









                         A Guide to the Mazes of Menace
                            (Guidebook for NetHack)


                       Original version - Eric S. Raymond
     (Edited and expanded for NetHack 3.7.0 by Mike Stephenson and others)

                               February 11, 2026



     1.  Introduction

          Recently, you have begun to find yourself unfulfilled and distant
     in your daily occupation.  Strange dreams  of  prospecting,  stealing,
     crusading,  and combat have haunted you in your sleep for many months,
     but you aren't sure of the reason.  You wonder  whether  you  have  in
     fact  been  having  those dreams all your life, and somehow managed to
     forget about them until now.  Some nights you awaken suddenly and  cry
     out,  terrified  at the vivid recollection of the strange and powerful
     creatures that seem to be lurking behind every corner of  the  dungeon
     in  your dream.  Could these details haunting your dreams be real?  As
     each night passes, you feel the desire to enter the mysterious caverns
     near  the ruins grow stronger.  Each morning, however, you quickly put
     the idea out of your head as you recall the tales of those who entered
     the  caverns before you and did not return.  Eventually you can resist
     the yearning to seek out the fantastic place in your dreams no longer.
     After  all,  when  other adventurers came back this way after spending
     time in the caverns, they usually seemed better  off  than  when  they
     passed  through  the first time.  And who was to say that all of those
     who did not return had not just kept going?

          Asking around, you hear about a bauble, called the Amulet of Yen-
     dor  by  some, which, if you can find it, will bring you great wealth.
     One legend you were told even mentioned that the  one  who  finds  the
     amulet will be granted immortality by the gods.  The amulet is rumored
     to be somewhere beyond the Valley of Gehennom, deep within  the  Mazes
     of  Menace.   Upon  hearing  the legends, you immediately realize that
     there is some profound and undiscovered reason that you are to descend
     into  the  caverns and seek out that amulet of which they spoke.  Even
     if the rumors of the amulet's powers are untrue, you decide  that  you
     should  at  least  be able to sell the tales of your adventures to the
     local minstrels for a tidy sum, especially if you encounter any of the
     terrifying  and  magical  creatures of your dreams along the way.  You
     spend one last night fortifying yourself at the  local  inn,  becoming
     more  and  more  depressed as you watch the odds of your success being
     posted on the inn's walls getting lower and lower.

          In the morning you awake, collect your belongings,  and  set  off
     for the dungeon.  After several days of uneventful travel, you see the


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     ancient ruins that mark the entrance to the Mazes of  Menace.   It  is
     late  at  night,  so you make camp at the entrance and spend the night
     sleeping under the open skies.  In the morning, you gather your  gear,
     eat what may be your last meal outside, and enter the dungeon....

     2.  What is going on here?

          You  have  just begun a game of NetHack.  Your goal is to grab as
     much treasure as you can, retrieve the Amulet of  Yendor,  and  escape
     the Mazes of Menace alive.

          Your  abilities  and  strengths  for  dealing with the hazards of
     adventure will vary with your background and training:

          Archeologists understand dungeons pretty well; this enables  them
     to  move  quickly  and  sneak  up  on  the  local nasties.  They start
     equipped with the tools for a proper scientific  expedition,  and  are
     able to read ancient languages.

          Barbarians  are  warriors out of the hinterland, hardened to bat-
     tle.  They begin their quests with naught  but  uncommon  strength,  a
     trusty hauberk, and a great two-handed sword.

          Cavemen and Cavewomen start with exceptional strength but, unfor-
     tunately, with neolithic weapons.

          Healers are wise in medicine and apothecary.  They know the herbs
     and  simples  that  can  restore vitality, ease pain, anesthetize, and
     neutralize poisons; and with their  instruments,  they  can  divine  a
     being's  state  of  health  or sickness.  Their medical practice earns
     them quite reasonable amounts of money, with which they enter the dun-
     geon.

          Knights  are  distinguished  from  the common skirmisher by their
     devotion to the ideals of chivalry and by the surpassing excellence of
     their armor.

          Monks are ascetics, who by rigorous practice of physical and men-
     tal disciplines have become capable of fighting as effectively without
     weapons as with.  They wear no armor but make up for it with increased
     mobility.

          Priests and Priestesses are clerics militant, crusaders advancing
     the  cause  of  righteousness with arms, armor, and arts thaumaturgic.
     Their ability to commune with deities via prayer  occasionally  extri-
     cates them from peril, but can also put them in it.

          Rangers  are most at home in the woods, and some say slightly out
     of place in a dungeon.  They are, however, experts in archery as  well
     as tracking and stealthy movement.

          Rogues  are  agile and stealthy thieves, with knowledge of locks,
     traps, and poisons.  Their advantage  lies  in  surprise,  which  they
     employ to great advantage.


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          Samurai  are  the  elite  warriors  of  feudal  Nippon.  They are
     lightly armored and quick, and wear the dai-sho,  two  swords  of  the
     deadliest keenness.

          Tourists  start  out  with  lots  of  gold (suitable for shopping
     with), a credit card, lots of food, some maps, and an  expensive  cam-
     era.  Most monsters don't like being photographed.

          Valkyries are hardy warrior women.  Their upbringing in the harsh
     Northlands makes them strong, inures them to  extremes  of  cold,  and
     instills in them stealth and cunning.

          Wizards start out with a knowledge of magic, a selection of magi-
     cal items, and a particular affinity for dweomercraft.  Although seem-
     ingly  weak and easy to overcome at first sight, an experienced Wizard
     is a deadly foe.

          You may also choose the race of your  character  (within  limits;
     most roles have restrictions on which races are eligible for them):

          Dwarves  are  smaller  than  humans  or elves, but are stocky and
     solid individuals.  Dwarves' most notable trait is their great  exper-
     tise  in mining and metalwork.  Dwarvish armor is said to be second in
     quality not even to the mithril armor of the Elves.

          Elves are agile, quick, and perceptive; very little of what  goes
     on will escape an Elf.  The quality of Elven craftsmanship often gives
     them an advantage in arms and armor.

          Gnomes are smaller than but generally similar to dwarves.  Gnomes
     are  known  to  be expert miners, and it is known that a secret under-
     ground mine complex built by this race exists within the Mazes of Men-
     ace, filled with both riches and danger.

          Humans  are by far the most common race of the surface world, and
     are thus the norm to which other races are often  compared.   Although
     they have no special abilities, they can succeed in any role.

          Orcs  are  a cruel and barbaric race that hate every living thing
     (including other orcs).  Above all others, Orcs hate Elves with a pas-
     sion  unequalled,  and  will  go  out  of their way to kill one at any
     opportunity.  The armor and weapons fashioned by the  Orcs  are  typi-
     cally of inferior quality.

     3.  What do all those things on the screen mean?

          On  the  screen is kept a map of where you have been and what you
     have seen on the current dungeon level; as you  explore  more  of  the
     level, it appears on the screen in front of you.

          When NetHack's ancestor rogue first appeared, its screen orienta-
     tion was almost unique among  computer  fantasy  games.   Since  then,
     screen  orientation  has  become  the  norm rather than the exception;
     NetHack continues this fine tradition.  Unlike  text  adventure  games


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     that  accept  commands  in  pseudo-English  sentences  and explain the
     results in words, NetHack commands are all one or two  keystrokes  and
     the results are displayed graphically on the screen.  A minimum screen
     size of 24 lines by 80  columns  is  recommended;  if  the  screen  is
     larger, only a 21x80 section will be used for the map.

          NetHack  can even be played by blind players, with the assistance
     of Braille readers or speech synthesisers.  Instructions for configur-
     ing NetHack for the blind are included later in this document.

          NetHack  generates a new dungeon every time you play it; even the
     authors still find it an entertaining and exciting game despite having
     won several times.

          NetHack  offers a variety of display options.  The options avail-
     able to you will vary from port to port, depending on the capabilities
     of  your  hardware  and  software,  and  whether  various compile-time
     options were enabled when your executable was created.  The three pos-
     sible  display  options are: a monochrome character interface, a color
     character interface, and a graphical interface  using  small  pictures
     called  tiles.   The  two  character interfaces allow fonts with other
     characters to be substituted, but the default assignments use standard
     ASCII  characters  to  represent  everything.   There is no difference
     between the  various  display  options  with  respect  to  game  play.
     Because  we cannot reproduce the tiles or colors in the Guidebook, and
     because it is common to all ports, we will use the default ASCII char-
     acters  from the monochrome character display when referring to things
     you might see on the screen during your game.

          In order to understand what is going on  in  NetHack,  first  you
     must  understand  what  NetHack is doing with the screen.  The NetHack
     screen replaces the "You  see  ..."  descriptions  of  text  adventure
     games.  Figure 1 is a sample of what a NetHack screen might look like.
     The way the screen looks for you depends on your platform.






















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        +---------------------------------------------------------------+
        |The bat bites!                                                 |
        |                                                               |
        |    ------                                                     |
        |    |....|    ----------                                       |
        |    |.<..|####...@...$.|                                       |
        |    |....-#   |...B....+                                       |
        |    |....|    |.d......|                                       |
        |    ------    -------|--                                       |
        |                                                               |
        |                                                               |
        |                                                               |
        |Player the Rambler   St:12 Dx:7 Co:18 In:11 Wi:9 Ch:15 Neutral |
        |Dlvl:1 $:993 HP:9(12) Pw:3(3) AC:10 Exp:1/19 T:752 Hungry Conf |
        +---------------------------Figure-1----------------------------+









































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        +---------------------------------------------------------------+
        |Player the Rambler   St:12 Dx:7 Co:18 In:11 Wi:9 Ch:15         |
        |Neutral $:993 HP:9(12) Pw:3(3) AC:10 Exp:1/19 Hungry           |
        |Dlvl:1 T:752                                  Conf             |
        +---------------------------Figure-2----------------------------+

     3.1.  The status lines (bottom)

          The bottom two (or three) lines of  the  screen  contain  several
     cryptic  pieces of information describing your current status.  Figure
     1 shows the traditional two-line status area below the map.  Figure  2
     shows just the status area, when the statuslines:3 option has been set
     (not all interfaces support this option).  If any status line  becomes
     wider  than the screen, you might not see all of it due to truncation.
     When the numbers grow bigger and multiple conditions are present,  the
     two-line  format  will  run  out  of room on the second line, but sta-
     tuslines:2 is the default because a basic 24-line terminal isn't  tall
     enough for the third line.

          Here are explanations of what the various status items mean:

     Title
          Your character's name and professional ranking (based on role and
          experience level, see below).

     Strength
          A measure of your character's strength; one  of  your  six  basic
          attributes.   A  human character's attributes can range from 3 to
          18 inclusive; non-humans may exceed  these  limits  (occasionally
          you may get super-strengths of the form 18/xx, and magic can also
          cause attributes to exceed the normal limits).  The  higher  your
          strength,  the  stronger  you are.  Strength affects how success-
          fully you perform physical tasks, how much damage you do in  com-
          bat, and how much loot you can carry.

     Dexterity
          Dexterity  affects your chances to hit in combat, to avoid traps,
          and do other tasks requiring agility or manipulation of objects.

     Constitution
          Constitution affects your ability to recover  from  injuries  and
          other  strains  on your stamina.  When strength is low or modest,
          constitution also affects how much you can  carry.   With  suffi-
          ciently high strength, the contribution to carrying capacity from
          your constitution no longer matters.

     Intelligence
          Intelligence affects your ability to cast spells and read  spell-
          books.

     Wisdom
          Wisdom  comes  from  your  practical  experience (especially when
          dealing with magic).  It affects your magical energy.



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     Charisma
          Charisma affects how certain creatures react toward you.  In par-
          ticular, it can affect the prices shopkeepers offer you.

     Alignment
          Lawful,  Neutral, or Chaotic.  Often, Lawful is taken as good and
          Chaotic as evil, but legal and ethical do  not  always  coincide.
          Your  alignment  influences  how other monsters react toward you.
          Monsters of a like alignment are more likely  to  be  non-aggres-
          sive,  while those of an opposing alignment are more likely to be
          seriously offended at your presence.

     Dungeon Level
          How deep you are in the dungeon.  You start at level one and  the
          number  increases as you go deeper into the dungeon.  Some levels
          are special, and are identified by a name and not a number.   The
          Amulet of Yendor is reputed to be somewhere beneath the twentieth
          level.

     Gold
          The number of gold pieces you are openly  carrying.   Gold  which
          you have concealed in containers is not counted.

     Hit Points
          Your  current  and  maximum  hit points.  Hit points indicate how
          much damage you can take before you die.  The more you get hit in
          a  fight, the lower they get.  You can regain hit points by rest-
          ing, or by using certain magical items or spells.  The number  in
          parentheses is the maximum number your hit points can reach.

     Power
          Spell  points.   This tells you how much mystic energy (mana) you
          have available for spell casting.  Again, resting will regenerate
          the amount available.

     Armor Class
          A  measure  of  how  effectively  your  armor  stops  blows  from
          unfriendly creatures.  The lower this number is, the more  effec-
          tive  the  armor;  it  is  quite  possible to have negative armor
          class.  See the Armor subsection of Objects for more information.

     Experience
          Your current experience level.  If the showexp option is set,  it
          will be followed by a slash and experience points.  As you adven-
          ture, you gain experience points.  At  certain  experience  point
          totals,  you  gain an experience level.  The more experienced you
          are, the better you fight and withstand magical attacks.  (By the
          time  your level reaches double digits, the usefulness of showing
          the points with it has dropped significantly.  You  can  use  the
          `O'  command  to  turn  showexp off to avoid using up the limited
          status line space.)

     Time
          The number of turns elapsed so far, displayed  if  you  have  the


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          time option set.

     Status
          Hunger:  your  current  hunger  status.  Values are Satiated, Not
          Hungry (or Normal), Hungry, Weak, and Fainting.  Not  shown  when
          Normal.

          Encumbrance:  an  indication of how what you are carrying affects
          your  ability  to  move.   Values  are  Unencumbered,   Burdened,
          Stressed,  Strained,  Overtaxed,  and Overloaded.  Not shown when
          Unencumbered.

          Fatal conditions: Stone (aka Petrifying, turning to stone), Slime
          (turning  into  green  slime), Strngl (being strangled), FoodPois
          (suffering from acute food poisoning), TermIll (suffering from  a
          terminal illness).

          Non-fatal  conditions: Blind (can't see), Deaf (can't hear), Stun
          (stunned), Conf (confused), Hallu (hallucinating).

          Movement modifiers: Lev (levitating), Fly  (flying),  Ride  (rid-
          ing).

          Other conditions and modifiers exist, but there isn't enough room
          to display them with the other status fields.

     The #attributes command (default key ^X) will show all current  status
     information  in unabbreviated format.  It also shows other information
     which might be included on the status lines if those had more room.

     3.2.  The message line (top)

          The top line of the screen is reserved for messages that describe
     things  that  are  impossible  to  represent  visually.   If you see a
     "--More--" on the top line, this means that NetHack has  another  mes-
     sage  to  display  on  the  screen,  but it wants to make certain that
     you've read the one that is there first.  To read  the  next  message,
     just press the space bar.

          To  change  how  and what messages are shown on the message line,
     see "Configuring Message Types" and the verbose option.

     3.3.  The map (rest of the screen)

          The rest of the screen is the  map  of  the  level  as  you  have
     explored  it  so far.  Each symbol on the screen represents something.
     You can set various graphics options to change some of the symbols the
     game  uses;  otherwise,  the game will use default symbols.  Here is a
     list of what the default symbols mean:

     -    The horizontal or corner walls of a room, or  an  open  east/west
          door.




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     |    The  vertical  walls of a room, or an open north/south door, or a
          grave.

     .    The floor of a room, or ice, or a doorless doorway, or  the  span
          of an open drawbridge.

     #    A  corridor,  or  iron  bars,  or  a tree, or the portcullis of a
          closed drawbridge.

          Note: engravings in corridors also appear as # but are shown in a
          different color from normal corridor locations.

     >    Stairs down: a way to the next level.

     <    Stairs up: a way to the previous level.

     +    A  closed door, or a spellbook containing a spell you may be able
          to learn.

     @    Your character or a human or an elf.

     $    A pile of gold.

     ^    A trap (once you have detected it).

     )    A weapon.

     [    A suit or piece of armor.

     %    Something edible (not necessarily healthy).

     ?    A scroll.

     /    A wand.

     =    A ring.

     !    A potion.

     (    A useful item (pick-axe, key, lamp...).

     "    An amulet or a spider web.

     *    A gem or rock (possibly valuable, possibly worthless).

     `    A boulder or statue or an engraving on the floor of a room.

          Note: statues are displayed as if they  were  the  monsters  they
          depict so won't appear as a grave accent (aka back-tick).

     0    An iron ball.

     _    An altar, or an iron chain.



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     {    A fountain or a sink.

     }    A pool of water or moat or a wall of water or a pool of lava or a
          wall of lava.

     \    An opulent throne.

     a-z  and

     A-HJ-Z  and

     @&':;
          Letters and certain other symbols represent the  various  inhabi-
          tants  of  the Mazes of Menace.  Watch out, they can be nasty and
          vicious.  Sometimes, however, they can be helpful.

     I    Rather than a specific type of monster, this marks the last known
          location  of an invisible or otherwise unseen monster.  Note that
          the monster could have moved.  The `s', `F', and `m' commands may
          be useful here.

     1-5  The  digits 1 through 5 may be displayed, marking unseen monsters
          sensed via the Warning attribute.  Less  dangerous  monsters  are
          indicated by lower values, more dangerous by higher values.

          You  need  not  memorize  all these symbols; you can ask the game
     what any symbol represents with the `/' command (see the next  section
     for more info).

     4.  Commands

          Commands  can  be  initiated  by  typing one or two characters to
     which the command is bound to, or  typing  the  command  name  in  the
     extended commands entry.  Some commands, like "search", do not require
     that any more information be collected  by  NetHack.   Other  commands
     might  require  additional information, for example a direction, or an
     object to be used.  For those commands that require additional  infor-
     mation, NetHack will present you with either a menu of choices or with
     a command line prompt requesting information.  Which you are presented
     with will depend chiefly on how you have set the menustyle option.

          For  example, a common question, in the form "What do you want to
     use? [a-zA-Z ?*]", asks you to choose  an  object  you  are  carrying.
     Here,  "a-zA-Z"  are  the  inventory letters of your possible choices.
     Typing `?' gives you an inventory list of these items, so you can  see
     what  each  letter  refers  to.   In this example, there is also a `*'
     indicating that you may choose an object  not  on  the  list,  if  you
     wanted  to  use  something unexpected.  Typing a `*' lists your entire
     inventory, so you can see the inventory letters of every object you're
     carrying.   Finally, if you change your mind and decide you don't want
     to do this command after all, you can press the ESC key to  abort  the
     command.




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          You  can  put  a  number before some commands to repeat them that
     many times; for example, "10s" will search ten times.  If you have the
     number_pad  option  set,  you  must type `n' to prefix a count, so the
     example above would be  typed  "n10s"  instead.   Commands  for  which
     counts  make no sense ignore them.  In addition, movement commands can
     be prefixed for greater control (see below).  To cancel a count  or  a
     prefix, press the ESC key.

          The  list  of  commands is rather long, but it can be read at any
     time during the game through the `?' command, which accesses a menu of
     helpful texts.  Here are the default key bindings for your reference:

     ?    Help menu:  display one of several help texts available.

     /    The  "whatis" command, to tell what a symbol represents.  You may
          choose to specify a location or type a symbol (or  even  a  whole
          word)  to  explain.   Specifying a location is done by moving the
          cursor to a particular spot on the map and then pressing  one  of
          `.', `,', `;', or `:'.  `.' will explain the symbol at the chosen
          location, conditionally check for  "More  info?"  depending  upon
          whether the help option is on, and then you will be asked to pick
          another location; `,' will explain the symbol but skip any  addi-
          tional  information, then let you pick another location; `;' will
          skip additional info and also not bother  asking  you  to  choose
          another  location  to  examine; `:' will show additional info, if
          any, without asking for confirmation.  When picking  a  location,
          pressing the ESC key will terminate this command, or pressing `?'
          will give a brief reminder about how it works.

          If the autodescribe option is on, a short description of what you
          see at each location is shown as you move the cursor.  Typing `#'
          while picking a location will toggle that option on or off.   The
          whatis_coord   option  controls  whether  the  short  description
          includes map coordinates.

          Specifying a name rather than a location always gives  any  addi-
          tional information available about that name.

          You  may  also request a description of nearby monsters, all mon-
          sters currently displayed, nearby objects, or all  objects.   The
          whatis_coord  option  controls  which format of map coordinate is
          included with their descriptions.

     &    Tell what a command does.

     <    Go up to the previous level (if you are on a  staircase  or  lad-
          der).

     >    Go down to the next level (if you are on a staircase or ladder).

     [yuhjklbn]
          Go  one  step  in the direction indicated (see Figure 3).  If you
          sense or remember a monster there, you  will  fight  the  monster
          instead.   Only  these  one-step  movement  commands cause you to


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          fight monsters; the others (below) are "safe."
          +----------------------------------------------------------------+
          |          y  k  u                             7  8  9           |
          |           \ | /                               \ | /            |
          |          h- . -l                             4- . -6           |
          |           / | \                               / | \            |
          |          b  j  n                             1  2  3           |
          |      (number_pad off)                    (number_pad on)       |
          +---------------------------Figure-3-----------------------------+

     [YUHJKLBN]
          Go in that direction until you hit a wall or run into something.

     m[yuhjklbn]
          Prefix:  move without picking up objects or fighting (even if you
          remember a monster there).

          A few non-movement commands use the `m' prefix to request operat-
          ing via menu (to temporarily override  the  menustyle:traditional
          option).   Primarily  useful  for `,' (pickup) when there is only
          one class of objects present (where  there  won't  be  any  "what
          kinds  of  objects?"   prompt, so no opportunity to answer `m' at
          that prompt).

          The prefix will make "#travel" command show a menu of interesting
          targets  in sight.  It can also be used with the `\' (known, show
          a list of all discovered objects) and the ``' (knownclass, show a
          list  of  discovered  objects  in a particular class) commands to
          offer a menu of several sorting alternatives (which  sets  a  new
          value for the sortdiscoveries option); also for "#vanquished" and
          "#genocided" commands to offer a sorting menu.

          A few other commands (eat food, offer sacrifice,  apply  tinning-
          kit,  drink/quaff, dip, tip container) use the `m' prefix to skip
          checking for applicable objects on the floor and go  straight  to
          checking  inventory,  or  (for  "#loot" to remove a saddle), skip
          containers and go straight to adjacent monsters.

          In debug mode (aka "wizard mode"), the `m'  prefix  may  also  be
          used with the "#teleport" and "#wizlevelport" commands.

     F[yuhjklbn]
          Prefix:  fight a monster (even if you only guess one is there).

     g[yuhjklbn]
          Prefix:  move until something interesting is found.

     G[yuhjklbn] or <Control>+[yuhjklbn]
          Prefix:   similar to `g', but forking of corridors is not consid-
          ered interesting.

          Note:  <Control>+<key> means holding the <Control> or <Ctrl>  key
          down  like <Shift> while typing and releasing <key>, then releas-
          ing <Control>. ^<key> is  used  as  shorthand  elsewhere  in  the


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          Guidebook  to  mean the same thing.  Control characters are case-
          insensitive so ^x and ^X are the same.

     M[yuhjklbn]
          Old versions supported `M' as a movement  prefix  which  combined
          the  effect of `m' with <Control>+<direction>.  That is no longer
          supported as a prefix but similar effect can be achieved by using
          `m'  and G<direction> in combination.  m can also be used in com-
          bination    with    g<direction>,    <Control>+<direction>,    or
          <Shift>+<direction>.

     _    Travel to a map location via a shortest-path algorithm.

          The  shortest  path is computed over map locations the hero knows
          about (e.g. seen or previously traversed).  If there is no  known
          path,  a guess is made instead.  Stops on most of the same condi-
          tions as the `G' prefix,  but  without  picking  up  objects,  so
          implicitly  forces the `m' prefix.  For ports with mouse support,
          the command is also invoked when a mouse-click takes place  on  a
          location other than the current position.

     .    Wait or rest, do nothing for one turn.  Precede with the `m' pre-
          fix to wait for a  turn  even  next  to  a  hostile  monster,  if
          safe_wait is on.

     a    Apply (use) a tool (pick-axe, key, lamp...).

          If  used on a wand, that wand will be broken, releasing its magic
          in the process.  Confirmation is required.

     A    Remove one or more worn items, such as armor.

          Use `T' (take off) to take off only one piece  of  armor  or  `R'
          (remove) to take off only one accessory.

     ^A   Repeat the previous command.

     c    Close a door.

     C    Call (name) a monster, an individual object, or a type of object.

          Same as extended command "#name".

     ^C   Panic button.  Quit the game.

     d    Drop something.

          For example "d7a" means drop seven items of object a.

     D    Drop several things.

          In answer to the question




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          "What kinds of things do you want to drop? [!%= BUCXPaium]"

          you  should type zero or more object symbols possibly followed by
          `a' and/or `i' and/or `u' and/or `m'.  In addition, one  or  more
          of the blessed/uncursed/cursed groups may be typed.

          DB  - drop all objects known to be blessed.
          DU  - drop all objects known to be uncursed.
          DC  - drop all objects known to be cursed.
          DX  - drop all objects of unknown B/U/C status.
          DP  - drop objects picked up last.
          Da  - drop all objects, without asking for confirmation.
          Di  - examine your inventory before dropping anything.
          Du  - drop only unpaid objects (when in a shop).
          Dm  - use a menu to pick which object(s) to drop.
          D%u - drop only unpaid food.

          The  last example shows a combination.  There are four categories
          of object filtering: class (`!' for potions, `?' for scrolls, and
          so on), shop status (`u' for unpaid, in other words, owned by the
          shop), bless/curse state (`B', `U', `C', and `X' as shown above),
          and novelty (`P', recently picked up items; controlled by picking
          up or dropping things rather than by any time factor).

          If you specify more than one value in a category  (such  as  "!?"
          for  potions  and  scrolls  or "BU" for blessed and uncursed), an
          inventory object will meet the criteria if it matches any of  the
          specified values (so "!?" means `!' or `?').  If you specify more
          than one category, an inventory object must meet each of the cat-
          egory criteria (so "%u" means class `%' and unpaid `u').  Lastly,
          you may  specify  multiple  values  within  multiple  categories:
          "!?BU"  will select all potions and scrolls which are known to be
          blessed or uncursed.  (In versions prior to 3.6, filter  combina-
          tions behaved differently.)

     ^D   Kick something (usually a door).

     e    Eat food.

          Normally checks for edible item(s) on the floor, then if none are
          found or none are chosen, checks for edible item(s) in inventory.
          Precede  `e' with the `m' prefix to bypass attempting to eat any-
          thing off the floor.

          If you attempt to eat while already satiated, you might choke  to
          death.   If  you  risk it, you will be asked whether to "continue
          eating?" if you survive the first bite.  You can  set  the  para-
          noid_confirmation:eating  option  to  require  a  response of yes
          instead of just y.

     E    Engrave a message on the floor.

               E- - write in the dust with your fingers.



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          Engraving the word "Elbereth" will cause  most  monsters  to  not
          attack you hand-to-hand (but if you attack, you will rub it out);
          this is often useful to give yourself a breather.

     f    Fire (shoot or throw) one of the objects placed  in  your  quiver
          (or  quiver sack, or that you have at the ready).  You may select
          ammunition with a previous `Q' command, or let the computer  pick
          something  appropriate  if  autoquiver  is true.  If your wielded
          weapon has the throw-and-return property, your quiver  is  empty,
          and  autoquiver  is  false,  you  will  throw that wielded weapon
          instead of filling the quiver.  This will also automatically  use
          a  polearm  if wielded.  If fireassist is true, firing will auto-
          matically try to wield a launcher (for example, a bow or a sling)
          matching  the ammo in the quiver; this might take multiple turns,
          and get interrupted by a monster.  Remember to swap back to  your
          main melee weapon afterwards.

          See also `t' (throw) for more general throwing and shooting.

     i    List your inventory (everything you're carrying).

     I    List  selected parts of your inventory, usually be specifying the
          character for a particular set of objects, like `[' for armor  or
          `!' for potions.

          I* - list all gems in inventory;
          Iu - list all unpaid items;
          Ix - list all used up items that are on your shopping bill;
          IB - list all items known to be blessed;
          IU - list all items known to be uncursed;
          IC - list all items known to be cursed;
          IX - list all items whose bless/curse status is unknown;
          IP - list items picked up last;
          I$ - count your money.

     o    Open a door.

     O    Set options.

          A  menu showing the current option values will be displayed.  You
          can change most values simply by selecting the menu entry for the
          given  option  (ie,  by  typing  its  letter or clicking upon it,
          depending on your user interface).  For the non-boolean  choices,
          a  further  menu  or  prompt  will appear once you've closed this
          menu.  The available options are listed later in this  Guidebook.
          Options  are usually set before the game rather than with the `O'
          command; see the section on options below.  Precede `O' with  the
          `m' prefix to show advanced options.

     ^O   Show overview.

          Shortcut  for  "#overview":  list interesting dungeon levels vis-
          ited.



