= Expansions While parsing a command (see <>), Kakoune recognises certain patterns and will replace them with their associated value before executing the command. These patterns are called expansions. Every expansion consists of a `%`, followed by the expansion _type_ (one or more alphabetic characters), a quoting character, and then all the text up to and including its matching character. If a nestable punctuation character (`(`, `[`, `{`, or `<`) is used as the opening quoting character, the expansion will end at its matching opposite (`)`, `]`, `}`, or `>`). Nested pairs of the braces used in the expansion are allowed, but they must be balanced. Braces other than the ones used in the expansion need not be balanced, however. For example, `%{nest{ed} non[nested}` is valid and expands to `nest{ed} non[nested`. If any other character is used, the expansion will end at the next occurrence of that character. The quoting character can be escaped inside the expansion if it is doubled-up. For example, `%|abc||def|` expands to the text `abc|def`. It doesn't matter which character is used, but `{}` are most common. There are 2 types of quoting which can be used to group together words separated by whitespace into a single argument or prevent expansions from expanding: "double quoted strings":: Double quoted strings are mainly for grouping multiple `%` expansions or `%` expansions and regular text as a single argument. `%` and `"` can be escaped by doubling the characters (i.e. `%%` and `""`). 'single quoted strings':: Expansions are not processed inside single quoted strings. Single quotes can be escaped by doubling up (i.e. `''`). Expansions are processed when unquoted and anywhere inside double-quoted strings, but not inside unquoted words, inside single-quoted strings, or inside %-strings or other expansions (see <> for full details). For example: * `echo %val{session}` echoes the current session ID * `echo x%val{session}x` echoes the literal text `x%val{session}x` * `echo '%val{session}'` echoes the literal text `%val{session}` * `echo "x%val{session}x"` echoes the current session ID, surrounded by `x` * `echo %{%val{session}}` echoes the the literal text `%val{session}` * `echo %sh{ echo %val{session} }` echoes the literal text `%val{session}` Like "variable expansion" and "command substitution" in shell programming, Kakoune expansions can expand to multiple "words" - that is, separate arguments on the resulting command-line. However, unlike shell programming, Kakoune expansions cannot _accidentally_ expand to multiple words because they contain whitespace or other special characters. Only expansions which semantically contain a list of values (list-type options, registers, selections, etc.) expand to multiple arguments. While in shell-programming it's good practice to always wrap expansions in double-quotes, in Kakoune it's perfectly safe to leave expansions unquoted. == Argument expansions Expansions with the type `arg` can only be used inside the "commands" parameter of the `define-command` command (See <>). The following expansions are available: *%arg{n}*:: (where _n_ is a decimal number) + expands to argument number _n_ of the current command *%arg{@}*:: expands to all the arguments of the current command, as individual words == Option expansions Expansions with the type `opt` expand to the value associated with the named option in the current scope (See <>). For example, `%opt{BOM}` expands to `utf8` or to `none`, according to the current state of the `BOM` option. == Register expansions Expansions with the type `reg` expand to the contents of the named register. For registers named after symbols (like the search register `/`), the expansion can use either the symbol or the alphabetic name (See <>). For example, `%reg{/}` expands to the content of the `/` register, and so does `%reg{slash}`. == Shell expansions Expansions with the type `sh` are executed as shell-scripts, and whatever the script prints to standard output replaces the expansion. For example, the command `echo %sh{date}` will echo the output of the `date` command. TIP: If a shell expansion writes to standard error, that output is appended to Kakoune's `\*debug*` buffer. If you're trying to debug a shell expansion, check the debug buffer with `:buffer \*debug*` to see if anything shows up. Because Kakoune does not expand expansions inside the text of an expansion, you can't use normal expansions inside `%sh{}`. Instead, Kakoune can export expansions as environment variables to make them available to the shell. Here's how expansion patterns map to variable names: *%arg{n}*:: (where _n_ is a decimal number) + becomes `$_n_`. For example, `%arg{3}` becomes `$3`. *%arg{@}*:: becomes `$@` *%opt{x}*:: becomes `$kak_opt_x` *%reg{x}*:: (where _x_ is the alphabetic name of a register) + `$kak_reg_x` contains all the selections in register _x_ + `$kak_main_reg_x` contains