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<a name="Command-Line-Options"></a>
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<p>
Next: <a href="Startup-Files.html#Startup-Files" accesskey="n" rel="next">Startup Files</a>, Up: <a href="Invoking-Octave-from-the-Command-Line.html#Invoking-Octave-from-the-Command-Line" accesskey="u" rel="up">Invoking Octave from the Command Line</a> [<a href="index.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="Concept-Index.html#Concept-Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
</div>
<hr>
<a name="Command-Line-Options-1"></a>
<h4 class="subsection">2.1.1 Command Line Options</h4>
<a name="index-Octave-command-options"></a>
<a name="index-command-options"></a>
<a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command"></a>
<p>Here is a complete list of the command line options that Octave
accepts.
</p>
<dl compact="compact">
<dt><code>--built-in-docstrings-file <var>filename</var></code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dbuilt_002din_002ddocstrings_002dfile--_002d_002dbuilt_002din_002ddocstrings_002dfile-filename"></a>
<p>Specify the name of the file containing documentation strings for the
built-in functions of Octave. This value is normally correct and should
only need to specified in extraordinary situations.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--debug</code></dt>
<dt><code>-d</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002ddebug--_002d_002ddebug"></a>
<a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002dd--_002dd"></a>
<p>Enter parser debugging mode. Using this option will cause Octave’s
parser to print a lot of information about the commands it reads, and is
probably only useful if you are actually trying to debug the parser.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--debug-jit</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002ddebug_002djit--_002d_002ddebug_002djit"></a>
<p>Enable JIT compiler debugging and tracing.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--doc-cache-file <var>filename</var></code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002ddoc_002dcache_002dfile--_002d_002ddoc_002dcache_002dfile-filename"></a>
<p>Specify the name of the doc cache file to use. The value of <var>filename</var>
specified on the command line will override any value of
<code><span class="nolinebreak">OCTAVE_DOC_CACHE_FILE</span></code><!-- /@w --> found in the environment, but not any commands
in the system or user startup files that use the <code>doc_cache_file</code>
function.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--echo-commands</code></dt>
<dt><code>-x</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002decho_002dcommands--_002d_002decho_002dcommands"></a>
<a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002dx--_002dx"></a>
<p>Echo commands as they are executed.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--eval <var>code</var></code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002deval--_002d_002deval-code"></a>
<p>Evaluate <var>code</var> and exit when finished unless <samp>--persist</samp> is also
specified.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--exec-path <var>path</var></code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dexec_002dpath--_002d_002dexec_002dpath-path"></a>
<p>Specify the path to search for programs to run. The value of <var>path</var>
specified on the command line will override any value of
<code><span class="nolinebreak">OCTAVE_EXEC_PATH</span></code><!-- /@w --> found in the environment, but not any commands
in the system or user startup files that set the built-in variable
<code><span class="nolinebreak">EXEC_PATH</span></code><!-- /@w -->.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--gui</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dgui--_002d_002dgui"></a>
<p>Start the graphical user interface (GUI).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--help</code></dt>
<dt><code>-h</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dhelp--_002d_002dhelp"></a>
<a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002dh--_002dh"></a>
<p>Print short help message and exit.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--image-path <var>path</var></code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dimage_002dpath--_002d_002dimage_002dpath-path"></a>
<p>Add path to the head of the search path for images. The value of
<var>path</var> specified on the command line will override any value of
<code><span class="nolinebreak">OCTAVE_IMAGE_PATH</span></code><!-- /@w --> found in the environment, but not any commands
in the system or user startup files that set the built-in variable
<code><span class="nolinebreak">IMAGE_PATH</span></code><!-- /@w -->.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--info-file <var>filename</var></code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dinfo_002dfile--_002d_002dinfo_002dfile-filename"></a>
<p>Specify the name of the info file to use. The value of <var>filename</var>
specified on the command line will override any value of
<code><span class="nolinebreak">OCTAVE_INFO_FILE</span></code><!-- /@w --> found in the environment, but not any commands
in the system or user startup files that use the <code>info_file</code>
function.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--info-program <var>program</var></code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dinfo_002dprogram--_002d_002dinfo_002dprogram-program"></a>
