree86 4.1.0 or before).
blink_cursor=bool (--blink)
Blink cursor.
box_drawing_font=mode (--boxdraw)
Use either unicode font or DEC Special font forcibly to draw box-drawing characters.
borderless=bool (-&, --borderless)
Don't draw window decorations.
brightness=percent (-H, --brightness)
Specify the amount of darkening or lightening the background image.
broadcast=bool (-H, --bc)
Whether to broadcast input or pasted characters to all ptys whose value of "ignore_broadcasted_chars" option is false.
change_selection_immediately=bool (--chsel) (Available for platforms except x11 and wayland)
Whether to enable to change selection just after selecting text by mouse.
cipher_list=ciphers (--ciphlist)
Specify ciphers (comma separated list) for encrypting the ssh session.
co_color=color (--co)
Specify the color to use to display crossed-out characters.
col_size_of_width_a=number (-a, --ac)
Number of columns of Unicode characters with EastAsianAmbiguous property.
compose_dec_special_font=bool (-Y, --decsp)
Compose line drawing character set.
console_encoding=encoding (--ckm) (Available for mlterm-con)
Specify encoding of the console where mlterm-con works.
console_sixel_colors=mode (--csc) (Available for mlterm-con)
Specify the number of sixel graphics colors of the console where mlterm-con works.
contrast=percent (-3, --contrast)
Contrast of background image in percent.
cursor_bg_color=color (-0, --crbg)
Specify background color for cursor.
cursor_fg_color=color (-9, --crfg)
Specify foreground color for cursor.
cursor_size=width,height (--crsz) (Available for mlterm-fb)
Specify cursor width and height in pixel.
cursor_style=style (--cursor)
Specify cursor style.
daemon_mode=mode (-j, --daemon)
Start as a daemon process.
default_cell_size=width,height (--csz) (Available for mlterm-con)
Specify cell width and height in pixel which mlterm-con uses if it doesn't get them.
default_server=server (--serv)
Specify a host you want to connect via ssh etc.
depth=number (--depth)
Specify visual depth.
display=display (-d, --display)
Specify X server to connect.
dnd_escape_mode=mode (--dndesc)
Specify mode in escaping DnD text.
emoji_path=path (--emoji)
Specify path of a directory where emoji image files exist or a open type emoji font to show unicode emoji characters.
emoji_file_format=format (--emojifmt)
Specify filename format of emoji image files in the directory specified by --emoji option.
encoding=encoding (-E, --km)
Specify encoding.
exit_backscroll_by_pty=bool (--exitbs)
Exit backscroll mode on receiving data from pty.
format_other_keys=bool (--fk)
Send modified keys as parameter for CSI u. (Equivalent to "formatOtherKeys" of xterm)
fade_ratio=ratio (-r, --fade_ratio)
Specify fading ratio when window is unfocused.
fb_resolution=ratio (Available for mlterm-fb on NetBSD/x68k or OpenBSD)
Specify the screen resolution and depth. (e.g. 768x512x4)
fg_color=color (-f, --fg)
Foreground color.
fontsize=number (-w, --fontsize)
Font size in pixel.
font_size_range=range (-R, --fsrange)
Range of size of usable fonts.
gamma=percent (-4, --gamma)
Gamma of background image in percent.
geometry=geomery (-g, --geometry)
Specify size and position of the window; see X(7).
hide_underline=bool (--noul)
Don't draw underline.
icon_name=name (-I, --icon)
Icon name.
icon_path=path
Path for the image file to be used as window icon.
ignore_broadcasted_chars=bool (--ibc)
Whether to ignore broadcasted characters.
ignored_csi_list=list (--igncsi)
Specify CSI sequences which should be ignored.
im_cursor_color=color (--imcolor)
Specify the color to show cursor in preediting text via input method.
inner_border=number[,number2] (--border)
Specify inner border width.
input_method=input method : [ arguments ... ] (-M, --im)
Specify input method.
iso88591_font_for_usascii=bool (-8, --88591)
Use ISO8859-1 fonts for US-ASCII part of various encodings.
it_color=color (--it)
Specify the color to use to display italic characters.
layout_inner_border=number[,number2] (--lborder)
Specify inner border width of a layout manager.
leftward_double_drawing=bool (--ldd)
Embold glyphs by drawing doubly at 1 pixel leftward instead of rightward.
letter_space=number (--csp)
Specify number of extra dots between letters. (ignored if you specify --V option.) If you use multiple fonts whose widths are different, adjust this option.
