Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/xwmx/nb/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
nb settings (alias: nb set) opens an interactive settings prompt or lets you read and write configuration values directly from the command line. All settings are stored in ~/.nbrc as shell variable exports. You can reference settings by name or by their assigned number.
Usage
nb set [<name> [<value>] | <number> [<value>]]
nb settings colors [<number> | themes]
nb settings edit
nb settings get (<name> | <number>)
nb settings list [--long]
nb settings set (<name> | <number>) <value>
nb settings show (<name> | <number>)
nb settings unset (<name> | <number>)
nb set and nb settings are aliases for the same subcommand and can be used interchangeably.
Subcommands
(default) — Interactive Prompt
Running nb settings or nb set with no arguments opens the interactive prompt. Enter a setting name or number, then enter the new value:
To open the prompt directly for a specific setting, pass the name or number:
colors
Print a table of available xterm color numbers and their rendered colors:
nb settings colors
# display a specific color number
nb settings colors 105
# list installed themes
nb settings colors themes
edit
Open the ~/.nbrc configuration file directly in $EDITOR:
get
Print the current value of a setting:
nb settings get editor
nb settings get 6
list
List all available settings with their names, numbers, and descriptions:
nb settings list
# include full descriptions
nb settings list --long
set
Assign a value to a setting without using the interactive prompt:
nb settings set editor vim
nb settings set 6 vim
nb settings set color_theme blacklight
nb settings set limit 10
show
Print the full help description and current value for a setting:
nb settings show editor
nb settings show 6
unset
Restore a setting to its default value:
nb settings unset editor
nb settings unset 6
Quick Assignment with nb set
The nb set alias is the fastest way to configure nb from the command line:
# set the editor by name
nb set editor vim
# set the editor by number (6)
nb set 6 vim
# set the color theme
nb set color_theme blacklight
# set the default list limit
nb set limit 10
Example: Configuring the Editor
# open interactive prompt for the editor setting
❯ nb set editor
[6] editor
------
The command line text editor used by `nb`.
• Example Values:
atom
code
emacs
hx
macdown
mate
micro
nano
pico
subl
vi
vim
EDITOR is currently set to vim
Enter a new value, unset to set to the default value, or q to quit.
Value:
❯ nb set editor code
EDITOR set to code
❯ nb set 6 code
EDITOR set to code
❯ nb settings get editor
code
❯ nb settings get 6
code
❯ nb unset editor
EDITOR restored to the default: vim
Complete Settings Reference
All settings are listed below with their number, name, description, and default value.
Use nb settings list --long to see the full list in your terminal at any time.
[1] auto_sync
Controls whether add, edit, and delete operations automatically sync notebook changes to the remote repository.
[1] auto_sync
---------
By default, operations that trigger a git commit like `add`, `edit`,
and `delete` will sync notebook changes to the remote repository, if
the notebook's remote is set. To disable this behavior, set this to "0".
• Default Value: 1
nb set auto_sync 0 # disable automatic syncing
nb set auto_sync 1 # re-enable (default)
[2] color_primary
The primary highlight color used for identifiers and messages, as an xterm color number.
[2] color_primary
-------------
The primary color used to highlight identifiers and messages.
• Supported Values: xterm color numbers 0 through 255.
• Default Value: 68 (blue) for 256 color terminals,
4 (blue) for 8 color terminals.
[3] color_secondary
The color used for lines and footer elements.
[3] color_secondary
---------------
The color used for lines and footer elements.
• Supported Values: xterm color numbers 0 through 255.
• Default Value: 8
nb set color_secondary 240
[4] color_theme
The overall color theme for nb.
[4] color_theme
-----------
The color theme.
• Available themes:
blacklight console desert electro forest
nb ocean raspberry smoke unicorn utility
• Default Value: nb
nb set color_theme ocean
nb set color_theme blacklight
nb set syntax_theme.
[5] default_extension
The default file extension for new notes.
[5] default_extension
-----------------
The default extension to use for note files. Change to "org" for
Org files, "rst" for reStructuredText, "txt" for plain text, or
whatever you prefer.
• Default Value: md
nb set default_extension org
nb set default_extension txt
[6] editor
The command line text editor used by nb.
[6] editor
------
The command line text editor used by `nb`.
• Example Values: atom, code, emacs, hx, macdown, mate,
micro, nano, pico, subl, vi, vim
nb set editor vim
nb set 6 vim
The tool used for encrypting notes and bookmarks.
[7] encryption_tool
---------------
The tool used for encrypting notes.
• Supported Values: openssl, gpg
• Default Value: openssl
nb set encryption_tool gpg
Controls whether nb and nb ls display the example-commands footer.
[8] footer
------
By default, `nb` and `nb ls` include a footer with example commands.
To hide this footer, set this to "0".
• Default Value: 1
nb set footer 0 # hide footer
Controls the notebook header displayed above lists.
[9] header
------
Set the alignment, or hide the header with "0".
• Supported Values:
0 Hide Header
1 Dynamic Alignment (default)
2 Center Aligned
3 Left Justified
• Default Value: 1
nb set header 0 # hide header
nb set header 3 # left-justified
[10] limit
The maximum number of items shown in nb and nb ls lists.
[10] limit
-----
The maximum number of items included in the `nb` and `nb ls` lists.
Set to `auto` to automatically limit output to the current terminal height.
Set a maximum auto limit with `auto^<max>`, e.g., `auto^15`.
• Example Values: 15, auto, auto^15, auto-2, auto+2
• Default Value: 15
nb set limit 20
nb set limit auto
nb set limit auto^20
[11] nb_dir
The directory that contains all notebooks.
[11] nb_dir
------
The location of the directory that contains the notebooks.
For example, to sync all notebooks with Dropbox, create a folder at
`~/Dropbox/Notes` and run: `nb settings set nb_dir ~/Dropbox/Notes`
• Default Value: ~/.nb
nb set nb_dir ~/Dropbox/Notes
[12] syntax_theme
The syntax highlighting theme used when displaying notes with bat, highlight, or Pygments.
[12] syntax_theme
------------
The syntax highlighting theme. View examples with: bat --list-themes
• Available themes: 1337, DarkNeon, Dracula, GitHub,
Monokai Extended, Nord, OneHalfDark, Solarized (dark),
Solarized (light), TwoDark, base16, gruvbox, zenburn, …
• Default Value: base16
nb set syntax_theme Dracula
nb set syntax_theme Nord
Examples
# view all settings
nb settings list --long
# set editor
nb set editor nano
# set the color theme
nb set color_theme forest
# get the current color_primary value
nb settings get color_primary
# restore default for color_primary
nb settings unset color_primary
# open ~/.nbrc in $EDITOR
nb settings edit
# view available colors
nb settings colors