# Configuration
The customization of zathura is be managed via a configuration file called zathurarc. By default zathura will evaluate the following files:
The zathurarc file is a simple plain text file that can be populated with various commands to change the behaviour and the look of zathura which we are going to describe in the following subsections. Each line (besides empty lines and comments (which start with a prepended #) is evaluated on its own, so it is not possible to write multiple commands in one single line.
## set - Changing options In addition to the build-in :set command zathura offers more options to be changed and makes those changes permanent. To overwrite an option you just have to add a line structured like the following
set <option> <new value>
The option field has to be replaced with the name of the option that should be changed and the new value field has to be replaced with the new value the option should get. The type of the value can be one of the following:
In addition we advice you to check the options to get a more detailed view of the options that can be changed and which values they should be set to.
The following example should give some deeper insight of how the set command can be used
set option1 5 set option2 2.0 set option3 hello set option4 hello\ world set option5 "hello world" set option6 "#00BB00"
## map - Mapping a shortcut It is possible to map or remap new key bindings to shortcut functions which allows a high level of customization. The :map command can also be used in the zathurarc file to make those changes permanent:
map [mode] <binding> <shortcut function> <argument>
### Mode The map command expects several arguments where only the binding as well as the shortcut-function argument is required. Since zathura uses several modes it is possible to map bindings only for a specific mode by passing the mode argument which can take one of the following values:
The brackets around the value are mandatory.
#### Single key binding The (possible) second argument defines the used key binding that should be mapped to the shortcut function and is structured like the following. On the one hand it is possible to just assign single letters, numbers or signs to it:
map a shortcut_function map b shortcut_function map c shortcut_function map 1 shortcut_function map 2 shortcut_function map 3 shortcut_function map ! shortcut_function map ? shortcut_function
#### Using modifiers It is also possible to use modifiers like the Control or Alt button on the keyboard. It is possible to use the following modifiers:
Now it is required to define the binding with the following structure:
map <A-a> shortcut_function map <C-a> shortcut_function
#### Special keys zathura allows it also to assign keys like the space bar or the tab button which also have to be written in between angle brackets. The following special keys are currently available:
Identifier Description
BackSpace Back space CapsLock Caps lock Esc Escape Down Arrow down Up Arrow up Left Arrow left Right Arrow right F1 F1 F2 F2 F3 F3 F4 F4 F5 F5 F6 F6 F7 F7 F8 F8 F9 F9 F10 F10 F11 F11 F12 F12 PageDown Page Down PageUp Page Up Return Return Space Space Super Windows button Tab Tab
Of course it is possible to combine those special keys with a modifier. The usage of those keys should be explained by the following examples:
map <Space> shortcut_function map <C-Space> shortcut_function
#### Mouse buttons It is also possible to map mouse buttons to shortcuts by using the following special keys:
Button1 Mouse button 1 Button2 Mouse button 2 Button3 Mouse button 3 Button4 Mouse button 4 Button5 Mouse button 5
They can also be combined with modifiers:
map <Button1> shortcut_function map <C-Button1> shortcut_function
#### Buffer commands If a mapping does not match one of the previous definition but is still a valid mapping it will be mapped as a buffer command:
map abc quit map test quit
#### Shortcut functions The following shortcut functions can be mapped:
Function Description
abort Switch back to normal mode adjust_window Adjust page width change_mode Change current mode follow Follow a link focus_inputbar Focus inputbar goto Go to a certain page index_navigate Navigate through the index navigate Navigate to the next/previous page quit Quit zathura recolor Recolor the pages reload Reload the document rotate Rotate the page scroll Scroll search Search next/previous item set Set an option toggle_fullscreen Toggle fullscreen toggle_index Show or hide index toggle_inputbar Show or hide inputbar toggle_statusbar Show or hide statusbar zoom Zoom in or out
#### Pass arguments Some shortcut function require or have optional arguments which influence the behaviour of them. Those can be passed as the last argument:
map <C-i> zoom in map <C-o> zoom out
Possible arguments are:
### unmap - Removing a shortcut In addition to mapping or remaping custom key bindings it is possible to remove existing ones by using the :unmap command. The command is used in the following way (the explanation of the parameters is described in the map section of this document
unmap [mode] <binding>
# Options
## General settings This section describes settings concerning the behaviour of zathura
### abort-clear-search Defines if the search results should be cleared on abort.
### adjust-open Defines which auto adjustment mode should be used if a document is loaded. Possible options are "best-fit" and "width".
### advance-pages-per-row Defines if the number of pages per row should be honored when advancing a page.
### database Defines the used database backend. Possible options are 'plain' and 'sqlite'
### highlight-color Defines the color that is used for highlighting parts of the document (e.g.: show search results)
### highlight-active-color Defines the color that is used to show the current selected highlighted element (e.g: current search result)
### highlight-transparency Defines the opacity of a highlighted element
### page-padding The page padding defines the gap in pixels between each rendered page.
### page-store-threshold Pages that are not visible get unloaded after some time. Every page that has not been visible for page-store-treshold seconds will be unloaded.
### page-store-interval Defines the amount of seconds between the check to unload invisible pages.
### pages-per-row Defines the number of pages that are rendered next to each other in a row.
### recolor En/Disables recoloring
### recolor-darkcolor Defines the color value that is used to represent dark colors in recoloring mode
### recolor-lightcolor Defines the color value that is used to represent light colors in recoloring mode
### render-loading Defines if the "Loading..." text should be displayed if a page is rendered.
### scroll-step Defines the step size of scrolling by calling the scroll command once
### scroll-wrap Defines if the last/first page should be wrapped
### zoom-max Defines the maximum percentage that the zoom level can be
### zoom-min Defines the minimum percentage that the zoom level can be
### zoom-step Defines the amount of percent that is zoomed in or out on each comand.
## Girara settings Most of the options affecting the appearance of zathura are derived from the options that are offered by our user interface library called girara and can be found in its documentation. Those values can also be set via the zathurarc file.