diff --git a/README.asciidoc b/README.asciidoc
index fee80380..6ee322c6 100644
--- a/README.asciidoc
+++ b/README.asciidoc
@@ -353,7 +353,7 @@ Options are typed, their type can be
 Options value can be changed using the +set+ commands:
 
 --------------------------------------------------------------
-:set{b,w,g} <option> <value> # buffer, window, or global scope
+:set [global,buffer,window] <option> <value> # buffer, window, or global scope
 --------------------------------------------------------------
 
 Option values can be different by scope, an option can have a global
diff --git a/doc/interfacing.asciidoc b/doc/interfacing.asciidoc
index 46f47656..e636ccea 100644
--- a/doc/interfacing.asciidoc
+++ b/doc/interfacing.asciidoc
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ This is a very simple example, most of the time, the echo command will as
 well contains
 
 -----
-setb filetype <...>
+set buffer filetype <...>
 -----
 
 and some hooks for this filetype will have been written
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ decl str plugin_filename
 %sh{
     # ask Kakoune to write current buffer to temporary file
     filename=$(mktemp -t kak-temp.XXXXXXXX)
-    echo "setb plugin_filename '$filename'
+    echo "set buffer plugin_filename '$filename'
           write '$filename'"
 }
 # End the %sh{} so that it's output gets executed by Kakoune.
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ nop %sh{ ( # launch a detached shell
     # generate completion option value
     completions="$line.$column@$kak_timestamp:$candidates"
     # write to Kakoune socket for the buffer that triggered the completion
-    echo "setb -buffer '${kak_bufname}' completions '$completions'" |
+    echo "set buffer=${kak_bufname} completions '$completions'" |
         socat stdin UNIX-SOCKET:/tmp/kak-${kak_session}
 ) >& /dev/null < /dev/null & }
 -----
diff --git a/src/commands.cc b/src/commands.cc
index 4b015c16..ce973b22 100644
--- a/src/commands.cc
+++ b/src/commands.cc
@@ -460,47 +460,30 @@ void exec_commands_in_file(CommandParameters params,
     CommandManager::instance().execute(file_content, context);
 }
 
-void set_global_option(CommandParameters params, Context& context)
+static OptionManager& get_options(const String& scope, const Context& context)
+{
+    if (prefix_match("global", scope))
+        return GlobalOptions::instance();
+    else if (prefix_match("buffer", scope))
+        return context.buffer().options();
+    else if (prefix_match("window", scope))
+        return context.window().options();
+    else if (prefix_match(scope, "buffer="))
+        return BufferManager::instance().get_buffer(scope.substr(7_byte)).options();
+    throw runtime_error("error: no such option container " + scope);
+}
+
+void set_option(CommandParameters params, Context& context)
 {
     ParametersParser parser(params, { { "add", false } },
                             ParametersParser::Flags::OptionsOnlyAtStart,
-                            2, 2);
+                            3, 3);
 
-    Option& opt = GlobalOptions::instance().get_local_option(parser[0]);
+    Option& opt = get_options(parser[0], context).get_local_option(parser[1]);
     if (parser.has_option("add"))
-        opt.add_from_string(parser[1]);
+        opt.add_from_string(parser[2]);
     else
-        opt.set_from_string(parser[1]);
-}
-
-void set_buffer_option(CommandParameters params, Context& context)
-{
-    ParametersParser parser(params, { { "buffer", true}, { "add", false } },
-                            ParametersParser::Flags::OptionsOnlyAtStart,
-                            2, 2);
-
-    OptionManager& options = parser.has_option("buffer") ?
-        BufferManager::instance().get_buffer(parser.option_value("buffer")).options()
-      : context.buffer().options();
-
-    Option& opt = options.get_local_option(parser[0]);
-    if (parser.has_option("add"))
-        opt.add_from_string(parser[1]);
-    else
-        opt.set_from_string(parser[1]);
-}
-
-void set_window_option(CommandParameters params, Context& context)
-{
-    ParametersParser parser(params, { { "add", false } },
-                            ParametersParser::Flags::OptionsOnlyAtStart,
-                            2, 2);
-
-    Option& opt = context.window().options().get_local_option(parser[0]);
-    if (parser.has_option("add"))
-        opt.add_from_string(parser[1]);
-    else
-        opt.set_from_string(parser[1]);
+        opt.set_from_string(parser[2]);
 }
 
 void declare_option(CommandParameters params, Context& context)
@@ -873,21 +856,26 @@ void register_commands()
     cm.register_command("echo", echo_message);
     cm.register_command("debug", write_debug_message);
 
