DFHack Documentation

Release 0.47.04-r2

The DFHack Team

2020-08-27
 Contents

I Quick Links 3

II User Manual 7
1 Introduction and Overview 9

2 Installing DFHack 11

3 DFHack Core 15

4 DFHack Plugins 25

5 DFHack Scripts 83

6 About DFHack 179

7 DFHack Development Guide 219

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DFHack is a memory editing library for Dwarf Fortress that provides a unified, cross-platform environment where
tools can be developed to extend the game. The default distribution contains a variety of tools, including bugfixes,
interface improvements, automation tools, modding tools, and more. There are also a variety of third-party tools
available.

Contents 1
DFHack Documentation, Release 0.47.04-r2

2 Contents
 Part I

Quick Links

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• Downloads
• Installation guide
• Source code (important: read Compiling DFHack before attempting to build from source)
• Bay 12 forums thread
• Bug tracker

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6
 Part II

User Manual

7
 CHAPTER 1

Introduction and Overview

DFHack is a Dwarf Fortress memory access library, distributed with a wide variety of useful scripts and plugins.
The project is currently hosted on GitHub, and can be downloaded from the releases page - see Installing DFHack for
installation instructions. This is also where the DFHack bug tracker is hosted.
All new releases are announced in the Bay12 forums thread, which is also a good place for discussion and questions.
For users, DFHack provides a significant suite of bugfixes and interface enhancements by default, and more can be
enabled. There are also many tools (such as workflow or autodump) which can make life easier. You can even add
third-party scripts and plugins to do almost anything!
For modders, DFHack makes many things possible. Custom reactions, new interactions, magic creature abilities, and
more can be set through Scripts for Modders and custom raws. Non-standard DFHack scripts and inits can be stored in
the raw directory, making raws or saves fully self-contained for distribution - or for coexistence in a single DF install,
even with incompatible components.
For developers, DFHack unites the various ways tools access DF memory and allows easier development of new tools.
As an open-source project under various open-source licences, contributions are welcome.

Contents

• Getting started
• Troubleshooting

1.1 Getting started

See Installing DFHack for details on installing DFHack.

Once DFHack is installed, it extends DF with a console that can be used to run commands. On Windows, this console
will open automatically when DF is started. On Linux and macOS, you will need to run the dfhack script from a
terminal (instead of the df script included with DF), and that terminal will be used by the DFHack console.

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• Basic interaction with DFHack involves entering commands into the console. To learn what commands are
available, you can keep reading this documentation or skip ahead and use the ls and help commands.
• Another way to interact with DFHack is to set in-game keybindings for certain commands. Many of the newer
and user-friendly tools are designed to be used this way.
• Commands can also run at startup via init files, on in batches at other times with the script command.
• Finally, some commands are persistent once enabled, and will sit in the background managing or changing some
aspect of the game if you enable them.

1.2 Troubleshooting

Don’t panic! Even if you need this section, it’ll be OK :)

If something goes wrong, check the log files in DF’s folder ([Link] and [Link]). Looking at these
might help you - or someone else - solve the problem. Take screenshots of any weird error messages, and take notes
on what you did to cause them.
If the search function in this documentation isn’t enough and the DF Wiki hasn’t helped, try asking in:
• the #dfhack IRC channel on freenode
• the Bay12 DFHack thread
• the /r/dwarffortress questions thread
• the thread for the mod or Starter Pack you’re using (if any)

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 CHAPTER 2

Installing DFHack

• Requirements
– Windows
– Linux
– macOS
• Downloading DFHack
• Installing DFHack
• Uninstalling DFHack
• Upgrading DFHack
• Pre-packaged DFHack installations

2.1 Requirements

DFHack supports Windows, Linux, and macOS, and both 64-bit and 32-bit builds of Dwarf Fortress.
DFHack releases generally only support the version of Dwarf Fortress that they are named after. For example, DFHack
0.40.24-r5 only supported DF 0.40.24. DFHack releases never support newer versions of DF, because DFHack requires
data about DF that is only possible to obtain after DF has been released. Occasionally, DFHack releases will be able to
maintain support for older versions of DF - for example, DFHack 0.34.11-r5 supported both DF 0.34.11 and 0.34.10.
For maximum stability, you should usually use the latest versions of both DF and DFHack.

2.1.1 Windows

• DFHack only supports the SDL version of Dwarf Fortress. The “legacy” version will not work with DFHack
(the “small” SDL version is acceptable, however).

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• Windows XP and older are not supported, due in part to a Visual C++ 2015 bug
The Windows build of DFHack should work under Wine on other operating systems, although this is not tested very
often. It is recommended to use the native build for your operating system instead.

2.1.2 Linux

Generally, DFHack should work on any modern Linux distribution. There are multiple release binaries provided - as of
DFHack 0.47.04-r1, there are built with GCC 7 and GCC 4.8 (as indicated by the gcc component of their filenames).
Using the newest build that works on your system is recommended. The GCC 4.8 build is built on Ubuntu 14.04 and
targets an older glibc, so it should work on older distributions.
In the event that none of the provided binaries work on your distribution, you may need to compile DFHack from
source.

2.1.3 macOS

OS X 10.6.8 or later is required.

2.2 Downloading DFHack

Stable builds of DFHack are available on GitHub. GitHub has been known to change their layout periodically, but
as of July 2020, downloads are available at the bottom of the release notes for each release, under a section named
“Assets” (which you may have to expand). The name of the file indicates which DF version, platform, and architecture
the build supports - the platform and architecture (64-bit or 32-bit) must match your build of DF. The DF version
should also match your DF version - see above for details. For example:
• [Link] supports 64-bit DF on Windows
• [Link].bz2 supports 32-bit DF on Linux (see Linux for
details on the GCC version indicator)
The DFHack website also provides links to unstable builds. These files have a different naming scheme, but the same
restrictions apply (e.g. a file named Windows64 is for 64-bit Windows DF).

Warning: Do not download the source code from GitHub, either from the releases page or by clicking “Download
ZIP” on the repo homepage. This will give you an incomplete copy of the DFHack source code, which will not
work as-is. (If you want to compile DFHack instead of using a pre-built release, see Compiling DFHack for
instructions.)

2.3 Installing DFHack

When you download DFHack, you will end up with a release archive (a .zip file on Windows, or a .tar.bz2 file
on other platforms). Your operating system should have built-in utilities capable of extracting files from these archives.
The release archives contain several files and folders, including a hack folder, a dfhack-config folder, and a
[Link]-example file. To install DFHack, copy all of the files from the DFHack archive into the root DF
folder, which should already include a data folder and a raw folder, among other things. Some packs and other
redistributions of Dwarf Fortress may place DF in another folder, so ensure that the hack folder ends up next to the
data folder.

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Note: On Windows, installing DFHack will overwrite [Link]. This is intentional and necessary for DFHack
to work, so be sure to choose to overwrite [Link] if prompted. (If you are not prompted, you may be installing
DFHack in the wrong place.)

2.4 Uninstalling DFHack

Uninstalling DFHack essentially involves reversing what you did to install DFHack. On Windows, replace [Link]
with [Link] first. Then, you can remove any files that were part of the DFHack archive. DFHack does not
currently maintain a list of these files, so if you want to completely remove them, you should consult the DFHack
archive that you installed for a full list. Generally, any files left behind should not negatively affect DF.

2.5 Upgrading DFHack

The recommended approach to upgrade DFHack is to uninstall DFHack first, then install the new version. This will
ensure that any files that are only part of the older DFHack installation do not affect the new DFHack installation
(although this is unlikely to occur).
It is also possible to overwrite an existing DFHack installation in-place. To do this, follow the installation instructions
above, but overwrite all files that exist in the new DFHack archive (on Windows, this includes [Link] again).

Note: You may wish to make a backup of your dfhack-config folder first if you have made changes to it. Some
archive managers (e.g. Archive Utility on macOS) will overwrite the entire folder, removing any files that you have
added.

2.6 Pre-packaged DFHack installations

There are several packs available that include DF, DFHack, and other utilities. If you are new to Dwarf Fortress and
DFHack, these may be easier to set up. Note that these packs are not maintained by the DFHack team and vary in
their release schedules and contents. Some may make significant configuration changes, and some may not include
DFHack at all.

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14 Chapter 2. Installing DFHack

 CHAPTER 3

DFHack Core

Contents

• Command Implementation
• Using DFHack Commands
– The DFHack Console
– Using an OS terminal
• Built-in Commands
– alias
– cls
– die
– enable
– fpause
– help
– hide
– keybinding
– kill-lua
– load
– ls
– plug
– sc-script
– script

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– show
– type
– Other Commands
• Init Files
– dfhack*.init
– onLoad*.init
– onUnload*.init
– Other init files
• Environment variables
• Miscellaneous Notes

3.1 Command Implementation

DFHack commands can be implemented in three ways, all of which are used in the same way:
builtin commands are implemented by the core of DFHack. They manage other DFHack tools, interpret
commands, and control basic aspects of DF (force pause or quit).
plugins are stored in hack/plugins/ and must be compiled with the same version of DFHack. They
are less flexible than scripts, but used for complex or ongoing tasks because they run faster.
scripts are Ruby or Lua scripts stored in hack/scripts/. Because they don’t need to be compiled,
scripts are more flexible about versions, and easier to distribute. Most third-party DFHack addons
are scripts.

3.2 Using DFHack Commands

DFHack commands can be executed in a number of ways:

1. Typing the command into the DFHack console (see below)
2. From the OS terminal (see below)
3. Pressing a key combination set up with keybinding
4. From one of several Init Files, automatically
5. Using script to run a batch of commands from a file

3.2.1 The DFHack Console

The command line has some nice line editing capabilities, including history that’s preserved between different runs of
DF - use ↑ and ↓ to go through the history.
To include whitespace in the argument/s to some command, quote it in double quotes. To include a double quote
character, use \".

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If the first non-whitespace character is :, the command is parsed in an alternative mode. The non-whitespace characters
following the : are the command name, and the remaining part of the line is used verbatim as the first argument. This
is very useful for the lua and ruby commands. As an example, the following two command lines are exactly equivalent:

:foo a b "c d" e f

foo "a b \"c d\" e f"

3.2.2 Using an OS terminal

DFHack commands can be run from an OS terminal at startup, using ‘+ args’, or at any other time using the
dfhack-run executable.
If DF/DFHack is started with arguments beginning with +, the remaining text is treated as a command in the DFHack
console. It is possible to use multiple such commands, which are split on +. For example:

./dfhack +load-save region1

"Dwarf [Link]" +devel/print-args Hello! +enable workflow

The first example (*nix), load-save, skips the main menu and loads region1 immediately. The second (Windows)
example prints Hello! in the DFHack console, and enables workflow. Note that the :foo syntax for whitespace in
arguments is not compatible with ‘+ args’.

dfhack-run

If DF and DFHack are already running, calling dfhack-run my command in an external terminal is equiva-
lent to calling my command in the DFHack console. Direct use of the DFHack console is generally easier, but
dfhack-run can be useful in a variety of circumstances:
• if the console is unavailable
– with the init setting PRINT_MODE:TEXT
– while running an interactive command (e.g. liquids or tiletypes)
• from external programs or scripts
• if DF or DFHack are not responding
Examples:

./dfhack-run cursecheck
dfhack-run kill-lua

The first (*nix) example checks for vampires; the second (Windows) example uses kill-lua to stop a Lua script.

Note: dfhack-run attempts to connect to a server on TCP port 5000. If DFHack was unable to start this server,
dfhack-run will not be able to connect. This could happen if you have other software listening on port 5000, or if
you have multiple copies of DF running simultaneously. To assign a different port, see Server configuration.

3.3 Built-in Commands

The following commands are provided by the ‘core’ components of DFHack, rather than plugins or scripts.

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• alias
• cls
• die
• enable
• fpause
• help
• hide
• keybinding
• kill-lua
• load
• ls
• plug
• sc-script
• script
• show
• type
• Other Commands

3.3.1 alias

The alias command allows configuring aliases to other DFHack commands. Aliases are resolved immediately
after built-in commands, which means that an alias cannot override a built-in command, but can override a command
implemented by a plugin or script.
Usage:
alias list lists all configured aliases
alias add <name> <command> [arguments...] adds an alias
alias replace <name> <command> [arguments...] replaces an existing alias with a new
command, or adds the alias if it does not already exist
alias delete <name> removes the specified alias
Aliases can be given additional arguments when created and invoked, which will be passed to the underlying command
in order. An example with devel/print-args:

[DFHack]# alias add pargs devel/print-args example

[DFHack]# pargs text
example
text

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3.3.2 cls

Clear the terminal. Does not delete command history.

3.3.3 die

Instantly kills DF without saving.

3.3.4 enable

Many plugins can be in a distinct enabled or disabled state. Some of them activate and deactivate automatically
depending on the contents of the world raws. Others store their state in world data. However a number of them have
to be enabled globally, and the init file is the right place to do it.
Most such plugins or scripts support the built-in enable and disable commands. Calling them at any time without
arguments prints a list of enabled and disabled plugins, and shows whether that can be changed through the same
commands. Passing plugin names to these commands will enable or disable the specified plugins. For example, to
enable the manipulator plugin:

enable manipulator

It is also possible to enable or disable multiple plugins at once:

enable manipulator search

3.3.5 fpause

Forces DF to pause. This is useful when your FPS drops below 1 and you lose control of the game.

3.3.6 help

Most commands support using the help <command> built-in command to retrieve further help without having to
look at this document. ? <cmd> and man <cmd> are aliases.
Some commands (including many scripts) instead take help or ? as an option on their command line - ie <cmd>
help.

3.3.7 hide

Hides the DFHack terminal window. Only available on Windows.

3.3.8 keybinding

To set keybindings, use the built-in keybinding command. Like any other command it can be used at any time
from the console, but bindings are not remembered between runs of the game unless re-created in dfhack*.init.
Currently, any combinations of Ctrl/Alt/Shift with A-Z, 0-9, or F1-F12 are supported.
Possible ways to call the command:
keybinding list <key> List bindings active for the key combination.

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keybinding clear <key> <key>... Remove bindings for the specified keys.
keybinding add <key> "cmdline" "cmdline"... Add bindings for the specified key.
keybinding set <key> "cmdline" "cmdline"... Clear, and then add bindings for the specified key.
The <key> parameter above has the following case-sensitive syntax:

[Ctrl-][Alt-][Shift-]KEY[@context[|context...]]

where the KEY part can be any recognized key and [] denote optional parts.
When multiple commands are bound to the same key combination, DFHack selects the first applicable one. Later add
commands, and earlier entries within one add command have priority. Commands that are not specifically intended
for use as a hotkey are always considered applicable.
The context part in the key specifier above can be used to explicitly restrict the UI state where the binding would be
applicable. If called without parameters, the keybinding command among other things prints the current context
string.
Only bindings with a context tag that either matches the current context fully, or is a prefix ending at a / boundary
would be considered for execution, i.e. when in context foo/bar/baz, keybindings restricted to any of @foo/
bar/baz, @foo/bar, @foo or none will be active.
Multiple contexts can be specified by separating them with a pipe (|) - for example, @foo|bar|baz/foo would
match anything under @foo, @bar, or @baz/foo.
Interactive commands like liquids cannot be used as hotkeys.

3.3.9 kill-lua

Stops any currently-running Lua scripts. By default, scripts can only be interrupted every 256 instructions. Use
kill-lua force to interrupt the next instruction.

3.3.10 load

load, unload, and reload control whether a plugin is loaded into memory - note that plugins are loaded but
disabled unless you do something. Usage:

load|unload|reload PLUGIN|(-a|--all)

Allows dealing with plugins individually by name, or all at once.

Note that plugins do not maintain their enabled state if they are reloaded, so you may need to use enable to re-enable
a plugin after reloading it.

3.3.11 ls

ls does not list files like the Unix command, but rather available commands - first built in commands, then plugins,
and scripts at the end. Usage:
ls -a Also list scripts in subdirectories of hack/scripts/, which are generally not intended for direct
use.
ls <plugin> List subcommands for the given plugin.

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3.3.12 plug

Lists available plugins, including their state and detailed description.

plug Lists available plugins (not commands implemented by plugins)
plug [PLUGIN] [PLUGIN] ... List state and detailed description of the given plugins, including commands
implemented by the plugin.

3.3.13 sc-script

Allows additional scripts to be run when certain events occur (similar to onLoad*.init scripts)

3.3.14 script

Reads a text file, and runs each line as a DFHack command as if it had been typed in by the user - treating the input
like an init file.
Some other tools, such as autobutcher and workflow, export their settings as the commands to create them - which are
later loaded with script

3.3.15 show

Shows the terminal window after it has been hidden. Only available on Windows. You’ll need to use it from a
keybinding set beforehand, or the in-game command-prompt.

3.3.16 type

type command shows where command is implemented.

3.3.17 Other Commands

The following commands are not built-in, but offer similarly useful functions.
• command-prompt
• hotkeys
• lua
• multicmd
• nopause
• quicksave
• ruby
• repeat

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3.4 Init Files

• dfhack*.init
• onLoad*.init
• onUnload*.init
• Other init files

DFHack allows users to automatically run commonly-used DFHack commands when DF is first loaded, when a game
is loaded, and when a game is unloaded.
Init scripts function the same way they would if the user manually typed in their contents, but are much more conve-
nient. In order to facilitate savegave portability, mod merging, and general organization of init files, DFHack supports
multiple init files both in the main DF directory and save-specific init files in the save folders.
DFHack looks for init files in three places each time they could be run:
1. The main DF directory
2. data/save/world/raw, where world is the current save, and
3. data/save/world/raw/objects
When reading commands from [Link] or with the script command, if the final character on a line is a backslash
then the next uncommented line is considered a continuation of that line, with the backslash deleted. Commented lines
are skipped, so it is possible to comment out parts of a command with the # character.

3.4.1 dfhack*.init

If your DF folder contains at least one file named dfhack*.init (where * is a placeholder for any string), then all
such files are executed in alphabetical order when DF is first started.
DFHack is distributed with /[Link]-example as an example with an up-to-date collection of basic com-
mands; mostly setting standard keybindings and enabling plugins. You are encouraged to look through this file to
learn which features it makes available under which key combinations. You may also customise it and rename it to
[Link].
If your DF folder does not contain any dfhack*.init files, the example will be run as a fallback.
These files are best used for keybindings and enabling persistent plugins which do not require a world to be loaded.

3.4.2 onLoad*.init

When a world is loaded, DFHack looks for files of the form onLoad*.init, where * can be any string, including
the empty string.
All matching init files will be executed in alphabetical order. A world being loaded can mean a fortress, an adventurer,
or legends mode.
These files are best used for non-persistent commands, such as setting a fix script to run on repeat.

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3.4.3 onUnload*.init

When a world is unloaded, DFHack looks for files of the form onUnload*.init. Again, these files may be in any
of the above three places. All matching init files will be executed in alphebetical order.
Modders often use such scripts to disable tools which should not affect an unmodded save.

3.4.4 Other init files

• onMapLoad*.init and onMapUnload*.init are run when a map, distinct from a world, is loaded. This
is good for map-affecting commands (e.g. clean), or avoiding issues in Legends mode.
• Any lua script named raw/init.d/*.lua, in the save or main DF directory, will be run when any world or
that save is loaded.

3.5 Environment variables

DFHack’s behavior can be adjusted with some environment variables. For example, on UNIX-like systems:

DFHACK_SOME_VAR=1 ./dfhack

• DFHACK_PORT: the port to use for the RPC server (used by dfhack-run and remotefortressreader among
others) instead of the default 5000. As with the default, if this port cannot be used, the server is not started. See
DFHack Remote Interface for more details.
• DFHACK_DISABLE_CONSOLE: if set, the DFHack console is not set up. This is the default behavior if
PRINT_MODE:TEXT is set in data/init/[Link]. Intended for situations where DFHack cannot run
in a terminal window.
• DFHACK_HEADLESS: if set, and PRINT_MODE:TEXT is set, DF’s display will be hidden, and the console
will be started unless DFHACK_DISABLE_CONSOLE is also set. Intended for non-interactive gameplay only.
• DFHACK_NO_GLOBALS, DFHACK_NO_VTABLES: ignores all global or vtable addresses in [Link],
respectively. Intended for development use - e.g. to make sure tools do not crash when these addresses are
missing.
• DFHACK_NO_DEV_PLUGINS: if set, any plugins from the plugins/devel folder that are built and installed will
not be loaded on startup.
• DFHACK_LOG_MEM_RANGES (macOS only): if set, logs memory ranges to [Link]. Note that de-
vel/lsmem can also do this.
Other (non-DFHack-specific) variables that affect DFHack:
• TERM: if this is set to dumb or cons25 on *nix, the console will not support any escape sequences (arrow keys,
etc.).
• LANG, LC_CTYPE: if either of these contain “UTF8” or “UTF-8” (not case sensitive), DF2CONSOLE() will
produce UTF-8-encoded text. Note that this should be the case in most UTF-8-capable *nix terminal emulators
already.

3.6 Miscellaneous Notes

This section is for odd but important notes that don’t fit anywhere else.

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• If a DF H hotkey is named with a DFHack command, pressing the corresponding Fx button will run that com-
mand, instead of zooming to the set location. This feature will be removed in a future version. (see Issue
731)
• The binaries for 0.40.15-r1 to 0.34.11-r4 are on DFFD. Older versions are available here. These files will
eventually be migrated to GitHub. (see Issue 473)

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 CHAPTER 4

DFHack Plugins

DFHack plugins are the commands, that are compiled with a specific version. They can provide anything from a small
keybinding, to a complete overhaul of game subsystems or the entire renderer.
Most commands offered by plugins are listed here, hopefully organised in a way you will find useful.

Contents

• Data inspection and visualizers

– stonesense
– blueprint
– remotefortressreader
– isoworldremote
– cursecheck
– flows
– pathable
– probe
– prospect
– reveal
– showmood
• Bugfixes
– fix-unit-occupancy
– fixveins
– petcapRemover

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– tweak
– fix-armory
• UI Upgrades
– automelt
– autotrade
– command-prompt
– debug
– hotkeys
– ruby
– manipulator
– search
– nopause
– embark-assistant
– embark-tools
– automaterial
– buildingplan
– confirm
– follow
– mousequery
– resume
– title-folder
– title-version
– trackstop
– sort-items
– sort-units
– stocks
– stockpiles
– rename
– rendermax
• Job and Fortress management
– autolabor
– labormanager
– autohauler
– job
– job-material

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– job-duplicate
– autogems
– stockflow
– workflow
– clean
– spotclean
– autodump
– cleanowned
– dwarfmonitor
– dwarfvet
– workNow
– seedwatch
– zone
– autonestbox
– autobutcher
– autochop
– orders
– nestboxes
– tailor
– autoclothing
– autofarm
• Map modification
– 3dveins
– alltraffic
– burrow
– changelayer
– changevein
– changeitem
– cleanconst
– deramp
– dig
– digexp
– digcircle
– digtype
– digFlood

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– filltraffic
– fortplan
– getplants
– infiniteSky
– liquids
– plant
– regrass
– restrictice
– restrictliquids
– tiletypes
– tubefill
• Mods and Cheating
– add-spatter
– adv-bodyswap
– createitem
– diggingInvaders
– fastdwarf
– forceequip
– generated-creature-renamer
– lair
– misery
– mode
– strangemood
– siege-engine
– power-meter
– steam-engine
• Lua API

4.1 Data inspection and visualizers

• stonesense
• blueprint
• remotefortressreader
• isoworldremote

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• cursecheck
• flows
• pathable
• probe
• prospect
• reveal
• showmood

4.1.1 stonesense

An isometric visualizer that runs in a second window. Usage:

stonesense Open the visualiser in a new window. Alias ssense.
ssense overlay Overlay DF window, replacing the map area.
For more information, see the full Stonesense README.

4.1.2 blueprint

Exports a portion of your fortress into QuickFort style blueprint files.:

blueprint <x> <y> <z> <name> [dig] [build] [place] [query]

Options (If only region and name are given, export all):
x,y,z Size of map area to export
name Name of export files
dig Export dig commands to “<name>-[Link]”
build Export build commands to “<name>-[Link]”
place Export stockpile commands to “<name>-[Link]”
query Export query commands to “<name>-[Link]”
Goes very well with fortplan, for re-importing.

4.1.3 remotefortressreader

An in-development plugin for realtime fortress visualisation. See Armok Vision.

4.1.4 isoworldremote

A plugin that implements a remote API used by Isoworld.

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4.1.5 cursecheck

Checks a single map tile or the whole map/world for cursed creatures (ghosts, vampires, necromancers, werebeasts,
zombies).
With an active in-game cursor only the selected tile will be observed. Without a cursor the whole map will be checked.
By default cursed creatures will be only counted in case you just want to find out if you have any of them running
around in your fort. Dead and passive creatures (ghosts who were put to rest, killed vampires, . . . ) are ignored. Undead
skeletons, corpses, bodyparts and the like are all thrown into the curse category “zombie”. Anonymous zombies and
resurrected body parts will show as “unnamed creature”.
Options:
detail Print full name, date of birth, date of curse and some status info (some vampires might use fake
identities in-game, though).
nick Set the type of curse as nickname (does not always show up in-game, some vamps don’t like nick-
names).
all Include dead and passive cursed creatures (can result in a quite long list after having FUN with necro-
mancers).
verbose Print all curse tags (if you really want to know it all).
Examples:
cursecheck detail all Give detailed info about all cursed creatures including deceased ones (no in-game
cursor).
cursecheck nick Give a nickname all living/active cursed creatures on the map(no in-game cursor).

Note: If you do a full search (with the option “all”) former ghosts will show up with the cursetype “unknown” because
their ghostly flag is not set.
Please report any living/active creatures with cursetype “unknown” - this is most likely with mods which introduce
new types of curses.

4.1.6 flows

A tool for checking how many tiles contain flowing liquids. If you suspect that your magma sea leaks into HFS, you
can use this tool to be sure without revealing the map.

4.1.7 pathable

This plugin implements the back end of the gui/pathable script. It exports a single Lua function, in hack/lua/
plugins/[Link]:
• paintScreen(cursor[,skip_unrevealed]): Paint each visible of the screen green or red, depending
on whether it can be pathed to from the tile at cursor. If skip_unrevealed is specified and true, do not
draw unrevealed tiles.

4.1.8 probe

Can be used to determine tile properties like temperature.

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4.1.9 prospect

Prints a big list of all the present minerals and plants. By default, only the visible part of the map is scanned.
Options:
all Scan the whole map, as if it was revealed.
value Show material value in the output. Most useful for gems.
hell Show the Z range of HFS tubes. Implies ‘all’.
If prospect is called during the embark selection screen, it displays an estimate of layer stone availability.

Note: The results of pre-embark prospect are an estimate, and can at best be expected to be somewhere within +/-
30% of the true amount; sometimes it does a lot worse. Especially, it is not clear how to precisely compute how many
soil layers there will be in a given embark tile, so it can report a whole extra layer, or omit one that is actually present.

Options:
all Also estimate vein mineral amounts.

4.1.10 reveal

This reveals the map. By default, HFS will remain hidden so that the demons don’t spawn. You can use reveal
hell to reveal everything. With hell revealed, you won’t be able to unpause until you hide the map again. If you
really want to unpause with hell revealed, use reveal demons.
Reveal also works in adventure mode, but any of its effects are negated once you move. When you use it this way, you
don’t need to run unreveal.
Usage and related commands:
reveal Reveal the whole map, except for HFS to avoid demons spawning
reveal hell Also show hell, but requires unreveal before unpausing
reveal demon Reveals everything and allows unpausing - good luck!
unreveal Reverts the effects of reveal
revtoggle Switches between reveal and unreveal
revflood Hide everything, then reveal tiles with a path to the cursor (useful to make walled-off rooms
vanish)
revforget Discard info about what was visible before revealing the map. Only useful where (e.g.) you
abandoned with the fort revealed and no longer want the data.

4.1.11 showmood

Shows all items needed for the currently active strange mood.

4.2 Bugfixes

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• fix-unit-occupancy
• fixveins
• petcapRemover
• tweak
• fix-armory

4.2.1 fix-unit-occupancy

This plugin fixes issues with unit occupancy, notably phantom “unit blocking tile” messages (Bug 3499). It can be run
manually, or periodically when enabled with the built-in enable/disable commands:
(no argument) Run the plugin once immediately, for the whole map.
-h, here, cursor Run immediately, only operate on the tile at the cursor
-n, dry, dry-run Run immediately, do not write changes to map
interval <X> Run the plugin every X ticks (when enabled). The default is 1200 ticks, or 1 day. Ticks are
only counted when the game is unpaused.

4.2.2 fixveins

Removes invalid references to mineral inclusions and restores missing ones. Use this if you broke your embark with
tools like tiletypes, or if you accidentally placed a construction on top of a valuable mineral floor.

4.2.3 petcapRemover

Allows you to remove or raise the pet population cap. In vanilla DF, pets will not reproduce unless the population is
below 50 and the number of children of that species is below a certain percentage. This plugin allows removing the
second restriction and removing or raising the first. Pets still require PET or PET_EXOTIC tags in order to reproduce.
Type help petcapRemover for exact usage. In order to make population more stable and avoid sudden population
booms as you go below the raised population cap, this plugin counts pregnancies toward the new population cap. It
can still go over, but only in the case of multiple births.
Usage:
petcapRemover cause pregnancies now and schedule the next check
petcapRemover every n set how often in ticks the plugin checks for possible pregnancies
petcapRemover cap n set the new cap to n. if n = 0, no cap
petcapRemover pregtime n sets the pregnancy duration to n ticks. natural pregnancies are 300000 ticks
for the current race and 200000 for everyone else

4.2.4 tweak

Contains various tweaks for minor bugs.

One-shot subcommands:

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clear-missing Remove the missing status from the selected unit. This allows engraving slabs for ghostly,
but not yet found, creatures.
clear-ghostly Remove the ghostly status from the selected unit and mark it as dead. This allows getting
rid of bugged ghosts which do not show up in the engraving slab menu at all, even after using clear-
missing. It works, but is potentially very dangerous - so use with care. Probably (almost certainly)
it does not have the same effects like a proper burial. You’ve been warned.
fixmigrant Remove the resident/merchant flag from the selected unit. Intended to fix bugged mi-
grants/traders who stay at the map edge and don’t enter your fort. Only works for dwarves (or
generally the player’s race in modded games). Do NOT abuse this for ‘real’ caravan merchants (if
you really want to kidnap them, use ‘tweak makeown’ instead, otherwise they will have their clothes
set to forbidden etc).
makeown Force selected unit to become a member of your fort. Can be abused to grab caravan merchants
and escorts, even if they don’t belong to the player’s race. Foreign sentients (humans, elves) can be
put to work, but you can’t assign rooms to them and they don’t show up in DwarfTherapist because
the game treats them like pets. Grabbing draft animals from a caravan can result in weirdness
(animals go insane or berserk and are not flagged as tame), but you are allowed to mark them for
slaughter. Grabbing wagons results in some funny spam, then they are scuttled.
Subcommands that persist until disabled or DF quits:
adamantine-cloth-wear Prevents adamantine clothing from wearing out while being worn (Bug 6481).
advmode-contained Works around Bug 6202, custom reactions with container inputs in advmode. The
issue is that the screen tries to force you to select the contents separately from the container. This
forcefully skips child reagents.
block-labors Prevents labors that can’t be used from being toggled
burrow-name-cancel Implements the “back” option when renaming a burrow, which currently does
nothing (Bug 1518)
cage-butcher Adds an option to butcher units when viewing cages with q
civ-view-agreement Fixes overlapping text on the “view agreement” screen
condition-material Fixes a crash in the work order contition material list (Bug 9905).
craft-age-wear Fixes the behavior of crafted items wearing out over time (Bug 6003). With this tweak,
items made from cloth and leather will gain a level of wear every 20 years.
do-job-now Adds a job priority toggle to the jobs list
embark-profile-name Allows the use of lowercase letters when saving embark profiles
eggs-fertile Displays a fertility indicator on nestboxes
farm-plot-select Adds “Select all” and “Deselect all” options to farm plot menus
fast-heat Further improves temperature update performance by ensuring that 1 degree of item temper-
ature is crossed in no more than specified number of frames when updating from the environment
temperature. This reduces the time it takes for stable-temp to stop updates again when equilibrium
is disturbed.
fast-trade Makes Shift-Down in the Move Goods to Depot and Trade screens select the current item
(fully, in case of a stack), and scroll down one line.
fps-min Fixes the in-game minimum FPS setting
hide-priority Adds an option to hide designation priority indicators
hotkey-clear Adds an option to clear currently-bound hotkeys (in the H menu)

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import-priority-category Allows changing the priority of all goods in a category when discussing an
import agreement with the liaison
kitchen-prefs-all Adds an option to toggle cook/brew for all visible items in kitchen preferences
kitchen-prefs-color Changes color of enabled items to green in kitchen preferences
kitchen-prefs-empty Fixes a layout issue with empty kitchen tabs (Bug 9000)
max-wheelbarrow Allows assigning more than 3 wheelbarrows to a stockpile
military-color-assigned Color squad candidates already assigned to other squads in yellow/green to
make them stand out more in the list.

military-stable-assign Preserve list order and cursor position when assigning to squad, i.e. stop the
rightmost list of the Positions page of the military screen from constantly resetting to the top.
nestbox-color Fixes the color of built nestboxes
reaction-gloves Fixes reactions to produce gloves in sets with correct handedness (Bug 6273)
shift-8-scroll Gives Shift-8 (or *) priority when scrolling menus, instead of scrolling the map
stable-cursor Saves the exact cursor position between t/q/k/d/b/etc menus of fortress mode.
stone-status-all Adds an option to toggle the economic status of all stones
title-start-rename Adds a safe rename option to the title screen “Start Playing” menu
tradereq-pet-gender Displays pet genders on the trade request screen

4.2.5 fix-armory

This plugin requires a binpatch, which has not been available since DF 0.34.11

4.3 UI Upgrades

Note: In order to avoid user confusion, as a matter of policy all GUI tools display the word DFHack on the screen
somewhere while active.
When that is not appropriate because they merely add keybinding hints to existing DF screens, they deliberately use
red instead of green for the key.

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• automelt
• autotrade
• command-prompt
• debug
– help
– category
– filter
– set
– unset
– disable
– enable
• hotkeys
• ruby
• manipulator
– Professions
• search
• nopause
• embark-assistant
• embark-tools
• automaterial
• buildingplan
• confirm
• follow
• mousequery
• resume
• title-folder
• title-version
• trackstop
• sort-items
• sort-units
• stocks
• stockpiles
• rename
• rendermax

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4.3.1 automelt

When automelt is enabled for a stockpile, any meltable items placed in it will be designated to be melted. This plugin
adds an option to the q menu when enabled.

4.3.2 autotrade

When autotrade is enabled for a stockpile, any items placed in it will be designated to be taken to the Trade Depot
whenever merchants are on the map. This plugin adds an option to the q menu when enabled.

4.3.3 command-prompt

An in-game DFHack terminal, where you can enter other commands.

Keybinding: CtrlShiftP
Usage: command-prompt [entry]
If called with an entry, it starts with that text filled in. Most useful for developers, who can set a keybinding to open a
laungage interpreter for lua or Ruby by starting with the :lua or :rb commands.
Otherwise somewhat similar to gui/quickcmd.

4.3.4 debug

Manager for DFHack runtime debug prints. Debug prints are grouped by plugin name, category name and print level.
Levels are trace, debug, info, warning and error.
The runtime message printing is controlled using filters. Filters set the visible messages of all matching categories.
Matching uses regular expression syntax, which allows listing multiple alternative matches or partial name matches.
This syntax is a C++ version of the ECMA-262 grammar (Javascript regular expressions). Details of differences can
be found at [Link]
Persistent filters are stored in dfhack-config/[Link]. Oldest filters are applied first. That
means a newer filter can override the older printing level selection.
Usage: debugfilter [subcommand] [parameters...]
The following subcommands are supported:

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help

Give overall help or a detailed help for a subcommand.

Usage: debugfilter help [subcommand]

category

List available debug plugin and category names.

Usage: debugfilter category [plugin regex] [category regex]
The list can be filtered using optional regex parameters. If filters aren’t given then the it uses "." regex which matches
any character. The regex parameters are good way to test regex before passing them to set.

filter

List active and passive debug print level changes.

Usage: debugfilter filter [id]
Optional id parameter is the id listed as first column in the filter list. If id is given then the command shows information
for the given filter only in multi line format that is better format if filter has long regex.

set

Creates a new debug filter to set category printing levels.

Usage: debugfilter set [level] [plugin regex] [category regex]
Adds a filter that will be deleted when DF process exists or plugin is unloaded.
Usage: debugfilter set persistent [level] [plugin regex] [category regex]
Stores the filter in the configuration file to until unset is used to remove it.
Level is the minimum debug printing level to show in log.
• trace: Possibly very noisy messages which can be printed many times per second
• debug: Messages that happen often but they should happen only a couple of times per second
• info: Important state changes that happen rarely during normal execution
• warning: Enabled by default. Shows warnings about unexpected events which code managed to handle
correctly.
• error: Enabled by default. Shows errors which code can’t handle without user intervention.

unset

Delete a space separated list of filters

Usage: debugfilter unset [id...]

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disable

Disable a space separated list of filters but keep it in the filter list
Usage: debugfilter disable [id...]

enable

Enable a space sperate list of filters

Usage: debugfilter enable [id...]

4.3.5 hotkeys

Opens an in-game screen showing which DFHack keybindings are active in the current context. See also hotkey-notes.

Keybinding: CtrlF1
Keybinding: AltF1

4.3.6 ruby

Ruby language plugin, which evaluates the following arguments as a ruby string. Best used as :rb [string], for
the special parsing mode. Alias rb_eval.

4.3.7 manipulator

An in-game equivalent to the popular program Dwarf Therapist.

To activate, open the unit screen and press l.

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The far left column displays the unit’s Happiness (color-coded based on its value), Name, Profession/Squad, and the
right half of the screen displays each dwarf’s labor settings and skill levels (0-9 for Dabbling through Professional,
A-E for Great through Grand Master, and U-Z for Legendary through Legendary+5).
Cells with teal backgrounds denote skills not controlled by labors, e.g. military and social skills.

Press t to toggle between Profession, Squad, and Job views.

Use the arrow keys or number pad to move the cursor around, holding Shift to move 10 tiles at a time.

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Press the Z-Up (<) and Z-Down (>) keys to move quickly between labor/skill categories. The numpad Z-Up and
Z-Down keys seek to the first or last unit in the list. Backspace seeks to the top left corner.
Press Enter to toggle the selected labor for the selected unit, or Shift+Enter to toggle all labors within the selected
category.
Press the +- keys to sort the unit list according to the currently selected skill/labor, and press the */ keys to sort the
unit list by Name, Profession/Squad, Happiness, or Arrival order (using Tab to select which sort method to use here).
With a unit selected, you can press the v key to view its properties (and possibly set a custom nickname or profession)
or the c key to exit Manipulator and zoom to its position within your fortress.
The following mouse shortcuts are also available:
• Click on a column header to sort the unit list. Left-click to sort it in one direction (descending for happiness or
labors/skills, ascending for name, profession or squad) and right-click to sort it in the opposite direction.
• Left-click on a labor cell to toggle that labor. Right-click to move the cursor onto that cell instead of toggling it.
• Left-click on a unit’s name, profession or squad to view its properties.
• Right-click on a unit’s name, profession or squad to zoom to it.
Pressing Esc normally returns to the unit screen, but ShiftEsc would exit directly to the main dwarf mode screen.

Professions

The manipulator plugin supports saving professions: a named set of labors that can be quickly applied to one or
multiple dwarves.
To save a profession, highlight a dwarf and press P. The profession will be saved using the custom profession name of
the dwarf, or the default for that dwarf if no custom profession name has been set.
To apply a profession, either highlight a single dwarf or select multiple with x, and press p to select the profession to
apply. All labors for the selected dwarves will be reset to the labors of the chosen profession.
Professions are saved as human-readable text files in the “professions” folder within the DF folder, and can be edited
or deleted there.

4.3.8 search

The search plugin adds search to the Stocks, Animals, Trading, Stockpile, Noble (assignment candidates), Military
(position candidates), Burrows (unit list), Rooms, Announcements, Job List and Unit List screens.

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Searching works the same way as the search option in Move to Depot. You will see the Search option displayed
on screen with a hotkey (usually s). Pressing it lets you start typing a query and the relevant list will start filtering
automatically.
Pressing Enter, Esc or the arrow keys will return you to browsing the now filtered list, which still functions as
normal. You can clear the filter by either going back into search mode and backspacing to delete it, or pressing the
“shifted” version of the search hotkey while browsing the list (e.g. if the hotkey is s, then hitting Shifts will clear
any filter).
Leaving any screen automatically clears the filter.
In the Trade screen, the actual trade will always only act on items that are actually visible in the list; the same effect
applies to the Trade Value numbers displayed by the screen. Because of this, the t key is blocked while search is
active, so you have to reset the filters first. Pressing AltC will clear both search strings.
In the stockpile screen the option only appears if the cursor is in the rightmost list:

Note that the ‘Permit XXX’/’Forbid XXX’ keys conveniently operate only on items actually shown in the rightmost
list, so it is possible to select only fat or tallow by forbidding fats, then searching for fat/tallow, and using Permit Fats
again while the list is filtered.

4.3.9 nopause

Disables pausing (both manual and automatic) with the exception of pause forced by reveal hell. This is nice for
digging under rivers.

4.3.10 embark-assistant

This plugin provides embark site selection help. It has to be run with the embark-assistant command while the
pre-embark screen is displayed and shows extended (and correct(?)) resource information for the embark rectangle as
well as normally undisplayed sites in the current embark region. It also has a site selection tool with more options than
DF’s vanilla search tool. For detailed help invoke the in game info screen.

4.3.11 embark-tools

A collection of embark-related tools. Usage and available tools:

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embark-tools enable/disable tool [tool]...

anywhere Allows embarking anywhere (including sites, mountain-only biomes, and oceans). Use with
caution.
mouse Implements mouse controls (currently in the local embark region only)
sand Displays an indicator when sand is present in the currently-selected area, similar to the default
clay/stone indicators.
sticky Maintains the selected local area while navigating the world map

4.3.12 automaterial

This makes building constructions (walls, floors, fortifications, etc) a little bit easier by saving you from having to
trawl through long lists of materials each time you place one.
Firstly, it moves the last used material for a given construction type to the top of the list, if there are any left. So if you
build a wall with chalk blocks, the next time you place a wall the chalk blocks will be at the top of the list, regardless
of distance (it only does this in “grouped” mode, as individual item lists could be huge). This should mean you can
place most constructions without having to search for your preferred material type.

Pressing a while highlighting any material will enable that material for “auto select” for this construction type. You
can enable multiple materials as autoselect. Now the next time you place this type of construction, the plugin will auto-
matically choose materials for you from the kinds you enabled. If there is enough to satisfy the whole placement, you
won’t be prompted with the material screen - the construction will be placed and you will be back in the construction
menu as if you did it manually.
When choosing the construction placement, you will see a couple of options:

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Use a here to temporarily disable the material autoselection, e.g. if you need to go to the material selection screen so
you can toggle some materials on or off.
The other option (auto type selection, off by default) can be toggled on with t. If you toggle this option on, instead of
returning you to the main construction menu after selecting materials, it returns you back to this screen. If you use this
along with several autoselect enabled materials, you should be able to place complex constructions more conveniently.

4.3.13 buildingplan

When active (via enable buildingplan), this plugin adds a planning mode for furniture placement. You can
then place furniture and other buildings before the required materials are available, and the job will be unsuspended
when the item is created.
Very useful when combined with workflow - you can set a constraint to always have one or two
doors/beds/tables/chairs/etc available, and place as many as you like. The plugins then take over and fulfill the or-
ders, with minimal space dedicated to stockpiles.

4.3.14 confirm

Implements several confirmation dialogs for potentially destructive actions (for example, seizing goods from traders
or deleting hauling routes).
Usage:
enable confirm Enable all confirmations; alias confirm enable all. Replace with disable to
disable.
confirm help List available confirmation dialogues.
confirm enable option1 [option2. . . ] Enable (or disable) specific confirmation dialogues.

4.3.15 follow

Makes the game view follow the currently highlighted unit after you exit from the current menu or cursor mode. Handy
for watching dwarves running around. Deactivated by moving the view manually.

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4.3.16 mousequery

Adds mouse controls to the DF interface, e.g. click-and-drag designations.

Options:
plugin enable/disable the entire plugin
rbutton enable/disable right mouse button
track enable/disable moving cursor in build and designation mode
edge enable/disable active edge scrolling (when on, will also enable tracking)
live enable/disable query view when unpaused
delay Set delay when edge scrolling in tracking mode. Omit amount to display current setting.
Usage:

mousequery [plugin] [rbutton] [track] [edge] [live] [enable|disable]

4.3.17 resume

Allows automatic resumption of suspended constructions, along with colored UI hints for construction status.

4.3.18 title-folder

Displays the DF folder name in the window title bar when enabled.

4.3.19 title-version

Displays the DFHack version on DF’s title screen when enabled.

4.3.20 trackstop

Adds a q menu for track stops, which is completely blank by default. This allows you to view and/or change the track
stop’s friction and dump direction settings, using the keybindings from the track stop building interface.

4.3.21 sort-items

Sort the visible item list:

sort-items order [order...]

Sort the item list using the given sequence of comparisons. The < prefix for an order makes undefined values sort first.
The > prefix reverses the sort order for defined values.
Item order examples:

description material wear type quality

The orderings are defined in hack/lua/plugins/sort/*.lua

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4.3.22 sort-units

Sort the visible unit list:

sort-units order [order...]

Sort the unit list using the given sequence of comparisons. The < prefix for an order makes undefined values sort first.
The > prefix reverses the sort order for defined values.
Unit order examples:

name age arrival squad squad_position profession

The orderings are defined in hack/lua/plugins/sort/*.lua

Keybinding: AltShiftN -> "sort-units name" "sort-items description"
Keybinding: AltShiftR -> "sort-units arrival"
Keybinding: AltShiftT -> "sort-units profession" "sort-items type material"
Keybinding: AltShiftQ -> "sort-units squad_position" "sort-items quality"

4.3.23 stocks

Replaces the DF stocks screen with an improved version.

Keybinding: CtrlShiftZ -> "stocks show" in dwarfmode/Default

4.3.24 stockpiles

Offers the following commands to save and load stockpile settings. See gui/stockpiles for an in-game interface.
copystock Copies the parameters of the currently highlighted stockpile to the custom stockpile settings
and switches to custom stockpile placement mode, effectively allowing you to copy/paste stockpiles
easily.
Keybinding: AltP
savestock Saves the currently highlighted stockpile’s settings to a file in your Dwarf Fortress folder.
This file can be used to copy settings between game saves or players. e.g.: savestock
food_settings.dfstock
loadstock Loads a saved stockpile settings file and applies it to the currently selected stockpile. e.g.:
loadstock food_settings.dfstock
To use savestock and loadstock, use the q command to highlight a stockpile. Then run savestock giving it a descriptive
filename. Then, in a different (or the same!) gameworld, you can highlight any stockpile with q then execute the
loadstock command passing it the name of that file. The settings will be applied to that stockpile.
Note that files are relative to the DF folder, so put your files there or in a subfolder for easy access. Filenames should
not have spaces. Generated materials, divine metals, etc are not saved as they are different in every world.

4.3.25 rename

Allows renaming various things. Use gui/rename for an in-game interface.

Options:

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rename squad <index> "name" Rename squad by index to ‘name’.

rename hotkey <index> \"name\" Rename hotkey by index. This allows assigning longer commands to
the DF hotkeys.
rename unit "nickname" Rename a unit/creature highlighted in the DF user interface.
rename unit-profession "custom profession" Change proffession name of the highlighted
unit/creature.
rename building "name" Set a custom name for the selected building. The building must be one of stockpile,
workshop, furnace, trap, siege engine or an activity zone.

4.3.26 rendermax

A collection of renderer replacing/enhancing filters. For better effect try changing the black color in palette to non
totally black. See Bay12 forums thread 128487 for more info.
Options:
trippy Randomizes the color of each tiles. Used for fun, or testing.
light Enable lighting engine.
light reload Reload the settings file.
light sun <x>|cycle Set time to <x> (in hours) or set it to df time cycle.
occlusionON, occlusionOFF Show debug occlusion info.
disable Disable any filter that is enabled.
An image showing lava and dragon breath. Not pictured here: sunlight, shining items/plants, materials that color the
light etc. . .

4.4 Job and Fortress management

• autolabor
• labormanager

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• autohauler
• job
• job-material
• job-duplicate
• autogems
• stockflow
• workflow
– Function
– Constraint format
– Constraint examples
– fix-job-postings
• clean
• spotclean
• autodump
• cleanowned
• dwarfmonitor
• dwarfvet
• workNow
• seedwatch
• zone
– Usage with single units
– Usage with filters
– Mass-renaming
– Cage zones
– Examples
• autonestbox
• autobutcher
• autochop
• orders
• nestboxes
• tailor
• autoclothing
• autofarm

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4.4.1 autolabor

Automatically manage dwarf labors to efficiently complete jobs. Autolabor tries to keep as many dwarves as possible
busy but also tries to have dwarves specialize in specific skills.
The key is that, for almost all labors, once a dwarf begins a job it will finish that job even if the associated labor is
removed. Autolabor therefore frequently checks which dwarf or dwarves should take new jobs for that labor, and
sets labors accordingly. Labors with equiptment (mining, hunting, and woodcutting), which are abandoned if labors
change mid-job, are handled slightly differently to minimise churn.

Warning: autolabor will override any manual changes you make to labors while it is enabled, including through
other tools such as Dwarf Therapist

Simple usage:
enable autolabor Enables the plugin with default settings. (Persistent per fortress)
disable autolabor Disables the plugin.
Anything beyond this is optional - autolabor works well on the default settings.
By default, each labor is assigned to between 1 and 200 dwarves (2-200 for mining). By default 33% of the workforce
become haulers, who handle all hauling jobs as well as cleaning, pulling levers, recovering wounded, removing con-
structions, and filling ponds. Other jobs are automatically assigned as described above. Each of these settings can be
adjusted.
Jobs are rarely assigned to nobles with responsibilities for meeting diplomats or merchants, never to the chief medical
dwarf, and less often to the bookeeper and manager.
Hunting is never assigned without a butchery, and fishing is never assigned without a fishery.
For each labor a preference order is calculated based on skill, biased against masters of other trades and excluding
those who can’t do the job. The labor is then added to the best <minimum> dwarves for that labor. We assign at
least the minimum number of dwarfs, in order of preference, and then assign additional dwarfs that meet any of these
conditions:
• The dwarf is idle and there are no idle dwarves assigned to this labor
• The dwarf has non-zero skill associated with the labor
• The labor is mining, hunting, or woodcutting and the dwarf currently has it enabled.
We stop assigning dwarfs when we reach the maximum allowed.
Advanced usage:
autolabor <labor> <minimum> [<maximum>] Set number of dwarves assigned to a labor.
autolabor <labor> haulers Set a labor to be handled by hauler dwarves.
autolabor <labor> disable Turn off autolabor for a specific labor.
autolabor <labor> reset Return a labor to the default handling.
autolabor reset-all Return all labors to the default handling.
autolabor list List current status of all labors.
autolabor status Show basic status information.
See autolabor-artisans for a differently-tuned setup.
Examples:

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autolabor MINE Keep at least 5 dwarves with mining enabled.

autolabor CUT_GEM 1 1 Keep exactly 1 dwarf with gemcutting enabled.
autolabor COOK 1 1 3 Keep 1 dwarf with cooking enabled, selected only from the top 3.
autolabor FEED_WATER_CIVILIANS haulers Have haulers feed and water wounded dwarves.
autolabor CUTWOOD disable Turn off autolabor for wood cutting.

4.4.2 labormanager

Automatically manage dwarf labors to efficiently complete jobs. Labormanager is derived from autolabor (above) but
uses a completely different approach to assigning jobs to dwarves. While autolabor tries to keep as many dwarves
busy as possible, labormanager instead strives to get jobs done as quickly as possible.
Labormanager frequently scans the current job list, current list of dwarfs, and the map to determine how many dwarves
need to be assigned to what labors in order to meet all current labor needs without starving any particular type of job.

Warning: As with autolabor, labormanager will override any manual changes you make to labors while it is
enabled, including through other tools such as Dwarf Therapist

Simple usage:
enable labormanager Enables the plugin with default settings. (Persistent per fortress)
disable labormanager Disables the plugin.
Anything beyond this is optional - labormanager works fairly well on the default settings.
The default priorities for each labor vary (some labors are higher priority by default than others). The way the plugin
works is that, once it determines how many of each labor is needed, it then sorts them by adjusted priority. (Labors
other than hauling have a bias added to them based on how long it’s been since they were last used, to prevent job
starvation.) The labor with the highest priority is selected, the “best fit” dwarf for that labor is assigned to that labor,
and then its priority is halved. This process is repeated until either dwarfs or labors run out.
Because there is no easy way to detect how many haulers are actually needed at any moment, the plugin always
ensures that at least one dwarf is assigned to each of the hauling labors, even if no hauling jobs are detected. At least
one dwarf is always assigned to construction removing and cleaning because these jobs also cannot be easily detected.
Lever pulling is always assigned to everyone. Any dwarfs for which there are no jobs will be assigned hauling, lever
pulling, and cleaning labors. If you use animal trainers, note that labormanager will misbehave if you assign specific
trainers to specific animals; results are only guaranteed if you use “any trainer”, and animal trainers will probably be
overallocated in any case.
Labormanager also sometimes assigns extra labors to currently busy dwarfs so that when they finish their current job,
they will go off and do something useful instead of standing around waiting for a job.
There is special handling to ensure that at least one dwarf is assigned to haul food whenever food is detected left in a
place where it will rot if not stored. This will cause a dwarf to go idle if you have no storepiles to haul food to.
Dwarfs who are unable to work (child, in the military, wounded, handless, asleep, in a meeting) are entirely excluded
from labor assignment. Any dwarf explicitly assigned to a burrow will also be completely ignored by labormanager.
The fitness algorithm for assigning jobs to dwarfs generally attempts to favor dwarfs who are more skilled over those
who are less skilled. It also tries to avoid assigning female dwarfs with children to jobs that are “outside”, favors
assigning “outside” jobs to dwarfs who are carrying a tool that could be used as a weapon, and tries to minimize how
often dwarfs have to reequip.