line_space=number (-o, --lsp)
Specify number of extra dots between lines. (Negative value is available.) If you use multiple fonts whose heights are different, adjust this option.
locale=locale (--locale)
Specify locale.
local_echo_wait=number (--lew)
Specify time (msec) to keep local echo mode.
logging_msg=bool (--logmsg)
Enable logging messages of mlterm to ~/.mlterm/msg[pid].log.
logging_vt_seq=bool (--logseq)
Enable logging vt100 sequences to ~/.mlterm/[device].log.
logsize=number (-l, --sl)
Specify number of lines of backlog or "unlimited".
max_ptys=number (--maxptys)
Specify maximum number of ptys (sessions) to be opened simultaneously.
meta_prefix=string (--metaprefix)
Specify prefix characters in pressing meta key if mod_meta_mode = esc.
mod_keys_to_stop_mouse_report=mode (--norepkey)
Specify modifier keys to stop mouse reporting.
mod_meta_mode=mode (-k, --meta)
Behavior of META key.
mod_meta_key=key (-K, --metakey)
Specify a key to be regarded as META.
not_use_unicode_font=bool (-n, --noucsfont)
Use non-Unicode fonts even when mlterm encoding is UTF-8.
only_use_unicode_font=bool (-u, --onlyucsfont)
Use Unicode fonts even when mlterm encoding is not UTF-8.
output_xtwinops_in_resizing=bool (--winsize)
Output XTWINOPS sequence when the screen is resized unless --conpty option is specified.
ot_features=features (--oft)
Specify features of glyph substitution.
ot_script=script (--ost)
Specify script of glyph substitution.
parent_window=ID (--parent)
Specify parent Window ID.
primary_da=string (--da1)
Specify primary device attributes string.
receive_directory=path (--recvdir)
Specify the directory to save received files via zmodem or scp.
receive_string_via_ucs=bool (-U, --viaucs)
If the received selection (i.e., copy-and-paste strings) or strings received from XIM is not UTF8_STRING type, convert it into Unicode and then to the current mlterm encoding, in order to identify equiva‐
lent characters (i.e., characters which share the same codepoint in Unicode) from various character sets. See SELECTION section below for detail.
regard_uri_as_word=bool (--uriword)
Select URI by double clicking it regardless of --W option.
resize_mode=mode (--rz)
Specify the way to display text on the screen when it is resized.
rotate_display=mode (--rotate) (Available for mlterm-fb, mlterm-wl and mlterm-sdl2)
Specify display rotation.
rv_color=color (--rv)
Specify the color to use to display reverse characters.
sb_bg_color=color (-B, --sbbg)
Background color for scrollbar.
sb_fg_color=color (-F, --sbfg)
Foreground color for scrollbar.
screen_width_ratio=percent (-1, --wscr)
Specify actual screen width (screen height in vertical mode).
scrollbar_mode=mode (-O, --sbmod)
Specify scrollbar position.
scrollbar_view_name=name (-S, --sbview)
Specify name of scrollbar.
secondary_da=string (--da2)
Specify secondary device attributes string.
separate_wall_picture=bool (--multivram) (Available for mlterm-fb on NetBSD/x68k)
Draw the wall picture on Text VRAM instead of Graphic VRAM to improve the performance of scrolling.
simple_scrollbar_dpr=number (--sdpr)
Specify device pixel ratio to determine the width of "simple" scrollbar.
ssh_auto_reconnect=bool (--rcn)
Reconnect to ssh server automatically in unexpected disconnection.
ssh_keepalive_interval=number (--keepalive)
Specify interval seconds to send keepalive message to ssh server.
ssh_public_key=path (--pubkey)
Specify public key file for ssh connection.
ssh_private_key=path (--privkey)
Specify private key file for ssh connection.
ssh_x11_forwarding=bool (--x11)
Enable x11 forwarding for ssh connection.
start_with_local_pty (--slp) (Available for Android or win32)
Start mlterm with local pty instead of ssh connection.
step_in_changing_font_size (-z, --largesmall)
Specify changing size when font size becomes larger or smaller.
tabsize=number (-x, --tw)
Specify tab width.
termtype=string (-y, --term)
Terminal type.
title=name (-T, --title)
Title name.
trim_trailing_newline_in_pasting=bool (--trim)
Trim new line characters at the end in pasting text.
type_engine=engine (-*, --type)
Rendering engine for drawing fonts.
ul_color=color (--ul)
Specify the color to use to display underlined characters.