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          (Prior to 3.6.0, `^O' was a debug mode command which  listed  the
          placement  of  all  special  levels.  Use "#wizwhere" to run that
          command.)

     p    Pay your shopping bill.

     P    Put on an accessory (ring, amulet, or blindfold).

          This command may also be used to  wear  armor.   The  prompt  for
          which  inventory  item  to  use  will  only list accessories, but
          choosing an unlisted item of armor will attempt to wear it.  (See
          the  `W'  command below.  It lists armor as the inventory choices
          but will accept an accessory and attempt to put that on.)

     ^P   Repeat previous message.

          Subsequent `^P's repeat earlier messages.  For  some  interfaces,
          the behavior can be varied via the msg_window option.

     q    Quaff (drink) something (potion, water, etc).

          When  there  is  a  fountain  or sink present, it asks whether to
          drink from that.  If that is declined, then it offers a chance to
          choose  a potion from inventory.  Precede `q' with the `m' prefix
          to skip asking about drinking from a fountain or sink.

     Q    Select an object for your quiver, quiver sack, or just  generally
          at the ready (only one of these is available at a time).  You can
          then throw this (or one of these) using the `f' command.

     r    Read a scroll or spellbook.

     R    Remove a worn accessory (ring, amulet, or blindfold).

          If you're wearing more than one, you'll be prompted for which one
          to remove.  When you're only wearing one, then by default it will
          be removed without asking, but you can set the paranoid_confirma-
          tion:Remove option to require a prompt.

          This  command may also be used to take off armor.  The prompt for
          which inventory item to remove only lists worn  accessories,  but
          an item of worn armor can be chosen.  (See the `T' command below.
          It lists armor as the inventory choices but will accept an acces-
          sory and attempt to remove it.)

     ^R   Redraw the screen.

     s    Search  for  secret doors and traps around you.  It usually takes
          several tries to find something.  Precede with the `m' prefix  to
          search for a turn even next to a hostile monster, if safe_wait is
          on.

          Can also be used to figure out whether there is still  a  monster
          at an adjacent "remembered, unseen monster" marker.


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     S    Save  the  game (which suspends play and exits the program).  The
          saved game will be restored automatically the next time you  play
          using the same character name.

          In  normal  play,  once a saved game is restored the file used to
          hold the saved data is deleted.  In explore mode,  once  restora-
          tion  is accomplished you are asked whether to keep or delete the
          file.  Keeping the file makes it feasible to  play  for  a  while
          then quit without saving and later restore again.

          There  is  no "save current game state and keep playing" command,
          not even in explore mode where saved game files can be  kept  and
          re-used.

     t    Throw an object or shoot a projectile.

          There's no separate "shoot" command.  If you throw an arrow while
          wielding a bow, you are shooting that arrow and any weapon  skill
          bonus  or  penalty  for bow applies.  If you throw an arrow while
          not wielding a bow, you are throwing it by hand and it will  gen-
          erally be less effective than when shot.

          See also `f' (fire) for throwing or shooting an item pre-selected
          via the `Q' (quiver) command, with some extra assistance.

     T    Take off armor.

          If you're wearing more than one piece,  you'll  be  prompted  for
          which one to take off.  (Note that this treats a cloak covering a
          suit and/or a shirt, or a suit covering a shirt, as if the under-
          lying  items  weren't there.)  When you're only wearing one, then
          by default it will be taken off without asking, but you  can  set
          the paranoid_confirmation:Remove option to require a prompt.

          This  command may also be used to remove accessories.  The prompt
          for which inventory item to take off only lists worn armor, but a
          worn  accessory  can  be chosen.  (See the `R' command above.  It
          lists accessories as the inventory choices  but  will  accept  an
          item of armor and attempt to take it off.)

     ^T   Teleport, if you have the ability.

     v    Display version number.

     V    Display the game history.

     w    Wield weapon.

               w- - wield nothing, use your bare (or gloved) hands.

          Some  characters  can wield two weapons at once; use the `X' com-
          mand (or the "#twoweapon" extended command) to do so.




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     W    Wear armor.

          This command may also be used  to  put  on  an  accessory  (ring,
          amulet,  or  blindfold).   The prompt for which inventory item to
          use will only list armor, but choosing an unlisted accessory will
          attempt  to  put  it  on.   (See the `P' command above.  It lists
          accessories as the inventory choices but will accept an  item  of
          armor and attempt to wear it.)

     x    Exchange  your  wielded  weapon  with  the item in your alternate
          weapon slot.

          The latter is used as your secondary weapon when engaging in two-
          weapon  combat.   Note  that  if one of these slots is empty, the
          exchange still takes place.

     X    Toggle two-weapon combat, if your  character  can  do  it.   Also
          available via the "#twoweapon" extended command.

          (In  versions  prior  to  3.6  this  keystroke ran the command to
          switch from normal play to "explore mode", also known as "discov-
          ery mode", which has now been moved to "#exploremode" and M-X.)

     ^X   Display basic information about your character.

          Displays  name,  role,  race, gender (unless role name makes that
          redundant, such as Caveman or Priestess),  and  alignment,  along
          with  your patron deity and his or her opposition.  It also shows
          most of the various items of information from the status  line(s)
          in  a  less terse form, including several additional things which
          don't appear in the normal status display due to space considera-
          tions.

          In  normal play, that's all that `^X' displays.  In explore mode,
          the role and status feedback is augmented by the information pro-
          vided by enlightenment magic.

     z    Zap a wand.

               z. - to aim at yourself, use `.' for the direction.

     Z    Zap (cast) a spell.

               Z. - to cast at yourself, use `.' for the direction.

     ^Z   Suspend  the  game (UNIX(R) versions with job control only).  See
          "#suspend" below for more details.

     :    Look at what is here.



     __________
     (R)UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group.


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     ;    Show what type of thing a visible symbol corresponds to.

     ,    Pick up some things from the floor beneath you.

          May be preceded by `m' to force a selection menu.

     @    Toggle the autopickup option on and off.

     ^    Ask for the type of an adjacent trap you found earlier.

     )    Tell what weapon you are wielding.

     [    Tell what armor you are wearing.

     =    Tell what rings you are wearing.

     "    Tell what amulet you are wearing.

     (    Tell what tools you are using.

     *    Tell what equipment you are using.

          Combines the preceding five type-specific commands into one.

     $    Report the gold you're carrying, possibly shop credit and/or debt
          too.

     +    List the spells you know.

          Using  this  command,  you  can also rearrange the order in which
          your spells are listed, either by sorting the entire list  or  by
          picking  one  spell  from  the  menu then picking another to swap
          places with it.  Swapping pairs of spells changes  their  casting
          letters,  so  the change lasts after the current `+' command fin-
          ishes.  Sorting the whole list is temporary.  To  make  the  most
          recent  sort order persist beyond the current `+' command, choose
          the sort option again and then pick "reassign  casting  letters".
          (Any  spells  learned  after that will be added to the end of the
          list rather than be inserted into the sorted ordering.)

     \    Show what types of objects have been discovered.

          May be preceded by `m' to select preferred display order.

     `    Show discovered types for one class of objects.

          May be preceded by `m' to select preferred display order.

     |    If persistent inventory display is supported  and  enabled  (with
          the  perm_invent  option),  interact  with it instead of with the
          map.

          Allows scrolling with  the  menu_first_page,  menu_previous_page,
          menu_next_page,  and  menu_last_page  keys (`^', `<', `>', `|' by


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          default).   Some  interfaces  also  support  menu_shift_left  and
          menu_shift_right  keys  (`{' and `}' by default).  Use the Return
          (aka Enter) or Escape key to resume play.

     !    Escape to a shell.  See "#shell" below for more details.

     Del  Show map without obstructions.  You can view the explored portion
          of the current level's map without monsters; without monsters and
          objects; or without monsters, objects, and traps.

          The <del> key is also shown as  <delete>  on  some  keyboards  or
          <rubout>  on others.  It is sometimes displayed as ^? even though
          that is not an actual control character.

          Many  terminals  have  an  option  to  swap  the   <delete>   and
          <backspace>  keys, so typing the <del> key might not execute this
          command.  If that happens,  you  can  use  the  extended  command
          "#terrain" instead.

     #    Perform an extended command.



          As  you  can see, the authors of NetHack used up all the letters,
     so this is a way to introduce the less frequently used commands.  What
     extended  commands are available depends on what features the game was
     compiled with.

     #adjust
          Adjust inventory letters (most useful when the fixinv  option  is
          "on").  Autocompletes.  Default key is `M-a'.

          This  command  allows  you  to  move  an item from one particular
          inventory slot to another so that it has a letter which  is  more
          meaningful  for  you or that it will appear in a particular loca-
          tion when inventory listings are displayed.  You can  move  to  a
          currently  empty  slot,  or  if  the destination is occupied--and
          won't merge--the item there will swap slots with  the  one  being
          moved.   "#adjust"  can also be used to split a stack of objects;
          when choosing the item to adjust, enter a count prior to its let-
          ter.

          Adjusting  without  a count used to collect all compatible stacks
          when moving to the destination.  That behavior has been  changed;
          to  gather  compatible  stacks,  "#adjust"  a  stack into its own
          inventory slot.  If it has a name assigned, other stacks with the
          same  name  or  with  no  name will merge provided that all their
          other attributes match.  If it does not have a name,  only  other
          stacks with no name are eligible.  In either case, otherwise com-
          patible stacks with a different name will not  be  merged.   This
          contrasts with using "#adjust" to move from one slot to a differ-
          ent slot.  In that situation, moving (no count given) a  compati-
          ble  stack  will  merge if either stack has a name when the other
          doesn't and give that name to the result, while splitting  (count


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          given)  will ignore the source stack's name when deciding whether
          to merge with the destination stack.

     #annotate
          Allows you to specify one line of text to associate with the cur-
          rent dungeon level.  All levels with annotations are displayed by
          the "#overview" command.  Autocompletes.  Default key  is  `M-A',
          and also `^N' if number_pad is on.

     #apply
          Apply (use) a tool such as a pick-axe, a key, or a lamp.  Default
          key is `a'.

          If the tool used acts on items on the floor, using the `m' prefix
          skips those items.

          If  used on a wand, that wand will be broken, releasing its magic
          in the process.  Confirmation is required.

     #attributes
          Show your attributes.  Default key is `^X'.

     #autopickup
          Toggle the autopickup option on/off.  Default key is `@'.

     #bugreport
          Bring up a browser window to  submit  a  report  to  the  NetHack
          Development  Team.   Can  be  disabled at the time the program is
          built; when enabled, CRASHREPORTURL must be  set  in  the  system
          configuration file.

     #call
          Call  (name)  a monster, or an object in inventory, on the floor,
          or in the discoveries list, or add an annotation for the  current
          level (same as "#annotate").  Default key is `C'.

     #cast
          Cast a spell.  Default key is `Z'.

     #chat
          Talk to someone.  Default key is `M-c'.

     #chronicle
          Show a list of important game events.

     #close
          Close a door.  Default key is `c'.

     #conduct
          List  voluntary  challenges  you have maintained.  Autocompletes.
          Default key is `M-C'.

          See the section below entitled "Conduct" for details.



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     #debugfuzzer
          Start the fuzz tester.  Debug mode only.

     #dip
          Dip an object into something.  Autocompletes.  Default key is `M-
          d'.

          The  `m' prefix skips dipping into a fountain or pool if there is
          one at your location.

     #down
          Go down a staircase.  Default key is `>'.

     #drop
          Drop an item.  Default key is `d'.

     #droptype
          Drop specific item types.  Default key is `D'.

     #eat
          Eat something.  Default key is `e'.  The `m' prefix skips  eating
          items on the floor.

     #engrave
          Engrave writing on the floor.  Default key is `E'.

     #enhance
          Advance   or  check  weapon  and  spell  skills.   Autocompletes.
          Default key is `M-e'.

     #exploremode
          Switch from normal play to non-scoring explore mode.  Default key
          is `M-X'.

          Requires  confirmation;  default  response  is n (no).  To really
          switch to explore mode, respond with y.  You can  set  the  para-
          noid_confirmation:quit  option  to  require  a  response  of  yes
          instead.

     #fight
          Prefix key to force fight a direction, even if you see nothing to
          fight there.  Default key is `F', or `-' with number_pad

     #fire
          Fire ammunition from quiver, possibly autowielding a launcher, or
          hit with a wielded polearm.  Default key is `f'.

     #force
          Force a lock.  Autocompletes.  Default key is `M-f'.

     #genocided
          List any monster types which have  been  genocided.   In  explore
          mode  and  debug  mode  it  also  shows  types  which have become
          extinct.


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          The display order is the same as is used by #vanquished.  The `m'
          prefix  brings  up  a menu of available sorting orders, and doing
          that for either #genocided or #vanquished changes the  order  for
          both.

          If  the  sorting  order  is  "count high to low" or "count low to
          high" (which  are  applicable  for  #vanquished),  that  will  be
          ignored  for  #genocided  and  alphabetical will be used instead.
          The menu omits those two choices when used for #genocide.

          Autocompletes.  Default key is `M-g'.

     #glance
          Show what type of thing a map symbol corresponds to.  Default key
          is `;'.

     #help
          Show  the  help  menu.   Default key is `?', and also `h' if num-
          ber_pad is on.

     #herecmdmenu
          Show a menu of possible actions directed at  your  current  loca-
          tion.   The menu is limited to a subset of the likeliest actions,
          not an exhaustive set of all possibilities.  Autocompletes.

          If mouse support is enabled and the herecmd_menu  option  is  On,
          clicking  on  the  hero (or steed when mounted) will execute this
          command.

     #history
          Show long version and game history.  Default key is `V'.

     #inventory
          Show your inventory.  Default key is `i'.

     #inventtype
          Inventory specific item types.  Default key is `I'.

     #invoke
          Invoke an object's special powers.  Autocompletes.   Default  key
          is `M-i'.

     #jump
          Jump  to another location.  Autocompletes.  Default key is `M-j',
          and also `j' if number_pad is on.

     #kick
          Kick something.  Default key is `^D', and `k'  if  number_pad  is
          on.

     #known
          Show what object types have been discovered.  Default key is `\'.




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          The  `m' prefix allows assigning a new value to the sortdiscover-
          ies option to control the order in which the discoveries are dis-
          played.

     #knownclass
          Show  discovered  types for one class of objects.  Default key is
          ``'.

          The `m' prefix operates the same as for "#known".

     #levelchange
          Change your experience level.  Autocompletes.  Debug mode only.

     #lightsources
          Show mobile light sources.  Autocompletes.  Debug mode only.

     #look
          Look at what is here, under you.  Default key is `:'.

     #lookaround
          Describe what you can see, or remember, of your surroundings.

     #loot
          Loot a box or bag on the floor beneath you, or the saddle from  a
          steed standing next to you.  Autocompletes.  Precede with the `m'
          prefix to skip containers at your location  and  go  directly  to
          removing  a  saddle.   Default key is `M-l', and also `l' if num-
          ber_pad is on.

     #monster
          Use a monster's special ability (when  polymorphed  into  monster
          form).  Autocompletes.  Default key is `M-m'.

     #name
          Name  a monster, an individual object, or a type of object.  Same
          as "#call".  Autocompletes.  Default keys are `N', `M-n', and `M-
          N'.

     #offer
          Offer  a  sacrifice  to the gods.  Autocompletes.  Default key is
          `M-o'.

          You'll need to find an altar  to  have  any  chance  at  success.
          Corpses of recently killed monsters are the fodder of choice.

          The `m' prefix skips offering any items which are on the altar.

     #open
          Open a door.  Default key is `o'.

     #options
          Show  and  change  option settings.  Default key is `O'.  Precede
          with the `m' prefix to show advanced options.



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     #optionsfull
          Show advanced game option settings.   No  default  key.   Precede
          with  the  `m'  prefix  to  execute  the simpler options command.
          (Mainly useful if you use  BINDING=O:optionsfull  to  switch  `O'
          from simple options back to traditional advanced options.)

     #overview
          Display  information  you've  discovered  about the dungeon.  Any
          visited level with an annotation is  included,  and  many  things
          (altars,  thrones,  fountains, and so on; extra stairs leading to
          another dungeon branch) trigger an automatic annotation.  If dun-
          geon overview is chosen during end-of-game disclosure, every vis-
          ited level will be included regardless of annotations.

          Precede #overview with the `m'  prefix  to  display  the  dungeon
          overview  as a menu where you can select any visited level to add
          or remove an annotation without needing to return to that  level.
          This  will  also  force all visited levels to be displayed rather
          than just the "interesting" subset.

          Autocompletes.  Default keys are `^O', and `M-O'.

     #panic
          Test the panic routine.  Terminates the current  game.   Autocom-
          pletes.  Debug mode only.

          Asks  for  confirmation; default is n (no); continue playing.  To
          really panic, respond with y.  You can set the paranoid_confirma-
          tion:quit option to require a response of yes instead.

     #pay
          Pay your shopping bill.  Default key is `p'.

     #perminv
          If  persistent  inventory  display is supported and enabled (with
          the perm_invent option), interact with it  instead  of  with  the
          map.   You'll  be  prompted for menu scrolling keystrokes such as
          `>' and `<'.  Press Return  or  Escape  to  resume  normal  play.
          Default key is `|'.

     #pickup
          Pick up things at the current location.  Default key is `,'.  The
          `m' prefix forces use of a menu.

     #polyself
          Polymorph self.  Autocompletes.  Debug mode only.

     #pray
          Pray to the gods for help.  Autocompletes.  Default key is `M-p'.

          Praying too soon after  receiving  prior  help  is  a  bad  idea.
          (Hint:  entering  the dungeon alive is treated as having received
          help.  You probably shouldn't start off a  new  game  by  praying
          right  away.)   Since  using  this  command by accident can cause


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          trouble, there is an option  to  make  you  confirm  your  intent
          before  praying.  It is enabled by default, and you can reset the
          paranoid_confirmation option to disable it.

     #prevmsg
          Show previously displayed game messages.  Default key is `^P'.

     #puton
          Put on an accessory (ring, amulet, etc).  Default key is `P'.

     #quaff
          Quaff (drink) something.  Default key is `q'.

          The `m' prefix skips drinking from a fountain or sink if there is
          one at your location.

     #quit
          Quit the program without saving your game.  Autocompletes.

          Since using this command by accident would throw away the current
          game, you are asked  to  confirm  your  intent  before  quitting.
          Default  response  is  n (no); continue playing.  To really quit,
          respond with  y.   You  can  set  the  paranoid_confirmation:quit
          option to require a response of yes instead.

     #quiver
          Select ammunition for quiver.  Default key is `Q'.

     #read
          Read  a  scroll,  a spellbook, or something else.  Default key is
          `r'.

     #redraw
          Redraw the screen.  Default key is `^R', and also  `^L'  if  num-
          ber_pad is on.

     #remove
          Remove an accessory (ring, amulet, etc).  Default key is `R'.

     #repeat
          Repeat the previous command.  Default key is `^A'.

     #reqmenu
          Prefix  key to modify the behavior or request menu from some com-
          mands.  Prevents autopickup when  used  with  movement  commands.
          Default key is `m'.

     #retravel
          Travel  to a previously selected travel destination.  Default key
          is `C-_'.  See also #travel.

     #ride
          Ride  (or  stop  riding)  a  saddled  creature.    Autocompletes.
          Default key is `M-R'.


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     #rub
          Rub a lamp or a stone.  Autocompletes.  Default key is `M-r'.

     #run
          Prefix  key  to run towards a direction.  Default key is `G' when
          number_pad is off, `5' when number_pad is set to 1 or  3,  other-
          wise `M-5' when it is set to 2 or 4.

     #rush
          Prefix key to rush towards a direction.  Default is `g' when num-
          ber_pad is off, `M-5' when number_pad is set to 1 or 3, otherwise
          `5' when it is set to 2 or 4.

     #save
          Save the game and exit the program.  Default key is `S'.

     #saveoptions
          Save  configuration  options to the config file.  This will over-
          write the file, removing all comments, so if  you  have  manually
          edited the config file, don't use this.

     #search
          Search  for  traps  and  secret doors around you.  Default key is
          `s'.

     #seeall
          Show all equipment in use.  Default key is `*'.

          Will display in-use items in a menu even when there is only one.

     #seeamulet
          Show the amulet currently worn.  Default key is `"'.

          Using the `m' prefix will force the display of a worn amulet in a
          menu rather than with just a message.

     #seearmor
          Show the armor currently worn.  Default key is `['.

          Will  display  worn armor in a menu even when there is only thing
          worn.

     #seerings
          Show the ring(s) currently worn.  Default key is `='.

          Will display worn rings in a menu if there are two (or  there  is
          just  one and is a meat ring rather than a "real" ring).  Use the
          `m' prefix to force a menu for one ring.

     #seetools
          Show the tools currently in use.  Default key is `('.

          Will display the result in a message if there is one tool in  use
          (worn blindfold or towel or lenses, lit lamp(s) and/or candle(s),


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          leashes attached to pets).  Will display a menu if there are more
          than one or if the command is preceded by the `m' prefix.

     #seeweapon
          Show the weapon currently wielded.  Default key is `)'.

          If  dual-wielding,  a separate message about the secondary weapon
          will be given.  Using the `m' prefix will force  a  menu  and  it
          will include primary weapon, alternate weapon even when not dual-
          wielding, and also whatever is currently assigned to  the  quiver
          slot.

     #shell
          Do  a  shell escape, switching from NetHack to a subprocess.  Can
          be disabled at the time the  program  is  built.   When  enabled,
          access for specific users can be controlled by the system config-
          uration file.  Use the shell command  `exit'  to  return  to  the
          game.  Default key is `!'.

     #showgold
          Report  the gold in your inventory, including gold you know about
          in containers you're carrying.  If you are inside a shop,  report
          any credit or debt you have in that shop.  Default key is `$'.

     #showspells
          List and reorder known spells.  Default key is `+'.

     #showtrap
          Describe  an adjacent trap, possibly covered by objects or a mon-
          ster.  To be eligible, the trap must already be discovered.  (The
          "#terrain" command can display your map with all objects and mon-
          sters temporarily removed, making it possible to see all  discov-
          ered traps.)  Default key is `^'.

     #sit
          Sit down.  Autocompletes.  Default key is `M-s'.

     #stats
          Show memory usage statistics.  Autocompletes.  Debug mode only.

     #suspend
          Suspend  the  game, switching from NetHack to the terminal it was
          started from without performing save-and-exit.  Can  be  disabled
          at  the  time  the program is built.  When enabled, mainly useful
          for tty and curses interfaces on UNIX.   Use  the  shell  command
          `fg' to return to the game.  Default key is `^Z'.

     #swap
          Swap wielded and secondary weapons.  Default key is `x'.

     #takeoff
          Take off one piece of armor.  Default key is `T'.




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     #takeoffall
          Remove all armor.  Default key is `A'.

     #teleport
          Teleport around the level.  Default key is `^T'.

     #terrain
          Show  map  without obstructions.  In normal play you can view the
          explored portion of the current  level's  map  without  monsters;
          without  monsters  and objects; or without monsters, objects, and
          traps.

          If there are visible clouds of gas in view, they are treated like
          traps  when deciding whether to show them or the floor underneath
          them.

          In explore mode, you can choose to view the full map rather  than
          just  its  explored  portion.  In debug mode there are additional
          choices.

          Autocompletes.  Default key is `<del>'  or  `<delete>'  (see  Del
          above).

     #therecmdmenu
          Show  a  menu  of possible actions directed at a location next to
          you.  The menu is limited to a subset of the  likeliest  actions,
          not an exhaustive set of all possibilities.  Autocompletes.

     #throw
          Throw something.  Default key is `t'.

     #timeout
          Look at the timeout queue.  Autocompletes.  Debug mode only.

     #tip
          Tip over a container (bag or box) to pour out its contents.  When
          there are containers on the floor, the game will prompt  to  pick
          one  of  them or "tip something being carried".  If the latter is
          chosen, there will be another prompt for which item  from  inven-
          tory to tip.

          The `m' prefix makes the command skip containers on the floor and
          pick  one  from  inventory,  except  for  the  special  case   of
          menustyle:traditional  with  two or more containers present; that
          situation will start with the floor container menu.

          Autocompletes.  Default key is `M-T'.

     #travel
          Travel to a specific location on the map.  Default  key  is  `_'.
          Using  the "request menu" prefix shows a menu of interesting tar-
          gets in sight without asking to move the cursor.  When picking  a
          target  with  cursor  and  the autodescribe option is on, the top
          line will show "(no travel path)" if your character does not know


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          of a path to that location.  See also #retravel.

     #turn
          Turn undead away.  Autocompletes.  Default key is `M-t'.

     #twoweapon
          Toggle  two-weapon combat on or off.  Autocompletes.  Default key
          is `X', and also `M-2' if number_pad is off.

          Note that you must use suitable weapons for this type of  combat,
          or it will be automatically turned off.

     #untrap
          Untrap  something  (trap, door, or chest).  Default key is `M-u',
          and `u' if number_pad is on.

          In some circumstances it can also be used to rescue trapped  mon-
          sters.

     #up
          Go up a staircase.  Default key is `<'.

     #vanquished
          List vanquished monsters by type and count.

          Note  that  the  vanquished  monsters  list includes all monsters
          killed by traps and each other as well as by you, and  omits  any
          which  got removed from the game without being killed (perhaps by
          genocide, or by a mollified shopkeeper dismissing summoned  Kops)
          or were already corpses when placed on the map.

          Using  the "request menu" prefix prior to #vanquished brings up a
          menu of sorting orders available (provided  that  the  vanquished
          monsters  list  contains at least two types of monsters).  Which-
          ever ordering is  picked  gets  assigned  to  the  sortvanquished
          option so is remembered for subsequent #vanquished requests.  The
          "#genocided" command shares this sorting order.

          During end-of-game disclosure, when asked whether  to  show  van-
          quished  monsters answering `a' will let you choose from the sort
          menu.

          Autocompletes.  Default key is `M-V'.

     #version
          Print compile time options for this version of NetHack.

          The  second  paragraph  lists  the  user  interface(s)  that  are
          included.  If there are more than one, you can use the windowtype
          option in your run-time configuration file to select the one  you
          want.

          Autocompletes.  Default key is `M-v'.



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     #versionshort
          Show  the  program's  version number, plus the date and time that
          the running copy  was  built  from  sources  (not  the  version's
          release date).  Default key is `v'.

     #vision
          Show vision array.  Autocompletes.  Debug mode only.

     #wait
          Rest  one move while doing nothing.  Default key is `.', and also
          ` ' if rest_on_space is on.

     #wear
          Wear a piece of armor.  Default key is `W'.

     #whatdoes
          Tell what a key does.  Default key is `&'.

     #whatis
          Show what type of thing a symbol corresponds to.  Default key  is
          `/'.

     #wield
          Wield a weapon.  Default key is `w'.

     #wipe
          Wipe off your face.  Autocompletes.  Default key is `M-w'.

     #wizborn
          Show  monster  birth,  death,  genocide,  and extinct statistics.
          Debug mode only.

     #wizbury
          Bury objects under and around you.   Autocompletes.   Debug  mode
          only.

     #wizcast
          Cast any spell.  Debug mode only.

     #wizdetect
          Reveal  hidden  things (secret doors or traps or unseen monsters)
          within a modest radius.  No time elapses.  Autocompletes.   Debug
          mode only.  Default key is `^E'.

     #wizgenesis
          Create a monster.  May be prefixed by a count to create more than
          one.  Autocompletes.  Debug mode only.  Default key is `^G'.

     #wizidentify
          Identify all items  in  inventory.   Autocompletes.   Debug  mode
          only.  Default key is `^I'.

     #wizintrinsic
          Set one or more intrinsic attributes.  Autocompletes.  Debug mode


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          only.

     #wizkill
          Remove monsters from play by just pointing at them.   By  default
          the  hero  gets credit or blame for killing the targets.  Precede
          this command with the `m'  prefix  to  override  that.   Autocom-
          pletes.  Debug mode only.

     #wizlevelport
          Teleport  to  another  level.   Autocompletes.   Debug mode only.
          Default key is `^V'.

     #wizmap
          Map the level.  Autocompletes.  Debug mode only.  Default key  is
          `^F'.

     #wizrumorcheck
          Verify  rumor boundaries by displaying first and last true rumors
          and first and last false rumors.

          Also displays first, second, and  last  random  engravings,  epi-
          taphs, and hallucinatory monsters.

          Autocompletes.  Debug mode only.

     #wizseenv
          Show  map  locations'  seen  vectors.  Autocompletes.  Debug mode
          only.

     #wizsmell
          Smell monster.  Autocompletes.  Debug mode only.

     #wizwhere
          Show locations of special  levels.   Autocompletes.   Debug  mode
          only.

     #wizwish
          Wish  for  something.   Autocompletes.  Debug mode only.  Default
          key is `^W'.

     #wmode
          Show wall modes.  Autocompletes.  Debug mode only.

     #zap
          Zap a wand.  Default key is `z'.

     #?
          Help menu:  get the list of available extended commands.



          If your keyboard has a meta key (which, when pressed in  combina-
     tion  with  another  key,  modifies  it by setting the "meta" [8th, or
     "high"] bit), you can invoke many extended commands  by  meta-ing  the


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     first letter of the command.