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Labormanager automatically determines medical needs and reserves health care providers as needed. Note that this
may cause idling if you have injured dwarfs but no or inadequate hospital facilities.
Hunting is never assigned without a butchery, and fishing is never assigned without a fishery, and neither of these
labors is assigned unless specifically enabled.
The method by which labormanager determines what labor is needed for a particular job is complicated and, in places,
incomplete. In some situations, labormanager will detect that it cannot determine what labor is required. It will,
by default, pause and print an error message on the dfhack console, followed by the message “LABORMANAGER:
Game paused so you can investigate the above message.”. If this happens, please open an issue on github, reporting the
lines that immediately preceded this message. You can tell labormanager to ignore this error and carry on by typing
labormanager pause-on-error no, but be warned that some job may go undone in this situation.
Advanced usage:
labormanager enable Turn plugin on.
labormanager disable Turn plugin off.
labormanager priority <labor> <value> Set the priority value (see above) for labor <labor> to
<value>.
labormanager reset <labor> Reset the priority value of labor <labor> to its default.
labormanager reset-all Reset all priority values to their defaults.
labormanager allow-fishing Allow dwarfs to fish. Warning This tends to result in most of the fort going
fishing.
labormanager forbid-fishing Forbid dwarfs from fishing. Default behavior.
labormanager allow-hunting Allow dwarfs to hunt. Warning This tends to result in as many dwarfs
going hunting as you have crossbows.
labormanager forbid-hunting Forbid dwarfs from hunting. Default behavior.
labormanager list Show current priorities and current allocation stats.
labormanager pause-on-error yes Make labormanager pause if the labor inference engine fails. See
above.
labormanager pause-on-error no Allow labormanager to continue past a labor inference engine failure.

4.4.3 autohauler

Autohauler is an autolabor fork.

Rather than the all-of-the-above means of autolabor, autohauler will instead only manage hauling labors and leave
skilled labors entirely to the user, who will probably use Dwarf Therapist to do so.
Idle dwarves will be assigned the hauling labors; everyone else (including those currently hauling) will have the
hauling labors removed. This is to encourage every dwarf to do their assigned skilled labors whenever possible,
but resort to hauling when those jobs are not available. This also implies that the user will have a very tight skill
assignment, with most skilled labors only being assigned to just one dwarf, no dwarf having more than two active
skilled labors, and almost every non-military dwarf having at least one skilled labor assigned.
Autohauler allows skills to be flagged as to prevent hauling labors from being assigned when the skill is present. By
default this is the unused ALCHEMIST labor but can be changed by the user.

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4.4.4 job

Command for general job query and manipulation.

Options:
no extra options Print details of the current job. The job can be selected in a workshop, or the unit/jobs screen.
list Print details of all jobs in the selected workshop.
item-material <item-idx> <material[:subtoken]> Replace the exact material id in the job item.
item-type <item-idx> <type[:subtype]> Replace the exact item type id in the job item.

4.4.5 job-material

Alter the material of the selected job. Similar to job item-material ...
Invoked as:

job-material <inorganic-token>

Keybinding: ShiftA -> "job-material ALUNITE"

Keybinding: ShiftM -> "job-material MICROCLINE"
Keybinding: ShiftD -> "job-material DACITE"
Keybinding: ShiftR -> "job-material RHYOLITE"
Keybinding: ShiftI -> "job-material CINNABAR"
Keybinding: ShiftB -> "job-material COBALTITE"
Keybinding: ShiftO -> "job-material OBSIDIAN"
Keybinding: ShiftT -> "job-material ORTHOCLASE"
Keybinding: ShiftG -> "job-material GLASS_GREEN"
• In q mode, when a job is highlighted within a workshop or furnace, changes the material of the job. Only
inorganic materials can be used in this mode.
• In b mode, during selection of building components positions the cursor over the first available choice with the
matching material.

4.4.6 job-duplicate

In q mode, when a job is highlighted within a workshop or furnace building, calling job-duplicate instantly
duplicates the job.
Keybinding: CtrlD

4.4.7 autogems

Creates a new Workshop Order setting, automatically cutting rough gems when enabled.
See gui/autogems for a configuration UI. If necessary, the autogems-reload command reloads the configuration
file produced by that script.

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4.4.8 stockflow

Allows the fortress bookkeeper to queue jobs through the manager, based on space or items available in stockpiles.
Inspired by workflow.
Usage:
stockflow enable Enable the plugin.
stockflow disable Disable the plugin.
stockflow fast Enable the plugin in fast mode.
stockflow list List any work order settings for your stockpiles.
stockflow status Display whether the plugin is enabled.
While enabled, the q menu of each stockpile will have two new options:
• j: Select a job to order, from an interface like the manager’s screen.
• J: Cycle between several options for how many such jobs to order.
Whenever the bookkeeper updates stockpile records, new work orders will be placed on the manager’s queue for each
such selection, reduced by the number of identical orders already in the queue.
In fast mode, new work orders will be enqueued once per day, instead of waiting for the bookkeeper.

4.4.9 workflow

Manage control of repeat jobs. gui/workflow provides a simple front-end integrated in the game UI.
Usage:
workflow enable [option...], workflow disable [option...] If no options are specified, en-
ables or disables the plugin. Otherwise, enables or disables any of the following options:
• drybuckets: Automatically empty abandoned water buckets.
• auto-melt: Resume melt jobs when there are objects to melt.
workflow jobs List workflow-controlled jobs (if in a workshop, filtered by it).
workflow list List active constraints, and their job counts.
workflow list-commands List active constraints as workflow commands that re-create them; this list can be
copied to a file, and then reloaded using the script built-in command.
workflow count <constraint-spec> <cnt-limit> [cnt-gap] Set a constraint, counting every
stack as 1 item.
workflow amount <constraint-spec> <cnt-limit> [cnt-gap] Set a constraint, counting all
items within stacks.
workflow unlimit <constraint-spec> Delete a constraint.
workflow unlimit-all Delete all constraints.

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Function

When the plugin is enabled, it protects all repeat jobs from removal. If they do disappear due to any cause, they are
immediately re-added to their workshop and suspended.
In addition, when any constraints on item amounts are set, repeat jobs that produce that kind of item are automatically
suspended and resumed as the item amount goes above or below the limit. The gap specifies how much below the
limit the amount has to drop before jobs are resumed; this is intended to reduce the frequency of jobs being toggled.

Constraint format

The constraint spec consists of 4 parts, separated with / characters:

ITEM[:SUBTYPE]/[GENERIC_MAT,...]/[SPECIFIC_MAT:...]/[LOCAL,<quality>]

The first part is mandatory and specifies the item type and subtype, using the raw tokens for items (the same syntax
used custom reaction inputs). For more information, see this wiki page.
The subsequent parts are optional:
• A generic material spec constrains the item material to one of the hard-coded generic classes, which currently
include:

PLANT WOOD CLOTH SILK LEATHER BONE SHELL SOAP TOOTH HORN PEARL YARN
METAL STONE SAND GLASS CLAY MILK

• A specific material spec chooses the material exactly, using the raw syntax for reaction input materials, e.g.
INORGANIC:IRON, although for convenience it also allows just IRON, or ACACIA:WOOD etc. See the link
above for more details on the unabbreviated raw syntax.
• A comma-separated list of miscellaneous flags, which currently can be used to ignore imported items or items
below a certain quality.

Constraint examples

Keep metal bolts within 900-1000, and wood/bone within 150-200:

workflow amount AMMO:ITEM_AMMO_BOLTS/METAL 1000 100

workflow amount AMMO:ITEM_AMMO_BOLTS/WOOD,BONE 200 50

Keep the number of prepared food & drink stacks between 90 and 120:

workflow count FOOD 120 30

workflow count DRINK 120 30

Make sure there are always 25-30 empty bins/barrels/bags:

workflow count BIN 30

workflow count BARREL 30
workflow count BOX/CLOTH,SILK,YARN 30

Make sure there are always 15-20 coal and 25-30 copper bars:

workflow count BAR//COAL 20

workflow count BAR//COPPER 30

Produce 15-20 gold crafts:

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workflow count CRAFTS//GOLD 20

Collect 15-20 sand bags and clay boulders:

workflow count POWDER_MISC/SAND 20

workflow count BOULDER/CLAY 20

Make sure there are always 80-100 units of dimple dye:

workflow amount POWDER_MISC//MUSHROOM_CUP_DIMPLE:MILL 100 20

Note: In order for this to work, you have to set the material of the PLANT input on the Mill Plants job to MUSH-
ROOM_CUP_DIMPLE using the job item-material command. Otherwise the plugin won’t be able to deduce the
output material.

Maintain 10-100 locally-made crafts of exceptional quality:

workflow count CRAFTS///LOCAL,EXCEPTIONAL 100 90

fix-job-postings

This command fixes crashes caused by previous versions of workflow, mostly in DFHack 0.40.24-r4, and should be
run automatically when loading a world (but can also be run manually if desired).

4.4.10 clean

Cleans all the splatter that get scattered all over the map, items and creatures. In an old fortress, this can significantly
reduce FPS lag. It can also spoil your !!FUN!!, so think before you use it.
Options:
map Clean the map tiles. By default, it leaves mud and snow alone.
units Clean the creatures. Will also clean hostiles.
items Clean all the items. Even a poisoned blade.
Extra options for map:
mud Remove mud in addition to the normal stuff.
snow Also remove snow coverings.

4.4.11 spotclean

Works like clean map snow mud, but only for the tile under the cursor. Ideal if you want to keep that bloody
entrance clean map would clean up.
Keybinding: CtrlC

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4.4.12 autodump

This plugin adds an option to the q menu for stckpiles when enabled. When autodump is enabled for a stockpile, any
items placed in the stockpile will automatically be designated to be dumped.
Alternatively, you can use it to quickly move all items designated to be dumped. Items are instantly moved to the
cursor position, the dump flag is unset, and the forbid flag is set, as if it had been dumped normally. Be aware that any
active dump item tasks still point at the item.
Cursor must be placed on a floor tile so the items can be dumped there.
Options:
destroy Destroy instead of dumping. Doesn’t require a cursor. If called again before the game is resumed,
cancels destroy.
destroy-here As destroy, but only the selected item in the k list, or inside a container. Alias
autodump-destroy-here, for keybindings.
Keybinding: CtrlShiftK
visible Only process items that are not hidden.
hidden Only process hidden items.
forbidden Only process forbidden items (default: only unforbidden).
autodump-destroy-item destroys the selected item, which may be selected in the k list, or inside a container.
If called again before the game is resumed, cancels destruction of the item.
Keybinding: CtrlK

4.4.13 cleanowned

Confiscates items owned by dwarfs. By default, owned food on the floor and rotten items are confistacted and dumped.
Options:
all confiscate all owned items
scattered confiscated and dump all items scattered on the floor
x confiscate/dump items with wear level ‘x’ and more
X confiscate/dump items with wear level ‘X’ and more
dryrun a dry run. combine with other options to see what will happen without it actually happening.
Example:
cleanowned scattered X This will confiscate rotten and dropped food, garbage on the floors and any worn
items with ‘X’ damage and above.

4.4.14 dwarfmonitor

Records dwarf activity to measure fort efficiency.

Options:
enable <mode> Start monitoring mode. mode can be “work”, “misery”, “weather”, or “all”. This will
enable all corresponding widgets, if applicable.
disable <mode> Stop monitoring mode, and disable corresponding widgets, if applicable.

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stats Show statistics summary

prefs Show dwarf preferences summary
reload Reload configuration file (dfhack-config/[Link])
Keybinding: AltM -> "dwarfmonitor prefs" in dwarfmode/Default
Keybinding: CtrlF -> "dwarfmonitor stats" in dwarfmode/Default
Widget configuration:
The following types of widgets (defined in hack/lua/plugins/[Link]) can be displayed on the
main fortress mode screen:
date Show the in-game date
misery Show overall happiness levels of all dwarves
weather Show current weather (rain/snow)
cursor Show the current mouse cursor position
The file dfhack-config/[Link] can be edited to control the positions and settings of all widgets
displayed. This file should contain a JSON object with the key widgets containing an array of objects - see the
included file in the dfhack-config folder for an example:

{
"widgets": [
{
"type": "widget type (weather, misery, etc.)",
"x": X coordinate,
"y": Y coordinate
<...additional options...>
}
]
}

X and Y coordinates begin at zero (in the upper left corner of the screen). Negative coordinates will be treated as
distances from the lower right corner, beginning at 1 - e.g. an x coordinate of 0 is the leftmost column, while an x
coordinate of 1 is the rightmost column.
By default, the x and y coordinates given correspond to the leftmost tile of the widget. Including an anchor option
set to right will cause the rightmost tile of the widget to be located at this position instead.
Some widgets support additional options:
• date widget:
– format: specifies the format of the date. The following characters are replaced (all others, such as
punctuation, are not modified)

* Y or y: The current year

* M: The current month, zero-padded if necessary
* m: The current month, not zero-padded
* D: The current day, zero-padded if necessary
* d: The current day, not zero-padded
The default date format is Y-M-D, per the ISO8601 standard.
• cursor widget:

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– format: Specifies the format. X, x, Y, and y are replaced with the corresponding cursor cordinates, while
all other characters are unmodified.
– show_invalid: If set to true, the mouse coordinates will both be displayed as -1 when the cursor is
outside of the DF window; otherwise, nothing will be displayed.

4.4.15 dwarfvet

Enables Animal Caretaker functionality

Always annoyed your dragons become useless after a minor injury? Well, with dwarfvet, your animals become first
rate members of your fort. It can also be used to train medical skills.
Animals need to be treated in an animal hospital, which is simply a hospital that is also an animal training zone. The
console will print out a list on game load, and whenever one is added or removed. Dwarfs must have the Animal
Caretaker labor to treat animals. Normal medical skills are used (and no experience is given to the Animal Caretaker
skill).
Options:
enable Enables Animal Caretakers to treat and manage animals
disable Turns off the plguin
report Reports all zones that the game considers animal hospitals

4.4.16 workNow

Don’t allow dwarves to idle if any jobs are available.

When workNow is active, every time the game pauses, DF will make dwarves perform any appropriate available jobs.
This includes when you one step through the game using the pause menu. Usage:
workNow print workNow status
workNow 0 deactivate workNow
workNow 1 activate workNow (look for jobs on pause, and only then)
workNow 2 make dwarves look for jobs whenever a job completes

4.4.17 seedwatch

Watches the numbers of seeds available and enables/disables seed and plant cooking.
Each plant type can be assigned a limit. If their number falls below that limit, the plants and seeds of that type will be
excluded from cookery. If the number rises above the limit + 20, then cooking will be allowed.
The plugin needs a fortress to be loaded and will deactivate automatically otherwise. You have to reactivate with
‘seedwatch start’ after you load the game.
Options:
all Adds all plants from the abbreviation list to the watch list.
start Start watching.
stop Stop watching.
info Display whether seedwatch is watching, and the watch list.

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clear Clears the watch list.

Examples:
seedwatch MUSHROOM_HELMET_PLUMP 30 add MUSHROOM_HELMET_PLUMP to the watch list, limit = 30
seedwatch MUSHROOM_HELMET_PLUMP removes MUSHROOM_HELMET_PLUMP from the watch list.
seedwatch all 30 adds all plants from the abbreviation list to the watch list, the limit being 30.

4.4.18 zone

Helps a bit with managing activity zones (pens, pastures and pits) and cages.
Keybinding: AltShiftI -> "zone set" in dwarfmode/Zones
Options:
set Set zone or cage under cursor as default for future assigns.
assign Assign unit(s) to the pen or pit marked with the ‘set’ command. If no filters are set a unit must be
selected in the in-game ui. Can also be followed by a valid zone id which will be set instead.
unassign Unassign selected creature from it’s zone.
nick Mass-assign nicknames, must be followed by the name you want to set.
remnick Mass-remove nicknames.
tocages Assign unit(s) to cages inside a pasture.
uinfo Print info about unit(s). If no filters are set a unit must be selected in the in-game ui.
zinfo Print info about zone(s). If no filters are set zones under the cursor are listed.
verbose Print some more info.
filters Print list of valid filter options.
examples Print some usage examples.
not Negates the next filter keyword.
Filters:
all Process all units (to be used with additional filters).
count Must be followed by a number. Process only n units (to be used with additional filters).
unassigned Not assigned to zone, chain or built cage.
minage Minimum age. Must be followed by number.
maxage Maximum age. Must be followed by number.
race Must be followed by a race RAW ID (e.g. BIRD_TURKEY, ALPACA, etc). Negatable.
caged In a built cage. Negatable.
own From own civilization. Negatable.
merchant Is a merchant / belongs to a merchant. Should only be used for pitting, not for stealing animals
(slaughter should work).
war Trained war creature. Negatable.
hunting Trained hunting creature. Negatable.
tamed Creature is tame. Negatable.

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trained Creature is trained. Finds war/hunting creatures as well as creatures who have a training level
greater than ‘domesticated’. If you want to specifically search for war/hunting creatures use ‘war’
or ‘hunting’ Negatable.
trainablewar Creature can be trained for war (and is not already trained for war/hunt). Negatable.
trainablehunt Creature can be trained for hunting (and is not already trained for war/hunt). Negatable.
male Creature is male. Negatable.
female Creature is female. Negatable.
egglayer Race lays eggs. Negatable.
grazer Race is a grazer. Negatable.
milkable Race is milkable. Negatable.

Usage with single units

One convenient way to use the zone tool is to bind the command ‘zone assign’ to a hotkey, maybe also the command
‘zone set’. Place the in-game cursor over a pen/pasture or pit, use ‘zone set’ to mark it. Then you can select units on
the map (in ‘v’ or ‘k’ mode), in the unit list or from inside cages and use ‘zone assign’ to assign them to their new
home. Allows pitting your own dwarves, by the way.

Usage with filters

All filters can be used together with the ‘assign’ command.

Restrictions: It’s not possible to assign units who are inside built cages or chained because in most cases that won’t
be desirable anyways. It’s not possible to cage owned pets because in that case the owner uncages them after a while
which results in infinite hauling back and forth.
Usually you should always use the filter ‘own’ (which implies tame) unless you want to use the zone tool for pitting
hostiles. ‘own’ ignores own dwarves unless you specify ‘race DWARF’ (so it’s safe to use ‘assign all own’ to one big
pasture if you want to have all your animals at the same place). ‘egglayer’ and ‘milkable’ should be used together with
‘female’ unless you have a mod with egg-laying male elves who give milk or whatever. Merchants and their animals
are ignored unless you specify ‘merchant’ (pitting them should be no problem, but stealing and pasturing their animals
is not a good idea since currently they are not properly added to your own stocks; slaughtering them should work).
Most filters can be negated (e.g. ‘not grazer’ -> race is not a grazer).

Mass-renaming

Using the ‘nick’ command you can set the same nickname for multiple units. If used without ‘assign’, ‘all’ or ‘count’
it will rename all units in the current default target zone. Combined with ‘assign’, ‘all’ or ‘count’ (and further optional
filters) it will rename units matching the filter conditions.

Cage zones

Using the ‘tocages’ command you can assign units to a set of cages, for example a room next to your butcher shop(s).
They will be spread evenly among available cages to optimize hauling to and butchering from them. For this to work
you need to build cages and then place one pen/pasture activity zone above them, covering all cages you want to use.
Then use ‘zone set’ (like with ‘assign’) and use ‘zone tocages filter1 filter2 . . . ’. ‘tocages’ overwrites ‘assign’ because
it would make no sense, but can be used together with ‘nick’ or ‘remnick’ and all the usual filters.

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Examples

zone assign all own ALPACA minage 3 maxage 10 Assign all own alpacas who are between 3 and
10 years old to the selected pasture.
zone assign all own caged grazer nick ineedgrass Assign all own grazers who are sitting in
cages on stockpiles (e.g. after buying them from merchants) to the selected pasture and give them the nick-
name ‘ineedgrass’.
zone assign all own not grazer not race CAT Assign all own animals who are not grazers, exclud-
ing cats.
zone assign count 5 own female milkable Assign up to 5 own female milkable creatures to the se-
lected pasture.
zone assign all own race DWARF maxage 2 Throw all useless kids into a pit :)
zone nick donttouchme Nicknames all units in the current default zone or cage to ‘donttouchme’. Mostly
intended to be used for special pastures or cages which are not marked as rooms you want to protect from
autobutcher.
zone tocages count 50 own tame male not grazer Stuff up to 50 owned tame male animals who
are not grazers into cages built on the current default zone.

4.4.19 autonestbox

Assigns unpastured female egg-layers to nestbox zones. Requires that you create pen/pasture zones above nestboxes.
If the pen is bigger than 1x1 the nestbox must be in the top left corner. Only 1 unit will be assigned per pen, regardless
of the size. The age of the units is currently not checked, most birds grow up quite fast. Egglayers who are also grazers
will be ignored, since confining them to a 1x1 pasture is not a good idea. Only tame and domesticated own units are
processed since pasturing half-trained wild egglayers could destroy your neat nestbox zones when they revert to wild.
When called without options autonestbox will instantly run once.
Options:
start Start running every X frames (df simulation ticks). Default: X=6000, which would be every 60
seconds at 100fps.
stop Stop running automatically.
sleep Must be followed by number X. Changes the timer to sleep X frames between runs.

4.4.20 autobutcher

Assigns lifestock for slaughter once it reaches a specific count. Requires that you add the target race(s) to a watch list.
Only tame units will be processed.
Units will be ignored if they are:
• Nicknamed (for custom protection; you can use the rename unit tool individually, or zone nick for groups)
• Caged, if and only if the cage is defined as a room (to protect zoos)
• Trained for war or hunting
Creatures who will not reproduce (because they’re not interested in the opposite sex or have been gelded) will be
butchered before those who will. Older adults and younger children will be butchered first if the population is above
the target (default 1 male, 5 female kids and adults). Note that you may need to set a target above 1 to have a reliable
breeding population due to asexuality etc. See fix-ster if this is a problem.

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Options:
example Print some usage examples.
start Start running every X frames (df simulation ticks). Default: X=6000, which would be every 60
seconds at 100fps.
stop Stop running automatically.
sleep <x> Changes the timer to sleep X frames between runs.
watch R Start watching a race. R can be a valid race RAW id (ALPACA, BIRD_TURKEY, etc) or a list
of ids seperated by spaces or the keyword ‘all’ which affects all races on your current watchlist.
unwatch R Stop watching race(s). The current target settings will be remembered. R can be a list of ids
or the keyword ‘all’.
forget R Stop watching race(s) and forget it’s/their target settings. R can be a list of ids or the keyword
‘all’.
autowatch Automatically adds all new races (animals you buy from merchants, tame yourself or get
from migrants) to the watch list using default target count.
noautowatch Stop auto-adding new races to the watchlist.
list Print the current status and watchlist.
list_export Print the commands needed to set up status and watchlist, which can be used to import them
to another save (see notes).
target <fk> <mk> <fa> <ma> <R> Set target count for specified race(s). The first four arguments are
the number of female and male kids, and female and male adults. R can be a list of spceies ids, or
the keyword all or new. R = 'all': change target count for all races on watchlist and set the
new default for the future. R = 'new': don’t touch current settings on the watchlist, only set the
new default for future entries.
list_export Print the commands required to rebuild your current settings.

Note: Settings and watchlist are stored in the savegame, so that you can have different settings for each save. If you
want to copy your watchlist to another savegame you must export the commands required to recreate your settings.
To export, open an external terminal in the DF directory, and run dfhack-run autobutcher list_export
> [Link]. To import, load your new save and run script [Link] in the DFHack terminal.

Examples:
You want to keep max 7 kids (4 female, 3 male) and max 3 adults (2 female, 1 male) of the race alpaca. Once the kids
grow up the oldest adults will get slaughtered. Excess kids will get slaughtered starting with the youngest to allow that
the older ones grow into adults. Any unnamed cats will be slaughtered as soon as possible.

autobutcher target 4 3 2 1 ALPACA BIRD_TURKEY

autobutcher target 0 0 0 0 CAT
autobutcher watch ALPACA BIRD_TURKEY CAT
autobutcher start

Automatically put all new races onto the watchlist and mark unnamed tame units for slaughter as soon as they arrive
in your fort. Settings already made for specific races will be left untouched.

autobutcher target 0 0 0 0 new

autobutcher autowatch
autobutcher start

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Stop watching the races alpaca and cat, but remember the target count settings so that you can use ‘unwatch’ without
the need to enter the values again. Note: ‘autobutcher unwatch all’ works, but only makes sense if you want to keep
the plugin running with the ‘autowatch’ feature or manually add some new races with ‘watch’. If you simply want to
stop it completely use ‘autobutcher stop’ instead.

autobutcher unwatch ALPACA CAT

4.4.21 autochop

Automatically manage tree cutting designation to keep available logs withing given quotas.
Open the dashboard by running:

enable autochop

The plugin must be activated (with d-t-c-a) before it can be used. You can then set logging quotas and restrict
designations to specific burrows (with ‘Enter’) if desired. The plugin’s activity cycle runs once every in game day.
If you add enable autochop to your [Link] there will be a hotkey to open the dashboard from the chop
designation menu.

4.4.22 orders

A plugin for manipulating manager orders.

Subcommands:
export NAME Exports the current list of manager orders to a file named dfhack-config/orders/
[Link].
import NAME Imports manager orders from a file named dfhack-config/orders/[Link].
clear Deletes all manager orders in the current embark.

4.4.23 nestboxes

Automatically scan for and forbid fertile eggs incubating in a nestbox. Toggle status with enable or disable.

4.4.24 tailor

Whenever the bookkeeper updates stockpile records, this plugin will scan every unit in the fort, count up the number
that are worn, and then order enough more made to replace all worn items. If there are enough replacement items in
inventory to replace all worn items, the units wearing them will have the worn items confiscated (in the same manner
as the cleanowned plugin) so that they’ll reeequip with replacement items.
Use the enable and disable commands to toggle this plugin’s status, or run tailor status to check its current
status.

4.4.25 autoclothing

Automatically manage clothing work orders, allowing the user to set how many of each clothing type every citizen
should have. Usage:

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autoclothing <material> <item> [number]

Examples:
• autoclothing cloth "short skirt" 10: Sets the desired number of cloth short skirts available per
citizen to 10.
• autoclothing cloth dress: Displays the currently set number of cloth dresses chosen per citizen.

4.4.26 autofarm

Automatically handles crop selection in farm plots based on current plant stocks, and selects crops for planting if
current stock is below a threshold. Selected crops are dispatched on all farmplots. (Note that this plugin replaces an
older Ruby script of the same name.)
Use the enable or disable commands to change whether this plugin is enabled.
Usage:
• autofarm runonce: Updates all farm plots once, without enabling the plugin
• autofarm status: Prints status information, including any applied limits
• autofarm default 30: Sets the default threshold
• autofarm threshold 150 helmet_plump tail_pig: Sets thresholds of individual plants

4.5 Map modification

• 3dveins
• alltraffic
• burrow
• changelayer
• changevein
• changeitem
• cleanconst
• deramp
• dig
• digexp
• digcircle
• digtype
• digFlood
• filltraffic
• fortplan
• getplants

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• infiniteSky
• liquids
– Commands
– liquids-here
• plant
• regrass
• restrictice
• restrictliquids
• tiletypes
– tiletypes-command
– tiletypes-here
– tiletypes-here-point
• tubefill

4.5.1 3dveins

Removes all existing veins from the map and generates new ones using 3D Perlin noise, in order to produce a layout
that smoothly flows between Z levels. The vein distribution is based on the world seed, so running the command for
the second time should produce no change. It is best to run it just once immediately after embark.
This command is intended as only a cosmetic change, so it takes care to exactly preserve the mineral counts reported
by prospect all. The amounts of different layer stones may slightly change in some cases if vein mass shifts between
Z layers.
The only undo option is to restore your save from backup.

4.5.2 alltraffic

Set traffic designations for every single tile of the map - useful for resetting traffic designations. See also filltraffic,
restrictice, and restrictliquids.
Options:
H High Traffic
N Normal Traffic
L Low Traffic
R Restricted Traffic

4.5.3 burrow

Miscellaneous burrow control. Allows manipulating burrows and automated burrow expansion while digging.
Options:
enable feature . . . Enable features of the plugin.

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disable feature . . . Disable features of the plugin.

clear-unit burrow burrow . . . Remove all units from the burrows.
clear-tiles burrow burrow . . . Remove all tiles from the burrows.
set-units target-burrow src-burrow . . . Clear target, and adds units from source burrows.
add-units target-burrow src-burrow . . . Add units from the source burrows to the target.
remove-units target-burrow src-burrow . . . Remove units in source burrows from the target.
set-tiles target-burrow src-burrow . . . Clear target and adds tiles from the source burrows.
add-tiles target-burrow src-burrow . . . Add tiles from the source burrows to the target.
remove-tiles target-burrow src-burrow . . . Remove tiles in source burrows from the target.
For these three options, in place of a source burrow it is possible to use one of the following key-
words: ABOVE_GROUND, SUBTERRANEAN, INSIDE, OUTSIDE, LIGHT, DARK, HIDDEN,
REVEALED
Features:
auto-grow When a wall inside a burrow with a name ending in ‘+’ is dug out, the burrow is extended
to newly-revealed adjacent walls. This final ‘+’ may be omitted in burrow name args of commands
above. Digging 1-wide corridors with the miner inside the burrow is SLOW.

4.5.4 changelayer

Changes material of the geology layer under cursor to the specified inorganic RAW material. Can have impact on all
surrounding regions, not only your embark! By default changing stone to soil and vice versa is not allowed. By default
changes only the layer at the cursor position. Note that one layer can stretch across lots of z levels. By default changes
only the geology which is linked to the biome under the cursor. That geology might be linked to other biomes as well,
though. Mineral veins and gem clusters will stay on the map. Use changevein for them.
tl;dr: You will end up with changing quite big areas in one go, especially if you use it in lower z levels. Use with care.
Options:
all_biomes Change selected layer for all biomes on your map. Result may be undesirable since the same
layer can AND WILL be on different z-levels for different biomes. Use the tool ‘probe’ to get an
idea how layers and biomes are distributed on your map.
all_layers Change all layers on your map (only for the selected biome unless ‘all_biomes’ is added).
Candy mountain, anyone? Will make your map quite boring, but tidy.
force Allow changing stone to soil and vice versa. !!THIS CAN HAVE WEIRD EFFECTS, USE WITH
CARE!! Note that soil will not be magically replaced with stone. You will, however, get a stone
floor after digging so it will allow the floor to be engraved. Note that stone will not be magically
replaced with soil. You will, however, get a soil floor after digging so it could be helpful for creating
farm plots on maps with no soil.
verbose Give some details about what is being changed.
trouble Give some advice about known problems.
Examples:
changelayer GRANITE Convert layer at cursor position into granite.
changelayer SILTY_CLAY force Convert layer at cursor position into clay even if it’s stone.

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changelayer MARBLE all_biomes all_layers Convert all layers of all biomes which are not soil into
marble.

Note:
• If you use changelayer and nothing happens, try to pause/unpause the game for a while and try to move the
cursor to another tile. Then try again. If that doesn’t help try temporarily changing some other layer, undo your
changes and try again for the layer you want to change. Saving and reloading your map might also help.
• You should be fine if you only change single layers without the use of ‘force’. Still it’s advisable to save your
game before messing with the map.
• When you force changelayer to convert soil to stone you might experience weird stuff (flashing tiles, tiles
changed all over place etc). Try reverting the changes manually or even better use an older savegame. You did
save your game, right?

4.5.5 changevein

Changes material of the vein under cursor to the specified inorganic RAW material. Only affects tiles within the
current 16x16 block - for veins and large clusters, you will need to use this command multiple times.
Example:
changevein NATIVE_PLATINUM Convert vein at cursor position into platinum ore.

4.5.6 changeitem

Allows changing item material and base quality. By default the item currently selected in the UI will be changed (you
can select items in the ‘k’ list or inside containers/inventory). By default change is only allowed if materials is of the
same subtype (for example wood<->wood, stone<->stone etc). But since some transformations work pretty well and
may be desired you can override this with ‘force’. Note that some attributes will not be touched, possibly resulting in
weirdness. To get an idea how the RAW id should look like, check some items with ‘info’. Using ‘force’ might create
items which are not touched by crafters/haulers.
Options:
info Don’t change anything, print some info instead.
here Change all items at the cursor position. Requires in-game cursor.
material, m Change material. Must be followed by valid material RAW id.
quality, q Change base quality. Must be followed by number (0-5).
force Ignore subtypes, force change to new material.
Examples:
changeitem m INORGANIC:GRANITE here Change material of all items under the cursor to granite.
changeitem q 5 Change currently selected item to masterpiece quality.

4.5.7 cleanconst

Cleans up construction materials.

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This utility alters all constructions on the map so that they spawn their building component when they are disassembled,
allowing their actual build items to be safely deleted. This can improve FPS in extreme situations.

4.5.8 deramp

Removes all ramps designated for removal from the map. This is useful for replicating the old channel digging
designation. It also removes any and all ‘down ramps’ that can remain after a cave-in (you don’t have to designate
anything for that to happen).

4.5.9 dig

This plugin makes many automated or complicated dig patterns easy.

Basic commands:
digv Designate all of the selected vein for digging.
digvx Also cross z-levels, digging stairs as needed. Alias for digv x.
digl Like digv, for layer stone. Also supports an undo option to remove designations, for if you
accidentally set 50 levels at once.
diglx Also cross z-levels, digging stairs as needed. Alias for digl x.
Keybinding: CtrlV
Keybinding: CtrlShiftV -> "digv x"

Note: All commands implemented by the dig plugin (listed by ls dig) support specifying the designation priority
with -p#, -p #, or p=#, where # is a number from 1 to 7. If a priority is not specified, the priority selected in-game
is used as the default.

4.5.10 digexp

This command is for exploratory mining.

There are two variables that can be set: pattern and filter.
Patterns:
diag5 diagonals separated by 5 tiles
diag5r diag5 rotated 90 degrees
ladder A ‘ladder’ pattern
ladderr ladder rotated 90 degrees
clear Just remove all dig designations
cross A cross, exactly in the middle of the map.
Filters:
all designate whole z-level
hidden designate only hidden tiles of z-level (default)
designated Take current designation and apply pattern to it.

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After you have a pattern set, you can use expdig to apply it again.
Examples:
expdig diag5 hidden Designate the diagonal 5 patter over all hidden tiles
expdig Apply last used pattern and filter
expdig ladder designated Take current designations and replace them with the ladder pattern

4.5.11 digcircle

A command for easy designation of filled and hollow circles. It has several types of options.
Shape:
hollow Set the circle to hollow (default)
filled Set the circle to filled
# Diameter in tiles (default = 0, does nothing)
Action:
set Set designation (default)
unset Unset current designation
invert Invert designations already present
Designation types:
dig Normal digging designation (default)
ramp Ramp digging
ustair Staircase up
dstair Staircase down
xstair Staircase up/down
chan Dig channel
After you have set the options, the command called with no options repeats with the last selected parameters.
Examples:
digcircle filled 3 Dig a filled circle with diameter = 3.
digcircle Do it again.

4.5.12 digtype

For every tile on the map of the same vein type as the selected tile, this command designates it to have the same
designation as the selected tile. If the selected tile has no designation, they will be dig designated. If an argument is
given, the designation of the selected tile is ignored, and all appropriate tiles are set to the specified designation.
Options:
dig
channel
ramp

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updown up/down stairs

up up stairs
down down stairs
clear clear designation

4.5.13 digFlood

Automatically digs out specified veins as they are discovered. It runs once every time a dwarf finishes a dig job. It
will only dig out appropriate tiles that are adjacent to the finished dig job. To add a vein type, use digFlood 1
[type]. This will also enable the plugin. To remove a vein type, use digFlood 0 [type] 1 to disable, then
remove, then re-enable.
Usage:
help digflood detailed help message
digFlood 0 disable the plugin
digFlood 1 enable the plugin
digFlood 0 MICROCLINE COAL_BITUMINOUS 1 disable plugin, remove microcline and bitumi-
nous coal from monitoring, then re-enable the plugin
digFlood CLEAR remove all inorganics from monitoring
digFlood digAll1 ignore the monitor list and dig any vein
digFlood digAll0 disable digAll mode

4.5.14 filltraffic

Set traffic designations using flood-fill starting at the cursor. See also alltraffic, restrictice, and restrictliquids. Options:
H High Traffic
N Normal Traffic
L Low Traffic
R Restricted Traffic
X Fill across z-levels.
B Include buildings and stockpiles.
P Include empty space.
Example:
filltraffic H When used in a room with doors, it will set traffic to HIGH in just that room.

4.5.15 fortplan

Usage: fortplan [filename]

Designates furniture for building according to a .csv file with quickfort-style syntax. Companion to digfort.
The first line of the file must contain the following:

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#build start(X; Y; <start location description>)

. . . where X and Y are the offset from the top-left corner of the file’s area where the in-game cursor should be lo-
cated, and <start location description> is an optional description of where that is. You may also leave a
description of the contents of the file itself following the closing parenthesis on the same line.
The syntax of the file itself is similar to digfort or quickfort. At present, only buildings constructed of an item with the
same name as the building are supported. All other characters are ignored. For example:

`,`,d,`,`
`,f,`,t,`
`,s,b,c,`

This section of a file would designate for construction a door and some furniture inside a bedroom: specifically,
clockwise from top left, a cabinet, a table, a chair, a bed, and a statue.
All of the building designation uses buildingplan, so you do not need to have the items available to construct all the
buildings when you run fortplan with the .csv file.

4.5.16 getplants

This tool allows plant gathering and tree cutting by RAW ID. Specify the types of trees to cut down and/or shrubs to
gather by their plant names, separated by spaces.
Options:
-t Tree: Select trees only (exclude shrubs)
-s Shrub: Select shrubs only (exclude trees)
-f Farming: Designate only shrubs that yield seeds for farming. Implies -s
-c Clear: Clear designations instead of setting them
-x eXcept: Apply selected action to all plants except those specified (invert selection)
-a All: Select every type of plant (obeys -t/-s/-f)
-v Verbose: Lists the number of (un)designations per plant
-n * Number: Designate up to * (an integer number) plants of each species
Specifying both -t and -s or -f will have no effect. If no plant IDs are specified, all valid plant IDs will be listed,
with -t, -s, and -f restricting the list to trees, shrubs, and farmable shrubs, respectively.

Note: DF is capable of determining that a shrub has already been picked, leaving an unusable structure part behind.
This plugin does not perform such a check (as the location of the required information has not yet been identified).
This leads to some shrubs being designated when they shouldn’t be, causing a plant gatherer to walk there and do
nothing (except clearing the designation). See Issue 1479 for details.
The implementation another known deficiency: it’s incapable of detecting that raw definitions that specify a seed
extraction reaction for the structural part but has no other use for it cannot actually yield any seeds, as the part is never
used (parts of Bug 6940, e.g. Red Spinach), even though DF collects it, unless there’s a workshop reaction to do it
(which there isn’t in vanilla).

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4.5.17 infiniteSky

Automatically allocates new z-levels of sky at the top of the map as you build up, or on request allocates many levels
all at once.
Usage:
infiniteSky n Raise the sky by n z-levels.
infiniteSky enable/disable Enables/disables monitoring of constructions. If you build anything in the
second to highest z-level, it will allocate one more sky level. This is so you can continue to build stairs upward.

Warning: Sometimes new z-levels disappear and cause cave-ins. Saving and loading after creating new z-levels
should fix the problem.

4.5.18 liquids

Allows adding magma, water and obsidian to the game. It replaces the normal dfhack command line and can’t be
used from a hotkey. Settings will be remembered as long as dfhack runs. Intended for use in combination with the
command liquids-here (which can be bound to a hotkey). See also Issue 80.

Warning: Spawning and deleting liquids can mess up pathing data and temperatures (creating heat traps). You’ve
been warned.

Note: gui/liquids is an in-game UI for this script.

Settings will be remembered until you quit DF. You can call liquids-here to execute the last configured action, which
is useful in combination with keybindings.
Usage: point the DF cursor at a tile you want to modify and use the commands.
If you only want to add or remove water or magma from one tile, source may be easier to use.

Commands

Misc commands:
q quit
help, ? print this list of commands
<empty line> put liquid
Modes:
m switch to magma
w switch to water
o make obsidian wall instead
of make obsidian floors
rs make a river source
f flow bits only

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wclean remove salt and stagnant flags from tiles

Set-Modes and flow properties (only for magma/water):
s+ only add mode
s. set mode
s- only remove mode
f+ make the spawned liquid flow
f. don’t change flow state (read state in flow mode)
f- make the spawned liquid static
Permaflow (only for water):
pf. don’t change permaflow state
pf- make the spawned liquid static
pf[NS][EW] make the spawned liquid permanently flow
0-7 set liquid amount
Brush size and shape:
p, point Single tile
r, range Block with cursor at bottom north-west (any place, any size)
block DF map block with cursor in it (regular spaced 16x16x1 blocks)
column Column from cursor, up through free space
flood Flood-fill water tiles from cursor (only makes sense with wclean)

liquids-here

Run the liquid spawner with the current/last settings made in liquids (if no settings in liquids were made it paints a
point of 7/7 magma by default).
Intended to be used as keybinding. Requires an active in-game cursor.

4.5.19 plant

A tool for creating shrubs, growing, or getting rid of them.

Subcommands:
create Creates a new sapling under the cursor. Takes a raw ID as argument (e.g. TOWER_CAP). The
cursor must be located on a dirt or grass floor tile.
grow Turns saplings into trees; under the cursor if a sapling is selected, or every sapling on the map if
the cursor is hidden.
extirpate Kills the tree or shrub under the cursor, instantly turning them to ashes.
immolate Sets the plants on fire instead. The fires can and will spread ;)
For mass effects, use one of the additional options:
shrubs affect all shrubs on the map
trees affect all trees on the map

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all affect every plant!

4.5.20 regrass

Regrows all the grass. Not much to it ;)

4.5.21 restrictice

Restrict traffic on all tiles on top of visible ice. See also alltraffic, filltraffic, and restrictliquids.

4.5.22 restrictliquids

Restrict traffic on all visible tiles with liquid. See also alltraffic, filltraffic, and restrictice.

4.5.23 tiletypes

Can be used for painting map tiles and is an interactive command, much like liquids. If something goes wrong, fixveins
may help.
The tool works with two set of options and a brush. The brush determines which tiles will be processed. First set of
options is the filter, which can exclude some of the tiles from the brush by looking at the tile properties. The second
set of options is the paint - this determines how the selected tiles are changed.
Both paint and filter can have many different properties including things like general shape (WALL, FLOOR, etc.),
general material (SOIL, STONE, MINERAL, etc.), state of ‘designated’, ‘hidden’ and ‘light’ flags.
The properties of filter and paint can be partially defined. This means that you can for example turn all stone fortifica-
tions into floors, preserving the material:

filter material STONE

filter shape FORTIFICATION
paint shape FLOOR

Or turn mineral vein floors back into walls:

filter shape FLOOR

filter material MINERAL
paint shape WALL

The tool also allows tweaking some tile flags:

paint hidden 1
paint hidden 0

This will hide previously revealed tiles (or show hidden with the 0 option).
More recently, the tool supports changing the base material of the tile to an arbitrary stone from the raws, by creating
new veins as required. Note that this mode paints under ice and constructions, instead of overwriting them. To enable,
use:

paint stone MICROCLINE

This mode is incompatible with the regular material setting, so changing it cancels the specific stone selection:

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paint material ANY

Since different vein types have different drop rates, it is possible to choose which one to use in painting:

paint veintype CLUSTER_SMALL

When the chosen type is CLUSTER (the default), the tool may automatically choose to use layer stone or lava stone
instead of veins if its material matches the desired one.
Any paint or filter option (or the entire paint or filter) can be disabled entirely by using the ANY keyword:

paint hidden ANY

paint shape ANY
filter material any
filter shape any
filter any

You can use several different brushes for painting tiles:

point a single tile
range a rectangular range
column a column ranging from current cursor to the first solid tile above
block a DF map block - 16x16 tiles, in a regular grid
Example:

range 10 10 1

This will change the brush to a rectangle spanning 10x10 tiles on one z-level. The range starts at the position of the
cursor and goes to the east, south and up.
For more details, use tiletypes help.

tiletypes-command

Runs tiletypes commands, separated by ;. This makes it possible to change tiletypes modes from a hotkey or via
dfhack-run.

tiletypes-here

Apply the current tiletypes options at the in-game cursor position, including the brush. Can be used from a hotkey.

tiletypes-here-point

Apply the current tiletypes options at the in-game cursor position to a single tile. Can be used from a hotkey.

4.5.24 tubefill

Fills all the adamantine veins again. Veins that were hollow will be left alone.
Options:
hollow fill in naturally hollow veins too

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Beware that filling in hollow veins will trigger a demon invasion on top of your miner when you dig into the region
that used to be hollow.

4.6 Mods and Cheating

• add-spatter
• adv-bodyswap
• createitem
• diggingInvaders
• fastdwarf
• forceequip
• generated-creature-renamer
• lair
• misery
• mode
• strangemood
• siege-engine
• power-meter
• steam-engine
– Construction
– Operation
– Explosions
– Save files

4.6.1 add-spatter

This plugin makes reactions with names starting with SPATTER_ADD_ produce contaminants on the items instead
of improvements. The plugin is intended to give some use to all those poisons that can be bought from caravans, so
they’re immune to being washed away by water or destroyed by clean.

4.6.2 adv-bodyswap

This allows taking control over your followers and other creatures in adventure mode. For example, you can make
them pick up new arms and armor and equip them properly.
Usage:
• When viewing unit details, body-swaps into that unit.
• In the main adventure mode screen, reverts transient swap.

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Keybinding: CtrlB in dungeonmode

Keybinding: CtrlShiftB -> "adv-bodyswap force" in dungeonmode

4.6.3 createitem

Allows creating new items of arbitrary types and made of arbitrary materials. By default, items created are spawned
at the feet of the selected unit.
Specify the item and material information as you would indicate them in custom reaction raws, with the following
differences:
• Separate the item and material with a space rather than a colon
• If the item has no subtype, omit the :NONE
• If the item is REMAINS, FISH, FISH_RAW, VERMIN, PET, or EGG, specify a CREATURE:CASTE pair
instead of a material token.
Corpses, body parts, and prepared meals cannot be created using this tool.
Examples:

createitem GLOVES:ITEM_GLOVES_GAUNTLETS INORGANIC:STEEL 2

Create 2 pairs of steel gauntlets.
createitem WOOD PLANT_MAT:TOWER_CAP:WOOD
Create tower-cap logs.

For more examples, see this wiki page.

To change where new items are placed, first run the command with a destination type while an appropriate destination
is selected.
Options:
floor Subsequent items will be placed on the floor beneath the selected unit’s feet.
item Subsequent items will be stored inside the currently selected item.
building Subsequent items will become part of the currently selected building. Good for loading traps;
do not use with workshops (or deconstruct to use the item).

4.6.4 diggingInvaders

Makes invaders dig or destroy constructions to get to your dwarves.

To enable/disable the pluging, use: diggingInvaders (1|enable)|(0|disable)
Basic usage:
add GOBLIN registers the race GOBLIN as a digging invader. Case-sensitive.
remove GOBLIN unregisters the race GOBLIN as a digging invader. Case-sensitive.
now makes invaders try to dig now, if plugin is enabled
clear clears all digging invader races
edgesPerTick n makes the pathfinding algorithm work on at most n edges per tick. Set to 0 or lower to
make it unlimited.

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You can also use diggingInvaders setCost (race) (action) n to set the pathing cost of particular
action, or setDelay to set how long it takes. Costs and delays are per-tile, and the table shows default values.

Action Cost
De- Notes
lay
walk 1 0 base cost in the path algorithm
destroyBuilding 2 1,000 delay adds to the job_completion_timer of destroy building jobs that
are assigned to invaders
dig 10,000 1,000 digging soil or natural stone
1,000 1,000 constructions made from boulders
destroyRoughConstruction
100
destroySmoothConstruction 100 constructions made from blocks or bars

4.6.5 fastdwarf

Controls speedydwarf and teledwarf. Speedydwarf makes dwarves move quickly and perform tasks quickly. Teledwarf
makes dwarves move instantaneously, but do jobs at the same speed.
fastdwarf 0 disables both (also 0 0)
fastdwarf 1 enables speedydwarf and disables teledwarf (also 1 0)
fastdwarf 2 sets a native debug flag in the game memory that implements an even more aggressive ver-
sion of speedydwarf.
fastdwarf 0 1 disables speedydwarf and enables teledwarf
fastdwarf 1 1 enables both
See superdwarf for a per-creature version.

4.6.6 forceequip

Forceequip moves local items into a unit’s inventory. It is typically used to equip specific clothing/armor items onto a
dwarf, but can also be used to put armor onto a war animal or to add unusual items (such as crowns) to any unit.
For more information run forceequip help. See also modtools/equip-item.

4.6.7 generated-creature-renamer

Automatically renames generated creatures, such as forgotten beasts, titans, etc, to have raw token names that match
the description given in-game.
The list-generated command can be used to list the token names of all generated creatures in a given save, with
an optional detailed argument to show the accompanying description.
The save-generated-raws command will save a sample creature graphics file in the Dwarf Fortress root direc-
tory, to use as a start for making a graphics set for generated creatures using the new names that they get with this
plugin.
The new names are saved with the save, and the plugin, when enabled, only runs once per save, unless there’s an
update.

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4.6.8 lair

This command allows you to mark the map as a monster lair, preventing item scatter on abandon. When invoked as
lair reset, it does the opposite.
Unlike reveal, this command doesn’t save the information about tiles - you won’t be able to restore state of real monster
lairs using lair reset.
Options:
lair Mark the map as monster lair
lair reset Mark the map as ordinary (not lair)

4.6.9 misery

When enabled, fake bad thoughts will be added to all dwarves.

Usage:
misery enable n enable misery with optional magnitude n. If specified, n must be positive.
misery n same as “misery enable n”
misery enable same as “misery enable 1”
misery disable stop adding new negative thoughts. This will not remove existing negative thoughts.
Equivalent to “misery 0”.
misery clear remove fake thoughts, even after saving and reloading. Does not change factor.

4.6.10 mode

This command lets you see and change the game mode directly.

Warning: Only use mode after making a backup of your save!

Not all combinations are good for every situation and most of them will produce undesirable results. There are a
few good ones though.

Examples:
• You are in fort game mode, managing your fortress and paused.
• You switch to the arena game mode, assume control of a creature and then
• switch to adventure game mode(1). You just lost a fortress and gained an adventurer. Alternatively:
• You are in fort game mode, managing your fortress and paused at the esc menu.
• You switch to the adventure game mode, assume control of a creature, then save or retire.
• You just created a returnable mountain home and gained an adventurer.

4.6.11 strangemood

Creates a strange mood job the same way the game itself normally does it.
Options:

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-force Ignore normal strange mood preconditions (no recent mood, minimum moodable population, arti-
fact limit not reached).
-unit Make the strange mood strike the selected unit instead of picking one randomly. Unit eligibility is
still enforced.
-type <T> Force the mood to be of a particular type instead of choosing randomly based on happiness.
Valid values for T are “fey”, “secretive”, “possessed”, “fell”, and “macabre”.
-skill S Force the mood to use a specific skill instead of choosing the highest moodable skill. Valid values
are “miner”, “carpenter”, “engraver”, “mason”, “tanner”, “weaver”, “clothier”, “weaponsmith”, “ar-
morsmith”, “metalsmith”, “gemcutter”, “gemsetter”, “woodcrafter”, “stonecrafter”, “metalcrafter”,
“glassmaker”, “leatherworker”, “bonecarver”, “bowyer”, and “mechanic”.
Known limitations: if the selected unit is currently performing a job, the mood will not be started.

4.6.12 siege-engine

Siege engines in DF haven’t been updated since the game was 2D, and can only aim in four directions. To make them
useful above-ground, this plugin allows you to:
• link siege engines to stockpiles
• restrict operator skill levels (like workshops)
• load any object into a catapult, not just stones
• aim at a rectangular area in any direction, and across Z-levels
The front-end is implemented by gui/siege-engine.

4.6.13 power-meter

The power-meter plugin implements a modified pressure plate that detects power being supplied to gear boxes built in
the four adjacent N/S/W/E tiles.
The configuration front-end is implemented by gui/power-meter.

4.6.14 steam-engine

The steam-engine plugin detects custom workshops with STEAM_ENGINE in their token, and turns them into real
steam engines.
The vanilla game contains only water wheels and windmills as sources of power, but windmills give relatively little
power, and water wheels require flowing water, which must either be a real river and thus immovable and limited in
supply, or actually flowing and thus laggy.
Compared to the water reactor exploit, steam engines make a lot of sense!

Construction

The workshop needs water as its input, which it takes via a passable floor tile below it, like usual magma workshops
do. The magma version also needs magma.
Due to DFHack limits, the workshop will collapse over true open space. However down stairs are passable but support
machines, so you can use them.

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After constructing the building itself, machines can be connected to the edge tiles that look like gear boxes. Their
exact position is extracted from the workshop raws.
Like with collapse above, due to DFHack limits the workshop can only immediately connect to machine components
built AFTER it. This also means that engines cannot be chained without intermediate axles built after both engines.

Operation

In order to operate the engine, queue the Stoke Boiler job (optionally on repeat). A furnace operator will come,
possibly bringing a bar of fuel, and perform it. As a result, a “boiling water” item will appear in the t view of the
workshop.

Note: The completion of the job will actually consume one unit of the appropriate liquids from below the workshop.
This means that you cannot just raise 7 units of magma with a piston and have infinite power. However, liquid
consumption should be slow enough that water can be supplied by a pond zone bucket chain.

Every such item gives 100 power, up to a limit of 300 for coal, and 500 for a magma engine. The building can host
twice that amount of items to provide longer autonomous running. When the boiler gets filled to capacity, all queued
jobs are suspended; once it drops back to 3+1 or 5+1 items, they are re-enabled.
While the engine is providing power, steam is being consumed. The consumption speed includes a fixed 10% waste
rate, and the remaining 90% are applied proportionally to the actual load in the machine. With the engine at nominal
300 power with 150 load in the system, it will consume steam for actual 300*(10% + 90%*150/300) = 165 power.
Masterpiece mechanism and chain will decrease the mechanical power drawn by the engine itself from 10 to 5. Mas-
terpiece barrel decreases waste rate by 4%. Masterpiece piston and pipe decrease it by further 4%, and also decrease
the whole steam use rate by 10%.

Explosions

The engine must be constructed using barrel, pipe and piston from fire-safe, or in the magma version magma-safe
metals.
During operation weak parts get gradually worn out, and eventually the engine explodes. It should also explode if
toppled during operation by a building destroyer, or a tantruming dwarf.

Save files

It should be safe to load and view engine-using fortresses from a DF version without DFHack installed, except that
in such case the engines won’t work. However actually making modifications to them, or machines they connect to
(including by pulling levers), can easily result in inconsistent state once this plugin is available again. The effects may
be as weird as negative power being generated.

4.7 Lua API

Some plugins consist solely of native libraries exposed to Lua. They are listed in the DFHack Lua API file under
Plugins:
• Eventful
• Building-hacks
• Luasocket

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• map-render
• cxxrandom
• xlsxreader

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DFHack Scripts

Lua or ruby scripts placed in the hack/scripts/ directory are considered for execution as if they were native
DFHack commands.
The following pages document all the scripts in the DFHack standard library.

5.1 Basic Scripts

Basic scripts are not stored in any subdirectory, and can be invoked directly. They are generally useful tools for any
player.