<p>Specify the name of the info program to use. The value of <var>program</var>
specified on the command line will override any value of
<code><span class="nolinebreak">OCTAVE_INFO_PROGRAM</span></code><!-- /@w --> found in the environment, but not any
commands in the system or user startup files that use the
<code>info_program</code> function.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--interactive</code></dt>
<dt><code>-i</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dinteractive--_002d_002dinteractive"></a>
<a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002di--_002di"></a>
<p>Force interactive behavior. This can be useful for running Octave via a
remote shell command or inside an Emacs shell buffer.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--jit-compiler</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002djit_002dcompiler--_002d_002djit_002dcompiler"></a>
<p>Enable the JIT compiler used for accelerating loops.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--line-editing</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dline_002dediting--_002d_002dline_002dediting"></a>
<p>Force readline use for command-line editing.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--no-gui</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dno_002dgui--_002d_002dno_002dgui"></a>
<p>Disable the graphical user interface (GUI) and use the command line
interface (CLI) instead. This is the default behavior, but this option
may be useful to override a previous <samp>--gui</samp>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--no-history</code></dt>
<dt><code>-H</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dno_002dhistory--_002d_002dno_002dhistory"></a>
<a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002dH--_002dH"></a>
<p>Disable recording of command-line history.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--no-init-file</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dno_002dinit_002dfile--_002d_002dno_002dinit_002dfile"></a>
<a name="index-octaverc-_007e_002f_002eoctaverc_007e_002f_002eoctaverc"></a>
<a name="index-octaverc-_002eoctaverc_002eoctaverc"></a>
<p>Don’t read the initialization files <samp>~/.octaverc</samp> and <samp>.octaverc</samp>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--no-init-path</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dno_002dinit_002dpath--_002d_002dno_002dinit_002dpath"></a>
<p>Don’t initialize the search path for function files to include default
locations.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--no-line-editing</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dno_002dline_002dediting--_002d_002dno_002dline_002dediting"></a>
<p>Disable command-line editing.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--no-site-file</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dno_002dsite_002dfile--_002d_002dno_002dsite_002dfile"></a>
<a name="index-site-startup-file"></a>
<p>Don’t read the site-wide <samp>octaverc</samp> initialization files.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--no-window-system</code></dt>
<dt><code>-W</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dno_002dwindow_002dsystem--_002d_002dno_002dwindow_002dsystem"></a>
<a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002dW--_002dW"></a>
<p>Disable use of a windowing system including graphics. This forces a
strictly terminal-only environment.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--norc</code></dt>
<dt><code>-f</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dnorc--_002d_002dnorc"></a>
<a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002df--_002df"></a>
<p>Don’t read any of the system or user initialization files at startup.
This is equivalent to using both of the options <samp>--no-init-file</samp>
and <samp>--no-site-file</samp>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--path <var>path</var></code></dt>
<dt><code>-p <var>path</var></code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dpath--_002d_002dpath-path"></a>
<a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002dp--_002dp-path"></a>
<p>Add path to the head of the search path for function files. The
value of <var>path</var> specified on the command line will override any value
of <code><span class="nolinebreak">OCTAVE_PATH</span></code><!-- /@w --> found in the environment, but not any commands in the
system or user startup files that set the internal load path through one
of the path functions.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--persist</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dpersist--_002d_002dpersist"></a>
<p>Go to interactive mode after <samp>--eval</samp> or reading from a file
named on the command line.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--silent</code></dt>
<dt><code>--quiet</code></dt>
<dt><code>-q</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dsilent--_002d_002dsilent"></a>
<a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dquiet--_002d_002dquiet"></a>
<a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002dq--_002dq"></a>
<p>Don’t print the usual greeting and version message at startup.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--texi-macros-file <var>filename</var></code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dtexi_002dmacros_002dfile--_002d_002dtexi_002dmacros_002dfile-filename"></a>