          On Windows and MS-DOS, the "Alt" key can be used in this fashion.
     On other systems, if typing "Alt" plus another  key  transmits  a  two
     character  sequence consisting of an Escape followed by the other key,
     you may set the altmeta option  to  have  NetHack  combine  them  into
     meta+<key>.   (This  combining action only takes place when NetHack is
     expecting a command to execute, not when accepting input to name some-
     thing or to make a wish.)

          Unlike control characters, where ^x and ^X denote the same thing,
     meta characters are case-sensitive:  M-x and M-X  represent  different
     things.   Some  commands which can be run via a meta character require
     that the letter be capitalized because the  lower-case  equivalent  is
     used   for   another   command,   so   the   three   key   combination
     meta+Shift+<letter> is needed.








































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     M-?  #? (not supported by all platforms)

     M-2  #twoweapon (unless the number_pad option is enabled)

     M-a  #adjust

     M-A  #annotate

     M-c  #chat

     M-C  #conduct

     M-d  #dip

     M-e  #enhance

     M-f  #force

     M-g  #genocided

     M-i  #invoke

     M-j  #jump

     M-l  #loot

     M-m  #monster

     M-n  #name

     M-o  #offer

     M-O  #overview

     M-p  #pray

     M-r  #rub

     M-R  #ride

     M-s  #sit

     M-t  #turn

     M-T  #tip

     M-u  #untrap

     M-v  #version

     M-V  #vanquished

     M-w  #wipe



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     M-X  #exploremode



          If the number_pad option is on, some additional  letter  commands
     are available:

     h    #help

     j    #jump

     k    #kick

     l    #loot

     N    #name

     u    #untrap






































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     5.  Rooms and corridors

          Rooms  and  corridors in the dungeon are either lit or dark.  Any
     lit areas within your line of sight will be displayed; dark areas  are
     only  displayed if they are within one space of you.  Walls and corri-
     dors remain on the map as you explore them.

          Secret corridors are hidden and appear to be solid rock.  You can
     find them with the `s' (search) command when adjacent to them.  Multi-
     ple search attempts may be  needed.   When  searching  is  successful,
     secret  corridors  become  ordinary  open corridor locations.  Mapping
     magic reveals secret corridors, so converts them into ordinary  corri-
     dors and shows them as such.

     5.1.  Doorways

          Doorways  connect  rooms  and  corridors.   Some doorways have no
     doors; you can walk right through.  Others have doors in  them,  which
     may  be  open,  closed, or locked.  To open a closed door, use the `o'
     (open) command; to close it again, use the `c'  (close)  command.   By
     default  the  autoopen option is enabled, so simply attempting to walk
     onto a closed door's location will attempt to open it without  needing
     `o'.   Opening  via  autoopen  will  not  work  if you are confused or
     stunned or suffer from the fumbling attribute.

          Open doors cannot be entered diagonally; you must  approach  them
     straight  on,  horizontally or vertically.  Doorways without doors are
     not  restricted  in  this  fashion  except  on  one  particular  level
     (described by "#overview" as "a primitive area").

          Unlocking  magic  exists but usually won't be available early on.
     You can get through a locked door without  magic  by  first  using  an
     unlocking  tool with the `a' (apply) command, and then opening it.  By
     default the autounlock option is also enabled, so if  you  attempt  to
     open  (via  `o' or autoopen) a locked door while carrying an unlocking
     tool, you'll be asked whether to use it on the door's lock.   Alterna-
     tively,  you  can  break a closed door (whether locked or not) down by
     kicking it via the `^D' (kick) command.  Kicking down a door  destroys
     it and makes a lot of noise which might wake sleeping monsters.

          Some  closed  doors  are  booby-trapped  and  will  explode if an
     attempt is made to open (when unlocked) or  unlock  (when  locked)  or
     kick  down.   Like kicking, an explosion destroys the door and makes a
     lot of noise.  The "#untrap" command can be used to search a door  for
     traps  but  might  take  multiple  attempts  to find one.  When one is
     found, you'll be asked whether to try to disarm it.   If  you  accede,
     success  will  eliminate  the trap but failure will set off the trap's
     explosion.  (If you decline, you effectively forget that  a  trap  was
     found there.)

          Closed  doors can be useful for shutting out monsters.  Most mon-
     sters cannot open closed doors, although a  few  don't  need  to  (for
     example,  ghosts  can walk through doors and fog clouds can flow under
     them).  Some monsters who can open doors can also use unlocking tools.


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     And some (giants) can smash doors.

          Secret  doors  are  hidden  and  appear to be ordinary wall (from
     inside a room) or solid rock (from outside).  You can find  them  with
     the  `s'  (search)  command but it might take multiple tries (possibly
     many tries if your luck is poor).  Once found they  are  in  all  ways
     equivalent  to  normal  doors.   Mapping  magic does not reveal secret
     doors.

     5.2.  Traps (`^')

          There are traps  throughout  the  dungeon  to  snare  the  unwary
     intruder.   For example, you may suddenly fall into a pit and be stuck
     for a few turns trying to climb out (see below).  A trap usually won't
     appear  on  your  map  until you trigger it by moving onto it, you see
     someone else trigger it, or you discover it with the `s' (search) com-
     mand  (multiple  attempts are often needed; if your luck is poor, many
     attempts might be needed).  Wands of secret door detection  and  spell
     of  detect unseen also reveal traps within a modest radius but only if
     the trap is also within line-of-sight (whether you can see at the time
     or not).  There is also other magic which can reveal traps.

          Monsters  can  fall  prey to traps, too, which can potentially be
     used as a defensive strategy.  Unfortunately traps can be  harmful  to
     your  pet(s)  as  well.   Monsters, including pets, usually will avoid
     moving onto a trap which is shown on your map if they have encountered
     that type of trap before.

          Some  traps  such  as  pits, bear traps, and webs hold you in one
     place.  You can escape by simply trying to move to  an  adjacent  spot
     and repeat as needed; eventually you will get free.

          Other  traps  can  send  you to different locations.  Teleporters
     send you elsewhere on the same dungeon level.  Level teleporters  send
     you  to a random dungeon level, the destination chosen from a few lev-
     els lower all the way to the top.  These traps choose a  new  destina-
     tion  each time they're activated.  Trap doors and holes also send you
     to another level, but one which is always  below  the  current  level.
     Usually  that  will  be  the  next  level  down but it can be farther.
     Unlike (level) teleporters, the destination level of a particular trap
     door  or hole is persistent, so falling into one will bring you to the
     same level each time--though not necessarily  the  same  spot  on  the
     level.  Magic portals behave similarly, but with some additional vari-
     ation.  Some portals are  two-way  and  their  remote  destination  is
     always  the  same: another portal which can take you back.  Others are
     one-way and send you to a specific destination level but not necessar-
     ily to a specific location there.

          There  is  a  special multi-level branch of the dungeon with pre-
     mapped levels based on the classic computer game "Sokoban."   In  that
     game,  you  operate  as  a  warehouse  worker who pushes crates around
     obstacles to position them at designated locations.  In  NetHack,  the
     goal is to push boulders into pits or holes until those traps have all
     been nullified, giving access to whatever  is  beyond  them.   In  the


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     Sokoban  game,  you  can only move in the four cardinal compass direc-
     tions, and a crate in its final destination blocks further  access  to
     that  spot.  In the Sokoban levels of NetHack, you can move diagonally
     (unless that would let you pass between two neighboring boulders)  but
     you  can  only  push  boulders  in the four cardinal directions, and a
     boulder which fills a pit or hole removes both  the  boulder  and  the
     trap  so opens up normal access to that spot.  With careful foresight,
     it is possible to complete all of the levels according to  the  tradi-
     tional  rules  of Sokoban.  (Hint: to solve Sokoban puzzles, you often
     need to move things away from their eventual destinations in order  to
     open  up  more  room  to maneuver.)  Since NetHack does not support an
     undo capability, some allowances are permitted in case you get  stuck.
     For  example,  each level has at least one extra boulder.  Also, it is
     possible to drop everything in order to be able to  squeeze  into  the
     same  location  as a boulder (and then presumably move past it), or to
     destroy a boulder with magic or tools, or to create new boulders  with
     a  scroll  of  earth.  However, doing such things will lower your luck
     without any specific message given about that.  See the  Conduct  sec-
     tion  for  information  about  getting  feedback  for  your actions in
     Sokoban.

     5.3.  Stairs and ladders (`<', `>')

          In general, each level in the dungeon will have a staircase going
     up  (`<')  to  the  previous level and another going down (`>') to the
     next level.  There are some exceptions though.  For  instance,  fairly
     early  in  the dungeon you will find a level with two down staircases,
     one continuing into the dungeon and the other branching into  an  area
     known as the Gnomish Mines.  Those mines eventually hit a dead end, so
     after exploring them (if you choose to do so), you'll  need  to  climb
     back up to the main dungeon.

          When  you traverse a set of stairs, or trigger a trap which sends
     you to another level, the level you're leaving will be deactivated and
     stored  in  a  file on disk.  If you're moving to a previously visited
     level, it will be loaded from its file on disk  and  reactivated.   If
     you're  moving  to  a level which has not yet been visited, it will be
     created (from scratch for most random levels, from a template for some
     "special"  levels, or loaded from the remains of an earlier game for a
     "bones" level as briefly described below).  Monsters are  only  active
     on  the  current  level;  those on other levels are essentially placed
     into stasis.

          Ordinarily when you climb a set of stairs, you will arrive on the
     corresponding  staircase  at  your  destination.   However,  pets (see
     below) and some other monsters will  follow  along  if  they're  close
     enough  when  you  travel  up  or down stairs, and occasionally one of
     these creatures will displace you during the climb.  When that occurs,
     the pet or other monster will arrive on the staircase and you will end
     up nearby.

          Ladders serve the same purpose as staircases, and the  two  types
     of  inter-level  connections  are nearly indistinguishable during game
     play.


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     5.4.  Shops and shopping

          Occasionally you will run across a room with  a  shopkeeper  near
     the  door  and  many  items  lying on the floor.  You can buy items by
     picking them up and then using the `p' command.  You can inquire about
     the  price of an item prior to picking it up by using the "#chat" com-
     mand while standing on it.  Using an item prior to paying for it  will
     incur  a  charge, and the shopkeeper won't allow you to leave the shop
     until you have paid any debt you owe.

          You can sell items to a shopkeeper by dropping them to the  floor
     while inside a shop.  You will either be offered an amount of gold and
     asked whether you're willing to sell, or you'll be told that the shop-
     keeper  isn't  interested (generally, your item needs to be compatible
     with the type of merchandise carried by the shop).

          If you drop something in a shop by accident, the shopkeeper  will
     usually  claim  ownership  without  offering any compensation.  You'll
     have to buy it back if you want to reclaim it.

          Shopkeepers sometime run out of money.  When that happens, you'll
     be  offered  credit  instead  of  gold when you try to sell something.
     Credit can be used to pay for purchases, but it is only  good  in  the
     shop where it was obtained; other shopkeepers won't honor it.  (If you
     happen to find a "credit card" in the dungeon, don't bother trying  to
     use it in shops; shopkeepers will not accept it.)

          The  `$' command, which reports the amount of gold you are carry-
     ing, will also show current shop debt or credit,  if  any.   The  "Iu"
     command  lists  unpaid items (those which still belong to the shop) if
     you are carrying any.  The "Ix" command shows an  inventory-like  dis-
     play  of  any  unpaid  items which have been used up, along with other
     shop fees, if any.

     5.4.1.  Shop idiosyncrasies

          Several aspects of shop behavior might be unexpected.

     * The price of a given item can vary due to a variety of factors.

     * A shopkeeper treats the spot immediately inside the door  as  if  it
       were outside the shop.

     * While  the shopkeeper watches you like a hawk, he or she will gener-
       ally ignore any other customers.

     * If a shop is "closed for inventory," it will not  open  of  its  own
       accord.

     * Shops  do  not get restocked with new items, regardless of inventory
       depletion.





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     5.5.  Movement feedback

          Moving around the map usually provides  no  feedback--other  than
     drawing  the hero at the new location--unless you step on an object or
     pile of objects, or on a trap, or attempt to move onto a spot where  a
     monster  is  located.   There are several options which can be used to
     augment the normal feedback.

          The pile_limit option controls how  many  objects  can  be  in  a
     pile--sharing  the same map location--for the game to state "there are
     objects here" instead of listing them.  The default is 5.  Setting  it
     to  1  would  always give that message instead of listing any objects.
     Setting it to 0 is a special case which will always list  all  objects
     no matter how big a pile is.  Note that the number refers to the count
     of separate stacks of objects present rather than the sum of the quan-
     tities  of those stacks (so 7 arrows or 25 gold pieces will each count
     as 1 rather than as 7 and 25, respectively, and total to 2  when  both
     are at the same location).

          The  "nopickup" command prefix (default `m') can be used before a
     movement direction to step on objects without  attempting  auto-pickup
     and without giving feedback about them.

          The mention_walls option controls whether you get feedback if you
     try to walk into a wall or solid stone or off the  edge  of  the  map.
     Normally  nothing  happens  (unless  the  hero is blind and no wall is
     shown, then the wall that is being bumped into will be  drawn  on  the
     map).   This  option also gives feedback when rushing or running stops
     for some non-obvious reason.

          The mention_decor option controls whether you get  feedback  when
     walking  on  "furniture."  Normally stepping onto stairs or a fountain
     or an altar or various other things doesn't elicit anything unless  it
     is  covered by one or more objects so is obscured on the map.  Setting
     this option to true will describe such things even  when  they  aren't
     obscured.   Doorless  doorways and open doors aren't considered worthy
     of mention; closed doors (if you can move onto their spots) and broken
     doors  are.   Assuming that you're able to do so, moving onto water or
     lava or ice will give feedback if not yet on that type of terrain  but
     not  repeat  it  (unless there has been some intervening message) when
     moving from water to another water spot, or lava to lava,  or  ice  to
     ice.   Moving off of any of those back onto "normal" terrain will give
     one message too, unless there is feedback about one or  more  objects,
     in which case the back on land circumstance is implied.

          The  confirm  and  safe_pet options control what happens when you
     try to move onto a peaceful monster's spot or a tame one's spot.

          The "nopickup" command prefix (default `m')  is  also  the  move-
     without-attacking prefix and can be used to try to step onto a visible
     monster's spot without the move being considered an  attack  (see  the
     Fighting  subsection  of  Monsters below).  The "fight" command prefix
     (default `F'; also `-' if number_pad is on) can be used  to  force  an
     attack,  when guessing where an unseen monster is or when deliberately


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     attacking a peaceful or tame creature.

          The run_mode option controls how frequently the map gets  redrawn
     when  moving  more than one step in a single command (so when rushing,
     running, or traveling).

     5.6.  Rogue level

          One dungeon level (occurring in mid to late  teens  of  the  main
     dungeon) is a tribute to the ancestor game hack's inspiration rogue.

          It  is  usually displayed differently from other levels: possibly
     in characters instead of tiles, or  without  line-drawing  symbols  if
     already  in  characters;  also,  gold  is shown as * rather than $ and
     stairs are shown as % rather than < and >.  There are some minor  dif-
     ferences  in actual game play: doorways lack doors; a scroll, wand, or
     spell of light used in a room lights up the  whole  room  rather  than
     within  a  radius  around your character.  And monsters represented by
     lower-case letters aren't randomly generated on the rogue level.

          The slight strangeness of this level is a feature, not a bug....

     6.  Monsters

          Monsters you cannot see are not displayed on the screen.  Beware!
     You  may suddenly come upon one in a dark place.  Some magic items can
     help you locate them before they locate you (which some  monsters  can
     do very well).

          The  commands `/' and `;' may be used to obtain information about
     those monsters who are displayed on the screen.  The  command  "#name"
     (by  default  bound to `C'), allows you to assign a name to a monster,
     which may be useful to help distinguish one from another when multiple
     monsters  are  present.   Assigning  a name which is just a space will
     remove any prior name.

          The extended command "#chat" can be  used  to  interact  with  an
     adjacent  monster.   There  is  no  actual dialog (in other words, you
     don't get to choose what you'll say), but chatting with some  monsters
     such  as  a  shopkeeper  or  the  Oracle  of Delphi can produce useful
     results.

     6.1.  Fighting

          If you see a monster and you wish to fight it,  just  attempt  to
     walk  into  it.   Many  monsters you find will mind their own business
     unless you attack them.  Some of them are very dangerous when angered.
     Remember:  discretion is the better part of valor.

          In  most  circumstances, if you attempt to attack a peaceful mon-
     ster by moving into its location, you'll  be  asked  to  confirm  your
     intent.   By  default an answer of `y' acknowledges that intent, which
     can be error prone if you're using `y' to move.  You can set the para-
     noid_confirmation:attack   option  to  require  a  response  of  "yes"


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     instead.

          If you can't see a monster (if it is invisible,  or  if  you  are
     blinded), the symbol `I' will be shown when you learn of its presence.
     If you attempt to walk into it, you will try to fight it just  like  a
     monster  that  you  can  see; of course, if the monster has moved, you
     will attack empty air.  If you guess that the monster  has  moved  and
     you  don't  wish to fight, you can use the `m' command to move without
     fighting; likewise, if you don't remember a monster but  want  to  try
     fighting anyway, you can use the `F' command.

     6.2.  Your pet

          You start the game with a little dog (`d'), kitten (`f'), or pony
     (`u'), which follows you about the dungeon and  fights  monsters  with
     you.  Like you, your pet needs food to survive.  Dogs and cats usually
     feed themselves on fresh carrion and other meats; horses need vegetar-
     ian food which is harder to come by.  If you're worried about your pet
     or want to train it, you can feed it, too, by  throwing  it  food.   A
     properly trained pet can be very useful under certain circumstances.

          Your  pet  also  gains  experience from killing monsters, and can
     grow over time, gaining hit points and doing more damage.   Initially,
     your  pet  may  even be better at killing things than you, which makes
     pets useful for low-level characters.

          Your pet will follow you up and down staircases if it is next  to
     you when you move.  Otherwise your pet will be stranded and may become
     wild.  Similarly, when you trigger certain types of traps which  alter
     your  location  (for  instance, a trap door which drops you to a lower
     dungeon level), any adjacent pet will accompany you and any  non-adja-
     cent pet will be left behind.  Your pet may trigger such traps itself;
     you will not be carried along with it even if adjacent at the time.

     6.3.  Steeds

          Some types of creatures in the dungeon can actually be ridden  if
     you  have  the  right equipment and skill.  Convincing a wild beast to
     let you saddle it up is difficult to say the least.  Many a dungeoneer
     has  had  to  resort  to  magic  and  wizardry  in  order to forge the
     alliance.  Once you do have the beast under your control however,  you
     can  easily  climb  in and out of the saddle with the "#ride" command.
     Lead the beast around the dungeon when riding, in the same  manner  as
     you  would move yourself.  It is the beast that you will see displayed
     on the map.

          Riding skill is managed by the "#enhance" command.  See the  sec-
     tion on Weapon proficiency for more information about that.

          Use  the  `a' (apply) command and pick a saddle in your inventory
     to attempt to put that saddle on an adjacent creature.  If successful,
     it will be transferred to that creature's inventory.




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          Use  the  "#loot" command while adjacent to a saddled creature to
     try to remove the saddle from that creature.  If successful,  it  will
     be transferred to your inventory.

     6.4.  Bones levels

          You may encounter the shades and corpses of other adventurers (or
     even former incarnations of yourself!)  and  their  personal  effects.
     Ghosts  are hard to kill, but easy to avoid, since they're slow and do
     little damage.  You can plunder the deceased adventurer's possessions;
     however,  they are likely to be cursed.  Beware of whatever killed the
     former player; it is probably still lurking around, gloating over  its
     last victory.

     6.5.  Persistence of Monsters

          Monsters  (a  generic  reference  which  also includes humans and
     pets) are only shown while they can be seen or otherwise sensed.  Mov-
     ing to a location where you can't see or sense a monster any more will
     result in it disappearing from your map, similarly if it  is  the  one
     who moved rather than you.

          However,  if  you  encounter  a  monster  which  you can't see or
     sense--perhaps it is invisible and has just tapped you on the noggin--
     a special "remembered, unseen monster" marker will be displayed at the
     location where you think it is.  That  will  persist  until  you  have
     proven  that  there  is  no  monster there, even if the unseen monster
     moves to another location or you move to a  spot  where  the  marker's
     location ordinarily wouldn't be seen any more.

     7.  Objects

          When  you  find something in the dungeon, it is common to want to
     pick it up.  In NetHack, this is accomplished by using  the  `,'  com-
     mand.   If autopickup option is on, you will automatically pick up the
     object by walking over, unless you move with the `m' prefix.

          If you're carrying too many items, NetHack will tell you  so  and
     you  won't  be  able to pick up anything more.  Otherwise, it will add
     the object(s) to your pack and tell you what you just picked up.

          As you add items to your inventory, you also add  the  weight  of
     that  object  to  your load.  The amount that you can carry depends on
     your strength and your constitution.  The stronger  and  sturdier  you
     are,  the  less  the  additional  load will affect you.  There comes a
     point, though, when the weight of all of that stuff you  are  carrying
     around with you through the dungeon will encumber you.  Your reactions
     will get slower and you'll burn calories faster, requiring  food  more
     frequently  to cope with it.  Eventually, you'll be so overloaded that
     you'll either have to discard some of what you're carrying or collapse
     under its weight.

          NetHack will tell you how badly you have loaded yourself.  If you
     are encumbered, one of the conditions  Burdened,  Stressed,  Strained,


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     Overtaxed,  or Overloaded will be shown on the bottom line status dis-
     play.

          When you pick up an object, it is assigned an  inventory  letter.
     Many  commands  that operate on objects must ask you to find out which
     object you want to use.  When NetHack asks you to choose a  particular
     object  you  are  carrying,  you  are usually presented with a list of
     inventory letters to choose from (see Commands, above).

          Some objects, such as weapons, are easily  differentiated.   Oth-
     ers,  like  scrolls  and  potions,  are  given descriptions which vary
     according to type.  During a game,  any  two  objects  with  the  same
     description  are  the  same type.  However, the descriptions will vary
     from game to game.

          When you use one of these objects,  if  its  effect  is  obvious,
     NetHack  will  remember  what  it  is  for  you.   If its effect isn't
     extremely obvious, you will be asked what you want to call  this  type
     of  object  so  you  will  recognize  it  later.  You can also use the
     "#name" command, for the same purpose at any time, to name all objects
     of  a  particular  type  or  just  an individual object.  When you use
     "#name" on an object which has already been named, specifying a  space
     as  the  value  will  remove the prior name instead of assigning a new
     one.

     7.1.  Curses and Blessings

          Any object that you find may be cursed, even  if  the  object  is
     otherwise  helpful.   The most common effect of a curse is being stuck
     with (and to) the item.  Cursed weapons weld themselves to  your  hand
     when wielded, so you cannot unwield them.  Any cursed item you wear is
     not removable by ordinary means.  In addition, cursed arms  and  armor
     usually,  but  not  always,  bear negative enchantments that make them
     less effective in combat.  Other cursed  objects  may  act  poorly  or
     detrimentally in other ways.

          Objects  can also be blessed instead.  Blessed items usually work
     better or more beneficially than normal uncursed items.  For  example,
     a blessed weapon will do slightly more damage against demons.

          Objects  which  are neither cursed nor blessed are referred to as
     uncursed.  They could just as easily have been described as unblessed,
     but  the uncursed designation is what you will see within the game.  A
     "glass half full versus glass half empty" situation; make of that what
     you will.

          There  are  magical  means  of  bestowing or removing curses upon
     objects, so even if you are stuck with one, you  can  still  have  the
     curse  lifted  and  the item removed.  Priests and Priestesses have an
     innate sensitivity to this property in any object, so  they  can  more
     easily  avoid  cursed  objects  than  other character roles.  Dropping
     objects onto an altar will reveal their bless or curse state  provided
     that you can see them land.



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          An  item  with  unknown status will be reported in your inventory
     with no prefix.  An item which you know the state of will  be  distin-
     guished  in  your  inventory  by  the  presence  of  the  word cursed,
     uncursed, or blessed in the description of the item.   In  some  cases
     uncursed will be omitted as being redundant when enough other informa-
     tion is displayed.  The implicit_uncursed option can be used  to  con-
     trol  this; toggle it off to have uncursed be displayed even when that
     can be deduced from other attributes.

          Sometimes the bless or curse state of objects is referred  to  as
     their  "BUC"  attribute,  for  Blessed,  Uncursed, or Cursed state, or
     "BUCX" for Blessed, Uncursed, Cursed, or unknown.  (The term beatitude
     is occasionally used as well.)

     7.2.  Artifacts

          Some  objects  have been imbued with special powers and are known
     as Artifacts.  They have specific types (such as long sword or  orcish
     dagger) and distinct names such as Giantslayer or Grimtooth.  Artifact
     weapons typically do more damage  than  their  ordinary  counterparts.
     Some  do  extra  damage against all monsters, others only against spe-
     cific types of monsters so aren't better than regular weapons  against
     other  types.  Some confer defensive capabilities when wielded or have
     other powers that aren't listed here.

          You might find them simply lying on the floor, including but  not
     limited  to inside shops, or be granted as a reward for "#offer" on an
     altar to your patron deity.  A few might be dropped  by  monsters,  or
     might  be  converted  from  an  ordinary  object  of the same type via
     assigning the right name.  Or you might wish for them, if  you  happen
     to be granted a wish, but such wishes can fail.

          Some  artifacts  have  a  specific  alignment, others don't.  You
     won't obtain aligned ones that have a different alignment  from  yours
     via  offering  and might get a shock if you attempt to wish for any of
     those or find one and attempt to use it.

          Each role has a distinct artifact that is contained in the  Quest
     dungeon branch.  These are commonly known as quest artifacts.  All are
     aligned and most are non-weapons.  They won't be found randomly.

          The `\' and ``a' commands will list artifacts that you have fully
     identified (knowing the name and item type isn't sufficient).

     7.3.  Relics

          There are three unique items that are named and have limited spe-
     cial powers but aren't classified as artifacts.  Each is guarded by  a
     particular  monster  and you'll need to collect all three for use late
     in the game.  They are the Bell of Opening, the Book of the Dead,  and
     the  Candelabrum of Invocation.  Their corresponding descriptions when
     not yet identified are silver  bell,  papyrus  spellbook,  and  cande-
     labrum.



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     7.4.  Weapons (`)')

          Given  a chance, most monsters in the Mazes of Menace will gratu-
     itously try to kill you.  You need weapons for  self-defense  (killing
     them  first).   Without a weapon, you do only 1-2 hit points of damage
     (plus bonuses, if any).  Monk characters are an exception;  they  nor-
     mally  do  more  damage  with bare (or gloved) hands than they do with
     weapons.

          There are wielded weapons, like  maces  and  swords,  and  thrown
     weapons,  like  arrows and spears.  To hit monsters with a weapon, you
     must wield it and attack them, or throw it at them.   You  can  simply
     elect  to  throw a spear.  To shoot an arrow, you should first wield a
     bow, then throw the arrow.  Crossbows shoot  crossbow  bolts.   Slings
     hurl rocks and (other) stones (like gems).

          Enchanted  weapons  have  a "plus" (or "to hit enhancement" which
     can be either positive or negative) that adds to your  chance  to  hit
     and  the  damage  you  do  to  a monster.  The only way to determine a
     weapon's enchantment is to have it magically identified somehow.  Most
     weapons  are subject to some type of damage like rust.  Such "erosion"
     damage can be repaired.

          The chance that an attack will successfully hit  a  monster,  and
     the  amount  of  damage such a hit will do, depends upon many factors.
     Among them are: type of weapon, quality of weapon (enchantment  and/or
     erosion), experience level, strength, dexterity, encumbrance, and pro-
     ficiency (see below).  The monster's armor  class--a  general  defense
     rating,  not  necessarily  due  to  wearing of armor--is a factor too;
     also, some monsters are particularly vulnerable to  certain  types  of
     weapons.

          Many weapons can be wielded in one hand; some require both hands.
     When wielding a two-handed weapon, you can not wear a shield, and vice
     versa.  When wielding a one-handed weapon, you can have another weapon
     ready to use  by  setting  things  up  with  the  `x'  command,  which
     exchanges  your primary (the one being wielded) and alternate weapons.
     And if you have proficiency in the "two weapon combat" skill, you  may
     wield  both  weapons  simultaneously as primary and secondary; use the
     `X' command to engage or disengage that.  Only some types  of  charac-
     ters  (barbarians,  for  instance) have the necessary skill available.
     Even with that skill, using two weapons at once incurs  a  penalty  in
     the  chance  to hit your target compared to using just one weapon at a
     time.

          There might be times when you'd rather not wield  any  weapon  at
     all.  To accomplish that, wield `-', or else use the `A' command which
     allows you to unwield the current weapon in  addition  to  taking  off
     other worn items.

          Those  of you in the audience who are AD&D players, be aware that
     each weapon which existed in AD&D does roughly the same damage to mon-
     sters  in  NetHack.   Some  of  the  more obscure weapons (such as the
     aklys, lucern hammer, and bec-de-corbin) are defined in an appendix to


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     Unearthed Arcana, an AD&D supplement.