only the main selection *%val{x}*:: becomes `$kak_x` Values can be quoted with a shell compatible quoting by using `$kak_quoted_` as a prefix, this is mostly useful for list-type options and registers, as it allows to correctly work with lists where elements might contains whitespaces: ---- eval set -- "$kak_quoted_selections" while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do # ... do a thing with $1 ... shift done ---- The `eval` command will take the expanded `$kak_quoted_selections` and unquote them, then execute the resulting `set` command, which sets the shell's argument variables to the items from `$kak_selections`. The `while` loop with `shift` iterates through the arguments one by one. Only variables actually mentioned in the body of the shell expansion will be exported into the shell's environment. For example: ---- echo %sh{ env | grep ^kak_ } ---- ... will find none of Kakoune's special environment variables, but: ---- echo %sh{ env | grep ^kak_ # kak_session } ---- ... will find the `$kak_session` variable because it was mentioned by name in a comment, even though it wasn't directly used. TIP: These environment variables are also available in other contexts where Kakoune uses a shell command, such as the `|`, `!` or `$` normal mode commands (See <>). === Command and Response fifo Inside shell expansions, `$kak_command_fifo` refers to a named pipe that accepts Kakoune commands to be executed as soon as the fifo is closed. This named pipe can be opened and closed multiple times which makes it possible to interleave shell and Kakoune commands. `$kak_response_fifo` refers to a named pipe that can be used to return data from Kakoune. ---- %sh{ echo "write $kak_response_fifo" > $kak_command_fifo content="$(cat $kak_response_fifo)" } ---- This also makes it possible to pass data bigger than the system environment size limit. == File expansions Expansions with the type `file` will expand to the content of the filename given in argument as read from the host filesystem. For example, this command stores the entire content of `/etc/passwd` into the `a` register. ---- set-register a %file{/etc/passwd} ---- == Value expansions Expansions with the type `val` give access to Kakoune internal data that is not stored in an option or a register. Some value expansions can only be used in certain contexts, like `%val{hook_param}` that expands to the parameter string of the currently-executing hook, and is not available outside a hook. The following expansions are supported (with required context _in italics_): *%val{buffile}*:: _in buffer, window scope_ + full path of the file or same as `%val{bufname}` when there’s no associated file *%val{buf_line_count}*:: _in buffer, window scope_ + number of lines in the current buffer *%val{buflist}*:: quoted list of the names of currently-open buffers (as seen in `%val{bufname}`) *%val{bufname}*:: _in buffer, window scope_ + name of the current buffer *%val{client_env_X}*:: _in window scope_ + value of the `$X` environment variable in the client displaying the current window (e.g. `%val{client_env_SHELL}` is `$SHELL` in the client's environment) *%val{client_list}*:: unquoted list of the names of clients (as seen in `%val{client}`) connected to the current session *%val{client}*:: _in window scope_ + name of the client displaying the current window *%val{client_pid}*:: _in window scope_ + process id of the client displaying the current window *%val{config}*:: directory containing the user configuration *%val{count}*:: _in `map` command parameter and `` from object menu_ + current count when the mapping was triggered, defaults to 0 if no count given *%val{cursor_byte_offset}*:: _in window scope_ + offset of the main cursor from the beginning of the buffer (in bytes) *%val{cursor_char_column}*:: _in window scope_ + 1-based offset from the start of the line to the cursor position in Unicode codepoints, which may differ from visible columns if the document contains full-width codepoints (which occupy two columns) or zero-width codepoints *%val{cursor_display_column}*:: _in window scope_ + 1-based offset from the start of the line to the cursor position in display column, taking into account tabs and character width. *%val{cursor_char_value}*:: _in window scope_ + unicode value of the codepoint under the main cursor *%val{cursor_column}*:: _in window scope_ + 1-based offset from the start of the line to the first byte of the character under the main cursor (in bytes), the fourth component of `%val{selection_desc}` *%val{cursor_line}*:: _in window scope_ + line of the main cursor, the third component of `%val{selection_desc}` *%val{error}*:: _in `try` command's parameter_ + the text of the error that cancelled execution of the parameter (or the previous parameter) *%val{history}*:: _in buffer, window scope_ + the full change history of the buffer, including undo forks, in terms of `parent committed redo_child modification0 modification1 ...