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CLI Settings Commands

In CLI mode, settings are managed through two commands: SHOWSETTINGS and SETSETTING.

SHOWSETTINGS Command

Display current settings and their values.

Syntax

SHOWSETTINGS [filter]

Parameters

  • filter (optional) - String to filter settings by category or name

Examples

Ok
SHOWSETTINGS
Displays all settings: 
variables.case_conflict = first_wins
variables.show_types_in_window = True
keywords.case_style = force_lower
editor.auto_number = True
editor.auto_number_step = 10
editor.tab_size = 4
editor.show_line_numbers = True
interpreter.strict_mode = False
interpreter.max_execution_time = 30
interpreter.debug_mode = False
ui.theme = default
ui.font_size = 12


Ok
SHOWSETTINGS editor
Displays only editor settings: 
editor.auto_number = True
editor.auto_number_step = 10
editor.tab_size = 4
editor.show_line_numbers = True


Ok
SHOWSETTINGS editor.auto_number_step
Displays single setting: 
editor.auto_number_step = 10

SETSETTING Command

Change a setting value.

Syntax

SETSETTING key value

Parameters

  • key - Setting name (dotted notation, e.g., editor.auto_number_step)
  • value - New value (type must match setting type)

Examples

Change Auto-Number Step

Ok
SETSETTING editor.auto_number_step 100
Setting 'editor.auto_number_step' = 100

Now when you type lines without numbers, they'll increment by 100: 

Ok
PRINT "Hello"
 100  PRINT "Hello"
Ok
PRINT "World"
 200  PRINT "World"

Enable/Disable Auto-Numbering

Ok
SETSETTING editor.auto_number false
Setting 'editor.auto_number' = False

Change Keyword Case Style

Ok
SETSETTING keywords.case_style force_upper
Setting 'keywords.case_style' = force_upper
Ok
LIST
 100  PRINT "Hello"
 200  PRINT "World"

Keywords now display in UPPERCASE.

Enable Strict Mode

Ok
SETSETTING interpreter.strict_mode true
Setting 'interpreter.strict_mode' = True

Change Variable Case Conflict Policy

Ok
SETSETTING variables.case_conflict error
Setting 'variables.case_conflict' = error

Now variable name case mismatches will trigger errors: 

Ok
10 TotalCount = 0
Ok
20 TotalCont = 1
?Error: Variable case conflict - 'TotalCont' vs 'TotalCount'

Error Handling

Unknown Setting

Ok
SETSETTING invalid.key value
?Error: Unknown setting 'invalid.key'

Invalid Value Type

Ok
SETSETTING editor.auto_number maybe
?Error: Invalid value for 'editor.auto_number': maybe
Expected type: boolean

Out of Range

Ok
SETSETTING editor.auto_number_step 9999
?Error: Invalid value for 'editor.auto_number_step': 9999
Valid range: 1-1000

Invalid Enum Choice

Ok
SETSETTING keywords.case_style rainbow
?Error: Invalid value for 'keywords.case_style': rainbow
Choices: force_lower, force_upper, force_capitalize

Settings Persistence

Settings changed with SETSETTING are automatically saved to disk and persist across CLI sessions.

Settings file location: - Linux/Mac: ~/.mbasic/settings.json - Windows: %APPDATA%\mbasic\settings.json

Available Settings

For a complete list of available settings, see Settings System Overview.

Quick Reference

Category Settings
editor auto_number, auto_number_step, tab_size, show_line_numbers
keywords case_style
variables case_conflict, show_types_in_window
interpreter strict_mode, max_execution_time, debug_mode
ui theme, font_size

Common Workflows

Customize Auto-Numbering

' Start at line 1000, increment by 10
SETSETTING editor.auto_number_step 10
SETSETTING editor.auto_number true

' Or start at 100, increment by 100
SETSETTING editor.auto_number_step 100

Configure for Classic BASIC Style

' Uppercase keywords, start at 10
SETSETTING keywords.case_style force_upper
SETSETTING editor.auto_number_step 10

Enable All Error Checking

SETSETTING interpreter.strict_mode true
SETSETTING variables.case_conflict error

Quick Settings Check

' Before starting work, check your settings
SHOWSETTINGS editor
SHOWSETTINGS keywords

Tips

  1. Use tab completion - In some terminal environments, setting names can be tab-completed

  2. Check before changing - Use SHOWSETTINGS <key> to see current value before changing

  3. Filter by category - Use SHOWSETTINGS editor to see only related settings

  4. Test settings - After changing, type a few lines to verify the behavior

  5. Document your preferences - Keep a small .bas file with your preferred SETSETTING commands

Example preferences file: 

' my-preferences.bas
10 REM My preferred MBASIC settings
20 REM
30 SETSETTING editor.auto_number_step 100
40 SETSETTING keywords.case_style force_upper
50 SETSETTING variables.case_conflict error
60 PRINT "Settings applied!"

Load with: RUN "my-preferences.bas"

See Also

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