<p>Specify the name of the file containing Texinfo macros for use by makeinfo.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--traditional</code></dt>
<dt><code>--braindead</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dtraditional--_002d_002dtraditional"></a>
<a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dbraindead--_002d_002dbraindead"></a>
<p>For compatibility with <small>MATLAB</small>, set initial values for
user preferences to the following values
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example">PS1 = ">> "
PS2 = ""
beep_on_error = true
confirm_recursive_rmdir = false
crash_dumps_octave_core = false
disable_diagonal_matrix = true
disable_permutation_matrix = true
disable_range = true
fixed_point_format = true
history_timestamp_format_string = "%%-- %D %I:%M %p --%%"
print_empty_dimensions = false
save_default_options = "-mat-binary"
struct_levels_to_print = 0
</pre></div>
<p>and disable the following warnings
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example">Octave:abbreviated-property-match
Octave:data-file-in-path
Octave:function-name-clash
Octave:possible-matlab-short-circuit-operator
</pre></div>
<p>Note that this does not enable the <code>Octave:language-extension</code>
warning, which you might want if you want to be told about writing code
that works in Octave but not <small>MATLAB</small> (see <a href="Issuing-Warnings.html#XREFwarning">warning</a>,
<a href="Issuing-Warnings.html#XREFwarning_005fids">warning_ids</a>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--verbose</code></dt>
<dt><code>-V</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dverbose--_002d_002dverbose"></a>
<a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002dV--_002dV"></a>
<p>Turn on verbose output.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code>--version</code></dt>
<dt><code>-v</code></dt>
<dd><a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002d_002dversion--_002d_002dversion"></a>
<a name="index-options_002c-Octave-command-_002dv--_002dv"></a>
<p>Print the program version number and exit.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><code><var>file</var></code></dt>
<dd><p>Execute commands from <var>file</var>. Exit when done unless
<samp>--persist</samp> is also specified.
</p></dd>
</dl>
<p>Octave also includes several functions which return information
about the command line, including the number of arguments and all of the
options.
</p>
<a name="XREFargv"></a><dl>
<dt><a name="index-argv"></a><em></em> <strong>argv</strong> <em>()</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return the command line arguments passed to Octave.
</p>
<p>For example, if you invoked Octave using the command
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example">octave --no-line-editing --silent
</pre></div>
<p><code>argv</code> would return a cell array of strings with the elements
<samp>--no-line-editing</samp> and <samp>--silent</samp>.
</p>
<p>If you write an executable Octave script, <code>argv</code> will return the list
of arguments passed to the script. See <a href="Executable-Octave-Programs.html#Executable-Octave-Programs">Executable Octave Programs</a>, for
an example of how to create an executable Octave script.
</p></dd></dl>
<a name="XREFprogram_005fname"></a><dl>
<dt><a name="index-program_005fname"></a><em></em> <strong>program_name</strong> <em>()</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return the last component of the value returned by
<code>program_invocation_name</code>.
</p>
<p><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="#XREFprogram_005finvocation_005fname">program_invocation_name</a>.
</p></dd></dl>
<a name="XREFprogram_005finvocation_005fname"></a><dl>
<dt><a name="index-program_005finvocation_005fname"></a><em></em> <strong>program_invocation_name</strong> <em>()</em></dt>
<dd><p>Return the name that was typed at the shell prompt to run Octave.
</p>
<p>If executing a script from the command line (e.g., <code>octave foo.m</code>)
or using an executable Octave script, the program name is set to the
name of the script. See <a href="Executable-Octave-Programs.html#Executable-Octave-Programs">Executable Octave Programs</a>, for an example of
how to create an executable Octave script.
</p>
<p><strong>See also:</strong> <a href="#XREFprogram_005fname">program_name</a>.
</p></dd></dl>
<p>Here is an example of using these functions to reproduce the command
line which invoked Octave.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example">printf ("%s", program_name ());
arg_list = argv ();
for i = 1:nargin
printf (" %s", arg_list{i});
endfor
printf ("\n");
</pre></div>
<p>See <a href="Indexing-Cell-Arrays.html#Indexing-Cell-Arrays">Indexing Cell Arrays</a>, for an explanation of how to retrieve objects
from cell arrays, and <a href="Defining-Functions.html#Defining-Functions">Defining Functions</a>, for information about the
variable <code>nargin</code>.
</p>
<hr>
<div class="header">
<p>
Next: <a href="Startup-Files.html#Startup-Files" accesskey="n" rel="next">Startup Files</a>, Up: <a href="Invoking-Octave-from-the-Command-Line.html#Invoking-Octave-from-the-Command-Line" accesskey="u" rel="up">Invoking Octave from the Command Line</a> [<a href="index.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="Concept-Index.html#Concept-Index" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
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