-    cm.register_commands({ "setg", "setglobal" }, set_global_option,
-                         PerArgumentCommandCompleter({
-                             [](const Context& context, const String& prefix, ByteCount cursor_pos)
-                             { return GlobalOptions::instance().complete_option_name(prefix, cursor_pos); }
-                         }));
-    cm.register_commands({ "setb", "setbuffer" }, set_buffer_option,
-                         PerArgumentCommandCompleter({
-                             [](const Context& context, const String& prefix, ByteCount cursor_pos)
-                             { return context.buffer().options().complete_option_name(prefix, cursor_pos); }
-                         }));
-    cm.register_commands({ "setw", "setwindow" }, set_window_option,
-                         PerArgumentCommandCompleter({
-                             [](const Context& context, const String& prefix, ByteCount cursor_pos)
-                             { return context.window().options().complete_option_name(prefix, cursor_pos); }
-                         }));
+    cm.register_command("set", set_option,
+                        [](const Context& context, CommandParameters params, size_t token_to_complete, ByteCount pos_in_token)
+                        {
+                            if (token_to_complete == 0)
+                            {
+                                CandidateList res;
+                                for (auto scope : { "global", "buffer", "window" })
+                                {
+                                    if (params.size() == 0 or prefix_match(scope, params[0].substr(0_byte, pos_in_token)))
+                                        res.emplace_back(scope);
+                                }
+                                return res;
+                            }
+                            else if (token_to_complete == 1)
+                            {
+                                OptionManager& options = get_options(params[0], context);
+                                return options.complete_option_name(params[1], pos_in_token);
+                            }
+                            return CandidateList{};
+                        } );
 
     cm.register_commands({"ca", "colalias"}, define_color_alias);
     cm.register_commands({"nc", "nameclient"}, set_client_name);
diff --git a/src/rc/asciidoc.kak b/src/rc/asciidoc.kak
index 0d40780b..cfec02b1 100644
--- a/src/rc/asciidoc.kak
+++ b/src/rc/asciidoc.kak
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-hook global BufCreate .*\.asciidoc %{ setb filetype asciidoc }
+hook global BufCreate .*\.asciidoc %{ set buffer filetype asciidoc }
 
 hook global WinSetOption filetype=asciidoc %{
     addhl group asciidoc-highlight
diff --git a/src/rc/clang.kak b/src/rc/clang.kak
index 5cb4647a..db9412dc 100644
--- a/src/rc/clang.kak
+++ b/src/rc/clang.kak
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ decl str clang_options
 def clang-complete %{
     %sh{
         filename=$(mktemp -d -t kak-clang.XXXXXXXX)/buffer.cpp
-        echo "setb clang_filename $filename"
+        echo "set buffer clang_filename $filename"
         echo "write $filename"
     }
     # end the previous %sh{} so that its output gets interpreted by kakoune
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ def clang-complete %{
             for cmp in ${output}; do
                 completions="${completions}:${cmp}"
             done
-            echo "eval -client $kak_client %[ echo completed; setb completions '${completions}' ]" | socat -u stdin UNIX-CONNECT:/tmp/kak-${kak_session}
+            echo "eval -client $kak_client %[ echo completed; set buffer completions '${completions}' ]" | socat -u stdin UNIX-CONNECT:/tmp/kak-${kak_session}
         ) >& /dev/null < /dev/null &
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/rc/cpp.kak b/src/rc/cpp.kak
index d93a8888..18d4e96a 100644
--- a/src/rc/cpp.kak
+++ b/src/rc/cpp.kak
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 hook global BufCreate .*\.(c|cc|cpp|cxx|C|h|hh|hpp|hxx|H) %{
-    setb filetype cpp
+    set buffer filetype cpp
 }
 