Contents

• adaptation
• add-recipe
• add-thought
• adv-fix-sleepers
• adv-max-skills
• adv-rumors
• animal-control
• armoks-blessing
• assign-attributes
• assign-beliefs
• assign-facets
• assign-goals

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• assign-preferences
• assign-profile
• assign-skills
• autolabor-artisans
• autounsuspend
• ban-cooking
• binpatch
• bodyswap
• brainwash
• break-dance
• burial
• cannibalism
• caravan
• catsplosion
• clear-smoke
• colonies
• color-schemes
• combat-harden
• combine-drinks
• combine-plants
• create-items
• deathcause
• deep-embark
• deteriorateclothes
• deterioratecorpses
• deterioratefood
• digfort
• dorf_tables
• drain-aquifer
• dwarf-op
• elevate-mental
• elevate-physical
• embark-skills
• emigration
• empty-bin

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• exportlegends
• exterminate
• extinguish
• feature
• fillneeds
• firestarter
• fix-ster
• fixnaked
• flashstep
• force
• forget-dead-body
• forum-dwarves
• full-heal
• gaydar
• geld
• ghostly
• growcrops
• hermit
• hfs-pit
• hotkey-notes
• install-info
• item-descriptions
• launch
• lever
• light-aquifers-only
• linger
• list-agreements
• list-waves
• load-save
• locate-ore
• lua
• make-legendary
• make-monarch
• markdown
• masspit

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• migrants-now
• multicmd
• names
• on-new-fortress
• once-per-save
• open-legends
• points
• position
• pref-adjust
• prefchange
• putontable
• questport
• quicksave
• region-pops
• rejuvenate
• remove-stress
• remove-wear
• repeat
• resurrect-adv
• reveal-hidden-units
• season-palette
• set-orientation
• setfps
• show-unit-syndromes
• siren
• source
• spawnunit
• startdwarf
• starvingdead
• stripcaged
• superdwarf
• tame
• teleport
• tidlers
• troubleshoot-item

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• twaterlvl
• undump-buildings
• unforbid
• ungeld
• unretire-anyone
• unsuspend
• view-item-info
• view-unit-reports
• warn-starving
• weather
• workorder

5.1.1 adaptation

View or set level of cavern adaptation for the selected unit or the whole fort.
Usage:

adaptation <show|set> <him|all> [value]

The value must be between 0 and 800,000 (inclusive).

5.1.2 add-recipe

Adds unknown weapon and armor crafting recipes to your civ. E.g. some civilizations never learn to craft high boots.
This script can help with that, and more. Only weapons, armor, and tools are currently supported; things such as
instruments are not. Available options:
• add-recipe all adds all available weapons and armor, including exotic items like blowguns, two-handed
swords, and capes.
• add-recipe native adds only native (but unknown) crafting recipes. Civilizations pick randomly from a
pool of possible recipes, which means not all civs get high boots, for instance. This command gives you all the
recipes your civilisation could have gotten.
• add-recipe single <item token> adds a single item by the given item token. For example:

add-recipe single SHOES:ITEM_SHOES_BOOTS

5.1.3 add-thought

Adds a thought or emotion to the selected unit. Can be used by other scripts, or the gui invoked by running
add-thought -gui with a unit selected.

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5.1.4 adv-fix-sleepers

Fixes Bug 6798. This bug is characterized by sleeping units who refuse to awaken in adventure mode regardless of
talking to them, hitting them, or waiting so long you die of thirst. If you come accross one or more bugged sleepers in
adventure mode, simply run the script and all nearby sleepers will be cured.
Usage:

adv-fix-sleepers

5.1.5 adv-max-skills

When creating an adventurer, raises all changeable skills and attributes to their maximum level.

5.1.6 adv-rumors

Improves the “Bring up specific incident or rumor” menu in Adventure mode.

• Moves entries into one line
• Adds a “slew” keyword for filtering, making it easy to find your kills and not your companions’
• Trims repetitive words
Keybinding: CtrlA in dungeonmode/ConversationSpeak

5.1.7 animal-control

Animal control is a script useful for deciding what animals to butcher and geld.
While not as powerful as Dwarf Therapist in managing animals - in so far as DT allows you to sort by various stats and
flags - this script does provide many options for filtering animals. Additionally you can mark animals for slaughter or
gelding, you can even do so enmasse if you so choose.
Examples:

animal-control -race DOG

animal-control -race DOG -male -notgelded -showstats
animal-control -markfor gelding -id 1988
animal-control -markfor slaughter -id 1988
animal-control -gelded -markedfor slaughter -unmarkfor slaughter

Selection options:
These options are used to specify what animals you want or do not want to select.
-all: Selects all units. Note: cannot be used in conjunction with other selection options.
-id <value>: Selects the unit with the specified id value provided.
-race <value>: Selects units which match the race value provided.
-markedfor <action>: Selects units which have been marked for the action provided. Valid actions:
slaughter, gelding
-notmarkedfor <action>: Selects units which have not been marked for the action provided. Valid
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-gelded: Selects units which have already been gelded.

-notgelded: Selects units which have not been gelded.
-male: Selects units which are male.
-female: Selects units which are female.
Command options:
• -showstats: Displays physical attributes of the selected animals.
• -markfor <action>: Marks selected animals for the action provided. Valid actions: slaughter,
gelding
• -unmarkfor <action>: Unmarks selected animals for the action provided. Valid actions:
slaughter, gelding
Other options:
• -help: Displays this information
Column abbreviations
Due to space constraints, the names of some output columns are abbreviated as follows:
• str: strength
• agi: agility
• tgh: toughness
• endur: endurance
• recup: recuperation
• disres: disease resistance

5.1.8 armoks-blessing

Runs the equivalent of rejuvenate, elevate-physical, elevate-mental, and brainwash on all dwarves currently on the
map. This is an extreme change, which sets every stat and trait to an ideal easy-to-satisfy preference.
Without providing arguments, only attributes, age, and personalities will be adjusted. Adding arguments allows for
skills or classes to be adjusted to legendary (maximum).
Arguments:
• list Prints list of all skills
• classes Prints list of all classes
• all Set all skills, for all Dwarves, to legendary
• <skill name> Set a specific skill, for all Dwarves, to legendary
example: armoks-blessing RANGED_COMBAT
All Dwarves become a Legendary Archer
• <class name> Set a specific class (group of skills), for all Dwarves, to legendary
example: armoks-blessing Medical
All Dwarves will have all medical related skills set to legendary

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5.1.9 assign-attributes

A script to change the physical and mental attributes of a unit.

Attributes are divided into tiers from -4 to 4. Tier 0 is the standard level and represents the average values for that
attribute, tier 4 is the maximum level, and tier -4 is the minimum level.
An example of the attribute “Strength”:

Tier Description
4 unbelievably strong
3 mighty
2 very strong
1 strong
0 (no description)
-1 weak
-2 very weak
-3 unquestionably weak
-4 unfathomably weak

For more information: [Link]

Usage:
-help: print the help page.
-unit <UNIT_ID>: the target unit ID. If not present, the currently selected unit will be the target.
-attributes [ <ATTRIBUTE> <TIER> <ATTRIBUTE> <TIER> <...> ]: the list of the attributes to
modify and their tiers. The valid attribute names can be found in the wiki: [Link]
php/DF2014:Attribute (substitute any space with underscores); tiers range from -4 to 4. There must be a space
before and after each square bracket.
-reset: reset all attributes to the average level (tier 0). If both this option and a list of attributes/tiers are present,
the unit attributes will be reset and then the listed attributes will be modified.
Example:

assign-attributes -reset -attributes [ STRENGTH 2 AGILITY -1 SPATIAL_SENSE -1 ]

This will reset all attributes to a neutral value and will set the following values (if the currently selected unit is a dwarf):
• Strength: a random value between 1750 and 1999 (tier 2);
• Agility: a random value between 401 and 650 (tier -1);
• Spatial sense: a random value between 1043 and 1292 (tier -1).
The final result will be: “She is very strong, but she is clumsy. She has a questionable spatial sense.”

5.1.10 assign-beliefs

A script to change the beliefs (values) of a unit.

Beliefs are defined with the belief token and a number from -3 to 3, which describes the different levels of belief
strength, as explained here: [Link]

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Strength Effect
3 Highest
2 Very High
1 High
0 Neutral
-1 Low
-2 Very Low
-3 Lowest

Resetting a belief means setting it to a level that does not trigger a report in the “Thoughts and preferences” screen.
Usage:
-help: print the help page.
-unit <UNIT_ID>: set the target unit ID. If not present, the currently selected unit will be the target.
-beliefs [ <BELIEF> <LEVEL> <BELIEF> <LEVEL> <...> ]: the beliefs to modify and their levels.
The valid belief tokens can be found in the wiki page linked above; level values range from -3 to 3. There must
be a space before and after each square bracket.
-reset: reset all beliefs to a neutral level. If the script is called with both this option and a list of beliefs/levels, first
all the unit beliefs will be reset and then those beliefs listed after -beliefs will be modified.
Example:

assign-beliefs -reset -beliefs [ TRADITION 2 CRAFTSMANSHIP 3 POWER 0 CUNNING -1 ]

Resets all the unit beliefs, then sets the listed beliefs to the following values:
• Tradition: a random value between 26 and 40 (level 2);
• Craftsmanship: a random value between 41 and 50 (level 3);
• Power: a random value between -10 and 10 (level 0);
• Cunning: a random value between -25 and -11 (level -1).
The final result (for a dwarf) will be: “She personally is a firm believer in the value of tradition and sees guile and
cunning as indirect and somewhat worthless.”
Note that the beliefs aligned with the cultural values of the unit have not triggered a report.

5.1.11 assign-facets

A script to change the facets (traits) of a unit.

Facets are defined with a token and a number from -3 to 3, which describes the different levels of facets strength, as
explained here: [Link]

Strength Effect
3 Highest
2 Very High
1 High
0 Neutral
-1 Low
-2 Very Low
-3 Lowest

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Resetting a facet means setting it to a level that does not trigger a report in the “Thoughts and preferences” screen.
Usage:
-help: print the help page.
-unit <UNIT_ID>: set the target unit ID. If not present, the currently selected unit will be the target.
-beliefs [ <FACET> <LEVEL> <FACET> <LEVEL> <...> ]: the facets to modify and their levels. The
valid facet tokens can be found in the wiki page linked above; level values range from -3 to 3. There must be a
space before and after each square bracket.
-reset: reset all facets to a neutral level. If the script is called with both this option and a list of facets/levels, first
all the unit facets will be reset and then those facets listed after -facets will be modified.
Example:

assign-facets -reset -facets [ HATE_PROPENSITY -2 CHEER_PROPENSITY -1 ]

Resets all the unit facets, then sets the listed facets to the following values:
• Hate propensity: a value between 10 and 24 (level -2);
• Cheer propensity: a value between 25 and 39 (level -1).
The final result (for a dwarf) will be: “She very rarely develops negative feelings toward things. She is rarely happy
or enthusiastic, and she is conflicted by this as she values parties and merrymaking in the abstract.”
Note that the facets are compared to the beliefs, and if conflicts arise they will be reported.

5.1.12 assign-goals

A script to change the goals (dreams) of a unit.

Goals are defined with the goal token and a true/false value that describes whether or not the goal has been accom-
plished. Be advised that this last feature has not been properly tested and might be potentially destructive: I suggest
leaving it at false.
For a list of possible goals: [Link]
Bear in mind that nothing will stop you from assigning zero or more than one goal, but it’s not clear how it will affect
the game.
Usage:
-help: print the help page.
-unit <UNIT_ID>: set the target unit ID. If not present, the currently selected unit will be the target.
-goals [ <GOAL> <REALIZED_FLAG> <GOAL> <REALIZED_FLAG> <...> ]: the goals to mod-
ify/add and whether they have been realized or not. The valid goal tokens can be found in the wiki page linked
above. The flag must be a true/false value. There must be a space before and after each square bracket.
-reset: clear all goals. If the script is called with both this option and a list of goals, first all the unit goals will be
erased and then those goals listed after -goals will be added.
Example:

assign-goals -reset -goals [ MASTER_A_SKILL false ]

Clears all the unit goals, then sets the “master a skill” goal. The final result will be: “dreams of mastering a skill”.

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5.1.13 assign-preferences

A script to change the preferences of a unit.

Preferences are classified into 12 types. The first 9 are:
• like material;
• like creature;
• like food;
• hate creature;
• like item;
• like plant;
• like tree;
• like colour;
• like shape.
These can be changed using this script.
The remaining three are not currently managed by this script, and are: like poetic form, like musical form, like dance
form.
To produce the correct description in the “thoughts and preferences” page, you must specify the particular type of
preference. For each type, a description is provided in the section below.
You will need to know the token of the object you want your dwarf to like. Unless told otherwise, the best way to get
those tokens is to activate the plugin stonesense, load a world and let the plugin generate a file named “[Link]”
in the root DF folder. Browse this file (import it as a .csv file with Excel or similar program) to get the desired token
(in the “id” column). Otherwise, in the folder “/raw/objects/” under the main DF directory you will find all the raws
defined in the game.
For more information: [Link]
Usage:
-help: print the help page.
-unit <UNIT_ID>: set the target unit ID. If not present, the currently selected unit will be the target.
-likematerial [ <TOKEN> <TOKEN> <...> ]: usually a type of stone, a type of metal and a type of gem,
plus it can also be a type of wood, a type of glass, a type of leather, a type of horn, a type of pearl, a type of ivory,
a decoration material - coral or amber, a type of bone, a type of shell, a type of silk, a type of yarn, or a type
of plant cloth. Write the tokens as found in the “id” column of the file “[Link]”, generated as explained
above. There must be a space before and after each square bracket.
-likecreature [ <TOKEN> <TOKEN> <...> ]: one or more creatures liked by the unit. You can just list
the species: if you are using the file “[Link]” as explained above, the creature token will be something
similar to CREATURE:SPARROW:SKIN, so the name of the species will be SPARROW. Nothing will stop you
to write the full token, if you want: the script will just ignore the first and the last parts. There must be a space
before and after each square bracket.
-likefood [ <TOKEN> <TOKEN> <...> ]: usually a type of alcohol, plus it can be a type of meat, a type of
fish, a type of cheese, a type of edible plant, a cookable plant/creature extract, a cookable mill powder, a cookable
plant seed or a cookable plant leaf. Write the tokens as found in the “id” column of the file “[Link]”,
generated as explained above. There must be a space before and after each square bracket.

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-hatecreature [ <TOKEN> <TOKEN> <...> ]: works the same way as -likecreature, but this time
it’s one or more creatures that the unit detests. They should be a type of HATEABLE vermin which isn’t already
explicitly liked, but no check is performed about this. Like before, you can just list the creature species. There
must be a space before and after each square bracket.
-likeitem [ <TOKEN> <TOKEN> <...> ]: a kind of weapon, a kind of ammo, a kind of piece of armor,
a piece of clothing (including backpacks or quivers), a type of furniture (doors, floodgates, beds, chairs,
windows, cages, barrels, tables, coffins, statues, boxes, armor stands, weapon racks, cabinets, bins, hatch
covers, grates, querns, millstones, traction benches, or slabs), a kind of craft (figurines, amulets, scepters,
crowns, rings, earrings, bracelets, or large gems), or a kind of miscellaneous item (catapult parts, bal-
lista parts, a type of siege ammo, a trap component, coins, anvils, totems, chains, flasks, goblets, buck-
ets, animal traps, an instrument, a toy, splints, crutches, or a tool). The item tokens can be found here:
[Link] If you want to specify an item subtype, look into
the files listed under the column “Subtype” of the wiki page (they are in the “/raw/ojects/” folder), then specify
the items using the full tokens found in those files (see examples below). There must be a space before and after
each square bracket.
-likeplant [ <TOKEN> <TOKEN> <...> ]: works in a similar way as -likecreature, this time with
plants. You can just List the plant species (the middle part of the token as listed in “[Link]”). There must
be a space before and after each square bracket.
-liketree [ <TOKEN> <TOKEN> <...> ]: works exactly as -likeplant. I think this preference type is
here for backward compatibility (?). You can still use it, however. As before, you can just list the tree (plant)
species. There must be a space before and after each square bracket.
-likecolor [ <TOKEN> <TOKEN> <...> ]: you can find the color tokens here: [Link]
org/[Link]/DF2014:Color#Color_tokens or inside the “descriptor_color_standard.txt” file (in the
“/raw/ojects/” folder). You can use the full token or just the color name. There must be a space before and
after each square bracket.
-likeshape [ <TOKEN> <TOKEN> <...> ]: I couldn’t find a list of shape tokens in the wiki, but you can
find them inside the “descriptor_shape_standard.txt” file (in the “/raw/ojects/” folder). You can use the full token
or just the shape name. There must be a space before and after each square bracket.
-reset: clear all preferences. If the script is called with both this option and one or more preferences, first all the
unit preferences will be cleared and then the listed preferences will be added.
Examples:
• “likes alabaster and willow wood”:

assign-preferences -reset -likematerial [ INORGANIC:OBSIDAN PLANT:WILLOW:WOOD ]

• “likes sparrows for their . . . ”:

assign-preferences -reset -likecreature SPARROW

• “prefers to consume dwarven wine and olives”:

assign-preferences -reset -likefood [ PLANT:MUSHROOM_HELMET_PLUMP:DRINK

˓→PLANT:OLIVE:FRUIT ]

• “absolutely detests jumping spiders:

assign-preferences -reset -hatecreature SPIDER_JUMPING

• “likes logs and battle axes”:

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assign-preferences -reset -likeitem [ WOOD ITEM_WEAPON:ITEM_WEAPON_AXE_BATTLE ]

• “likes straberry plants for their . . . ”:

assign-preferences -reset -likeplant BERRIES_STRAW

• “likes oaks for their . . . ”:

assign-preferences -reset -liketree OAK

• “likes the color aqua”:

assign-preferences -reset -likecolor AQUA

• “likes stars”:

assign-preferences -reset -likeshape STAR

5.1.14 assign-profile

A script to change the characteristics of a unit according to a profile loaded from a json file.
A profile can describe which attributes, skills, preferences, beliefs, goals and facets a unit must have. The script relies
on the presence of the other assign-... modules in this collection: please refer to the other modules documentation
for more specific information.
For information about the json schema, please see the the “/hack/scripts/dwarf_profiles.json” file.
Usage:
-help: print the help page.
-unit <UNIT_ID>: the target unit ID. If not present, the target will be the currently selected unit.
-file <filename>: the json file containing the profile to apply. It’s a relative path, starting from the DF root di-
rectory and ending at the json file. It must begin with a slash. Default value: “/hack/scripts/dwarf_profiles.json”.
-profile <profile>: the profile to apply. It’s the name of the profile as stated in the json file.
-reset <list of characteristics>: the characteristics to be reset/cleared. If not present, it will not clear
or reset any characteristic. If it’s a valid list of characteristic, those characteristics will be reset, and then, if
present in the profile, the new values will be applied. If set to PROFILE, it will reset only the characteristics
changed in the profile (and then the new values will be applied). If set to ALL, it will reset EVERY characteristic.
Possible values: ALL, PROFILE, ATTRIBUTES, SKILLS, PREFERENCES, BELIEFS, GOALS, FACETS.
Examples:
• Resets/clears all the characteristics of the unit, leaving behind a very bland character:

assign-profile -reset ALL

• Loads and applies the profile called “CARPENTER” in the default json file, resetting/clearing all the character-
istics listed in the profile, and then applying the new values:

assign-profile -profile CARPENTER -reset PROFILE

• Loads and applies the profile called “ARCHER” in the provided json file, keeping all the old characteristics but
the attributes, which will be reset (and then, if the profile provides some attributes values, those value will be
applied):

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assign-profile -file /hack/scripts/military_profiles.json -profile ARCHER -reset

˓→ATTRIBUTES

5.1.15 assign-skills

A script to change the skills of a unit.

Skills are defined by their token and their rank. Skills tokens can be found here: [Link]
php/DF2014:Skill_token
Below you can find a list of the first 16 ranks:

Rank Skill name

0 Dabbling
1 Novice
2 Adequate
3 Competent
4 Skilled
5 Proficient
6 Talented
7 Adept
8 Expert
9 Professional
10 Accomplished
11 Great
12 Master
13 High Master
14 Grand Master
15+ Legendary

For more information: [Link]

Usage:
-help: print the help page.
-unit <UNIT_ID>: the target unit ID. If not present, the currently selected unit will be the target.
-skills [ <SKILL> <RANK> <SKILL> <RANK> <...> ]: the list of the skills to modify and their ranks.
Rank values range from -1 (the skill is not learned) to normally 20 (legendary + 5). It is actually possible to go
beyond 20, no check is performed. There must be a space before and after each square bracket.
-reset: clear all skills. If the script is called with both this option and a list of skills/ranks, first all the unit skills
will be cleared and then the listed skills will be added.
Example:

assign-skills -reset -skills [ WOODCUTTING 3 AXE 2 ]

Clears all the unit skills, then adds the Wood cutter skill (competent level) and the Axeman skill (adequate level).

5.1.16 autolabor-artisans

Runs an autolabor command, for all labors where skill level influences output quality. Examples:

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autolabor-artisans 0 2 3
autolabor-artisans disable

5.1.17 autounsuspend

Automatically unsuspend construction jobs, on a recurring basis.

Will not unsuspend jobs where water flow > 1.
See unsuspend for one-off use, or resume all.

5.1.18 ban-cooking

A more convenient way to ban cooking various categories of foods than the kitchen interface. Usage: ban-cooking
<type>. Valid types are booze, honey, tallow, oil, seeds (non-tree plants with seeds), brew, fruit, mill,
thread, and milk.

5.1.19 binpatch

Implements functions for in-memory binpatches. See Patching the DF binary.

5.1.20 bodyswap

This script allows the player to take direct control of any unit present in adventure mode whilst giving up control of
their current player character.
To specify the target unit, simply select it in the user interface, such as by opening the unit’s status screen or viewing
its description, and enter “bodyswap” in the DFHack console.
Alternatively, the target unit can be specified by its unit id as shown below.
Arguments:

-unit id
replace "id" with the unit id of your target
example:
bodyswap -unit 42

5.1.21 brainwash

Modify the personality traits of the selected dwarf to match an idealised personality - for example, as stable and reliable
as possible to prevent tantrums even after months of misery.
Usage: brainwash <type>, with one of the following types:
ideal reliable, with generally positive personality traits
baseline reset all personality traits to the average
stepford amplifies all good qualities to an excessive degree
wrecked amplifies all bad qualities to an excessive degree

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5.1.22 break-dance

Breaks up dances, such as broken or otherwise hung dances that occur when a unit can’t find a partner.

5.1.23 burial

Sets all unowned coffins to allow burial. burial -pets also allows burial of pets.

5.1.24 cannibalism

Allows consumption of sapient corpses. Use from an adventurer’s inventory screen or an individual item’s detail
screen.

5.1.25 caravan

Adjusts properties of caravans on the map. See also force to create caravans.
This script has multiple subcommands. Commands listed with the argument [IDS] can take multiple caravan IDs
(see caravan list). If no IDs are specified, then the commands apply to all caravans on the map.
Subcommands:
• list: lists IDs and information about all caravans on the map.
• extend [DAYS] [IDS]: extends the time that caravans stay at the depot by the specified number of days
(defaults to 7 if not specified). Also causes caravans to return to the depot if applicable.
• happy [IDS]: makes caravans willing to trade again (after seizing goods, annoying merchants, etc.). Also
causes caravans to return to the depot if applicable.
• leave [IDS]: makes caravans pack up and leave immediately.

5.1.26 catsplosion

Makes cats (and other animals) just multiply. It is not a good idea to run this more than once or twice.
Usage:
catsplosion Make all cats pregnant
catsplosion list List IDs of all animals on the map
catsplosion ID . . . Make animals with given ID(s) pregnant
Animals will give birth within two in-game hours (100 ticks or fewer).

5.1.27 clear-smoke

Removes all smoke from the map. Note that this can leak memory and should be used sparingly.

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5.1.28 colonies

List vermin colonies, place honey bees, or convert all vermin to honey bees. Usage:
colonies List all vermin colonies on the map.
colonies place Place a honey bee colony under the cursor.
colonies convert Convert all existing colonies to honey bees.
The place and convert subcommands by default create or convert to honey bees, as this is the most commonly
useful. However both accept an optional flag to use a different vermin type, for example colonies place ANT
creates an ant colony and colonies convert TERMITE ends your beekeeping industry.

5.1.29 color-schemes

A script to manage color schemes.

Current features are :
• Registration
• Loading
• Listing
• Default Setting/Loading
For detailed information and usage, type color-schemes in console.
Loaded as a module, this script will export those methods :
• register(path, force) : Register colors schemes by path (file or directory), relative to DF main directory
• load(name) : Load a registered color scheme by name
• list() : Return a list of registered color schemes
• set_default(name) : Set the default color scheme
• load_default() : Load the default color scheme
For more information about arguments and return values, see hack/scripts/[Link].
Related scripts:
• gui/color-schemes is the in-game GUI for this script.
• season-palette swaps color schemes when the season changes.

5.1.30 combat-harden

Sets the combat-hardened value on a unit, making them care more/less about seeing corpses. Requires a value and a
target.
Valid values:
-value <0-100> A percent value to set combat hardened to.
-tier <1-4>
Choose a tier of hardenedness to set it to. 1 = No hardenedness. 2 = “is getting used to tragedy”
3 = “is a hardened individual” 4 = “doesn’t really care about anything anymore” (max)

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If neither are provided, the script defaults to using a value of 100.

Valid targets:
-all All active units will be affected.
-citizens All (sane) citizens of your fort will be affected. Will do nothing in adventure mode.
-unit <UNIT ID> The given unit will be affected.
If no target is given, the provided unit can’t be found, or no unit id is given with the unit argument, the script will try
and default to targeting the currently selected unit.

5.1.31 combine-drinks

Merge stacks of drinks in the selected stockpile.

5.1.32 combine-plants

Merge stacks of plants or plant growths in the selected container or stockpile.

5.1.33 create-items

Spawn items under the cursor, to get your fortress started.

The first argument gives the item category, the second gives the material, and the optional third gives the number of
items to create (defaults to 20).
Currently supported item categories: boulder, bar, plant, log, web.
Instead of material, using list makes the script list eligible materials.
The web item category will create an uncollected cobweb on the floor.
Note that the script does not enforce anything, and will let you create boulders of toad blood and stuff like that.
However the list mode will only show ‘normal’ materials.
Examples:

create-items boulders COAL_BITUMINOUS 12

create-items plant tail_pig
create-items log list
create-items web CREATURE:SPIDER_CAVE_GIANT:SILK
create-items bar CREATURE:CAT:SOAP
create-items bar adamantine

5.1.34 deathcause

Select a body part ingame, or a unit from the u unit list, and this script will display the cause of death of the creature.

5.1.35 deep-embark

Moves the starting units and equipment to a specific underground region upon embarking.
This script can be run directly from the console at any point whilst setting up an embark.

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Alternatively, create a file called “[Link]” in the DF raw folder (if one does not exist already) and enter the script
command within it. Doing so will cause the script to run automatically and should hence be especially useful for
modders who want their mod to include underground embarks by default.
Example:

deep-embark -depth CAVERN_2

Usage:

-depth X
(obligatory)
replace "X" with one of the following:
CAVERN_1
CAVERN_2
CAVERN_3
UNDERWORLD

-blockDemons
including this arg will prevent demon surges
in the context of breached underworld spires
(intended mainly for UNDERWORLD embarks)
("wildlife" demon spawning will be unaffected)

-atReclaim
if the script is being run from [Link],
including this arg will enable deep embarks
when reclaiming sites too
(there's no need to specify this if running
the script directly from the console)

-clear
re-enable normal surface embarks

5.1.36 deteriorateclothes

Somewhere between a “mod” and a “fps booster”, with a small impact on vanilla gameplay. All of those slightly
worn wool shoes that dwarves scatter all over the place will deteriorate at a greatly increased rate, and eventually just
crumble into nothing. As warm and fuzzy as a dining room full of used socks makes your dwarves feel, your FPS does
not like it.
Usage:

deteriorateclothes start|stop

5.1.37 deterioratecorpses

Somewhere between a “mod” and a “fps booster”, with a small impact on vanilla gameplay.
In long running forts, especially evil biomes, you end up with a lot of toes, teeth, fingers, and limbs scattered all
over the place. Various corpses from various sieges, stray kitten corpses, probably some heads. Basically, your map
will look like a giant pile of assorted body parts, all of which individually eat up a small part of your FPS, which
collectively eat up quite a bit.

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In addition, this script also targets various butchery byproducts. Enjoying your thriving animal industry? Your FPS
does not. Those thousands of skulls, bones, hooves, and wool eat up precious FPS that could be used to kill goblins
and elves. Whose corpses will also get destroyed by the script to kill more goblins and elves.
This script causes all of those to rot away into nothing after several months.
Usage:

deterioratecorpses start|stop

5.1.38 deterioratefood

Somewhere between a “mod” and a “fps booster”, with a small impact on vanilla gameplay.
With this script running, all food and plants wear out and disappear after several months. Barrels and stockpiles will
keep them from rotting, but it won’t keep them from decaying. No more sitting on a hundred years worth of food. No
more keeping barrels of pig tails sitting around until you decide to use them. Either use it, eat it, or lose it. Seeds, are
excluded from this, if you aren’t planning on using your pig tails, hold onto the seeds for a rainy day.
This script is. . . pretty far reaching. However, almost all long running forts I’ve had end up sitting on thousands and
thousands of food items. Several thousand cooked meals, three thousand plump helmets, just as many fish and meat.
It gets pretty absurd. And your FPS doesn’t like it.
Usage:

deterioratefood start|stop

5.1.39 digfort

A script to designate an area for digging according to a plan in csv format.

This script, inspired by quickfort, can designate an area for digging. Your plan should be stored in a .csv file like this:

# this is a comment
d,d,u,d,d,skip this tile,d
d,d,d,i

Other than d, tile shapes are named after the ‘dig’ menu shortcuts: d for default, u upstairs, j downstairs, i updown,
h channel, r upward ramp, and x remove designation. Unrecognized characters are ignored (e.g. the ‘skip this tile’ in
the sample). d is interpreted based on the shape of the current tile. It will dig walls, remove stairs and ramps, gather
plants, and fell trees.
Empty lines and data after a # are ignored as comments. Double quote (") characters that are inserted at the beginning
of strings by csv exporters are also ignored. To skip a row in your design, add a row consisting only of , characters.
One comment in the file may contain the phrase start(3,5). It is interpreted as an offset for the pattern: instead
of starting at the cursor, it will start 3 tiles left and 5 tiles up from the cursor.
Additionally a comment can have a < for a rise in z level or a > for a drop in z.
The script takes the plan filename, starting from the root df folder (where [Link] is found).
Additional options can be specified after the filename:
• force: if the blueprint would extend beyond the edge of the map, still draw the parts that remain on the map.
(The default behavior in this case is to fail with an error message.)

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5.1.40 dorf_tables

Data tables for dwarf-op

Arguments:
• -list [jobs|professions|types]
Examples:

dorf_tables -list jobs

dorf_tables -list professions
dorf_tables -list types

The data tables defined are described below.

job_distributions: Defines thresholds for each column of distributions. The columns must add up to the values in the
thresholds row for that column. Every other row references an entry in ‘jobs’
jobs: Defines dwarf-op’s nameable jobs. This is preferable to taking every profession and making a distribution that
covers all 100+ profs.
Each job is comprised of required professions, optional professions, probabilities for each optional profession,
a ‘max’ number of optional professions, and a list of type(s) to apply to dwarves in the defined job.
professions: These are a subset of the professions DF has. All professions listed will match a profession dwarf
fortress has built in, however not all the built-ins are defined here.
Each profession is defined with a set of job skills, these match the skills built in to dwarf fortress. Each skill is
given a value which represents the bonus a dwarf will get to this skill. The skills are added in a random order,
with the first few receiving the highest values (excluding the bonus just mentioned). Thus the bonuses are to
ensure a minimum threshold is passed for certain skills deemed critical to a profession.
types: These are a sort of archetype system for applying to dwarves. It primarily includes physical attributes, but can
include skills as well.
Each type has a probability of being applied to a dwarf just by pure luck - this is in addition to types applied
by other means. Each type also has a list of attribute(s) each attribute has a attribute_level associated to it.
Additionally each type may define a list of skills from the aforementioned job_skill listing, each skill is defined
with a minimum value and maximum value, the given value is an evening distributed random number between
these two numbers (inclusive).

To see a full list of built-in professions and jobs, you can run these commands:

devel/query -table [Link] -listkeys

devel/query -table df.job_skill -listkeys

5.1.41 drain-aquifer

Remove all ‘aquifer’ tags from the map blocks. Irreversible.

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5.1.42 dwarf-op

Dwarf optimization is a script designed to provide a robust solution to hacking dwarves to be better at work. The
primary use case is as follows:
1) take a dwarf
2) delete their ability to do anything, even walk (job skills, phyiscal/mental attributes)
3) load the job distribution table from dorf_tables
4) update values in said table so the table accurately represents the distribution of your dwarves
5) pick an under-represented job from the table
6) apply the job to the dwarf, which means:
• apply professions
• provide custom profession name
• add job skills
• apply dwarf types
• etc.
Beyond this use case of optimizing dwarves according to the tables in dorf_tables, this script makes each step in the
process available to use separately, if you so choose.
There are two basic steps to using this script: selecting a subset of your dwarves, and running commands on those
dwarves.
Usage:

dwarf-op -help
dwarf-op -select <select-option> -<command> <args>

Examples:

dwarf-op -select [ jobs Trader Miner Leader Rancher ] -applytype adaptable

dwarf-op -select all -clear -optimize
dwarf-op -select pall -clear -optimize
dwarf-op -select optimized -reroll
dwarf-op -select named -reroll inclusive -applyprofession RECRUIT

Select options:

Note: Prepend the letter p to any option to include protected dwarves in your selection

(none) same as typing ‘-select highlighted’

all selects all dwarves.
highlighted selects only the in-game highlighted dwarf (from any screen). [Ignores protection status]
<name> selects any dwarf with <name> in their name or nickname. (sub-string match) [Ignores protec-
tion status]
named selects dwarves with user-given names.
unnamed selects dwarves without user-given names.
employed selects dwarves with custom professions. Excludes optimized dwarves.

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optimized selects dwarves based on session data. Dwarves who have been optimized should be listed in
this data.
unoptimized selects any dwarves that don’t appear in session data.
protected selects any dwarves which use protection signals in their name or profession. (i.e. ., ,)
unprotected selects any dwarves which don’t use protection signals in their name or profession.
drunks selects any dwarves which are currently zeroed, or were originally drunks as their profession.
jobs selects any dwarves with the listed jobs. This will only match with custom professions, or optimized
dwarves (for optimized dwarves see jobs in dorf_tables).
Usage:

dwarf-op -select [ jobs job1 job2 etc. ]

Example:

dwarf-op -select [ jobs Miner Trader ]

waves selects dwarves from the specified migration waves. Waves are enumerated starting at 0 and
increasing by 1 with each wave. The waves go by season and year and thus should match what
you see in list-waves or Dwarf Therapist. It is recommended that you -show the selected dwarves
before modifying.
Example:

dwarf-op -select [ waves 0 1 3 5 7 13 ]

General commands:
• -reset: deletes json file containing session data (bug: might not delete session data)
• -resetall: deletes both json files. session data and existing persistent data (bug: might not delete session
data)
• -show: displays affected dwarves (id, name, migration wave, primary job). Useful for previewing selected
dwarves before modifying them, or looking up the migration wave number for a group of dwarves.
Dwarf commands:
clean <value>: Cleans selected dwarves. Checks for skills with a rating of <value> and deletes them from
the dwarf’s skill list
-clear: Zeroes selected dwarves, or zeroes all dwarves if no selection is given. No attributes, no labours. As-
signs DRUNK profession.
-reroll [inclusive]: zeroes selected dwarves, then rerolls that dwarf based on its job.
• Ignores dwarves with unlisted jobs.
• optional argument: inclusive - means your dorf(s) get the best of N rolls.
• See attrib_levels table in dorf_tables for p values describing the normal distribution of stats (each p value has
a sub-distribution, which makes the bell curve not so bell-shaped). Labours do not follow the same stat system
and are more uniformly random, which are compensated for in the description of jobs/professions.
-optimize: Performs a job search for unoptimized dwarves. Each dwarf will be found a job according to the
job_distribution table in dorf_tables.
-applyjobs: Applies the listed jobs to the selected dwarves.
• List format: [ job1 job2 jobn ] (brackets and jobs all separated by spaces)

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• See jobs table in dorf_tables for available jobs.”

-applyprofessions: Applies the listed professions to the selected dwarves.
• List format: [ prof1 prof2 profn ] (brackets and professions all separated by spaces)
• See professions table in dorf_tables for available professions.
-applytypes: Applies the listed types to the selected dwarves.
• List format: [ type1 type2 typen ] (brackets and types all separated by spaces)
• See dwf_types table in dorf_tables for available types.
renamejob <name>: Renames the selected dwarves’ custom profession to whatever is specified
Other Arguments:
-help: displays this help information.
-debug: enables debugging print lines

5.1.43 elevate-mental

Set all mental attributes of the selected dwarf to the maximum possible, or any number numbers between 0 and 5000
passed as an argument: elevate-mental 100 for example would make the dwarf very stupid indeed.

5.1.44 elevate-physical

Set all physical attributes of the selected dwarf to the maximum possible, or any number numbers between 0 and 5000
passed as an argument. Higher is usually better, but an ineffective hammerer can be useful too. . .

5.1.45 embark-skills

Adjusts dwarves’ skills when embarking.

Note that already-used skill points are not taken into account or reset.
points N Sets the skill points remaining of the selected dwarf to N.
points N all Sets the skill points remaining of all dwarves to N.
max Sets all skills of the selected dwarf to “Proficient”.
max all Sets all skills of all dwarves to “Proficient”.
legendary Sets all skills of the selected dwarf to “Legendary”.
legendary all Sets all skills of all dwarves to “Legendary”.

5.1.46 emigration

Allows dwarves to emigrate from the fortress when stressed, in proportion to how badly stressed they are and adjusted
for who they would have to leave with - a dwarven merchant being more attractive than leaving alone (or with an elf).
The check is made monthly.
A happy dwarf (ie with negative stress) will never emigrate.
Usage:

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emigration enable|disable

5.1.47 empty-bin

Empties the contents of the selected bin onto the floor.

5.1.48 exportlegends

Controls legends mode to export data - especially useful to set-and-forget large worlds, or when you want a map of
every site when there are several hundred.
The ‘info’ option exports more data than is possible in vanilla, to a region-date-legends_plus.xml file
developed to extend World Viewer and other legends utilities.
Usage:

exportlegends OPTION [FOLDER_NAME]

Valid values for OPTION are:

info Exports the world/gen info, the legends XML, and a custom XML with more information
custom Exports a custom XML with more information
sites Exports all available site maps
maps Exports all seventeen detailed maps
all Equivalent to calling all of the above, in that order
FOLDER_NAME, if specified, is the name of the folder where all the files will be saved. This defaults to the
legends-regionX-YYYYY-MM-DD format. A path is also allowed, although everything but the last folder has to
exist. To export to the top-level DF folder, pass . for this argument.
Examples:
• Export all information to the legends-regionX-YYYYY-MM-DD folder:

exportlegends all

• Export all information to the region6 folder:

exportlegends all region6

• Export just the files included in info (above) to the legends-regionX-YYYYY-MM-DD folder:

exportlegends info

• Export just the custom XML file to the DF folder (no subfolder):

exportlegends custom .

Keybinding: CtrlA -> "exportlegends all" in legends

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5.1.49 exterminate

Kills any unit of a given race.

With no argument, lists the available races and count eligible targets.
With the special argument this, targets only the selected creature. Alternatively, him, her, it, target, and
selected do the same thing.
With the special argument undead, targets all undeads on the map, regardless of their race.
When specifying a race, a caste can be specified to further restrict the targeting. To do that, append and colon and the
caste name after the race.
Any non-dead non-caged unit of the specified race gets its blood_count set to 0, which means immediate death at
the next game tick. For creatures such as vampires, it also sets animal.vanish_countdown to 2.
An alternate mode is selected by adding a 2nd argument to the command, magma. In this case, a column of 7/7 magma
is generated on top of the targets until they die (Warning: do not call on magma-safe creatures. Also, using this mode
on birds is not recommended.) The final alternate mode is butcher, which marks them for butchering but does not
kill.
Will target any unit on a revealed tile of the map, including ambushers, but ignore caged/chained creatures.
Ex:

exterminate gob
exterminate gob:male
exterminate gob:enemy

To kill a single creature, select the unit with the ‘v’ cursor and:

exterminate this

To purify all elves on the map with fire (may have side-effects):

exterminate elve magma

5.1.50 extinguish

This script allows the user to put out fires affecting map tiles, plants, units, items and buildings.
To select a target, place the cursor over it before running the script. Alternatively, use one of the arguments below.
Arguments:

-all
extinguish everything on the map

-location [ x y z ]
extinguish only at the specified coordinates

5.1.51 feature

Enables management of map features.

• Discovering a magma feature (magma pool, volcano, magma sea, or curious underground structure) permits
magma workshops and furnaces to be built.

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• Discovering a cavern layer causes plants (trees, shrubs, and grass) from that cavern to grow within your fortress.
Options:
list Lists all map features in your current embark by index.
magma Enable magma furnaces (discovers a random magma feature).
show X Marks the selected map feature as discovered.
hide X Marks the selected map feature as undiscovered.

5.1.52 fillneeds

Use with a unit selected to make them focused and unstressed.

Alternatively, a unit can be specified by passing -unit UNIT_ID
Use -all to apply to all units on the map.

5.1.53 firestarter

Lights things on fire: items, locations, entire inventories even! Use while viewing an item, unit inventory, or tile to
start fires.

5.1.54 fix-ster

Utilizes the orientation tag to either fix infertile creatures or inflict infertility on creatures that you do not want to
breed. Usage:
fix-ster [fert|ster] [all|animals|only:<creature>]

fert or ster is a required argument; whether to make the target fertile or sterile. Optional arguments specify the
target: no argument for the selected unit, all for all units on the map, animals for all non-dwarf creatures, or
only:<creature> to only process matching creatures.

5.1.55 fixnaked

Removes all unhappy thoughts due to lack of clothing.

5.1.56 flashstep

A hotkey-friendly teleport that places your adventurer where your cursor is.

5.1.57 force

A simpler wrapper around the modtools/force script.

Usage:
• force event_type
• force event_type civ_id - civ ID required for Diplomat and Caravan events
See modtools/force for a complete list of event types.

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5.1.58 forget-dead-body

Removes emotions associated with seeing a dead body.

5.1.59 forum-dwarves

Saves a copy of a text screen, formatted in bbcode for posting to the Bay12 Forums. See markdown to export for
Reddit etc.
This script will attempt to read the current df-screen, and if it is a text-viewscreen (such as the dwarf ‘thoughts’ screen
or an item ‘description’) then append a marked-up version of this text to the target file. Previous entries in the file are
not overwritten, so you may use the ‘forumdwarves’ command multiple times to create a single document containing
the text from multiple screens (eg: text screens from several dwarves, or text screens from multiple artifacts/items, or
some combination).
The screens which have been tested and known to function properly with this script are:
1. dwarf/unit ‘thoughts’ screen
2. item/art ‘description’ screen
3. individual ‘historical item/figure’ screens
There may be other screens to which the script applies. It should be safe to attempt running the script with any screen
active, with an error message to inform you when the selected screen is not appropriate for this script.
The target file’s name is ‘[Link]’. A reminder to this effect will be displayed if the script is successful.

Note: The text will be encoded in CP437, which is likely to be incompatible with the system default. This causes
incorrect display of special characters (eg. é õ ç = é õ ç). You can fix this by opening the file in an editor such as
Notepad++ and selecting the correct encoding before using the text.

Keybinding: CtrlShiftF in dwarfmode

5.1.60 full-heal

Attempts to fully heal the selected unit from anything, optionally including death. Usage:
full-heal Completely heal the currently selected unit.
full-heal -unit [unitId] Apply command to the unit with the given ID, instead of selected unit.
full-heal -r [-keep_corpse] Heal the unit, raising from the dead if needed. Add -keep_corpse to
avoid removing their corpse. The unit can be targeted by selecting its corpse on the UI.
full-heal -all [-r] [-keep_corpse] Heal all units on the map.
full-heal -all_citizens [-r] [-keep_corpse] Heal all fortress citizens on the map. Does not include pets.
full-heal -all_civ [-r] [-keep_corpse] Heal all units belonging to your parent civilisation, including pets
and visitors.
For example, full-heal -r -keep_corpse -unit ID_NUM will fully heal unit ID_NUM. If this unit was
dead, it will be resurrected without deleting the corpse - creepy!

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5.1.61 gaydar

Shows the sexual orientation of units, useful for social engineering or checking the viability of livestock breeding
programs.
Targets:
-all shows orientation of every creature
-citizens shows only orientation of citizens in fort mode
-named shows orientation of all named units on map
(no target) shows orientation of the unit under the cursor
Orientation filters:
-notStraight only creatures who are not strictly straight
-gayOnly only creatures who are strictly gay
-biOnly only creatures who can get into romances with both sexes
-straightOnly only creatures who are strictly straight
-asexualOnly only creatures who are strictly asexual

5.1.62 geld

Geld allows the user to geld and ungeld animals.

Valid options:
-unit <id>: Gelds the unit with the specified ID. This is optional; if not specified, the selected unit is used in-
stead.
-ungeld: Ungelds the specified unit instead (see also ungeld).
-toggle: Toggles the gelded status of the specified unit.
-help: Shows this help information

5.1.63 ghostly

Toggles an adventurer’s ghost status. Useful for walking through walls, avoiding attacks, or recovering after a death.

5.1.64 growcrops

Instantly grow seeds inside farming plots.

With no argument, this command list the various seed types currently in use in your farming plots. With a seed type,
the script will grow specified seeds, ready to be harvested.
Arguments:
• list or help List the various seed types currently in use in your farming plots
• <crop name> Grow specific planted seed type
• all Grow all planted seeds
Example:

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• Grow plump helmet spawn: growcrops plump

5.1.65 hermit

Blocks all caravans, migrants, diplomats, and forgotten beasts (not wildlife). Useful for attempting the hermit chal-
lenge.
Use enable or disable to enable/disable, or help for this help.

Warning: This does not block sieges, and may not block visitors or monarchs.

5.1.66 hfs-pit

Creates a pit to the underworld at the cursor, taking three numbers as arguments. Usage: hfs-pit <size>
<walls> <stairs>
The first argument is size of the (square) pit in all directions. The second is 1 to wall off the sides of the pit on all
layers except the underworld, or anything else to leave them open. The third parameter is 1 to add stairs. Stairs are
buggy; they will not reveal the bottom until you dig somewhere, but underworld creatures will path in.
Examples:

hfs-pit 1 0 0
A single-tile wide pit with no walls or stairs.
This is the default if no numbers are given.

hfs-pit 4 0 1
A four-across pit with no stairs but adding walls.

hfs-pit 2 1 0
A two-across pit with stairs but no walls.

5.1.67 hotkey-notes

Lists the key, name, and jump position of your hotkeys in the DFHack console.

5.1.68 install-info

Saves information about the current DFHack installation to [Link] in the current DF folder. Useful
for bug reports.

5.1.69 item-descriptions

Exports a table with custom description text for every item in the game. Used by view-item-info; see instructions there
for how to override for mods.

5.1.70 launch

Activate with a cursor on screen and you will go there rapidly. Attack something first to ride them there.

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5.1.71 lever

Allow manipulation of in-game levers from the dfhack console.

Can list levers, including state and links, with:

lever list

To queue a job so that a dwarf will pull the lever 42, use lever pull 42. This is the same as q querying the
building and queue a P pull request.
To queue a job at high priority, add --high or --priority:

lever pull 42 --high

To magically toggle the lever immediately, add --now or --cheat:

lever pull 42 --now

5.1.72 light-aquifers-only

This script behaves differently depending on whether it’s called pre embark or post embark. Pre embark it changes all
aquifers in the world to light ones, while post embark it only changes the ones at the embark to light ones, leaving the
rest of the world unchanged.
Pre embark: Changes the Drainage of all world tiles that would generate Heavy aquifers into a value that results in
Light aquifers instead.
This script is based on logic revealed by ToadyOne in a FotF answer: [Link]
topic=169696.msg8099138#msg8099138 Basically the Drainage is used as an “RNG” to cause an aquifer to be heavy
about 5% of the time. The script shifts the matching numbers to a neighboring one, which does not result in any
change of the biome.
Post embark: Clears the flags that mark aquifer tiles as heavy, converting them to light.

5.1.73 linger

Enables the player to take control of their adventurer’s killer. Run this script after being presented with “You are
deceased.”
The killer is identified by examining the historical event generated when the adventurer died. If this is unsuccessful,
the killer is assumed to be the last unit to have attacked the adventurer prior to their death.
This will fail if the unit in question is no longer present on the local map.
(Adventure mode only!)

5.1.74 list-agreements

Lists all guildhall and temple agreements in fortress mode.

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5.1.75 list-waves

This script displays information about migration waves of the specified citizen(s).
Examples:

list-waves -all -showarrival -granularity days

list-waves -all -showarrival
list-waves -unit -granularity days
list-waves -unit
list-waves -unit -all -showarrival -granularity days

Selection options:
These options are used to specify what wave information to display
-unit: Displays the highlighted unit’s arrival wave information
-all: Displays all citizens’ arrival wave information
Other options:
-granularity <value>: Specifies the granularity of wave enumeration: years, seasons, months, days
If omitted, the default granularity is seasons, the same as Dwarf Therapist
-showarrival: Shows the arrival information for the selected unit. If -all is specified the info displayed will be
relative to the granularity used. Note: this option is always used when -unit is used.

5.1.76 load-save

When run on the title screen or “load game” screen, loads the save with the given folder name without requiring
interaction. Note that inactive saves (i.e. saves under the “start game” menu) are currently not supported.
Example:

load-save region1

This can also be run when starting DFHack from the command line. For example, on Linux/macOS:

./dfhack +load-save region1

5.1.77 locate-ore

Scan the map for metal ores.

Finds and designate for digging one tile of a specific metal ore. Only works for native metal ores, does not handle
reaction stuff (eg STEEL).
When invoked with the list argument, lists metal ores available on the map.
Examples:

locate-ore list
locate-ore hematite
locate-ore iron

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5.1.78 lua

There are the following ways to invoke this command:

1. lua (without any parameters)
This starts an interactive lua interpreter.
2. lua -f "filename" or lua --file "filename"
This loads and runs the file indicated by filename.
3. lua -s ["filename"] or lua --save ["filename"]
This loads and runs the file indicated by filename from the save directory. If the filename is not supplied, it loads
“[Link]”.
4. :lua lua statement. . .
Parses and executes the lua statement like the interactive interpreter would.

5.1.79 make-legendary

Makes the selected dwarf legendary in one skill, a group of skills, or all skills. View groups with make-legendary
classes, or all skills with make-legendary list. Use make-legendary MINING when you need some-
thing dug up, or make-legendary all when only perfection will do.

5.1.80 make-monarch

Make the selected unit King or Queen of your civilisation.

5.1.81 markdown

Save a copy of a text screen in markdown (useful for Reddit, among other sites). See forum-dwarves for BBCode
export (for e.g. the Bay12 Forums).
This script will attempt to read the current df-screen, and if it is a text-viewscreen (such as the dwarf ‘thoughts’
screen or an item / creature ‘description’) or an announcement list screen (such as announcements and combat reports)
then append a marked-down version of this text to the target file (for easy pasting on reddit for example). Previous
entries in the file are not overwritten, so you may use the‘‘markdown‘‘ command multiple times to create a single
document containing the text from multiple screens (eg: text screens from several dwarves, or text screens from
multiple artifacts/items, or some combination).
Usage:

markdown [-n] [filename]

-n overwrites contents of output file

filename if provided, save to md_filename.md instead of the default md_export.md
The screens which have been tested and known to function properly with this script are:
1. dwarf/unit ‘thoughts’ screen
2. item/art ‘description’ screen
3. individual ‘historical item/figure’ screens
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5. announements screen
6. combat reports screen
7. latest news (when meeting with liaison)
There may be other screens to which the script applies. It should be safe to attempt running the script with any screen
active, with an error message to inform you when the selected screen is not appropriate for this script.

5.1.82 masspit

Designate all creatures in cages on top of a pit/pond activity zone for pitting. Works best with an animal stockpile on
top of the zone.
Works with a zone number as argument (eg Activity Zone #6 -> masspit 6) or with the game cursor on top
of the area.

5.1.83 migrants-now

Forces an immediate migrant wave. Only works after migrants have arrived naturally. Roughly equivalent to mod-
tools/force with:

modtools/force -eventType migrants

5.1.84 multicmd

Run multiple dfhack commands. The argument is split around the character ; and all parts are run sequentially as
independent dfhack commands. Useful for hotkeys.
Example:

multicmd locate-ore IRON ; digv ; digcircle 16

5.1.85 names

Rename units or items (including artifacts) with the native interface. If a first name is desired, press f. To clear the
current first name, leave this blank.

5.1.86 on-new-fortress

Runs commands like multicmd, but only in a newborn fortress.

Use this in [Link] with f.e. ban-cooking:

on-new-fortress ban-cooking tallow; ban-cooking honey; ban-cooking oil; ban-cooking

˓→seeds; ban-cooking brew; ban-cooking fruit; ban-cooking mill; ban-cooking thread;

˓→ban-cooking milk;

on-new-fortress 3dveins

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5.1.87 once-per-save

Runs commands like multicmd, but only unless not already ran once in current save. You may actually want on-new-
fortress.
Only successfully ran commands are saved.
Parameters:
--help display this help
--rerun commands ignore saved commands
--reset deletes saved commands

5.1.88 open-legends

Open a legends screen when in fortress mode. Requires a world loaded in fortress or adventure mode. Compatible
with exportlegends.
Note that this script carries a significant risk of save corruption if the game is saved after exiting legends mode. To
avoid this:
1. Pause DF
2. Run quicksave to save the game
3. Run open-legends (this script) and browse legends mode as usual
4. Immediately after exiting legends mode, run die to quit DF without saving (saving at this point instead may
corrupt your save)
Note that it should be safe to run “open-legends” itself multiple times in the same DF session, as long as DF is killed
immediately after the last run. Unpausing DF or running other commands risks accidentally autosaving the game,
which can lead to save corruption.
The optional force argument will bypass all safety checks, as well as the save corruption warning.

5.1.89 points

Sets available points at the embark screen to the specified number. Eg. points 1000000 would allow you to buy
everything, or points 0 would make life quite difficult.

5.1.90 position

Reports the current time: date, clock time, month, and season. Also reports location: z-level, cursor position, window
size, and mouse location.

5.1.91 pref-adjust

pref-adjust all removes/changes preferences from all dwarves, and pref-adjust one which works for a
single currently selected dwarf. For either, the script inserts an ‘ideal’ set which is easy to satisfy:
. . . likes iron, steel, weapons, armor, shields/bucklers and plump helmets for their rounded tops. When
possible, she prefers to consume dwarven wine, plump helmets, and prepared meals (quarry bush). She
absolutely detests trolls, buzzards, vultures and crundles.

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Additionally, pref-adjust goth will insert a less than ideal set, which is quite challenging, for a single dwarf:
. . . likes dwarf skin, corpses, body parts, remains, coffins, the color black, crosses, glumprongs for their
living shadows and snow demons for their horrifying features. When possible, she prefers to consume
sewer brew, gutter cruor and bloated tubers. She absolutely detests elves, humans and dwarves.
To see what values can be used with each type of preference, use pref-adjust list. Optionally, a single dwarf or
all dwarves can have their preferences cleared manually with the use of pref-adjust clear and pref-adjust
clear_all, respectively. Existing preferences are automatically cleared, normally.