underline_offset=number (--ulpos)
Specify the position (offset from the baseline) of underline. The default is 0.
unicode_full_width_areas=ranges (--fullwidth)
Force full width regardless of EastAsianWidth.txt.
unicode_half_width_areas=ranges (--halfwidth)
Force half width regardless of EastAsianWidth.txt.
unicode_noconv_areas=ranges (--ucsnoconv)
Use unicode fonts partially regardless of -n option.
use_aafont=bool (--aafont) (Available for mlterm-fb, mlterm-wl or mlterm-sdl2)
Use ~/.mlterm/*aafont configurations with the use of fontconfig.
use_alt_buffer=bool (--altbuf)
Use alternate screen buffer.
use_ansi_colors=bool (--colors)
Recognize ANSI color change escape sequences.
use_anti_alias=bool (-A, --aa)
Use anti alias font.
use_arabic_dynamic_combining=bool (--adc)
Use dynamic combining to show arabic presentation forms.
use_auto_detect=bool (--auto)
Automatically detect appropriate character encoding from the encodings specified by auto_detect_encodings option.
use_bold_font=bool (--bdfont)
Use bold font for characters with the bold attribute.
use_clipping=bool (--clp)
Use clipping to keep from producing dots outside the text drawing area.
use_combining=bool (-m, --comb)
Enable combining characters.
use_conpty=bool (--conpty) (Available for win32)
Use ConPTY.
use_cp932_ucs_for_xft=bool (-c, --cp932)
Use CP932 - UCS mapping for displaying JISX0208 by Xft or cairo.
use_ctl=bool (-C, --ctl)
Enable complex text layouting on UTF8 encoding.
use_dynamic_comb=bool (-J, --dyncomb)
Enable dynamic character combining.
use_italic_font=bool (--itfont)
Use italic font for characters with the italic attribute.
use_local_echo=bool (--loecho)
Use local echo mode.
use_locked_title=bool (--locktitle)
Lock the title for a mlterm window. If a title is locked then OSC 0, 1 and 2 esc sequences to change it are ignored.
use_login_shell=bool (-L, --ls)
Whether to use login shell or not.
use_multi_column_char=bool (-Z, --multicol)
Process full width characters.
use_ot_layout=bool (--otl)
Whether to show substituting glyphs in open type fonts with the use of libotf or harfbuzz.
use_point_size=bool (--point)
Treat the value of -w option as point instead of pixel.
use_mdi=bool (-s, --mdi)
Use multiple document interface.
use_transbg=bool (-t, --transbg)
Use pseudo transparent background.
use_urgent_bell=bool (--urgent)
Draw the user's attention when making a bell sound in the unfocused window.
use_variable_column_width=bool (-V, --varwidth)
Use variable column width.
use_vertical_cursor=bool (-Q, --vcur)
Use cursor movement for vertical writing.
use_xim=bool (-i, --xim)
Use XIM (X Input Method).
vt_color_mode=mode (--vtcolor)
Set vt color mode.
vertical_mode=mode (-G, --vertical)
Use vertical writing.
wall_picture=path (-p, --pic)
Path for wallpaper image.
word_separators=characterlist (-W, --sep)
Delimiter characters (\xNN is also available) used for word selection.
working_directory=path (--working-directory)
Working directory.
static_backscroll_mode=bool (-6, --stbs)
Don't exit backscroll mode when console applications output something.
vt_seq_format=mode (--seqfmt)
Specify the format of logging vt100 sequence.
wm_role=role (--role)
Specify application role. (WM_WINDOW_ROLE property)
Font Configuration Files
The font configuration files "font", "vfont", "tfont", "aafont", "vaafont", and "taafont" have the following keys.
DEFAULT=font
DEC_SPECIAL=font
ISO8859_n=font
TIS620=font
ISCII_HINDI=font
ISCII_MALAYALAM=font
ISCII_ASSAMESE=font
ISCII_BENGALI=font
ISCII_GUJARATI=font
ISCII_KANNADA=font
ISCII_MALAYALAM=font
ISCII_ORIYA=font
ISCII_PUNJABI=font
ISCII_TAMIL=font
ISCII_TELUGU=font
VISCII=font
KOI8_R=font
KOI8_U=font
TCVN5712=font
JISX0201_ROMAN=font
JISX0201_KATA=font
JISX0208_1978=font
JISX0208_1983=font
JISX0208_1990=font
JISX0213_2000_1=font
JISX0213_2000_2=font
KSX1001_1997=font
UHC=font (not used)
JOHAB=font (not used)
GB2312_80=font
GBK=font
BIG5=font
HKSCS=font
CNS11643_1992_n=font
ISO10646_UCS4_1=font
ISO10646_UCS4_1_FULLWIDTH=font
U+XXXX-XXXX=font
Specify fonts for corresponding character sets. The format is different between "font", "vfont" "tfont" files and "aafont", "vaafont" "taafont" files.