 hook global BufOpen .* %{ %sh{
      mimetype="$(file -b --mime-type ${kak_bufname})"
      if [[ "${mimetype}" == "text/x-c++" || "${mimetype}" == "text/x-c" ]]; then
-         echo setb filetype cpp;
+         echo set buffer filetype cpp;
      fi
 } }
 
diff --git a/src/rc/diff.kak b/src/rc/diff.kak
index fcd0e91f..b91b0f1e 100644
--- a/src/rc/diff.kak
+++ b/src/rc/diff.kak
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 hook global BufCreate .*\.(diff|patch) %{
-    setb filetype diff
+    set buffer filetype diff
 }
 
 hook global WinSetOption filetype=diff %{
diff --git a/src/rc/git-tools.kak b/src/rc/git-tools.kak
index c28c1070..61b5ebd0 100644
--- a/src/rc/git-tools.kak
+++ b/src/rc/git-tools.kak
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ def -shell-params git %{ %sh{
             echo "edit! -scratch *git*
                   exec |cat<space>${tmpfile}<ret>gk
                   nop %sh{rm ${tmpfile}}
-                  setb filetype '${filetype}'"
+                  set buffer filetype '${filetype}'"
 
             [[ -n "$kak_opt_docsclient" ]] && echo "}"
         else
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ def -shell-params git %{ %sh{
         (
             echo "eval -client '$kak_client' %{
                       try %{ addhl flag_lines magenta git_blame_flags } catch %{}
-                      setb -buffer '$kak_bufname' git_blame_flags ''
+                      set buffer=$kak_bufname git_blame_flags ''
                   }" | socat -u stdin UNIX-CONNECT:/tmp/kak-${kak_session}
             declare -A authors
             declare -A dates
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ def -shell-params git %{ %sh{
                 for (( i=1; $i < $count; i++ )); do
                     flag="$flag:$(($line+$i))|black|$text"
                 done
-                echo "setb -add -buffer '$kak_bufname' git_blame_flags %{${flag}}" | socat -u stdin UNIX-CONNECT:/tmp/kak-${kak_session}
+                echo "set buffer -add buffer=$kak_bufname git_blame_flags %{${flag}}" | socat -u stdin UNIX-CONNECT:/tmp/kak-${kak_session}
             }
             git blame --incremental $kak_bufname | ( while read blame_line; do
                 if [[ $blame_line =~ ([0-9a-f]{40}).([0-9]+).([0-9]+).([0-9]+) ]]; then
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ def -shell-params git %{ %sh{
                     flags="$flags:$line|red|-"
                 fi
             done
-            echo "setb git_diff_flags '$flags'"
+            echo "set buffer git_diff_flags '$flags'"
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/src/rc/git.kak b/src/rc/git.kak
index 678ffbb2..0444cdd7 100644
--- a/src/rc/git.kak
+++ b/src/rc/git.kak
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 hook global BufCreate .*COMMIT_EDITMSG %{
-    setb filetype git-commit
+    set buffer filetype git-commit
 }
 
 hook global WinSetOption filetype=git-commit %{
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ hook global WinSetOption filetype=(?!git-commit).* %{
 }
 
 hook global BufCreate .*git-rebase-todo %{
-    setb filetype git-rebase
+    set buffer filetype git-rebase
 }
 
 hook global WinSetOption filetype=git-rebase %{
diff --git a/src/rc/grep.kak b/src/rc/grep.kak
index 3ff91a0f..b98708b0 100644
--- a/src/rc/grep.kak
+++ b/src/rc/grep.kak
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ def -shell-params -file-completion \
      [[ -n "$kak_opt_toolsclient" ]] && echo "eval -client '$kak_opt_toolsclient' %{"
 
      echo "edit! -fifo ${output} *grep*
-           setb filetype grep
+           set buffer filetype grep
            hook buffer BufClose .* %{ nop %sh{ rm -r $(dirname ${output}) } }"
 