5.1.92 prefchange

Sets preferences for mooding to include a weapon type, equipment type, and material. If you also wish to trigger a
mood, see strangemood.
Valid options:
show show preferences of all units
c clear preferences of selected unit
all clear preferences of all units
axp likes axes, breastplates, and steel
has likes hammers, mail shirts, and steel
swb likes short swords, high boots, and steel
spb likes spears, high boots, and steel
mas likes maces, shields, and steel
xbh likes crossbows, helms, and steel
pig likes picks, gauntlets, and steel
log likes long swords, gauntlets, and steel
dap likes daggers, greaves, and steel
Feel free to adjust the values as you see fit, change the has steel to platinum, change the axp axes to great axes, whatnot.

5.1.93 putontable

Makes item appear on the table, like in adventure mode shops. Arguments:
• -a or --all: apply to all items at the cursor

5.1.94 questport

Sends your adventurer to the location of your quest log map cursor. Usable from travel mode or on foot. Can be used
in situations where fast travel is normally prohibited.

5.1.95 quicksave

If called in dwarf mode, makes DF immediately saves the game by setting a flag normally used in seasonal auto-save.
Keybinding: CtrlAltS in dwarfmode/Default

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5.1.96 region-pops

Show or modify the populations of animals in the region.

Usage:
region-pops list [pattern] Lists encountered populations of the region, possibly restricted by pattern.
region-pops list-all [pattern] Lists all populations of the region.
region-pops boost <TOKEN> <factor> Multiply all populations of TOKEN by factor. If the factor is
greater than one, increases the population, otherwise decreases it.
region-pops boost-all <pattern> <factor> Same as above, but match using a pattern acceptable to list.
region-pops incr <TOKEN> <factor> Augment (or diminish) all populations of TOKEN by factor (ad-
ditive).
region-pops incr-all <pattern> <factor> Same as above, but match using a pattern acceptable to list.

5.1.97 rejuvenate

Decreases the age of the selected dwarf to 20 years. Useful if valuable citizens are getting old.
Arguments:
• -all: applies to all citizens
• -force: also applies to units under 20 years old. Useful if there are too many babies around. . .
• -dry-run: only list units that would be changed; don’t actually change ages

5.1.98 remove-stress

Sets stress to -1,000,000; the normal range is 0 to 500,000 with very stable or very stressed dwarves taking on negative
or greater values respectively. Applies to the selected unit, or use remove-stress -all to apply to all units.
Using the argument -value 0 will reduce stress to the value 0 instead of -1,000,000. Negative values must be
preceded by a backslash (): -value \-10000. Note that this can only be used to decrease stress - it cannot be
increased with this argument.

5.1.99 remove-wear

Sets the wear on items in your fort to zero. Usage:

remove-wear all Removes wear from all items in your fort.
remove-wear ID1 ID2 . . . Removes wear from items with the given ID numbers.

5.1.100 repeat

Repeatedly calls a lua script at the specified interval. This can be used from init files. Note that any time units other
than frames are unsupported when a world is not loaded (see [Link]()).
Usage examples:

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repeat -name jim -time delay -timeUnits units -command [ printArgs 3 1 2 ]

repeat -time 1 -timeUnits months -command [ multicmd cleanowned scattered x; clean
˓→all ] -name clean

repeat -list

The first example is abstract; the second will regularly remove all contaminants and worn items from the game.
Arguments:
-name sets the name for the purposes of cancelling and making sure you don’t schedule the same repeating event
twice. If not specified, it’s set to the first argument after -command.
-time DELAY -timeUnits UNITS DELAY is some positive integer, and UNITS is some valid time unit for
[Link] (default “ticks”). Units can be in simulation-time “frames” (raw FPS) or “ticks” (only
while unpaused), while “days”, “months”, and “years” are by in-world time.
-command [ ... ] ... specifies the command to be run
-cancel NAME cancels the repetition with the name NAME
-list prints names of scheduled commands

5.1.101 resurrect-adv

Brings a dead adventurer back to life, fully healing them in the process.
This script only targets the current player character in your party, and should be run after being presented with the
“You are deceased” message. It is not possible to resurrect the adventurer after the game has been ended.

5.1.102 reveal-hidden-units

This script exposes all units on the map who are currently sneaking or waiting in ambush and thus hidden from the
player’s view.
Usable in both fortress and adventure mode.

5.1.103 season-palette

Swap color palettes when the seasons change.

For this script to work you need to add at least one color palette file to your save raw directory.
Palette file names: “[Link]”: The world “default” (worldgen and replacement) palette. “colors_spring.txt”:
The palette displayed during spring. “colors_summer.txt”: The palette displayed during summer. “col-
ors_autumn.txt”: The palette displayed during autumn. “colors_winter.txt”: The palette displayed during winter.
If you do not provide a world default palette, palette switching will be disabled for the current world. The seasonal
palettes are optional, the default palette is not! The default palette will be used to replace any missing seasonal palettes
and during worldgen.
When the world is unloaded or this script is disabled, the system default color palette (“/data/init/[Link]”) will be
loaded. The system default palette will always be used in the main menu, but your custom palettes should be used
everywhere else.
Usage:
season-palette start|enable or enable season-palette: Begin swapping seasonal
color palettes.

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season-palette stop|disable or disable season-palette: Stop swapping seasonal

color palettes and load the default color palette.
If loaded as a module this script will export a single Lua function:
LoadPalette(path): Load a color palette from the text file at “path”. This file must be in the same
format as “/data/init/[Link]”. If there is an error any changes will be reverted and this function
will return false (returns true normally).

5.1.104 set-orientation

Edit a unit’s orientation. Interest levels are 0 for Uninterested, 1 for Romance, 2 for Marry.
unit <UNIT ID> The given unit will be affected. If not found/provided, the script will try defaulting to
the currently selected unit.
male <INTEREST> Set the interest level towards male sexes
female <INTEREST> Set the interest level towards female sexes
opposite <INTEREST> Set the interest level towards the opposite sex to the unit
same <INTEREST> Set the interest level towards the same sex as the unit
random Randomise the unit’s interest towards both sexes, respecting their ORIENTATION token odds.
Other arguments:
help Shows this help page.
view Print the unit’s orientation values in the console.

5.1.105 setfps

Sets the FPS cap at runtime. Useful in case you want to speed up the game or watch combat in slow motion.
Usage:

setfps <number>

5.1.106 show-unit-syndromes

Show syndromes affecting units and the remaining and maximum duration, along with (optionally) substantial detail
on the effects.
Use one or more of the following options:
help Show the help message
showall Show units even if not affected by any syndrome
showeffects Show detailed effects of each syndrome
showdisplayeffects Show effects that only change the look of the unit
selected Show selected unit
dwarves Show dwarves
livestock Show livestock
wildanimals Show wild animals

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hostile Show hostiles (e.g. invaders, thieves, forgotten beasts etc)

world Show all defined syndromes in the world
export export:<filename> sends output to the given file, showing all syndromes affecting each
unit with the maximum and present duration.

5.1.107 siren

Wakes up sleeping units and stops parties, either everywhere or in the burrows given as arguments. In return, adds
bad thoughts about noise, tiredness and lack of protection. The script is intended for emergencies, e.g. when a siege
appears, and all your military is partying.

5.1.108 source

Create an infinite magma or water source or drain on a tile. For more complex commands, try the liquids plugin.
This script registers a map tile as a liquid source, and every 12 game ticks that tile receives or remove 1 new unit of
flow based on the configuration.
Place the game cursor where you want to create the source (must be a flow-passable tile, and not too high in the sky)
and call:

source add [magma|water] [0-7]

The number argument is the target liquid level (0 = drain, 7 = source).

To add more than 1 unit every time, call the command again on the same spot.
To delete one source, place the cursor over its tile and use source delete. To remove all existing sources, call
source clear.
The list argument shows all existing sources.
Examples:

source add water - water source

source add magma 7 - magma source
source add water 0 - water drain

5.1.109 spawnunit

Provides a simpler interface to modtools/create-unit, for creating units.

Usage: spawnunit [-command] RACE CASTE [NAME] [x y z] [...]
The -command flag prints the generated modtools/create-unit command instead of running it. RACE and CASTE
specify the race and caste of the unit to be created. The name and coordinates of the unit are optional. Any further
arguments are simply passed on to modtools/create-unit.

5.1.110 startdwarf

Use at the embark screen to embark with the specified number of dwarves. Eg. startdwarf 500 would lead to a
severe food shortage and FPS issues, while startdwarf 10 would just allow a few more warm bodies to dig in.
The number must be 7 or greater.

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5.1.111 starvingdead

Somewhere between a “mod” and a “fps booster”, with a small impact on vanilla gameplay. It mostly helps prevent un-
dead cascades in the caverns, where constant combat leads to hundreds of undead roaming the caverns and destroying
your FPS.
With this script running, all undead that have been on the map for one month gradually decay, losing strength, speed,
and toughness. After six months, they collapse upon themselves, never to be reanimated.
Usage: starvingdead (start|stop)

5.1.112 stripcaged

For dumping items inside cages. Will mark selected items for dumping, then a dwarf may come and actually dump
them (or you can use autodump).
Arguments:
list display the list of all cages and their item content on the console
items dump items in the cage, excluding stuff worn by caged creatures
weapons dump equipped weapons
armor dump everything worn by caged creatures (including armor and clothing)
all dump everything in the cage, on a creature or not
Without further arguments, all commands work on all cages and animal traps on the map. With the here argument,
considers only the in-game selected cage (or the cage under the game cursor). To target only specific cages, you can
alternatively pass cage IDs as arguments:

stripcaged weapons 25321 34228

5.1.113 superdwarf

Similar to fastdwarf , per-creature.

To make any creature superfast, target it ingame using ‘v’ and:

superdwarf add

Other options available: del, clear, list.

This script also shortens the ‘sleeping’ periods of targets.

5.1.114 tame

Tame and train animals.

Usage: tame -read OR tame -set <level>
0 semi-wild
1 trained
2 well-trained
3 skillfully trained

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4 expertly trained
5 exceptionally trained
6 masterfully trained
7 tame
8 wild
9 wild

5.1.115 teleport

Teleports a unit to given coordinates.

Note: gui/teleport is an in-game UI for this script.

Examples:
• prints ID of unit beneath cursor:

teleport -showunitid

• prints coordinates beneath cursor:

teleport -showpos

• teleports unit 1234 to 56,115,26

teleport -unit 1234 -x 56 -y 115 -z 26

5.1.116 tidlers

Toggle between all possible positions where the idlers count can be placed (see data/init/d_init.txt for
details).

5.1.117 troubleshoot-item

Print various properties of the selected item. Sometimes useful for troubleshooting issues such as why dwarves won’t
pick up a certain item.

5.1.118 twaterlvl

Toggle between displaying/not displaying liquid depth as numbers.

Keybinding: CtrlW

5.1.119 undump-buildings

Undesignates building base materials for dumping.

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5.1.120 unforbid

Unforbids all items.

Usage:

unforbid all
unforbid help

5.1.121 ungeld

A wrapper around geld that ungelds the specified animal.

Valid options:
-unit <id>: Ungelds the unit with the specified ID. This is optional; if not specified, the selected unit is used
instead.
-help: Shows this help information

5.1.122 unretire-anyone

This script allows the user to play as any living (or undead) historical figure (except for deities) in adventure mode.
To use, simply enter “unretire-anyone” in the DFHack console at the start of adventure mode character creation. You
will be presented with a searchable list from which you may choose your desired historical figure.
This figure will be added to the ‘Specific Person’ list at the bottom of the creature selection page. They can then be
picked for use as a player character, as if regaining control of a retired adventurer.

5.1.123 unsuspend

Unsuspend construction jobs, on a one-off basis. See autounsuspend for regular use.

5.1.124 view-item-info

A script to extend the item or unit viewscreen with additional information including a custom description of each item
(when available), and properties such as material statistics, weapon attacks, armor effectiveness, and more.
The associated script item-descriptions supplies custom descriptions of items. Individual descriptions can be added or
overridden by a similar script raw/scripts/[Link]. Both work as sparse lists, so
missing items simply go undescribed if not defined in the fallback.

5.1.125 view-unit-reports

Show combat reports for the current unit.

Current unit is unit near cursor in ‘v’, selected in ‘u’ list, unit/corpse/splatter at cursor in ‘k’. And newest unit with
race when ‘k’ at race-specific blood spatter.
Keybinding: CtrlShiftR

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5.1.126 warn-starving

If any (live) units are starving, very thirsty, or very drowsy, the game will be paused and a warning shown and logged
to the console. Use with the repeat command for regular checks.
Use warn-starving all to display a list of all problematic units.

5.1.127 weather

Prints a map of the local weather, or with arguments clear, rain, and snow changes the weather.

5.1.128 workorder

workorder is a script to queue work orders as in j-m-q menu. It can automatically count how many creatures can
be milked or sheared.
The most simple and obvious usage is automating shearing and milking of creatures using repeat:

repeat -time 14 -timeUnits days -command [ workorder ShearCreature ] -name

˓→autoShearCreature

repeat -time 14 -timeUnits days -command [ workorder MilkCreature ] -name

˓→autoMilkCreature

It is also possible to define complete work orders using json. It is very similar to what orders import
filename does, with a few key differences. workorder is a planning tool aiming to provide scripting support
for vanilla manager. As such it will ignore work order state like amount_left or is_active and can optionally
take current orders into account. See description of <json>-parameter for more details.
Examples:
• workorder ShearCreature 10 add an order to “Shear Animal” 10 times.
• workorder ShearCreature same, but calculate amount automatically (can be 0).
• workorder MilkCreature same, but “Milk Animal”.
Advanced examples:
• workorder "{\"job\":\"EncrustWithGems\",\"item_category\":[\"finished_goods\"],\"amount
add an order to EncrustWithGems finished_goods using any material (since not specified).
• workorder "{\"job\":\"MilkCreature\",\"item_conditions\":[{\"condition\":\"AtLeast\",\"
same as workorder MilkCreature but with an item condition (“at least 2 empty buckets”).
Usage:
workorder [ --<command> | <jobtype> [<amount>] | <json> | --file <file> ]
<command> one of help, listtypes, verbose, very-verbose
--help this help.
--listtypes filter print all values for all used DF types (job_type, item_type etc.).
<filter> is optional and is applied to type name (using Lua’s string.
find), f.e. workorder -l "manager" is useful.
<jobtype> number or name from df.job_type.
<amount> optional number; if omitted, the script will try to determine amount automatically for some
jobs. Currently supported are MilkCreature and ShearCreature jobs.

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<json> json-representation of a workorder. Must be a valid Lua string literal (see advanced examples:
note usage of \). Use orders export some_file_name to get an idea how does the json-
structure look like.
It’s important to note this script behaves differently compared to orders import
some_file_name: workorder is meant as a planning tool and as such it will ignore some
fields like amount_left, is_active or is_validated.
This script doesn’t need values in all fields:
• id is only used for order conditions;
• frequency is set to OneTime by default;
• amount_total can be missing, a function name from this script (one of
calcAmountFor_MilkCreature or calcAmountFor_ShearCreature) or
Lua code called as load(code)(order, orders). Missing amount_total is
equivalent to calcAmountFor_<[Link]>.
A custom field __reduce_amount can be set if existing open orders should be taken into account
reducing new order’s total_amount (possibly all the way to 0). An empty amount_total
implies "__reduce_amount": true.
--file filename loads the json-representation of a workorder from a file in dfhack-config/
workorder/.
Debugging:
--verbose toggle script’s verbosity.
--very-verbose toggle script’s very verbose mode.
--reset reset script environment for next execution.

5.2 Development Scripts

devel/* scripts are intended for developer use, but many may be of interest to anyone investigating odd phenomena
or just messing around. They are documented to encourage such inquiry.
Some can PERMANENTLY DAMAGE YOUR SAVE if misused, so please be careful. The warnings are real; if in
doubt make backups before running the command.

Contents

• devel/all-bob
• devel/annc-monitor
• devel/check-other-ids
• devel/check-release
• devel/clear-script-env
• devel/click-monitor
• devel/cmptiles
• devel/dump-offsets
• devel/export-dt-ini

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• devel/find-offsets
• devel/find-primitive
• devel/find-twbt
• devel/inject-raws
• devel/inspect-screen
• devel/kill-hf
• devel/light
• devel/list-filters
• devel/lsmem
• devel/lua-example
• devel/modstate-monitor
• devel/nuke-items
• devel/pop-screen
• devel/prepare-save
• devel/print-args
• devel/print-args2
• devel/print-event
• devel/query
• devel/save-version
• devel/sc
• devel/scanitemother
• devel/send-key
• devel/spawn-unit-helper
• devel/test-perlin
• devel/unforbidall
• devel/unit-path
• devel/visualize-structure
• devel/watch-minecarts

5.2.1 devel/all-bob

Changes the first name of all units to “Bob”. Useful for testing modtools/interaction-trigger events.

5.2.2 devel/annc-monitor

Displays announcements and reports in the console.

enable|start Begins monitoring

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disable|stop Stops monitoring

interval X Sets the delay between checks for new announcements to X frames

5.2.3 devel/check-other-ids

This script runs through all [Link] and [Link] vectors and verifies that the items contained
in them have the expected types.

5.2.4 devel/check-release

Basic checks for release readiness

5.2.5 devel/clear-script-env

Clears the environment of the specified lua script(s).

5.2.6 devel/click-monitor

Displays the grid coordinates of mouse clicks in the console. Useful for plugin/script development.
Usage: devel/click-monitor start|stop

5.2.7 devel/cmptiles

Lists and/or compares two tiletype material groups.

Usage: devel/cmptiles material1 [material2]

5.2.8 devel/dump-offsets

Warning: THIS SCRIPT IS STRICTLY FOR DFHACK DEVELOPERS.

Running this script on a new DF version will NOT MAKE IT RUN CORRECTLY if any data structures changed,
thus possibly leading to CRASHES AND/OR PERMANENT SAVE CORRUPTION.

This dumps the contents of the table of global addresses (new in 0.44.01).
Passing global names as arguments calls setAddress() to set those globals’ addresses in-game. Passing “all” does this
for all globals.

5.2.9 devel/export-dt-ini

Exports an ini file containing memory addresses for Dwarf Therapist.

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5.2.10 devel/find-offsets

Warning: THIS SCRIPT IS STRICTLY FOR DFHACK DEVELOPERS.

Running this script on a new DF version will NOT MAKE IT RUN CORRECTLY if any data structures changed,
thus possibly leading to CRASHES AND/OR PERMANENT SAVE CORRUPTION.

Finding the first few globals requires this script to be started immediately after loading the game, WITHOUT first
loading a world. The rest expect a loaded save, not a fresh embark. Finding current_weather requires a special save
previously processed with devel/prepare-save on a DF version with working dfhack.
The script expects vanilla game configuration, without any custom tilesets or init file changes. Never unpause the
game unless instructed. When done, quit the game without saving using ‘die’.
Arguments:
• global names to force finding them
• all to force all globals
• nofeed to block automated fake input searches
• nozoom to disable neighboring object heuristics

5.2.11 devel/find-primitive

Finds a primitive variable in DF’s data section, relying on the user to change its value. This is similar to devel/find-
offsets, but useful for new variables whose locations are unknown (i.e. they could be part of an existing global).
Usage:

devel/find-primitive data-type val1 val2 [val3...]

where data-type is a primitive type (int32_t, uint8_t, long, etc.) and each val is a valid value for that type.
Use devel/find-primitive help for a list of valid data types.

5.2.12 devel/find-twbt

Finds some TWBT-related offsets - currently just twbt_render_map.

5.2.13 devel/inject-raws

WARNING: THIS SCRIPT CAN PERMANENLY DAMAGE YOUR SAVE.

This script attempts to inject new raw objects into your world. If the injected references do not match the actual edited
raws, your save will refuse to load, or load but crash.
This script can handle reaction, item and building definitions.
The savegame contains a list of the relevant definition tokens in the right order, but all details are read from raws every
time. This allows just adding stub definitions, and simply saving and reloading the game.
This is useful enough for modders and some users to justify the danger.
Usage example:

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devel/inject-raws trapcomp ITEM_TRAPCOMP_STEAM_PISTON workshop STEAM_ENGINE MAGMA_

˓→STEAM_ENGINE reaction STOKE_BOILER

5.2.14 devel/inspect-screen

Read the tiles from the screen and display info about them.

5.2.15 devel/kill-hf

Kills the specified historical figure, even if off-site, or terminates a pregnancy. Useful for working around Bug 11549.
Usage:

devel/kill-hf [-p|--pregnancy] [-n|--dry-run] HISTFIG_ID

Arguments:
histfig_id: the ID of the historical figure to target
-p, --pregnancy: if specified, and if the historical figure is pregnant, terminate the pregnancy instead of killing
the historical figure
-n, --dry-run: if specified, only print the name of the historical figure

5.2.16 devel/light

An experimental lighting engine for DF, using the rendermax plugin.

Call devel/light static to not recalculate lighting when in game. Press ~ to recalculate lighting. Press ` to
exit.

5.2.17 devel/list-filters

List input items for the building currently being built. This is where the filters in lua/dfhack/[Link] come from.

5.2.18 devel/lsmem

Prints memory ranges of the DF process. Useful for checking whether a pointer is valid, whether a certain li-
brary/plugin is loaded, etc.

5.2.19 devel/lua-example

An example Lua script which reports the number of times it has been called. Useful for testing environment persis-
tence.

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5.2.20 devel/modstate-monitor

Display changes in key modifier state, i.e. Ctrl/Alt/Shift.

Arguments:
enable|start Begin monitoring
disable|stop End monitoring

5.2.21 devel/nuke-items

Deletes ALL items not held by units, buildings or jobs. Intended solely for lag investigation.

5.2.22 devel/pop-screen

Forcibly closes the current screen. This is usually equivalent to pressing Esc (LEAVESCREEN), but will bypass the
screen’s input handling. This is intended primarily for development, if you have created a screen whose input handling
throws an error before it handles Esc (or if you have forgotten to handle Esc entirely).

Warning: If you run this script when the current screen does not have a parent, this will cause DF to exit
immediately. These screens include:
• The main fortress mode screen (viewscreen_dwarfmodest)
• The main adventure mode screen (viewscreen_dungeonmodest)
• The main legends mode screen (viewscreen_legendsst)
• The title screen (viewscreen_titlest)

5.2.23 devel/prepare-save

Warning: THIS SCRIPT IS STRICTLY FOR DFHACK DEVELOPERS.

This script prepares the current savegame to be used with devel/find-offsets. It CHANGES THE GAME STATE to
predefined values, and initiates an immediate quicksave, thus PERMANENTLY MODIFYING the save.

5.2.24 devel/print-args

Prints all the arguments you supply to the script on their own line. Useful for debugging other scripts.

5.2.25 devel/print-args2

Prints all the arguments you supply to the script on their own line with quotes around them.

5.2.26 devel/print-event

Prints the description of an event by ID or index.

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5.2.27 devel/query

Query is a script useful for finding and reading values of data structure fields. Purposes will likely be exclusive to
writing lua script code.
Fields: contents of tables Keys: contents below non-table containers
Keys and fields are essentially the same thing. The real difference is what code checks need to be in place for queries
on keys vs fields. This is why they are differentiated.
This is a recursive script which takes your selected data {table,unit,item,tile} and then iterates through it, then iterates
through anything it finds. It does this recursively until it has walked over everything it is allowed. Everything it walks
over it checks against any (optional) string/value queries, and if it finds a match it then prints it to the console.
You can control most aspects of this process, the script is fairly flexible. So much so that you can easily create an
infinitely recursing query and/or potentially crash Dwarf Fortress and DFHack. In previous iterations memory bloat
was even a concern, where RAM would be used up in mere minutes or seconds; you can probably get this to happen
as well if you are careless with the depth settings and don’t print everything walked over (i.e. have a search term). The
kill-lua command may be able to stop this script if it gets out of control.
Before recursing or printing things to the console the script checks several things. A few important ones:
• Is the data structure capable of being iterated?
• Is the data structure pointing to a parent data structure?
• Is the current level of recursion too high, and do we need to unwind it first?
• Is the number of entries too high (eg. 70,000 table entries that would be printed)?
• Is the data going to be usefully readable?
• Does the field or key match the field or key query or queries?
• Is printing fields allowed?
• Is printing keys allowed?
Examples:

devel/query -table df -query dead

devel/query -table [Link] -depth 0
devel/query -table [Link] -querykeys WAR
devel/query -unit -query STRENGTH
devel/query -unit -query physical_attrs -listkeys
devel/query -unit -getfield id

Selection options:
These options are used to specify where the query will run, or specifically what key to print inside a unit.
-unit: Selects the highlighted unit
-item: Selects the highlighted item.
-tile: Selects the highlighted tile’s block and then attempts to find the tile, and perform your queries on it.
-table <value>: Selects the specified table (ie. ‘value’).
Must use dot notation to denote sub-tables. (eg. -table [Link])
-getfield <value>: Gets the specified field from the selected unit.
Must use dot notation to denote sub-fields. Useful if there would be several matching fields with the input
as a substring (eg. ‘id’, ‘gui’)

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Query options:
-query <value>: Searches the selection for fields with substrings matching the specified value.
-querykeys <value>: Lists only keys matching the specified value.
-listall: Lists both fields and keys, useful if you aren’t running a search.
-listfields: Lists fields. Useful if you aren’t running a search.
-listkeys: Lists keys. Useful. Ya, period.
-depth <value>: Limits the field recursion depth (default: 10)
-keydepth <value>: Limits the key recursion depth (default: 4)
-maxtablelength <value>: Limits the table sizes that will be walked (default: 257)
-includeitall: Removes blacklist filtering, and disregards readability of output.
-safer: Disables walking struct data.
Unlike native Lua types, struct data can sometimes be misaligned, which can cause crashes when access-
ing it. This option may be useful if you’re running an alpha or beta build of DFHack.
-dumb: Disables intelligent checks for things such as reasonable recursion depth (i.e. depth maximums are increased,
not removed) and also checks for recursive data structures (i.e. to avoid walking a child that goes to a parent)
Command options:
-debug <value>: Enables debug log lines equal to or less than the value provided. Some lines are commented out
entirely, and you probably won’t even use this.. but hey, now you know it exists.
-disableprint: Disables printing fields and keys. Might be useful if you are debugging this script. Or to see if a
query will crash (faster) but not sure what else you could use it for.
-help: Prints this help information.

5.2.28 devel/save-version

Display DF version information about the current save

5.2.29 devel/sc

Size Check: scans structures for invalid vectors, misaligned structures, and unidentified enum values.

Note: This script can take a very long time to complete, and DF may be unresponsive while it is running. You can
use kill-lua to interrupt this script.

Examples:
• scan world:

devel/sc

• scan all globals:

devel/sc -all

• scan result of expression:

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devel/sc [expr]

5.2.30 devel/scanitemother

List indices in [Link][] where current selected item appears.

5.2.31 devel/send-key

Send a key to the current screen or a parent. If you are trying to dismiss a screen, devel/pop-screen may be more
useful, particularly if the screen is unresponsive to Esc.
Usage:

devel/send-key KEY_NAME [X]

• KEY_NAME is the name of an interface_key - a full list of valid names can be obtained by running lua
@df.interface_key, looking in data/init/[Link], or by checking [Link].
xml in the df-structures repository.
• X (optional) - if specified, the key is sent to the screen X screens above the current screen in the screen stack
(e.g. 1 corresponds to the current screen’s parent)

5.2.32 devel/spawn-unit-helper

Setup stuff to allow arena creature spawn after a mode change.

With Arena spawn data initialized:
• enter the k menu and change mode using rb_eval [Link] = :DWARF_ARENA
• spawn creatures (c ingame)
• revert to game mode using rb_eval [Link] = #{[Link]}
• To convert spawned creatures to livestock, select each one with the v menu, and enter rb_eval df.
unit_find.civ_id = [Link].civ_id

5.2.33 devel/test-perlin

Generates an image using multiple octaves of perlin noise.

5.2.34 devel/unforbidall

Unforbid all items.

5.2.35 devel/unit-path

Show the internal path a unit is currently following.

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5.2.36 devel/visualize-structure

Displays the raw memory of a structure, separated by field. Useful for checking if structures are aligned.

5.2.37 devel/watch-minecarts

Logs minecart coordinates and speeds to console.

Usage: devel/watch-minecarts start|stop

5.3 Bugfixing Scripts

fix/* scripts fix various bugs and issues, some of them obscure.

Contents

• fix/blood-del
• fix/build-location
• fix/dead-units
• fix/diplomats
• fix/dry-buckets
• fix/fat-dwarves
• fix/feeding-timers
• fix/item-occupancy
• fix/loyaltycascade
• fix/merchants
• fix/population-cap
• fix/retrieve-units
• fix/stable-temp
• fix/stuck-merchants
• fix/stuckdoors
• fix/tile-occupancy

5.3.1 fix/blood-del

Makes it so that future caravans won’t bring barrels full of blood, ichor, or goo.

5.3.2 fix/build-location

Fixes construction jobs that are stuck trying to build a wall while standing on the same exact tile (Bug 5991), designates
the tile restricted traffic to hopefully avoid jamming it again, and unsuspends them.

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5.3.3 fix/dead-units

Removes uninteresting dead units from the unit list. Doesn’t seem to give any noticeable performance gain, but
migrants normally stop if the unit list grows to around 3000 units, and this script reduces it back.

5.3.4 fix/diplomats

Adds a Diplomat position to all Elven civilizations, allowing them to negotiate tree cutting quotas - and you to violate
them and start wars. This was vanilla behaviour until version 0.31.12, in which the “bug” was “fixed”.

5.3.5 fix/dry-buckets

Removes water from all buckets in your fortress, allowing them to be used for making lye. Skips buckets in buildings
(eg a well), being carried, or currently used by a job.

5.3.6 fix/fat-dwarves

Avoids 5-10% FPS loss due to constant recalculation of insulation for dwarves at maximum fatness, by reducing the
cap from 1,000,000 to 999,999. Recalculation is triggered in steps of 250 units, and very fat dwarves constantly
bounce off the maximum value while eating.

5.3.7 fix/feeding-timers

Reset the GiveWater and GiveFood timers of all living citizens.

5.3.8 fix/item-occupancy

Diagnoses and fixes issues with nonexistant ‘items occupying site’, usually caused by autodump bugs or other hacking
mishaps. Checks that:
1. Item has flags.on_ground <=> it is in the correct block item list
2. A tile has items in block item list <=> it has [Link]
3. The block item lists are sorted

5.3.9 fix/loyaltycascade

Aborts loyalty cascades by fixing units whose own civ is the enemy.

5.3.10 fix/merchants

Adds the Guild Representative position to all Human civilizations, allowing them to make trade agreements. This was
the default behaviour in version 0.28.181.40d and earlier.

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5.3.11 fix/population-cap

Run this after every migrant wave to ensure your population cap is not exceeded.
The reason for population cap problems is that the population value it is compared against comes from the last dwarven
caravan that successfully left for mountainhomes. This script instantly updates it. Note that a migration wave can still
overshoot the limit by 1-2 dwarves because of the last migrant bringing his family. Likewise, king arrival ignores cap.

5.3.12 fix/retrieve-units

This script forces some units off the map to enter the map, which can fix issues such as the following:
• Stuck [SIEGE] tags due to invisible armies (or parts of armies)
• Forgotten beasts that never appear
• Packs of wildlife that are missing from the surface or caverns
• Caravans that are partially or completely missing.

Note: For caravans that are missing entirely, this script may retrieve the merchants but not the items. Using fix/stuck-
merchants followed by force to create a new caravan may work better.

5.3.13 fix/stable-temp

Instantly sets the temperature of all free-lying items to be in equilibrium with the environment, which stops temperature
updates until something changes. To maintain this efficient state, use tweak fast-heat.

5.3.14 fix/stuck-merchants

Dismisses merchants that haven’t entered the map yet. This can fix Bug 9593. This script should probably not be run
if any merchants are on the map, so using it with repeat is not recommended.
Run fix/stuck-merchants -n or fix/stuck-merchants --dry-run to list all merchants that would
be dismissed but make no changes.

5.3.15 fix/stuckdoors

Fix doors that are stuck open due to incorrect map occupancy flags, eg due to incorrect use of teleport.

5.3.16 fix/tile-occupancy

Clears bad occupancy flags at the selected tile. Useful for getting rid of phantom “building present” messages. Cur-
rently only supports issues with building and unit occupancy. Requires that a tile is selected with the in-game cursor
(k).
Can be used to fix problematic tiles caused by Issue 1047.

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5.4 GUI Scripts

gui/* scripts implement dialogs in the main game window.

In order to avoid user confusion, as a matter of policy all these tools display the word DFHack on the screen somewhere
while active. When that is not appropriate because they merely add keybinding hints to existing DF screens, they
deliberately use red instead of green for the key.

Contents

• gui/advfort
• gui/advfort_items
• gui/assign-rack
• gui/autobutcher
• gui/autogems
• gui/choose-weapons
• gui/clone-uniform
• gui/color-schemes
• gui/companion-order
• gui/confirm-opts
• gui/cp437-table
• gui/create-item
• gui/create-tree
• gui/dfstatus
• gui/extended-status
• gui/family-affairs
• gui/gm-editor
• gui/gm-unit
• gui/guide-path
• gui/hack-wish
• gui/hello-world
• gui/liquids
• gui/load-screen
• gui/manager-quantity
• gui/mechanisms
• gui/mod-manager
• gui/no-dfhack-init
• gui/pathable

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• gui/power-meter
• gui/prerelease-warning
• gui/quickcmd
• gui/rename
• gui/room-list
• gui/settings-manager
• gui/siege-engine
• gui/stamper
• gui/stockpiles
• gui/teleport
• gui/unit-info-viewer
• gui/workflow
• gui/workshop-job

5.4.1 gui/advfort

This script allows performing jobs in adventure mode. For more complete help press ? while the script is running. It’s
most comfortable to use this as a keybinding (see below for the default binding). Possible arguments:
• -a, --nodfassign: uses a different method to assign job items, instead of relying on DF.
• -i, --inventory: checks inventory for possible items to use in the job.
• -c, --cheat: relaxes item requirements for buildings (e.g. walls from bones). Implies -a
• -e [NAME], --entity [NAME]: uses the given civ to determine available resources (specified as an entity
raw ID). Defaults to MOUNTAIN; if the entity name is omitted, uses the adventurer’s civ
• job: selects the specified job (must be a valid job_type, e.g. Dig or FellTree)

Warning: changes only persist in non-procedural sites, namely player forts, caves, and camps.

An example of a player digging in adventure mode:

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Keybinding: CtrlT in dungeonmode

5.4.2 gui/advfort_items

A module to support item handling in gui/advfort - not intended to be called directly.

5.4.3 gui/assign-rack

This script requires a binpatch, which has not been available since DF 0.34.11
See Bug 1445 for more info about the patches.
Keybinding: P in dwarfmode/QueryBuilding/Some/Weaponrack

5.4.4 gui/autobutcher

An in-game interface for autobutcher. This script must be called from either the overall status screen or the animal list
screen.
Keybinding: ShiftB in pet/List/Unit

5.4.5 gui/autogems

A frontend for the autogems plugin that allows configuring the gem types to be cut.
The following controls apply to the gems currently listed:
• s: Searches for matching gems
• Shift+Enter: Toggles the status of all listed gems
The following controls apply to the gems currently listed, as well as gems listed before the current search with s, if
applicable:
• r: Displays only “rock crystal” gems
• c: Displays only gems whose color matches the selected gem
• m: Displays only gems where at least one rough (uncut) gem is available somewhere on the map

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This behavior is intended to allow for things like a search for “lazuli” followed by pressing c to select all gems with
the same color as lapis lazuli (5 blue gems in vanilla DF), rather than further restricting that to gems with “lazuli” in
their name (only 1).
x clears all filters, which is currently the only way to undo filters (besides searching), and is useful to verify the gems
selected.

5.4.6 gui/choose-weapons

Activate in the Equip->View/Customize page of the military screen.

Depending on the cursor location, it rewrites all ‘individual choice weapon’ entries in the selected squad or position
to use a specific weapon type matching the assigned unit’s top skill. If the cursor is in the rightmost list over a weapon
entry, it rewrites only that entry, and does it even if it is not ‘individual choice’.
Rationale: individual choice seems to be unreliable when there is a weapon shortage, and may lead to inappropriate
weapons being selected.
Keybinding: CtrlW in layer_military/Equip/Customize/View

5.4.7 gui/clone-uniform

When invoked, the script duplicates the currently selected uniform template, and selects the newly created copy.
Activate in the Uniforms page of the military screen with the cursor in the leftmost list.
Keybinding: CtrlC in layer_military/Uniforms

5.4.8 gui/color-schemes

An in-game interface for color-schemes. This script must be called from either the title screen or the dwarf fortress
default screen.

5.4.9 gui/companion-order

A script to issue orders for companions. Select companions with lower case chars (green when selected), issue orders
with upper case. Must be in look or talk mode to issue command on tile (e.g. move/equip/pick-up).

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• move - orders selected companions to move to location. If companions are following they will move no more
than 3 tiles from you.
• equip - try to equip items on the ground.
• pick-up - try to take items into hand (also wield)
• unequip - remove and drop equipment
• unwield - drop held items
• wait - temporarily remove from party
• follow - rejoin the party after “wait”
• leave - remove from party (can be rejoined by talking)
Can be called with ‘-c’ flag to display “cheating” commands.
• patch up - fully heals the companion
• get in - rides e.g. minecart at cursor. Bit buggy as unit will teleport to the item when e.g. pushing it.
Keybinding: ShiftO in dungeonmode

5.4.10 gui/confirm-opts

A basic configuration interface for the confirm plugin.

5.4.11 gui/cp437-table

An in-game CP437 table. Allows typing or selecting characters with the mouse. Input is fed directly to the parent
screen when “enter” is pressed, so there should be a text field selected before running this script.

5.4.12 gui/create-item

A graphical interface for creating items.

See also: createitem, modtools/create-item, Issue 735

5.4.13 gui/create-tree

A graphical interface for creating trees.

Place the cursor wherever you want the tree to appear and run the script. Then select the desired tree type from the
list. You will then be asked to input the desired age of the tree in years. If omitted, the age will default to 1.

5.4.14 gui/dfstatus

Show a quick overview of critical stock quantities, including food, drinks, wood, and various bars. Sections can be
enabled/disabled/configured by editing dfhack-config/[Link].
Keybinding: CtrlShiftI in dwarfmode/Default
Keybinding: CtrlShiftI in dfhack/lua/dfstatus

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5.4.15 gui/extended-status

Adds more subpages to the z status screen.

Usage:

gui/extended-status enable|disable|help|subpage_names
enable|disable gui/extended-status

5.4.16 gui/family-affairs

A user-friendly interface to view romantic relationships, with the ability to add, remove, or otherwise change them at
your whim - fantastic for depressed dwarves with a dead spouse (or matchmaking players. . . ).
The target/s must be alive, sane, and in fortress mode.

gui/family-affairs [unitID] shows GUI for the selected unit, or the specified unit ID
gui/family-affairs divorce [unitID] removes all spouse and lover information from the unit and it’s
partner, bypassing almost all checks.
gui/family-affairs [unitID] [unitID] divorces the two specified units and their partners, then ar-
ranges for the two units to marry, bypassing almost all checks. Use with caution.

5.4.17 gui/gm-editor

This editor allows to change and modify almost anything in df. Press ? for in-game help. There are multiple ways to
open this editor:
• Calling gui/gm-editor from a command or keybinding opens the editor on whatever is selected or viewed
(e.g. unit/item description screen)
• using gui/gm-editor <lua command> - executes lua command and opens editor on its results (e.g.
gui/gm-editor "[Link]" shows all items)
• using gui/gm-editor dialog - shows an in game dialog to input lua command. Works the same as version
above.
• using gui/gm-editor toggle - will hide (if shown) and show (if hidden) editor at the same position you
left it

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5.4.18 gui/gm-unit

An editor for various unit attributes.

5.4.19 gui/guide-path

Activate in the Hauling menu with the cursor over a Guide order.

The script displays the cached path that will be used by the order; the game computes it when the order is executed for
the first time.
Keybinding: AltP in dwarfmode/Hauling/DefineStop/Cond/Guide

5.4.20 gui/hack-wish

An alias for gui/create-item. Deprecated.

5.4.21 gui/hello-world

A basic example for testing, or to start your own script from.

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5.4.22 gui/liquids

This script is a gui front-end to liquids and works similarly, allowing you to add or remove water & magma, and create
obsidian walls & floors.

Warning: There is no undo support. Bugs in this plugin have been known to create pathfinding problems and
heat traps.

The b key changes how the affected area is selected. The default Rectangle mode works by selecting two corners like
any ordinary designation. The p key chooses between adding water, magma, obsidian walls & floors, or just tweaking
flags.
When painting liquids, it is possible to select the desired level with +-, and choose between setting it exactly, only
increasing or only decreasing with s.
In addition, f allows disabling or enabling the flowing water computations for an area, and r operates on the “perma-
nent flow” property that makes rivers power water wheels even when full and technically not flowing.
After setting up the desired operations using the described keys, use Enter to apply them.
Keybinding: AltL in dwarfmode/LookAround

5.4.23 gui/load-screen

A replacement for the “continue game” screen.

Usage: gui/load-screen enable|disable
The primary view is a list of saved games, much like the default list provided by DF. Several filter options are available:
• s: search for folder names containing specific text
• t: filter by active game type (e.g. fortress, adventurer)
• b: toggle display of backup folders, as created by DF’s AUTOBACKUP option (see data/init/[Link] for a detailed
explanation). This defaults to hiding backup folders, since they can take up significant space in the list.
When selecting a game with Enter, a dialog will give options to load the selected game (Enter again), cancel
(Esc), or rename the game’s folder (r). See the title-start-rename tweak to rename folders in the “start
playing” menu.

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5.4.24 gui/manager-quantity

Sets the quantity of the selected manager job (in the j-m or u-m screens).
Keybinding: AltQ in jobmanagement/Main

5.4.25 gui/mechanisms

Lists mechanisms connected to the building, and their links. Navigating the list centers the view on the relevant linked
buildings.

To exit, press Esc or Enter; Esc recenters on the original building, while Enter leaves focus on the current one.
ShiftEnter has an effect equivalent to pressing Enter, and then re-entering the mechanisms UI.
Keybinding: CtrlM in dwarfmode/QueryBuilding/Some

5.4.26 gui/mod-manager

A simple way to install and remove small mods, which are not included in DFHack. Examples are available here.

Each mod is a lua script located in <DF>/mods/, which MUST define the following variables:
name a name that is displayed in list

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author mod author, also displayed

description a description of the mod
Of course, this doesn’t actually make a mod - so one or more of the following should also be defined:
raws_list a list (table) of file names that need to be copied over to df raws
patch_entity a chunk of text to patch entity TODO: add settings to which entities to add
patch_init a chunk of lua to add to lua init
patch_dofile a list (table) of files to add to lua init as “dofile”
patch_files a table of files to patch
filename a filename (in raws folder) to patch
patch what to add
after a string after which to insert
guard a token that is used in raw files to find additions and remove them on uninstall
guard_init a token for lua file
[pre|post]_(un)install Callback functions, which can trigger more complicated behavior

5.4.27 gui/no-dfhack-init

Shows a warning at startup if no valid [Link] file is found.

5.4.28 gui/pathable

Highlights each visible map tile to indicate whether it is possible to path to from the tile at the cursor - green if possible,
red if not, similar to gui/siege-engine. A few options are available:
• l: Lock cursor: when enabled, the movement keys move around the map instead of moving the cursor. This is
useful to check whether parts of the map far away from the cursor can be pathed to from the cursor.
• d: Draw: allows temporarily disabling the highlighting entirely.
• u: Skip unrevealed: when enabled, unrevealed tiles will not be highlighed at all. (These would otherwise be
highlighted in red.)

Note: This tool uses a cache used by DF, which currently does not account for climbing. If an area of the map is
only accessible by climbing, this tool may report it as inaccessible. Care should be taken when digging into the upper
levels of caverns, for example.

Keybinding: AltShiftP in dwarfmode/LookAround

5.4.29 gui/power-meter

Activate an in-game interface for power-meter after selecting Pressure Plate in the build menu.

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The script follows the general look and feel of the regular pressure plate build configuration page, but configures
parameters relevant to the modded power meter building.
Keybinding: CtrlShiftM in dwarfmode/Build/Position/Trap

5.4.30 gui/prerelease-warning

Shows a warning on world load for pre-release builds.

With no arguments passed, the warning is shown unless the “do not show again” option has been selected. With the
force argument, the warning is always shown.

5.4.31 gui/quickcmd

A list of commands which you can edit while in-game, and which you can execute quickly and easily. For stuff you
use often enough to not want to type it, but not often enough to be bothered to find a free keybinding.

5.4.32 gui/rename

Backed by rename, this script allows entering the desired name via a simple dialog in the game ui.
• gui/rename [building] in q mode changes the name of a building.

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The selected building must be one of stockpile, workshop, furnace, trap, or siege engine. It is also possible to
rename zones from the i menu.
• gui/rename [unit] with a unit selected changes the nickname.
Unlike the built-in interface, this works even on enemies and animals.
• gui/rename unit-profession changes the selected unit’s custom profession name.

Likewise, this can be applied to any unit, and when used on animals it overrides their species string.
The building or unit options are automatically assumed when in relevant UI state.
Keybinding: CtrlShiftN
Keybinding: CtrlShiftT -> "gui/rename unit-profession"

5.4.33 gui/room-list

Activate in q mode, either immediately or after opening the assign owner page.

The script lists other rooms owned by the same owner, or by the unit selected in the assign list, and allows unassigning
them.
Keybinding: AltR in dwarfmode/QueryBuilding/Some

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5.4.34 gui/settings-manager

An in-game manager for settings defined in [Link] and d_init.txt.

Keybinding: AltS in title
Keybinding: AltS in dwarfmode/Default

5.4.35 gui/siege-engine

Activate an in-game interface for siege-engine, after selecting a siege engine in q mode.

The main mode displays the current target, selected ammo item type, linked stockpiles and the allowed operator skill
range. The map tile color is changed to signify if it can be hit by the selected engine: green for fully reachable, blue
for out of range, red for blocked, yellow for partially blocked.
Pressing r changes into the target selection mode, which works by highlighting two points with Enter like all desig-
nations. When a target area is set, the engine projectiles are aimed at that area, or units within it (this doesn’t actually
change the original aiming code, instead the projectile trajectory parameters are rewritten as soon as it appears).
After setting the target in this way for one engine, you can ‘paste’ the same area into others just by pressing p in the
main page of this script. The area to paste is kept until you quit DF, or select another area manually.
Pressing t switches to a mode for selecting a stockpile to take ammo from.
Exiting from the siege engine script via Esc reverts the view to the state prior to starting the script. ShiftEsc retains
the current viewport, and also exits from the q mode to main menu.
Keybinding: AltA in dwarfmode/QueryBuilding/Some/SiegeEngine

5.4.36 gui/stamper

allows manipulation of designations by transforms such as translations, reflections, rotations, and inversion. designa-
tions can also be used as brushes to erase other designations and cancel constructions.

5.4.37 gui/stockpiles

An in-game interface for stockpiles, to load and save stockpile settings from the q menu.
Usage:

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gui/stockpiles -save to save the current stockpile

gui/stockpiles -load to load settings into the current stockpile
gui/stockpiles -dir <path> set the default directory to save settings into
gui/stockpiles -help to see this message
Don’t forget to enable stockpiles and create the stocksettings directory in the DF folder before trying to
use the GUI.
Keybinding: AltL -> "gui/stockpiles -load" in dwarfmode/QueryBuilding/Some/Stockpile
Keybinding: AltS -> "gui/stockpiles -save" in dwarfmode/QueryBuilding/Some/Stockpile

5.4.38 gui/teleport

A front-end for the teleport script that allows choosing a unit and destination using the in-game cursor.

5.4.39 gui/unit-info-viewer

Displays age, birth, maxage, shearing, milking, grazing, egg laying, body size, and death info about a unit.
Keybinding: AltI in dwarfmode/ViewUnits|unitlist

5.4.40 gui/workflow

Bind to a key (the example config uses Alt-W), and activate with a job selected in a workshop in q mode.

This script provides a simple interface to constraints managed by workflow. When active, it displays a list of all
constraints applicable to the current job, and their current status.
A constraint specifies a certain range to be compared against either individual item or whole stack count, an item type
and optionally a material. When the current count is below the lower bound of the range, the job is resumed; if it is
above or equal to the top bound, it will be suspended. Within the range, the specific constraint has no effect on the job;
others may still affect it.
Pressing i switches the current constraint between counting stacks or items. Pressing r lets you input the range
directly; e, r, d, f adjust the bounds by 5, 10, or 20 depending on the direction and the i setting (counting items and
expanding the range each gives a 2x bonus).

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Pressing a produces a list of possible outputs of this job as guessed by workflow, and lets you create a new constraint
by choosing one as template. If you don’t see the choice you want in the list, it likely means you have to adjust the job
material first using job item-material or gui/workshop-job, as described in the workflow documentation. In this
manner, this feature can be used for troubleshooting jobs that don’t match the right constraints.

If you select one of the outputs with Enter, the matching constraint is simply added to the list. If you use
ShiftEnter, the interface proceeds to the next dialog, which allows you to edit the suggested constraint param-
eters to suit your need, and set the item count range.

Pressing s (or, with the example config, Alt-W in the z stocks screen) opens the overall status screen:

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This screen shows all currently existing workflow constraints, and allows monitoring and/or changing them from one
screen. The constraint list can be filtered by typing text in the field below.
The color of the stock level number indicates how “healthy” the stock level is, based on current count and trend. Bright
green is very good, green is good, red is bad, bright red is very bad.
The limit number is also color-coded. Red means that there are currently no workshops producing that item (i.e. no
jobs). If it’s yellow, that means the production has been delayed, possibly due to lack of input materials.
The chart on the right is a plot of the last 14 days (28 half day plots) worth of stock history for the selected item, with
the rightmost point representing the current stock value. The bright green dashed line is the target limit (maximum)
and the dark green line is that minus the gap (minimum).
Keybinding: AltW in dwarfmode/QueryBuilding/Some/Workshop/Job
Keybinding: AltW -> "gui/workflow status" in overallstatus
Keybinding: AltW -> "gui/workflow status" in dfhack/lua/status_overlay

5.4.41 gui/workshop-job

Run with a job selected in a workshop in the q mode.

The script shows a list of the input reagents of the selected job, and allows changing them like the job item-type
and job item-material commands.

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Specifically, pressing the i key pops up a dialog that lets you select an item type from a list.

Pressing m, unless the item type does not allow a material, lets you choose a material.

Since there are a lot more materials than item types, this dialog is more complex and uses a hierarchy of sub-menus.
List choices that open a sub-menu are marked with an arrow on the left.

Warning: Due to the way input reagent matching works in DF, you must select an item type if you select a
material, or the material will be matched incorrectly in some cases. If you press m without choosing an item type,
the script will auto-choose if there is only one valid choice, or pop up an error message box instead of the material
selection dialog.

Note that both materials and item types presented in the dialogs are filtered by the job input flags, and even the selected
item type for material selection, or material for item type selection. Many jobs would let you select only one input
item type.
For example, if you choose a plant input item type for your prepare meal job, it will only let you select cookable
materials.
If you choose a barrel item instead (meaning things stored in barrels, like drink or milk), it will let you select any
material, since in this case the material is matched against the barrel itself. Then, if you select, say, iron, and then try
to change the input item type, now it won’t let you select plant; you have to unset the material first.
Keybinding: AltA in dwarfmode/QueryBuilding/Some/Workshop/Job

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5.5 Scripts for Modders

modtools/* scripts provide tools for modders, often with changes to the raw files, and are not intended to be called
manually by end-users.
They all have standard arguments: arguments are of the form tool -argName1 argVal1 -argName2
argVal2. This is equivalent to tool -argName2 argVal2 -argName1 argVal1. It is not necessary to
provide a value to an argument name: tool -argName3 is fine.
Argument names are preceded with a dash, and supplying the same argument name multiple times will result in an
error.
The -help argument to any modtools script will print a descriptive usage string describing the arguments, similar
to the documentation here.
For multiple word argument values, brackets must be used: tool -argName4 [ sadf1 sadf2 sadf3 ]. In
order to allow passing literal braces as part of the argument, backslashes are used: tool -argName4 [ \] asdf
\foo ] sets argName4 to \] asdf foo. The *-trigger scripts have a similar policy with backslashes.

Contents

• modtools/add-syndrome
• modtools/anonymous-script
• modtools/change-build-menu
• modtools/create-item
• modtools/create-tree
• modtools/create-unit
• modtools/equip-item
• modtools/extra-gamelog
• modtools/force
• modtools/if-entity
• modtools/interaction-trigger
• modtools/invader-item-destroyer
• modtools/item-trigger
• modtools/moddable-gods
• modtools/outside-only
• modtools/pref-edit
• modtools/projectile-trigger
• modtools/random-trigger
• modtools/raw-lint
• modtools/reaction-product-trigger
• modtools/reaction-trigger
• modtools/reaction-trigger-transition

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• modtools/set-belief
• modtools/set-need
• modtools/set-personality
• modtools/skill-change
• modtools/spawn-flow
• modtools/spawn-liquid
• modtools/syndrome-trigger
• modtools/transform-unit

5.5.1 modtools/add-syndrome

This allows adding and removing syndromes from units.

Arguments:

-syndrome name
the name of the syndrome to operate on
examples:
"gila monster bite"
-resetPolicy policy
specify a policy of what to do if the unit already has an
instance of the syndrome. examples:
NewInstance
default behavior: create a new instance of the syndrome
DoNothing
ResetDuration
AddDuration
-erase
instead of adding an instance of the syndrome, erase one
-eraseAll
erase every instance of the syndrome
-eraseClass SYN_CLASS
erase every instance of every syndrome with the given SYN_CLASS
-target id
the unit id of the target unit
examples:
0
28
-skipImmunities
add the syndrome to the target even if it is immune to the syndrome

5.5.2 modtools/anonymous-script

This allows running a short simple Lua script passed as an argument instead of running a script from a file. This is
useful when you want to do something too complicated to make with the existing modtools, but too simple to be worth
its own script file. Example:

anonymous-script "print(args[1])" arg1 arg2

# prints "arg1"

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5.5.3 modtools/change-build-menu

Change the build sidebar menus.