          The  commands  to  use  weapons are `w' (wield), `t' (throw), `f'
     (fire), `Q' (quiver), `x' (exchange), `X' (twoweapon), and  "#enhance"
     (see below).

     7.4.1.  Throwing and shooting

          You  can  throw just about anything via the `t' command.  It will
     prompt for the item to throw; picking `?' will  list  things  in  your
     inventory  which  are  considered  likely to be thrown, or picking `*'
     will list your entire inventory.  After you've chosen what  to  throw,
     you  will  be prompted for a direction rather than for a specific tar-
     get.  The distance something can be thrown depends mainly on the  type
     of object and your strength.  Arrows can be thrown by hand, but can be
     thrown much farther and will be more likely to hit when  thrown  while
     you are wielding a bow.

          Some  weapons  will return when thrown.  A boomerang--provided it
     fails to hit anything--is an obvious example.  If  an  aklys  (thonged
     club)  is thrown while it is wielded, it will return even when it hits
     something.  A sufficiently strong hero can throw the warhammer  Mjoll-
     nir;  when  thrown by a Valkyrie it will return too.  However, aklyses
     and Mjollnir occasionally fail to return.   Returning  thrown  objects
     occasionally  fail  to  be caught, sometimes even hitting the thrower,
     but when caught they become re-wielded.

          You can simplify the throwing operation by using the `Q'  command
     to  select  your  preferred  "missile",  then using the `f' command to
     throw it.  You'll be prompted for a direction as above, but you  don't
     have  to  specify which item to throw each time you use `f'.  There is
     also an option, autoquiver, which has NetHack choose another  item  to
     automatically  fill your quiver (or quiver sack, or have at the ready)
     when the inventory slot used for `Q' runs  out.   If  your  quiver  is
     empty,  autoquiver  is  false,  and  you  are  wielding a weapon which
     returns when thrown, you will throw that weapon instead of filling the
     quiver.   The fire command also has extra assistance, if fireassist is
     on it will try to wield a launcher matching the ammo in the quiver.

          Some characters have the ability to throw or shoot  a  volley  of
     multiple  items (from the same stack) in a single action.  Knowing how
     to load several rounds of ammunition at once--or hold several missiles
     in your hand--and still hit a target is not an easy task.  Rangers are
     among those who are adept at this task, as are those with a high level
     of  proficiency  in  the relevant weapon skill (in bow skill if you're
     wielding one to shoot arrows, in crossbow skill if you're wielding one
     to  shoot  bolts,  or  in  sling skill if you're wielding one to shoot
     stones).  The number of items that the character has a chance to  fire
     varies  from  turn  to  turn.   You can explicitly limit the number of
     shots by using a numeric prefix before the `t' or  `f'  command.   For
     example, "2f" (or "n2f" if using number_pad mode) would ensure that at
     most 2 arrows are shot even if you could have fired 3.  If you specify
     a  larger  number  than  would  have been shot ("4f" in this example),
     you'll just end up shooting the same number (3, here) as if  no  limit


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     had  been  specified.   Once the volley is in motion, all of the items
     will travel in the same direction; if the first ones kill  a  monster,
     the others can still continue beyond that spot.

     7.4.2.  Weapon proficiency

          You  will have varying degrees of skill in the weapons available.
     Weapon proficiency, or weapon skills, affect how well you can use par-
     ticular types of weapons, and you'll be able to improve your skills as
     you progress through a game, depending on your role,  your  experience
     level, and use of the weapons.

          For  the  purposes  of  proficiency, weapons have been divided up
     into various groups such as daggers, broadswords, and polearms.   Each
     role  has a limit on what level of proficiency a character can achieve
     for each group.  For instance, wizards can become  highly  skilled  in
     daggers or staves but not in swords or bows.

          The "#enhance" extended command is used to review current weapons
     proficiency (also spell proficiency) and to choose which  skill(s)  to
     improve  when you've used one or more skills enough to become eligible
     to do so.  The skill rankings are "none" (sometimes also  referred  to
     as  "restricted",  because you won't be able to advance), "unskilled",
     "basic", "skilled", and "expert".  Restricted skills simply  will  not
     appear  in  the  list shown by "#enhance".  (Divine intervention might
     unrestrict a  particular  skill,  in  which  case  it  will  start  at
     unskilled and be limited to basic.)  Some characters can enhance their
     barehanded combat or martial arts skill beyond expert to  "master"  or
     "grand master".

          Use  of  a  weapon  in  which you're restricted or unskilled will
     incur a modest penalty in the chance to hit a monster and also in  the
     amount  of  damage  done  when you do hit; at basic level, there is no
     penalty or bonus; at skilled level, you receive a modest bonus in  the
     chance to hit and amount of damage done; at expert level, the bonus is
     higher.  A successful hit has a chance to boost your training  towards
     the next skill level (unless you've already reached the limit for this
     skill).  Once such training reaches the threshold for that next level,
     you'll  be  told that you feel more confident in your skills.  At that
     point you can use "#enhance" to increase one  or  more  skills.   Such
     skills  are  not  increased  automatically because there is a limit to
     your total overall skills, so you need to actively choose which skills
     to enhance and which to ignore.

     7.4.3.  Two-Weapon combat

          Some  characters  can use two weapons at once.  Setting things up
     to do so can seem cumbersome but becomes second nature with  use.   To
     wield  two  weapons,  you  need  to use the "#twoweapon" command.  But
     first you need to have a weapon in each hand.   (Note  that  your  two
     weapons  are  not  fully equal; the one in the hand you normally wield
     with is considered primary and the other one is considered  secondary.
     The most noticeable difference is after you stop--or before you begin,
     for that matter--wielding two weapons at once.  The  primary  is  your


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     wielded  weapon  and  the  secondary is just an item in your inventory
     that's been designated as alternate weapon.)

          If your primary weapon is wielded but your off hand is  empty  or
     has  the  wrong  weapon,  use the sequence `x', `w', `x' to first swap
     your primary into your off hand, wield whatever you want as  secondary
     weapon,  then  swap  them  both back into the intended hands.  If your
     secondary or alternate weapon is correct but your primary one is  not,
     simply  use  `w'  to wield the primary.  Lastly, if neither hand holds
     the correct weapon, use `w', `x', `w' to first wield the intended sec-
     ondary, swap it to off hand, and then wield the primary.

          The  whole  process  can  be simplified via use of the pushweapon
     option.  When it is enabled, then using `w' to wield something  causes
     the  currently wielded weapon to become your alternate weapon.  So the
     sequence `w', `w' can be used to first wield the weapon you intend  to
     be  secondary,  and  then wield the one you want as primary which will
     push the first into secondary position.

          When in two-weapon combat mode, using  the  `X'  command  toggles
     back  to single-weapon mode.  Throwing or dropping either of the weap-
     ons or having one of them be stolen or destroyed will  also  make  you
     revert to single-weapon combat.

     7.5.  Armor (`[')

          Lots  of  unfriendly things lurk about; you need armor to protect
     yourself from their blows.  Some types of armor offer  better  protec-
     tion  than  others.  Your armor class is a measure of this protection.
     Armor class (AC) is measured as in AD&D, with 10 being the  equivalent
     of  no  armor,  and  lower numbers meaning better armor.  Each suit of
     armor which exists in AD&D gives the same protection in NetHack.

          Here is a list of the armor class values  provided  by  suits  of
     armor:
                   Dragon scale mail                        1
                   Plate mail, Crystal plate mail           3
                   Bronze plate mail, Splint mail,
                      Banded mail, Dwarvish mithril-coat    4
                   Chain mail, Elven mithril-coat           5
                   Scale mail, Orcish chain mail            6
                   Ring mail, Studded leather armor,
                      Dragon scales                         7
                   Leather armor, Orcish ring mail          8
                   Leather jacket                           9
                   none                                    10

          You  can  also wear other pieces of armor (cloak over suit, shirt
     under suit, helmet, gloves, boots, shield) to lower your  armor  class
     even further.  Most of these provide a one or two point improvement to
     AC (making the overall value smaller and eventually negative) but  can
     also  be  enchanted.   Shirts are an exception; they don't provide any
     protection unless enchanted.  Some cloaks also don't improve  AC  when
     unenchanted  but all cloaks offer some protection against rust or cor-


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     rosion to suits  worn  under  them  and  against  some  monster  touch
     attacks.

          If  a  piece  of armor is enchanted, its armor protection will be
     better (or worse) than normal, and its "plus" (or minus) will subtract
     from  your  armor  class.  For example, a +1 chain mail would give you
     better protection than normal chain mail, lowering  your  armor  class
     one  unit further to 4.  When you put on a piece of armor, you immedi-
     ately find out the armor class and any "plusses" it provides.   Cursed
     pieces  of armor usually have negative enchantments (minuses) in addi-
     tion to being unremovable.

          Many types of armor are subject to some kind of damage like rust.
     Such  damage  can  be repaired.  Some types of armor may inhibit spell
     casting.

          The nudist option can be set (prior to game start) to attempt  to
     play  the  entire game without wearing any armor (a self-imposed chal-
     lenge which is extremely difficult to accomplish).

          The commands to use armor are `W' (wear) and `T' (take off).  The
     `A' command can be used to take off armor as well as other worn items.
     Also, `P' (put on) and `R' (remove) which are normally for accessories
     can  be  used  for armor, but pieces of armor won't be shown as likely
     candidates in a prompt for choosing what to put on or remove.

     7.6.  Food (`%')

          Food is necessary to survive.  If you go too long without  eating
     you  will faint, and eventually die of starvation.  Some types of food
     will spoil, and become unhealthy  to  eat,  if  not  protected.   Food
     stored  in ice boxes or tins ("cans") will usually stay fresh, but ice
     boxes are heavy, and tins take a while to open.

          When you kill monsters, they usually leave corpses which are also
     "food."   Many,  but  not all, of these are edible; some also give you
     special powers when you eat them.  A good rule of thumb  is  "you  are
     what you eat."

          Some  character roles and some monsters are vegetarian.  Vegetar-
     ian monsters will typically never eat animal corpses, while vegetarian
     players can, but with some rather unpleasant side-effects.

          You  can  name one food item after something you like to eat with
     the fruit option.

          The command to eat food is `e'.

     7.7.  Scrolls (`?')

          Scrolls are labeled  with  various  titles,  probably  chosen  by
     ancient  wizards  for their amusement value (for example "READ ME," or
     "THANX MAUD"  backwards).   Scrolls  disappear  after  you  read  them
     (except for blank ones, without magic spells on them).


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          One  of the most useful of these is the scroll of identify, which
     can be used to determine what another object is, whether it is  cursed
     or  blessed,  and  how  many uses it has left.  Some objects of subtle
     enchantment are difficult to identify without these.

          A scroll whose label is known can be read even when the  hero  is
     blind.   If  a scroll has been discovered, it will be listed in inven-
     tory by type rather than by label, but the label is known in that sit-
     uation even though it isn't shown.

          Many  scrolls  produce  a different effect from usual if they are
     blessed or cursed, or read while the hero is confused.

          A mail daemon may run up and deliver mail to you as a  scroll  of
     mail (on versions compiled with this feature).  To use this feature on
     versions where NetHack mail delivery is triggered by  electronic  mail
     appearing  in  your system mailbox, you must let NetHack know where to
     look for new mail by setting the "MAIL" environment  variable  to  the
     file  name of your mailbox.  You may also want to set the "MAILREADER"
     environment variable to the file name  of  your  favorite  reader,  so
     NetHack  can  shell  to  it  when you read the scroll.  On versions of
     NetHack where mail is randomly generated internal to the  game,  these
     environment variables are ignored.  You can disable the mail daemon by
     turning off the mail option.

          The command to read a scroll is `r'.

     7.8.  Potions (`!')

          Potions are distinguished by the color of the liquid  inside  the
     flask.  They disappear after you quaff them.

          Clear  potions are potions of water.  Sometimes these are blessed
     or cursed, resulting in holy or unholy water.  Holy water is the  bane
     of the undead, so potions of holy water are good things to throw (`t')
     at them.  It is also sometimes very useful to dip ("#dip")  an  object
     into a potion.

          The command to drink a potion is `q' (quaff).

     7.9.  Wands (`/')

          Wands usually have multiple magical charges.  Some types of wands
     require a direction in which to zap them.  You can also  zap  them  at
     yourself  (just give a `.' or `s' for the direction).  Be warned, how-
     ever, for this is often unwise.  Other types of wands don't require  a
     direction.  The number of charges in a wand is random and decreases by
     one whenever you use it.

          When the number of charges left in a wand becomes zero,  attempts
     to  use  the wand will usually result in nothing happening.  Occasion-
     ally, however, it may be possible to squeeze the last few mana  points
     from  an  otherwise  spent wand, destroying it in the process.  A wand
     may be recharged by using suitable magic, but doing so runs  the  risk


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     of causing it to explode.  The chance for such an explosion starts out
     very small and increases each time the wand is recharged.

          In a truly desperate situation, when your back is up against  the
     wall,  you  might decide to go for broke and break your wand.  This is
     not for the faint of heart.  Doing so will almost  certainly  cause  a
     catastrophic release of magical energies.

          When  you have fully identified a particular wand, inventory dis-
     play will include additional information in parentheses: the number of
     times  it  has been recharged followed by a colon and then by its cur-
     rent number of charges.  A current charge count of  -1  is  a  special
     case indicating that the wand has been cancelled.

          The  command  to  use a wand is `z' (zap).  To break one, use the
     `a' (apply) command.

     7.10.  Rings (`=')

          Rings are very useful items, since they are relatively  permanent
     magic,  unlike  the  usually fleeting effects of potions, scrolls, and
     wands.

          Putting on a ring activates its magic.  You can wear at most  two
     rings at any time, one on the ring finger of each hand.

          Most  worn  rings also cause you to grow hungry more rapidly, the
     rate varying with the type of ring.

          When wearing gloves, rings are worn underneath.   If  the  gloves
     are  cursed,  rings cannot be put on and any already being worn cannot
     be removed.  When worn gloves aren't cursed, you don't have  to  manu-
     ally  take  them off before putting on or removing a ring and then re-
     wear them after.  That's done implicitly to avoid unnecessary tedium.

          The commands to use rings are `P'  (put  on)  and  `R'  (remove).
     `A', `W', and `T' can also be used; see Amulets.

     7.11.  Spellbooks (`+')

          Spellbooks  are tomes of mighty magic.  When studied with the `r'
     (read) command, they transfer to the reader the knowledge of  a  spell
     (and therefore eventually become unreadable)--unless the attempt back-
     fires.  Reading a cursed spellbook or one  with  mystic  runes  beyond
     your ken can be harmful to your health!

          A  spell  (even when learned) can also backfire when you cast it.
     If you attempt to cast a spell well above your experience level, or if
     you have little skill with the appropriate spell type, or cast it at a
     time when your luck is particularly bad, you can end up  wasting  both
     the energy and the time required in casting.

          Casting  a  spell  calls  forth magical energies and focuses them
     with your naked mind.  Some of the magical energy released comes  from


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     within you.  Casting temporarily drains your magical power, which will
     slowly be recovered, and causes you to need additional food.   Casting
     of  spells  also requires practice.  With practice, your skill in each
     category of spell casting will improve.  Over time, however, your mem-
     ory of each spell will dim, and you will need to relearn it.

          Some spells require a direction in which to cast them, similar to
     wands.  To cast one at yourself, just give a `.' or `s' for the direc-
     tion.   A few spells require you to pick a target location rather than
     just specify a particular direction.  Other spells don't  require  any
     direction or target.

          Just  as weapons are divided into groups in which a character can
     become proficient (to varying degrees), spells are similarly  grouped.
     Successfully  casting  a  spell  exercises  its skill group; using the
     "#enhance" command to advance  a  sufficiently  exercised  skill  will
     affect  all  spells within the group.  Advanced skill may increase the
     potency of  spells,  reduce  their  risk  of  failure  during  casting
     attempts, and improve the accuracy of the estimate for how much longer
     they will be retained in your memory.  Skill  slots  are  shared  with
     weapons skills.  (See also the section on "Weapon proficiency".)

          Casting a spell also requires flexible movement, and wearing var-
     ious types of armor may interfere with that.

          The command to read a spellbook is the same as for  scrolls,  `r'
     (read).   The  `+'  command  lists  each spell you know along with its
     level, skill category, chance of failure when casting, and an estimate
     of  how  strongly  it  is  remembered.  The `Z' (cast) command casts a
     spell.

     7.12.  Tools (`(')

          Tools are miscellaneous  objects  with  various  purposes.   Some
     tools  have a limited number of uses, akin to wand charges.  For exam-
     ple, lamps burn out after a while.  Other tools are containers,  which
     objects can be placed into or taken out of.

          Some  tools  (such  as a blindfold) can be worn and can be put on
     and removed like other  accessories  (rings,  amulets);  see  Amulets.
     Other  tools  (such as pick-axe) can be wielded as weapons in addition
     to being applied for their usual purpose, and in  some  cases  (again,
     pick-axe) become wielded as a weapon even when applied.

          The  blind  option can be set (prior to game start) to attempt to
     play the entire game without being able to see (a  self-imposed  chal-
     lenge which is very difficult to accomplish).

          The command to use a tool is `a' (apply).

     7.12.1.  Containers

          You  may  encounter  bags,  boxes, and chests in your travels.  A
     tool of this sort can be opened with the "#loot" extended command when


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     you  are  standing  on top of it (that is, on the same floor spot), or
     with the `a' (apply) command  when  you  are  carrying  it.   However,
     chests  are  often  locked, and are in any case unwieldy objects.  You
     must set one down before unlocking it by using a key  or  lock-picking
     tool  with  the  `a' (apply) command, by kicking it with the `^D' com-
     mand, or by using a  weapon  to  force  the  lock  with  the  "#force"
     extended command.

          Some  chests are trapped, causing nasty things to happen when you
     unlock or open them.  You can check for and try  to  deactivate  traps
     with the "#untrap" extended command.

          When  the  contents of a container are known, that container will
     be described as something like "a sack containing 3 items".   In  this
     example,  the 3 refers to number of stacks of compatible items, not to
     the total number of individual items.  So a sack holding  2  sky  blue
     potions,  7 arrows, and 350 gold pieces would be described as having 3
     items rather than 10 or 359.  And you would  need  to  have  3  unused
     inventory  slots  available  in  order to take everything out (for the
     case where the items you remove don't combine into bigger stacks  with
     things you're already carrying).

          If a chest or large box is described as "broken", that means that
     it can't be locked rather than that it no longer functions as  a  con-
     tainer.

          The  apply  and loot commands allow you to take out and/or put in
     an arbitrary number of items in a single operation.  If  you  want  to
     take  everything out of a container, you can use the "#tip" command to
     pour the contents onto the floor.  This may be your only  way  to  get
     things  out  if  your  hands  are stuck to a cursed two-handed weapon.
     When your hands aren't stuck, you have the potential to pour the  con-
     tents  into  another  container.   (As of this writing, the other con-
     tainer must be carried rather than on the floor.)

     7.13.  Amulets (`"')

          Amulets are very similar to rings, and often more powerful.  Like
     rings,  amulets have various magical properties, some beneficial, some
     harmful, which are activated by putting them on.

          Only one amulet may be worn at a time, around  your  neck.   Like
     wearing  rings, wearing an amulet affects your metabolism, causing you
     to grow hungry more rapidly.

          The commands to use amulets are the same as for rings,  `P'  (put
     on)  and  `R'  (remove).  `A' can be used to remove various worn items
     including amulets.  Also, `W' (wear) and `T' (take off) which are nor-
     mally  for  armor can be used for amulets and other accessories (rings
     and eyewear), but accessories won't be shown as likely candidates in a
     prompt for choosing what to wear or take off.





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     7.14.  Gems (`*')

          Some  gems are valuable, and can be sold for a lot of gold.  They
     are also a far more efficient way of carrying your  riches.   Valuable
     gems increase your score if you bring them with you when you exit.

          Other small rocks are also categorized as gems, but they are much
     less valuable.  All rocks, however, can be used as projectile  weapons
     (if  you have a sling).  In the most desperate of cases, you can still
     throw them by hand.

     7.15.  Large rocks (``')

          Statues and boulders are not particularly useful, and are  gener-
     ally heavy.  It is rumored that some statues are not what they seem.

          Boulders  occasionally block your path.  You can push one forward
     (by attempting to walk onto its spot) when nothing blocks its path, or
     you  can  smash it into a pile of small rocks with breaking magic or a
     pick-axe.  It is possible to move onto a boulder's location if certain
     conditions are met; ordinarily one of those conditions is that pushing
     it any further be blocked.  Using the  move-without-picking-up  prefix
     (default  key  `m') prior to the direction of movement will attempt to
     move to a boulder's location without pushing it  in  addition  to  the
     prefix's usual action of suppressing auto-pickup at the destination.

          Very  large  humanoids  (giants and their ilk) have been known to
     pick up boulders and use them as missile weapons.

          Unlike boulders, statues can't be pushed, but don't  need  to  be
     because  they  don't  block  movement.  They can be smashed into rocks
     though.

          For some configurations of the program,  statues  are  no  longer
     shown  as  ``'  but by the letter representing the monster they depict
     instead.

     7.16.  Gold (`$')

          Gold adds to your score, and you can buy things in shops with it.
     There  are  a number of monsters in the dungeon that may be influenced
     by the amount of gold you are carrying (shopkeepers aside).

          Gold pieces are the only type of object where  bless/curse  state
     does  not  apply.   They're  always  uncursed  but  never described as
     uncursed even if you turn off the implicit_uncursed option.   You  can
     set  the  goldX option if you prefer to have gold pieces be treated as
     bless/curse state unknown rather than as known to be  uncursed.   Only
     matters  when  you're using an object selection prompt that can filter
     by "BUCX" state.






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     7.17.  Persistence of Objects

          Normally, if you have seen an object at a particular map location
     and  move to another location where you can't directly see that object
     any more, it will continue to be displayed on your map.  That  remains
     the  case even if it is not actually there any more--perhaps a monster
     has picked it up or it has rotted away--until you can see or feel that
     location again.  One notable exception is that if the object gets cov-
     ered by the "remembered, unseen monster" marker.  When that marker  is
     later removed after you've verified that no monster is there, you will
     have forgotten that there was any object there regardless  of  whether
     the  unseen  monster actually took the object.  If the object is still
     there, then once you see or feel that location again you will  re-dis-
     cover the object and resume remembering it.

          The situation is the same for a pile of objects, except that only
     the top item of the pile is displayed.  The hilite_pile option can  be
     enabled in order to show an item differently when it is the top one of
     a pile.

     8.  Conduct

          As if winning NetHack were not difficult enough, certain  players
     seek  to challenge themselves by imposing restrictions on the way they
     play the game.  The game automatically  tracks  some  of  these  chal-
     lenges,  which can be checked at any time with the #conduct command or
     at the end of the game.  When you perform an  action  which  breaks  a
     challenge,  it  will  no  longer  be listed.  This gives players extra
     "bragging rights" for winning the game with  these  challenges.   Note
     that  it  is perfectly acceptable to win the game without resorting to
     these restrictions and that it is unusual for  players  to  adhere  to
     challenges the first time they win the game.

          Several  of  the  challenges are related to eating behavior.  The
     most difficult of these is the foodless challenge.  Although creatures
     can  survive long periods of time without food, there is a physiologi-
     cal need for water; thus there is no restriction  on  drinking  bever-
     ages,  even  if  they  provide some minor food benefits.  Calling upon
     your god for help with starvation does not violate any food challenges
     either.

          A  strict  vegan  diet  is one which avoids any food derived from
     animals.  The primary source of nutrition is  fruits  and  vegetables.
     The  corpses  and  tins of blobs (`b'), jellies (`j'), and fungi (`F')
     are also considered to be vegetable matter.   Certain  human  food  is
     prepared without animal products; namely, lembas wafers, cram rations,
     food rations (gunyoki), K-rations, and C-rations.   Metal  or  another
     normally indigestible material eaten while polymorphed into a creature
     that can digest it is also considered vegan food.  Note  however  that
     eating such items still counts against foodless conduct.

          Vegetarians  do not eat animals; however, they are less selective
     about eating animal byproducts than vegans.  In addition to the  vegan
     items  listed above, they may eat any kind of pudding (`P') other than


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     the black puddings, eggs and food made from eggs (fortune cookies  and
     pancakes),  food made with milk (cream pies and candy bars), and lumps
     of royal jelly.  Monks are expected to observe a vegetarian diet.

          Eating any kind of meat violates the vegetarian, vegan, and food-
     less  conducts.   This  includes tripe rations, the corpses or tins of
     any monsters not mentioned above, and the various other chunks of meat
     found  in the dungeon.  Swallowing and digesting a monster while poly-
     morphed is treated as  if  you  ate  the  creature's  corpse.   Eating
     leather,  dragon hide, or bone items while polymorphed into a creature
     that can digest it, or eating monster brains while polymorphed into  a
     mind  flayer,  is considered eating an animal, although wax is only an
     animal byproduct.

          Regardless of conduct, there will be some items which  are  indi-
     gestible, and others which are hazardous to eat.  Using a swallow-and-
     digest attack against a monster is equivalent to eating the  monster's
     corpse.   Please  note  that the term "vegan" is used here only in the
     context of diet.  You are still free to choose  not  to  use  or  wear
     items  derived  from  animals (e.g. leather, dragon hide, bone, horns,
     coral), but the game will not keep track of this for you.   Also  note
     that  "milky" potions may be a translucent white, but they do not con-
     tain milk, so they are compatible with a vegan diet.  Slime  molds  or
     player-defined  "fruits",  although they could be anything from "cher-
     ries" to "pork chops", are also assumed to be vegan.

          An atheist is one who rejects religion.  This means that you can-
     not #pray, #offer sacrifices to any god, #turn undead, or #chat with a
     priest.  Particularly selective readers may argue that playing Monk or
     Priest  characters  should violate this conduct; that is a choice left
     to the player.  Offering the Amulet of Yendor to your god is necessary
     to win the game and is not counted against this conduct.  You are also
     not penalized for being spoken to by an  angry  god,  priest(ess),  or
     other religious figure; a true atheist would hear the words but attach
     no special meaning to them.

          Most players fight with a wielded weapon (or tool intended to  be
     wielded  as  a  weapon).  Another challenge is to win the game without
     using such a wielded weapon.  You are still permitted to throw,  fire,
     and  kick  weapons; use a wand, spell, or other type of item; or fight
     with your hands and feet.

          In NetHack, a pacifist refuses to cause the death  of  any  other
     monster  (i.e.  if you would get experience for the death).  This is a
     particularly difficult challenge, although it  is  still  possible  to
     gain experience by other means.

          An  illiterate  character  does not read or write.  This includes
     reading a scroll, spellbook, fortune cookie message, or t-shirt; writ-
     ing  a  scroll; or making an engraving of anything other than a single
     "X" (the traditional signature of an illiterate person).   Reading  an
     engraving,  or  any item that is absolutely necessary to win the game,
     is not counted against this conduct.   The  identity  of  scrolls  and
     spellbooks  (and  knowledge  of  spells) in your starting inventory is


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     assumed to be learned from your teachers prior to  the  start  of  the
     game and isn't counted.

          There  is  a  side-branch  to  the main dungeon called "Sokoban,"
     briefly described in the earlier section about  Traps.   As  mentioned
     there,  the  goal  is  to push boulders into pits and/or holes to plug
     those in order to both get the boulders out of the way and be able  to
     go  past  the  traps.   There are some special "rules" that are active
     when in that branch of the dungeon.  Some  rules  can't  be  bypassed,
     such  as  being unable to push a boulder diagonally.  Other rules can,
     such as not smashing boulders with magic or tools, but doing so causes
     you  to receive a luck penalty.  No message about that is given at the
     time, but it is tracked as a conduct.  The #conduct command and end of
     game  disclosure  will  report  whether you have abided by the special
     rules of Sokoban, and if not, how many times you violated  them,  pro-
     viding you with a way to discover which actions incur bad luck so that
     you can be better informed about whether or  not  to  avoid  repeating
     those actions in the future.  (Note:  the Sokoban conduct will only be
     displayed if you have entered the Sokoban branch of the dungeon during
     the  current  game.   Once  that has happened, it becomes part of dis-
     closed conduct even if you haven't done  anything  interesting  there.
     Ending  the  game with "never broke the Sokoban rules" conduct is most
     meaningful if you also manage to perform  the  "obtained  the  Sokoban
     prize" achievement (see Achievements below).)

          There  are  several  other challenges tracked by the game.  It is
     possible to eliminate one or more species  of  monsters  by  genocide;
     playing without this feature is considered a challenge.  When the game
     offers you an opportunity to genocide monsters, you may  respond  with
     the  monster  type  "none" if you want to decline.  You can change the
     form of an item into another item of the same type  ("polypiling")  or
     the  form of your own body into another creature ("polyself") by wand,
     spell, or potion of polymorph; avoiding these effects are each consid-
     ered  challenges.   Polymorphing  monsters,  including  pets, does not
     break either of these challenges.  Finally, you may sometimes  receive
     wishes;  a  game  without  an attempt to wish for any items is a chal-
     lenge, as is a game without wishing for an artifact (even if the arti-
     fact immediately disappears).  When the game offers you an opportunity
     to make a wish for an item, you may choose "nothing" if  you  want  to
     decline.