      [[ -n "$kak_opt_toolsclient" ]] && echo "}"
diff --git a/src/rc/kakrc.kak b/src/rc/kakrc.kak
index 223ae638..2dfe050b 100644
--- a/src/rc/kakrc.kak
+++ b/src/rc/kakrc.kak
@@ -1,15 +1,15 @@
 hook global BufCreate (.*/)?(kakrc|.*.kak) %{
-    setb filetype kak
+    set buffer filetype kak
 }
 
 hook global WinSetOption filetype=kak %{
     addhl group kak-highlight
-    addhl -group kak-highlight regex \<(hook|rmhooks|addhl|rmhl|addfilter|rmfilter|exec|eval|source|runtime|def|decl|echo|edit|set[gbw])\> 0:keyword
+    addhl -group kak-highlight regex \<(hook|rmhooks|addhl|rmhl|addfilter|rmfilter|exec|eval|source|runtime|def|decl|echo|edit|set)\> 0:keyword
     addhl -group kak-highlight regex \<(default|black|red|green|yellow|blue|magenta|cyan|white)\> 0:value
     addhl -group kak-highlight regex (?<=\<hook)\h+((global|buffer|window)|(\S+))\h+(\S+)\h+(\H+) 2:attribute 3:error 4:identifier 5:string
+    addhl -group kak-highlight regex (?<=\<set)\h+((global|buffer|window)|(\S+))\h+(\S+)\h+(\H+) 2:attribute 3:error 4:identifier 5:value
     addhl -group kak-highlight regex (?<=\<regex)\h+(\S+) 1:string
     addhl -group kak-highlight regex (["'])(?:\\\1|.)*?\1 0:string
-    addhl -group kak-highlight regex (?<=\<set[gbw])\h+(\S+)\h+(\S+) 1:identifier 2:value
     addhl -group kak-highlight regex (^|\h)\#[^\n]*\n 0:comment
 }
 
diff --git a/src/rc/mail.kak b/src/rc/mail.kak
index d0603fec..abf5364a 100644
--- a/src/rc/mail.kak
+++ b/src/rc/mail.kak
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 hook global BufOpen .* %{ %sh{
      mimetype="$(file -b --mime-type ${kak_bufname})"
      if [[ "${mimetype}" == "message/rfc822" ]]; then
-         echo setb filetype mail;
+         echo set buffer filetype mail;
      fi
 } }
 
diff --git a/src/rc/make.kak b/src/rc/make.kak
index 694f3415..6e77164a 100644
--- a/src/rc/make.kak
+++ b/src/rc/make.kak
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ def -shell-params make %{ %sh{
      [[ -n "$kak_opt_toolsclient" ]] && echo "eval -client '$kak_opt_toolsclient' %{"
 
      echo "edit! -fifo ${output} *make*
-           setb filetype make
+           set buffer filetype make
            hook buffer BufClose .* %{ nop %sh{ rm -r $(dirname ${output}) } }"
 
      [[ -n "$kak_opt_toolsclient" ]] && echo "}"
diff --git a/src/rc/man.kak b/src/rc/man.kak
index 6d2c27a6..386f2df0 100644
--- a/src/rc/man.kak
+++ b/src/rc/man.kak
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ hook global WinSetOption filetype=man %{
     addhl -group man-highlight regex ^\h+-+[-a-zA-Z_]+ 0:yellow
     addhl -group man-highlight regex [-a-zA-Z_.]+\(\d\) 0:green
     hook window -id man-hooks NormalKey <c-m> man
-    setb tabstop 8
+    set buffer tabstop 8
 }
 
 hook global WinSetOption filetype=(?!man).* %{
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ def -shell-params man %{ %sh{
         echo "edit! -scratch '*man*'
               exec |cat<space>${tmpfile}<ret>gk
               nop %sh{rm ${tmpfile}}
-              setb filetype man"
+              set buffer filetype man"
     else
        echo "echo %{man '$@' failed: see *debug* buffer for details }"
        rm ${tmpfile}
diff --git a/src/rc/sh.kak b/src/rc/sh.kak
index fb338dbd..d558d0a9 100644
--- a/src/rc/sh.kak
+++ b/src/rc/sh.kak
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 hook global BufCreate .*\.(sh) %{
-    setb filetype sh
+    set buffer filetype sh
 }
 
 hook global BufOpen .* %{ %sh{
      mimetype="$(file -b --mime-type ${kak_bufname})"
      if [[ "${mimetype}" == "text/x-shellscript" ]]; then
-         echo setb filetype sh;
+         echo set buffer filetype sh;
      fi
 } }