This script provides a flexible and comprehensive system for adding and removing items from the build sidebar menus.
You can add or remove workshops/furnaces by text ID, or you can add/remove ANY building via a numeric building
ID triplet.
Changes made with this script do not survive a save/load. You will need to redo your changes each time the world
loads.
Just to be clear: You CANNOT use this script AT ALL if there is no world loaded!
Usage:
modtools/change-build-menu start|enable:
enable modtools/change-build-menu:
Start the ticker. This needs to be done before any changes will take effect. Note that you can make changes
before or after starting the ticker, both options should work equally well.
modtools/change-build-menu stop|disable:
disable modtools/change-build-menu:
Stop the ticker. Does not clear stored changes. The ticker will automatically stop when the current world
is unloaded.
modtools/change-build-menu add <ID> <CATEGORY> [<KEY>]:
Add the workshop or furnace with the ID <ID> to <CATEGORY>. <KEY> is an optional DF hotkey ID.
<CATEGORY> may be one of:
• MAIN_PAGE
• SIEGE_ENGINES
• TRAPS
• WORKSHOPS
• FURNACES
• CONSTRUCTIONS
• MACHINES
• CONSTRUCTIONS_TRACK
Valid <ID> values for hardcoded buildings are as follows:
• CARPENTERS
• FARMERS
• MASONS
• CRAFTSDWARFS
• JEWELERS
• METALSMITHSFORGE
• MAGMAFORGE
• BOWYERS

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• MECHANICS
• SIEGE
• BUTCHERS
• LEATHERWORKS
• TANNERS
• CLOTHIERS
• FISHERY
• STILL
• LOOM
• QUERN
• KENNELS
• ASHERY
• KITCHEN
• DYERS
• TOOL
• MILLSTONE
• WOOD_FURNACE
• SMELTER
• GLASS_FURNACE
• MAGMA_SMELTER
• MAGMA_GLASS_FURNACE
• MAGMA_KILN
• KILN
modtools/change-build-menu remove <ID> <CATEGORY>:
Remove the workshop or furnace with the ID <ID> from <CATEGORY>.
<CATEGORY> and <ID> may have the same values as for the “add” option.
modtools/change-build-menu revert <ID> <CATEGORY>:
Revert an earlier remove or add operation. It is NOT safe to “remove” an “add”ed building or vice versa,
use this option to reverse any changes you no longer want/need.
Module Usage:
To use this script as a module put the following somewhere in your own script:

local buildmenu = reqscript "change-build-menu"

Then you can call the functions documented here like so:
• Example: Remove the carpenters workshop:

[Link]("CARPENTERS", "WORKSHOPS", false)

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• Example: Make it impossible to build walls (not recommended!):

local typ, styp = df.building_type.Construction, df.construction_type.Wall

[Link](typ, styp, -1, "CONSTRUCTIONS", false)

Note that to allow any of your changes to take effect you need to start the ticker. See the “Command Usage” section.
Global Functions:
GetWShopID(btype, bsubtype, bcustom): GetWShopID returns a workshop’s or furnace’s string ID
based on its numeric ID triplet. This string ID should match what is expected by eventful for hardcoded build-
ings.
GetWShopType(id): GetWShopIDs returns a workshop or furnace’s ID numbers as a table. The passed in ID
should be the building’s string identifier, it makes no difference if it is a custom building or a hardcoded one.
The return table is structured like so: {type, subtype, custom}
IsEntityPermitted(id): IsEntityPermitted returns true if DF would normally allow you to build a workshop
or furnace. Use this if you want to change a building, but only if it is permitted in the current entity. You do not
need to specify an entity, the current fortress race is used.
ChangeBuilding(id, category, [add, [key]]):
ChangeBuildingAdv(typ, subtyp, custom, category, [add, [key]]): These two functions
apply changes to the build sidebar menus. If “add” is true then the building is added to the specified category,
else it is removed. When adding you may specify “key”, a string DF hotkey ID.
The first version of this function takes a workshop or furnace ID as a string, the second takes a numeric ID triplet
(which can specify any building, not just workshops or furnaces).
RevertBuildingChanges(id, category):
RevertBuildingChangesAdv(typ, subtyp, custom, category): These two functions revert
changes made by “ChangeBuilding” and “ChangeBuildingAdv”. Like those two functions there are two
versions, a simple one that takes a string ID and one that takes a numeric ID triplet.

5.5.4 modtools/create-item

Replaces the createitem plugin, with standard arguments. The other versions will be phased out in a later version.
Arguments:

-creator id
specify the id of the unit who will create the item,
or \\LAST to indicate the unit with id [Link].unit_next_id-1
examples:
0
2
\\LAST
-material matstring
specify the material of the item to be created
examples:
INORGANIC:IRON
CREATURE_MAT:DWARF:BRAIN
PLANT_MAT:MUSHROOM_HELMET_PLUMP:DRINK
-item itemstr
specify the itemdef of the item to be created
examples:
WEAPON:ITEM_WEAPON_PICK
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-quality qualitystr
specify the quality level of the item to be created (df.item_quality)
examples: Ordinary, WellCrafted, FinelyCrafted, Masterful, or 0-5
-matchingShoes
create two of this item
-matchingGloves
create two of this item, and set handedness appropriately

5.5.5 modtools/create-tree

Spawns a tree.
Usage:
-tree treeName
specify the tree to be created
examples:
OAK
NETHER_CAP

-age howOld
set the age of the tree in years (integers only)
defaults to 1 if omitted

-location [ x y z ]
create the tree at the specified coordinates

example:
modtools/create-tree -tree OAK -age 100 -location [ 33 145 137 ]

5.5.6 modtools/create-unit

Creates a unit. Usage:

-race raceName
(obligatory)
Specify the race of the unit to be created.
examples:
DWARF
HUMAN

-caste casteName
Specify the caste of the unit to be created.
If omitted, the caste is randomly selected.
examples:
MALE
FEMALE
DEFAULT

-domesticate
Tames the unit if it lacks the CAN_LEARN and CAN_SPEAK tokens.

-civId id
Make the created unit a member of the specified civilisation
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(or none if id = -1). If id is \\LOCAL, make it a member of the
civ associated with the fort; otherwise id must be an integer

-groupId id
Make the created unit a member of the specified group
(or none if id = -1). If id is \\LOCAL, make it a member of the
group associated with the fort; otherwise id must be an integer

-setUnitToFort
Sets the groupId and civId to those of the player in Fortress mode.
Equivalent to -civId \\LOCAL and -groupId \\LOCAL.

-name entityRawName
Set the unit's name to be a random name appropriate for the
given entity. \\LOCAL can be specified instead to automatically
use the fort group entity in fortress mode only.
examples:
MOUNTAIN
EVIL

-nick nickname
This can be included to nickname the unit.
Replace "nickname" with the desired name.

-age howOld
This can be included to specify the unit's age.
Replace "howOld" with a (non-negative) number.
The unit's age is set randomly if this is omitted.

-equip [ ITEM:MATERIAL:QUANTITY ... ]

This can be included to create items and equip them onto
the created unit.
This is carried out via the same logic used in arena mode,
so equipment will always be sized correctly and placed
on what the game deems to be appropriate bodyparts.
Clothing is also layered in the appropriate order.
Note that this currently comes with some limitations,
such as an inability to specify item quality
and objects not being placed in containers
(for example, arrows are not placed in quivers).
Item quantity defaults to 1 if omitted.
When spaces are included in the item or material name,
the entire item description should be enclosed in
quotation marks. This can also be done to increase
legibility when specifying multiple items.
examples:
-equip [ RING:CREATURE:DWARF:BONE:3 ]
3 dwarf bone rings
-equip [ ITEM_WEAPON_PICK:INORGANIC:IRON ]
1 iron pick
-equip [ "ITEM_SHIELD_BUCKLER:PLANT:OAK:WOOD" "AMULET:AMBER" ]
1 oaken buckler and 1 amber amulet

-skills [ SKILL:LEVEL ... ]

This can be included to add skills to the created unit.
Specify a skill token followed by a skill level value.
Look up "Skill Token" and "Skill" on the DF Wiki for a list
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of valid tokens and levels respectively.
Note that the skill level provided must be a number greater than 0.
If the unit possesses a matching natural skill, this is added to it.
Quotation marks can be added for legibility as explained above.
example:
-skill [ SNEAK:1 EXTRACT_STRAND:15 ]
novice ambusher, legendary strand extractor

-profession token
This can be included to set the unit's profession.
Replace "token" with a Unit Type Token (check the DF Wiki for a list).
For skill-based professions, it is recommended to give the unit
the appropriate skill set via -skills.
This can also be used to make animals trained for war/hunting.
Note that this will be overridden if the unit has been given the age
of a baby or child, as these have a special "profession" set.
Using this for setting baby/child status is not recommended;
this should be done via -age instead.
examples:
STRAND_EXTRACTOR
MASTER_SWORDSMAN
TRAINED_WAR

-customProfession name
This can be included to give the unit a custom profession name.
Enclose the name in quotation marks if it includes spaces.
example:
-customProfession "Destroyer of Worlds"

-duration ticks
If this is included, the unit will vanish in a puff of smoke
once the specified number of ticks has elapsed.
Replace "ticks" with an integer greater than 0.
Note that the unit's equipment will not vanish.

-quantity howMany
This can be included to create multiple creatures simultaneously.
Replace "howMany" with the desired number of creatures.
Quantity defaults to 1 if this is omitted.

-location [ x y z ]
(obligatory)
Specify the coordinates where you want the unit to appear.

-locationRange [ x_offset y_offset z_offset ]

If included, the unit will be spawned at a random location
within the specified range relative to the target -location.
z_offset defaults to 0 if omitted.
When creating multiple units, the location is randomised each time.
example:
-locationRange [ 4 3 1 ]
attempts to place the unit anywhere within
-4 to +4 tiles on the x-axis
-3 to +3 tiles on the y-axis
-1 to +1 tiles on the z-axis
from the specified -location coordinates

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-locationType type
May be used with -locationRange
to specify what counts as a valid tile for unit spawning.
Unit creation will not occur if no valid tiles are available.
Replace "type" with one of the following:
Walkable
units will only be placed on walkable ground tiles
this is the default used if -locationType is omitted
Open
open spaces are also valid spawn points
this is intended for flying units
Any
all tiles, including solid walls, are valid
this is only recommended for ghosts not carrying items

-flagSet [ flag1 flag2 ... ]

This can be used to set the specified unit flags to true.
Flags may be selected from:
df.unit_flags1
df.unit_flags2
df.unit_flags3
df.unit_flags4
example:
flagSet [ announce_titan ]
causes an announcement describing the unit to appear
when it is discovered ("[Unit] has come! ...")

-flagClear [ flag1 flag2 ... ]

As above, but sets the specified unit flags to false.

5.5.7 modtools/equip-item

Force a unit to equip an item with a particular body part; useful in conjunction with the create scripts above. See
also forceequip.

5.5.8 modtools/extra-gamelog

This script writes extra information to the gamelog. This is useful for tools like Soundsense.
Usage:

modtools/extra-gamelog enable
modtools/extra-gamelog disable

5.5.9 modtools/force

This tool triggers events like megabeasts, caravans, and migrants.

Usage:

-eventType event
specify the type of the event to trigger
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examples:
Megabeast
Migrants
Caravan
Diplomat
WildlifeCurious
WildlifeMischievous
WildlifeFlier
NightCreature
-civ entity
specify the civ of the event, if applicable
examples:
player
MOUNTAIN
EVIL
28

5.5.10 modtools/if-entity

Run a command if the current entity matches a given ID.

To use this script effectively it needs to be called from “raw/[Link]”. Calling this from the main [Link] file
will do nothing, as no world has been loaded yet.
Usage:
• id: Specify the entity ID to match
• cmd [ commandStrs ]: Specify the command to be run if the current entity matches the entity given via
-id
All arguments are required.
Example:
• Print a message if you load an elf fort, but not a dwarf, human, etc. fort:
if-entity -id "FOREST" -cmd [ lua "print('Dirty hippies.')" ]

5.5.11 modtools/interaction-trigger

This triggers events when a unit uses an interaction on another. It works by scanning the announcements for the correct
attack verb, so the attack verb must be specified in the interaction. It includes an option to suppress this announcement
after it finds it.
Usage:
-clear
unregisters all triggers
-onAttackStr str
trigger the command when the attack verb is "str". both onAttackStr and
˓→onDefendStr MUST be specified

-onDefendStr str
trigger the command when the defend verb is "str". both onAttackStr and
˓→onDefendStr MUST be specified

-suppressAttack
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delete the attack announcement from the combat logs
-suppressDefend
delete the defend announcement from the combat logs
-command [ commandStrs ]
specify the command to be executed
commandStrs
\\ATTACK_VERB
\\DEFEND_VERB
\\ATTACKER_ID
\\DEFENDER_ID
\\ATTACK_REPORT
\\DEFEND_REPORT
\\anything -> \anything
anything -> anything

You must specify both an attack string and a defend string to guarantee correct performance. Either will trigger the
script when it happens, but it will not be triggered twice in a row if both happen.

5.5.12 modtools/invader-item-destroyer

This tool configurably destroys invader items to prevent clutter or to prevent the player from getting tools exclusive to
certain races.
Arguments:

-clear
reset all registered data
-allEntities [true/false]
set whether it should delete items from invaders from any civ
-allItems [true/false]
set whether it should delete all invader items regardless of
type when an appropriate invader dies
-item itemdef
set a particular itemdef to be destroyed when an invader
from an appropriate civ dies. examples:
ITEM_WEAPON_PICK
-entity entityName
set a particular entity up so that its invaders destroy their
items shortly after death. examples:
MOUNTAIN
EVIL

5.5.13 modtools/item-trigger

This powerful tool triggers DFHack commands when a unit equips, unequips, or attacks another unit with specified
item types, specified item materials, or specified item contaminants.
Arguments:

-clear
clear all registered triggers
-checkAttackEvery n
check the attack event at least every n ticks
-checkInventoryEvery n
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check inventory event at least every n ticks
-itemType type
trigger the command for items of this type
examples:
ITEM_WEAPON_PICK
RING
-onStrike
trigger the command on appropriate weapon strikes
-onEquip mode
trigger the command when someone equips an appropriate item
Optionally, the equipment mode can be specified
Possible values for mode:
Hauled
Weapon
Worn
Piercing
Flask
WrappedAround
StuckIn
InMouth
Pet
SewnInto
Strapped
multiple values can be specified simultaneously
example: -onEquip [ Weapon Worn Hauled ]
-onUnequip mode
trigger the command when someone unequips an appropriate item
see above note regarding 'mode' values
-material mat
trigger the commmand on items with the given material
examples
INORGANIC:IRON
CREATURE:DWARF:BRAIN
PLANT:OAK:WOOD
-contaminant mat
trigger the command for items with a given material contaminant
examples
INORGANIC:GOLD
CREATURE:HUMAN:BLOOD
PLANT:MUSHROOM_HELMET_PLUMP:DRINK
WATER
-command [ commandStrs ]
specify the command to be executed
commandStrs
\\ATTACKER_ID
\\DEFENDER_ID
\\ITEM_MATERIAL
\\ITEM_MATERIAL_TYPE
\\ITEM_ID
\\ITEM_TYPE
\\CONTAMINANT_MATERIAL
\\CONTAMINANT_MATERIAL_TYPE
\\CONTAMINANT_MATERIAL_INDEX
\\MODE
\\UNIT_ID
\\anything -> \anything
anything -> anything

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5.5.14 modtools/moddable-gods

This is a standardized version of Putnam’s moddableGods script. It allows you to create gods on the command-line.
Arguments:

-name godName
sets the name of the god to godName
if there's already a god of that name, the script halts
-spheres [ sphereList ]
define a space-separated list of spheres of influence of the god
-gender male|female|neuter
sets the gender of the god
-depictedAs str
often depicted as a str
-verbose
if specified, prints details about the created god

5.5.15 modtools/outside-only

This allows you to specify certain custom buildings as outside only, or inside only. If the player attempts to build a
building in an inappropriate location, the building will be destroyed.
Arguments:

-clear
clears the list of registered buildings
-checkEvery n
set how often existing buildings are checked for whether they
are in the appropriate location to n ticks
-type [EITHER, OUTSIDE_ONLY, INSIDE_ONLY]
specify what sort of restriction to put on the building
-building name
specify the id of the building

5.5.16 modtools/pref-edit

Add, remove, or edit the preferences of a unit. Requires a modifier, a unit argument, and filters.
• -unit <UNIT ID>: The given unit will be affected. If not found/provided, the script will try defaulting to
the currently selected unit.
Valid modifiers:
• -add: Add a new preference to the unit. Filters describe the preference’s variables.
• -remove: Remove a preference from the unit. Filters describe what preference to remove.
• -has: Checks if the unit has a preference matching the filters. Prints a message in the console.
• -removeall: Remove all preferences from the unit. Doesn’t require any filters.
Valid filters:
• -id <VALUE>: This is the ID used for all preferences that require an ID. Represents item_type, crea-
ture_id, color_id, shape_id, plant_id, poetic_form_id, musical_form_id, and dance_form_id. Text IDs
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• -item, -creature, -color, -shape, -plant, -poetic, -musical, -dance: Include one of these
to describe what the id argument represents.
• -type <PREFERENCE TYPE>: This describes the type of the preference. Can be entered either using the
numerical ID or text id. Run lua @df.unit_preference.T_type for a full list of valid values.
• -subtype <ID>: The value for an item’s subtype
• -material <ID>: The id of the material. For example “MUSHROOM_HELMET_PLUMP:DRINK” or
“INORGANIC:IRON”.
• -state <STATE ID>: The state of the material. Values can be the numerical or text ID. Run lua @df.
matter_state for a full list of valid values.
• -active <TRUE/FALSE>: Whether the preference is active or not (?)
Other arguments:
• -help: Shows this help page.
Example usage:
• Like drinking dwarf blood:

modtools/pref-edit -add -item -id DRINK -material DWARF:BLOOD -type LikeFood

5.5.17 modtools/projectile-trigger

This triggers dfhack commands when projectiles hit their targets. Usage:

-clear
unregister all triggers
-material
specify a material for projectiles that will trigger the command
examples:
INORGANIC:IRON
CREATURE_MAT:DWARF:BRAIN
PLANT_MAT:MUSHROOM_HELMET_PLUMP:DRINK
-command [ commandList ]
\\LOCATION
\\PROJECTILE_ID
\\FIRER_ID
\\anything -> \anything
anything -> anything

5.5.18 modtools/random-trigger

Trigger random dfhack commands with specified probabilities. Register a few scripts, then tell it to “go” and it will
pick one based on the probability weights you specified.
Events are mutually-exclusive - register a list of scripts along with relative weights, then tell the script to select and
run one with the specified probabilities. The weights must be positive integers, but they do NOT have to sum to any
particular number.
The outcomes are mutually exclusive: only one will be triggered. If you want multiple independent random events,
call the script multiple times.
99% of the time, you won’t need to worry about this, but just in case, you can specify a name of a list of outcomes
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runtime what outcomes you want. For example, you could make a modtools/reaction-trigger that registers the worker
as a mayor candidate, then run this script to choose a random mayor from the list of units that did the mayor reaction.
Arguments:

-outcomeListName name
specify the name of this list of outcomes to prevent interference
if two scripts are registering outcomes at the same time. If none
is specified, the default outcome list is selected automatically.
-command [ commandStrs ]
specify the command to be run if this outcome is selected
must be specified unless the -trigger argument is given
-weight n
the relative probability weight of this outcome
n must be a non-negative integer
if not specified, n=1 is used by default
-trigger
selects a random script based on the specified outcomeList
(or the default one if none is specified)
-preserveList
when combined with trigger, preserves the list of outcomes so you
don't have to register them again.
-withProbability p
p is a real number between 0 and 1 inclusive
triggers the command immediately with this probability
-seed s
sets the random seed for debugging purposes
(guarantees the same sequence of random numbers will be produced)
use
-listOutcomes
lists the currently registered list of outcomes of the outcomeList
along with their probability weights, for debugging purposes
-clear
unregister everything

Note: -preserveList is something of a beta feature, which should be avoided by users without a specific reason
to use it.
It is highly recommended that you always specify -outcomeListName when you give this command to prevent
almost certain interference. If you want to trigger one of 5 outcomes three times, you might want this option even
without -outcomeListName.
The list is NOT retained across game save/load, as nobody has yet had a use for this feature. Contact expwnent if you
would use it; it’s not that hard but if nobody wants it he won’t bother.

5.5.19 modtools/raw-lint

Checks for simple issues with raw files. Can be run automatically.

5.5.20 modtools/reaction-product-trigger

This triggers dfhack commands when reaction products are produced, once per product. Usage:

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-clear
unregister all reaction hooks
-reactionName name
specify the name of the reaction
-command [ commandStrs ]
specify the command to be run on the target(s)
special args
\\WORKER_ID
\\REACTION
\\BUILDING_ID
\\LOCATION
\\INPUT_ITEMS
\\OUTPUT_ITEMS
\\anything -> \anything
anything -> anything

5.5.21 modtools/reaction-trigger

Triggers dfhack commands when custom reactions complete, regardless of whether it produced anything, once per
completion. Arguments:
-clear
unregister all reaction hooks
-reactionName name
specify the name of the reaction
-syndrome name
specify the name of the syndrome to be applied to valid targets
-allowNonworkerTargets
allow other units to be targeted if the worker is invalid or ignored
-allowMultipleTargets
allow all valid targets within range to be affected
if absent:
if running a script, only one target will be used
if applying a syndrome, then only one target will be infected
-ignoreWorker
ignores the worker when selecting the targets
-dontSkipInactive
when selecting targets in range, include creatures that are inactive
dead creatures count as inactive
-range [ x y z ]
controls how far elligible targets can be from the workshop
defaults to [ 0 0 0 ] (on a workshop tile)
negative numbers can be used to ignore outer squares of the workshop
line of sight is not respected, and the worker is always within range
-resetPolicy policy
the policy in the case that the syndrome is already present
policy
NewInstance (default)
DoNothing
ResetDuration
AddDuration
-command [ commandStrs ]
specify the command to be run on the target(s)
special args
\\WORKER_ID
\\TARGET_ID
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\\BUILDING_ID
\\LOCATION
\\REACTION_NAME
\\anything -> \anything
anything -> anything
when used with -syndrome, the target must be valid for the syndrome
otherwise, the command will not be run for that target

5.5.22 modtools/reaction-trigger-transition

Prints useful things to the console and a file to help modders transition from autoSyndrome to modtools/reaction-
trigger.
This script is basically an apology for breaking backward compatibility in June 2014, and will be removed eventually.

5.5.23 modtools/set-belief

Changes the beliefs (values) of units. Requires a belief, modifier, and a target.
Valid beliefs:
all Apply the edit to all the target’s beliefs
belief <ID> ID of the belief to edit. For example, 0 or LAW.
Valid modifiers:
set <-50-50> Set belief to given strength.
tier <1-7> Set belief to within the bounds of a strength tier:

Value Strength
1 Lowest
2 Very Low
3 Low
4 Neutral
5 High
6 Very High
7 Highest

modify <amount> Modify current belief strength by given amount. Negative values need a \ before the
negative symbol e.g. \-1
step <amount> Modify current belief tier up/down by given amount. Negative values need a \ before
the negative symbol e.g. \-1
random Use the default probabilities to set the belief to a new random value.
default Belief will be set to cultural default.
Valid targets:
citizens All (sane) citizens of your fort will be affected. Will do nothing in adventure mode.
unit <UNIT ID> The given unit will be affected.

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If no target is given, the provided unit can’t be found, or no unit id is given with the unit argument, the script will try
and default to targeting the currently selected unit.
Other arguments:
help Shows this help page.
list Prints a list of all beliefs + their IDs.
noneed By default, unit’s needs will be recalculated to reflect new beliefs after every run. Use this
argument to disable that functionality.
listunit Prints a list of all a unit’s beliefs. Cultural defaults are marked with *.

5.5.24 modtools/set-need

Sets and edits unit needs.

Valid commands:
add Add a new need to the unit. Requires a -need argument, and target. -focus and -level can be used to
set starting values, otherwise they’ll fall back to defaults.
remove Remove an existing need from the unit. Requires a need target, and target.
edit Change an existing need in some way. Requires a need target, at least one effect, and a target.
revert Revert a unit’s needs list back to its original selection and need strengths. Focus levels are pre-
served if the unit has a need before and after. Requires a target.
Valid need targets:
need <ID> ID of the need to target. For example 0 or DrinkAlcohol. If the need is PrayOrMedidate, a
-deity argument is also required.
deity <HISTFIG ID> Required when using PrayOrMedidate needs. This value should be the historical
figure ID of the deity in question.
all All of the target’s needs will be affected.
Valid effects:
focus <NUMBER> Set the focus level of the targeted need. 400 is the value used when a need has just
been satisfied.
level <NUMBER> Set the need level of the targeted need. Default game values are: 1 (Slight need), 2
(Moderate need), 5 (Strong need), 10 (Intense need)
Valid targets:
citizens All (sane) citizens of your fort will be affected. Will do nothing in adventure mode.
unit <UNIT ID> The given unit will be affected.
If no target is given, the provided unit can’t be found, or no unit id is given with the unit argument, the script will try
and default to targeting the currently selected unit.
Other arguments:
help Shows this help page.
list Prints a list of all needs + their IDs.
listunit Prints a list of all a unit’s needs, their strengths, and their current focus.
Usage example - Satisfy all citizen’s needs:

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modtools/set-need -edit -all -focus 400 -citizens

5.5.25 modtools/set-personality

Changes the personality of units. Requires a trait, modifier, and a target.

Valid traits:
all Apply the edit to all the target’s traits
trait <ID> ID of the trait to edit. For example, 0 or HATE_PROPENSITY.
Valid modifiers:
set <0-100> Set trait to given strength.
tier <1-7> Set trait to within the bounds of a strength tier.

Value Strength
1 Lowest
2 Very Low
3 Low
4 Neutral
5 High
6 Very High
7 Highest

modify <amount> Modify current base trait strength by given amount. Negative values need a \ before
the negative symbol e.g. \-1
step <amount> Modify current trait tier up/down by given amount. Negative values need a \ before the
negative symbol e.g. \-1
random Set the trait to a new random value.
average Sets trait to the creature’s caste’s average value (as defined in the PERSONALITY creature
tokens).
Valid targets:
citizens All (sane) citizens of your fort will be affected. Will do nothing in adventure mode.
unit <UNIT ID> The given unit will be affected.
If no target is given, the provided unit can’t be found, or no unit id is given with the unit argument, the script will try
and default to targeting the currently selected unit.
Other arguments:
help Shows this help page.
list Prints a list of all facets + their IDs.
noneed By default, unit’s needs will be recalculated to reflect new traits after every run. Use this argu-
ment to disable that functionality.
listunit Prints a list of all a unit’s personality traits, with their modified trait value in brackets.

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5.5.26 modtools/skill-change

Sets or modifies a skill of a unit. Args:

-skill skillName set the skill that we’re talking about
-mode (add/set) are we adding experience/levels or setting them?
-granularity (experience/level) direct experience, or experience levels?
-unit id id of the target unit
-value amount how much to set/add
-loud if present, prints changes to console

5.5.27 modtools/spawn-flow

Creates flows at the specified location.

Arguments:

-material mat
specify the material of the flow, if applicable
examples:
INORGANIC:IRON
CREATURE_MAT:DWARF:BRAIN
PLANT_MAT:MUSHROOM_HELMET_PLUMP:DRINK
-location [ x y z]
the location to spawn the flow
-flowType type
specify the flow type
examples:
Miasma
Steam
Mist
MaterialDust
MagmaMist
Smoke
Dragonfire
Fire
Web
MaterialGas
MaterialVapor
OceanWave
SeaFoam
-flowSize size
specify how big the flow is

5.5.28 modtools/spawn-liquid

This script spawns liquid at the given coordinates.

Run modtools/spawn-liquid help for usage.

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5.5.29 modtools/syndrome-trigger

Triggers dfhack commands when syndromes are applied to units.

Arguments:
-clear
clear any previously registered syndrome triggers

-syndrome SYN_NAME
specify a syndrome by its SYN_NAME
enclose the name in quotation marks if it includes spaces
example:
-syndrome "gila monster bite"

-synclass SYN_CLASS
any syndrome with the specified SYN_CLASS will act as a trigger
enclose in quotation marks if it includes spaces
example:
-synclass VAMPCURSE

-command [ commandStrs ]
specify the command to be executed after infection
remember to include a space after/before the square brackets!
the following may be added to appropriate commands where relevant:
\\UNIT_ID
inserts the ID of the infected unit
\\LOCATION
inserts the x, y, z coordinates of the infected unit
\\SYNDROME_ID
inserts the ID of the syndrome
note that:
\\anything -> \anything
anything -> anything
examples:
-command [ full-heal -unit \\UNIT_ID ]
heals units when they acquire the specified syndrome
-command [ modtools/spawn-flow -flowType Dragonfire -location [ \\LOCATION ] ]
spawns dragonfire at the location of infected units

5.5.30 modtools/transform-unit

Transforms a unit into another unit type, possibly permanently. Warning: this will crash arena mode if you view the
unit on the same tick that it transforms. If you wait until later, it will be fine.
Arguments:
-clear
clear records of normal races
-unit id
set the target unit
-duration ticks
how long it should last, or "forever"
-setPrevRace
make a record of the previous race so that you can
change it back with -untransform
-keepInventory
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(continued from previous page)

move items back into inventory after transformation
-race raceName
-caste casteName
-suppressAnnouncement
don't show the Unit has transformed into a Blah! event
-untransform
turn the unit back into what it was before

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 CHAPTER 6

About DFHack

These pages contain information about the general DFHack project.

6.1 Changelog

This file contains changes grouped by the stable release in which they first appeared. See Building the changelogs for
more information.
See Development Changelog for a list of changes grouped by development releases.

Contents

• DFHack future
• DFHack 0.47.04-r2
• DFHack 0.47.04-r1
• DFHack 0.44.12-r3
• DFHack 0.44.12-r2
• DFHack 0.44.12-r1
• DFHack 0.44.10-r2
• DFHack 0.44.10-r1
• DFHack 0.44.09-r1
• DFHack 0.44.05-r2
• DFHack 0.44.05-r1
• Older Changelogs

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6.1.1 DFHack future

Fixes

• ban-cooking: fixed an error in several subcommands

• stockpiles: fixed a crash when loading food stockpiles

Misc Improvements

• unretire-anyone: made undead creature names appear in the historical figure list

6.1.2 DFHack 0.47.04-r2

New Scripts

• animal-control: helps manage the butchery and gelding of animals

• devel/kill-hf : kills a historical figure
• geld: gelds or ungelds animals
• list-agreements: lists all guildhall and temple agreements
• list-waves: displays migration wave information for citizens/units
• ungeld: ungelds animals (wrapper around geld)

New Tweaks

• tweak do-job-now: adds a job priority toggle to the jobs list

• tweak reaction-gloves: adds an option to make reactions produce gloves in sets with correct handedness

Fixes

• Fixed a segfault when attempting to start a headless session with a graphical PRINT_MODE setting
• Fixed an issue with the macOS launcher failing to un-quarantine some files
• Fixed Units::isEggLayer, Units::isGrazer, Units::isMilkable,
Units::isTrainableHunting, Units::isTrainableWar, and Units::isTamable ignor-
ing the unit’s caste
• Linux: fixed [Link]() (Lua) and Process::getPath() (C++) to always return the DF
root path, even if the working directory has changed
• digfort:
– fixed an issue causing blueprints touching the southern or eastern edges of the map to be rejected (northern
and western edges were already allowed). This allows blueprints that span the entire embark area.
– fixed y-line tracking when .csv files contain lines with only commas
• embark-assistant: fixed a couple of incursion handling bugs.
• embark-skills: fixed an issue with structures causing the points option to do nothing
• exportlegends:

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– stopped including some tags with -1 values which don’t provide useful information
– fixed an issue where two different <reason> tags could be included in a <historical_event>
• getplants: fixed issues causing plants to be collected even if they have no growths (or unripe growths)
• gui/advfort: fixed “operate pump” job
• gui/load-screen: fixed an issue causing longer timezones to be cut off
• labormanager:
– fixed an issue preventing custom furnaces from being built
– fixed handling of new jobs in 0.47
• modtools/moddable-gods:
– made -depictedAs argument work
– removed unused -domain and -description arguments
– fixed an error when creating the historical figure
• names:
– fixed an issue causing renamed units to display their old name in legends mode and some other places
– fixed an error preventing the script from working
• pref-adjust: fixed some compatibility issues and a potential crash
• remotefortressreader:
– fixed an issue that could cause block coordinates to be incorrect
– fixed a couple crashes that could result from decoding invalid enum items
(site_realization_building_type and improvement_type)
• rendermax: fixed a hang that could occur when enabling some renderers, notably on Linux
• stonesense:
– fixed some issues that could cause the splash screen to hang
– fixed a crash when launching Stonesense

Misc Improvements

• Linux/macOS: Added console keybindings for deleting words (Alt+Backspace and Alt+d in most terminals)
• add-recipe:
– added a command explanation or error message when entering an invalid command
– added tool recipes (minecarts, wheelbarrows, stepladders, etc.)
• armoks-blessing: added adjustments to values and needs
• blueprint:
– now automatically creates folder trees when organizing blueprints into subfolders (e.g. blueprint 30
30 1 rooms/dining dig will create the file blueprints/rooms/[Link]); previ-
ously it would fail if the blueprints/rooms/ directory didn’t already exist
– now writes blueprints to the blueprints/ subfolder instead of the df root folder
• confirm: added a confirmation dialog for convicting dwarves of crimes

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• devel/query: added many new query options

• digfort:
– added a force option to truncate blueprints if the full blueprint would extend off the edge of the map
– documented that removing ramps, cutting trees, and gathering plants are indeed supported
– handled double quotes (“) at the start of a string, allowing .csv files exported from spreadsheets to work
without manual modification
• dwarf-op:
– added ability to protect dwarves based on symbols in their custom professions
– added ability to select dwarves based on migration wave
• exportlegends:
– added ability to save all files to a subfolder, named after the region folder and date by default
– changed some enum values from numbers to their string representations
– changed some flags to be represented by self-closing tags instead of true/false strings (e.g.
<is_volcano/>) - note that this may require changes to other XML-parsing utilities
• gui/advfort: added support for specifying the entity used to determine available resources
• gui/gm-editor: added support for automatically following ref-targets when pressing the i key
• manipulator: added a new column option to display units’ goals
• modtools/moddable-gods: added support for neuter gender
• pref-adjust:
– added a new goth profile
– added support for adjusting just the selected dwarf
• remove-stress: added a -value argument to enable setting stress level directly
• workorder: changed default frequency from “Daily” to “OneTime”

API

• Added Filesystem::mkdir_recursive
• Extended Filesystem::listdir_recursive to optionally make returned filenames relative to the start
directory
• Units: added goal-related functions: getGoalType(), getGoalName(), isGoalAchieved()

Internals

• Added support for splitting scripts into multiple files in the scripts/internal folder without polluting the
output of ls

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Lua

• Added a ref_target field to primitive field references, corresponding to the ref-target XML attribute
• Made [Link](), [Link](), and
[Link]() available to Lua

Ruby

• Updated item_find and building_find to use centralized logic that works on more screens

Structures

• Added a new <df-other-vectors-type>, which allows world.*.other collections of vectors to use

the correct subtypes for items
• creature_raw: renamed gender to sex to match the field in unit, which is more frequently used
• crime: identified witnesses, which contains the data held by the old field named reports
• intrigue: new type (split out from historical_figure_relationships)
• items_other_id: removed BAD, and by extension, [Link], which was overlapping
with [Link]
• job_type: added job types new to 0.47
• plant_raw: material_defs now contains arrays rather than loose fields
• pronoun_type: new enum (previously documented in field comments)
• setup_character_info: fixed a couple alignment issues (needed by embark-skills)
• ui_advmode_menu: identified some new enum items

Documentation

• Added some new dev-facing pages, including dedicated pages about the remote API, memory research, and
documentation
• Expanded the installation guide
• Made a couple theme adjustments

6.1.3 DFHack 0.47.04-r1

New Scripts

• color-schemes: manages color schemes

• devel/print-event: prints the description of an event by ID or index
• devel/sc: checks size of structures
• devel/visualize-structure: displays the raw memory of a structure
• gui/color-schemes: an in-game interface for color-schemes
• light-aquifers-only: changes heavy aquifers to light aquifers

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• on-new-fortress: runs DFHack commands only in a new fortress

• once-per-save: runs DFHack commands unless already run in the current save
• resurrect-adv: brings your adventurer back to life
• reveal-hidden-units: exposes all sneaking units
• workorder: allows queuing manager jobs; smart about shear and milk creature jobs

Fixes

• Fixed a crash in find() for some types when no world is loaded

• Fixed a crash when starting DFHack in headless mode with no terminal
• Fixed translation of certain types of in-game names
• autogems: fixed an issue with binned gems being ignored in linked stockpiles
• catsplosion: fixed error when handling races with only one caste (e.g. harpies)
• deep-embark:
– prevented running in non-fortress modes
– ensured that only the newest wagon is deconstructed
• devel/visualize-structure: fixed padding detection for globals
• exportlegends:
– added UTF-8 encoding and XML escaping for more fields
– added checking for unhandled structures to avoid generating invalid XML
– fixed missing fields in history_event_assume_identityst export
• full-heal:
– when resurrected by specifying a corpse, units now appear at the location of the corpse rather than their
location of death
– resurrected units now have their tile occupancy set (and are placed in the prone position to facilitate this)
– fixed issues with removing corpses
– fixed resurrection for non-historical figures
• spawnunit: fixed an error when forwarding some arguments but not a location to modtools/create-unit
• stocks: fixed display of book titles
• teleport: fixed setting new tile occupancy
• tweak embark-profile-name: fixed handling of the native shift+space key

Misc Improvements

• Added “bit” suffix to downloads (e.g. 64-bit)

• Tests:
– moved from DF folder to hack/scripts folder, and disabled installation by default
– made test runner script more flexible

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• deep-embark:
– improved support for using directly from the DFHack console
– added a -clear option to cancel
• devel/export-dt-ini: updated some field names for DT for 0.47
• devel/visualize-structure: added human-readable lengths to containers
• dfhack-run: added color output support
• embark-assistant:
– updated embark aquifer info to show all aquifer kinds present
– added neighbor display, including kobolds (SKULKING) and necro tower count
– updated aquifer search criteria to handle the new variation
– added search criteria for embark initial tree cover
– added search criteria for necro tower count, neighbor civ count, and specific neighbors. Should handle
additional entities, but not tested
• exportlegends:
– added evilness and force IDs to regions
– added profession and weapon info to relevant entities
– added support for many new history events in 0.47
– added historical event relationships and supplementary data
– made interaction export more robust and human-readable
– removed empty <item_subtype> and <claims> tags
– added identity information
– added creature raw names and flags
• full-heal:
– made resurrection produce a historical event viewable in Legends mode
– made error messages more explanatory
• getplants: added switches for designations for farming seeds and for max number designated per plant
• gui/prerelease-warning: updated links and information about nightly builds
• install-info: added DFHack build ID to report
• manipulator: added intrigue to displayed skills
• modtools/create-item: added -matchingGloves and -matchingShoes arguments
• modtools/create-unit:
– added -duration argument to make the unit vanish after some time
– added -locationRange argument to allow spawning in a random position within a defined area
– added -locationType argument to specify the type of location to spawn in
– added -equip option to equip created units
– added -skills option to give skills to units

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– added -profession and -customProfession options to adjust unit professions

• modtools/syndrome-trigger: enabled simultaneous use of -synclass and -syndrome
• repeat: added -list option
• search: added support for the fortress mode justice screen
• [Link]-example: enabled autodump

API

• Added Items::getBookTitle to get titles of books. Catches titles buried in improvements, unlike getDe-
scription.

Internals

• Added separate changelogs in the scripts and df-structures repos

• Improved support for tagged unions, allowing tools to access union fields more safely
• Moved reversing scripts to df_misc repo

Lua

• pairs() now returns available class methods for DF types

Structures

• Added an XML schema for validating df-structures syntax

• Added globals: cur_rain, cur_rain_counter, cur_snow, cur_snow_counter, weathertimer,
jobvalue, jobvalue_setter, interactitem, interactinvslot, handleannounce,
preserveannounce, updatelightstate
• Added divination_set_next_id and image_set_next_id globals
• Dropped support for 0.44.12-0.47.02
• abstract_building_type: added types (and subclasses) new to 0.47
• activity_entry_type: new enum type
• adventure_optionst: identified many vmethods
• agreement_details_data_plot_sabotage: new struct type, along with related
agreement_details_type.PlotSabotage
• agreement_details_type: added enum
• agreement_details:
– identified most fields of most sub-structs
– added struct type (and many associated data types)
• agreement_party: added struct type
• announcement_type: added types new to 0.47
• architectural_element: new enum

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• artifact_claim_type: added enum

• artifact_claim:
– identified several fields
– added struct type
• artifact_record: identified several fields
• battlefield: new struct type
• breath_attack_type: added SHARP_ROCK
• breed: new struct type
• building_offering_placest: new class
• building_type: added OfferingPlace
• caste_raw_flags:
– renamed and identified many flags to match information from Toady
– renamed many items to match DF names
• creature_handler: identified vmethods
• creature_interaction_effect: added subclasses new to 0.47
• creature_raw_flags:
– renamed and identified many flags to match information from Toady
– renamed many items to match DF names
– identified several more items
• crime_type: new enum type
• crime: removed fields of reports that are no longer present
• dance_form: identified most fields
• dfhack_room_quality_level: added enum attributes for names of rooms of each quality
• d_init: added settings new to 0.47
• entity_name_type: added MERCHANT_COMPANY, CRAFT_GUILD
• entity_position_responsibility: added values new to 0.47
• entity_site_link_type: new enum type
• export_map_type: new enum type
• fortress_type: added enum
• general_ref_type: added UNIT_INTERROGATEE
• ghost_type: added None value
• goal_type: added goals types new to 0.47
• histfig_site_link: added subclasses new to 0.47
• historical_entity.flags: identified several flags
• historical_entity.relations: renamed from unknown1b and identified several fields
• historical_figure.vague_relationships: identified

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• historical_figure_info.known_info: renamed from secret, identified some fields

• historical_figure: renamed unit_id2 to nemesis_id
• history_event_circumstance_info: new struct type (and changed several history_event sub-
classes to use this)
• history_event_collection: added subtypes new to 0.47
• history_event_context:
– identified fields
– added lots of new fields
• history_event_reason_info: new struct type (and changed several history_event subclasses to
use this)
• history_event_reason:
– added items new to 0.47
– added captions for all items
• history_event_type: added types for events new to 0.47, as well as corresponding history_event
subclasses (too many to list here)
• honors_type:
– identified several fields
– added struct type
• identity_type: new enum
• identity: renamed civ to entity_id, identified type
• image_set: new struct type
• interaction_effect_create_itemst: new struct type
• interaction_effect_summon_unitst: new struct type
• interaction_effect: added subtypes new to 0.47
• interaction_source_experimentst: added class type
• interaction_source_usage_hint: added values new to 0.47
• interface_key: added items for keys new to 0.47
• interrogation_report: new struct type
• itemdef_flags: new enum, with GENERATED flag
• item: identified several vmethods
• job_skill: added INTRIGUE, RIDING
• justification: new enum
• lair_type: added enum
• layer_type: new enum type
• lever_target_type: identified LeverMechanism and TargetMechanism values
• monument_type: added enum
• musical_form: identified fields, including some renames. Also identified fields in scale and rhythm

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• next_global_id: added enum

• plant.damage_flags: added is_dead
• plot_role_type: new enum type
• plot_strategy_type: new enum type
• poetic_form_action: added Beseech
• region_weather: new struct type
• relationship_event_supplement: new struct type
• relationship_event: new struct type
• setup_character_info: expanded significantly in 0.47
• specific_ref: moved union data to data field
• squad_order_cause_trouble_for_entityst: identified fields
• text_system: added layout for struct
• tile_occupancy: added varied_heavy_aquifer
• tool_uses: added items: PLACE_OFFERING, DIVINATION, GAMES_OF_CHANCE
• ui_look_list: moved union fields to data and renamed to match type enum
• ui_sidebar_menus.location: added new profession-related fields, renamed and fixed types of deity-
related fields
• ui_sidebar_mode: added ZonesLocationInfo
• unit_action: rearranged as tagged union with new sub-types; existing code should be compatible
• unit_thought_type: added several new thought types
• vague_relationship_type: new enum type
• vermin_flags: identified is_roaming_colony
• viewscreen_counterintelligencest: new class (only layout identified so far)
• viewscreen_justicest: identified interrogation-related fields
• viewscreen_workquota_detailsst: identified fields
• world_data.field_battles: identified and named several fields

6.1.4 DFHack 0.44.12-r3

New Plugins

• autoclothing: automatically manage clothing work orders

• autofarm: replaces the previous Ruby script of the same name, with some fixes
• map-render: allows programmatically rendering sections of the map that are off-screen
• tailor: automatically manages keeping your dorfs clothed

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New Scripts

• assign-attributes: changes the attributes of a unit

• assign-beliefs: changes the beliefs of a unit
• assign-facets: changes the facets (traits) of a unit
• assign-goals: changes the goals of a unit
• assign-preferences: changes the preferences of a unit
• assign-profile: sets a dwarf’s characteristics according to a predefined profile
• assign-skills: changes the skills of a unit
• combat-harden: sets a unit’s combat-hardened value to a given percent
• deep-embark: allows embarking underground
• devel/find-twbt: finds a TWBT-related offset needed by the new map-render plugin
• dwarf-op: optimizes dwarves for fort-mode work; makes managing labors easier
• forget-dead-body: removes emotions associated with seeing a dead body
• gui/create-tree: creates a tree at the selected tile
• linger: takes over your killer in adventure mode
• modtools/create-tree: creates a tree
• modtools/pref-edit: add, remove, or edit the preferences of a unit
• modtools/set-belief : changes the beliefs (values) of units
• modtools/set-need: sets and edits unit needs
• modtools/set-personality: changes the personality of units
• modtools/spawn-liquid: spawns water or lava at the specified coordinates
• set-orientation: edits a unit’s orientation
• unretire-anyone: turns any historical figure into a playable adventurer

Fixes

• Fixed a crash in the macOS/Linux console when the prompt was wider than the screen width
• Fixed inconsistent results from Units::isGay for asexual units
• Fixed some cases where Lua filtered lists would not properly intercept keys, potentially triggering other actions
on the same screen
• autofarm:
– fixed biome detection to properly determine crop assignments on surface farms
– reimplemented as a C++ plugin to make proper biome detection possible
• bodyswap: fixed companion list not being updated often enough
• cxxrandom: removed some extraneous debug information
• digfort: now accounts for z-level changes when calculating maximum y dimension
• embark-assistant:

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– fixed bug causing crash on worlds without generated metals (as well as pruning vectors as originally
intended).
– fixed bug causing mineral matching to fail to cut off at the magma sea, reporting presence of things that
aren’t (like DF does currently).
– fixed bug causing half of the river tiles not to be recognized.
– added logic to detect some river tiles DF doesn’t generate data for (but are definitely present).
• Eventful: fixed invalid building ID in some building events
• exportlegends: now escapes special characters in names properly
• getplants: fixed designation of plants out of season (note that picked plants are still designated incorrectly)
• gui/autogems: fixed error when no world is loaded
• gui/companion-order:
– fixed error when resetting group leaders
– leave now properly removes companion links
• gui/create-item: fixed module support - can now be used from other scripts
• gui/stamper:
– stopped “invert” from resetting the designation type
– switched to using DF’s designation keybindings instead of custom bindings
– fixed some typos and text overlapping
• modtools/create-unit:
– fixed an error associating historical entities with units
– stopped recalculating health to avoid newly-created citizens triggering a “recover wounded” job
– fixed units created in arena mode having blank names
– fixed units created in arena mode having the wrong race and/or interaction effects applied after creating
units manually in-game
– stopped units from spawning with extra items or skills previously selected in the arena
– stopped setting some unneeded flags that could result in glowing creature tiles
– set units created in adventure mode to have no family, instead of being related to the first creature in the
world
• modtools/reaction-product-trigger:
– fixed an error dealing with reactions in adventure mode
– blocked \\BUILDING_ID for adventure mode reactions
– fixed -clear to work without passing other unneeded arguments
• modtools/reaction-trigger:
– fixed a bug when determining whether a command was run
– fixed handling of -resetPolicy
• mousequery: fixed calculation of map dimensions, which was sometimes preventing scrolling the map with the
mouse when TWBT was enabled
• remotefortressreader: fixed a crash when a unit’s path has a length of 0

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• stonesense: fixed crash due to wagons and other soul-less creatures

• tame: now sets the civ ID of tamed animals (fixes compatibility with autobutcher)
• title-folder: silenced error when PRINT_MODE is set to TEXT

Misc Improvements

• Added a note to dfhack-run when called with no arguments (which is usually unintentional)
• On macOS, the launcher now attempts to un-quarantine the rest of DFHack
• bodyswap: added arena mode support
• combine-drinks: added more default output, similar to combine-plants
• createitem: added a list of valid castes to the “invalid caste” error message, for convenience
• devel/export-dt-ini: added more size information needed by newer Dwarf Therapist versions
• dwarfmonitor: enabled widgets to access other scripts and plugins by switching to the core Lua context
• embark-assistant:
– added an in-game option to activate on the embark screen
– changed waterfall detection to look for level drop rather than just presence
– changed matching to take incursions, i.e. parts of other biomes, into consideration when evaluating tiles.
This allows for e.g. finding multiple biomes on single tile embarks.
– changed overlay display to show when incursion surveying is incomplete
– changed overlay display to show evil weather
– added optional parameter “fileresult” for crude external harness automated match support
– improved focus movement logic to go to only required world tiles, increasing speed of subsequent searches
considerably
• exportlegends: added rivers to custom XML export
• exterminate: added support for a special enemy caste
• gui/gm-unit:
– added support for editing:
– added attribute editor
– added orientation editor
– added editor for bodies and body parts
– added color editor
– added belief editor
– added personality editor
• modtools/create-item: documented already-existing -quality option
• modtools/create-unit:
– added the ability to specify \\LOCAL for the fort group entity
– now enables the default labours for adult units with CAN_LEARN.
– now sets historical figure orientation.

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– improved speed of creating multiple units at once

– made the script usable as a module (from other scripts)
• modtools/reaction-trigger:
– added -ignoreWorker: ignores the worker when selecting the targets
– changed the default behavior to skip inactive/dead units; added -dontSkipInactive to include crea-
tures that are inactive
– added -range: controls how far elligible targets can be from the workshop
– syndromes now are applied before commands are run, not after
– if both a command and a syndrome are given, the command only runs if the syndrome could be applied
• mousequery: made it more clear when features are enabled
• remotefortressreader:
– added a basic framework for controlling and reading the menus in DF (currently only supports the building
menu)
– added support for reading item raws
– added a check for whether or not the game is currently saving or loading, for utilities to check if it’s safe
to read from DF
– added unit facing direction estimate and position within tiles
– added unit age
– added unit wounds
– added tree information
– added check for units’ current jobs when calculating the direction they are facing

API

• Added new plugin_load_data and plugin_save_data events for plugins to load/save persistent data
• Added Maps::GetBiomeType and Maps::GetBiomeTypeByRef to infer biome types properly
• Added Units::getPhysicalDescription (note that this depends on the
unit_get_physical_description offset, which is not yet available for all DF builds)

Internals

• Added new Persistence module

• Cut down on internal DFHack dependencies to improve build times
• Improved concurrency in event and server handlers
• Persistent data is now stored in JSON files instead of historical figures - existing data will be migrated when
saving
• stonesense: fixed some OpenGL build issues on Linux

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Lua

• Exposed [Link].get_movement_delta and [Link].get_hotkey_target

• dfhack.run_command now returns the command’s return code

Ruby

• Made unit_ishostile consistently return a boolean

Structures

• Added unit_get_physical_description function offset on some platforms

• Added/identified types:
– assume_identity_mode
– musical_form_purpose
– musical_form_style
– musical_form_pitch_style
– musical_form_feature
– musical_form_vocals
– musical_form_melodies
– musical_form_interval
– unit_emotion_memory
• need_type: fixed PrayOrMeditate typo
• personality_facet_type, value_type: added NONE values
• twbt_render_map: added for 64-bit 0.44.12 (for map-render)

6.1.5 DFHack 0.44.12-r2

New Plugins

• debug: manages runtime debug print category filtering

• nestboxes: automatically scan for and forbid fertile eggs incubating in a nestbox

New Scripts

• devel/query: searches for field names in DF objects

• extinguish: puts out fires
• tame: sets tamed/trained status of animals

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Fixes

• Building-hacks: fixed error when dealing with custom animation tables

• devel/test-perlin: fixed Lua error ([Link]())
• embark-assistant: fixed crash when entering finder with a 16x16 embark selected, and added 16 to dimension
choices
• embark-skills: fixed missing skill_points_remaining field
• full-heal:
– stopped wagon resurrection
– fixed a minor issue with post-resurrection hostility
• gui/companion-order:
– fixed issues with printing coordinates
– fixed issues with move command
– fixed cheat commands (and removed “Power up”, which was broken)
• gui/gm-editor: fixed reinterpret cast (r)
• gui/pathable: fixed error when sidebar is hidden with Tab
• labormanager:
– stopped assigning labors to ineligible dwarves, pets, etc.
– stopped assigning invalid labors
– added support for crafting jobs that use pearl
– fixed issues causing cleaning jobs to not be assigned
– added support for disabling management of specific labors
• prospect: (also affected embark-tools) - fixed a crash when prospecting an unusable site (ocean, mountains, etc.)
with a large default embark size in d_init.txt (e.g. 16x16)
• siege-engine: fixed a few Lua errors ([Link](), unit.relationship_ids)
• tweak: fixed hotkey-clear

Misc Improvements

• armoks-blessing: improved documentation to list all available arguments

• devel/export-dt-ini:
– added viewscreen offsets for DT 40.1.2
– added item base flags offset
– added needs offsets
• embark-assistant:
– added match indicator display on the right (“World”) map
– changed ‘c’ancel to abort find if it’s under way and clear results if not, allowing use of partial surveys.
– added Coal as a search criterion, as well as a coal indication as current embark selection info.

