Boolean options not under specific compile flags (with default values in []):
(You can learn which options exist in your version by checking your current
option setting, which is reached via the 'O' cmd.)

autodescribe   describe the terrain under cursor                  [FALSE]
autodig        dig if moving and wielding digging tool            [FALSE]
autoopen       walking into a door attempts to open it            [TRUE]
autopickup     automatically pick up objects you move over        [TRUE]
autoquiver     when firing with an empty quiver, select some
               suitable inventory weapon to fill the quiver       [FALSE]
BIOS           allow the use of IBM ROM BIOS calls                [FALSE]
cmdassist      give help for errors on direction & other commands [TRUE]
confirm        ask before hitting tame or peaceful monsters       [TRUE]
DECgraphics    use DEC/VT line-drawing characters for the dungeon [FALSE]
eight_bit_tty  send 8-bit characters straight to terminal         [FALSE]
extmenu        use a menu for selecting extended commands (#)     [FALSE]
fixinv         try to retain the same letter for the same object  [TRUE]
help           print all available info when using the / command  [TRUE]
IBMgraphics    use IBM extended characters for the dungeon        [FALSE]
ignintr        ignore interrupt signal, including breaks          [FALSE]
implicit_uncursed  omit "uncursed" from inventory, if possible    [TRUE]
legacy         print introductory message                         [TRUE]
lit_corridor   show a dark corridor as lit if in sight            [FALSE]
lootabc        use a/b/c rather than o/i/b when looting           [FALSE]
menu_overlay   overlay menus on the screen and align to right     [TRUE]
mail           enable the mail daemon                             [TRUE]
null           allow nulls to be sent to your terminal            [TRUE]
               try turning this option off (forcing NetHack to use its own
               delay code) if moving objects seem to teleport across rooms
perm_invent    keep inventory in a permanent window               [FALSE]
pickup_thrown  override pickup_types for thrown objects           [TRUE]
pushweapon     when wielding a new weapon, put your previously
               wielded weapon into the secondary weapon slot      [FALSE]
rawio          allow the use of raw I/O                           [FALSE]
rest_on_space  count the space bar as a rest character            [FALSE]
safe_pet       prevent you from (knowingly) attacking your pet(s) [TRUE]
showexp        display your accumulated experience points         [FALSE]
showrace       show yourself by your race rather than by role     [FALSE]
silent         don't use your terminal's bell sound               [TRUE]
sortpack       group similar kinds of objects in inventory        [TRUE]
sound          enable messages about what your character hears    [TRUE]
               (note: this has nothing to do with your computer's audio
               capabilities, and the game resets it periodically)
sparkle        display sparkly effect for resisted magical        [TRUE]
               attacks (e.g. fire attack on fire-resistant monster)
standout       use standout mode for --More-- on messages         [FALSE]
time           display elapsed game time, in moves                [FALSE]
tombstone      print tombstone when you die                       [TRUE]
toptenwin      print topten in a window rather than stdout        [FALSE]
travel         enable the command to travel to a map location via [TRUE]
               a shortest-path algorithm, usually invoked by '_'.
use_darkgray   use bold black instead of blue for black glyphs.   [TRUE]
use_inverse    display detected monsters in highlighted manner    [FALSE]
verbose        print more commentary during the game              [TRUE]



There are further boolean options controlled by compilation flags.

Boolean option if INSURANCE was set at compile time:
checkpoint save game state after each level change, for possible  [TRUE]
           recovery after program crash

Boolean option if NEWS was set at compile time:
news       print any news from game administrator on startup      [TRUE]

Boolean option if MFLOPPY was set at compile time:
checkspace check free disk space before writing files to disk     [TRUE]


Boolean option if SCORE_ON_BOTL was set at compile time:
showscore  display your approximate accumulated score             [FALSE]

Boolean options if TEXTCOLOR was set at compile time:
color      use different colors for objects on screen   [TRUE for micros]
hilite_pet display pets in a highlighted manner                   [FALSE]

Boolean option if TIMED_DELAY was set at compile time (tty interface only):
timed_delay    on unix and VMS, use a timer instead of sending
               extra screen output when attempting to pause for
               display effect.  on MSDOS without the termcap
               lib, whether or not to pause for visual effect.    [TRUE]

Boolean option for Amiga, or for others if ALTMETA was set at compile time:
altmeta        For Amiga, treat Alt+key as Meta+key.              [TRUE]
altmeta        For unix and VMS, treat two character sequence
               "ESC c" as M-c (Meta+c, 8th bit set) when nethack
               obtains a command from player's keyboard.          [FALSE]

Boolean option if USE_TILES was set at compile time (MSDOS protected mode only):
preload_tiles  control whether tiles get pre-loaded into RAM at the
               start of the game.  Doing so enhances performance
               of the tile graphics, but uses more memory.        [TRUE]

Any Boolean option can be negated by prefixing it with a '!' or 'no'.


Compound options are written as option_name:option_value.