In "font", "vfont", "tfont" files, "font" is specified in "NAME:PERCENT" format where "SIZE" is font size in pixel, and "NAME" is XLFD or alias names of X fonts. If "NAME" contains "%d", it is replaced
by an appropriate font size number. ":PERCENT" is multiplied by font size and decides character width of a font. If ":PERCENT" is omitted, max font width is used for it.
In "aafont", "vaafont", "taafont" files, "font" is specified in "FAMILY WEIGHT SLANT SIZE:PERCENT" format. ":PERCENT" is multiplied by font size and decides character width of a font. If ":PERCENT" is
omitted, 'M' width is used for it.
mlfc command generates ~/.mlterm/aafont automatically.
charset_BOLD=font
Specify boldface fonts.
charset_ITALIC=font
Specify italic fonts.
charset_BOLD_ITALIC=font
Specify bold-italic fonts.
U+XXXX-XXXX=font
Specify which fonts to use for unicode ranges except U+00-7f.
Color Configuration File
The color configuration file "color" has the following key.
COLORNAME=RGB
Assign a concrete color for the name COLORNAME. Default colors used by mlterm are black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, and white. and can be overridden here.
For highlighted colors, a name with "hl_" prefix will be automatically searched. i.e. for bold red characters, "hl_red" is searched instead of "red".
17 - 230 and 232 - 255 in 256 colors can be also overridden.
The format of RGB is either "RRRR-GGGG-BBBB" (where RRRR, GGGG, and BBBB are hexadecimal value from 0 to ffff), "#RRGGBB", "#RRGGBBAA", "rgb:RR/GG/BB" or "rgba:RR/GG/BB/AA"(where RR, GG, and BB are hexa‐
decimal value from 00 to ff).
If mlterm failed to parse a entry, the color will be regarded as black.
XIM Configuration File
The X Input Methods configuration file "xim" has the following format
XIM=locale
where XIM is XIM name and locale is locale name used for communication with the XIM server. For example,
kinput2=ja_JP.eucJP
Ami=ko_KR.eucKR
xcin-zh_CN.GB2312=zh_CN.GB2312
These settings are used to create list of XIMs by the GUI configurator. Though a XIM which is not listed in this file can't be selected from the list, it can be selected by specifying its name directly.
Feature Key Configuration File
The feature key configuration file "key" has the following format.
KEY=FEATURE
Here, the format for KEY is "(MASK+)KEY", where MASK is one of Control, Shift, Mod1, Mod2, Mod3, Mod4, Mod5, Mod and Alt. You can specify multiple "MASK+"s. You can search spellings of KEY by using xev(1) com‐
mand or searching keysym macros from /usr/X11R6/include/X11/keysymdefs.h (or the equivalent file in your X11 include directory) and omit the prefix XK_. Double quotation marks are not needed. You can specify
Button1, Button2, Button3, Button4 or Button5 as KEY.
FEATURE is one of IM_HOTKEY, EXT_KBD, OPEN_SCREEN, NEW_PTY, OPEN_PTY, NEXT_PTY, PREV_PTY, VSPLIT_SCREEN, HSPLIT_SCREEN, CLOSE_SCREEN, NEXT_SCREEN, PREV_SCREEN, HEXPAND_SCREEN, VEXPAND_SCREEN, PAGE_UP, SCROLL_UP,
SCROLL_UP_TO_MARK, SCROLL_DOWN_TO_MARK, SET_MARK, INSERT_SELECTION, INSERT_CLIPBOARD, COPY_CLIPBOARD, RESET, COPY_MODE, "STRING", or "proto:STRING".
IM_HOTKEY
Switch conversion mode of m17n library and kdb input methods. (default UNUSED)
EXT_KBD
Activate or deactivate kbd input method. (This feature was obsoleted by IM_HOTKEY)
OPEN_SCREEN
Open new pty in new screen (default Ctrl+F1).
NEW_PTY
Same as OPEN_SCREEN (obsoleted).
OPEN_PTY
Open new pty in current screen (default Ctrl+F2).