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• full-heal:
– added -all, -all_civ and -all_citizens arguments
– added module support
– now removes historical figure death dates and ghost data
• growcrops: added all argument to grow all crops
• gui/load-screen: improved documentation
• labormanager: now takes nature value into account when assigning jobs
• open-legends: added warning about risk of save corruption and improved related documentation
• points: added support when in viewscreen_setupdwarfgamest and improved error messages
• siren: removed break handling (relevant misc_trait_type was no longer used - see “Structures” section)

API

• New debug features related to debug plugin:

– Classes (C++ only): Signal<Signature, type_tag>, DebugCategory, DebugManager
– Macros: TRACE, DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERR, DBG_DECLARE, DBG_EXTERN

Internals

• Added a usable unit test framework for basic tests, and a few basic tests
• Added [Link] with intellisense support
• Changed plugins/[Link] to be ignored by git and created (if needed) at build time
instead
• Core: various thread safety and memory management improvements
• Fixed CMake build dependencies for generated header files
• Fixed custom CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS not being passed to plugins
• Linux/macOS: changed recommended build backend from Make to Ninja (Make builds will be significantly
slower now)

Lua

• utils: new OrderedTable class

Structures

• Win32: added missing vtables for viewscreen_storesst and squad_order_rescue_hfst

• activity_event_performancest: renamed poem as written_content_id
• body_part_status: identified gelded
• dance_form: named musical_form_id and musical_written_content_id
• incident_sub6_performance.participants: named performance_event and role_index

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• incident_sub6_performance:
– named poetic_form_id, musical_form_id, and dance_form_id
– made performance_event an enum
• misc_trait_type: removed LikesOutdoors, Hardened, TimeSinceBreak, OnBreak (all unused
by DF)
• musical_form_instruments: named minimum_required and maximum_permitted
• musical_form: named voices field
• plant_tree_info: identified extent_east, etc.
• plant_tree_tile: gave connection bits more meaningful names (e.g. connection_east instead of
thick_branches_1)
• poetic_form: identified many fields and related enum/bitfield types
• setup_character_info: identified skill_points_remaining (for embark-skills)
• [Link]: identified fortress_site
• [Link]: identified kill_rect_targets_scroll
• ui: fixed alignment of main and squads (fixes tweak hotkey-clear and DF-AI)
• unit_action.attack:
– added lightly_tap and spar_report flags
– identified attack_skill
• unit_flags3: identified marked_for_gelding
• unit_personality: identified stress_drain, stress_boost, likes_outdoors,
combat_hardened
• unit_storage_status: newly identified type, stores noble holdings information (used in
viewscreen_layer_noblelistst)
• unit_thought_type: added new expulsion thoughts from 0.44.12
• viewscreen_layer_arena_creaturest: identified item- and name-related fields
• viewscreen_layer_militaryst: identified [Link].assigned_items
• viewscreen_layer_noblelistst: identified storage_status (see unit_storage_status
type)
• viewscreen_new_regionst:
– changed many int8_t fields to bool
– identified rejection_msg, raw_folder, load_world_params
• viewscreen_setupadventurest: identified some nemesis and personality fields, and page.
ChooseHistfig
• world_data: added mountain_peak_flags type, including is_volcano
• world_history: identified names and/or types of some fields
• world_site: identified names and/or types of some fields
• written_content: named poetic_form

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6.1.6 DFHack 0.44.12-r1

Fixes

• Fixed displayed names (from Units::getVisibleName) for units with identities

• Fixed potential memory leak in Screen::show()
• Fixed special characters in command-prompt and other non-console in-game outputs on Linux/macOS (in tools
using df2console)
• command-prompt: added support for commands that require a specific screen to be visible, e.g. spotclean
• die: fixed Windows crash in exit handling
• dwarfmonitor, manipulator: fixed stress cutoffs
• fix/dead-units: fixed script trying to use missing isDiplomat function
• gui/workflow: fixed advanced constraint menu for crafts
• modtools/force: fixed a bug where the help text would always be displayed and nothing useful would happen
• ruby: fixed calling conventions for vmethods that return strings (currently [Link]())
• startdwarf : fixed on 64-bit Linux
• stonesense: fixed PLANT:DESERT_LIME:LEAF typo

Misc Improvements

• Console:
– added support for multibyte characters on Linux/macOS
– made the console exit properly when an interactive command is active (liquids, mode, tiletypes)
• Linux: added automatic support for GCC sanitizers in dfhack script
• Made the DFHACK_PORT environment variable take priority over [Link]
• Reduced time for designation jobs from tools like dig to be assigned workers
• dfhack-run: added support for port specified in [Link], to match DFHack’s behavior
• digfort: added better map bounds checking
• embark-assistant:
– Switched to standard scrolling keys, improved spacing slightly
– Introduced scrolling of Finder search criteria, removing requirement for 46 lines to work properly
(Help/Info still formatted for 46 lines).
– Added Freezing search criterion, allowing searches for NA/Frozen/At_Least_Partial/Partial/At_Most_Partial/Never
Freezing embarks.
• rejuvenate:
– Added -all argument to apply to all citizens
– Added -force to include units under 20 years old
– Clarified documentation
• remove-stress:

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– added support for -all as an alternative to the existing all argument for consistency
– sped up significantly
– improved output/error messages
– now removes tantrums, depression, and obliviousness
• ruby: sped up handling of onupdate events

API

• Added C++-style linked list interface for DF linked lists

• Added to Units module:
– getStressCategory(unit)
– getStressCategoryRaw(level)
– stress_cutoffs (Lua: getStressCutoffs())
• Added Screen::Hide to temporarily hide screens, like command-prompt
• Exposed Screen::zoom() to C++ (was Lua-only)
• New functions: Units::isDiplomat(unit)

Internals

• Added documentation for all RPC functions and a build-time check

• Added support for build IDs to development builds
• Changed default build architecture to 64-bit
• jsoncpp: updated to version 1.8.4 and switched to using a git submodule
• Use dlsym(3) to find vtables from [Link]

Lua

• Added printall_recurse to print tables and DF references recursively. It can be also used with ^ from
the lua interpreter.
• [Link]: List:setChoices clones choices for internal table changes

Structures

• Added support for automatically sizing arrays indexed with an enum

• Added start_dwarf_count on 64-bit Linux again and fixed scanning script
• Dropped 0.44.10 support
• Dropped 0.44.11 support
• Removed stale generated CSV files and DT layouts from pre-0.43.05
• announcement_type: new in 0.44.11: NEW_HOLDING, NEW_MARKET_LINK
• army_controller: added new vector from 0.44.11

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• belief_system: new type, few fields identified

• breath_attack_type: added OTHER
• historical_figure_info.[Link]: added unk_3a-unk_3c fields at end
• history_event_entity_expels_hfst: added (new in 0.44.11)
• history_event_site_surrenderedst: added (new in 0.44.11)
• history_event_type: added SITE_SURRENDERED, ENTITY_EXPELS_HF (new in 0.44.11)
• interface_key: added bindings new in 0.44.11
• mental_picture: new type, some fields identified
• mission_report:
– new type (renamed, was mission before)
– identified some fields
• mission: new type (used in viewscreen_civlistst)
• occupation_type: new in 0.44.11: MESSENGER
• profession: new in 0.44.11: MESSENGER
• spoils_report: new type, most fields identified
• syndrome: identified a few fields
• [Link]: Added fields new in 0.44.12
• ui_sidebar_menus:
– unit.in_squad: renamed to unit.squad_list_opened, fixed location
– unit: added expel_error and other unknown fields new in 0.44.11
– hospital: added, new in 0.44.11
– num_speech_tokens, unk_17d8: moved out of command_line to fix layout on x64
• viewscreen_civlistst:
– fixed layout and identified many fields
– identified new pages
– identified new messenger-related fields
• viewscreen_image_creatorst:
– fixed layout
– identified many fields
• viewscreen_locationsst: identified edit_input
• viewscreen_reportlistst: added new mission and spoils report-related fields (fixed layout)
• [Link]: identified (minimal information; whole languages stored elsewhere)
• [Link]:
– mission_reports: renamed, was missions
– spoils_reports: identified
• world.unk_131ec0, world.unk_131ef0: researched layout

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• world.worldgen_status: identified many fields

• world: belief_systems: identified

6.1.7 DFHack 0.44.10-r2

New Plugins

• cxxrandom: exposes some features of the C++11 random number library to Lua

New Scripts

• add-recipe: adds unknown crafting recipes to the player’s civ

• gui/stamper: allows manipulation of designations by transforms such as translations, reflections, rotations, and
inversion

Fixes

• Fixed many tools incorrectly using the dead unit flag (they should generally check [Link] instead)
• Fixed many tools passing incorrect arguments to printf-style functions, including a few possible crashes (change-
layer, follow, forceequip, generated-creature-renamer)
• Fixed several bugs in Lua scripts found by static analysis (df-luacheck)
• Fixed -g flag (GDB) in Linux dfhack script (particularly on x64)
• autochop, autodump, autogems, automelt, autotrade, buildingplan, dwarfmonitor, fix-unit-occupancy, fortplan,
stockflow: fix issues with periodic tasks not working for some time after save/load cycles
• autogems:
– stop running repeatedly when paused
– fixed crash when furnaces are linked to same stockpiles as jeweler’s workshops
• autogems, fix-unit-occupancy: stopped running when a fort isn’t loaded (e.g. while embarking)
• autounsuspend: now skips planned buildings
• ban-cooking: fixed errors introduced by kitchen structure changes in 0.44.10-r1
• buildingplan, fortplan: stopped running before a world has fully loaded
• deramp: fixed deramp to find designations that already have jobs posted
• dig: fixed “Inappropriate dig square” announcements if digging job has been posted
• fixnaked: fixed errors due to emotion changes in 0.44
• remove-stress: fixed an error when running on soul-less units (e.g. with -all)
• reveal: stopped revealing tiles adjacent to tiles above open space inappropriately
• stockpiles: loadstock now sets usable and unusable weapon and armor settings
• stocks: stopped listing carried items under stockpiles where they were picked up from

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Misc Improvements

• Added script name to messages produced by qerror() in Lua scripts

• Fixed an issue in around 30 scripts that could prevent edits to the files (adding valid arguments) from taking
effect
• Linux: Added several new options to dfhack script: --remotegdb, --gdbserver, --strace
• bodyswap: improved error handling
• buildingplan: added max quality setting
• caravan: documented (new in 0.44.10-alpha1)
• deathcause: added “slaughtered” to descriptions
• embark-assistant:
– changed region interaction matching to search for evil rain, syndrome rain, and reanimation rather than
interaction presence (misleadingly called evil weather), reanimation, and thralling
– gave syndrome rain and reanimation wider ranges of criterion values
• fix/dead-units: added a delay of around 1 month before removing units
• fix/retrieve-units: now re-adds units to active list to counteract fix/dead-units
• item-descriptions: fixed several grammatical errors
• modtools/create-unit:
– added quantity argument
– now selects a caste at random if none is specified
• mousequery:
– migrated several features from TWBT’s fork
– added ability to drag with left/right buttons
– added depth display for TWBT (when multilevel is enabled)
– made shift+click jump to lower levels visible with TWBT
• title-version: added version to options screen too

API

• New functions (also exposed to Lua):

– Units::isKilled()
– Units::isActive()
– Units::isGhost()
• Removed Vermin module (unused and obsolete)

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Internals

• Added build option to generate symbols for large generated files containing df-structures metadata
• Added fallback for YouCompleteMe database lookup failures (e.g. for newly-created files)
• Improved efficiency and error handling in stl_vsprintf and related functions
• jsoncpp: fixed constructor with long on Linux

Lua

• Added profiler module to measure lua performance

• Enabled shift+cursor movement in WorkshopOverlay-derived screens

Structures

• incident_sub6_performance: identified some fields

• item_body_component: fixed location of corpse_flags
• job_handler: fixed static array layout
• job_type: added is_designation attribute
• unit_flags1: renamed dead to inactive to better reflect its use
• unit_personality: fixed location of current_focus and undistracted_focus
• unit_thought_type: added SawDeadBody (new in 0.44.10)

6.1.8 DFHack 0.44.10-r1

New Scripts

• bodyswap: shifts player control over to another unit in adventure mode

• caravan: adjusts properties of caravans
• devel/find-primitive: finds a primitive variable in memory
• gui/autogems: a configuration UI for the autogems plugin

New Tweaks

• tweak kitchen-prefs-all: adds an option to toggle cook/brew for all visible items in kitchen preferences
• tweak stone-status-all: adds an option to toggle the economic status of all stones

Fixes

• Fixed uninitialized pointer being returned from Gui::getAnyUnit() in rare cases

• Lua: registered [Link]() correctly
• Units::getAnyUnit(): fixed a couple problematic conditions and potential segfaults if global addresses are miss-
ing

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• autohauler, autolabor, labormanager: fixed fencepost error and potential crash

• dwarfvet: fixed infinite loop if an animal is not accepted at a hospital
• exterminate: fixed documentation of this option
• full-heal:
– units no longer have a tendency to melt after being healed
– healed units are no longer treated as patients by hospital staff
– healed units no longer attempt to clean themselves unsuccessfully
– wounded fliers now regain the ability to fly upon being healing
– now heals suffocation, numbness, infection, spilled guts and gelding
• liquids: fixed “range” command to default to 1 for dimensions consistently
• modtools/create-unit:
– creatures of the appropriate age are now spawned as babies or children where applicable
– fix: civ_id is now properly assigned to historical_figure, resolving several hostility issues (spawned pets
are no longer attacked by fortress military!)
– fix: unnamed creatures are no longer spawned with a string of numbers as a first name
• prospect: fixed crash due to invalid vein materials
• search: fixed 4/6 keys in unit screen search
• stockpiles: stopped sidebar option from overlapping with autodump
• tweak block-labors: fixed two causes of crashes related in the v-p-l menu
• tweak max-wheelbarrow: fixed conflict with building renaming
• view-item-info:
– fixed an error with some armor
– stopped appending extra newlines permanently to descriptions

Misc Improvements

• Added logo to documentation

• Documented several missing [Link] Lua functions
• adv-rumors: bound to Ctrl-A
• autogems: can now blacklist arbitrary gem types (see gui/autogems)
• blueprint: added a basic Lua API
• command-prompt: added support for Gui::getSelectedPlant()
• devel/export-dt-ini: added tool offsets for DT 40
• devel/save-version: added current DF version to output
• exterminate: added more words for current unit, removed warning
• fpause: now pauses worldgen as well
• gui/advfort: bound to Ctrl-T

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• gui/room-list: added support for Gui::getSelectedBuilding()

• gui/unit-info-viewer: bound to Alt-I
• install-info: added information on tweaks
• modtools/create-unit: made functions available to other scripts
• search:
– added support for stone restrictions screen (under z: Status)
– added support for kitchen preferences (also under z)

API

• New functions (all available to Lua as well):

– Buildings::getRoomDescription()
– Items::checkMandates()
– Items::canTrade()
– Items::canTradeWithContents()
– Items::isRouteVehicle()
– Items::isSquadEquipment()
– Kitchen::addExclusion()
– Kitchen::findExclusion()
– Kitchen::removeExclusion()
• syndrome-util: added eraseSyndromeData()

Internals

• Added function names to DFHack’s NullPointer and InvalidArgument exceptions

• Added some build scripts for Sublime Text
• Added Gui::inRenameBuilding()
• Changed submodule URLs to relative URLs so that they can be cloned consistently over different protocols (e.g.
SSH)
• Fixed compiler warnings on all supported build configurations
• Linux: required plugins to have symbols resolved at link time, for consistency with other platforms
• Windows build scripts now work with non-C system drives

Structures

• dfhack_room_quality_level: new enum

• glowing_barrier: identified triggered, added comments
• item_flags2: renamed has_written_content to unk_book
• kitchen_exc_type: new enum (for [Link])

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• [Link]: now an enum

• unit_personality.[Link]: identified
• viewscreen_kitchenprefst.forbidden, possible: now a bitfield, kitchen_pref_flag
• world_data.feature_map: added extensive documentation (in XML)

6.1.9 DFHack 0.44.09-r1

Fixes

• Fixed some CMake warnings (CMP0022)

• Support for building on Ubuntu 18.04
• digtype: stopped designating non-vein tiles (open space, trees, etc.)
• embark-assistant: fixed detection of reanimating biomes
• fix/dead-units: fixed a bug that could remove some arriving (not dead) units
• labormanager: fixed crash due to dig jobs targeting some unrevealed map blocks
• modtools/item-trigger: fixed token format in help text

Misc Improvements

• Reorganized changelogs and improved changelog editing process

• embark-assistant:
– Added search for adamantine
– Now supports saving/loading profiles
• fillneeds: added -all option to apply to all units
• modtools/item-trigger:
– added the ability to specify inventory mode(s) to trigger on
– added support for multiple type/material/contaminant conditions
• remotefortressreader: added flows, instruments, tool names, campfires, ocean waves, spiderwebs

Internals

• OS X: Can now build with GCC 7 (or older)

Structures

• Several new names in instrument raw structures

• army: added vector new in 0.44.07
• building_type: added human-readable name attribute
• furnace_type: added human-readable name attribute
• identity: identified profession, civ

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• manager_order_template: fixed last field type

• site_reputation_report: named reports vector
• viewscreen_createquotast: fixed layout
• workshop_type: added human-readable name attribute
• [Link]: moved colors, shapes, patterns to [Link]
• [Link], world.reaction_categories: moved to new compound, world.
reactions. Requires renaming:
– [Link] to [Link]
– world.reaction_categories to [Link].reaction_categories

6.1.10 DFHack 0.44.05-r2

New Plugins

• embark-assistant: adds more information and features to embark screen

New Scripts

• adv-fix-sleepers: fixes units in adventure mode who refuse to wake up (Bug 6798)
• hermit: blocks caravans, migrants, diplomats (for hermit challenge)

New Features

• With PRINT_MODE:TEXT, setting the DFHACK_HEADLESS environment variable will hide DF’s display and
allow the console to be used normally. (Note that this is intended for testing and is not very useful for actual
gameplay.)

Fixes

• devel/export-dt-ini: fix language_name offsets for DT 39.2+

• devel/inject-raws: fixed gloves and shoes (old typo causing errors)
• remotefortressreader: fixed an issue with not all engravings being included
• view-item-info: fixed an error with some shields

Misc Improvements

• adv-rumors: added more keywords, including names

• autochop: can now exclude trees that produce fruit, food, or cookable items
• remotefortressreader: added plant type support

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6.1.11 DFHack 0.44.05-r1

New Scripts

• break-dance: Breaks up a stuck dance activity

• devel/check-other-ids: Checks the validity of “other” vectors in the world global
• devel/dump-offsets: prints an XML version of the global table included in in DF
• fillneeds: Use with a unit selected to make them focused and unstressed
• firestarter: Lights things on fire: items, locations, entire inventories even!
• flashstep: Teleports adventurer to cursor
• ghostly: Turns an adventurer into a ghost or back
• gui/cp437-table: An in-game CP437 table
• questport: Sends your adventurer to the location of your quest log cursor
• view-unit-reports: opens the reports screen with combat reports for the selected unit

Fixes

• Fixed a crash that could occur if a symbol table in [Link] had no content
• Fixed issues with the console output color affecting the prompt on Windows
• autolabor, autohauler, labormanager: added support for “put item on display” jobs and building/destroying
display furniture
• createitem: stopped items from teleporting away in some forts
• devel/inject-raws:
– now recognizes spaces in reaction names
– now recognizes spaces in reaction names
• dig: added support for designation priorities - fixes issues with designations from digv and related commands
having extremely high priority
• dwarfmonitor:
– fixed display of creatures and poetic/music/dance forms on prefs screen
– added “view unit” option
– now exposes the selected unit to other tools
• exportlegends: fixed an error that could occur when exporting empty lists
• gui/gm-editor: fixed an error when editing primitives in Lua tables
• gui/gm-unit: can now edit mining skill
• gui/quickcmd: stopped error from adding too many commands
• modtools/create-unit: fixed error when domesticating units
• names: fixed many errors
• quicksave: fixed an issue where the “Saving. . . ” indicator often wouldn’t appear

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Misc Improvements

• The console now provides suggestions for built-in commands

• binpatch: now reports errors for empty patch files
• devel/export-dt-ini: avoid hardcoding flags
• exportlegends:
– reordered some tags to match DF’s order
– added progress indicators for exporting long lists
• force: now provides useful help
• full-heal:
– can now select corpses to resurrect
– now resets body part temperatures upon resurrection to prevent creatures from freezing/melting again
– now resets units’ vanish countdown to reverse effects of exterminate
• gui/gm-editor: added enum names to enum edit dialogs
• gui/gm-unit:
– made skill search case-insensitive
– added a profession editor
– misc. layout improvements
• gui/liquids: added more keybindings: 0-7 to change liquid level, P/B to cycle backwards
• gui/pathable: added tile types to sidebar
• gui/rename: added “clear” and “special characters” options
• launch: can now ride creatures
• modtools/skill-change:
– now updates skill levels appropriately
– only prints output if -loud is passed
• names: can now edit names of units
• remotefortressreader:
– includes item stack sizes
– some performance improvements
– support for moving adventurers
– support for vehicles, gem shapes, item volume, art images, item improvements

Removed

• tweak: kitchen-keys: Bug 614 fixed in DF 0.44.04

• warn-stuck-trees: Bug 9252 fixed in DF 0.44.01

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Internals

• Gui::getAnyUnit() supports many more screens/menus

Lua

• Added a new [Link] API

• API can now wrap functions with 12 or 13 parameters
• Exposed get_vector() (from C++) for all types that support find(), e.g. [Link].get_vector()
== [Link]
• Improved json I/O error messages
• Stopped a crash when trying to create instances of classes whose vtable addresses are not available

Structures

• Added buildings_other_id.DISPLAY_CASE
• Added job_type.PutItemOnDisplay
• Added twbt_render_map code offset on x64
• Fixed an issue preventing enabler from being allocated by DFHack
• Fixed unit alignment
• Fixed viewscreen_titlest.start_savegames alignment
• Found renderer vtable on osx64
• Identified historical_entity.[Link] (deity IDs)
• Located start_dwarf_count offset for all builds except 64-bit Linux; startdwarf should work now
• New globals:
– version
– min_load_version
– movie_version
– basic_seed
– title
– title_spaced
– ui_building_resize_radius
– soul_next_id
• The former announcements global is now a field in d_init
• The ui_menu_width global is now a 2-byte array; the second item is the former ui_area_map_width
global, which is now removed
• adventure_movement_optionst, adventure_movement_hold_tilest,
adventure_movement_climbst: named coordinate fields
• artifact_record: fixed layout (changed in 0.44.04)

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• incident: fixed layout (changed in 0.44.01) - note that many fields have moved
• mission: added type
• unit: added 3 new vmethods: getCreatureTile, getCorpseTile, getGlowTile
• viewscreen_assign_display_itemst: fixed layout on x64 and identified many fields
• viewscreen_reportlistst: fixed layout, added mission_id vector
• [Link]: named missions vector
• world fields formerly beginning with job_ are now fields of [Link], e.g. world.job_list is now
[Link]

6.1.12 Older Changelogs

Are kept in a seperate file: History

6.2 List of Authors

The following is a list of people who have contributed to DFHack, in alphabetical order.
If you should be here and aren’t, please get in touch on IRC or the forums, or make a pull request!

Name Github Other

8Z 8Z
acwatkins acwatkins
Alexander Gavrilov angavrilov ag
Amostubal Amostubal
Andrea Cattaneo acattaneo88
AndreasPK AndreasPK
Angus Mezick amezick
Antalia tamarakorr
Anuradha Dissanayake falconne
Atkana Atkana
AtomicChicken AtomicChicken
Bearskie Bearskie
belal jimhester
Ben Lubar BenLubar
Ben Rosser TC01
billw2012 billw2012
BrickViking brickviking
brndd brndd burneddi
Bumber Bumber64
Caldfir caldfir
Carter Bray Qartar
Chris Dombroski cdombroski
Clayton Hughes
Clément Vuchener cvuchener
Dan Amlund danamlund
Daniel Brooks db48x
David Nilsolm
Continued on next page

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Table 1 – continued from previous page

Name Github Other
David Corbett dscorbett
David Seguin dseguin
David Timm dtimm
Deon
DoctorVanGogh DoctorVanGogh
Donald Ruegsegger hashaash
doomchild doomchild
ElMendukol ElMendukol
enjia2000
Eric Wald eswald
Erik Youngren Artanis
Espen Wiborg
expwnent expwnent
Feng
figment figment
gchristopher gchristopher
grubsteak grubsteak
Harlan Playford playfordh
Hayati Ayguen hayguen
Herwig Hochleitner bendlas
Ian S kremlin-
IndigoFenix
James Gilles kazimuth
James Logsdon jlogsdon
Jared Adams
Jeremy Apthorp nornagon
Jim Lisi stonetoad
Jimbo Whales jimbowhales
jimcarreer jimcarreer
jj jjyg jj‘‘
Joel Meador janxious
John Beisley huin
John Shade gsvslto
Jonas Ask
Josh Cooper cppcooper coope
kane-t kane-t
Kelly Kinkade ab9rf
KlonZK KlonZK
Kris Parker kaypy
Kromtec Kromtec
Kurik Amudnil
Lethosor lethosor
LordGolias LordGolias
Mark Nielson pseudodragon
Mason11987 Mason11987
Matt Regul mattregul
Matthew Cline
Matthew Lindner mlindner
Matthew Taylor ymber yutna
Continued on next page

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Table 1 – continued from previous page

Name Github Other
Max maxthyme Max^TM
McArcady McArcady
melkor217 melkor217
Meneth32
Meph
Michael Casadevall NCommander
Michael Crouch creidieki
Michon van Dooren MaienM
miffedmap miffedmap
Mike Stewart thewonderidiot
Mikko Juola Noeda Adeon
Milo Christiansen milochristiansen
MithrilTuxedo MithrilTuxedo
mizipzor mizipzor
moversti moversti
Myk Taylor myk002
napagokc napagokc
Neil Little nmlittle
Nick Rart nickrart comestible
Nicolas Ayala nicolasayala
Nikolay Amiantov abbradar
nocico nocico
Omniclasm
OwnageIsMagic OwnageIsMagic
palenerd dlmarquis
Patrik Lundell PatrikLundell
Paul Fenwick pjf
PeridexisErrant PeridexisErrant
Petr Mrázek peterix
Pfhreak Pfhreak
Pierre-David Bélanger pierredavidbelanger
potato
Priit Laes plaes
Putnam Putnam3145
Quietust quietust _Q
Raidau Raidau
Ralph Bisschops ralpha
Ramblurr Ramblurr
rampaging-poet
Raoul van Putten
Raoul XQ raoulxq
reverb
Rich Rauenzahn rrauenza
Rinin Rinin
rndmvar rndmvar
Robert Heinrich rh73
Robert Janetzko robertjanetzko
RocheLimit
rofl0r rofl0r
Continued on next page

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Table 1 – continued from previous page

Name Github Other
root
Rose RosaryMala
Roses Pheosics
Ross M RossM
rout
rubybrowncoat rubybrowncoat
Rumrusher rumrusher
RusAnon RusAnon
Ryan Bennitt ryanbennitt
sami
scamtank scamtank
Sebastian Wolfertz Enkrod
seishuuu seishuuu
Seth Woodworth sethwoodworth
simon
Simon Jackson sizeak
stolencatkarma
Stoyan Gaydarov sgayda2
suokko suokko shrieker
sv-esk sv-esk
Tacomagic
thefriendlyhacker thefriendlyhacker
TheHologram TheHologram
therahedwig therahedwig
ThiagoLira ThiagoLira
thurin thurin
Tim Walberg twalberg
Timothy Collett danaris
Timur Kelman TymurGubayev
Tom Jobbins TheBloke
Tom Prince
Tommy R tommy
TotallyGatsby TotallyGatsby
Travis Hoppe thoppe orthographic-pedant
txtsd txtsd
U-glouglou\simon
Valentin Ochs Cat-Ion
Vitaly Pronkin pronvit mifki
ViTuRaS ViTuRaS
Vjek vjek
Warmist warmist
Wes Malone wesQ3
Will Rogers wjrogers
ZechyW ZechyW
Zhentar Zhentar
zilpin zilpin

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6.3 Licenses

DFHack is distributed under the Zlib license, with some MIT- and BSD-licensed components. These licenses protect
your right to use DFHack for any purpose, distribute copies, and so on.
The core, plugins, scripts, and other DFHack code all use the ZLib license unless noted otherwise. By contributing to
DFHack, authors release the contributed work under this license.
DFHack also draws on several external packages. Their licenses are summarised here and reproduced below.

Component License Copyright

DFHack Zlib (c) 2009-2012, Petr Mrázek
clsocket BSD 3-clause (c) 2007-2009, CarrierLabs, LLC.
dirent MIT (c) 2006, Toni Ronkko
[Link] CC-BY-SA (c) 2010-2014, Jeffrey Friedl
jsoncpp MIT (c) 2007-2010, Baptiste Lepilleur
linenoise BSD 2-clause (c) 2010, Salvatore Sanfilippo & Pieter Noordhuis
lua MIT (c) 1994-2008, [Link], PUC-Rio.
luafilesystem MIT (c) 2003-2014, Kepler Project
lua-profiler MIT (c) 2002,2003,2004 Pepperfish
protobuf BSD 3-clause (c) 2008, Google Inc.
tinythread Zlib (c) 2010, Marcus Geelnard
tinyxml Zlib (c) 2000-2006, Lee Thomason
UTF-8-decoder MIT (c) 2008-2010, Bjoern Hoehrmann

6.3.1 Zlib License

See [Link]

This software is provided 'as-is', without any express or implied

warranty. In no event will the authors be held liable for any
damages arising from the use of this software.

Permission is granted to anyone to use this software for any

purpose, including commercial applications, and to alter it and
redistribute it freely, subject to the following restrictions:

1. The origin of this software must not be misrepresented; you must

not claim that you wrote the original software. If you use this
software in a product, an acknowledgment in the product
documentation would be appreciated but is not required.

2. Altered source versions must be plainly marked as such, and

must not be misrepresented as being the original software.

3. This notice may not be removed or altered from any source

distribution.

6.3.2 MIT License

See [Link]

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Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining

a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the
"Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including
without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish,
distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to
permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to
the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included
in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS
OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY
CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT,
TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE
SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

6.3.3 BSD Licenses

See [Link]

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without

modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are
met:

1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright

notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright

notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in
the documentation and/or other materials provided with the
distribution.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS

"AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR
A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT
HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT
LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,
DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY
THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
(INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE
OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

linenoise adds no further clauses.

protobuf adds the following clause:

3. Neither the name of Google Inc. nor the names of its

contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived
from this software without specific prior written permission.

clsocket adds the following clauses:

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3. The name of the author may not be used to endorse or promote

products derived from this software without specific prior
written permission.

4. The name "CarrierLabs" must not be used to endorse or promote

products derived from this software without prior written
permission. For written permission, please contact
mark@[Link]

6.4 Removed tools

This page lists tools (plugins or scripts) that were previously included in DFHack but have been removed. It exists
primarily so that internal links still work (e.g. links from the Changelog).

Contents

• warn-stuck-trees

6.4.1 warn-stuck-trees

The corresponding DF bug, Bug 9252 was fixed in DF 0.44.01.

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218 Chapter 6. About DFHack

 CHAPTER 7

DFHack Development Guide

These are pages relevant to people developing for DFHack.

7.1 DFHack development overview

DFHack has various components; this page provides an overview of some. If you are looking to develop a tool for
DFHack, developing a script or plugin is likely the most straightforward choice.
Other pages that may be relevant include:
• How to contribute to DFHack
• DFHack Documentation System
• Licenses

Contents

• Plugins
• Scripts
• Core
• Modules
• Remote access interface

7.1.1 Plugins

DFHack plugins are written in C++ and located in the plugins folder. Currently, documentation on how to write
plugins is somewhat sparse. There are templates that you can get use to get started in the plugins/skeleton
folder, and the source code of existing plugins can also be helpful.

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DFHack Documentation, Release 0.47.04-r2

If you want to compile a plugin that you have just added, you will need to add a call to DFHACK_PLUGIN in
plugins/[Link].
Plugins have the ability to make one or more commands available to users of the DFHack console. Examples in-
clude 3dveins (which implements the 3dveins command) and reveal (which implements reveal, unreveal, and
several other commands).
Plugins can also register handlers to run on every tick, and can interface with the built-in enable and enable commands.
For the full plugin API, see the skeleton plugins or [Link].
Installed plugins live in the hack/plugins folder of a DFHack installation, and the load family of commands can
be used to load a recompiled plugin without restarting DF.
See DFHack Plugins for a list of all plugins included in DFHack.

7.1.2 Scripts

DFHack scripts can currently be written in Lua or Ruby. The Lua API is more complete and currently better-
documented, however. Referring to existing scripts as well as the API documentation can be helpful when developing
new scripts.
Scripts included in DFHack live in a separate scripts repository. This can be found in the scripts submodule if you
have cloned DFHack, or the hack/scripts folder of an installed copy of DFHack.

7.1.3 Core

The DFHack core has a variety of low-level functions. It is responsible for hooking into DF (via SDL), providing a
console, and providing an interface for plugins and scripts to interact with DF.

7.1.4 Modules

A lot of shared code to interact with DF in more complicated ways is contained in modules. For example, the Units
module contains functions for checking various traits of units, changing nicknames properly, and more. Generally,
code that is useful to multiple plugins and scripts should go in the appropriate module, if there is one.
Several modules are also exposed to Lua, although some functions (and some entire modules) are currently only
available in C++.

7.1.5 Remote access interface

DFHack provides a remote access interface that external tools can connect to and use to interact with DF. See DFHack
Remote Interface for more information.

7.2 How to contribute to DFHack

Contents

• Contributing Code
– Code format

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– Pull request guidelines

– General contribution guidelines
• Other ways to help

7.2.1 Contributing Code

Several things should be kept in mind when contributing code to DFHack.

Code format

• Four space indents for C++. Never use tabs for indentation in any language.
• LF (Unix style) line terminators
• Avoid trailing whitespace
• UTF-8 encoding
• For C++:
– Opening and closing braces on their own lines or opening brace at the end of the previous line
– Braces placed at original indent level if on their own lines
– #includes should be sorted. C++ libraries first, then dfhack modules, then df structures, then local includes.
Within each category they should be sorted alphabetically.

Pull request guidelines

• Pull requests should be based on (and submitted to) the default branch of the relevant repo, which is the branch
you see when you access the repo on GitHub or clone the repo without specifying a branch. As of 0.47.04-r1,
this is develop for the main DFHack repo and master for other repos.
• Use a new branch for each feature or bugfix so that your changes can be merged independently (i.e. not the
master or develop branch of your fork).
– An exception: for a collection of small miscellaneous changes (e.g. structures research), one branch
instead of many small branches is fine. It is still preferred that this branch be dedicated to this purpose, i.e.
not master or develop. Your pull request may be merged at any point unless you indicate that it isn’t
ready (see below), but you can continue to push to the same branch and open new pull requests as needed.
• Try to keep pull requests relatively small so that they are easier to review and merge.
– If you expect to make a large number of related additions or changes (e.g. adding a large new plugin),
multiple PRs are preferred, as they allow more frequent (and easier) feedback. If development of this
feature is expected to take a while, we may create a dedicated branch to merge your pull requests into
instead of the repo’s default branch.
• If you plan to make additional changes to your pull request in the near future, or if it isn’t quite ready to be
merged, mark it as a draft pull request or add “WIP” to the title. Otherwise, your pull request may be reviewed
and/or merged prematurely.

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General contribution guidelines

• If convenient, compile on multiple platforms when changing anything that compiles. Our CI should catch
anything that fails to build, but checking in advance can be faster.
• Update documentation when applicable - see Documentation standards for details.
• Update [Link] and docs/[Link] when applicable. See Building the changelogs for more
information on the changelog format.
• Submit ideas and bug reports as issues on GitHub. Posts in the forum thread can easily get missed or forgotten.
• Work on reported problems will take priority over ideas or suggestions.

7.2.2 Other ways to help

DFHack is a software project, but there’s a lot more to it than programming. If you’re not comfortable programming,
you can help by:
• reporting bugs and incomplete documentation
• improving the documentation
• finding third-party scripts to add
• writing tutorials for newbies
All those things are crucial, and often under-represented. So if that’s your thing, go get started!

7.3 Compiling DFHack

DFHack builds are available for all supported platforms; see Installing DFHack for installation instructions. If you are
a DFHack end-user, modder, or plan on writing scripts (not plugins), it is generally recommended (and easier) to use
these builds instead of compiling DFHack from source.
However, if you are looking to develop plugins, work on the DFHack core, make complex changes to DF-structures,
or anything else that requires compiling DFHack from source, this document will walk you through the build process.
Note that some steps may be unconventional compared to other projects, so be sure to pay close attention if this is
your first time compiling DFHack.

Contents

• How to get the code

• Contributing to DFHack
• Build settings
• Linux
• macOS
• Windows
• Building the documentation
• Misc. Notes

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7.3.1 How to get the code

DFHack uses Git for source control; instructions for installing Git can be found in the platform-specific sections below.
The code is hosted on GitHub, and can be downloaded with:

git clone --recursive [Link]

cd dfhack

If your version of Git does not support the --recursive flag, you will need to omit it and run git submodule
update --init after entering the dfhack directory.
This will check out the code on the default branch of the GitHub repo, currently develop, which may be unstable.
If you want code for the latest stable release, you can check out the master branch instead:

git checkout master

git submodule update

In general, a single DFHack clone is suitable for development - most Git operations such as switching branches can
be done on an existing clone. If you find yourself cloning DFHack frequently as part of your development process, or
getting stuck on anything else Git-related, feel free to reach out to us for assistance.

A note on submodules
DFHack uses submodules extensively to manage its subprojects (including the scripts folder and DF-structures in
library/xml). Failing to keep submodules in sync when switching between branches can result in build errors or
scripts that don’t work. In general, you should always update submodules whenever you switch between branches in
the main DFHack repo with git submodule update. (If you are working on bleeding-edge DFHack and have
checked out the master branch of some submodules, running git pull in those submodules is also an option.)
Rarely, we add or remove submodules. If there are any changes to the existence of submodules when you switch
between branches, you should run git submodule update --init instead (adding --init to the above
command).
Some common errors that can arise when failing to update submodules include:
• fatal: <some path> does not exist when performing Git operations
• Build errors, particularly referring to structures in the df:: namespace or the library/include/df folder
• Not a known DF version when starting DF
• Run 'git submodule update --init' when running CMake
Submodules are a particularly confusing feature of Git. The Git Book has a thorough explanation of them (as well as
of many other aspects of Git) and is a recommended resource if you run into any issues. Other DFHack developers are
also able to help with any submodule-related (or Git-related) issues you may encounter.

More notes:
• Note on building DFHack offline - read this if your build machine may not have an internet connection!
• Note on using very old git versions with pre-0.43.03 DFHack versions

7.3.2 Contributing to DFHack

To contribute to DFHack on GitHub, you will need a GitHub account. Only some DFHack developers can push
directly to the DFHack repositories; we recommend making a fork of whatever repos you are interested in contributing
to, making changes there, and submitting pull requests. GitHub’s pull request tutorial is a good resource for getting

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started with pull requests (some things to note: our work mainly happens on the develop branch, and you will need
to use your own fork, assuming that you don’t have write access to the DFHack repos).
Most development-related discussion happens on IRC or in individual GitHub issues and pull requests, but there are
also other ways to reach out - see Troubleshooting for details.
For more details on contributing to DFHack, including pull requests, code format, and more, please see Contributing
Code.

7.3.3 Build settings

This section describes build configuration options that apply to all platforms. If you don’t have a working build
environment set up yet, follow the instructions in the platform-specific sections below first, then come back here.

Generator

The Ninja CMake build generator is the preferred build method on Linux and macOS, instead of Unix
Makefiles, which is the default. You can select Ninja by passing -G Ninja to CMake. Incremental builds
using Unix Makefiles can be much slower than Ninja builds. Note that you will probably need to install Ninja; see the
platform-specific sections for details.

cmake .. -G Ninja

Warning: Most other CMake settings can be changed by running cmake again, but the generator cannot be
changed after cmake has been run without creating a new build folder. Do not forget to specify this option.
CMake versions 3.6 and older, and possibly as recent as 3.9, are known to produce project files with depen-
dency cycles that fail to build (see Issue 1369). Obtaining a recent version of CMake is recommended, either
from [Link] or through a package manager. See the sections below for more platform-specific directions for
installing CMake.

Build type

cmake allows you to pick a build type by changing the CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE variable:

cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE:string=BUILD_TYPE

Valid and useful build types include ‘Release’ and ‘RelWithDebInfo’. The default build type is ‘Release’.

Target architecture (32-bit vs. 64-bit)

Set DFHACK_BUILD_ARCH to either 32 or 64 to build a 32-bit or 64-bit version of DFHack (respectively). The
default is currently 64, so you will need to specify this explicitly for 32-bit builds. Specifying it is a good idea in any
case.

cmake .. -DDFHACK_BUILD_ARCH=32

or

cmake .. -DDFHACK_BUILD_ARCH=64

Note that the scripts in the “build” folder on Windows will set the architecture automatically.

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Other settings

There are a variety of other settings which you can find in [Link] in your build folder or by running ccmake
(or another CMake GUI). Most DFHack-specific settings begin with BUILD_ and control which parts of DFHack are
built.

7.3.4 Linux

On Linux, DFHack acts as a library that shadows parts of the SDL API using LD_PRELOAD.

Dependencies

DFHack is meant to be installed into an existing DF folder, so get one ready.

We assume that any Linux platform will have git available (though it may need to be installed with your package
manager.)
To build DFHack, you need GCC 4.8 or newer. GCC 4.8 has the benefit of avoiding libstdc++ compatibility issues, but
can be hard to obtain on modern distributions, and working around these issues is done automatically by the dfhack
launcher script. As long as your system-provided GCC is new enough, it should work. Note that extremely new GCC
versions may not have been used to build DFHack yet, so if you run into issues with these, please let us know (e.g. by
opening a GitHub issue).
Before you can build anything, you’ll also need cmake. It is advisable to also get ccmake on distributions that split
the cmake package into multiple parts. As mentioned above, ninja is recommended (many distributions call this
package ninja-build).
You will need pthread; most systems should have this already. Note that older CMake versions may have trouble
detecting pthread, so if you run into pthread-related errors and pthread is installed, you may need to upgrade CMake,
either by downloading it from [Link] or through your package manager, if possible.
You also need zlib, libsdl (1.2, not sdl2, like DF), perl, and the XML::LibXML and XML::LibXSLT perl packages
(for the code generation parts). You should be able to find them in your distro repositories.
To build stonesense, you’ll also need OpenGL headers.
Here are some package install commands for various platforms:
• On Arch linux:
– For the required Perl modules: perl-xml-libxml and perl-xml-libxslt (or through cpan)
• On Ubuntu:

apt-get install gcc cmake ninja-build git zlib1g-dev libsdl1.2-dev libxml-libxml-

˓→perl libxml-libxslt-perl

• On Fedora:

yum install gcc-c++ cmake ninja-build git zlib-devel SDL-devel perl-core perl-XML-
˓→LibXML perl-XML-LibXSLT ruby

• Debian and derived distros should have similar requirements to Ubuntu.

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Multilib dependencies

If you want to compile 32-bit DFHack on 64-bit distributions, you’ll need the multilib development tools and libraries:
• gcc-multilib and g++-multilib
• If you have installed a non-default version of GCC - for example, GCC 4.8 on a distribution that defaults to 5.x
- you may need to add the version number to the multilib packages.
– For example, gcc-4.8-multilib and g++-4.8-multilib if installing for GCC 4.8 on a system
that uses a later GCC version.
– This is definitely required on Ubuntu/Debian, check if using a different distribution.
• zlib1g-dev:i386 (or a similar i386 zlib-dev package)
Note that installing a 32-bit GCC on 64-bit systems (e.g. gcc:i386 on Debian) will typically not work, as it depends
on several other 32-bit libraries that conflict with system libraries. Alternatively, you might be able to use lxc to create
a virtual 32-bit environment.

Build

Building is fairly straightforward. Enter the build folder (or create an empty folder in the DFHack directory to use
instead) and start the build like this:

cd build
cmake .. -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE:string=Release -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=<path to
˓→DF>

ninja install # or ninja -jX install to specify the number of cores (X) to use

<path to DF> should be a path to a copy of Dwarf Fortress, of the appropriate version for the DFHack you are building.
This will build the library along with the normal set of plugins and install them into your DF folder.
Alternatively, you can use ccmake instead of cmake:

cd build
ccmake .. -G Ninja
ninja install

This will show a curses-based interface that lets you set all of the extra options. You can also use a cmake-friendly
IDE like KDevelop 4 or the cmake-gui program.

Incompatible libstdc++

When compiling DFHack yourself, it builds against your system libstdc++. When Dwarf Fortress runs, it uses a
libstdc++ shipped in the libs folder, which comes from GCC 4.8 and is incompatible with code compiled with
newer GCC versions. As of DFHack 0.42.05-alpha1, the dfhack launcher script attempts to fix this by automatically
removing the DF-provided libstdc++ on startup. In rare cases, this may fail and cause errors such as:

./libs/Dwarf_Fortress: /pathToDF/libs/libstdc++.so.6: version

`GLIBCXX_3.4.18' not found (required by ./hack/[Link])

The easiest way to fix this is generally removing the libstdc++ shipped with DF, which causes DF to use your system
libstdc++ instead:

cd /path/to/DF/
rm libs/libstdc++.so.6

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Note that distributing binaries compiled with newer GCC versions may result in the opposite compatibily issue: users
with older GCC versions may encounter similar errors. This is why DFHack distributes both GCC 4.8 and GCC 7
builds. If you are planning on distributing binaries to other users, we recommend using an older GCC (but still at least
4.8) version if possible.

7.3.5 macOS

DFHack functions similarly on macOS and Linux, and the majority of the information above regarding the build
process (CMake and Ninja) applies here as well.
DFHack can officially be built on macOS only with GCC 4.8 or 7. Anything newer than 7 will require you to perform
extra steps to get DFHack to run (see Notes for GCC 8+ or OS X 10.10+ users), and your build will likely not be
redistributable.

Notes for GCC 8+ or OS X 10.10+ users

If none of these situations apply to you, skip to Dependencies and system set-up.
If you have issues building on OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) or above, try definining the following environment variable:

export MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=10.9

If you build with a GCC version newer than 7, DFHack will probably crash immediately on startup, or soon after.
To fix this, you will need to replace hack/libstdc++.[Link] with a symlink to the libstdc++.[Link]
included in your version of GCC:

cd <path to df>/hack && mv libstdc++.[Link] libstdc++.[Link] &&

ln -s [PATH_TO_LIBSTDC++] .

For example, with GCC 6.3.0, PATH_TO_LIBSTDC++ would be:

/usr/local/Cellar/gcc@6/6.3.0/lib/gcc/6/libstdc++.[Link] # for 64-bit DFHack

/usr/local/Cellar/gcc@6/6.3.0/lib/gcc/6/i386/libstdc++.[Link] # for 32-bit DFHack

Note: If you build with a version of GCC that requires this, your DFHack build will not be redistributable. (Even
if you copy the libstdc++.[Link] from your GCC version and distribute that too, it will fail on older OS X
versions.) For this reason, if you plan on distributing DFHack, it is highly recommended to use GCC 4.8 or 7.

Dependencies and system set-up

1. Download and unpack a copy of the latest DF

2. Install Xcode from the Mac App Store
3. Install the XCode Command Line Tools by running the following command:

xcode-select --install

4. Install dependencies
It is recommended to use Homebrew instead of MacPorts, as it is generally cleaner, quicker, and
smarter. For example, installing MacPort’s GCC will install more than twice as many dependencies
as Homebrew’s will, and all in both 32-bit and 64-bit variants. Homebrew also doesn’t require
constant use of sudo.
Using Homebrew (recommended):

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brew tap homebrew/versions

brew install git
brew install cmake
brew install ninja
brew install gcc@7

Using MacPorts:

sudo port install gcc7 +universal cmake +universal git-core +universal

˓→ninja +universal

Macports will take some time - maybe hours. At some point it may ask you to install a Java environ-
ment; let it do so.
5. Install Perl dependencies
• Using system Perl
– sudo cpan
If this is the first time you’ve run cpan, you will need to go through the setup process. Just stick with the
defaults for everything and you’ll be fine.
If you are running OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or earlier, good luck! You’ll need to open a separate
Terminal window and run:

sudo ln -s /usr/include/libxml2/libxml /usr/include/libxml

– install XML::LibXML
– install XML::LibXSLT
• In a separate, local Perl install
Rather than using system Perl, you might also want to consider the Perl manager, Perlbrew.
This manages Perl 5 locally under ~/perl5/, providing an easy way to install Perl and run CPAN against
it without sudo. It can maintain multiple Perl installs and being local has the benefit of easy migration and
insulation from OS issues and upgrades.
See [Link] for more details.

Building

• Get the DFHack source as per section How to get the code, above.
• Set environment variables
Homebrew (if installed elsewhere, replace /usr/local with $(brew --prefix)):

export CC=/usr/local/bin/gcc-7
export CXX=/usr/local/bin/g++-7

Macports:

export CC=/opt/local/bin/gcc-mp-7
export CXX=/opt/local/bin/g++-mp-7

Change the version numbers appropriately if you installed a different version of GCC.
If you are confident that you have GCC in your path, you can omit the absolute paths:

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export CC=gcc-7
export CXX=g++-7

(adjust as needed for different GCC installations)

• Build DFHack:

mkdir build-osx
cd build-osx
cmake .. -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE:string=Release -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=<path
˓→to DF>

ninja install # or ninja -jX install to specify the number of cores (X) to use

<path to DF> should be a path to a copy of Dwarf Fortress, of the appropriate version for the DFHack you are
building.

7.3.6 Windows

On Windows, DFHack replaces the SDL library distributed with DF.

Dependencies

You will need the following:

• Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 or 2017
• Git
• CMake
• Perl with XML::LibXML and XML::LibXSLT
– It is recommended to install StrawberryPerl, which includes both.
• Python (for documentation; optional, except for release builds)

Microsoft Visual Studio 2015

DFHack has to be compiled with the Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 or 2017 toolchain on Windows; other versions won’t
work against Dwarf Fortress due to ABI and STL incompatibilities.
You can install Visual Studio 2015 or 2017 Community edition for free, which include all the features needed by
DFHack. You can also download just the build tools if you aren’t going to use Visual Studio to edit code.

Additional dependencies: installing with the Chocolatey Package Manager

The remainder of dependencies - Git, CMake, StrawberryPerl, and Python - can be most easily installed using the
Chocolatey Package Manger. Chocolatey is a *nix-style package manager for Windows. It’s fast, small (8-20MB on
disk) and very capable. Think “apt-get for Windows.”
Chocolatey is a recommended way of installing the required dependencies as it’s quicker, requires less effort, and will
install known-good utilities guaranteed to have the correct setup (especially PATH).
To install Chocolatey and the required dependencies:
• Go to [Link] in a web browser

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• At the top of the page it will give you the install command to copy
– Copy the first one, which starts @powershell ...
– It won’t be repeated here in case it changes in future Chocolatey releases.
• Open an elevated (Admin) [Link] window
– On Windows 8 and later this can be easily achieved by:

* right-clicking on the Start Menu, or pressing Win+X.

* choosing “Command Prompt (Admin)”
– On earlier Windows: find [Link] in Start Menu, right click and choose Open As Administrator.
• Paste in the Chocolatey install command and hit enter
• Close this [Link] window and open another Admin [Link] in the same way
• Run the following command:

choco install git [Link] strawberryperl -y

• Close the Admin [Link] window; you’re done!

You can now use all of these utilities from any normal [Link] window. You only need Admin/elevated [Link]
for running choco install commands; for all other purposes, including compiling DFHack, you should use a
normal [Link] (or, better, an improved terminal like Cmder; details below, under Build.)
NOTE: you can run the above choco install command even if you already have Git, CMake or StrawberryPerl
installed. Chocolatey will inform you if any software is already installed and won’t re-install it. In that case, please
check the PATHs are correct for that utility as listed in the manual instructions below. Or, better, manually uninstall
the version you have already and re-install via Chocolatey, which will ensure the PATH are set up right and will allow
Chocolatey to manage that program for you in future.

Additional dependencies: installing manually

If you prefer to install manually rather than using Chocolatey, details and requirements are as below. If you do install
manually, please ensure you have all PATHs set up correctly.

Git

Some examples:
• Git for Windows (command-line and GUI)
• tortoisegit (GUI and File Explorer integration)

CMake

You can get the win32 installer version from the official site. It has the usual installer wizard. Make sure you let it add
its binary folder to your binary search PATH so the tool can be later run from anywhere.

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Perl / Strawberry Perl

For the code generation stage of the build process, you’ll need Perl 5 with XML::LibXML and XML::LibXSLT.
Strawberry Perl is recommended as it includes all of the required packages in a single, easy install.
After install, ensure Perl is in your user’s PATH. This can be edited from Control Panel -> System ->
Advanced System Settings -> Environment Variables.
The following directories must be in your PATH, in this order:
• <path to perl>\c\bin
• <path to perl>\perl\site\bin
• <path to perl>\perl\bin
• <path to perl>\perl\vendor\lib\auto\XML\LibXML (may only be required on some systems)
Be sure to close and re-open any existing [Link] windows after updating your PATH.
If you already have a different version of Perl installed (for example, from Cygwin), you can run into some trouble.
Either remove the other Perl install from PATH, or install XML::LibXML and XML::LibXSLT for it using CPAN.

Build

There are several different batch files in the win32 and win64 subfolders in the build folder, along with a script
that’s used for picking the DF path. Use the subfolder corresponding to the architecture that you want to build for.
First, run set_df_path.vbs and point the dialog that pops up at a suitable DF installation which is of the appro-
priate version for the DFHack you are compiling. The result is the creation of the file DF_PATH.txt in the build
directory. It contains the full path to the destination directory. You could therefore also create this file manually - or
copy in a pre-prepared version - if you prefer.
Next, run one of the scripts with generate prefix. These create the MSVC solution file(s):
• all will create a solution with everything enabled (and the kitchen sink).
• gui will pop up the CMake GUI and let you choose what to build. This is probably what you want most of the
time. Set the options you are interested in, then hit configure, then generate. More options can appear after the
configure step.
• minimal will create a minimal solution with just the bare necessities - the main library and standard plugins.
• release will create a solution with everything that should be included in release builds of DFHack. Note that
this includes documentation, which requires Python.
Then you can either open the solution with MSVC or use one of the msbuild scripts:

Building/installing from the command line:

In the build directory you will find several .bat files:

• Scripts with build prefix will only build DFHack.
• Scripts with install prefix will build DFHack and install it to the previously selected DF path.
• Scripts with package prefix will build and create a .zip package of DFHack.
Compiling from the command line is generally the quickest and easiest option. However be aware that due to the
limitations of [Link] - especially in versions of Windows prior to Windows 10 - it can be very hard to see what
happens during a build. If you get a failure, you may miss important errors or warnings due to the tiny window size

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and extremely limited scrollback. For that reason you may prefer to compile in the IDE which will always show all
build output.
Alternatively (or additionally), consider installing an improved Windows terminal such as Cmder. Easily installed
through Chocolatey with: choco install cmder -y.
Note for Cygwin/msysgit users: It is also possible to compile DFHack from a Bash command line. This has three
potential benefits:
• When you’ve installed Git and are using its Bash, but haven’t added Git to your path:
– You can load Git’s Bash and as long as it can access Perl and CMake, you can use it for compile without
adding Git to your system path.
• When you’ve installed Cygwin and its SSH server:
– You can now SSH in to your Windows install and compile from a remote terminal; very useful if your
Windows installation is a local VM on a *nix host OS.
• In general: you can use Bash as your compilation terminal, meaning you have a decent sized window, scrollback,
etc.
– Whether you’re accessing it locally as with Git’s Bash, or remotely through Cygwin’s SSH server, this is
far superior to using [Link].
You don’t need to do anything special to compile from Bash. As long as your PATHs are set up correctly, you can run
the same generate- and build/install/package- bat files as detailed above.

Building/installing from the Visual Studio IDE:

After running the CMake generate script you will have a new folder called VC2015 or VC2015_32, depending on the
architecture you specified. Open the file [Link] inside that folder. If you have multiple versions of Visual
Studio installed, make sure you open with Visual Studio 2015.
The first thing you must then do is change the build type. It defaults to Debug, but this cannot be used on Windows.
Debug is not binary-compatible with DF. If you try to use a debug build with DF, you’ll only get crashes and for this
reason the Windows “debug” scripts actually do RelWithDebInfo builds. After loading the Solution, change the Build
Type to either Release or RelWithDebInfo.
Then build the INSTALL target listed under CMakePredefinedTargets.