     8.1.  Achievements

          End  of  game  disclosure  will also display various achievements
     representing progress toward ultimate  ascension,  if  any  have  been
     attained.   They  aren't  directly  related to conduct but are grouped
     with it because they fall into the same category of "bragging  rights"
     and  to  limit the number of questions during disclosure.  Listed here
     roughly in order of difficulty and not necessarily  in  the  order  in
     which you might accomplish them.

         Rank         -  Attained rank title Rank.
         Shop         -  Entered a shop.



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         Temple       -  Entered a temple.
         Mines        -  Entered the Gnomish Mines.
         Town         -  Entered Mine Town.
         Oracle       -  Consulted the Oracle of Delphi.
         Novel        -  Read a passage from a Discworld Novel.
         Sokoban      -  Entered Sokoban.
         Big Room     -  Entered the Big Room.
         Soko-Prize   -  Explored  to  the  top  of Sokoban and found a
                         special item there.
         Mines' End   -  Explored to the bottom of  the  Gnomish  Mines
                         and found a special item there.
         Medusa       -  Defeated Medusa.
         Tune         -  Discovered  the  tune that can be used to open
                         and close the drawbridge on the Castle level.
         Bell         -  Acquired the Bell of Opening.
         Gehennom     -  Entered Gehennom.
         Candle       -  Acquired the Candelabrum of Invocation.
         Book         -  Acquired the Book of the Dead.
         Invocation   -  Gained  access  to  the  bottommost  level  of
                         Gehennom.
         Amulet       -  Acquired the fabled Amulet of Yendor.
         Endgame      -  Reached the Elemental Planes.
         Astral       -  Reached the Astral Plane level.
         Blind        -  Blind from birth.
         Deaf         -  Deaf from birth.
         Nudist       -  Never wore any armor.
         Pauper       -  Started out with no possessions.
         Ascended     -  Delivered the Amulet to its final destination.


     Notes:

          Achievements  are recorded and subsequently reported in the order
     in which they happen during your current game rather  than  the  order
     listed here.

          There  are  nine <Rank> titles for each role, bestowed at experi-
     ence levels 1, 3, 6, 10, 14, 18, 22, 26, and 30.  The one for  experi-
     ence  level 1 is not recorded as an achievement.  Losing enough levels
     to revert to lower rank(s) does not discard the corresponding achieve-
     ment(s).

          There's  no guaranteed Novel so the achievement to read one might
     not always be attainable (except perhaps by wishing).  Similarly,  the
     Big  Room level is not always present.  Unlike with the Novel, there's
     no way to wish for this opportunity.

          The "special items" hidden in Mines'  End  and  Sokoban  are  not
     unique  but are considered to be prizes or rewards for exploring those
     levels since doing so is not necessary to complete the game.   Finding
     other  instances  of the same objects doesn't record the corresponding
     achievement.




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          The Medusa achievement is recorded if she dies  for  any  reason,
     even if you are not directly responsible, and only if she dies.

          The 5-note tune can be learned via trial and error with a musical
     instrument played closely enough--but not too  close!--to  the  Castle
     level's drawbridge or can be given to you via prayer boon.

          Blind,  Deaf,  Nudist, and Pauper are also conducts, and they can
     only be  enabled  by  setting  the  correspondingly  named  option  in
     NETHACKOPTIONS or run-time configuration file prior to game start.  In
     the case of Blind and Deaf, the  option  also  enforces  the  conduct.
     They  aren't  really significant accomplishments unless/until you make
     substantial progress into the dungeon.

     9.  Options

          Due to variations in  personal  tastes  and  conceptions  of  how
     NetHack  should do things, there are options you can set to change how
     NetHack behaves.

     9.1.  Setting the options

          Options may be set in a number of ways.  Within the game, the `O'
     command  allows  you to view all options and change most of them.  You
     can also set options automatically by placing them in a  configuration
     file, or in the NETHACKOPTIONS environment variable.  Some versions of
     NetHack also have front-end programs that allow  you  to  set  options
     before starting the game or a global configuration for system adminis-
     trators.

     9.2.  Using a configuration file

          The default name of the configuration file  varies  on  different
     operating systems.

          On  UNIX,  Linux, and macOS it is ".nethackrc" in the user's home
     directory.  The file may not exist, but it is a normal ASCII text file
     and can be created with any text editor.

          On  Windows,  the  name  is  ".nethackrc"  located  in the folder
     "%USERPROFILE%\NetHack\".  The file may not exist, but it is a  normal
     ASCII  text  file can can be created with any text editor.  After run-
     ning NetHack for the first time, you should find  a  default  template
     for    the   configuration   file   named   ".nethackrc.template"   in
     "%USERPROFILE%\NetHack\".  If you have not created  the  configuration
     file, NetHack will create one for you using the default template file.

          On MS-DOS, it is "defaults.nh" in the same folder as nethack.exe.

          Any  line  in the configuration file starting with `#' is treated
     as a comment and ignored.  Empty lines are ignored.

          Any line beginning with `[' and ending in `]' is a section marker
     (the  closing  `]' can be followed by whitespace and then an arbitrary


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     comment beginning with `#').  The text between the square brackets  is
     the  section  name.   Section  markers  are  only valid after a CHOOSE
     directive and their names are case-insensitive.  Lines after a section
     marker  belong  to  that  section up until another section starts or a
     marker without a name is encountered or the file ends.   Lines  within
     sections  are ignored unless a CHOOSE directive has selected that sec-
     tion.

          You can use different configuration directives in the file,  some
     of  which  can be used multiple times.  In general, the directives are
     written in capital letters, followed by an equals  sign,  followed  by
     settings particular to that directive.

          Here is a list of allowed directives:

     OPTIONS
       There are two types of options, boolean and compound options.  Bool-
       ean options toggle a setting on or off, while compound options  take
       more  diverse  values.   Prefix a boolean option with "no" or `!' to
       turn it off.  For compound options, the option name  and  value  are
       separated  by  a colon.  Some options are persistent, and apply only
       to new games.  You can specify multiple OPTIONS directives, and mul-
       tiple  options  separated  by  commas in a single OPTIONS directive.
       (Comma separated options are processed from right to left.)

       Example:

            OPTIONS=dogname:Fido
            OPTIONS=!legacy,autopickup,pickup_types:$"=/!?+

     HACKDIR
       Default location of files NetHack needs. On Windows HACKDIR defaults
       to  the  location of the NetHack.exe or NetHackw.exe file so setting
       HACKDIR to override that is not usually necessary or recommended.

     LEVELDIR
       The location that in-progress level files are  stored.  Defaults  to
       HACKDIR, must be writable.

     SAVEDIR
       The  location  where saved games are kept. Defaults to HACKDIR, must
       be writable.

     BONESDIR
       The location that bones files are kept. Defaults to HACKDIR, must be
       writable.

     LOCKDIR
       The location that file synchronization locks are stored. Defaults to
       HACKDIR, must be writable.

     TROUBLEDIR
       The location that a record of game aborts  and  self-diagnosed  game
       problems is kept. Defaults to HACKDIR, must be writable.


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     AUTOCOMPLETE
       Enable  or  disable an extended command autocompletion.  Autocomple-
       tion has no effect for the X11 windowport.  You can specify multiple
       autocompletions.   To  enable autocompletion, list the extended com-
       mand.  Prefix the command with "!" to disable the autocompletion for
       that command.

       Example:

            AUTOCOMPLETE=zap,!annotate

     AUTOPICKUP_EXCEPTION
       Set  exceptions  to  the  pickup_types option.  See the "Configuring
       Autopickup Exceptions" section.

     BINDINGS
       Change the key bindings of some  special  keys,  menu  accelerators,
       extended commands, or mouse buttons.  You can specify multiple bind-
       ings.  Format is key followed by the command, separated by a  colon.
       See the "Changing Key Bindings" section for more information.

       Example:

            BIND=^X:getpos.autodescribe

     CHOOSE
       Chooses at random one of the comma-separated parameters as an active
       section name.  Lines in other sections are ignored.

       Example:

            OPTIONS=color
            CHOOSE=char A,char B
            [char A]
            OPTIONS=role:arc,race:dwa,align:law,gender:fem
            [char B]
            OPTIONS=role:wiz,race:elf,align:cha,gender:mal
            [] #end of CHOOSE
            OPTIONS=!rest_on_space

       If [] is present, the preceding section is closed and no new section
       begins;  whatever follows will be common to all sections.  Otherwise
       the last section extends to the end of the options file.

     MENUCOLOR
       Highlight menu lines with different colors.   See  the  "Configuring
       Menu Colors" section.

     MSGTYPE
       Change  the  way messages are shown in the top status line.  See the
       "Configuring Message Types" section.

     ROGUESYMBOLS
       Custom symbols for the rogue level's symbol set.  See SYMBOLS below.


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     SOUND
       Define a sound mapping.  See the "Configuring User Sounds" section.

     SOUNDDIR
       Define the directory that contains the sound files.  See  the  "Con-
       figuring User Sounds" section.

     SYMBOLS
       Override  one or more symbols in the symbol set used for all dungeon
       levels except for the  special  rogue  level.   See  the  "Modifying
       NetHack Symbols" section.

       Example:

            # replace small punctuation (tick marks) with digits
            SYMBOLS=S_golem:7

     WIZKIT
       Debug mode only:  extra items to add to initial inventory.  Value is
       the name of a text file containing a list of  item  names,  one  per
       line,  up  to a maximum of 128 lines.  Each line is processed by the
       function that handles wishing.

       Example:

            WIZKIT=~/wizkit.txt



     Here is an example of configuration file contents:

     # Set your character's role, race, gender, and alignment.
     OPTIONS=role:Valkyrie, race:Human, gender:female, align:lawful
     #
     # Turn on autopickup, set automatically picked up object types
     OPTIONS=autopickup,pickup_types:$"=/!?+
     #
     # Map customization
     OPTIONS=color           # Display things in color if possible
     OPTIONS=lit_corridor    # Show lit corridors differently
     OPTIONS=hilite_pet,hilite_pile
     # Replace small punctuation (tick marks) with digits
     OPTIONS=boulder:0
     SYMBOLS=S_golem:7
     #
     # No startup splash screen. Windows GUI only.
     OPTIONS=!splash_screen



     9.3.  Using the NETHACKOPTIONS environment variable

          The NETHACKOPTIONS variable is a comma-separated list of  initial
     values  for  the  various options.  Some can only be turned on or off.


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     You turn one of these on by adding the name of the option to the list,
     and  turn it off by typing a `!' or "no" before the name.  Others take
     a character string as a value.  You can set string options  by  typing
     the  option  name,  a  colon or equals sign, and then the value of the
     string.  The value is terminated by the  next  comma  or  the  end  of
     string.

          For  example,  to set up an environment variable so that color is
     on, legacy is off, character name is set to "Blue Meanie",  and  named
     fruit is set to "lime", you would enter the command

     % setenv NETHACKOPTIONS "color,\!leg,name:Blue Meanie,fruit:lime"

     in  csh  (note  the  need to escape the `!' since it's special to that
     shell), or the pair of commands

     $ NETHACKOPTIONS="color,!leg,name:Blue Meanie,fruit:lime"
     $ export NETHACKOPTIONS

     in sh, ksh, or bash.

          The NETHACKOPTIONS value is effectively  the  same  as  a  single
     OPTIONS  directive  in a configuration file.  The "OPTIONS=" prefix is
     implied and comma separated options are processed from right to  left.
     Other  types  of  configuration directives such as BIND or MSGTYPE are
     not allowed.

          Instead of a comma-separated list of options, NETHACKOPTIONS  can
     be  set  to the full name of a configuration file you want to use.  If
     that full name doesn't start with a slash, precede it  with  `@'  (at-
     sign)  to  let  NetHack know that the rest is intended as a file name.
     If it does start with `/', the at-sign is optional.

     9.4.  Customization options

          Here are explanations of what the various options do.   Character
     strings  that  are  too  long  may  be truncated.  Some of the options
     listed may be inactive in your dungeon.

          Some options are persistent, and are  saved  and  reloaded  along
     with the game.  Changing a persistent option in the configuration file
     applies only to new games.

     accessiblemsg
       Add location or direction information to messages (default is off).

     acoustics
       Enable messages about what your character hears (default on).   Note
       that this has nothing to do with your computer's audio capabilities.
       Persistent.

     alignment
       Your   starting   alignment   (align:lawful,    align:neutral,    or
       align:chaotic).   You may specify just the first letter.  Many roles


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       and the non-human races restrict which alignments are allowed.   See
       role for a description of how to use negation to exclude choices.

       If align is not specified, there is no default value; player will be
       prompted unless role and/or race  forces  a  choice  for  alignment.
       Cannot be set with the `O' command.  Persistent.

     autodescribe
       Automatically  describe the terrain under cursor when asked to get a
       location on the map (default true).  The  whatis_coord  option  con-
       trols whether the description includes map coordinates.

     autodig
       Automatically dig if you are wielding a digging tool and moving into
       a place that can be dug (default false).  Persistent.

     autoopen
       Walking into a closed door attempts to open it (default true).  Per-
       sistent.

     autopickup
       Automatically  pick  up  things  onto  which you move (default off).
       Persistent.

       See pickup_types and also autopickup_exception for  ways  to  refine
       the behavior.

       Note: prior to version 3.7.0, the default for autopickup was on.

     autoquiver
       This  option  controls  what happens when you attempt the `f' (fire)
       command when nothing is quivered or readied (default  false).   When
       true,  the  computer  will  fill  your quiver or quiver sack or make
       ready some suitable weapon.  Note that it will not take into account
       the  blessed/cursed  status,  enchantment, damage, or quality of the
       weapon; you are free to manually fill your quiver or quiver sack  or
       make  ready  with the `Q' command instead.  If no weapon is found or
       the option is false, the `t' (throw) command  is  executed  instead.
       Persistent.

     autounlock
       Controls  what  action to take when attempting to walk into a locked
       door or to loot a locked container.   Takes  a  plus-sign  separated
       list of values:

       Untrap    - prompt about whether to attempt to find a trap; it might
                   fail to find one even when present; if it does find one,
                   it  will ask whether you want to try to disarm the trap;
                   if you decline, your character will forget that the door
                   or box is trapped;
       Apply-Key - if  carrying a key or other unlocking tool, prompt about
                   using it;
       Kick      - kick the door (if you omit untrap or decline to  attempt
                   untrap  and  you omit apply-key or you lack a key or you


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                   decline to use the key; has no effect on containers);
       Force     - try to force  a  container's  lid  with  your  currently
                   wielded weapon (if you omit untrap or decline to attempt
                   untrap and you omit apply-key or you lack a key  or  you
                   decline to use the key; has no effect on doors);
       None      - none  of  the  above;  can't  be combined with the other
                   choices.

       Omitting the value is treated as if autounlock:apply-key.  Preceding
       autounlock with `!' or "no" is treated as autounlock:none.

       Applying  a  key  might  set  off a trap if the door or container is
       trapped.  Successfully kicking a door will  break  it  and  wake  up
       nearby  monsters.   Successfully forcing a container open will break
       its lock and might also destroy some of its contents or damage  your
       weapon or both.

       The default is Apply-Key.  Persistent.

     blind
       Start the character permanently blind (default false).  Persistent.

     bones
       Allow saving and loading bones files (default true).  Persistent.

     boulder
       Set  the  character  used to display boulders (default is the "large
       rock" class symbol, ``').

     catname
       Name your starting cat (for example  "catname:Morris").   Cannot  be
       set with the `O' command.

     character
       Synonym  for  "role" to pick the type of your character (for example
       "character:Monk").  See role for more details.

     checkpoint
       Save game state after each level change, for possible recovery after
       program crash (default on).  Persistent.

     cmdassist
       Have  the  game  provide  some additional command assistance for new
       players if it detects some anticipated mistakes (default on).

     confirm
       Have user confirm attacks on pets, shopkeepers, and other  peaceable
       creatures (default on).  Persistent.

     dark_room
       Show out-of-sight areas of lit rooms (default on).  Persistent.

     deaf
       Start the character permanently deaf (default false).  Persistent.


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     dropped_nopick
       If  this  option  is on, items you dropped will not be automatically
       picked  up,  even  if  autopickup  is  also  on  and  they  are   in
       pickup_types  or match a positive autopickup exception (default on).
       Persistent.

     disclose
       Controls what information the program reveals when  the  game  ends.
       Value is a space separated list of prompting/category pairs (default
       is "ni na nv ng nc no", prompt with default response of `n' for each
       candidate).  Persistent.  The possibilities are:

            i - disclose your inventory;
            a - disclose your attributes;
            v - summarize monsters that have been vanquished;
            g - list monster species that have been genocided;
            c - display your conduct; also achievements, if any;
            o - display dungeon overview.

       Each  disclosure  possibility can optionally be preceded by a prefix
       which lets you refine how it behaves.  Here are the valid prefixes:

            y - prompt you and default to yes on the prompt;
            n - prompt you and default to no on the prompt;
            + - disclose it without prompting;
            - - do not disclose it and do not prompt.

       The listings of vanquished monsters and of genocided  types  can  be
       sorted, so there are two additional choices for `v' and `g':

            ? - prompt you and default to ask on the prompt;
            # - disclose it without prompting, ask for sort order.

       Asking  refers to picking one of the orderings from a menu.  The `+'
       disclose without prompting choice, or being prompted  and  answering
       `y'  rather  than `a', will default to showing monsters in the order
       specified by the sortvanquished option.

       Omitted categories are implicitly added with `n' prefix.   Specified
       categories  with omitted prefix implicitly use `+' prefix.  Order of
       the disclosure categories does not matter, program display for  end-
       of-game disclosure follows a set sequence.

       (for example "disclose:yi na +v -g o") The example sets inventory to
       prompt and default to yes, attributes to prompt and default  to  no,
       vanquished  to disclose without prompting, genocided to not disclose
       and not prompt, conduct to implicitly prompt and default to no,  and
       overview to disclose without prompting.

       Note  that the vanquished monsters list includes all monsters killed
       by traps and each other as well as by you.  And the dungeon overview
       shows  all  levels  you had visited but does not reveal things about
       them that you hadn't discovered.



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     dogname
       Name your starting dog (for example "dogname:Fang").  Cannot be  set
       with the `O' command.

     extmenu
       Changes  the  extended commands interface to pop-up a menu of avail-
       able commands.  It is  keystroke  compatible  with  the  traditional
       interface except that it does not require that you hit Enter.  It is
       implemented for the tty interface (default off).

       For the X11 interface, which always uses  a  menu  for  choosing  an
       extended  command,  it controls whether the menu shows all available
       commands (on) or just the subset of commands which  have  tradition-
       ally been considered extended ones (off).

     female
       An obsolete synonym for "gender:female".  Cannot be set with the `O'
       command.

     fireassist
       This option controls what happens when you attempt  the  `f'  (fire)
       and  don't  have  an appropriate launcher, such as a bow or a sling,
       wielded.  If on, you will automatically wield the launcher.  Default
       is on.

     fixinv
       An object's inventory letter sticks to it when it's dropped (default
       on).  If this is off, dropping an object shifts  all  the  remaining
       inventory letters.  Persistent.

     force_invmenu
       Commands  asking for an inventory item show a menu instead of a text
       query with possible menu letters. Default is off.

     fruit
       Name  a  fruit  after  something  you  enjoy  eating  (for   example
       "fruit:mango") (default "slime mold").  Basically a nostalgic whimsy
       that NetHack uses from time to time.  You should set this  to  some-
       thing  you  find  more appetizing than slime mold.  Apples, oranges,
       pears, bananas, and melons already exist in NetHack,  so  don't  use
       those.

     gender
       Your  starting gender (gender:male or gender:female).  You may spec-
       ify just the first letter.  Although you can still denote your  gen-
       der  using  either of the deprecated male and female options, if the
       gender option is also present it will take precedence.  See role for
       a description of how to use negation to exclude choices.

       If  gender  is not specified, there is no default value; player will
       be prompted unless role and/or race  forces  a  choice  for  gender.
       Cannot be set with the `O' command.  Persistent.




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     goldX
       When filtering objects based on bless/curse state (BUCX), whether to
       treat gold pieces as X (unknown bless/curse state, when "on")  or  U
       (known  to  be  uncursed,  when  "off", the default).  Gold is never
       blessed or cursed, but it is not described as "uncursed"  even  when
       the implicit_uncursed option is "off".

     help
       If  more  information  is available for an object looked at with the
       `/' command, ask if you want to see it (default on).   Turning  help
       off  makes  just  looking  at things faster, since you aren't inter-
       rupted with the "More info?" prompt, but  it  also  means  that  you
       might  miss  some interesting and/or important information.  Persis-
       tent.

     herecmd_menu
       When using a windowport that supports mouse and clicking on yourself
       or  next  to  you, show a menu of possible actions for the location.
       Same as "#herecmdmenu" and "#therecmdmenu" commands.

     hilite_pet
       Visually distinguish pets from similar animals (default  off).   The
       behavior  of  this  option depends on the type of windowing you use.
       In text windowing, text highlighting or inverse video is often used;
       with tiles, generally displays a heart symbol near pets.

       With the tty or curses interface, the petattr option controls how to
       highlight pets and setting it will turn the hilite_pet option on  or
       off as warranted.

     hilite_pile
       Visually  distinguish  piles  of  objects  from  individual  objects
       (default off).  The behavior of this option depends on the  type  of
       windowing  you use.  In text windowing, text highlighting or inverse
       video is often used; with tiles, generally displays  a  small  plus-
       symbol beside the object on the top of the pile.

     hitpointbar
       Show  a hit point bar graph behind your name and title in the status
       display (default off).

       The "curses" interface supports it even if the  status  highlighting
       feature  has been disabled when building the program.  The "tty" and
       "mswin" (aka "Windows GUI") interfaces support  it  only  if  status
       highlighting  is  left enabled when building.  You don't need to set
       up any highlighting rules in order to display the bar.  If there  is
       one  for hitpoints in effect and it specifies color, that color will
       be used for the bar.  However if it specifies video attributes, they
       will be ignored in favor of inverse.  For tty and curses, blink will
       also be used if the current hitpoint value is at or below the criti-
       cal HP threshold.

       The "Qt" interface also supports hitpointbar, by drawing a solid bar
       above the name and title with a hard-coded  color  scheme.   (As  of


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       this writing, having the bar enabled unintentionally inhibits resiz-
       ing the status panel.  To resize that, use the #optionsfull  command
       to  toggle the hitpointbar option off, perform the resize while it's
       off, then use the same command to toggle it back on.)

     horsename
       Name your starting horse (for example "horsename:Trigger").   Cannot
       be set with the `O' command.

     ignintr
       Ignore  interrupt  signals, including breaks (default off).  Persis-
       tent.

     implicit_uncursed
       Omit "uncursed" from object descriptions when it can be deduced from
       other aspects of the description (default on).  Persistent.

       If you use menu coloring, you may want to turn this off.

     legacy
       Display an introductory message when starting the game (default on).
       Persistent.

     lit_corridor
       Show corridor squares seen by night vision or a light source held by
       your character as lit (default off).  Persistent.

     lootabc
       When  using  a  menu  to interact with a container, use the old `a',
       `b', and `c' keyboard shortcuts rather than the mnemonics `o',  `i',
       and `b' (default off).  Persistent.

     mail
       Enable mail delivery during the game (default on).  Persistent.

     male
       An  obsolete  synonym for "gender:male".  Cannot be set with the `O'
       command.

     mention_decor
       Give feedback when walking onto various  dungeon  features  such  as
       stairs,  fountains,  or  altars  which are ordinarily only described
       when covered by one or more objects (default off).   Cannot  be  set
       with the `O' command.  Persistent.

     mention_map
       Give feedback when interesting map locations change (default off).

     mention_walls
       Give  feedback  when  walking against a wall (default off).  Persis-
       tent.

     menucolors
       Enable coloring menu lines (default  off).   See  "Configuring  Menu


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       Colors" on how to configure the colors.

     menustyle
       Controls the method used when you need to choose various objects (in
       response to the Drop (aka droptype)  command,  for  instance).   The
       value  specified should be the first letter of one of the following:
       traditional, combination, full, or partial.  Default is full.   Per-
       sistent.

       Traditional  was  the only method available for very early versions;
       it consists of a prompt for object class characters, followed by  an
       object-by-object  prompt  for all items matching the selected object
       class(es).  Combination starts with a prompt for object class(es) of
       interest,  but  then displays a menu of matching objects rather than
       prompting one-by-one.  Full displays a menu of object classes rather
       than  a  character  prompt,  and then a menu of matching objects for
       selection.  (Choosing its `A' (Autoselect-All) choice skips the sec-
       ond  menu.   To  avoid  choosing that by accident, set paranoid_con-
       firm:AutoAll to require confirmation.)   Partial  skips  the  object
       class filtering and immediately displays a menu of all objects.

     menu_deselect_all
       Key to deselect all items in a menu.  Default `-'.

     menu_deselect_page
       Key to deselect all items on this page of a menu.  Default `\'.

     menu_first_page
       Key to jump to the first page in a menu.  Default `^'.

     menu_headings
       Controls  how  the headings in a menu are highlighted.  Takes a text
       attribute, or text color and attribute separated by ampersand.   For
       allowed  attributes  and colors, see "Configuring Menu Colors".  Not
       all ports can actually display all types.

     menu_invert_all
       Key to invert all items in a menu.  Default `@'.

     menu_invert_page
       Key to invert all items on this page of a menu.  Default `~'.

     menu_last_page
       Key to jump to the last page in a menu.  Default `|'.

     menu_next_page
       Key to go to the next menu page.  Default `>'.

     menu_objsyms
       Inventory and other object menus are normally  separated  by  object
       class (weapons, armor, and so forth), with a menu header line at the
       beginning of each group.  You can have menus add the display  symbol
       for the class of objects for each header line.  You can also add the
       display symbol for the individual item in each menu  entry.   For  a


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       tiles map, that would be a small rendition of an object's tile.  For
       a text map, it is the same character as is  used  for  the  object's
       class, which would be most useful when there are no headers separat-
       ing objects among classes.  Possible values are

       0 - None         - no  symbols  for  either  header  lines  or  menu
                          entries;
       1 - Headers      - show symbols on header lines but not entries;
       2 - Entries      - show symbols on menu entry lines but not headers;
       3 - Both         - show symbols on headers and entries;
       4 - Conditional  - only  show  symbols  for  entries if there are no
                          headers;
       5 - One-or-other - show symbols on headers,  or  on  entries  if  no
                          headers.

       Supported  by  tty  and  curses.   When setting the value, it can be
       specified by digit or keyword.  The  default  value  is  Conditional
       (4).

     menu_overlay
       Do not clear the screen before drawing menus, and align menus to the
       right edge of the screen. Only for the tty port.  (default on)

     menu_previous_page
       Key to go to the previous menu page.  Default `<'.

     menu_search
       Key to search for some text and toggle selection state  of  matching
       menu items.  Default `:'.

     menu_select_all
       Key to select all items in a menu.  Default `.'.

     menu_select_page
       Key to select all items on this page of a menu.  Default `,'.

     menu_shift_left
       Key to scroll a menu--one which has been scrolled right--back to the
       left.  Implemented for perm_invent only by curses and X11.   Default
       `{'.

     menu_shift_right
       Key  to  scroll  a  menu which has text beyond the right edge to the
       right.  Implemented for perm_invent only by curses and X11.  Default
       `}'.

     mon_movement
       Show  a  message  when  hero  notices a monster movement (default is
       off).

     monpolycontrol
       Prompt for new form whenever  any  monster  changes  shape  (default
       off).  Debug mode only.



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     montelecontrol
       Prompt for destination whenever any monster gets teleported (default
       off).  Debug mode only.

     mouse_support
       Allow use of the mouse for input and travel.  Valid settings are:

            0 - disabled
            1 - enabled and make OS adjustments to support mouse use
            2 - like 1 but does not make any OS adjustments

       Omitting a value is the same as specifying 1 and negating mouse_sup-
       port is the same as specifying 0.

     msghistory
       The  number of top line messages to keep (and be able to recall with
       `^P') (default 20).  Cannot be set with the `O' command.

     msg_window
       Allows you to change the way recalled messages are displayed.   Cur-
       rently  it  is  only  supported  for  tty (all four choices) and for
       curses (`f' and `r' choices, default `r').  The possible values are:

            s - single message (default; only choice prior to 3.4.0);
            c - combination, two messages as "single", then as "full";
            f - full window, oldest message first;
            r - full window reversed, newest message first.

       For backward compatibility, no value needs to  be  specified  (which
       defaults  to  "full"), or it can be negated (which defaults to "sin-
       gle").

     name
       Set your character's name (defaults to your  user  name).   You  can
       also  set  your character's role by appending a dash and one or more
       letters of the role (that is, by suffixing one of -A -B -C -H -K  -M
       -P  -Ra -Ro -S -T -V -W).  If -@ is used for the role, then a random
       one will be automatically chosen.

       On some systems, the default is the player's user name;  on  others,
       there is no default and the player will be prompted.  The former can
       made to behave like the latter by specifying a generic name such  as
       ``player''.  Cannot be set with the `O' command.

     news
       Read the NetHack news file, if present (default on).  Since the news
       is shown at the beginning of the game, there's no point  in  setting
       this with the `O' command.

     nudist
       Start the character with no armor (default false).  Persistent.

     null
       Send padding nulls to the terminal (default on).  Persistent.