NEXT_PTY
Switch to a next free pty (default Ctrl+F3).
PREV_PTY
Switch to a previous free pty (default Ctrl+F4).
HSPLIT_SCREEN
Open new pty in horizontally split screen (default Shift+F1). (If mlterm -v outputs "no-split", this shortcut key is unavailable.)
VSPLIT_SCREEN
Open new pty in vertically split screen (default Shift+F2). (If mlterm -v outputs "no-split", this shortcut key is unavailable.)
NEXT_SCREEN
Switch to a next unfocused screen (default Shift+F3).
PREV_SCREEN
Switch to a previous unfocused screen (default Shift+F4).
CLOSE_SCREEN
Close current screen (default Shift+F5).
HEXPAND_SCREEN
Expand current screen horizontally (default Shift+F6). (If mlterm -v outputs "no-split", this shortcut key is unavailable.)
VEXPAND_SCREEN
Expand current screen vertically (default Shift+F7). (If mlterm -v outputs "no-split", this shortcut key is unavailable.)
PAGE_UP
Start backscroll mode and scroll up one page (default Shift+Prior).
SCROLL_UP
Start backscroll mode and scroll up by one line (default Shift+Up).
SCROLL_UP_TO_MARK
Start backscroll mode and scroll up to the next marked line (default Control+Shift+Up).
SCROLL_DOWN_TO_MARK
Scroll down to the next marked line (default Control+Shift+Down).
SET_MARK
Set mark to the current line or unset it (default Control+Shift+m).
INSERT_SELECTION
Insert selection (default Shift+Insert).
INSERT_CLIPBOARD
Insert clipboard (default Shift+Control+v).
COPY_CLIPBOARD
Copy selected text to clipboard (default Shift+Control+c).
RESET Reset terminal (default Pause).
COPY_MODE
Enter copy mode which enables you to select and copy region by keyboard (default Control+Shift+Return).
"STRING"
The specified string is issued when the KEY key is pressed. Double quotation marks are required around the STRING. Note that you cannot control the status of mlterm by sending terminal control codes
such as "\x1b]5379;encoding=utf8\x0a" because the code sequence will be caught by your shell (or something running on it). To deliver control sequences to mlterm directly, use "proto:STRING" instead.
"proto:STRING"
The specified string is assumed to mlterm's original control sequence. A list of sequences should be found in doc/en/PROTOCOL. For example, "proto:encoding=utf8" means changing the current character en‐
coding to UTF-8. If you want to show issued STRING in the screen in pressing shortcut keys, prepend "(echo)" to STRING. For example, "proto:(echo)encoding=utf8" shows "Config: encoding=utf8".
"exesel:STRING"
The specified string is assumed to a command to be executed with selected strings as arguments. "%s" in a command string is replaced by selected strings. For example, "exesel:mlclient -e w3m" means exe‐
cuting "mlclient -e w3m [selected text]".
"menu:STRING"
The specified string is assumed to a configuration program to be executed. For example, "menu:mlterm-menu" means executing mlterm-menu.
Terminal Behavior Configuration File
This configuration file determines the behaviors of mlterm that should match the definition of terminfo and termcap. In principle, this file should not be edited and, instead, you should choose a proper value
for TERM variable (i.e., proper terminfo/termcap definition) which meets mlterm's behavior. (Since mlterm' can behave as a xterm/kterm to some extent, TERM=kterm / TERM=xterm should give acceptable results.)
However, sometimes you may not want to edit your terminfo and termcap. Your software may don't understand terminfo nor termcap, or your terminfo/termcap entry is shared by several terminal emulators and chang‐
ing it will break other terminals. In such cases, you can configure mlterm so that it works well on existing terminfo/termcap definitions on your systems. This is also useful for distributors of operating sys‐
tems (like Debian) with strict policy of terminal emulators' behaviors.
You can define the behaviors of mlterm for each value of TERM variable, so that you don't need to edit termcap file each time you login into other systems and use different value of TERM variable by -y option.
You can also specify the default behavior when TERM variable is different from all of specified TERM names in the termcap file.
The grammar of this configuration file is resemble to the grammar of termcap entries. First, one or more name(s) of TERM is written. Multiple names are connected with vertical line character '|'. Special name
'*' is for default. Then colon ':' comes, and keys are written separated by colons. Configuration(s) for other TERM will follow after new line.