7.3.7 Building the documentation

The steps above will not build DFHack’s documentation by default. If you are editing documentation, see DFHack
Documentation System for details on how to build it.

7.3.8 Misc. Notes

Note on building DFHack offline

As of 0.43.05, DFHack downloads several files during the build process, depending on your target OS and architecture.
If your build machine’s internet connection is unreliable, or nonexistent, you can download these files in advance.
First, you must locate the files you will need. These can be found in the dfhack-bin repo. Look for the most recent
version number before or equal to the DF version which you are building for. For example, suppose “0.43.05” and
“0.43.07” are listed. You should choose “0.43.05” if you are building for 0.43.05 or 0.43.06, and “0.43.07” if you are
building for 0.43.07 or 0.43.08.

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Then, download all of the files you need, and save them to <path to DFHack clone>/CMake/downloads/
<any filename>. The destination filename you choose does not matter, as long as the files end up in the CMake/
downloads folder. You need to download all of the files for the architecture(s) you are building for. For example, if
you are building for 32-bit Linux and 64-bit Windows, download all files starting with linux32 and win64. GitHub
should sort files alphabetically, so all the files you need should be next to each other.

Note:
• Any files containing “allegro” in their filename are only necessary for building stonesense. If you are not
building Stonesense, you don’t have to download these, as they are larger than any other listed files.

It is recommended that you create a build folder and run CMake to verify that you have downloaded everything at
this point, assuming your download machine has CMake installed. This involves running a “generate” batch script on
Windows, or a command starting with cmake .. -G Ninja on Linux and macOS, following the instructions in
the sections above. CMake should automatically locate files that you placed in CMake/downloads, and use them
instead of attempting to download them.

Note on using very old git versions with pre-0.43.03 DFHack versions

If you are using git 1.8.0 or older, and cloned DFHack before commit 85a920d (around DFHack v0.43.03-alpha1),
you may run into fatal git errors when updating submodules after switching branches. This is due to those versions
of git being unable to handle our change from “scripts/3rdparty/name” submodules to a single “scripts” submodule.
This may be fixable by renaming .git/modules/scripts to something else and re-running git submodule update
--init on the branch with the single scripts submodule (and running it again when switching back to the one with
multiple submodules, if necessary), but it is usually much simpler to upgrade your git version.

7.4 Development Changelog

This file contains changes grouped by the release (stable or development) in which they first appeared. See Building
the changelogs for more information.
See Changelog for a list of changes grouped by stable releases.

Contents

• DFHack future
• DFHack 0.47.04-r2
• DFHack 0.47.04-r1
• DFHack 0.47.04-beta1
• DFHack 0.47.03-beta1
• DFHack 0.44.12-r3
• DFHack 0.44.12-r2
• DFHack 0.44.12-r1
• DFHack 0.44.12-alpha1
• DFHack 0.44.11-beta2.1

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• DFHack 0.44.11-beta2
• DFHack 0.44.11-beta1
• DFHack 0.44.11-alpha1
• DFHack 0.44.10-r2
• DFHack 0.44.10-r1
• DFHack 0.44.10-beta1
• DFHack 0.44.10-alpha1
• DFHack 0.44.09-r1
• DFHack 0.44.09-alpha1
• DFHack 0.44.08-alpha1
• DFHack 0.44.07-beta1
• DFHack 0.44.07-alpha1
• DFHack 0.44.05-r2
• DFHack 0.44.05-r1
• DFHack 0.44.05-alpha1
• DFHack 0.44.04-alpha1
• DFHack 0.44.03-beta1
• DFHack 0.44.03-alpha1
• DFHack 0.44.02-beta1
• DFHack 0.44.02-alpha1

7.4.1 DFHack future

Fixes

• ban-cooking: fixed an error in several subcommands

• stockpiles: fixed a crash when loading food stockpiles

Misc Improvements

• unretire-anyone: made undead creature names appear in the historical figure list

7.4.2 DFHack 0.47.04-r2

New Scripts

• animal-control: helps manage the butchery and gelding of animals

• devel/kill-hf : kills a historical figure
• geld: gelds or ungelds animals

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• list-agreements: lists all guildhall and temple agreements

• list-waves: displays migration wave information for citizens/units
• ungeld: ungelds animals (wrapper around geld)

New Tweaks

• tweak do-job-now: adds a job priority toggle to the jobs list

• tweak reaction-gloves: adds an option to make reactions produce gloves in sets with correct handedness

Fixes

• Fixed a segfault when attempting to start a headless session with a graphical PRINT_MODE setting
• Fixed an issue with the macOS launcher failing to un-quarantine some files
• Fixed Units::isEggLayer, Units::isGrazer, Units::isMilkable,
Units::isTrainableHunting, Units::isTrainableWar, and Units::isTamable ignor-
ing the unit’s caste
• Linux: fixed [Link]() (Lua) and Process::getPath() (C++) to always return the DF
root path, even if the working directory has changed
• digfort:
– fixed an issue causing blueprints touching the southern or eastern edges of the map to be rejected (northern
and western edges were already allowed). This allows blueprints that span the entire embark area.
– fixed y-line tracking when .csv files contain lines with only commas
• embark-assistant: fixed a couple of incursion handling bugs.
• embark-skills: fixed an issue with structures causing the points option to do nothing
• exportlegends:
– stopped including some tags with -1 values which don’t provide useful information
– fixed an issue where two different <reason> tags could be included in a <historical_event>
• getplants: fixed issues causing plants to be collected even if they have no growths (or unripe growths)
• gui/advfort: fixed “operate pump” job
• gui/load-screen: fixed an issue causing longer timezones to be cut off
• labormanager:
– fixed an issue preventing custom furnaces from being built
– fixed handling of new jobs in 0.47
• modtools/moddable-gods:
– made -depictedAs argument work
– removed unused -domain and -description arguments
– fixed an error when creating the historical figure
• names:
– fixed an issue causing renamed units to display their old name in legends mode and some other places

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– fixed an error preventing the script from working

• pref-adjust: fixed some compatibility issues and a potential crash
• remotefortressreader:
– fixed an issue that could cause block coordinates to be incorrect
– fixed a couple crashes that could result from decoding invalid enum items
(site_realization_building_type and improvement_type)
• rendermax: fixed a hang that could occur when enabling some renderers, notably on Linux
• stonesense:
– fixed some issues that could cause the splash screen to hang
– fixed a crash when launching Stonesense

Misc Improvements

• Linux/macOS: Added console keybindings for deleting words (Alt+Backspace and Alt+d in most terminals)
• add-recipe:
– added a command explanation or error message when entering an invalid command
– added tool recipes (minecarts, wheelbarrows, stepladders, etc.)
• armoks-blessing: added adjustments to values and needs
• blueprint:
– now automatically creates folder trees when organizing blueprints into subfolders (e.g. blueprint 30
30 1 rooms/dining dig will create the file blueprints/rooms/[Link]); previ-
ously it would fail if the blueprints/rooms/ directory didn’t already exist
– now writes blueprints to the blueprints/ subfolder instead of the df root folder
• confirm: added a confirmation dialog for convicting dwarves of crimes
• devel/query: added many new query options
• digfort:
– added a force option to truncate blueprints if the full blueprint would extend off the edge of the map
– documented that removing ramps, cutting trees, and gathering plants are indeed supported
– handled double quotes (“) at the start of a string, allowing .csv files exported from spreadsheets to work
without manual modification
• dwarf-op:
– added ability to protect dwarves based on symbols in their custom professions
– added ability to select dwarves based on migration wave
• exportlegends:
– added ability to save all files to a subfolder, named after the region folder and date by default
– changed some enum values from numbers to their string representations
– changed some flags to be represented by self-closing tags instead of true/false strings (e.g.
<is_volcano/>) - note that this may require changes to other XML-parsing utilities
• gui/advfort: added support for specifying the entity used to determine available resources

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• gui/gm-editor: added support for automatically following ref-targets when pressing the i key
• manipulator: added a new column option to display units’ goals
• modtools/moddable-gods: added support for neuter gender
• pref-adjust:
– added a new goth profile
– added support for adjusting just the selected dwarf
• remove-stress: added a -value argument to enable setting stress level directly
• workorder: changed default frequency from “Daily” to “OneTime”

API

• Added Filesystem::mkdir_recursive
• Extended Filesystem::listdir_recursive to optionally make returned filenames relative to the start
directory
• Units: added goal-related functions: getGoalType(), getGoalName(), isGoalAchieved()

Internals

• Added support for splitting scripts into multiple files in the scripts/internal folder without polluting the
output of ls

Lua

• Added a ref_target field to primitive field references, corresponding to the ref-target XML attribute
• Made [Link](), [Link](), and
[Link]() available to Lua

Ruby

• Updated item_find and building_find to use centralized logic that works on more screens

Structures

• Added a new <df-other-vectors-type>, which allows world.*.other collections of vectors to use

the correct subtypes for items
• creature_raw: renamed gender to sex to match the field in unit, which is more frequently used
• crime: identified witnesses, which contains the data held by the old field named reports
• intrigue: new type (split out from historical_figure_relationships)
• items_other_id: removed BAD, and by extension, [Link], which was overlapping
with [Link]
• job_type: added job types new to 0.47
• plant_raw: material_defs now contains arrays rather than loose fields

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• pronoun_type: new enum (previously documented in field comments)

• setup_character_info: fixed a couple alignment issues (needed by embark-skills)
• ui_advmode_menu: identified some new enum items

Documentation

• Added some new dev-facing pages, including dedicated pages about the remote API, memory research, and
documentation
• Expanded the installation guide
• Made a couple theme adjustments

7.4.3 DFHack 0.47.04-r1

Fixes

• Fixed a crash in find() for some types when no world is loaded

• Fixed translation of certain types of in-game names
• autogems: fixed an issue with binned gems being ignored in linked stockpiles
• catsplosion: fixed error when handling races with only one caste (e.g. harpies)
• exportlegends: fixed error when exporting maps
• spawnunit: fixed an error when forwarding some arguments but not a location to modtools/create-unit
• stocks: fixed display of book titles
• tweak embark-profile-name: fixed handling of the native shift+space key

Misc Improvements

• exportlegends:
– made interaction export more robust and human-readable
– removed empty <item_subtype> and <claims> tags
• getplants: added switches for designations for farming seeds and for max number designated per plant
• manipulator: added intrigue to displayed skills
• modtools/create-unit:
– added -equip option to equip created units
– added -skills option to give skills to units
– added -profession and -customProfession options to adjust unit professions
• search: added support for the fortress mode justice screen
• [Link]-example: enabled autodump

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API

• Added Items::getBookTitle to get titles of books. Catches titles buried in improvements, unlike getDe-
scription.

Lua

• pairs() now returns available class methods for DF types

Structures

• Added globals: cur_rain, cur_rain_counter, cur_snow, cur_snow_counter, weathertimer,

jobvalue, jobvalue_setter, interactitem, interactinvslot, handleannounce,
preserveannounce, updatelightstate
• agreement_details_data_plot_sabotage: new struct type, along with related
agreement_details_type.PlotSabotage
• architectural_element: new enum
• battlefield: new struct type
• breed: new struct type
• creature_handler: identified vmethods
• crime: removed fields of reports that are no longer present
• dance_form: identified most fields
• history_event_context: identified fields
• identity_type: new enum
• identity: renamed civ to entity_id, identified type
• image_set: new struct type
• interrogation_report: new struct type
• itemdef_flags: new enum, with GENERATED flag
• justification: new enum
• lever_target_type: identified LeverMechanism and TargetMechanism values
• musical_form: identified fields, including some renames. Also identified fields in scale and rhythm
• region_weather: new struct type
• squad_order_cause_trouble_for_entityst: identified fields
• unit_thought_type: added several new thought types
• viewscreen_workquota_detailsst: identified fields

7.4.4 DFHack 0.47.04-beta1

New Scripts

• color-schemes: manages color schemes

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• devel/print-event: prints the description of an event by ID or index

• gui/color-schemes: an in-game interface for color-schemes
• light-aquifers-only: changes heavy aquifers to light aquifers
• on-new-fortress: runs DFHack commands only in a new fortress
• once-per-save: runs DFHack commands unless already run in the current save
• resurrect-adv: brings your adventurer back to life
• reveal-hidden-units: exposes all sneaking units
• workorder: allows queuing manager jobs; smart about shear and milk creature jobs

Fixes

• Fixed a crash when starting DFHack in headless mode with no terminal

• devel/visualize-structure: fixed padding detection for globals
• exportlegends:
– added UTF-8 encoding and XML escaping for more fields
– added checking for unhandled structures to avoid generating invalid XML
– fixed missing fields in history_event_assume_identityst export
• full-heal:
– when resurrected by specifying a corpse, units now appear at the location of the corpse rather than their
location of death
– resurrected units now have their tile occupancy set (and are placed in the prone position to facilitate this)

Misc Improvements

• Added “bit” suffix to downloads (e.g. 64-bit)

• Tests:
– moved from DF folder to hack/scripts folder, and disabled installation by default
– made test runner script more flexible
• devel/export-dt-ini: updated some field names for DT for 0.47
• devel/visualize-structure: added human-readable lengths to containers
• dfhack-run: added color output support
• embark-assistant:
– updated embark aquifer info to show all aquifer kinds present
– added neighbor display, including kobolds (SKULKING) and necro tower count
– updated aquifer search criteria to handle the new variation
– added search criteria for embark initial tree cover
– added search criteria for necro tower count, neighbor civ count, and specific neighbors. Should handle
additional entities, but not tested

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• exportlegends:
– added evilness and force IDs to regions
– added profession and weapon info to relevant entities
– added support for many new history events in 0.47
– added historical event relationships and supplementary data
• full-heal:
– made resurrection produce a historical event viewable in Legends mode
– made error messages more explanatory
• install-info: added DFHack build ID to report
• modtools/create-item: added -matchingGloves and -matchingShoes arguments
• modtools/create-unit:
– added -duration argument to make the unit vanish after some time
– added -locationRange argument to allow spawning in a random position within a defined area
– added -locationType argument to specify the type of location to spawn in

Internals

• Added separate changelogs in the scripts and df-structures repos

• Improved support for tagged unions, allowing tools to access union fields more safely
• Moved reversing scripts to df_misc repo

Structures

• Added an XML schema for validating df-structures syntax

• Added divination_set_next_id and image_set_next_id globals
• activity_entry_type: new enum type
• adventure_optionst: identified many vmethods
• agreement_details: identified most fields of most sub-structs
• artifact_claim: identified several fields
• artifact_record: identified several fields
• caste_raw_flags: renamed and identified many flags to match information from Toady
• creature_raw_flags: renamed and identified many flags to match information from Toady
• crime_type: new enum type
• dfhack_room_quality_level: added enum attributes for names of rooms of each quality
• entity_site_link_type: new enum type
• export_map_type: new enum type
• historical_entity.flags: identified several flags
• historical_entity.relations: renamed from unknown1b and identified several fields

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• historical_figure.vague_relationships: identified
• historical_figure_info.known_info: renamed from secret, identified some fields
• historical_figure: renamed unit_id2 to nemesis_id
• history_event_circumstance_info: new struct type (and changed several history_event sub-
classes to use this)
• history_event_reason_info: new struct type (and changed several history_event subclasses to
use this)
• honors_type: identified several fields
• interaction_effect_create_itemst: new struct type
• interaction_effect_summon_unitst: new struct type
• item: identified several vmethods
• layer_type: new enum type
• plant.damage_flags: added is_dead
• plot_role_type: new enum type
• plot_strategy_type: new enum type
• relationship_event_supplement: new struct type
• relationship_event: new struct type
• specific_ref: moved union data to data field
• ui_look_list: moved union fields to data and renamed to match type enum
• ui_sidebar_menus.location: added new profession-related fields, renamed and fixed types of deity-
related fields
• ui_sidebar_mode: added ZonesLocationInfo
• unit_action: rearranged as tagged union with new sub-types; existing code should be compatible
• vague_relationship_type: new enum type
• vermin_flags: identified is_roaming_colony
• viewscreen_justicest: identified interrogation-related fields
• world_data.field_battles: identified and named several fields

7.4.5 DFHack 0.47.03-beta1

New Scripts

• devel/sc: checks size of structures

• devel/visualize-structure: displays the raw memory of a structure

Fixes

• adv-max-skills: fixed for 0.47

• deep-embark:

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– prevented running in non-fortress modes

– ensured that only the newest wagon is deconstructed
• full-heal:
– fixed issues with removing corpses
– fixed resurrection for non-historical figures
• modtools/create-unit: added handling for arena tame setting
• teleport: fixed setting new tile occupancy

Misc Improvements

• deep-embark:
– improved support for using directly from the DFHack console
– added a -clear option to cancel
• exportlegends:
– added identity information
– added creature raw names and flags
• gui/prerelease-warning: updated links and information about nightly builds
• modtools/syndrome-trigger: enabled simultaneous use of -synclass and -syndrome
• repeat: added -list option

Structures

• Dropped support for 0.44.12-0.47.02

• abstract_building_type: added types (and subclasses) new to 0.47
• agreement_details_type: added enum
• agreement_details: added struct type (and many associated data types)
• agreement_party: added struct type
• announcement_type: added types new to 0.47
• artifact_claim_type: added enum
• artifact_claim: added struct type
• breath_attack_type: added SHARP_ROCK
• building_offering_placest: new class
• building_type: added OfferingPlace
• caste_raw_flags: renamed many items to match DF names
• creature_interaction_effect: added subclasses new to 0.47
• creature_raw_flags:
– renamed many items to match DF names
– identified several more items

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• d_init: added settings new to 0.47

• entity_name_type: added MERCHANT_COMPANY, CRAFT_GUILD
• entity_position_responsibility: added values new to 0.47
• fortress_type: added enum
• general_ref_type: added UNIT_INTERROGATEE
• ghost_type: added None value
• goal_type: added goals types new to 0.47
• histfig_site_link: added subclasses new to 0.47
• history_event_collection: added subtypes new to 0.47
• history_event_context: added lots of new fields
• history_event_reason:
– added items new to 0.47
– added captions for all items
• history_event_type: added types for events new to 0.47, as well as corresponding history_event
subclasses (too many to list here)
• honors_type: added struct type
• interaction_effect: added subtypes new to 0.47
• interaction_source_experimentst: added class type
• interaction_source_usage_hint: added values new to 0.47
• interface_key: added items for keys new to 0.47
• job_skill: added INTRIGUE, RIDING
• lair_type: added enum
• monument_type: added enum
• next_global_id: added enum
• poetic_form_action: added Beseech
• setup_character_info: expanded significantly in 0.47
• text_system: added layout for struct
• tile_occupancy: added varied_heavy_aquifer
• tool_uses: added items: PLACE_OFFERING, DIVINATION, GAMES_OF_CHANCE
• viewscreen_counterintelligencest: new class (only layout identified so far)

7.4.6 DFHack 0.44.12-r3

New Plugins

• autoclothing: automatically manage clothing work orders

• autofarm: replaces the previous Ruby script of the same name, with some fixes
• map-render: allows programmatically rendering sections of the map that are off-screen

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• tailor: automatically manages keeping your dorfs clothed

New Scripts

• assign-attributes: changes the attributes of a unit

• assign-beliefs: changes the beliefs of a unit
• assign-facets: changes the facets (traits) of a unit
• assign-goals: changes the goals of a unit
• assign-preferences: changes the preferences of a unit
• assign-profile: sets a dwarf’s characteristics according to a predefined profile
• assign-skills: changes the skills of a unit
• combat-harden: sets a unit’s combat-hardened value to a given percent
• deep-embark: allows embarking underground
• devel/find-twbt: finds a TWBT-related offset needed by the new map-render plugin
• dwarf-op: optimizes dwarves for fort-mode work; makes managing labors easier
• forget-dead-body: removes emotions associated with seeing a dead body
• gui/create-tree: creates a tree at the selected tile
• linger: takes over your killer in adventure mode
• modtools/create-tree: creates a tree
• modtools/pref-edit: add, remove, or edit the preferences of a unit
• modtools/set-belief : changes the beliefs (values) of units
• modtools/set-need: sets and edits unit needs
• modtools/set-personality: changes the personality of units
• modtools/spawn-liquid: spawns water or lava at the specified coordinates
• set-orientation: edits a unit’s orientation
• unretire-anyone: turns any historical figure into a playable adventurer

Fixes

• Fixed a crash in the macOS/Linux console when the prompt was wider than the screen width
• Fixed inconsistent results from Units::isGay for asexual units
• Fixed some cases where Lua filtered lists would not properly intercept keys, potentially triggering other actions
on the same screen
• autofarm:
– fixed biome detection to properly determine crop assignments on surface farms
– reimplemented as a C++ plugin to make proper biome detection possible
• bodyswap: fixed companion list not being updated often enough
• cxxrandom: removed some extraneous debug information

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• digfort: now accounts for z-level changes when calculating maximum y dimension
• embark-assistant:
– fixed bug causing crash on worlds without generated metals (as well as pruning vectors as originally
intended).
– fixed bug causing mineral matching to fail to cut off at the magma sea, reporting presence of things that
aren’t (like DF does currently).
– fixed bug causing half of the river tiles not to be recognized.
– added logic to detect some river tiles DF doesn’t generate data for (but are definitely present).
• Eventful: fixed invalid building ID in some building events
• exportlegends: now escapes special characters in names properly
• getplants: fixed designation of plants out of season (note that picked plants are still designated incorrectly)
• gui/autogems: fixed error when no world is loaded
• gui/companion-order:
– fixed error when resetting group leaders
– leave now properly removes companion links
• gui/create-item: fixed module support - can now be used from other scripts
• gui/stamper:
– stopped “invert” from resetting the designation type
– switched to using DF’s designation keybindings instead of custom bindings
– fixed some typos and text overlapping
• modtools/create-unit:
– fixed an error associating historical entities with units
– stopped recalculating health to avoid newly-created citizens triggering a “recover wounded” job
– fixed units created in arena mode having blank names
– fixed units created in arena mode having the wrong race and/or interaction effects applied after creating
units manually in-game
– stopped units from spawning with extra items or skills previously selected in the arena
– stopped setting some unneeded flags that could result in glowing creature tiles
– set units created in adventure mode to have no family, instead of being related to the first creature in the
world
• modtools/reaction-product-trigger:
– fixed an error dealing with reactions in adventure mode
– blocked \\BUILDING_ID for adventure mode reactions
– fixed -clear to work without passing other unneeded arguments
• modtools/reaction-trigger:
– fixed a bug when determining whether a command was run
– fixed handling of -resetPolicy

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• mousequery: fixed calculation of map dimensions, which was sometimes preventing scrolling the map with the
mouse when TWBT was enabled
• remotefortressreader: fixed a crash when a unit’s path has a length of 0
• stonesense: fixed crash due to wagons and other soul-less creatures
• tame: now sets the civ ID of tamed animals (fixes compatibility with autobutcher)
• title-folder: silenced error when PRINT_MODE is set to TEXT

Misc Improvements

• Added a note to dfhack-run when called with no arguments (which is usually unintentional)
• On macOS, the launcher now attempts to un-quarantine the rest of DFHack
• bodyswap: added arena mode support
• combine-drinks: added more default output, similar to combine-plants
• createitem: added a list of valid castes to the “invalid caste” error message, for convenience
• devel/export-dt-ini: added more size information needed by newer Dwarf Therapist versions
• dwarfmonitor: enabled widgets to access other scripts and plugins by switching to the core Lua context
• embark-assistant:
– added an in-game option to activate on the embark screen
– changed waterfall detection to look for level drop rather than just presence
– changed matching to take incursions, i.e. parts of other biomes, into consideration when evaluating tiles.
This allows for e.g. finding multiple biomes on single tile embarks.
– changed overlay display to show when incursion surveying is incomplete
– changed overlay display to show evil weather
– added optional parameter “fileresult” for crude external harness automated match support
– improved focus movement logic to go to only required world tiles, increasing speed of subsequent searches
considerably
• exportlegends: added rivers to custom XML export
• exterminate: added support for a special enemy caste
• gui/gm-unit:
– added support for editing:
– added attribute editor
– added orientation editor
– added editor for bodies and body parts
– added color editor
– added belief editor
– added personality editor
• modtools/create-item: documented already-existing -quality option
• modtools/create-unit:

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– added the ability to specify \\LOCAL for the fort group entity
– now enables the default labours for adult units with CAN_LEARN.
– now sets historical figure orientation.
– improved speed of creating multiple units at once
– made the script usable as a module (from other scripts)
• modtools/reaction-trigger:
– added -ignoreWorker: ignores the worker when selecting the targets
– changed the default behavior to skip inactive/dead units; added -dontSkipInactive to include crea-
tures that are inactive
– added -range: controls how far elligible targets can be from the workshop
– syndromes now are applied before commands are run, not after
– if both a command and a syndrome are given, the command only runs if the syndrome could be applied
• mousequery: made it more clear when features are enabled
• remotefortressreader:
– added a basic framework for controlling and reading the menus in DF (currently only supports the building
menu)
– added support for reading item raws
– added a check for whether or not the game is currently saving or loading, for utilities to check if it’s safe
to read from DF
– added unit facing direction estimate and position within tiles
– added unit age
– added unit wounds
– added tree information
– added check for units’ current jobs when calculating the direction they are facing

API

• Added new plugin_load_data and plugin_save_data events for plugins to load/save persistent data
• Added Maps::GetBiomeType and Maps::GetBiomeTypeByRef to infer biome types properly
• Added Units::getPhysicalDescription (note that this depends on the
unit_get_physical_description offset, which is not yet available for all DF builds)

Internals

• Added new Persistence module

• Cut down on internal DFHack dependencies to improve build times
• Improved concurrency in event and server handlers
• Persistent data is now stored in JSON files instead of historical figures - existing data will be migrated when
saving
• stonesense: fixed some OpenGL build issues on Linux

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Lua

• Exposed [Link].get_movement_delta and [Link].get_hotkey_target

• dfhack.run_command now returns the command’s return code

Ruby

• Made unit_ishostile consistently return a boolean

Structures

• Added unit_get_physical_description function offset on some platforms

• Added/identified types:
– assume_identity_mode
– musical_form_purpose
– musical_form_style
– musical_form_pitch_style
– musical_form_feature
– musical_form_vocals
– musical_form_melodies
– musical_form_interval
– unit_emotion_memory
• need_type: fixed PrayOrMeditate typo
• personality_facet_type, value_type: added NONE values
• twbt_render_map: added for 64-bit 0.44.12 (for map-render)

7.4.7 DFHack 0.44.12-r2

New Plugins

• debug: manages runtime debug print category filtering

• nestboxes: automatically scan for and forbid fertile eggs incubating in a nestbox

New Scripts

• devel/query: searches for field names in DF objects

• extinguish: puts out fires
• tame: sets tamed/trained status of animals

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Fixes

• Building-hacks: fixed error when dealing with custom animation tables

• devel/test-perlin: fixed Lua error ([Link]())
• embark-assistant: fixed crash when entering finder with a 16x16 embark selected, and added 16 to dimension
choices
• embark-skills: fixed missing skill_points_remaining field
• full-heal:
– stopped wagon resurrection
– fixed a minor issue with post-resurrection hostility
• gui/companion-order:
– fixed issues with printing coordinates
– fixed issues with move command
– fixed cheat commands (and removed “Power up”, which was broken)
• gui/gm-editor: fixed reinterpret cast (r)
• gui/pathable: fixed error when sidebar is hidden with Tab
• labormanager:
– stopped assigning labors to ineligible dwarves, pets, etc.
– stopped assigning invalid labors
– added support for crafting jobs that use pearl
– fixed issues causing cleaning jobs to not be assigned
– added support for disabling management of specific labors
• prospect: (also affected embark-tools) - fixed a crash when prospecting an unusable site (ocean, mountains, etc.)
with a large default embark size in d_init.txt (e.g. 16x16)
• siege-engine: fixed a few Lua errors ([Link](), unit.relationship_ids)
• tweak: fixed hotkey-clear

Misc Improvements

• armoks-blessing: improved documentation to list all available arguments

• devel/export-dt-ini:
– added viewscreen offsets for DT 40.1.2
– added item base flags offset
– added needs offsets
• embark-assistant:
– added match indicator display on the right (“World”) map
– changed ‘c’ancel to abort find if it’s under way and clear results if not, allowing use of partial surveys.
– added Coal as a search criterion, as well as a coal indication as current embark selection info.

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• full-heal:
– added -all, -all_civ and -all_citizens arguments
– added module support
– now removes historical figure death dates and ghost data
• growcrops: added all argument to grow all crops
• gui/load-screen: improved documentation
• labormanager: now takes nature value into account when assigning jobs
• open-legends: added warning about risk of save corruption and improved related documentation
• points: added support when in viewscreen_setupdwarfgamest and improved error messages
• siren: removed break handling (relevant misc_trait_type was no longer used - see “Structures” section)

API

• New debug features related to debug plugin:

– Classes (C++ only): Signal<Signature, type_tag>, DebugCategory, DebugManager
– Macros: TRACE, DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERR, DBG_DECLARE, DBG_EXTERN

Internals

• Added a usable unit test framework for basic tests, and a few basic tests
• Added [Link] with intellisense support
• Changed plugins/[Link] to be ignored by git and created (if needed) at build time
instead
• Core: various thread safety and memory management improvements
• Fixed CMake build dependencies for generated header files
• Fixed custom CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS not being passed to plugins
• Linux/macOS: changed recommended build backend from Make to Ninja (Make builds will be significantly
slower now)

Lua

• utils: new OrderedTable class

Structures

• Win32: added missing vtables for viewscreen_storesst and squad_order_rescue_hfst

• activity_event_performancest: renamed poem as written_content_id
• body_part_status: identified gelded
• dance_form: named musical_form_id and musical_written_content_id
• incident_sub6_performance.participants: named performance_event and role_index

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• incident_sub6_performance:
– named poetic_form_id, musical_form_id, and dance_form_id
– made performance_event an enum
• misc_trait_type: removed LikesOutdoors, Hardened, TimeSinceBreak, OnBreak (all unused
by DF)
• musical_form_instruments: named minimum_required and maximum_permitted
• musical_form: named voices field
• plant_tree_info: identified extent_east, etc.
• plant_tree_tile: gave connection bits more meaningful names (e.g. connection_east instead of
thick_branches_1)
• poetic_form: identified many fields and related enum/bitfield types
• setup_character_info: identified skill_points_remaining (for embark-skills)
• [Link]: identified fortress_site
• [Link]: identified kill_rect_targets_scroll
• ui: fixed alignment of main and squads (fixes tweak hotkey-clear and DF-AI)
• unit_action.attack:
– added lightly_tap and spar_report flags
– identified attack_skill
• unit_flags3: identified marked_for_gelding
• unit_personality: identified stress_drain, stress_boost, likes_outdoors,
combat_hardened
• unit_storage_status: newly identified type, stores noble holdings information (used in
viewscreen_layer_noblelistst)
• unit_thought_type: added new expulsion thoughts from 0.44.12
• viewscreen_layer_arena_creaturest: identified item- and name-related fields
• viewscreen_layer_militaryst: identified [Link].assigned_items
• viewscreen_layer_noblelistst: identified storage_status (see unit_storage_status
type)
• viewscreen_new_regionst:
– changed many int8_t fields to bool
– identified rejection_msg, raw_folder, load_world_params
• viewscreen_setupadventurest: identified some nemesis and personality fields, and page.
ChooseHistfig
• world_data: added mountain_peak_flags type, including is_volcano
• world_history: identified names and/or types of some fields
• world_site: identified names and/or types of some fields
• written_content: named poetic_form

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7.4.8 DFHack 0.44.12-r1

Fixes

• Console: fixed crash when entering long commands on Linux/macOS

• Fixed special characters in command-prompt and other non-console in-game outputs on Linux/macOS (in tools
using df2console)
• Removed jsoncpp’s include and lib folders from DFHack builds/packages
• die: fixed Windows crash in exit handling
• dwarfmonitor, manipulator: fixed stress cutoffs
• modtools/force: fixed a bug where the help text would always be displayed and nothing useful would happen
• ruby: fixed calling conventions for vmethods that return strings (currently [Link]())
• startdwarf : fixed on 64-bit Linux

Misc Improvements

• Reduced time for designation jobs from tools like dig to be assigned workers
• embark-assistant:
– Switched to standard scrolling keys, improved spacing slightly
– Introduced scrolling of Finder search criteria, removing requirement for 46 lines to work properly
(Help/Info still formatted for 46 lines).
– Added Freezing search criterion, allowing searches for NA/Frozen/At_Least_Partial/Partial/At_Most_Partial/Never
Freezing embarks.
• rejuvenate:
– Added -all argument to apply to all citizens
– Added -force to include units under 20 years old
– Clarified documentation

API

• Added to Units module:

– getStressCategory(unit)
– getStressCategoryRaw(level)
– stress_cutoffs (Lua: getStressCutoffs())

Internals

• Added documentation for all RPC functions and a build-time check

• Added support for build IDs to development builds
• Changed default build architecture to 64-bit
• Use dlsym(3) to find vtables from [Link]

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Structures

• Added start_dwarf_count on 64-bit Linux again and fixed scanning script

• army_controller: added new vector from 0.44.11
• belief_system: new type, few fields identified
• mental_picture: new type, some fields identified
• mission_report:
– new type (renamed, was mission before)
– identified some fields
• mission: new type (used in viewscreen_civlistst)
• spoils_report: new type, most fields identified
• viewscreen_civlistst:
– identified new pages
– identified new messenger-related fields
– split unk_20 into 3 pointers
• viewscreen_image_creatorst:
– fixed layout
– identified many fields
• viewscreen_reportlistst: added new mission and spoils report-related fields (fixed layout)
• [Link]: identified (minimal information; whole languages stored elsewhere)
• [Link]:
– mission_reports: renamed, was missions
– spoils_reports: identified
• world.unk_131ec0, world.unk_131ef0: researched layout
• world.worldgen_status: identified many fields
• world: belief_systems: identified

7.4.9 DFHack 0.44.12-alpha1

Fixes

• macOS: fixed renderer vtable address on x64 (fixes rendermax)

• stonesense: fixed PLANT:DESERT_LIME:LEAF typo

API

• Added C++-style linked list interface for DF linked lists

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Structures

• Dropped 0.44.11 support

• [Link]: Added fields new in 0.44.12

7.4.10 DFHack 0.44.11-beta2.1

Internals

• stonesense: fixed build

7.4.11 DFHack 0.44.11-beta2

Fixes

• Windows: Fixed console failing to initialize

• command-prompt: added support for commands that require a specific screen to be visible, e.g. spotclean
• gui/workflow: fixed advanced constraint menu for crafts

API

• Added Screen::Hide to temporarily hide screens, like command-prompt

7.4.12 DFHack 0.44.11-beta1

Fixes

• Fixed displayed names (from Units::getVisibleName) for units with identities

• Fixed potential memory leak in Screen::show()
• fix/dead-units: fixed script trying to use missing isDiplomat function

Misc Improvements

• Console:
– added support for multibyte characters on Linux/macOS
– made the console exit properly when an interactive command is active (liquids, mode, tiletypes)
• Linux: added automatic support for GCC sanitizers in dfhack script
• Made the DFHACK_PORT environment variable take priority over [Link]
• dfhack-run: added support for port specified in [Link], to match DFHack’s behavior
• digfort: added better map bounds checking
• remove-stress:
– added support for -all as an alternative to the existing all argument for consistency

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– sped up significantly
– improved output/error messages
– now removes tantrums, depression, and obliviousness
• ruby: sped up handling of onupdate events

API

• Exposed Screen::zoom() to C++ (was Lua-only)

• New functions: Units::isDiplomat(unit)

Internals

• jsoncpp: updated to version 1.8.4 and switched to using a git submodule

Lua

• Added printall_recurse to print tables and DF references recursively. It can be also used with ^ from
the lua interpreter.
• [Link]: List:setChoices clones choices for internal table changes

Structures

• history_event_entity_expels_hfst: added (new in 0.44.11)

• history_event_site_surrenderedst: added (new in 0.44.11)
• history_event_type: added SITE_SURRENDERED, ENTITY_EXPELS_HF (new in 0.44.11)
• syndrome: identified a few fields
• viewscreen_civlistst: fixed layout and identified many fields

7.4.13 DFHack 0.44.11-alpha1

Structures

• Added support for automatically sizing arrays indexed with an enum

• Dropped 0.44.10 support
• Removed stale generated CSV files and DT layouts from pre-0.43.05
• announcement_type: new in 0.44.11: NEW_HOLDING, NEW_MARKET_LINK
• breath_attack_type: added OTHER
• historical_figure_info.[Link]: added unk_3a-unk_3c fields at end
• interface_key: added bindings new in 0.44.11
• occupation_type: new in 0.44.11: MESSENGER
• profession: new in 0.44.11: MESSENGER

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• ui_sidebar_menus:
– unit.in_squad: renamed to unit.squad_list_opened, fixed location
– unit: added expel_error and other unknown fields new in 0.44.11
– hospital: added, new in 0.44.11
– num_speech_tokens, unk_17d8: moved out of command_line to fix layout on x64
• viewscreen_civlistst: added a few new fields (incomplete)
• viewscreen_locationsst: identified edit_input

7.4.14 DFHack 0.44.10-r2

New Plugins

• cxxrandom: exposes some features of the C++11 random number library to Lua

New Scripts

• add-recipe: adds unknown crafting recipes to the player’s civ

• gui/stamper: allows manipulation of designations by transforms such as translations, reflections, rotations, and
inversion

Fixes

• Fixed many tools incorrectly using the dead unit flag (they should generally check [Link] instead)
• Fixed many tools passing incorrect arguments to printf-style functions, including a few possible crashes (change-
layer, follow, forceequip, generated-creature-renamer)
• Fixed several bugs in Lua scripts found by static analysis (df-luacheck)
• Fixed -g flag (GDB) in Linux dfhack script (particularly on x64)
• autochop, autodump, autogems, automelt, autotrade, buildingplan, dwarfmonitor, fix-unit-occupancy, fortplan,
stockflow: fix issues with periodic tasks not working for some time after save/load cycles
• autogems:
– stop running repeatedly when paused
– fixed crash when furnaces are linked to same stockpiles as jeweler’s workshops
• autogems, fix-unit-occupancy: stopped running when a fort isn’t loaded (e.g. while embarking)
• autounsuspend: now skips planned buildings
• ban-cooking: fixed errors introduced by kitchen structure changes in 0.44.10-r1
• buildingplan, fortplan: stopped running before a world has fully loaded
• deramp: fixed deramp to find designations that already have jobs posted
• dig: fixed “Inappropriate dig square” announcements if digging job has been posted
• fixnaked: fixed errors due to emotion changes in 0.44
• remove-stress: fixed an error when running on soul-less units (e.g. with -all)

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• reveal: stopped revealing tiles adjacent to tiles above open space inappropriately
• stockpiles: loadstock now sets usable and unusable weapon and armor settings
• stocks: stopped listing carried items under stockpiles where they were picked up from

Misc Improvements

• Added script name to messages produced by qerror() in Lua scripts

• Fixed an issue in around 30 scripts that could prevent edits to the files (adding valid arguments) from taking
effect
• Linux: Added several new options to dfhack script: --remotegdb, --gdbserver, --strace
• bodyswap: improved error handling
• buildingplan: added max quality setting
• caravan: documented (new in 0.44.10-alpha1)
• deathcause: added “slaughtered” to descriptions
• embark-assistant:
– changed region interaction matching to search for evil rain, syndrome rain, and reanimation rather than
interaction presence (misleadingly called evil weather), reanimation, and thralling
– gave syndrome rain and reanimation wider ranges of criterion values
• fix/dead-units: added a delay of around 1 month before removing units
• fix/retrieve-units: now re-adds units to active list to counteract fix/dead-units
• item-descriptions: fixed several grammatical errors
• modtools/create-unit:
– added quantity argument
– now selects a caste at random if none is specified
• mousequery:
– migrated several features from TWBT’s fork
– added ability to drag with left/right buttons
– added depth display for TWBT (when multilevel is enabled)
– made shift+click jump to lower levels visible with TWBT
• title-version: added version to options screen too

API

• New functions (also exposed to Lua):

– Units::isKilled()
– Units::isActive()
– Units::isGhost()
• Removed Vermin module (unused and obsolete)

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Internals

• Added build option to generate symbols for large generated files containing df-structures metadata
• Added fallback for YouCompleteMe database lookup failures (e.g. for newly-created files)
• Improved efficiency and error handling in stl_vsprintf and related functions
• jsoncpp: fixed constructor with long on Linux

Lua

• Added profiler module to measure lua performance

• Enabled shift+cursor movement in WorkshopOverlay-derived screens

Structures

• incident_sub6_performance: identified some fields

• item_body_component: fixed location of corpse_flags
• job_handler: fixed static array layout
• job_type: added is_designation attribute
• unit_flags1: renamed dead to inactive to better reflect its use
• unit_personality: fixed location of current_focus and undistracted_focus
• unit_thought_type: added SawDeadBody (new in 0.44.10)

7.4.15 DFHack 0.44.10-r1

New Scripts

• bodyswap: shifts player control over to another unit in adventure mode

New Tweaks

• tweak kitchen-prefs-all: adds an option to toggle cook/brew for all visible items in kitchen preferences
• tweak stone-status-all: adds an option to toggle the economic status of all stones

Fixes

• Lua: registered [Link]() correctly

• prospect: fixed crash due to invalid vein materials
• tweak max-wheelbarrow: fixed conflict with building renaming
• view-item-info: stopped appending extra newlines permanently to descriptions

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Misc Improvements

• Added logo to documentation

• Documented several missing [Link] Lua functions
• adv-rumors: bound to Ctrl-A
• command-prompt: added support for Gui::getSelectedPlant()
• gui/advfort: bound to Ctrl-T
• gui/room-list: added support for Gui::getSelectedBuilding()
• gui/unit-info-viewer: bound to Alt-I
• modtools/create-unit: made functions available to other scripts
• search:
– added support for stone restrictions screen (under z: Status)
– added support for kitchen preferences (also under z)

API

• New functions (all available to Lua as well):

– Buildings::getRoomDescription()
– Items::checkMandates()
– Items::canTrade()
– Items::canTradeWithContents()
– Items::isRouteVehicle()
– Items::isSquadEquipment()
– Kitchen::addExclusion()
– Kitchen::findExclusion()
– Kitchen::removeExclusion()
• syndrome-util: added eraseSyndromeData()

Internals

• Fixed compiler warnings on all supported build configurations

• Windows build scripts now work with non-C system drives

Structures

• dfhack_room_quality_level: new enum

• glowing_barrier: identified triggered, added comments
• item_flags2: renamed has_written_content to unk_book
• kitchen_exc_type: new enum (for [Link])

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• [Link]: now an enum

• unit_personality.[Link]: identified
• viewscreen_kitchenprefst.forbidden, possible: now a bitfield, kitchen_pref_flag
• world_data.feature_map: added extensive documentation (in XML)

7.4.16 DFHack 0.44.10-beta1

New Scripts

• devel/find-primitive: finds a primitive variable in memory

Fixes

• Units::getAnyUnit(): fixed a couple problematic conditions and potential segfaults if global addresses are miss-
ing
• autodump, automelt, autotrade, stocks, stockpiles: fixed conflict with building renaming
• exterminate: fixed documentation of this option
• full-heal:
– units no longer have a tendency to melt after being healed
– healed units are no longer treated as patients by hospital staff
– healed units no longer attempt to clean themselves unsuccessfully
– wounded fliers now regain the ability to fly upon being healing
– now heals suffocation, numbness, infection, spilled guts and gelding
• modtools/create-unit:
– creatures of the appropriate age are now spawned as babies or children where applicable
– fix: civ_id is now properly assigned to historical_figure, resolving several hostility issues (spawned pets
are no longer attacked by fortress military!)
– fix: unnamed creatures are no longer spawned with a string of numbers as a first name
• stockpiles: stopped sidebar option from overlapping with autodump
• tweak block-labors: fixed two causes of crashes related in the v-p-l menu

Misc Improvements

• blueprint: added a basic Lua API

• devel/export-dt-ini: added tool offsets for DT 40
• devel/save-version: added current DF version to output
• install-info: added information on tweaks

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Internals

• Added function names to DFHack’s NullPointer and InvalidArgument exceptions

• Added Gui::inRenameBuilding()
• Linux: required plugins to have symbols resolved at link time, for consistency with other platforms

7.4.17 DFHack 0.44.10-alpha1

New Scripts

• caravan: adjusts properties of caravans

• gui/autogems: a configuration UI for the autogems plugin

Fixes

• Fixed uninitialized pointer being returned from Gui::getAnyUnit() in rare cases

• autohauler, autolabor, labormanager: fixed fencepost error and potential crash
• dwarfvet: fixed infinite loop if an animal is not accepted at a hospital
• liquids: fixed “range” command to default to 1 for dimensions consistently
• search: fixed 4/6 keys in unit screen search
• view-item-info: fixed an error with some armor

Misc Improvements

• autogems: can now blacklist arbitrary gem types (see gui/autogems)

• exterminate: added more words for current unit, removed warning
• fpause: now pauses worldgen as well

Internals

• Added some build scripts for Sublime Text

• Changed submodule URLs to relative URLs so that they can be cloned consistently over different protocols (e.g.
SSH)

7.4.18 DFHack 0.44.09-r1

Fixes

• modtools/item-trigger: fixed token format in help text

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Misc Improvements

• Reorganized changelogs and improved changelog editing process

• modtools/item-trigger: added support for multiple type/material/contaminant conditions

Internals

• OS X: Can now build with GCC 7 (or older)

Structures

• army: added vector new in 0.44.07

• building_type: added human-readable name attribute
• furnace_type: added human-readable name attribute
• renderer: fixed vtable addresses on 64-bit OS X
• site_reputation_report: named reports vector
• workshop_type: added human-readable name attribute

7.4.19 DFHack 0.44.09-alpha1

Fixes

• digtype: stopped designating non-vein tiles (open space, trees, etc.)

• labormanager: fixed crash due to dig jobs targeting some unrevealed map blocks

7.4.20 DFHack 0.44.08-alpha1

Fixes

• fix/dead-units: fixed a bug that could remove some arriving (not dead) units

7.4.21 DFHack 0.44.07-beta1

Misc Improvements

• modtools/item-trigger: added the ability to specify inventory mode(s) to trigger on

Structures

• Added symbols for Toady’s 0.44.07 Linux test build to fix Bug 10615
• world_site: fixed alignment

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7.4.22 DFHack 0.44.07-alpha1

Fixes

• Fixed some CMake warnings (CMP0022)

• Support for building on Ubuntu 18.04
• embark-assistant: fixed detection of reanimating biomes

Misc Improvements

• embark-assistant:
– Added search for adamantine
– Now supports saving/loading profiles
• fillneeds: added -all option to apply to all units
• remotefortressreader: added flows, instruments, tool names, campfires, ocean waves, spiderwebs

Structures

• Several new names in instrument raw structures

• identity: identified profession, civ
• manager_order_template: fixed last field type
• viewscreen_createquotast: fixed layout
• [Link]: moved colors, shapes, patterns to [Link]
• [Link], world.reaction_categories: moved to new compound, world.
reactions. Requires renaming:
– [Link] to [Link]
– world.reaction_categories to [Link].reaction_categories

7.4.23 DFHack 0.44.05-r2

New Plugins

• embark-assistant: adds more information and features to embark screen

New Scripts

• adv-fix-sleepers: fixes units in adventure mode who refuse to wake up (Bug 6798)
• hermit: blocks caravans, migrants, diplomats (for hermit challenge)

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New Features

• With PRINT_MODE:TEXT, setting the DFHACK_HEADLESS environment variable will hide DF’s display and
allow the console to be used normally. (Note that this is intended for testing and is not very useful for actual
gameplay.)

Fixes

• devel/export-dt-ini: fix language_name offsets for DT 39.2+

• devel/inject-raws: fixed gloves and shoes (old typo causing errors)
• remotefortressreader: fixed an issue with not all engravings being included
• view-item-info: fixed an error with some shields

Misc Improvements

• adv-rumors: added more keywords, including names

• autochop: can now exclude trees that produce fruit, food, or cookable items
• remotefortressreader: added plant type support

7.4.24 DFHack 0.44.05-r1

New Scripts

• break-dance: Breaks up a stuck dance activity

• fillneeds: Use with a unit selected to make them focused and unstressed
• firestarter: Lights things on fire: items, locations, entire inventories even!
• flashstep: Teleports adventurer to cursor
• ghostly: Turns an adventurer into a ghost or back
• questport: Sends your adventurer to the location of your quest log cursor
• view-unit-reports: opens the reports screen with combat reports for the selected unit

Fixes

• devel/inject-raws: now recognizes spaces in reaction names

• dig: added support for designation priorities - fixes issues with designations from digv and related commands
having extremely high priority
• dwarfmonitor:
– fixed display of creatures and poetic/music/dance forms on prefs screen
– added “view unit” option
– now exposes the selected unit to other tools
• names: fixed many errors
• quicksave: fixed an issue where the “Saving. . . ” indicator often wouldn’t appear

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Misc Improvements

• binpatch: now reports errors for empty patch files

• force: now provides useful help
• full-heal:
– can now select corpses to resurrect
– now resets body part temperatures upon resurrection to prevent creatures from freezing/melting again
– now resets units’ vanish countdown to reverse effects of exterminate
• gui/gm-unit:
– added a profession editor
– misc. layout improvements
• launch: can now ride creatures
• names: can now edit names of units
• remotefortressreader:
– support for moving adventurers
– support for vehicles, gem shapes, item volume, art images, item improvements

Removed

• tweak: kitchen-keys: Bug 614 fixed in DF 0.44.04

Internals

• Gui::getAnyUnit() supports many more screens/menus

Structures

• New globals: soul_next_id

7.4.25 DFHack 0.44.05-alpha1

Misc Improvements

• gui/liquids: added more keybindings: 0-7 to change liquid level, P/B to cycle backwards

Structures

• incident: re-aligned again to match disassembly

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7.4.26 DFHack 0.44.04-alpha1

Fixes

• devel/inject-raws: now recognizes spaces in reaction names

• exportlegends: fixed an error that could occur when exporting empty lists

Structures

• artifact_record: fixed layout (changed in 0.44.04)

• incident: fixed layout (changed in 0.44.01) - note that many fields have moved

7.4.27 DFHack 0.44.03-beta1

Fixes

• autolabor, autohauler, labormanager: added support for “put item on display” jobs and building/destroying
display furniture
• gui/gm-editor: fixed an error when editing primitives in Lua tables

Misc Improvements

• devel/dump-offsets: now ignores index globals

• gui/pathable: added tile types to sidebar
• modtools/skill-change:
– now updates skill levels appropriately
– only prints output if -loud is passed

Structures

• Added job_type.PutItemOnDisplay
• Added twbt_render_map code offset on x64
• Fixed an issue preventing enabler from being allocated by DFHack
• Found renderer vtable on osx64
• New globals:
– version
– min_load_version
– movie_version
– basic_seed
– title
– title_spaced
– ui_building_resize_radius

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• adventure_movement_optionst, adventure_movement_hold_tilest,
adventure_movement_climbst: named coordinate fields
• mission: added type
• unit: added 3 new vmethods: getCreatureTile, getCorpseTile, getGlowTile
• viewscreen_assign_display_itemst: fixed layout on x64 and identified many fields
• viewscreen_reportlistst: fixed layout, added mission_id vector
• [Link]: named missions vector

7.4.28 DFHack 0.44.03-alpha1

Lua

• Improved json I/O error messages

• Stopped a crash when trying to create instances of classes whose vtable addresses are not available

7.4.29 DFHack 0.44.02-beta1

New Scripts

• devel/check-other-ids: Checks the validity of “other” vectors in the world global

• gui/cp437-table: An in-game CP437 table

Fixes

• Fixed issues with the console output color affecting the prompt on Windows
• createitem: stopped items from teleporting away in some forts
• gui/gm-unit: can now edit mining skill
• gui/quickcmd: stopped error from adding too many commands
• modtools/create-unit: fixed error when domesticating units

Misc Improvements

• The console now provides suggestions for built-in commands

• devel/export-dt-ini: avoid hardcoding flags
• exportlegends:
– reordered some tags to match DF’s order
– added progress indicators for exporting long lists
• gui/gm-editor: added enum names to enum edit dialogs
• gui/gm-unit: made skill search case-insensitive
• gui/rename: added “clear” and “special characters” options
• remotefortressreader:

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– includes item stack sizes

– some performance improvements

Removed

• warn-stuck-trees: Bug 9252 fixed in DF 0.44.01

Lua

• Exposed get_vector() (from C++) for all types that support find(), e.g. [Link].get_vector()
== [Link]

Structures

• Added buildings_other_id.DISPLAY_CASE
• Fixed unit alignment
• Fixed viewscreen_titlest.start_savegames alignment
• Identified historical_entity.[Link] (deity IDs)
• Located start_dwarf_count offset for all builds except 64-bit Linux; startdwarf should work now

7.4.30 DFHack 0.44.02-alpha1

New Scripts

• devel/dump-offsets: prints an XML version of the global table included in in DF

Fixes

• Fixed a crash that could occur if a symbol table in [Link] had no content

Lua

• Added a new [Link] API

• API can now wrap functions with 12 or 13 parameters

Structures

• The former announcements global is now a field in d_init

• The ui_menu_width global is now a 2-byte array; the second item is the former ui_area_map_width
global, which is now removed
• world fields formerly beginning with job_ are now fields of [Link], e.g. world.job_list is now
[Link]

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7.5 DFHack Lua API

DFHack has extensive support for the Lua scripting language, providing access to:
1. Raw data structures used by the game.
2. Many C++ functions for high-level access to these structures, and interaction with dfhack itself.
3. Some functions exported by C++ plugins.
Lua code can be used both for writing scripts, which are treated by DFHack command line prompt almost as native
C++ commands, and invoked by plugins written in C++.
This document describes native API available to Lua in detail. It does not describe all of the utility functions imple-
mented by Lua files located in hack/lua/* (library/lua/* in the git repo).

Contents

• DF data structure wrapper

– Typed object references
– Named types
– Global functions
– Recursive table assignment
• DFHack API
– Native utilities
– C++ function wrappers
– Core interpreter context
• Lua Modules
– Global environment
– utils
– dumper
– profiler
– class
• In-game UI Library
– gui
– [Link]
• Plugins
– blueprint
– buildingplan
– burrows
– sort
– Eventful

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– Building-hacks
– Luasocket
– map-render
– cxxrandom
– xlsxreader
• Scripts
– Enabling and disabling scripts
– Save init script

7.5.1 DF data structure wrapper

• Typed object references

– Primitive references
– Struct references
– Container references
– Bitfield references
• Named types
• Global functions
• Recursive table assignment

Data structures of the game are defined in XML files located in library/xml (and online, and automatically ex-
ported to lua code as a tree of objects and functions under the df global, which also broadly maps to the df namespace
in the headers generated for C++.

Warning: The wrapper provides almost raw access to the memory of the game, so mistakes in manipulating
objects are as likely to crash the game as equivalent plain C++ code would be - e.g. null pointer access is safely
detected, but dangling pointers aren’t.