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     number_pad
       Use digit keys instead of letters to move (default 0 or off).  Valid
       settings are:

        0 - move by letters; "yuhjklbn"
        1 - move by numbers; digit `5' acts as `G' movement prefix
        2 - like 1 but `5' works as `g' prefix instead of as `G'
        3 - by numbers using phone key layout; 123 above, 789 below
        4 - combines 3 with 2; phone layout plus MS-DOS compatibility
       -1 - by letters but use `z' to go northwest, `y' to zap wands

       For backward compatibility, omitting a value is the same as specify-
       ing  1  and  negating number_pad is the same as specifying 0.  (Set-
       tings 2 and 4 are for compatibility with MS-DOS or old PC  Hack;  in
       addition  to the different behavior for `5', `Alt-5' acts as `G' and
       `Alt-0' acts as `I'.  Setting -1 is to accommodate some QWERTZ  key-
       boards  which  have  the  location of the `y' and `z' keys swapped.)
       When moving by numbers, to enter a count prefix for  those  commands
       which  accept one (such as "12s" to search twelve times), precede it
       with the letter `n' ("n12s").

     packorder
       Specify   the   order   to   list   object   types    in    (default
       "")[%?+!=/(*`0_").  The value of this option should be a string con-
       taining the symbols for the various object types.  Any omitted types
       are filled in at the end from the previous order.

     paranoid_confirmation
       A  space  separated  list  of  specific  situations  where alternate
       prompting is desired.  The  default  is  "paranoid_confirmation:pray
       swim trap".

       Confirm     - for  any prompts which are set to require "yes" rather
                     than `y', also  require  "no"  to  reject  instead  of
                     accepting any non-yes response as no; changes pray and
                     AutoAll to require "yes" or `no' too;
       quit        - require "yes" rather than `y' to confirm quitting  the
                     game or switching into non-scoring explore mode;
       die         - require  "yes"  rather  than `y' to confirm dying (not
                     useful in normal play; applies to explore mode);
       bones       - require "yes" rather than `y' to confirm saving  bones
                     data when dying in debug mode;
       attack      - require  "yes"  rather than `y' to confirm attacking a
                     peaceful monster;
       wand-break  - require "yes" rather than `y' to  confirm  breaking  a
                     wand with the apply command;
       eating      - require  "yes"  rather  than `y' to confirm whether to
                     continue eating;
       Were-change - require "yes" rather than `y' to confirm changing form
                     due to lycanthropy when hero has polymorph control;
       pray        - require  `y' to confirm an attempt to pray rather than
                     immediately praying; on by default; (to require  "yes"
                     rather than just `y', set Confirm too);
       trap        - require `y' to confirm an attempt to move into or onto


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                     a known trap, unless doing  so  is  considered  to  be
                     harmless; when enabled, this confirmation is also used
                     for moving into visible gas cloud regions; (to require
                     "yes"  rather than just `y', set Confirm too); confir-
                     mation can be skipped by using the `m'  movement  pre-
                     fix;
       swim        - prevent walking into water or lava; on by default; (to
                     deliberately step onto/into such terrain when this  is
                     set, use the `m' movement prefix when adjacent);
       AutoAll     - require  confirmation  when  the  `A' (Autoselect-All)
                     choice is selected in object class filtering menus for
                     menustyle:Full;  (to  require  "yes"  rather than just
                     `y', set Confirm too);
       Remove      - require selection from inventory for `R' and `T'  com-
                     mands even when wearing just one applicable item;
       all         - turn on all of the above.

       By default, the pray, swim, and trap choices are enabled, the others
       disabled.  To disable them without setting any of the other choices,
       use  paranoid_confirmation:none.  To keep them enabled while setting
       any of the others, you can include them in the  new  list,  such  as
       paranoid_confirmation:attack pray swim Remove or you can precede the
       first entry  in  the  list  with  a  plus  sign,  paranoid_confirma-
       tion:+attack  Remove.   To  remove an entry that has been previously
       set without removing others, precede the first  entry  in  the  list
       with  a  minus  sign, paranoid_confirmation:-swim.  To both add some
       new entries and remove some old ones, you  can  use  multiple  para-
       noid_confirmation  option  settings, or you can use the `+' form and
       list entries to be added by their name and entries to be removed  by
       `!' and name.  The positive (no `!') and negative (with `!') entries
       can be intermixed.

     pauper
       Start the character with no possessions  (default  false).   Persis-
       tent.

     perm_invent
       If  true, always display your current inventory in a window (default
       false).

       This only makes sense for windowing system interfaces that implement
       this  feature.   For  those  that do, the perminv_mode option can be
       used to refine what gets displayed for perm_invent.  Setting that to
       a value other than none while perm_invent is false will change it to
       true.

     perminv_mode
       Augments the perm_invent option.  Value is one of

       none   - behave as if perm_invent is false;
       all    - show all inventory except for gold;
       full   - show full inventory including gold;
       in-use - only show items which are in use (worn, wielded, lit lamp).



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       Default is none but if perm_invent gets set to true while it is none
       it will be changed to all.

       Note: if gold has been equipped in quiver/ammo-pouch then it will be
       included for all despite that mode normally omitting gold.

     petattr
       Specifies one or more text highlighting attributes to use when show-
       ing pets on the map.  Effectively a superset of the hilite_pet bool-
       ean option.  Curses or tty interface only; value  is  one  of  none,
       bold,  dim,  underline,  italic,  blink, and inverse.  Some of those
       choices might not work, depending upon terminal hardware or terminal
       emulation software.

     pettype
       Specify the type of your initial pet, if you are playing a character
       class that uses multiple types of pets; or choose to have no initial
       pet  at all.  Possible values are "cat", "dog", "horse", and "none".
       If the choice is not allowed for the role you are currently playing,
       it will be silently ignored.  For example, "horse" will only be hon-
       ored when playing a knight.  Cannot be set with the `O' command.

     pickup_burden
       When you pick up an item that would exceed  this  encumbrance  level
       (Unencumbered,  Burdened,  streSsed,  straiNed,  overTaxed, or over-
       Loaded), you will be asked if you want to continue.  (Default  `S').
       Persistent.

     pickup_stolen
       If  this  option  is  on  and  autopickup is also on, try to pick up
       things that a monster  stole  from  you,  even  if  they  aren't  in
       pickup_types or match an autopickup exception.  Default is on.  Per-
       sistent.

     pickup_thrown
       If this option is on and autopickup is  also  on,  try  to  pick  up
       things  that you threw, even if they aren't in pickup_types or match
       an autopickup exception.  Default is on.  Persistent.

     pickup_types
       Specify the object types to be picked  up  when  autopickup  is  on.
       Default is all types.  Persistent.

       The  value  is a list of object symbols, such as pickup_types:$?! to
       pick up gold, scrolls, and potions.  You can  use  autopickup_excep-
       tion configuration file lines to further refine autopickup behavior.

       There  is  no  way to set pickup_types to "none".  (Setting it to an
       empty value reverts to "all".)  If you want to  avoid  automatically
       picking  up  any types of items but do want to have autopickup on in
       order to have autopickup_exception settings control what you do  and
       don't  pick  up,  you can set pickup_types to `.'.  That is the type
       symbol for venom and you won't come across any venom items so  won't
       unintentionally pick such up.


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     pile_limit
       When  walking  across  a  pile of objects on the floor, threshold at
       which the message "there are few/several/many objects here" is given
       instead  of  showing  a  popup  list of those objects.  A value of 0
       means "no limit" (always list the objects); a value of 1 effectively
       means "never show the objects" since the pile size will always be at
       least that big; default value is 5.  Persistent.

     playmode
       Values are "normal", "explore", or  "debug".   Allows  selection  of
       explore  mode  (also  known  as  discovery mode) or debug mode (also
       known as wizard mode) instead of normal play.  Debug mode might only
       be  allowed  for  someone logged in under a particular user name (on
       multi-user systems) or specifying a particular  character  name  (on
       single-user  systems)  or it might be disabled entirely.  Requesting
       it when not allowed or not possible results in explore mode instead.
       Default is normal play.

     pushweapon
       Using the `w' (wield) command when already wielding something pushes
       the old item into your alternate weapon slot (default  off).   Like-
       wise  for  the  `a' (apply) command if it causes the applied item to
       become wielded.  Persistent.

     query_menu
       Use a menu when asked specific yes/no queries, instead of a prompt.

     quick_farsight
       When set, usually prevents the "you sense your surroundings" message
       where  play pauses to allow you to browse the map whenever clairvoy-
       ance randomly activates.  Some situations, such as being  underwater
       or  engulfed,  ignore this option.  It does not affect the clairvoy-
       ance spell where pausing to examine revealed objects or monsters  is
       less intrusive.  Default is off.  Persistent.

     race
       Selects  your  race  (for  example, race:human).  Choices are human,
       dwarf, elf, gnome, and orc but most roles restrict which of the non-
       human  races  are allowed.  See role for a description of how to use
       negation to exclude choices.

       If race is not specified, there is no default value; player will  be
       prompted  unless  role forces a choice for race.  Cannot be set with
       the `O' command.  Persistent.

     reroll
       Allows rerolling your character's starting inventory and  attributes
       (default false).  Persistent.

       Note  that rerolling your character is not a recommended way to play
       if aiming merely to win (a lucky start has a much smaller  influence
       on  whether  or  not you win the game than your actions later in the
       game).  This option exists partly as an  acknowledgement  that  some
       players will insist on doing so anyway, and partly because rerolling


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       may be necessary for certain types of challenge games.

     rest_on_space
       Make the space bar a synonym for the `.'  (#wait)  command  (default
       off).  Persistent.

     role
       Pick your type of character (for example, role:Samurai); synonym for
       character.  See name for an  alternate  method  of  specifying  your
       role.

       This  option can also be used to limit selection when role is chosen
       randomly.  Use a space-separated list of  roles  and  either  negate
       each  one  or  negate the option itself instead.  Negation is accom-
       plished in the same manner as with boolean options, by prefixing the
       option or its value(s) with `!' or "no".
       Examples:

            OPTIONS=role:!arc !bar !kni
            OPTIONS=!role:arc bar kni

       There  can  be  multiple instances of the role option if they're all
       negations.

       If role is not specified, there is no default value; player will  be
       prompted.  Cannot be set with the `O' command.  Persistent.

     roguesymset
       This option may be used to select one of the named symbol sets found
       within "symbols" to alter the symbols displayed on the screen on the
       rogue level.

     rlecomp
       When  writing out a save file, perform run length compression of the
       map.  Not all ports support run length compression. It has no effect
       on reading an existing save file.

     runmode
       Controls  the  amount  of  screen  updating  for the map window when
       engaged in multi-turn movement (running via shift+direction or  con-
       trol+direction  and  so  forth,  or  via the travel command or mouse
       click).  The possible values are:

       teleport - update the map after movement has finished;
       run      - update the map after every seven or so steps;
       walk     - update the map after each step;
       crawl    - like walk, but pause briefly after each step.

       This option only affects the game's screen display, not  the  actual
       results  of  moving.   The default is "run"; versions prior to 3.4.1
       used "teleport" only.  Whether or not the effect is noticeable  will
       depend  upon  the window port used or on the type of terminal.  Per-
       sistent.



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     safe_pet
       Prevent you from (knowingly) attacking your pets (default on).  Per-
       sistent.

     safe_wait
       Prevents  you  from waiting or searching when next to a hostile mon-
       ster (default on). Persistent.

     sanity_check
       Evaluate monsters, objects, and map  prior  to  each  turn  (default
       off).  Debug mode only.

     scores
       Control  what  parts of the score list you are shown at the end (for
       example "scores:5 top scores/4 around my score/own  scores").   Only
       the  first  letter of each category (`t', `a', or `o') is necessary.
       Persistent.

     showdamage
       Whenever your character takes damage, show a message of  the  damage
       taken, and the amount of hit points left.

     showexp
       Show  your  accumulated  experience  points  on bottom line (default
       off).  Persistent.

     showrace
       Display yourself as the glyph for your race, rather than  the  glyph
       for  your  role  (default off).  Note that this setting affects only
       the appearance of the display, not the  way  the  game  treats  you.
       Persistent.

     showscore
       Show  your  approximate  accumulated  score  on bottom line (default
       off).  By default, this feature is suppressed when building the pro-
       gram.  Persistent.

     showvers
       Include the game's version number on the status lines (default off).
       Potentially useful if you switch between different versions or vari-
       ants,  or  you are making screenshots or streaming video.  Using the
       statuslines:3 option is recommended so that there will be more  room
       available  for  status information, unless you're using NetHack's Qt
       interface or your terminal emulator window displays  fewer  than  25
       lines.  Persistent.

     silent
       Suppress terminal beeps (default on).  Persistent.

     sortdiscoveries
       Controls the sorting behavior for the output of the `\' and ``' com-
       mands.  Persistent.




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       The possible values are:

       o - list object types by  class,  in  discovery  order  within  each
           class; default;
       s - list  object types by sortloot classification: by class, by sub-
           class within class for classes which have substantial  groupings
           (like  helmets,  boots,  gloves,  and  so forth for armor), with
           object types partly-discovered via assigned name  coming  before
           fully identified types;
       c - list by class, alphabetically within each class;
       a - list alphabetically across all classes.

       Can  be  interactively  set via the `O' command or via using the `m'
       prefix before the `\' or ``' command.

     sortloot
       Controls the sorting behavior of the pickup lists for inventory  and
       #loot commands and some others.  Persistent.

       The possible values are:

       full - always sort the lists;
       loot - only  sort  the  lists that don't use inventory letters, like
              with the #loot and pickup commands;
       none - show lists the traditional way without sorting; default.

     sortpack
       Sort the pack contents by type when  displaying  inventory  (default
       on).  Persistent.

     sortvanquished
       Controls the sorting behavior for the output of the #vanquished com-
       mand and also for the #genocided command.  Persistent.

       The possible values are:

       t - traditional--order by monster level; ties are broken by internal
           monster index; default;
       d - order  by  monster  difficulty  rating;  ties broken by internal
           index;
       a - order alphabetically, first any unique  monsters  then  all  the
           others;
       c - order by monster class, by low to high level within each class;
       n - order by count, high to low; ties are broken by internal monster
           index;
       z - order by count, low to high; ties broken by internal index.

       Can be interactively set via the `m O' command or via using the  `m'
       prefix  before either the #vanquished command or the #genocided com-
       mand.

     sounds
       Allow sounds to be emitted from an integrated sound library (default
       on).


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     sparkle
       Display  a sparkly effect when a monster (including yourself) is hit
       by an attack to which it is resistant (default on).  Persistent.

     spot_monsters
       Show a message when hero notices a monster (default is off).

     standout
       Boldface monsters and "--More--" (default off).  Persistent.

     statushilites
       Controls how many turns status hilite behaviors highlight the field.
       If negated or set to zero, disables status hiliting.  See "Configur-
       ing Status Hilites" for further information.

     status_updates
       Allow updates to the status  lines  at  the  bottom  of  the  screen
       (default true).

     suppress_alert
       This  option may be set to a NetHack version level to suppress alert
       notification messages about feature changes for that and prior  ver-
       sions (for example "suppress_alert:3.3.1").

     symset
       This option may be used to select one of the named symbol sets found
       within "symbols" to alter the symbols displayed on the screen.   Use
       "symset:default" to explicitly select the default symbols.

     time
       Show  the  elapsed  game time in turns on bottom line (default off).
       Persistent.

     timed_delay
       When pausing momentarily for display effect, such as with explosions
       and moving objects, use a timer rather than sending extra characters
       to the screen.  (Applies to  "tty"  and  "curses"  interfaces  only;
       "X11"  interface always uses a timer-based delay.  The default is on
       if configured into the program.)  Persistent.

     tips
       Show some helpful tips during gameplay (default on).  Persistent.

     tombstone
       Draw a tombstone graphic upon your death (default on).  Persistent.

     toptenwin
       Put the ending display in a NetHack  window  instead  of  on  stdout
       (default  off).   Setting  this  option makes the score list visible
       when a windowing version of NetHack is started without a parent win-
       dow, but it no longer leaves the score list around after game end on
       a terminal or emulating window.




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     travel
       Allow the travel command via mouse click (default on).  Turning this
       option off will prevent the game from attempting unintended moves if
       you make inadvertent mouse clicks  on  the  map  window.   Does  not
       affect traveling via the `_' ("#travel") command.  Persistent.

     tutorial
       Play a tutorial level at the start of the game.  Setting this option
       on or off in the config file will skip the query.

     verbose
       Provide more commentary during the game (default on).  Persistent.

     whatis_coord
       When using the `/' or `;' commands to look around on  the  map  with
       autodescribe  on,  display  coordinates after the description.  Also
       works in other situations where you are asked to pick a location.

       The possible settings are:

            c - compass ("east" or "3s" or "2n,4w");
            f - full compass ("east" or "3south" or "2north,4west");
            m - map <x,y> (map column x=0 is not used);
            s - screen [row,column] (row is offset to match tty usage);
            n - none (no coordinates shown) [default].

       The whatis_coord option is also used with the "/m", "/M", "/o",  and
       "/O"  sub-commands  of  `/',  where the "none" setting is overridden
       with "map".

     whatis_filter
       When getting a location on the map, and  using  the  keys  to  cycle
       through  next  and  previous  targets, allows filtering the possible
       targets.

            n - no filtering [default]
            v - in view only
            a - in same area only

       The area-filter tries to be slightly predictive--if you're  standing
       on  a doorway, it will consider the area on the side of the door you
       were last moving towards.

       Filtering can also be changed when getting a location with the "get-
       pos.filter" key.

     whatis_menu
       When getting a location on the map, and using a key to cycle through
       next and previous targets, use a menu  instead  to  pick  a  target.
       (default off)

     whatis_moveskip
       When  getting a location on the map, and using shifted movement keys
       or meta-digit keys to fast-move, instead of  moving  8  units  at  a


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       time, move by skipping the same glyphs.  (default off)

     windowtype
       When  the  program  has  been  built to support multiple interfaces,
       select which one to use, such as "tty" or "X11" (default depends  on
       build-time  settings;  use "#version" to check).  Cannot be set with
       the `O' command.

       When used, it should be the first option set since its  value  might
       enable  or  disable  the availability of various other options.  For
       multiple lines in a configuration file, that would be the first non-
       comment  line.   For  a comma-separated list in NETHACKOPTIONS or an
       OPTIONS line in a configuration file, that would  be  the  rightmost
       option in the list.

     wizweight
       Augment  object  descriptions  with  their  objects' weight (default
       off).  Debug mode only.

     zerocomp
       When writing out a save file, perform zero-comp compression  of  the
       contents.  Not  all  ports  support zero-comp compression. It has no
       effect on reading an existing save file.

     9.5.  Window Port Customization options

          Here are explanations of the various options  that  are  used  to
     customize  and  change  the characteristics of the windowtype that you
     have chosen.  Character strings that are too long  may  be  truncated.
     Not  all  window  ports will adjust for all settings listed here.  You
     can safely add any of these options to your configuration file, and if
     the  window  port is capable of adjusting to suit your preferences, it
     will attempt to do so. If it can't it will silently  ignore  it.   You
     can find out if an option is supported by the window port that you are
     currently using by checking to see if it shows up in the Options list.
     Some options are dynamic and can be specified during the game with the
     `O' command.

     align_message
       Where to align or place the message window (top,  bottom,  left,  or
       right)

     align_status
       Where  to  align  or  place the status window (top, bottom, left, or
       right).

     ascii_map
       If NetHack can, it should display the map  using  simple  characters
       (letters  and  punctuation)  rather  than  tiles  graphics.  In some
       cases, characters can be augmented with  line-drawing  symbols;  use
       the  symset  option  to  select  a symbol set such as DECgraphics or
       IBMgraphics if your display supports  them.   Setting  ascii_map  to
       True forces tiled_map to be False.



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     color
       If NetHack can, it should display color if it can for different mon-
       sters, objects, and dungeon features (default on).

     eight_bit_tty
       If NetHack can, it should pass eight-bit character values (for exam-
       ple,  specified with the traps option) straight through to your ter-
       minal (default off).

     font_map
       if NetHack can, it should use a font by the chosen name for the  map
       window.

     font_menu
       If  NetHack  can,  it  should use a font by the chosen name for menu
       windows.

     font_message
       If NetHack can, it should use a font by the chosen name for the mes-
       sage window.

     font_status
       If NetHack can, it should use a font by the chosen name for the sta-
       tus window.

     font_text
       If NetHack can, it should use a font by the  chosen  name  for  text
       windows.

     font_size_map
       If NetHack can, it should use this size font for the map window.

     font_size_menu
       If NetHack can, it should use this size font for menu windows.

     font_size_message
       If NetHack can, it should use this size font for the message window.

     font_size_status
       If NetHack can, it should use this size font for the status window.

     font_size_text
       If NetHack can, it should use this size font for text windows.

     fullscreen
       If NetHack can, it should try to display on the entire screen rather
       than in a window.

     guicolor
       Use color text and/or highlighting attributes when  displaying  some
       non-map  data  (such  as  menu  selector letters).  Curses interface
       only; default is on.




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     large_font
       If NetHack can, it should use a large font.

     map_mode
       If NetHack can, it should display the map in the manner specified.

     player_selection
       If NetHack can, it should pop up dialog boxes, or  use  prompts  for
       character selection.

     popup_dialog
       If NetHack can, it should pop up dialog boxes for input.

     preload_tiles
       If  NetHack  can, it should preload tiles into memory.  For example,
       in the protected mode MS-DOS version, control whether tiles get pre-
       loaded into RAM at the start of the game.  Doing so enhances perfor-
       mance of the tile graphics, but  uses  more  memory.  (default  on).
       Cannot be set with the `O' command.

     scroll_amount
       If NetHack can, it should scroll the display by this number of cells
       when the hero reaches the scroll_margin.

     scroll_margin
       If NetHack can, it should scroll the display when the hero or cursor
       is this number of cells away from the edge of the window.

     selectsaved
       If NetHack can, it should display a menu of existing saved games for
       the player to choose from at game startup, if it can.  Not all ports
       support this option.

     softkeyboard
       Display  an onscreen keyboard.  Handhelds are most likely to support
       this option.

     splash_screen
       If NetHack can, it should display an opening splash screen  when  it
       starts up (default yes).

     statuslines
       Number  of  lines  for  traditional  below-the-map  status  display.
       Acceptable values are 2 and 3 (default is 2).

       When set to 3, the tty interface moves some fields around and mainly
       shows  status  conditions  on  their own line.  A display capable of
       showing at least 25 lines is recommended.  The value can be  toggled
       back and forth during the game with the `O' command.

       The curses interface does likewise if the align_status option is set
       to top or bottom but ignores statuslines when set to left or right.




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       The Qt interface already displays more than 3 lines  for  status  so
       uses the statuslines value differently.  A value of 3 renders status
       in the Qt interface's original format, with the status window spread
       out  vertically.   A  value of 2 makes status be slightly condensed,
       moving some fields to different lines to eliminate one  whole  line,
       reducing the height needed.  (If NetHack has been built using a ver-
       sion of Qt older than qt-5.9, statuslines can only  be  set  in  the
       run-time  configuration  file or via NETHACKOPTIONS, not during play
       with the `O' command.)

     term_cols  and

     term_rows
       Curses interface only.  Number of columns and rows to  use  for  the
       display.   Curses will attempt to resize to the values specified but
       will settle for smaller sizes if they are too big.  Default  is  the
       current window size.

     tile_file
       Specify  the  name  of  an  alternative  tile  file  to override the
       default.

       Note: the X11 interface  uses  X  resources  rather  than  NetHack's
       options  to select an alternate tile file.  See NetHack.ad, the sam-
       ple X "application defaults" file.

     tile_height
       Specify the preferred height of each tile in a tile capable port.

     tile_width
       Specify the preferred width of each tile in a tile capable port

     tiled_map
       If NetHack can, it should  display  the  map  using  tiles  graphics
       rather  than  simple  characters  (letters and punctuation, possibly
       augmented by  line-drawing  symbols).   Setting  tiled_map  to  True
       forces ascii_map to be False.

     use_darkgray
       Use bold black instead of blue for black glyphs (TTY only).

     use_inverse
       If  NetHack  can,  it should display inverse when the game specifies
       it.

     vary_msgcount
       If NetHack can, it should display this number of messages at a  time
       in the message window.

     windowborders
       Whether to draw boxes around the map, status area, message area, and
       persistent inventory window  if  enabled.   Curses  interface  only.
       Acceptable values are



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            0 - off, never show borders
            1 - on, always show borders
            2 - auto, on if display is at least (24+2)x(80+2) [default]
            3 - on, except forced off for perm_invent
            4 - auto, except forced off for perm_invent

       (The  26x82 size threshold for `2' refers to number of rows and col-
       umns of the display.  A width of at least 110 columns (80+2+26+2) is
       needed to show borders if align_status is set to left or right.)

       The  persistent inventory window, when enabled, can grow until it is
       too big to fit on most displays, resulting in truncation of its con-
       tents.  If borders are forced on (1) or the display is big enough to
       show them (2), setting the value to 3 or 4 instead will keep borders
       for the map, message, and status windows but have room for two addi-
       tional lines of inventory plus widen each inventory line by two col-
       umns.

     windowcolors
       If  NetHack can, it should display all windows of a particular style
       with the specified foreground and background  colors.   Windows  GUI
       and curses windowport only.  The format is

          OPTION=windowcolors:style foreground/background

       where  style  is  one of "menu", "message", "status", or "text", and
       foreground and background are colors, either numeric (hash sign fol-
       lowed  by  three  pairs  of hexadecimal digits, #rrggbb), one of the
       named colors (black, red, green, brown, blue, magenta, cyan, orange,
       bright-green,   yellow,  bright-blue,  bright-magenta,  bright-cyan,
       white, gray, purple, silver, maroon,  fuchsia,  lime,  olive,  navy,
       teal,  aqua),  or (for Windows only) one of Windows UI colors (true-
       black, activeborder, activecaption, appworkspace,  background,  btn-
       face,  btnshadow,  btntext,  captiontext,  graytext, greytext, high-
       light, highlighttext, inactiveborder, inactivecaption,  menu,  menu-
       text, scrollbar, window, windowframe, windowtext).

     wraptext
       If  NetHack can, it should wrap long lines of text if they don't fit
       in the visible area of the window.

     9.6.  Crash Report Options

          Please note that NetHack does not send any information  off  your
     computer unless you manually click submit on a form.

          OPTION=crash_email:email_address

          OPTION=crash_name:your_name
            These  options  are  used  only  to save you some typing on the
            crash report and #bugreport forms.

          OPTION=crash_urlmax:bytes
            This option is used to limit the length of the  URLs  generated


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            and  is  only  needed if your browser cannot handle arbitrarily
            long URLs.

     9.7.  Platform-specific Customization options

          Here are explanations of options that are used by specific  plat-
     forms or ports to customize and change the port behavior.

     altkeyhandling
       Select  an  alternate  way  to  handle keystrokes (Win32 tty NetHack
       only).  The name of the handling type is one  of  "default",  "ray",
       "340".

     altmeta
       On  systems  where  this  option is available, it can be set to tell
       NetHack to convert a two character sequence beginning with ESC  into
       a meta-shifted version of the second character (default off).

       This  conversion  is  only  done  for  commands, not for other input
       prompts.  Note that typing one or more  digits  as  a  count  prefix
       prior  to a command--preceded by n if the number_pad option is set--
       is also subject to this conversion, so attempting to abort the count
       by  typing  ESC  will leave NetHack waiting for another character to
       complete the two character sequence.  Type a second  ESC  to  finish
       cancelling such a count.  At other prompts a single ESC suffices.

     BIOS
       Use  BIOS calls to update the screen display quickly and to read the
       keyboard (allowing the use of arrow keys to move) on  machines  with
       an IBM PC compatible BIOS ROM (default off, OS/2, PC, and ST NetHack
       only).

     rawio
       Force raw (non-cbreak) mode for faster output and  more  bulletproof
       input  (MS-DOS sometimes treats `^P' as a printer toggle without it)
       (default off, OS/2, PC, and ST NetHack only).  Note:   DEC  Rainbows
       hang if this is turned on.  Cannot be set with the `O' command.

     subkeyvalue
       (Win32  tty  NetHack  only).  May be used to alter the value of key-
       strokes that the operating system returns to NetHack to help compen-
       sate  for international keyboard issues.  OPTIONS=subkeyvalue:171/92
       will return 92 to  NetHack,  if  171  was  originally  going  to  be
       returned.   You can use multiple subkeyvalue assignments in the con-
       figuration file if needed.  Cannot be set with the `O' command.

     video
       Set the video mode used (PC NetHack only).  Values are "autodetect",
       "default",  "vga", or "vesa".  Setting "vesa" will cause the game to
       display tiles, using the full capability of the VGA hardware.   Set-
       ting "vga" will cause the game to display tiles, fixed at 640x480 in
       16 colors, a mode that is compatible with all  VGA  hardware.  Third
       party   tilesets  will  probably  not  work.   Setting  "autodetect"
       attempts "vesa", then "vga", and finally sets "default"  if  neither


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       of those modes works.  Cannot be set with the `O' command.

     video_height
       Set the VGA mode resolution height (MS-DOS only, with video:vesa)

     video_width
       Set the VGA mode resolution width (MS-DOS only, with video:vesa)

     videocolors
       Set  the  color  palette  for  PC  systems  using  NO_TERMS (default
       4-2-6-1-5-3-15-12-10-14-9-13-11, (PC NetHack only).   The  order  of
       colors  is  red,  green,  brown,  blue, magenta, cyan, bright.white,
       bright.red, bright.green, yellow, bright.blue,  bright.magenta,  and
       bright.cyan.  Cannot be set with the `O' command.

     videoshades
       Set  the intensity level of the three gray scales available (default
       dark normal light, PC NetHack only).  If the game display is  diffi-
       cult  to  read, try adjusting these scales; if this does not correct
       the problem, try !color.  Cannot be set with the `O' command.