` entries, where _parent_ is the index of the entry's predecessor (entry 0, which is the root of the history tree, will always have `-` here), _committed_ is a count in seconds from Kakoune's steady clock's epoch of the creation of the history entry, _redo_child_ is the index of the child which will be visited for `U` (always `-` at the leaves of the history), and each _modification_ is presented as in `%val{uncommitted_modifications}`. *%val{history_id}*:: _in buffer, window scope_ + history id of the current buffer, an integer value which refers to a specific buffer version in the undo tree (see also `%val{timestamp}`) *%val{hook_param_capture_n}*:: _in `hook` command parameter_ + text captured by capture group _n_, if the executing hook's filter regex used capture groups *%val{hook_param}*:: _in `hook` command parameter_ + the complete parameter string of the executing hook *%val{modified}*:: _in buffer, window scope_ + `true` if the buffer has modifications not saved, otherwise `false` *%val{object_flags}*:: _for commands executed from the object menu's `` only_ + a pipe-separted list of words including `inner` if the user wants an inner selection, `to_begin` if the user wants to select to the beginning, and `to_end` if the user wants to select to the end *%val{register}*:: _in `map` command parameter and `` from the object menu_ + current register when the mapping was triggered *%val{runtime}*:: the directory containing the kak support files, which is determined from Kakoune's binary location if `$KAKOUNE_RUNTIME` is not set *%val{select_mode}*:: _for commands executed from the object menu's `` only_ + `replace` if the new selection should replace the existing, `extend` otherwise *%val{selection}*:: _in window scope_ + content of the main selection *%val{selections}*:: _in window scope_ + quoted list of the contents of all selections *%val{selection_desc}*:: _in window scope_ + range of the main selection, represented as `a.b,c.d` where _a_ is the anchor line, _b_ is the number of bytes from the start of the line to the anchor, _c_ is the cursor line (like `%val{cursor_line}`), _d_ is the number of bytes from the start of the line to the cursor (like `%val{cursor_column}`), and all are 1-based decimal integers *%val{selections_char_desc}*:: _in window scope_ + unquoted list of the ranges of all selections, in the same format as `%val{selection_desc}`, except that the columns are in codepoints rather than bytes *%val{selections_display_column_desc}*:: _in window scope_ + unquoted list of the ranges of all selections, in the same format as `%val{selection_desc}`, except that the columns are in display columns rather than bytes *%val{selections_desc}*:: _in window scope_ + unquoted list of the ranges of all selections, in the same format as `%val{selection_desc}` *%val{selection_length}*:: _in window scope_ + length (in codepoints) of the main selection *%val{selections_length}*:: _in window scope_ + unquoted list of the lengths (in codepoints) of the selections *%val{selection_count}*:: _in window scope_ + the number of selections *%val{session}*:: name of the current session *%val{source}*:: _in `.kak` file_ + path of the file currently getting executed (through the source command) *%val{text}*:: _in `prompt` command parameter_ + the text entered by the user in response to the `prompt` command *%val{timestamp}*:: _in buffer, window scope_ + timestamp of the current buffer, an integer that increments each time the buffer is modified, including undoing and redoing previous modifications (see also `%val{history_id}`) *%val{uncommitted_modifications}*:: _in buffer, window scope_ + a list of quoted insertions (in the format `+line.column|text`) and deletions (`-line.column|text`) not yet saved to the history (e.g. typing in insert mode before pressing ``), where _line_ is the 1-based line of the change, _column_ is the 1-based _byte_ of the change start (see `%val{cursor_column}`), and _text_ is the content of the insertion or deletion (see also `%val{history}`) *%val{user_modes}*:: unquoted list of user modes. *%val{version}*:: version of the current Kakoune server (git hash or release name) *%val{window_height}*:: _in window scope_ + height of the current Kakoune window *%val{window_width}*:: _in window scope_ + width of the current Kakoune window *%val{window_range}*:: _in window scope_ + list of coordinates and dimensions of the buffer-space available on the current window, in the following format: ` ` Values in the above list that do not mention a context are available everywhere. A value described as a "quoted list" will follow the rules of Kakoune string quoting (See <>). An "unquoted list" cannot contain any special characters that would require quoting. == Recursive Expansions Expansions with the type `exp` expand their content, the same way doubly quoted strings do.