Followings are available keys for each TERM value.
kD=sequence
Specify sequence to be outputted when Delete key is pushed (default \E[3~).
kb=sequence
Specify sequence to be outputted when BackSpace key is pushed (default ^H).
kh=sequence
Specify sequence to be outputted when HOME key is pushed in application cursor key mode. (default \EOH).
@7=sequence
Specify sequence to be outputted when END key is pushed in application cursor key mode. (default \EOF).
k1=sequence
Specify sequence to be outputted when F1 key is pushed (default \EOP).
k2=sequence
Specify sequence to be outputted when F2 key is pushed (default \EOQ).
k3=sequence
Specify sequence to be outputted when F3 key is pushed (default \EOR).
k4=sequence
Specify sequence to be outputted when F4 key is pushed (default \EOS).
k5=sequence
Specify sequence to be outputted when F5 key is pushed (default \E[15~).
ut Specify the way how the screen is erased by control codes. If ut is written in the termcap file, charcells are painted by the current background color when erased; otherwise the charcells are painted by
the initial background color. Default is non-ut behavior.
The following special characters can be used to specify sequence in keys of kD/kb/kh/@7.
\E ESC code (0x1b).
^? DEL code (0x7f).
^A, ^B,...
Corresponding control code (0x01 - 0x1a).
Menu Configuration File
This configuration file defines the menu displayed by the configurable menu displayer mlterm-menu. See CONFIGURABLE MENU section for detail.
SEE ALSO
Manual pages of mlclient(1), locale(7), charsets(7), UTF-8(7), and X(7).
PROTOCOL (https://github.com/arakiken/mlterm/blob/master/doc/en/PROTOCOL) for mlterm's original control escape sequences which enable you to change configurations dynamically.
e.g.) echo -en "\x1b]5379;encoding=eucjp\x07"
README.android (https://github.com/arakiken/mlterm/blob/master/doc/en/README.android) for mlterm on Android.
README.beos (https://github.com/arakiken/mlterm/blob/master/doc/en/README.beos) for mlterm on BeOS (Haiku).
README.brltty (https://github.com/arakiken/mlterm/blob/master/doc/en/README.brltty) for accessibility with the use of brlapi. (https://brl.thefreecat.org).
README.cocoa (https://github.com/arakiken/mlterm/blob/master/doc/en/README.cocoa) for mlterm on MacOSX/Cocoa.
README.cocoatouch (https://github.com/arakiken/mlterm/blob/master/doc/en/README.cocoatouch) for mlterm on iOS/Cocoa Touch.
README.console (https://github.com/arakiken/mlterm/blob/master/doc/en/README.console) for mlterm on Console.
README.fb (https://github.com/arakiken/mlterm/blob/master/doc/en/README.fb) for mlterm on framebuffer.
README.indic (https://github.com/arakiken/mlterm/blob/master/doc/en/README.indic) for indic scripts.
README.sb (https://github.com/arakiken/mlterm/blob/master/doc/en/README.sb) for development of scrollbar library.
README.sdl2 (https://github.com/arakiken/mlterm/blob/master/doc/en/README.sdl2) for mlterm on SDL2.
README.ssh (https://github.com/arakiken/mlterm/blob/master/doc/en/README.ssh) for ssh connection with the use of libssh2 (https://www.libssh2.org).
README.wayland (https://github.com/arakiken/mlterm/blob/master/doc/en/README.wayland) for mlterm on Wayland.
README.win32 (https://github.com/arakiken/mlterm/blob/master/doc/en/README.win32) for mlterm on Win32 GDI.
Mapping tables between Unicode and local character sets (and encodings) are found at Unicode Consortium web site (https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/). Note that mapping tables for East Asian character
sets and encodings are moved to OBSOLETE/EASTASIA directory of the site since August 2001.
For BIG5 and BIG5HKSCS encodings, mapping tables for Unicode is taken from ftp://xcin.linux.org.tw/pub/xcin/i18n/charset/.
Unicode Standard Annex (UAX) #11 East Asian Width, which explains East Asian Width properties, and EastAsianWidth.txt, which defines EastAsianAmbiguous characters in Unicode, are supplied by Unicode Consortium
(https://www.unicode.org).
FILES
"main", "font", "vfont", "tfont", "aafont", "vaafont", "taafont", "color", "key", "termcap", "xim", and "menu"
Configuration files.
CONTACT
Subscribe mlterm-dev-en ML (https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/mlterm-dev-en).
Attach ~/.mlterm/msg.log, backtrace log and related files to your report if at all possible.
2026-11-03 MLTERM(1)