     9.8.  Regular Expressions

          Regular expressions are normally POSIX extended  regular  expres-
     sions.  It  is  possible to compile NetHack without regular expression
     support on a platform where there is no  regular  expression  library.
     While  this  is  not  true of any modern platform, if your NetHack was
     built this way, patterns are instead glob patterns;  regardless,  this
     document  refers  to  both  as `regular expressions.'  This applies to
     Autopickup exceptions, Message types, Menu colors, and User sounds.

     9.9.  Configuring Autopickup Exceptions

          You can further refine the  behavior  of  the  autopickup  option
     beyond what is available through the pickup_types option.

          By placing autopickup_exception lines in your configuration file,
     you can define patterns to be  checked  when  the  game  is  about  to
     autopickup something.

     autopickup_exception
       Sets an exception to the pickup_types option.  The autopickup_excep-
       tion option should be followed by a regular expression to be used as
       a  pattern  to match against the singular form of the description of
       an object at your location.

       In addition, some characters are treated specially if they occur  as
       the first character in the pattern, specifically:

            < - always pickup an object that matches rest of pattern;
            > - never pickup an object that matches rest of pattern.

       The  autopickup_exception  rules are processed in the order in which
       they appear in your configuration file, thus allowing a  later  rule


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       to override an earlier rule.

       Exceptions can be set with the `O' command, but because they are not
       included in your configuration file, they won't be in effect if  you
       save and then restore your game.  autopickup_exception rules and not
       saved with the game.

     Here are some examples:

            autopickup_exception="<*arrow"
            autopickup_exception=">*corpse"
            autopickup_exception=">* cursed*"

          The first example above will result in autopickup of any type  of
     arrow.  The second example results in the exclusion of any corpse from
     autopickup.  The last example results in the exclusion of items  known
     to be cursed from autopickup.

     9.10.  Changing Key Bindings

          It is possible to change the default key bindings of some special
     commands, menu accelerator keys, and extended commands, by using  BIND
     stanzas  in  the  configuration  file.  Format is key, followed by the
     command to bind to, separated by a colon.  The key  can  be  a  single
     character  ("x"),  a  control key ("^X", "C-x"), a meta key ("M-x"), a
     mouse button, or a three-digit decimal ASCII code.

          For example:

          BIND=^X:getpos.autodescribe
          BIND=\:menu_first_page
          BIND=v:loot

     Extended command keys
       You can bind multiple keys to the same extended command.   Unbind  a
       key  by using "nothing" as the extended command to bind to.  You can
       also bind the "<esc>", "<enter>", and "<space>" keys.

     Menu accelerator keys
       The menu control or accelerator keys can also be rebound via OPTIONS
       lines  in the configuration file.  You cannot bind object symbols or
       selection letters into menu accelerators.  Some interfaces only sup-
       port some of the menu accelerators.

     Mouse buttons
       You  can  bind  "mouse1"  or  "mouse2" to "nothing", "therecmdmenu",
       "clicklook", or "mouseaction".

     Special command keys
       Below are the special commands you can rebind.  Some of them can  be
       bound  to  same  keys with no problems, others are in the same "con-
       text", and if bound to same keys, only one of those commands will be
       available.  Special command can only be bound to a single key.



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     count
       Prefix  key  to  start a count, to repeat a command this many times.
       With number_pad only.  Default is `n'.

     getdir.help
       When asked for a direction, the key to show the  help.   Default  is
       `?'.

     getdir.mouse
       When  asked  for  a direction, the key to initiate a simulated mouse
       click.  You will be asked to pick a  location.   Use  movement  key-
       strokes  to  move  the  cursor  around  the  map, then type the get-
       pos.pick.once key (default `,') or the getpos.pick key (default `.')
       to  finish as if performing a left or right click.  Only useful when
       using the #therecmdmenu command.  Default is `_'.

     getdir.self
       When asked for a direction, the key to target yourself.  Default  is
       `.'.

     getdir.self2
       When  asked  for  a  direction, an alternate key to target yourself.
       Default is `s'.

     getpos.autodescribe
       When asked for a location, the key to toggle autodescribe.   Default
       is `#'.

     getpos.all.next
       When asked for a location, the key to go to next closest interesting
       thing.  Default is `a'.

     getpos.all.prev
       When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest  inter-
       esting thing.  Default is `A'.

     getpos.door.next
       When  asked  for  a  location, the key to go to next closest door or
       doorway.  Default is `d'.

     getpos.door.prev
       When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest door or
       doorway.  Default is `D'.

     getpos.help
       When asked for a location, the key to show help.  Default is `?'.

     getpos.mon.next
       When  asked  for  a location, the key to go to next closest monster.
       Default is `m'.

     getpos.mon.prev
       When asked for a location, the key to go to  previous  closest  mon-
       ster.  Default is `M'.


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     getpos.obj.next
       When  asked  for  a  location, the key to go to next closest object.
       Default is `o'.

     getpos.obj.prev
       When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest object.
       Default is `O'.

     getpos.menu
       When  asked  for  a  location, and using one of the next or previous
       keys to cycle  through  targets,  toggle  showing  a  menu  instead.
       Default is `!'.

     getpos.moveskip
       When  asked  for  a location, and using the shifted movement keys or
       meta-digit keys to fast-move  around,  move  by  skipping  the  same
       glyphs instead of by 8 units.  Default is `*'.

     getpos.filter
       When  asked for a location, change the filtering mode when using one
       of the next or previous keys  to  cycle  through  targets.   Toggles
       between  no  filtering,  in  view  only,  and in the same area only.
       Default is `"'.

     getpos.pick
       When asked for a location, the key to choose the location, and  pos-
       sibly  ask for more info.  When simulating a mouse click after being
       asked for a direction (see getdir.mouse above), the key  to  use  to
       respond as right click.  Default is `.'.

     getpos.pick.once
       When  asked for a location, the key to choose the location, and skip
       asking for more info.  When simulating a  mouse  click  after  being
       asked for a direction, the key to respond as left click.  Default is
       `,'.

     getpos.pick.quick
       When asked for a location, the key to choose the location, skip ask-
       ing  for  more  info, and exit the location asking loop.  Default is
       `;'.

     getpos.pick.verbose
       When asked for a location, the key to choose the location, and  show
       more info without asking.  Default is `:'.

     getpos.self
       When  asked for a location, the key to go to your location.  Default
       is `@'.

     getpos.unexplored.next
       When asked for a location, the key to go to next closest  unexplored
       location.  Default is `x'.




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     getpos.unexplored.prev
       When  asked  for a location, the key to go to previous closest unex-
       plored location.  Default is `X'.

     getpos.valid
       When asked for a location, the key to go to show valid target  loca-
       tions.  Default is `$'.

     getpos.valid.next
       When asked for a location, the key to go to next closest valid loca-
       tion.  Default is `z'.

     getpos.valid.prev
       When asked for a location, the key to go to previous  closest  valid
       location.  Default is `Z'.

     9.11.  Configuring Message Types

          You  can  change  the  way  the messages are shown in the message
     area, when the message matches a user-defined pattern.

          In general, the configuration file entries to describe  the  mes-
     sage types look like this: MSGTYPE=type "pattern"

     type    - how the message should be shown;
     pattern - the pattern to match.

       The pattern should be a regular expression.

       Allowed types are:

       show  - show message normally;
       hide  - never show the message;
       stop  - wait for user with more-prompt;
       norep - show  the message once, but not again if no other message is
               shown in between.

       Here's an example of message types using NetHack's internal  pattern
       matching facility:

            MSGTYPE=stop "You feel hungry."
            MSGTYPE=hide "You displaced *."

       specifies  that  whenever  a message "You feel hungry" is shown, the
       user is prompted with more-prompt, and a message matching "You  dis-
       placed <something>." is not shown at all.

       The order of the defined MSGTYPE lines is important; the last match-
       ing rule is used. Put the general case first, exceptions below them.

     9.12.  Configuring Menu Colors

          Some platforms allow you to define colors used in menu lines when
     the  line  matches  a  user-defined  pattern.   At  this time the tty,


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     curses, win32tty and win32gui interfaces support this.

          In general, the configuration file entries to describe  the  menu
     color mappings look like this:

          MENUCOLOR="pattern"=color&attribute

            pattern    - the pattern to match;
            color      - the color to use for lines matching the pattern;
            attribute  - the  attribute  to use for lines matching the pat-
                         tern. The attribute is optional, and if left  out,
                         you  must  also leave out the preceding ampersand.
                         If no attribute is defined, no attribute is used.

       The pattern should be a regular expression.

       Allowed colors are black, red, green, brown,  blue,  magenta,  cyan,
       gray, orange, light-green, yellow, light-blue, light-magenta, light-
       cyan, and white.  And no-color, the default foreground color,  which
       isn't necessarily the same as any of the other colors.

       Allowed  attributes  are  none, bold, dim, italic, underline, blink,
       and inverse.  "Normal" is a synonym for "none".  Note that the plat-
       form used may interpret the attributes any way it wants.

       Here's  an  example  of menu colors using NetHack's internal pattern
       matching facility:

            MENUCOLOR="* blessed *"=green
            MENUCOLOR="* cursed *"=red
            MENUCOLOR="* cursed *(being worn)"=red&underline

       specifies that any menu line with " blessed " contained in  it  will
       be shown in green color, lines with " cursed " will be shown in red,
       and lines with " cursed " followed by "(being  worn)"  on  the  same
       line will be shown in red color and underlined.  You can have multi-
       ple MENUCOLOR entries in your configuration file, and the last MENU-
       COLOR line that matches a menu line will be used for the line.

          Note  that if you intend to have one or more color specifications
     match   " uncursed ",   you   will   probably   want   to   turn   the
     implicit_uncursed  option  off  so that all items known to be uncursed
     are actually displayed with the "uncursed" description.

     9.13.  Configuring User Sounds

          Some platforms allow you to define sound files to be played  when
     a message that matches a user-defined pattern is delivered to the mes-
     sage window.  At this time the Qt port and the win32tty  and  win32gui
     ports support the use of user sounds.

          The  following configuration file entries are relevant to mapping
     user sounds to messages:



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     SOUNDDIR
       The directory that houses the sound files to be played.

     SOUND
       An entry that maps a sound file to a user-specified message pattern.
       Each SOUND entry is broken down into the following parts:

       MESG        - message  window  mapping  (the  only  one supported in
                     3.7.0);
       msgtype     - optional; message type to use, see  "Configuring  Mes-
                     sage Types"
       pattern     - the pattern to match;
       sound file  - the sound file to play;
       volume      - the volume to be set while playing the sound file;
       sound index - optional; the index corresponding to a sound file.

       The pattern should be a regular expression.

          For example:

          SOUNDDIR=C:\nethack\sounds
          SOUND=MESG "This door is locked" "lock.wav" 100
          SOUND=MESG hide "^You miss the " "swing.wav" 75



     9.14.  Configuring Status Hilites

          Your  copy  of  NetHack  may  have been compiled with support for
     "Status Hilites".  If so, you can customize your game display by  set-
     ting  thresholds  to  change  the color or appearance of fields in the
     status display.

          The format for defining status colors is:

     OPTION=hilite_status:field-name/behavior/color&attributes

          For example, the following line in your configuration  file  will
     cause  the  hitpoints  field  to display in the color red if your hit-
     points drop to or below a threshold of 30%:

     OPTION=hilite_status:hitpoints/<=30%/red/normal

     (That example is actually specifying  red&normal  for  <=30%  and  no-
     color&normal for >30%.)

          For  another  example,  the  following line in your configuration
     file will cause wisdom to be displayed red if it drops and green if it
     rises:

     OPTION=hilite_status:wisdom/down/red/up/green

          Allowed colors are black, red, green, brown, blue, magenta, cyan,
     gray, orange, light-green, yellow, light-blue,  light-magenta,  light-


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     cyan,  and white.  And "no-color", the default foreground color on the
     display, which is not necessarily the same as black or white or any of
     the other colors.

          Allowed attributes are none, bold, dim, underline, italic, blink,
     and inverse.  "Normal" is a synonym for "none";  they  should  not  be
     used in combination with any of the other attributes.

          To  specify  both  a  color  and an attribute, use `&' to combine
     them.  To specify multiple attributes, use `+' to combine those.   For
     example: "magenta&inverse+dim".

          Note  that  the  display  may  substitute  or  ignore  particular
     attributes depending upon its capabilities, and in general may  inter-
     pret  the  attributes  any way it wants.  For example, on some display
     systems a request for bold might yield blink or vice versa.   On  oth-
     ers, issuing an attribute request while another is already set up will
     replace the earlier attribute rather  than  combine  with  it.   Since
     NetHack  issues attribute requests sequentially (at least with the tty
     interface) rather than all at once, the only way a situation like that
     can be controlled is to specify just one attribute.

          You can adjust the appearance of the following status fields:
                   title       dungeon-level   experience-level
                  strength         gold           experience
                 dexterity       hitpoints            HD
                constitution   hitpoints-max         time
                intelligence       power            hunger
                   wisdom        power-max     carrying-capacity
                  charisma      armor-class        condition
                 alignment                           score

       The  pseudo-field  "characteristics"  can  be used to set all six of
       Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis, and Cha at once.  "HD" is  "hit  dice",  an
       approximation   of  experience  level  displayed  when  polymorphed.
       "experience",  "time",  and  "score"  are  conditionally   displayed
       depending upon your other option settings.

       Instead  of  a  behavior,  "condition" takes the following condition
       flags: stone, slime, strngl, foodpois, termill, blind,  deaf,  stun,
       conf, hallu, lev, fly, and ride.  You can use "major_troubles" as an
       alias for stone through termill, "minor_troubles" for blind  through
       hallu, "movement" for lev, fly, and ride, and "all" for every condi-
       tion.

       Allowed behaviors are "always", "up", "down", "changed", a  percent-
       age or absolute number threshold, or text to match against.  For the
       hitpoints field, the additional behavior "criticalhp" is  available.
       It  overrides other behavior rules if hit points are at or below the
       major problem threshold (which varies  depending  upon  maximum  hit
       points and experience level).

          * "always" will set the default attributes for that field.



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          * "up",  "down" set the field attributes for when the field value
            changes upwards or downwards.  This attribute times  out  after
            statushilites turns.

          * "changed"  sets  the  field  attribute for when the field value
            changes.  This attribute times out after  statushilites  turns.
            (If  a  field  has  both a "changed" rule and an "up" or "down"
            rule which matches a change in the field's value, the  "up"  or
            "down" one takes precedence.)

          * percentage  sets  the  field  attribute  when  the  field value
            matches the percentage.  It is specified as a number between  0
            and  100, followed by `%' (percent sign).  If the percentage is
            prefixed with `<=' or `>=', it also matches when value is below
            or  above  the percentage.  Use prefix `<' or `>' to match when
            strictly  below  or  above.   (The  numeric  limit  is  relaxed
            slightly  for  those:  >-1%  and <101% are allowed.)  Only four
            fields support percentage rules.  Percentages  for  "hitpoints"
            and  "power"  are  straightforward; they're based on the corre-
            sponding maximum field.  Percentage highlight  rules  are  also
            allowed  for  "experience level" and "experience points" (valid
            when the showexp option is enabled).  For those, the percentage
            is  based on the progress from the start of the current experi-
            ence level to the start of the  next  level.   So  if  level  2
            starts  at 20 points and level 3 starts at 40 points, having 30
            points is 50% and 35 points is 75%.  100% is  unattainable  for
            experience  because  you'll  gain  a level and the calculations
            will be reset for that new level,  but  a  rule  for  =100%  is
            allowed and matches the special case of being exactly 1 experi-
            ence point short of the next level.

          * absolute value sets the attribute when the field value  matches
            that  number.   The  number  must  be  0  or higher, except for
            "armor-class' which allows negative values, and may  optionally
            be  preceded by `='.  If the number is preceded by `<=' or `>='
            instead, it also matches when value is below or above.  If  the
            prefix is `<' or `>', only match when strictly above or below.

          * criticalhp  only  applies  to the hitpoints field and only when
            current hit points are below a threshold (which varies by maxi-
            mum  hit  points  and experience level).  When the threshold is
            met, a criticalhp rule takes precedence  over  all  other  hit-
            points rules.

          * text  match sets the attribute when the field value matches the
            text.  Text matches can only be used for  "alignment",  "carry-
            ing-capacity",  "hunger",  "dungeon-level",  and  "title".  For
            title, only the role's rank title is  tested;  the  character's
            name is ignored.

          The  in-game options menu can help you determine the correct syn-
     tax for a configuration file.




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          The whole feature can be disabled by setting option statushilites
     to 0.

          Example hilites:

          OPTION=hilite_status: gold/up/yellow/down/brown
          OPTION=hilite_status: characteristics/up/green/down/red
          OPTION=hilite_status: hitpoints/100%/gray&normal
          OPTION=hilite_status: hitpoints/<100%/green&normal
          OPTION=hilite_status: hitpoints/<66%/yellow&normal
          OPTION=hilite_status: hitpoints/<50%/orange&normal
          OPTION=hilite_status: hitpoints/<33%/red&bold
          OPTION=hilite_status: hitpoints/<15%/red&inverse
          OPTION=hilite_status: condition/major/orange&inverse
          OPTION=hilite_status: condition/lev+fly/red&inverse



     9.15.  Modifying NetHack Symbols

          NetHack can load entire symbol sets from the symbol file.

          The  options that are used to select a particular symbol set from
     the symbol file are:

     symset
       Set the name of the symbol set that you want to load.

     roguesymset
       Set the name of the symbol set that you want to load for display  on
       the rogue level.

          You  can  also override one or more symbols using the SYMBOLS and
     ROGUESYMBOLS configuration file options.   Symbols  are  specified  as
     name:value pairs.  Note that NetHack escape-processes the value string
     in conventional C fashion.  This means that \ is a prefix to take  the
     following  character literally.  Thus \ needs to be represented as \\.
     The special prefix form \m switches on the  meta  bit  in  the  symbol
     value,  and  the ^ prefix causes the following character to be treated
     as a control character.

        NetHack Symbols
           Symbol Name            Description
        -----------------------------------------------------------------
           S_air                  (air)
        _  S_altar                (altar)
        "  S_amulet               (amulet)
        A  S_angel                (angelic being)
        a  S_ant                  (ant or other insect)
        ^  S_anti_magic_trap      (anti-magic field)
        [  S_armor                (suit or piece of armor)
        [  S_armour               (suit or piece of armor)
        ^  S_arrow_trap           (arrow trap)



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        0  S_ball                 (iron ball)
        #  S_bars                 (iron bars)
        B  S_bat                  (bat or bird)
        ^  S_bear_trap            (bear trap)
        -  S_blcorn               (bottom left corner)
        b  S_blob                 (blob)
        +  S_book                 (spellbook)
        )  S_boomleft             (boomerang open left)
        (  S_boomright            (boomerang open right)
        `  S_boulder              (boulder)
        -  S_brcorn               (bottom right corner)
        >  S_brdnladder           (branch ladder down)
        >  S_brdnstair            (branch staircase down)
        <  S_brupladder           (branch ladder up)
        <  S_brupstair            (branch staircase up)
        C  S_centaur              (centaur)
        _  S_chain                (iron chain)
        #  S_cloud                (cloud)
        c  S_cockatrice           (cockatrice)
        $  S_coin                 (pile of coins)
        #  S_corr                 (corridor)
        -  S_crwall               (wall)
        #  S_darkroom             (dark room)
        ^  S_dart_trap            (dart trap)
        &  S_demon                (major demon)
        *  S_digbeam              (dig beam)
        >  S_dnladder             (ladder down)
        >  S_dnstair              (staircase down)
        d  S_dog                  (dog or other canine)
        D  S_dragon               (dragon)
        ;  S_eel                  (sea monster)
        E  S_elemental            (elemental)
        #  S_engrcorr             (engraving in a corridor)
        `  S_engroom              (engraving in a room)
        /  S_expl_tl              (explosion top left)
        -  S_expl_tc              (explosion top center)
        \  S_expl_tr              (explosion top right)
        |  S_expl_ml              (explosion middle left)
           S_expl_mc              (explosion middle center)
        |  S_expl_mr              (explosion middle right)
        \  S_expl_bl              (explosion bottom left)
        -  S_expl_bc              (explosion bottom center)
        /  S_expl_br              (explosion bottom right)
        e  S_eye                  (eye or sphere)
        ^  S_falling_rock_trap    (falling rock trap)
        f  S_feline               (cat or other feline)
        ^  S_fire_trap            (fire trap)
        !  S_flashbeam            (flash beam)
        %  S_food                 (piece of food)
        {  S_fountain             (fountain)
        F  S_fungus               (fungus or mold)
        *  S_gem                  (gem or rock)
           S_ghost                (ghost)



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        H  S_giant                (giant humanoid)
        G  S_gnome                (gnome)
        '  S_golem                (golem)
        |  S_grave                (grave)
        g  S_gremlin              (gremlin)
        -  S_hbeam                (horizontal beam [zap animation])
        #  S_hcdbridge            (horizontal raised drawbridge)
        +  S_hcdoor               (closed door in horizontal wall)
        .  S_hodbridge            (horizontal lowered drawbridge)
        |  S_hodoor               (open door in horizontal wall)
        ^  S_hole                 (hole)
        @  S_human                (human or elf)
        h  S_humanoid             (humanoid)
        -  S_hwall                (horizontal wall)
        .  S_ice                  (ice)
        i  S_imp                  (imp or minor demon)
        I  S_invisible            (invisible monster)
        J  S_jabberwock           (jabberwock)
        j  S_jelly                (jelly)
        k  S_kobold               (kobold)
        K  S_kop                  (Keystone Kop)
        ^  S_land_mine            (land mine)
        }  S_lava                 (molten lava)
        }  S_lavawall             (wall of lava)
        l  S_leprechaun           (leprechaun)
        ^  S_level_teleporter     (level teleporter)
        L  S_lich                 (lich)
        y  S_light                (light)
        #  S_litcorr              (lit corridor)
        :  S_lizard               (lizard)
        \  S_lslant               (diagonal beam [zap animation])
        ^  S_magic_portal         (magic portal)
        ^  S_magic_trap           (magic trap)
        m  S_mimic                (mimic)
        ]  S_mimic_def            (mimic)
        M  S_mummy                (mummy)
        N  S_naga                 (naga)
        .  S_ndoor                (doorway without door)
        n  S_nymph                (nymph)
        O  S_ogre                 (ogre)
        o  S_orc                  (orc)
        p  S_piercer              (piercer)
        ^  S_pit                  (pit)
        #  S_poisoncloud          (poison cloud)
        ^  S_polymorph_trap       (polymorph trap)
        }  S_pool                 (water)
        !  S_potion               (potion)
        P  S_pudding              (pudding or ooze)
        q  S_quadruped            (quadruped)
        Q  S_quantmech            (quantum mechanic)
        =  S_ring                 (ring)
        `  S_rock                 (boulder or statue)
        r  S_rodent               (rodent)



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        ^  S_rolling_boulder_trap (rolling boulder trap)
        .  S_room                 (floor of a room)
        /  S_rslant               (diagonal beam [zap animation])
        ^  S_rust_trap            (rust trap)
        R  S_rustmonst            (rust monster or disenchanter)
        ?  S_scroll               (scroll)
        #  S_sink                 (sink)
        ^  S_sleeping_gas_trap    (sleeping gas trap)
        S  S_snake                (snake)
        s  S_spider               (arachnid or centipede)
        ^  S_spiked_pit           (spiked pit)
        ^  S_squeaky_board        (squeaky board)
        0  S_ss1                  (magic shield 1 of 4)
        #  S_ss2                  (magic shield 2 of 4)
        @  S_ss3                  (magic shield 3 of 4)
        *  S_ss4                  (magic shield 4 of 4)
        ^  S_statue_trap          (statue trap)
           S_stone                (solid rock)
        ]  S_strange_obj          (strange object)
        -  S_sw_bc                (swallow bottom center)
        \  S_sw_bl                (swallow bottom left)
        /  S_sw_br                (swallow bottom right)
        |  S_sw_ml                (swallow middle left)
        |  S_sw_mr                (swallow middle right)
        -  S_sw_tc                (swallow top center)
        /  S_sw_tl                (swallow top left)
        \  S_sw_tr                (swallow top right)
        -  S_tdwall               (wall)
        ^  S_teleportation_trap   (teleportation trap)
        \  S_throne               (opulent throne)
        -  S_tlcorn               (top left corner)
        |  S_tlwall               (wall)
        (  S_tool                 (useful item (pick-axe, key, lamp...))
        ^  S_trap_door            (trap door)
        t  S_trapper              (trapper or lurker above)
        -  S_trcorn               (top right corner)
        #  S_tree                 (tree)
        T  S_troll                (troll)
        |  S_trwall               (wall)
        -  S_tuwall               (wall)
        U  S_umber                (umber hulk)
           S_unexplored           (unexplored terrain)
        u  S_unicorn              (unicorn or horse)
        <  S_upladder             (ladder up)
        <  S_upstair              (staircase up)
        V  S_vampire              (vampire)
        |  S_vbeam                (vertical beam [zap animation])
        #  S_vcdbridge            (vertical raised drawbridge)
        +  S_vcdoor               (closed door in vertical wall)
        .  S_venom                (splash of venom)
        ^  S_vibrating_square     (vibrating square)
        .  S_vodbridge            (vertical lowered drawbridge)
        -  S_vodoor               (open door in vertical wall)



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        v  S_vortex               (vortex)
        |  S_vwall                (vertical wall)
        /  S_wand                 (wand)
        }  S_water                (water)
        )  S_weapon               (weapon)
        "  S_web                  (web)
        w  S_worm                 (worm)
        ~  S_worm_tail            (long worm tail)
        W  S_wraith               (wraith)
        x  S_xan                  (xan or other extraordinary insect)
        X  S_xorn                 (xorn)
        Y  S_yeti                 (apelike creature)
        Z  S_zombie               (zombie)
        z  S_zruty                (zruty)
           S_pet_override         (any pet if ACCESSIBILITY=1 is set)
           S_hero_override        (hero if ACCESSIBILITY=1 is set)

     Notes:

     * Several symbols in this table appear to  be  blank.   They  are  the
       space character, except for S_pet_override and S_hero_override which
       don't have any default value and can only be used if enabled in  the
       "sysconf" file.

     * S_rock  is  misleadingly named; rocks and stones use S_gem.  Statues
       and boulders are the rock  being  referred  to,  but  since  version
       3.6.0,  statues are displayed as the monster they depict.  So S_rock
       is only used for boulders and not used at all if overridden  by  the
       more specific S_boulder.

     9.16.  Customizing Map Glyph Representations Using Unicode

          If  your platform or terminal supports the display of UTF-8 char-
     acter sequences, you can customize your game display by assigning Uni-
     code  codepoint  values and red-green-blue colors to glyph representa-
     tions. The customizations can be specified for use with a symset  that
     has  a UTF8 handler within the symbols file such as the enhanced1 set,
     or individually within your nethack.rc file.

          The format for defining a glyph representation is:

     OPTIONS=glyph:glyphid/U+nnnn/R-G-B

          The window port that is active needs to provide support for  dis-
     playing  UTF-8  character sequences and explicit red-green-blue colors
     in order for the glyph representation to be visible.  For example, the
     following  line in your configuration file will cause the glyph repre-
     sentation for glyphid G_pool to use Unicode codepoint U+224B  and  the
     color represented by R-G-B value 0-0-160:

     OPTIONS=glyph:G_pool/U+224B/0-0-160

     The  list  of acceptable glyphid's can be produced by nethack --dumpg-
     lyphids.  Individual NetHack glyphs can be specified using the G_ pre-


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     fix,  or  you  can use an S_ symbol for a glyphid and store the custom
     representation for all NetHack glyphs that would map to that  particu-
     lar symbol.

          You  will  need  to select a symset with a UTF8 handler to enable
     the display of the customizations, such as the Enhanced symset.