Compound options which can be set during the game are:

boulder       override the default boulder symbol with another default: [`]
disclose      the types of information you want offered at the end of the
              game  [ni na nv ng nc no]
fruit         the name of a fruit you enjoy eating  [slime mold]
              (basically a whimsy which NetHack uses from time to time).
menustyle     user interface for selection of multiple objects:
              Traditional -- prompt for classes of interest, then
                             prompt item-by-item for those classes;
              Combination -- prompt for classes of interest, then
                             use a menu for choosing items;
              Full        -- menu for classes of interest, then item menu;
              Partial     -- skip class filtering, use menu of all items;
              only the first letter ('T','C','P','F') matters; 'N' (None)
              is a synonym for 'T', as is boolean style negation  [Full]
number_pad    alphabetic versus numeric control over movement:
               0 -- traditional hjkl + yubn movement (default);
               1 -- digits control movement, for use with numeric keypad;
               2 -- same as 1, but '5' works as 'g' prefix rather than 'G';
               3 -- numeric for phone keypad (1,2,3 above, 7,8,9 below);
               4 -- phone keypad (3) combined with MSDOS compatibility (2);
              -1 -- alphabetic movement but 'z' swapped with 'y'.  [0]
packorder     a list of default symbols for kinds of objects that gives the
              order in which your pack will be displayed  [")[%?+!=/(*`0_]
              (If you specify only some kinds of items, the others from the
              default order will be appended to the end.)
paranoid_confirmation  space separated list of situations where alternate
              prompting is desired  [paranoid_confirmation:pray]
              Confirm -- when requiring yes, also require no to reject
              quit    -- yes vs y to confirm quitting or to enter explore mode
              die     -- yes vs y to confirm dying (for explore or debug mode)
              bones   -- yes vs y to confirm saving bones data in debug mode
              attack  -- yes vs y to confirm attacking a peaceful monster
              pray    -- y to confirm an attempt to pray; on by default
              Remove  -- always pick from inventory for 'R' and 'T' even when
              wearing just one applicable item to remove or take off
pickup_burden when you pick up an item that exceeds this encumberance
              level (Unencumbered, Burdened, streSsed, straiNed, overTaxed,
              or overLoaded), you will be asked if you want to continue. [S]
pickup_types  a list of default symbols for kinds of objects to autopickup
              when that option is on  [all]
pile_limit    for feedback when walking across floor objects, threshold at
              which "there are many objects here" is displayed instead of
              listing the objects.  (0 means "always list objects.")  [5]
runmode       controls how often the map window is updated when performing
              multi-step movement (various running modes or travel command):
              teleport -- don't update map until movement stops;
              run      -- periodically update map (interval is seven steps);
              walk     -- update map after every step;
              crawl    -- like walk, but delay after making each step.
              (This only affects screen display, not actual movement.)  [run]
scores        the parts of the score list you wish to see when the game ends
              You choose a combination of top scores, scores around the top
              scores, and all of your own scores.  [!own/3 top/2 around]
suppress_alert disable various version-specific warnings about changes
              in game play or the user interface, such as notification given
              for the 'Q' command that quitting is now done via #quit
              (e.g., use suppress_alert:3.3.1 to stop that and any other
              notifications added in that version or earlier) default: [(none)]
whatis_coord  controls whether to include map coordinates when autodescribe
              is active for the '/' and ';' commands.  Value is the first
              letter of one of
              compass -- ('east' or '3s' or '2n,4w')
              map     -- <x,y>        (map column x=0 is not used)
              screen  -- [row,column] (row is offset to match tty usage)
              none    -- no coordinates shown; default: [n]

Compound options which may be set only on startup are:

align      Your starting alignment (align:lawful, align:neutral,
           or align:chaotic).  You may specify just the first letter.  [RANDOM]
catname    the name of your first cat  [NONE]
dogname    the name of your first dog  [NONE]
gender     Your starting gender (gender:male or gender:female).
           You may specify just the first letter.  Although you can
           still denote your gender using the "male" and "female"
           options, the "gender" option will take precedence.  [RANDOM]
horsename  the name of your first horse  [NONE]
menu_*     create single character accelerators for menu commands.  Below
           is a list of all commands.  Each is followed by a list of window-
           ports that implement them:  'x' is X11, 't' is tty, 'g' is Gem,
           'a' is Amiga.
           menu_deselect_all  deselect all items in a menu [-](gxta)
           menu_deselect_page deselect all items on this menu page [\](gta)
           menu_first_page    jump to the first page in a menu [^](gta)
           menu_invert_all    invert all items in a menu [@](gxta)
           menu_invert_page   invert all items on this menu page [~](gta)
           menu_last_page     jump to the last page in a menu [|](gta)
           menu_next_page     goto the next menu page [>](gta)
           menu_previous_page goto the previous menu page [<](gta)
           menu_search        search for a menu item [:](gxta)
           menu_select_all    select all items in a menu [.](gxta)
           menu_select_page   select all items on this menu page [,](gta)
msghistory number of top line messages to save [20]
name       the name of your character  [obtained by asking the system or
           the player]
pettype    your preferred type of pet (cat or dog), if your character
           class uses both types; or none for no pet  [RANDOM]
playmode   normal play or non-scoring explore mode or debug mode  [normal]
race       Your starting race (e.g., race:Human, race:Elf).  [RANDOM]
role       Your starting role (e.g., role:Barbarian, role:Valk).
           Although you can specify just the first letter(s), it will
           choose only the first role it finds that matches; thus, it
           is recommended that you spell out as much of the role name
           as possible.  You can also still denote your role by
           appending it to the "name" option (e.g., name:Vic-V), but the
           "role" option will take precedence.  [RANDOM]

windowtype windowing system to be used  [depends on operating system]

Compound option if TTY_GRAPHICS was set at compile time:
msg_window the type of message window to use:
           single      -- One message at a time
           full        -- Full window with all saved top line messages
           reverse     -- Same as full, but messages printed most-recent-first
           combination -- Two single messages, then as full
           default:  single

Some sample options lists are:
!autopickup,!tombstone,name:Gandalf,scores:own/3 top/2 around
female,nonews,dogname:Rover,rest_on_space,!verbose,menustyle:traditional