     9.17.  Configuring NetHack for Play by the Blind

          NetHack can be set up to use only standard ASCII  characters  for
     making  maps  of  the dungeons. This makes even the MS-DOS versions of
     NetHack (which use special line-drawing characters  by  default)  com-
     pletely  accessible  to the blind who use speech and/or Braille access
     technologies.  Players will require a good working knowledge of  their
     screen-reader's review features, and will have to know how to navigate
     horizontally and vertically character by  character.  They  will  also
     find the search capabilities of their screen-readers to be quite valu-
     able. Be certain to examine this Guidebook before playing so you  have
     an idea what the screen layout is like. You'll also need to be able to
     locate the PC cursor. It is always where your  character  is  located.
     Merely  searching  for  an  @-sign will not always find your character
     since there are other humanoids represented by  the  same  sign.  Your
     screen-reader  should also have a function which gives you the row and
     column of your review cursor and the PC  cursor.   These  co-ordinates
     are often useful in giving players a better sense of the overall loca-
     tion of items on the screen.

          NetHack can also be compiled with support for  sending  the  game
     messages to an external program, such as a text-to-speech synthesizer.
     If the "#version" extended command shows "external program as  a  mes-
     sage  handler",  your  NetHack  has been compiled with the capability.
     When compiling NetHack from source on Linux and other  POSIX  systems,
     define  MSGHANDLER to enable it.  To use the capability, set the envi-
     ronment variable NETHACK_MSGHANDLER to an executable,  which  will  be
     executed with the game message as the program's only parameter.

          The most crucial settings to make the game more accessible are:

     symset:plain
       Load a symbol set appropriate for use by blind players.

     menustyle:traditional
       This will assist in the interface to speech synthesizers.

     nomenu_overlay
       Show menus on a cleared screen and aligned to the left edge.

     number_pad
       A  lot  of  speech  access programs use the number-pad to review the
       screen.  If this is the case, disable the number_pad option and  use
       the traditional Rogue-like commands.

     paranoid_confirmation:swim
       Prevent walking into water or lava.


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     accessiblemsg
       Adds direction or location information to messages.

     spot_monsters
       Shows  a  message when hero notices a monster; combine with accessi-
       blemsg.

     mon_movement
       Shows a message when hero notices a monster movement;  combine  with
       spot_monsters and accessiblemsg.

     autodescribe
       Automatically describe the terrain under the cursor when targeting.

     mention_map
       Give feedback messages when interesting map locations change.

     mention_walls
       Give  feedback  messages  when walking towards a wall or when travel
       command was interrupted.

     whatis_coord:compass
       When targeting with cursor, describe the cursor position with  coor-
       dinates relative to your character.

     whatis_filter:area
       When  targeting with cursor, filter possible locations so only those
       in the same area (eg. same room, or same corridor) are considered.

     whatis_moveskip
       When targeting with cursor and using fast-move, skip the same glyphs
       instead of moving 8 units at a time.

     nostatus_updates
       Prevent  updates to the status lines at the bottom of the screen, if
       your screen-reader reads those lines. The same  information  can  be
       seen via the "#attributes" command.

     showdamage
       Give a message of damage taken and how many hit points are left.

     9.18.  Global Configuration for System Administrators

          If  NetHack  is compiled with the SYSCF option, a system adminis-
     trator should set up a global configuration; this is  a  file  in  the
     same  format  as  the  traditional  per-user  configuration  file (see
     above).  This file should be named sysconf  and  placed  in  the  same
     directory  as the other NetHack support files.  The options recognized
     in this file are listed below.  Any option not set uses a  compiled-in
     default (which may not be appropriate for your system).

       WIZARDS = A  space-separated  list  of user names who are allowed to
       play in debug mode (commonly referred to as wizard mode).   A  value
       of  a  single  asterisk  (*)  allows anyone to start a game in debug


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       mode.

       SHELLERS = A list of users who are allowed to use the  shell  escape
       command (!).  The syntax is the same as WIZARDS.

       EXPLORERS = A list of users who are allowed to use the explore mode.
       The syntax is the same as WIZARDS.

       MSGHANDLER = A path and filename of executable.  Whenever a message-
       window  message  is  shown,  NetHack runs this program.  The program
       will get the message as the only parameter.

       MAXPLAYERS = Limit the maximum number of games that can  be  running
       at the same time.

       SUPPORT = A  string  explaining how to get local support (no default
       value).

       RECOVER = A string explaining how to recover a game on  this  system
       (no default value).

       SEDUCE = 0  or  1  to  disable  or  enable, respectively, the SEDUCE
       option.  When disabled, incubi and succubi behave like nymphs.

       CHECK_PLNAME = Setting this to 1 will make the  EXPLORERS,  WIZARDS,
       and  SHELLERS  check for the player name instead of the user's login
       name.

       CHECK_SAVE_UID = 0 or 1 to disable or enable, respectively, the  UID
       (used identification number) checking for save files (to verify that
       the user who is restoring is the same one who saved).

          The following four options affect the score file:

       PERSMAX = Maximum number of entries for one person.

       ENTRYMAX = Maximum number of entries in the score file.

       POINTSMIN = Minimum number of points to get an entry  in  the  score
       file.

       PERS_IS_UID = 0  or  1 to use user names or numeric userids, respec-
       tively, to identify unique people for the score file.

       HIDEUSAGE = 0 or 1 to control whether the help menu entry  for  com-
       mand line usage is shown or suppressed.

       MAX_STATUENAME_RANK = Maximum  number  of  score file entries to use
       for random statue names (default is 10).

       ACCESSIBILITY = 0 or 1 to disable or enable, respectively, the abil-
       ity for players to set S_pet_override and S_hero_override symbols in
       their configuration file.



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       PORTABLE_DEVICE_PATHS = 0 or 1 Windows OS only, the game  will  look
       for  all of its external files, and write to all of its output files
       in one place rather than at the standard locations.

       DUMPLOGFILE = A filename where the  end-of-game  dumplog  is  saved.
       Not  defining  this  will  prevent dumplog from being created.  Only
       available if your game is compiled with DUMPLOG.  Allows the follow-
       ing placeholders:

           %% - literal `%'
           %v - version (eg. "3.7.0-0")
           %u - game UID
           %t - game start time, UNIX timestamp format
           %T - current time, UNIX timestamp format
           %d - game start time, YYYYMMDDhhmmss format
           %D - current time, YYYYMMDDhhmmss format
           %n - player name
           %N - first character of player name

       LIVELOG = A  bit-mask  of  types of events that should be written to
       the livelog file if one is present.  The sample sysconf file  accom-
       panying  the  program  contains a comment which lists the meaning of
       the various bits  used.   Intended  for  server  systems  supporting
       simultaneous play by multiple players (to be clear, each one running
       a separate single player game), for displaying their  game  progress
       to  observers.   Only relevant if the program was built with LIVELOG
       enabled.  When available, it should be left commented out on  single
       player  installations  because  over  time the file could grow to be
       extremely large unless it is actively maintained.

       CRASHREPORTURL = If                      set                      to
       https://www.nethack.org/links/cr-37BETA.html and support is compiled
       in, brings up a browser window pre-populated  with  the  information
       needed  to  report  a  problem  if  the game panics or ends up in an
       internally inconsistent state,  or  if  the  #bugreport  command  is
       invoked.

     10.  Scoring

          NetHack  maintains  a  list  of the top scores or scorers on your
     machine, depending on how it is set up.   In  the  latter  case,  each
     account  on  the  machine  can post only one non-winning score on this
     list.  If you score higher than someone else on this list,  or  better
     your  previous  score,  you will be inserted in the proper place under
     your current name.  How many scores are kept can also be set  up  when
     NetHack is compiled.

          Your  score is chiefly based upon how much experience you gained,
     how much loot you accumulated, how deep you explored, and how the game
     ended.  If you quit the game, you escape with all of your gold intact.
     If, however, you get killed in the Mazes of  Menace,  the  guild  will
     only  hear  about  90%  of  your  gold  when your corpse is discovered
     (adventurers have been known to collect finder's fees).  So,  consider
     whether  you  want  to  take one last hit at that monster and possibly


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     live, or quit and stop with whatever you have.  If you quit, you  keep
     all your gold, but if you swing and live, you might find more.

          If  you  just want to see what the current top players/games list
     is, you can type nethack -s all on most versions.

     11.  Explore mode

          NetHack is an intricate and difficult game.  Novices might falter
     in fear, aware of their ignorance of the means to survive.  Well, fear
     not.  Your dungeon comes equipped with  an  "explore"  or  "discovery"
     mode  that  enables you to keep old save files and cheat death, at the
     paltry cost of not getting on the high score list.

          There are two ways of enabling explore mode.  One is to start the
     game  with  the  -X  command-line  switch or with the playmode:explore
     option.  The other is to issue  the  "#exploremode"  extended  command
     while  already  playing the game.  Starting a new game in explore mode
     provides your character with a wand of wishing in  initial  inventory;
     switching  during  play  does not.  The other benefits of explore mode
     are left for the trepid reader to discover.

     11.1.  Debug mode

          Debug mode, also known as wizard mode, is undocumented aside from
     this  brief  description  and  the  various "debug mode only" commands
     listed among the command descriptions.  It is  intended  for  tracking
     down  problems within the program rather than to provide god-like pow-
     ers to your character, and players who attempt debugging are  expected
     to  figure  out how to use it themselves.  It is initiated by starting
     the game with the -D command-line switch or  with  the  playmode:debug
     option.

          For some systems, the player must be logged in under a particular
     user name to be allowed to use debug mode; for others, the  hero  must
     be  given a particular character name (but may be any role; there's no
     connection between "wizard mode" and the Wizard role).  Attempting  to
     start  a  game  in  debug  mode when not allowed or not available will
     result in falling back to explore mode instead.

     12.  Credits

          The original hack game was modeled on  the  Berkeley  UNIX  rogue
     game.  Large portions of this document were shamelessly cribbed from A
     Guide to the Dungeons of Doom, by Michael C. Toy and Kenneth C. R.  C.
     Arnold.   Small  portions were adapted from Further Exploration of the
     Dungeons of Doom, by Ken Arromdee.

          NetHack is the product of  literally  scores  of  people's  work.
     Main events in the course of the game development are described below:

          Jay  Fenlason wrote the original Hack, with help from Kenny Wood-
     land, Mike Thome, and Jon Payne.



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          Andries Brouwer did a major re-write while at Stichting  Mathema-
     tisch  Centrum (now Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica), transforming Hack
     into a very different game.  He published the Hack source code for use
     on UNIX systems by posting that to Usenet newsgroup net.sources (later
     renamed comp.sources) releasing version 1.0 in December of 1984,  then
     versions  1.0.1,  1.0.2,  and  finally  1.0.3 in July of 1985.  Usenet
     newsgroup net.games.hack  (later  renamed  rec.games.hack,  eventually
     replaced  by  rec.games.roguelike.nethack)  was created for discussing
     it.

          Don G. Kneller ported Hack 1.0.3 to Microsoft C and MS-DOS,  pro-
     ducing  PC  HACK 1.01e, added support for DEC Rainbow graphics in ver-
     sion 1.03g, and went on to produce at least four more  versions  (3.0,
     3.2,  3.51, and 3.6; note that these are old Hack version numbers, not
     contemporary NetHack ones).

          R. Black  ported  PC  HACK  3.51  to  Lattice  C  and  the  Atari
     520/1040ST, producing ST Hack 1.03.

          Mike  Stephenson  merged  these  various  versions back together,
     incorporating many of the added features, and produced NetHack version
     1.4 in 1987.  He then coordinated a cast of thousands in enhancing and
     debugging NetHack 1.4 and released NetHack versions 2.2 and 2.3.  Like
     Hack,  they were released by posting their source code to Usenet where
     they remained available in various archives  accessible  via  ftp  and
     uucp after expiring from the newsgroup.

          Later,  Mike  coordinated a major re-write of the game, heading a
     team which included Ken Arromdee, Jean-Christophe Collet, Steve Creps,
     Eric  Hendrickson,  Izchak  Miller, Eric S. Raymond, John Rupley, Mike
     Threepoint, and Janet Walz, to produce NetHack 3.0c.

          NetHack 3.0 was ported to the Atari by Eric R. Smith, to OS/2  by
     Timo  Hakulinen,  and  to VMS by David Gentzel.  The three of them and
     Kevin Darcy later joined the main NetHack Development Team to  produce
     subsequent revisions of 3.0.

          Olaf  Seibert  ported  NetHack  2.3  and  3.0 to the Amiga.  Norm
     Meluch, Stephen Spackman and Pierre Martineau  designed  overlay  code
     for  PC  NetHack 3.0.  Johnny Lee ported NetHack 3.0 to the Macintosh.
     Along with various other Dungeoneers, they continued  to  enhance  the
     PC, Macintosh, and Amiga ports through the later revisions of 3.0.

          Version  3.0 went through ten relatively rapidly released "patch-
     level" revisions.  Versions at the time were known as 3.0 for the base
     release  and  variously  as  "3.0a" through "3.0j", "3.0 patchlevel 1"
     through "3.0 patchlevel 10", or "3.0pl1" through "3.0pl10" rather than
     3.0.0  and  3.0.1 through 3.0.10; the three component numbering scheme
     began to be used with 3.1.0.

          Headed by Mike Stephenson and coordinated by  Izchak  Miller  and
     Janet  Walz,  the  NetHack  Development  Team  which  now included Ken
     Arromdee, David Cohrs, Jean-Christophe Collet, Kevin Darcy, Matt  Day,
     Timo  Hakulinen,  Steve Linhart, Dean Luick, Pat Rankin, Eric Raymond,


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     and Eric Smith undertook a radical revision of  3.0.   They  re-struc-
     tured  the  game's design, and re-wrote major parts of the code.  They
     added multiple dungeons, a new display, special  individual  character
     quests,  a  new  endgame  and  many  other  new features, and produced
     NetHack 3.1.  Version 3.1.0 was released in January of 1993.

          Ken Lorber, Gregg Wonderly and Greg Olson, with help from Richard
     Addison,  Mike Passaretti, and Olaf Seibert, developed NetHack 3.1 for
     the Amiga.

          Norm Meluch and Kevin Smolkowski, with help  from  Carl  Schelin,
     Stephen  Spackman,  Steve VanDevender, and Paul Winner, ported NetHack
     3.1 to the PC.

          Jon W{tte and Hao-yang Wang, with help from Ross Brown, Mike Eng-
     ber,  David Hairston, Michael Hamel, Jonathan Handler, Johnny Lee, Tim
     Lennan, Rob Menke, and Andy Swanson, developed  NetHack  3.1  for  the
     Macintosh,  porting  it  for MPW.  Building on their development, Bart
     House added a Think C port.

          Timo Hakulinen ported NetHack 3.1 to  OS/2.   Eric  Smith  ported
     NetHack  3.1  to  the  Atari.   Pat  Rankin,  with  help  from  Joshua
     Delahunty, was  responsible  for  the  VMS  version  of  NetHack  3.1.
     Michael Allison ported NetHack 3.1 to Windows NT.

          Dean Luick, with help from David Cohrs, developed NetHack 3.1 for
     X11.  It drew the map as text rather  than  graphically  but  included
     nh10.bdf,  an optionally used custom X11 font which has tiny images in
     place of letters and punctuation, a precursor of tiles.  Those  images
     don't extend to individual monster and object types, just replacements
     for monster and object classes  (so  one  custom  image  for  all  "a"
     insects  and  another  for  all  "["  armor and so forth, not separate
     images for beetles and ants or for cloaks and boots).

          Warwick Allison wrote a graphically displayed version of  NetHack
     for  the  Atari  where the tiny pictures were described as "icons" and
     were distinct for specific types of monsters and objects  rather  than
     just  their  classes.   He contributed them to the NetHack Development
     Team which rechristened them "tiles", original usage which has  subse-
     quently  been  picked up by various other games.  NetHack's tiles sup-
     port was then implemented on other  platforms  (initially  MS-DOS  but
     eventually Windows, Qt, and X11 too).

          The  3.2  NetHack Development Team, comprised of Michael Allison,
     Ken Arromdee, David Cohrs, Jessie Collet, Steve  Creps,  Kevin  Darcy,
     Timo  Hakulinen,  Steve  Linhart,  Dean Luick, Pat Rankin, Eric Smith,
     Mike Stephenson, Janet Walz, and Paul Winner, released  version  3.2.0
     in April of 1996.

          Version  3.2 marked the tenth anniversary of the formation of the
     development team.  In a testament to their dedication to the game, all
     thirteen  members of the original NetHack Development Team remained on
     the team at the start of work on that release.   During  the  interval
     between the release of 3.1.3 and 3.2.0, one of the founding members of


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     the NetHack Development Team, Dr. Izchak Miller,  was  diagnosed  with
     cancer and passed away.  That release of the game was dedicated to him
     by the development and porting teams.

          Version 3.2 proved to be  more  stable  than  previous  versions.
     Many  bugs  were fixed, abuses eliminated, and game features tuned for
     better game play.

          During the lifespan of NetHack 3.1 and 3.2,  several  enthusiasts
     of  the  game added their own modifications to the game and made these
     "variants" publicly available:

          Tom Proudfoot and Yuval Oren created NetHack++, which was quickly
     renamed  NetHack--  when some people incorrectly assumed that it was a
     conversion of the  C  source  code  to  C++.   Working  independently,
     Stephen  White wrote NetHack Plus.  Tom Proudfoot later merged NetHack
     Plus and his own NetHack-- to produce SLASH.  Larry Stewart-Zerba  and
     Warwick  Allison  improved  the  spell  casting system with the Wizard
     Patch.  Warwick Allison also ported NetHack to use the Qt interface.

          Warren Cheung combined SLASH with the  Wizard  Patch  to  produce
     Slash'EM, and with the help of Kevin Hugo, added more features.  Kevin
     later joined the NetHack Development Team and incorporated the best of
     these ideas into NetHack 3.3.

          The  final update to 3.2 was the bug fix release 3.2.3, which was
     released simultaneously with 3.3.0 in December 1999 just in  time  for
     the  Year 2000.  Because of the newer version, 3.2.3 was released as a
     source code patch only, without  any  ready-to-play  distribution  for
     systems that usually had such.

          (To anyone considering resurrecting an old version:  all versions
     before 3.2.3 had a Y2K bug.  The high scores file  and  the  log  file
     contained  dates  which  were  formatted  using  a two-digit year, and
     1999's year 99 was followed by 2000's year 100.  That got written  out
     successfully  but it unintentionally introduced an extra column in the
     file layout which prevented score entries from being read back in cor-
     rectly,  interfering  with  insertion  of  new  high  scores  and with
     retrieval of old character names to use for random  ghost  and  statue
     names in the current game.)

          The  3.3 NetHack Development Team, consisting of Michael Allison,
     Ken Arromdee, David Cohrs, Jessie Collet, Steve  Creps,  Kevin  Darcy,
     Timo Hakulinen, Kevin Hugo, Steve Linhart, Ken Lorber, Dean Luick, Pat
     Rankin, Eric Smith, Mike Stephenson,  Janet  Walz,  and  Paul  Winner,
     released 3.3.0 in December 1999 and 3.3.1 in August of 2000.

          Version 3.3 offered many firsts. It was the first version to sep-
     arate race and profession. The Elf class was removed in preference  to
     an  elf  race,  and  the races of dwarves, gnomes, and orcs made their
     first appearance in the game alongside the familiar human race.   Monk
     and  Ranger  roles joined Archeologists, Barbarians, Cavemen, Healers,
     Knights, Priests, Rogues, Samurai, Tourists, Valkyries and of  course,
     Wizards.   It was also the first version to allow you to ride a steed,


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     and was the first version to have a publicly available web-site  list-
     ing  all  the  bugs that had been discovered.  Despite that constantly
     growing bug list, 3.3 proved stable enough to last  for  more  than  a
     year and a half.

          The  3.4  NetHack Development Team initially consisted of Michael
     Allison, Ken Arromdee, David Cohrs, Jessie  Collet,  Kevin  Hugo,  Ken
     Lorber,  Dean Luick, Pat Rankin, Mike Stephenson, Janet Walz, and Paul
     Winner, with  Warwick Allison  joining  just  before  the  release  of
     NetHack 3.4.0 in March 2002.

          As  with version 3.3, various people contributed to the game as a
     whole as well as supporting ports  on  the  different  platforms  that
     NetHack runs on:

          Pat Rankin maintained 3.4 for VMS.

          Michael  Allison  maintained NetHack 3.4 for the MS-DOS platform.
     Paul Winner and Yitzhak Sapir provided encouragement.

          Dean Luick, Mark Modrall, and Kevin Hugo maintained and  enhanced
     the Macintosh port of 3.4.

          Michael  Allison,  David  Cohrs,  Alex Kompel, Dion Nicolaas, and
     Yitzhak Sapir maintained and enhanced 3.4 for  the  Microsoft  Windows
     platform.   Alex  Kompel contributed a new graphical interface for the
     Windows port.  Alex Kompel also contributed  a  Windows  CE  port  for
     3.4.1.

          Ron  Van Iwaarden was the sole maintainer of NetHack for OS/2 the
     past several releases. Unfortunately Ron's last OS/2  machine  stopped
     working  in early 2006. A great many thanks to Ron for keeping NetHack
     alive on OS/2 all these years.

          Janne Salmijarvi and Teemu Suikki  maintained  and  enhanced  the
     Amiga port of 3.4 after Janne Salmijarvi resurrected it for 3.3.1.

          Christian "Marvin" Bressler maintained 3.4 for the Atari after he
     resurrected it for 3.3.1.

          The release of NetHack 3.4.3 in December 2003 marked  the  begin-
     ning  of a long release hiatus. 3.4.3 proved to be a remarkably stable
     version that provided continued enjoyment by the  community  for  more
     than a decade. The NetHack Development Team slowly and quietly contin-
     ued to work on the game behind the scenes during the tenure of  3.4.3.
     It  was  during  that  same  period  that several new variants emerged
     within the NetHack community.  Notably  sporkhack  by  Derek  S.  Ray,
     unnethack  by  Patric Mueller, nitrohack and its successors originally
     by Daniel Thaler and then by Alex Smith, and Dynahack by Tung  Nguyen.
     Some  of  those  variants  continue  to  be developed, maintained, and
     enjoyed by the community to this day.

          In September 2014, an interim snapshot of the code under develop-
     ment  was  released  publicly by other parties.  Since that code was a


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     work-in-progress and had not gone through the process of debugging  it
     as a suitable release, it was decided that the version numbers present
     on that code snapshot would be retired and never used in  an  official
     NetHack  release.   An announcement was posted on the NetHack Develop-
     ment Team's official nethack.org website to that effect, stating  that
     there would never be a 3.4.4, 3.5, or 3.5.0 official release version.

          In  January  2015,  preparation  began for the release of NetHack
     3.6.

          At the beginning of development for  what  would  eventually  get
     released  as  3.6.0, the NetHack Development Team consisted of Warwick
     Allison, Michael Allison, Ken Arromdee, David  Cohrs,  Jessie  Collet,
     Ken  Lorber,  Dean Luick, Pat Rankin, Mike Stephenson, Janet Walz, and
     Paul Winner.  In early 2015, ahead of the release of 3.6.0,  new  mem-
     bers  Sean  Hunt,  Pasi  Kallinen, and Derek S. Ray joined the NetHack
     Development Team.

          Near the end of the development of 3.6.0, one of the  significant
     inspirations  for  many  of the humorous and fun features found in the
     game, author Terry Pratchett, passed away.  NetHack 3.6.0 introduced a
     tribute to him.

          3.6.0  was released in December 2015, and merged work done by the
     development team since the release of 3.4.3 with some of  the  beloved
     community  patches.  Many  bugs  were fixed and some code was restruc-
     tured.

          The NetHack Development Team, as well as  Steve  VanDevender  and
     Kevin  Smolkowski,  ensured  that  NetHack 3.6 continued to operate on
     various UNIX flavors and maintained the X11 interface.

          Ken Lorber, Haoyang Wang, Pat Rankin, and Dean  Luick  maintained
     the port of NetHack 3.6 for MacOS.

          Michael  Allison,  David  Cohrs,  Bart House, Pasi Kallinen, Alex
     Kompel, Dion Nicolaas, Derek S. Ray and Yitzhak Sapir  maintained  the
     port of NetHack 3.6 for Microsoft Windows.

          Pat  Rankin  attempted  to  keep the VMS port running for NetHack
     3.6, hindered by limited access.  Kevin  Smolkowski  has  updated  and
     tested  it  for  the  most  recent version of OpenVMS (V8.4 as of this
     writing) on Alpha and Integrity (aka Itanium aka IA64) but not VAX.

          Ray Chason resurrected the MS-DOS port for  3.6  and  contributed
     the necessary updates to the community at large.

          In  late April 2018, several hundred bug fixes for 3.6.0 and some
     new features were  assembled  and  released  as  NetHack  3.6.1.   The
     NetHack  Development Team at the time of release of 3.6.1 consisted of
     Warwick Allison, Michael Allison, Ken Arromdee,  David  Cohrs,  Jessie
     Collet,  Pasi  Kallinen,  Ken  Lorber, Dean Luick, Patric Mueller, Pat
     Rankin, Derek S. Ray, Alex Smith, Mike  Stephenson,  Janet  Walz,  and
     Paul Winner.


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          In early May 2019, another 320 bug fixes along with some enhance-
     ments and the adopted curses window port, were released as 3.6.2.

          Bart House, who had contributed to the game  as  a  porting  team
     participant  for  decades, joined the NetHack Development Team in late
     May 2019.

          NetHack 3.6.3 was released on December 5,  2019  containing  over
     190 bug fixes to NetHack 3.6.2.

          NetHack  3.6.4  was  released  on  December 18, 2019 containing a
     security fix and a few bug fixes.

          NetHack 3.6.5 was released on January 27,  2020  containing  some
     security fixes and a small number of bug fixes.

          NetHack 3.6.6 was released on March 8, 2020 containing a security
     fix and some bug fixes.

          NetHack 3.6.7 was released on  February  16,  2023  containing  a
     security fix and some bug fixes.

          The  official  NetHack  web  site  is maintained by Ken Lorber at
     https://www.nethack.org/.
































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     12.1.  Special Thanks

          On behalf of the NetHack community,  thank  you  very  much  once
     again  to  M.  Drew  Streib  and  Pasi Kallinen for providing a public
     NetHack server at nethack.alt.org. Thanks to Keith  Simpson  and  Andy
     Thomson  for  hardfought.org.  Thanks to all those unnamed dungeoneers
     who invest their time and effort into annual NetHack tournaments  such
     as  Junethack,  The  November  NetHack  Tournament,  and in days past,
     devnull.net (gone for now, but not forgotten).









































     12.2.  Dungeoneers

          From time to time, some depraved individual out there in  netland
     sends  a  particularly  intriguing  modification  to help out with the


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     game.  The NetHack Development Team sometimes makes note of the  names
     of the worst of these miscreants in this, the list of Dungeoneers:








































            Adam Aronow           J. Ali Harlow          Mikko Juola
            Alex Kompel             Janet Walz           Nathan Eady
            Alex Smith           Janne Salmijarvi        Norm Meluch
           Andreas Dorn       Jean-Christophe Collet     Olaf Seibert
            Andy Church            Jeff Bailey          Pasi Kallinen
           Andy Swanson           Jochen Erwied           Pat Rankin
           Andy Thomson            John Kallen          Patric Mueller
           Ari Huttunen            John Rupley           Paul Winner
            Bart House             John S. Bien        Pierre Martineau
        Benson I. Margulies         Johnny Lee            Ralf Brown
             Bill Dyer              Jon W{tte             Ray Chason



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         Boudewijn Waijers       Jonathan Handler      Richard Addison
             Bruce Cox           Joshua Delahunty       Richard Beigel
          Bruce Holloway          Karl Garrison       Richard P. Hughey
          Bruce Mewborne          Keizo Yamamoto          Rob Menke
           Carl Schelin           Keith Simpson          Robin Bandy
            Chris Russo             Ken Arnold          Robin Johnson
            David Cohrs            Ken Arromdee       Roderick Schertler
          David Damerell            Ken Lorber          Roland McGrath
           David Gentzel          Ken Washikita        Ron Van Iwaarden
          David Hairston           Kevin Darcy          Ronnen Miller
            Dean Luick              Kevin Hugo            Ross Brown
             Del Lamb              Kevin Sitze         Sascha Wostmann
           Derek S. Ray          Kevin Smolkowski        Scott Bigham
           Deron Meranda           Kevin Sweet         Scott R. Turner
           Dion Nicolaas           Lars Huttar            Sean Hunt
          Dylan O'Donnell          Leon Arnott         Stephen Spackman
            Eric Backus           M. Drew Streib      Stefan Thielscher
         Eric Hendrickson          Malcolm Ryan         Stephen White
           Eric R. Smith          Mark Gooderum          Steve Creps
          Eric S. Raymond          Mark Modrall         Steve Linhart
           Erik Andersen         Marvin Bressler      Steve VanDevender
         Fredrik Ljungdahl         Matthew Day           Teemu Suikki
         Frederick Roeber          Merlyn LeRoy           Tim Lennan
            Gil Neiger           Michael Allison        Timo Hakulinen
            Greg Laskin            Michael Feir            Tom Almy
            Greg Olson            Michael Hamel            Tom West
          Gregg Wonderly         Michael Sokolov        Warren Cheung
           Hao-yang Wang           Mike Engber         Warwick Allison
           Helge Hafting           Mike Gallop          Yitzhak Sapir
       Irina Rempt-Drijfhout     Mike Passaretti
           Izchak Miller         Mike Stephenson

























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          Brand  and  product names are trademarks or registered trademarks
     of their respective holders.






















































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