Objects managed by the wrapper can be broadly classified into the following groups:
1. Typed object pointers (references).
References represent objects in DF memory with a known type.
In addition to fields and methods defined by the wrapped type, every reference has some built-in properties and
methods.
2. Untyped pointers
Represented as lightuserdata.
In assignment to a pointer NULL can be represented either as nil, or a NULL lightuserdata; reading a NULL
pointer field returns nil.
3. Named types

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Objects in the df tree that represent identity of struct, class, enum and bitfield types. They host nested named
types, static methods, builtin properties & methods, and, for enums and bitfields, the bi-directional mapping
between key names and values.
4. The global object
[Link] corresponds to the df::global namespace, and behaves as a mix between a named type and a
reference, containing both nested types and fields corresponding to global symbols.
In addition to the global object and top-level types the df global also contains a few global builtin utility functions.

Typed object references

The underlying primitive lua object is userdata with a metatable. Every structured field access produces a new userdata
instance.
All typed objects have the following built-in features:
• ref1 == ref2, tostring(ref)
References implement equality by type & pointer value, and string conversion.
• pairs(ref)
Returns an iterator for the sequence of actual C++ field names and values. Fields are enumerated in memory
order. Methods and lua wrapper properties are not included in the iteration.

Warning: a few of the data structures (like ui_look_list) contain unions with pointers to different types
with vtables. Using pairs on such structs is an almost sure way to crash with an access violation.

• ref._kind
Returns one of: primitive, struct, container, or bitfield, as appropriate for the referenced object.
• ref._type
Returns the named type object or a string that represents the referenced object type.
• ref:sizeof()
Returns size, address
• ref:new()
Allocates a new instance of the same type, and copies data from the current object.
• ref:delete()
Destroys the object with the C++ delete operator. If the destructor is not available, returns false. (This
typically only occurs when trying to delete an instance of a DF class with virtual methods whose vtable address
has not been found; it is impossible for delete() to determine the validity of ref.)

Warning: ref must be an object allocated with new, like in C++. Calling [Link]:delete()
where obj was allocated with new will not work. After delete() returns, ref remains as a dangling
pointer, like a raw C++ pointer would. Any accesses to ref after ref:delete() has been called are
undefined behavior.

• ref:assign(object)

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Assigns data from object to ref. Object must either be another ref of a compatible type, or a lua table; in the
latter case special recursive assignment rules are applied.
• ref:_displace(index[,step])
Returns a new reference with the pointer adjusted by index*step. Step defaults to the natural object size.

Primitive references

References of the _kind 'primitive' are used for objects that don’t fit any of the other reference types. Such
references can only appear as a value of a pointer field, or as a result of calling the _field() method.
They behave as structs with a value field of the right type. If the object’s XML definition has a ref-target
attribute, they will also have a read-only ref_target field set to the corresponding type object.
To make working with numeric buffers easier, they also allow numeric indices. Note that other than excluding negative
values no bound checking is performed, since buffer length is not available. Index 0 is equivalent to the value field.

Struct references

Struct references are used for class and struct objects.

They implement the following features:
• [Link], [Link] = value
Valid fields of the structure may be accessed by subscript.
Primitive typed fields, i.e. numbers & strings, are converted to/from matching lua values. The value of a pointer
is a reference to the target, or nil/NULL. Complex types are represented by a reference to the field within the
structure; unless recursive lua table assignment is used, such fields can only be read.

Note: In case of inheritance, superclass fields have precedence over the subclass, but fields shadowed in this
way can still be accessed as ref['[Link]'].
This shadowing order is necessary because vtable-based classes are automatically exposed in their exact type,
and the reverse rule would make access to superclass fields unreliable.

• ref._field(field)
Returns a reference to a valid field. That is, unlike regular subscript, it returns a reference to the field within the
structure even for primitive typed fields and pointers.
• ref:vmethod(args...)
Named virtual methods are also exposed, subject to the same shadowing rules.
• pairs(ref)
Enumerates all real fields (but not methods) in memory order, which is the same as declaration order.

Container references

Containers represent vectors and arrays, possibly resizable.

A container field can associate an enum to the container reference, which allows accessing elements using string keys
instead of numerical indices.

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Note that two-dimensional arrays in C++ (ie pointers to pointers) are exposed to lua as one-dimensional. The best way
to handle this is probably array[x].value:_displace(y).
Implemented features:
• ref._enum
If the container has an associated enum, returns the matching named type object.
• #ref
Returns the length of the container.
• ref[index]
Accesses the container element, using either a 0-based numerical index, or, if an enum is associated, a valid
enum key string.
Accessing an invalid index is an error, but some container types may return a default value, or auto-resize instead
for convenience. Currently this relaxed mode is implemented by df-flagarray aka BitArray.
• ref._field(index)
Like with structs, returns a pointer to the array element, if possible. Flag and bit arrays cannot return such
pointer, so it fails with an error.
• pairs(ref), ipairs(ref)
If the container has no associated enum, both behave identically, iterating over numerical indices in order.
Otherwise, ipairs still uses numbers, while pairs tries to substitute enum keys whenever possible.
• ref:resize(new_size)
Resizes the container if supported, or fails with an error.
• ref:insert(index,item)
Inserts a new item at the specified index. To add at the end, use #ref, or just '#' as index.
• ref:erase(index)
Removes the element at the given valid index.

Bitfield references

Bitfields behave like special fixed-size containers. Consider them to be something in between structs and fixed-size
vectors.
The _enum property points to the bitfield type. Numerical indices correspond to the shift value, and if a subfield
occupies multiple bits, the ipairs order would have a gap.
Since currently there is no API to allocate a bitfield object fully in GC-managed lua heap, consider using the lua
table assignment feature outlined below in order to pass bitfield values to dfhack API functions that need them, e.g.
matinfo:matches{metal=true}.

Named types

Named types are exposed in the df tree with names identical to the C++ version, except for the :: vs . difference.
All types and the global object have the following features:
• type._kind
Evaluates to one of struct-type, class-type, enum-type, bitfield-type or global.

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• type._identity
Contains a lightuserdata pointing to the underlying DFHack::type_instance object.
Types excluding the global object also support:
• type:sizeof()
Returns the size of an object of the type.
• type:new()
Creates a new instance of an object of the type.
• type:is_instance(object)
Returns true if object is same or subclass type, or a reference to an object of same or subclass type. It is
permissible to pass nil, NULL or non-wrapper value as object; in this case the method returns nil.
In addition to this, enum and bitfield types contain a bi-directional mapping between key strings and values, and also
map _first_item and _last_item to the min and max values.
Struct and class types with instance-vector attribute in the xml have a [Link](key) function that wraps the
find method provided in C++.

Global functions

The df table itself contains the following functions and values:

• NULL, [Link]
Contains the NULL lightuserdata.
• [Link](obj)
Evaluates to true if obj is nil or NULL; false otherwise.
• [Link](obj[,allow_null])
For supported objects returns one of type, voidptr, ref.
If allow_null is true, and obj is nil or NULL, returns null.
Otherwise returns nil.
• [Link](obj)
For types and refs identical to obj:sizeof(). For lightuserdata returns nil, address
• [Link](obj), [Link](obj), [Link](obj, obj2)
Equivalent to using the matching methods of obj.
• df._displace(obj,index[,step])
For refs equivalent to the method, but also works with lightuserdata (step is mandatory then).
• df.is_instance(type,obj)
Equivalent to the method, but also allows a reference as proxy for its type.
• [Link](ptype[,count])
Allocate a new instance, or an array of built-in types. The ptype argument is a string from the following
list: string, int8_t, uint8_t, int16_t, uint16_t, int32_t, uint32_t, int64_t, uint64_t,
bool, float, double. All of these except string can be used with the count argument to allocate an array.

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• df.reinterpret_cast(type,ptr)
Converts ptr to a ref of specified type. The type may be anything acceptable to df.is_instance. Ptr may
be nil, a ref, a lightuserdata, or a number.
Returns nil if NULL, or a ref.

Recursive table assignment

Recursive assignment is invoked when a lua table is assigned to a C++ object or field, i.e. one of:
• ref:assign{...}
• [Link] = {...}
The general mode of operation is that all fields of the table are assigned to the fields of the target structure, roughly
emulating the following code:

function rec_assign(ref,table)
for key,value in pairs(table) do
ref[key] = value
end
end

Since assigning a table to a field using = invokes the same process, it is recursive.
There are however some variations to this process depending on the type of the field being assigned to:
1. If the table contains an assign field, it is applied first, using the ref:assign(value) method. It is never
assigned as a usual field.
2. When a table is assigned to a non-NULL pointer field using the [Link] = {...} syntax, it is applied
to the target of the pointer instead.
If the pointer is NULL, the table is checked for a new field:
a. If it is nil or false, assignment fails with an error.
b. If it is true, the pointer is initialized with a newly allocated object of the declared target type of the pointer.
c. Otherwise, [Link] must be a named type, or an object of a type compatible with the pointer. The
pointer is initialized with the result of calling [Link]:new().
After this auto-vivification process, assignment proceeds as if the pointer wasn’t NULL.
Obviously, the new field inside the table is always skipped during the actual per-field assignment processing.
3. If the target of the assignment is a container, a separate rule set is used:
a. If the table contains neither assign nor resize fields, it is interpreted as an ordinary 1-based lua array.
The container is resized to the #-size of the table, and elements are assigned in numeric order:

ref:resize(#table);
for i=1,#table do ref[i-1] = table[i] end

b. Otherwise, resize must be true, false, or an explicit number. If it is not false, the container is resized.
After that the usual struct-like ‘pairs’ assignment is performed.
In case resize is true, the size is computed by scanning the table for the largest numeric key.
This means that in order to reassign only one element of a container using this system, it is necessary to use:

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{ resize=false, [idx]=value }

Since nil inside a table is indistinguishable from missing key, it is necessary to use [Link] as a null pointer value.
This system is intended as a way to define a nested object tree using pure lua data structures, and then materialize
it in C++ memory in one go. Note that if pointer auto-vivification is used, an error in the middle of the recursive
walk would not destroy any objects allocated in this way, so the user should be prepared to catch the error and do the
necessary cleanup.

7.5.2 DFHack API

• Native utilities
– Input & Output
– Exception handling
– Miscellaneous
– Locking and finalization
– Persistent configuration storage
– Material info lookup
– Random number generation
• C++ function wrappers
– Gui module

* Screens
* General-purpose selections
* Fortress mode
* Announcements
* Other
– Job module
– Units module
– Items module
– Maps module
– Burrows module
– Buildings module

* General
* Low-level
* High-level
– Constructions module
– Kitchen module
– Screen API

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– PenArray class
– Filesystem module
– Console API
– Internal API
• Core interpreter context
– Event type

DFHack utility functions are placed in the dfhack global tree.

Native utilities

Input & Output

• [Link](args...)
Output tab-separated args as standard lua print would do, but without a newline.
• print(args...), [Link](args...)
A replacement of the standard library print function that works with DFHack output infrastructure.
• [Link](args...)
Same as println; intended for errors. Uses red color and logs to [Link].
• [Link]([color])
Sets the current output color. If color is nil or -1, resets to default. Returns the previous color value.
• dfhack.is_interactive()
Checks if the thread can access the interactive console and returns true or false.
• [Link]([prompt[,history_filename]])
If the thread owns the interactive console, shows a prompt and returns the entered string. Otherwise returns nil,
error.
Depending on the context, this function may actually yield the running coroutine and let the C++ code release
the core suspend lock. Using an explicit dfhack.with_suspend will prevent this, forcing the function to
block on input with lock held.
• [Link]([prompt[,history_filename[,env]]])
Starts an interactive lua interpreter, using the specified prompt string, global environment and command-line
history file.
If the interactive console is not accessible, returns nil, error.

Exception handling

• [Link](msg[,level[,verbose]])
Throws a dfhack exception object with location and stack trace. The verbose parameter controls whether the
trace is printed by default.

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• qerror(msg[,level])
Calls [Link]() with verbose being false. Intended to be used for user-caused errors in scripts,
where stack traces are not desirable.
• [Link](f[,args...])
Invokes f via xpcall, using an error function that attaches a stack trace to the error. The same function is used by
SafeCall in C++, and [Link].
• safecall(f[,args...]), [Link](f[,args...])
Just like pcall, but also prints the error using printerr before returning. Intended as a convenience function.
• [Link](coroutine[,args...])
Compares to [Link] like [Link] vs pcall.
• [Link]
Metatable of error objects used by dfhack. The objects have the following properties:
[Link] The location prefix string, or nil.
[Link] The base message string.
[Link] The stack trace string, or nil.
[Link] A different exception object, or nil.
[Link] The coroutine that has thrown the exception.
[Link] Boolean, or nil; specifies if where and stacktrace should be printed.
tostring(err), or err:tostring([verbose]) Converts the exception to string.
• [Link]
The default value of the verbose argument of err:tostring().

Miscellaneous

• [Link]
DFHack version string constant.
• [Link](func,args...), or curry(func,args...)
Returns a closure that invokes the function with args combined both from the curry call and the closure call
itself. I.e. curry(func,a,b)(c,d) equals func(a,b,c,d).

Locking and finalization

• dfhack.with_suspend(f[,args...])
Calls f with arguments after grabbing the DF core suspend lock. Suspending is necessary for accessing a
consistent state of DF memory.
Returned values and errors are propagated through after releasing the lock. It is safe to nest suspends.
Every thread is allowed only one suspend per DF frame, so it is best to group operations together in one big
critical section. A plugin can choose to run all lua code inside a C++-side suspend lock.

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• dfhack.call_with_finalizer(num_cleanup_args,always,cleanup_fn[,
cleanup_args...],fn[,args...])
Invokes fn with args, and after it returns or throws an error calls cleanup_fn with cleanup_args. Any
return values from fn are propagated, and errors are re-thrown.
The num_cleanup_args integer specifies the number of cleanup_args, and the always boolean spec-
ifies if cleanup should be called in any case, or only in case of an error.
• dfhack.with_finalize(cleanup_fn,fn[,args...])
Calls fn with arguments, then finalizes with cleanup_fn. Implemented using
call_with_finalizer(0,true,...).
• dfhack.with_onerror(cleanup_fn,fn[,args...])
Calls fn with arguments, then finalizes with cleanup_fn on any thrown error. Implemented using
call_with_finalizer(0,false,...).
• dfhack.with_temp_object(obj,fn[,args...])
Calls fn(obj,args...), then finalizes with obj:delete().

Persistent configuration storage

This api is intended for storing configuration options in the world itself. It probably should be restricted to data that is
world-dependent.
Entries are identified by a string key, but it is also possible to manage multiple entries with the same key; their identity
is determined by entry_id. Every entry has a mutable string value, and an array of 7 mutable ints.
• [Link](key), entry:get()
Retrieves a persistent config record with the given string key, or refreshes an already retrieved entry. If there are
multiple entries with the same key, it is undefined which one is retrieved by the first version of the call.
Returns entry, or nil if not found.
• [Link](key), entry:delete()
Removes an existing entry. Returns true if succeeded.
• [Link].get_all(key[,match_prefix])
Retrieves all entries with the same key, or starting with key..’/’. Calling get_all('',true) will match all
entries.
If none found, returns nil; otherwise returns an array of entries.
• [Link]({key=str1, ...}[,new]), entry:save([new])
Saves changes in an entry, or creates a new one. Passing true as new forces creation of a new entry even if one
already exists; otherwise the existing one is simply updated. Returns entry, did_create_new
Since the data is hidden in data structures owned by the DF world, and automatically stored in the save game, these
save and retrieval functions can just copy values in memory without doing any actual I/O. However, currently every
entry has a 180+-byte dead-weight overhead.
It is also possible to associate one bit per map tile with an entry, using these two methods:
• entry:getTilemask(block[, create])

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Retrieves the tile bitmask associated with this entry in the given map block. If create is true, an empty mask
is created if none exists; otherwise the function returns nil, which must be assumed to be the same as an all-zero
mask.
• entry:deleteTilemask(block)
Deletes the associated tile mask from the given map block.
Note that these masks are only saved in fortress mode, and also that deleting the persistent entry will NOT delete the
associated masks.

Material info lookup

A material info record has fields:

• type, index, material
DF material code pair, and a reference to the material object.
• mode
One of 'builtin', 'inorganic', 'plant', 'creature'.
• inorganic, plant, creature
If the material is of the matching type, contains a reference to the raw object.
• figure
For a specific creature material contains a ref to the historical figure.
Functions:
• [Link](type,index)
Looks up material info for the given number pair; if not found, returs nil.
• ....decode(matinfo), ....decode(item), ....decode(obj)
Uses [Link]/[Link], item getter vmethods, or obj.mat_type/obj.mat_index to
get the code pair.
• [Link](token[,token...])
Looks up material by a token string, or a pre-split string token sequence.
• [Link](...), info:getToken()
Applies decode and constructs a string token.
• info:toString([temperature[,named]])
Returns the human-readable name at the given temperature.
• info:getCraftClass()
Returns the classification used for craft skills.
• info:matches(obj)
Checks if the material matches job_material_category or job_item. Accept dfhack_material_category auto-
assign table.

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Random number generation

• [Link]([seed[,perturb_count]])
Creates a new random number generator object. Without any arguments, the object is initialized using current
time. Otherwise, the seed must be either a non-negative integer, or a list of such integers. The second argument
may specify the number of additional randomization steps performed to improve the initial state.
• rng:init([seed[,perturb_count]])
Re-initializes an already existing random number generator object.
• rng:random([limit])
Returns a random integer. If limit is specified, the value is in the range [0, limit); otherwise it uses the whole
32-bit unsigned integer range.
• rng:drandom()
Returns a random floating-point number in the range [0,1).
• rng:drandom0()
Returns a random floating-point number in the range (0,1).
• rng:drandom1()
Returns a random floating-point number in the range [0,1].
• rng:unitrandom()
Returns a random floating-point number in the range [-1,1].
• rng:unitvector([size])
Returns multiple values that form a random vector of length 1, uniformly distributed over the corresponding
sphere surface. The default size is 3.
• fn = rng:perlin([dim]); fn(x[,y[,z]])
Returns a closure that computes a classical Perlin noise function of dimension dim, initialized from this random
generator. Dimension may be 1, 2 or 3 (default).

C++ function wrappers

• Gui module
– Screens
– General-purpose selections
– Fortress mode
– Announcements
– Other
• Job module
• Units module
• Items module
• Maps module

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• Burrows module
• Buildings module
– General
– Low-level
– High-level
• Constructions module
• Kitchen module
• Screen API
• PenArray class
• Filesystem module
• Console API
• Internal API

Thin wrappers around C++ functions, similar to the ones for virtual methods. One notable difference is that these
explicit wrappers allow argument count adjustment according to the usual lua rules, so trailing false/nil arguments can
be omitted.
• [Link]()
Returns the OS type string from [Link].
• [Link]()
Returns the DF version string from [Link].
• [Link]()
• [Link]()
• [Link]()
• [Link]()
• [Link]()
• [Link]()
• [Link]()
Return information about the DFHack build in use.

Note: getCompiledDFVersion() returns the DF version specified at compile time, while

getDFVersion() returns the version and typically the OS as well. These do not necessarily match - for
example, DFHack 0.34.11-r5 worked with DF 0.34.10 and 0.34.11, so the former function would always return
0.34.11 while the latter would return v0.34.10 <platform> or v0.34.11 <platform>.

• [Link]()
Returns the DF directory path.
• [Link]()
Returns the dfhack directory path, i.e. ".../df/hack/".

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• [Link]()
Returns the path to the current save directory, or nil if no save loaded.
• [Link]()
Returns the tick count in ms, exactly as DF ui uses.
• [Link]()
Checks if the world is loaded.
• [Link]()
Checks if the world and map are loaded.
• [Link](name[,in_english,only_last_name])
Convert a language_name or only the last name part to string.
• dfhack.df2utf(string)
Convert a string from DF’s CP437 encoding to UTF-8.
• dfhack.df2console()
Convert a string from DF’s CP437 encoding to the correct encoding for the DFHack console.
• dfhack.utf2df(string)
Convert a string from UTF-8 to DF’s CP437 encoding.
Note: When printing CP437-encoded text to the console (for example, names returned from TranslateName()), use
print(dfhack.df2console(text) to ensure proper display on all platforms.

Gui module

Screens

• [Link]([skip_dismissed])
Returns the topmost viewscreen. If skip_dismissed is true, ignores screens already marked to be removed.
• [Link](viewscreen)
Returns a string representation of the current focus position in the ui. The string has a “screen/foo/bar/baz. . . ”
format.
• [Link]([skip_dismissed])
Returns the focus string of the current viewscreen.
• [Link](type [, depth])
Returns the topmost viewscreen out of the top depth viewscreens with the specified type (e.g. df.
viewscreen_titlest), or nil if none match. If depth is not specified or is less than 1, all viewscreens
are checked.

General-purpose selections

• [Link]([silent])
When a job is selected in q mode, returns the job, else prints error unless silent and returns nil.

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• [Link]([silent])
Returns the job selected in a workshop or unit/jobs screen.
• [Link]([silent])
Returns the unit selected via v, k, unit/jobs, or a full-screen item view of a cage or suchlike.
• [Link]([silent])
Returns the item selected via v ->inventory, k, t, or a full-screen item view of a container. Note that in the last
case, the highlighted contained item is returned, not the container itself.
• [Link]([silent])
Returns the building selected via q, t, k or i.
• [Link]([silent])
Returns the plant selected via k.
• [Link](screen)
• [Link](screen)
• [Link](screen)
• [Link](screen)
Similar to the corresponding getSelected functions, but operate on the screen given instead of the current
screen and always return nil silently on failure.

Fortress mode

• [Link]()
Returns dimensions of the main fortress mode screen. See getPanelLayout() in the [Link]
module for a more Lua-friendly version.
• [Link]([pause])
Resets the fortress mode sidebar menus and cursors to their default state. If pause is true, also pauses the
game.
• [Link](pos)
Centers the view on the given position, which can be a [Link] instance or a table assignable to a [Link]
(see Recursive table assignment), e.g.:

{x = 5, y = 7, z = 11}
getSelectedUnit().pos
xyz2pos(pos2xyz([Link]))

Returns false if unsuccessful.

• [Link]()
Refreshes the fortress mode sidebar. This can be useful when making changes to the map, for example, because
DF only updates the sidebar when the cursor position changes.
• [Link]()
Returns true if a building is being renamed.

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Announcements

• [Link](text)
Writes a string to [Link] without doing an announcement.
• [Link](type,flags,pos,text,color[,is_bright])
Adds an announcement with given announcement_type, text, color, and brightness. The is_bright boolean
actually seems to invert the brightness.
The announcement is written to [Link]. The announcement_flags argument provides a custom set of
[Link] options, which specify if the message should actually be displayed in the announce-
ment list, and whether to recenter or show a popup.
Returns the index of the new announcement in [Link], or -1.
• [Link](unit,slot,report_index)
Adds the report with the given index (returned by makeAnnouncement) to the specified group of the given unit.
Returns true on success.
• [Link](unit,flags,report_index)
Adds the report with the given index to the appropriate group(s) of the given unit, as requested by the flags.
• [Link](text,color[,is_bright])
Adds a regular announcement with given text, color, and brightness. The is_bright boolean actually seems to
invert the brightness.
• [Link](type,pos,text,color[,is_bright])
Like above, but also specifies a position you can zoom to from the announcement menu.
• [Link](text,color[,is_bright])
Pops up a titan-style modal announcement window.
• [Link](type,pos,text,color[,is_bright,unit1,
unit2])
Uses the type to look up options from [Link], and calls the above operations accordingly. The units
are used to call addCombatReportAuto.

Other

• [Link](x, y)
Returns the distance from the z-level of the tile at map coordinates (x, y) to the closest ground z-level below.
Defaults to 0, unless overriden by plugins.

Job module

• [Link](job)
Creates a deep copy of the given job.
• [Link](job)
Prints info about the job.

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• [Link](jobitem,idx)
Prints info about the job item.
• [Link](job, type)
Searches for a general_ref with the given type.
• [Link](job, type)
Searches for a specific_ref with the given type.
• [Link](job)
Returns the building holding the job.
• [Link](job)
Returns the unit performing the job.
• [Link](building,worker,cooldown)
Prevent the worker from taking jobs at the specified workshop for the specified cooldown period (in ticks). This
doesn’t decrease the cooldown period in any circumstances.
• [Link](job,cooldown)
Removes the worker from the specified workshop job, and sets the cooldown period (using the same logic as
setJobCooldown). Returns true on success.
• [Link]()
Instructs the game to check buildings for jobs next frame and assign workers.
• [Link]()
Instructs the game to check designations for jobs next frame and assign workers.
• [Link].is_equal(job1,job2)
Compares important fields in the job and nested item structures.
• [Link].is_item_equal(job_item1,job_item2)
Compares important fields in the job item structures.
• [Link](job,new_id)
Adds job into [Link].job_list, and if new_id is true, then also sets its id and increases [Link].
job_next_id
• [Link](first_id)
Returns the current value of [Link].job_next_id, and if there are any jobs with first_id <= id
< job_next_id, a lua list containing them.
• [Link](job_item, item_type, item_subtype)
Does basic sanity checks to verify if the suggested item type matches the flags in the job item.
• [Link](job_item, mat_type, mat_index)
Likewise, if replacing material.
• [Link](job)
Returns the job’s description, as seen in the Units and Jobs screens.

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Units module

• [Link](unit)
Returns true x,y,z of the unit, or nil if invalid; may be not equal to [Link] if caged.
• [Link](x1,y1,z1,x2,y2,z2[,filter])
Returns a table of all units within the specified coordinates. If the filter argument is given, only units where
filter(unit) returns true will be included. Note that pos2xyz() cannot currently be used to convert
coordinate objects to the arguments required by this function.
• [Link](unit, type)
Searches for a general_ref with the given type.
• [Link](unit, type)
Searches for a specific_ref with the given type.
• [Link](unit)
Returns the container (cage) item or nil.
• [Link](unit,nick)
Sets the unit’s nickname properly.
• [Link](unit)
Returns the language_name object visible in game, accounting for false identities.
• [Link](unit)
Returns the false identity of the unit if it has one, or nil.
• [Link](unit)
Returns the nemesis record of the unit if it has one, or nil.
• [Link](unit)
Checks if the unit hides improved attributes from its curse.
• [Link](unit, attr_type)
• [Link](unit, attr_type)
Computes the effective attribute value, including curse effect.
• [Link](unit)
• [Link](unit)
• [Link](unit)
• [Link](unit)
Simple checks of caste attributes that can be modified by curses.
• [Link](unit, type[, create])
Finds (or creates if requested) a misc trait object with the given id.
• [Link](unit)
The unit is active (alive and on the map).

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• [Link](unit)
The unit isn’t dead or undead.
• [Link](unit)
The unit is completely dead and passive, or a ghost. Equivalent to [Link](unit) or
[Link](unit).
• [Link](unit)
The unit has been killed.
• [Link](unit)
The unit is a ghost.
• [Link](unit)
The unit is capable of rational action, i.e. not dead, insane, zombie, or active werewolf.
• [Link](unit)
The unit is of the correct race of the fortress.
• [Link](unit)
The unit is an alive sane citizen of the fortress; wraps the same checks the game uses to decide game-over by
extinction.
• [Link](unit)
The unit is visible on the map.
• [Link](unit[,true_age])
Returns the age of the unit in years as a floating-point value. If true_age is true, ignores false identities.
• [Link](unit, skill[, use_rust])
Retrieves the nominal skill level for the given unit. If use_rust is true, subtracts the rust penalty.
• [Link](unit, skill)
Computes the effective rating for the given skill, taking into account exhaustion, pain etc.
• [Link](unit, skill[, total])
Returns the experience value for the given skill. If total is true, adds experience implied by the current rating.
• [Link](unit)
Computes number of frames * 100 it takes the unit to move in its current state of mind and body.
• [Link](unit)
Meandering and floundering in liquid introduces additional slowdown. It is random, but the function computes
and returns the expected mean factor as a float.
• [Link](unit)
Returns a list of tables describing noble position assignments, or nil. Every table has fields entity,
assignment and position.
• [Link](unit[,ignore_noble,plural])
Retrieves the profession name using custom profession, noble assignments or raws. The ignore_noble
boolean disables the use of noble positions.

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• [Link](race,caste,prof_id[,plural])
Retrieves the profession name for the given race/caste using raws.
• [Link](unit[,ignore_noble])
Retrieves the color associated with the profession, using noble assignments or raws. The ignore_noble
boolean disables the use of noble positions.
• [Link](race,caste,prof_id)
Retrieves the profession color for the given race/caste using raws.
• [Link](unit[,goalIndex])
Retrieves the goal type of the dream that the given unit has. By default the goal of the first dream is returned.
The goalIndex parameter may be used to retrieve additional dream goals. Currently only one dream per unit is
supported by Dwarf Fortress. Support for multiple dreams may be added in future versions of Dwarf Fortress.
• [Link](unit[,goalIndex])
Retrieves the short name describing the goal of the dream that the given unit has. By default the goal of the first
dream is returned. The goalIndex parameter may be used to retrieve additional dream goals. Currently only one
dream per unit is supported by Dwarf Fortress. Support for multiple dreams may be added in future versions of
Dwarf Fortress.
• [Link](unit[,goalIndex])
Checks if given unit has achieved the goal of the dream. By default the status of the goal of the first dream is
returned. The goalIndex parameter may be used to check additional dream goals. Currently only one dream
per unit is supported by Dwarf Fortress. Support for multiple dreams may be added in future versions of Dwarf
Fortress.
• [Link](unit)
Returns a number from 0-6 indicating stress. 0 is most stressed; 6 is least. Note that 0 is guaranteed to remain
the most stressed but 6 could change in the future.
• [Link](stress_level)
Identical to getStressCategory but takes a raw stress level instead of a unit.
• [Link]()
Returns a table of the cutoffs used by the above stress level functions.

Items module

• [Link](item)
Returns true x,y,z of the item, or nil if invalid; may be not equal to [Link] if in inventory.
• [Link](item)
Returns the title of the “book” item, or an empty string if the item isn’t a “book” or it doesn’t have a title. A
“book” is a codex or a tool item that has page or writings improvements, such as scrolls and quires.
• [Link](item, type[, decorate])
Returns the string description of the item, as produced by the getItemDescription method. If decorate is
true, also adds markings for quality and improvements.
• [Link](item, type)
Searches for a general_ref with the given type.

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• [Link](item, type)
Searches for a specific_ref with the given type.
• [Link](item)
Returns the owner unit or nil.
• [Link](item,unit)
Replaces the owner of the item. If unit is nil, removes ownership. Returns false in case of error.
• [Link](item)
Returns the container item or nil.
• [Link](item)
Returns a list of items contained in this one.
• [Link](item)
Returns the holder building or nil.
• [Link](item)
Returns the holder unit or nil.
• [Link](item,pos)
Move the item to the ground at position. Returns false if impossible.
• [Link](item,container)
Move the item to the container. Returns false if impossible.
• [Link](item,building[,use_mode[,force_in_building])
Move the item to the building. Returns false if impossible.
use_mode defaults to 0. If set to 2, the item will be treated as part of the building.
If force_in_building is true, the item will be considered to be stored by the building (used for items
temporarily used in traps in vanilla DF)
• [Link](item,unit,use_mode,body_part)
Move the item to the unit inventory. Returns false if impossible.
• [Link](item[, no_uncat])
Removes the item, and marks it for garbage collection unless no_uncat is true.
• [Link](item)
Turns the item into a projectile, and returns the new object, or nil if impossible.
• [Link](item_type)
Returns true if this item type uses a creature/caste pair as its material.
• [Link](item_type)
Returns the number of raw-defined subtypes of the given item type, or -1 if not applicable.
• [Link](item_type, subtype)
Returns the raw definition for the given item type and subtype, or nil if invalid.

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• [Link](item_type, subtype, material, mat_index)

Calculates the base value for an item of the specified type and material.
• [Link](item)
Calculates the Basic Value of an item, as seen in the View Item screen.
• [Link](item_type, item_subtype, mat_type, mat_index,
unit)
Creates an item, similar to the createitem plugin.
• [Link](item)
Returns true if the item is free from mandates, or false if mandates prevent trading the item.
• [Link](item)
Checks whether the item can be traded.
• [Link](item)
Checks whether the item and all items it contains, if any, can be traded.
• [Link](item)
Checks whether the item is an assigned hauling vehicle.
• [Link](item)
Checks whether the item is assigned to a squad.

Maps module

• [Link]()
Returns map size in blocks: x, y, z
• [Link]()
Returns map size in tiles: x, y, z
• [Link](x,y,z)
Returns a map block object for given x,y,z in local block coordinates.
• [Link](coords), or isValidTilePos(x,y,z)
Checks if the given df::coord or x,y,z in local tile coordinates are valid.
• [Link](coords), or isTileVisible(x,y,z)
Checks if the given df::coord or x,y,z in local tile coordinates is visible.
• [Link](coords), or getTileBlock(x,y,z)
Returns a map block object for given df::coord or x,y,z in local tile coordinates.
• [Link](coords), or ensureTileBlock(x,y,z)
Like getTileBlock, but if the block is not allocated, try creating it.
• [Link](coords), or getTileType(x,y,z)
Returns the tile type at the given coordinates, or nil if invalid.

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• [Link](coords), or getTileFlags(x,y,z)
Returns designation and occupancy references for the given coordinates, or nil, nil if invalid.
• [Link](region_coord2d), or getRegionBiome(x,y)
Returns the biome info struct for the given global map region.
• [Link](block[,flow,temperature])
Enables updates for liquid flow or temperature, unless already active.
• [Link](pos,type,mat_type,mat_index,dimension)
Spawns a new flow (i.e. steam/mist/dust/etc) at the given pos, and with the given parameters. Returns it, or nil
if unsuccessful.
• [Link](index)
Returns the global feature object with the given index.
• [Link](region_coord2d,index)
Returns the local feature object with the given region coords and index.
• [Link](coords), or getTileBiomeRgn(x,y,z)
Returns x, y for use with getRegionBiome.
• [Link](pos1, pos2)
Checks if a dwarf may be able to walk between the two tiles, using a pathfinding cache maintained by the game.

Note: This cache is only updated when the game is unpaused, and thus can get out of date if doors are forbidden
or unforbidden, or tools like liquids or tiletypes are used. It also cannot possibly take into account anything that
depends on the actual units, like burrows, or the presence of invaders.

• [Link](tilemask)
Checks if the tile_bitmask object is not nil and contains any set bits; returns true or false.
• [Link](tilemask,x,y)
Checks if the tile_bitmask object is not nil and has the relevant bit set; returns true or false.
• [Link](tilemask,x,y,enable)
Sets the relevant bit in the tile_bitmask object to the enable argument.
• [Link](tilemask[,enable])
Sets all bits in the mask to the enable argument.

Burrows module

• [Link](name)
Returns the burrow pointer or nil.
• [Link](burrow)
Removes all units from the burrow.

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• [Link](burrow,unit)
Checks if the unit is in the burrow.
• [Link](burrow,unit,enable)
Adds or removes the unit from the burrow.
• [Link](burrow)
Removes all tiles from the burrow.
• [Link](burrow)
Returns a table of map block pointers.
• [Link](burrow,tile_coord)
Checks if the tile is in burrow.
• [Link](burrow,tile_coord,enable)
Adds or removes the tile from the burrow. Returns false if invalid coords.
• [Link](burrow,block,x,y)
Checks if the tile within the block is in burrow.
• [Link](burrow,block,x,y,enable)
Adds or removes the tile from the burrow. Returns false if invalid coords.

Buildings module

General

• [Link](building, type)
Searches for a general_ref with the given type.
• [Link](building, type)
Searches for a specific_ref with the given type.
• [Link](item,unit)
Replaces the owner of the building. If unit is nil, removes ownership. Returns false in case of error.
• [Link](building)
Returns width, height, centerx, centery.
• [Link](pos), or findAtTile(x,y,z)
Scans the buildings for the one located at the given tile. Does not work on civzones. Warning: linear scan if the
map tile indicates there are buildings at it.
• [Link](pos), or findCivzonesAt(x,y,z)
Scans civzones, and returns a lua sequence of those that touch the given tile, or nil if none.
• [Link](width, height, type, subtype, custom,
direction)
Computes correct dimensions for the specified building type and orientation, using width and height for flexible
dimensions. Returns is_flexible, width, height, center_x, center_y.

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• [Link](pos,size[,extents,change_extents,
allow_occupied,allow_wall])
Checks if the rectangle defined by pos and size, and possibly extents, can be used for placing a building. If
change_extents is true, bad tiles are removed from extents. If allow_occupied, the occupancy test is
skipped. Set allow_wall to true if the building is unhindered by walls (such as an activity zone).
• [Link](extents,defval)
Returns the number of tiles included by extents, or defval.
• [Link](building, x, y[, room])
Checks if the building contains the specified tile, either directly, or as room.
• [Link](pos,size)
Checks if a bridge constructed at specified position would have support from terrain, and thus won’t collapse if
retracted.
• [Link](stockpile)
Returns a list of items stored on the given stockpile. Ignores empty bins, barrels, and wheelbarrows assigned as
storage and transport for that stockpile.
• [Link](cage)
Returns a list of units in the given built cage. Note that this is different from the list of units assigned to the cage,
which can be accessed with cage.assigned_units.

Low-level

Low-level building creation functions:

• [Link](pos, type, subtype, custom)
Creates a new building instance of given type, subtype and custom type, at specified position. Returns the object,
or nil in case of an error.
• [Link](building, width, height, direction)
Configures an object returned by allocInstance, using specified parameters wherever appropriate. If the
building has fixed size along any dimension, the corresponding input parameter will be ignored. Returns false
if the building cannot be placed, or true, width, height, rect_area, true_area. Returned width and height are the
final values used by the building; true_area is less than rect_area if any tiles were removed from designation.
• [Link](building)
Links a fully configured object created by allocInstance into the world. The object must be an abstract
building, i.e. a stockpile or civzone. Returns true, or false if impossible.
• [Link](building, items)
Links a fully configured object created by allocInstance into the world for construction, using a list of
specific items as material. Returns true, or false if impossible.
• [Link](building, job_items)
Links a fully configured object created by allocInstance into the world for construction, using a list of
job_item filters as inputs. Returns true, or false if impossible. Filter objects are claimed and possibly destroyed
in any case. Use a negative quantity field value to auto-compute the amount from the size of the building.

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• [Link](building)
Destroys the building, or queues a deconstruction job. Returns true if the building was destroyed and deallocated
immediately.
• [Link](building)
Returns true if the building is marked for removal (with x), false otherwise.
• [Link](building[, unit])
If the building is a room, returns a description including quality modifiers, e.g. “Royal Bedroom”. Otherwise,
returns an empty string.
The unit argument is passed through to DF and may modify the room’s value depending on the unit given.

High-level

More high-level functions are implemented in lua and can be loaded by require('[Link]'). See
hack/lua/dfhack/[Link].
Among them are:
• [Link](argtable,type,subtype,custom)
Returns a sequence of lua structures, describing input item filters suitable for the specified building type,
or nil if unknown or invalid. The returned sequence is suitable for use as the job_items argument of
constructWithFilters. Uses tables defined in [Link].
Argtable members material (the default name), bucket, barrel, chain, mechanism, screw, pipe,
anvil, weapon are used to augment the basic attributes with more detailed information if the building
has input items with the matching name (see the tables for naming details). Note that it is impossible to
override any properties this way, only supply those that are not mentioned otherwise; one exception is that
flags2.non_economic is automatically cleared if an explicit material is specified.
• [Link]{...}
Creates a building in one call, using options contained in the argument table. Returns the building, or nil, error.

Note: Despite the name, unless the building is abstract, the function creates it in an ‘unconstructed’ stage,
with a queued in-game job that will actually construct it. I.e. the function replicates programmatically what
can be done through the construct building menu in the game ui, except that it does less environment constraint
checking.

The following options can be used:

– pos = coordinates, or x = ..., y = ..., z = ...
Mandatory. Specifies the left upper corner of the building.
– type = df.building_type.FOO, subtype = ..., custom = ...
Mandatory. Specifies the type of the building. Obviously, subtype and custom are only expected if the
type requires them.
– fields = { ... }
Initializes fields of the building object after creation with [Link].
– width = ..., height = ..., direction = ...
Sets size and orientation of the building. If it is fixed-size, specified dimensions are ignored.

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– full_rectangle = true
For buildings like stockpiles or farm plots that can normally accomodate individual tile exclusion, forces
an error if any tiles within the specified width*height are obstructed.
– items = { item, item ... }, or filters = { {...}, {...}... }
Specifies explicit items or item filters to use in construction. It is the job of the user to ensure they are
correct for the building type.
– abstract = true
Specifies that the building is abstract and does not require construction. Required for stockpiles and civ-
zones; an error otherwise.
– material = {...}, mechanism = {...}, ...
If none of items, filter, or abstract is used, the function uses getFiltersByType to compute
the input item filters, and passes the argument table through. If no filters can be determined this way,
constructBuilding throws an error.

Constructions module

• [Link](pos,type,item_type,mat_index)
Designates a new construction at given position. If there already is a planned but not completed construction
there, changes its type. Returns true, or false if obstructed. Note that designated constructions are technically
buildings.
• [Link](pos), or designateRemove(x,y,z)
If there is a construction or a planned construction at the specified coordinates, designates it for removal, or
instantly cancels the planned one. Returns true, was_only_planned if removed; or false if none found.

Kitchen module

• [Link](type, item_type, item_subtype, mat_type,

mat_index)
Finds a kitchen exclusion in the vectors in [Link]. Returns -1 if not found.
– type is a df.kitchen_exc_type, i.e. df.kitchen_exc_type.Cook or df.
kitchen_exc_type.Brew.
– item_type is a df.item_type
– item_subtype, mat_type, and mat_index are all numeric
• [Link](type, item_type, item_subtype, mat_type,
mat_index)
• [Link](type, item_type, item_subtype, mat_type,
mat_index)
Adds or removes a kitchen exclusion, using the same parameters as findExclusion. Both return true on
success and false on failure, e.g. when adding an exclusion that already exists or removing one that does not.

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Screen API

The screen module implements support for drawing to the tiled screen of the game. Note that drawing only has any
effect when done from callbacks, so it can only be feasibly used in the core context.
Basic painting functions:
• [Link]()
Returns width, height of the screen.
• [Link]()
Returns x,y of the tile the mouse is over.
• [Link]()
Checks if [GRAPHICS:YES] was specified in init.
• [Link](pen,x,y[,char,tile,map])
Paints a tile using given parameters. See below for a description of pen.
Returns false if coordinates out of bounds, or other error.
• [Link](x,y[,map])
Retrieves the contents of the specified tile from the screen buffers. Returns a pen object, or nil if invalid or
TrueType.
• [Link](pen,x,y,text[,map])
Paints the string starting at x,y. Uses the string characters in sequence to override the ch field of pen.
Returns true if painting at least one character succeeded.
• [Link](pen,x1,y1,x2,y2[,map])
Fills the rectangle specified by the coordinates with the given pen. Returns true if painting at least one character
succeeded.
• [Link](pagename,x,y)
Finds a tile from a graphics set (i.e. the raws used for creatures), if in graphics mode and loaded.
Returns: tile, tile_grayscale, or nil if not found. The values can then be used for the tile field of pen structures.
• [Link]()
Fills the screen with blank background.
• [Link]()
Requests repaint of the screen by setting a flag. Unlike other functions in this section, this may be used at any
time.
• [Link](key)
Returns the string that should be used to represent the given logical keybinding on the screen in texts like “press
Key to . . . ”.
• [Link](key)
Returns the integer character code of the string input character represented by the given logical keybinding, or
nil if not a string input key.
• [Link](charcode)
Returns the keybinding representing the given string input character, or nil if impossible.

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The “pen” argument used by functions above may be represented by a table with the following possible fields:
ch Provides the ordinary tile character, as either a 1-character string or a number. Can be overridden with
the char function parameter.
fg Foreground color for the ordinary tile. Defaults to COLOR_GREY (7).
bg Background color for the ordinary tile. Defaults to COLOR_BLACK (0).
bold Bright/bold text flag. If nil, computed based on (fg & 8); fg is masked to 3 bits. Otherwise should
be true/false.
tile Graphical tile id. Ignored unless [GRAPHICS:YES] was in [Link].
tile_color = true Specifies that the tile should be shaded with fg/bg.
tile_fg, tile_bg If specified, overrides tile_color and supplies shading colors directly.
Alternatively, it may be a pre-parsed native object with the following API:
• [Link](base[,pen_or_fg,bg,bold])
Creates a new pre-parsed pen by combining its arguments according to the following rules:
1. The base argument may be a pen object, a pen table as specified above, or a single color value. In the
single value case, it is split into fg and bold properties, and others are initialized to 0. This argument
will be converted to a pre-parsed object and returned if there are no other arguments.
2. If the pen_or_fg argument is specified as a table or object, it completely replaces the base, and is
returned instead of it.
3. Otherwise, the non-nil subset of the optional arguments is used to update the fg, bg and bold properties
of the base. If the bold flag is nil, but pen_or_fg is a number, bold is deduced from it like in the simple
base case.
This function always returns a new pre-parsed pen, or nil.
• [Link](base[,pen_or_fg,bg,bold])
Exactly like the above function, but returns base or pen_or_fg directly if they are already a pre-parsed native
object.
• [Link], [Link] = value, pairs(pen)
Pre-parsed pens support reading and setting their properties, but don’t behave exactly like a simple table would;
for instance, assigning to pen.tile_color also resets pen.tile_fg and pen.tile_bg to nil.
In order to actually be able to paint to the screen, it is necessary to create and register a viewscreen (basically a modal
dialog) with the game.

Warning: As a matter of policy, in order to avoid user confusion, all interface screens added by dfhack should
bear the “DFHack” signature.

Screens are managed with the following functions:

• [Link](screen[,below])
Displays the given screen, possibly placing it below a different one. The screen must not be already shown.
Returns true if success.
• [Link](screen[,to_first])
Marks the screen to be removed when the game enters its event loop. If to_first is true, all screens up to the
first one will be deleted.

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• [Link](screen)
Checks if the screen is already marked for removal.
Apart from a native viewscreen object, these functions accept a table as a screen. In this case, show creates a new
native viewscreen that delegates all processing to methods stored in that table.

Note: Lua-implemented screens are only supported in the core context.

Supported callbacks and fields are:

• screen._native
Initialized by show with a reference to the backing viewscreen object, and removed again when the object is
deleted.
• function screen:onShow()
Called by [Link] if successful.
• function screen:onDismiss()
Called by [Link] if successful.
• function screen:onDestroy()
Called from the destructor when the viewscreen is deleted.
• function screen:onResize(w, h)
Called before onRender or onIdle when the window size has changed.
• function screen:onRender()
Called when the viewscreen should paint itself. This is the only context where the above painting functions
work correctly.
If omitted, the screen is cleared; otherwise it should do that itself. In order to make a see-through dialog, call
self._native.parent:render().
• function screen:onIdle()
Called every frame when the screen is on top of the stack.
• function screen:onHelp()
Called when the help keybinding is activated (usually ‘?’).
• function screen:onInput(keys)
Called when keyboard or mouse events are available. If any keys are pressed, the keys argument is a table
mapping them to true. Note that this refers to logical keybingings computed from real keys via options; if
multiple interpretations exist, the table will contain multiple keys.
The table also may contain special keys:
_STRING Maps to an integer in range 0-255. Duplicates a separate “STRING_A???” code for convenience.
_MOUSE_L, _MOUSE_R If the left or right mouse button is being pressed.
_MOUSE_L_DOWN, _MOUSE_R_DOWN If the left or right mouse button was just pressed.
If this method is omitted, the screen is dismissed on receival of the LEAVESCREEN key.
• function screen:onGetSelectedUnit()
• function screen:onGetSelectedItem()

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• function screen:onGetSelectedJob()
• function screen:onGetSelectedBuilding()
Implement these to provide a return value for the matching [Link]... function.

PenArray class

Screens that require significant computation in their onRender() method can use a [Link] instance to
cache their output.
• [Link](w, h)
Creates a new penarray instance with an internal buffer of w * h tiles. These dimensions currently cannot be
changed after a penarray is instantiated.
• penarray:clear()
Clears the internal buffer, similar to [Link]().
• penarray:get_dims()
Returns the x and y dimensions of the internal buffer.
• penarray:get_tile(x, y)
Returns a pen corresponding to the tile at (x, y) in the internal buffer. Note that indices are 0-based.
• penarray:set_tile(x, y, pen)
Sets the tile at (x, y) in the internal buffer to the pen given.
• penarray:draw(x, y, w, h, bufferx, buffery)
Draws the contents of the internal buffer, beginning at (bufferx, buffery) and spanning w columns and h
rows, to the screen starting at (x, y). Any invalid screen and buffer coordinates are skipped.
bufferx and buffery default to 0.

Filesystem module

Most of these functions return true on success and false on failure, unless otherwise noted.
• [Link](path)
Returns true if path exists.
• [Link](path)
Returns true if path exists and is a file.
• [Link](path)
Returns true if path exists and is a directory.
• [Link]()
Returns the current working directory. To retrieve the DF path, use [Link]() instead.
• [Link](path)
Changes the current directory to path. Use with caution.

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• [Link](path)
Creates a new directory. Returns false if unsuccessful, including if path already exists.
• [Link].mkdir_recursive(path)
Creates a new directory, including any intermediate directories that don’t exist yet. Returns true if the folder
was created or already existed, or false if unsuccessful.
• [Link](path)
Removes a directory. Only works if the directory is already empty.
• [Link](path)
Returns the modification time (in seconds) of the file or directory specified by path, or -1 if path does not
exist. This depends on the system clock and should only be used locally.
• [Link](path)
• [Link](path)
Return values vary across operating systems - return the st_atime and st_ctime fields of a C++ stat struct,
respectively.
• [Link](path)
Lists files/directories in a directory. Returns {} if path does not exist. Set include_prefix to false if you don’t
want the path string prepended to the returned filenames.
• [Link].listdir_recursive(path [, depth = 10[, include_prefix =
true]])
Lists all files/directories in a directory and its subdirectories. All directories are listed before their contents.
Returns a table with subtables of the format:

{path: 'path to file', isdir: true|false}

Note that listdir() returns only the base name of each directory entry, while listdir_recursive()
returns the initial path and all components following it for each entry.

Console API

• [Link]()
Clears the console; equivalent to the cls built-in command.
• [Link]()
Flushes all output to the console. This can be useful when printing text that does not end in a newline but should
still be displayed.

Internal API

These functions are intended for the use by dfhack developers, and are only documented here for completeness:
• [Link]
The table used by dfhack.run_script() to give every script its own global environment, persistent be-
tween calls to the script.

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• [Link]()
Returns the PE timestamp of the DF executable (only on Windows)
• [Link].getMD5()
Returns the MD5 of the DF executable (only on OS X and Linux)
• [Link](name)
Returns the global address name, or nil.
• [Link](name, value)
Sets the global address name. Returns the value of getAddress before the change.
• [Link](name)
Returns the pre-extracted vtable address name, or nil.
• [Link]()
Returns the mmap base of the executable.
• [Link]()
Returns the ASLR rebase offset of the DF executable.
• [Link](offset[,to_file])
Returns the re-aligned offset, or nil if invalid. If to_file is true, the offset is adjusted from memory to file.
This function returns the original value everywhere except windows.
• [Link]()
Returns a sequence of tables describing virtual memory ranges of the process.
• [Link](dest,src,count)
Like memmove below, but works even if dest is read-only memory, e.g. code. If destination overlaps a com-
pletely invalid memory region, or another error occurs, returns false.
• [Link](write_table[, verify_table])
The first argument must be a lua table, which is interpreted as a mapping from memory addresses to byte values
that should be stored there. The second argument may be a similar table of values that need to be checked before
writing anything.
The function takes care to either apply all of write_table, or none of it. An empty write_table with a
nonempty verify_table can be used to reasonably safely check if the memory contains certain values.
Returns true if successful, or nil, error_msg, address if not.
• [Link](dest,src,count)
Wraps the standard memmove function. Accepts both numbers and refs as pointers.
• [Link](ptr1,ptr2,count)
Wraps the standard memcmp function.
• [Link](haystack,count,step,needle,nsize)
Searches for needle of nsize bytes in haystack, using count steps of step bytes. Returns: step_idx,
sum_idx, found_ptr, or nil if not found.

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• [Link](old_data, new_data, start_idx, end_idx, eltsize[,

oldval, newval, delta])
Searches for differences between buffers at ptr1 and ptr2, as integers of size eltsize. The oldval, newval or delta
arguments may be used to specify additional constraints. Returns: found_index, or nil if end reached.
• [Link](path)
Lists files/directories in a directory. Returns: file_names or empty table if not found. Identical to dfhack.
[Link](path).
• [Link](errno)
Wraps strerror() - returns a string describing a platform-specific error code
• [Link](path, search_before)
Adds path to the list of paths searched for scripts (both in Lua and Ruby). If search_before is passed and
true, the path will be searched before the default paths (e.g. raw/scripts, hack/scripts); otherwise,
it will be searched after.
Returns true if successful or false otherwise (e.g. if the path does not exist or has already been registered).
• [Link](path)
Removes path from the script search paths and returns true if successful.
• [Link]()
Returns the list of script paths in the order they are searched, including defaults. (This can change if a world is
loaded.)
• [Link](name)
Searches script paths for the script name and returns the path of the first file found, or nil on failure.

Note: This requires an extension to be specified (.lua or .rb) - use [Link]() to include
the .lua extension automatically.

• [Link].md5(string)
Returns the MD5 hash of the given string.
• [Link].md5File(filename[,first_kb])
Computes the MD5 hash of the given file. Returns hash, length on success (where length is the number
of bytes read from the file), or nil, error on failure.
If the parameter first_kb is specified and evaluates to true, and the hash was computed successfully, a
table containing the first 1024 bytes of the file is returned as the third return value.
• [Link]()
Returns a numeric identifier of the current thread.

Core interpreter context

While plugins can create any number of interpreter instances, there is one special context managed by dfhack core. It
is the only context that can receive events from DF and plugins.
Core context specific functions:

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• dfhack.is_core_context
Boolean value; true in the core context.
• [Link](time,mode,callback)
Arranges for the callback to be called once the specified period of time passes. The mode argument specifies the
unit of time used, and may be one of 'frames' (raw FPS), 'ticks' (unpaused FPS), 'days', 'months',
'years' (in-game time). All timers other than 'frames' are cancelled when the world is unloaded, and
cannot be queued until it is loaded again. Returns the timer id, or nil if unsuccessful due to world being
unloaded.
• dfhack.timeout_active(id[,new_callback])
Returns the active callback with the given id, or nil if inactive or nil id. If called with 2 arguments, replaces the
current callback with the given value, if still active. Using timeout_active(id,nil) cancels the timer.
• [Link] = function(code)
Event. Receives the same codes as plugin_onstatechange in C++.

Event type

An event is a native object transparently wrapping a lua table, and implementing a __call metamethod. When it is
invoked, it loops through the table with next and calls all contained values. This is intended as an extensible way to
add listeners.
This type itself is available in any context, but only the core context has the actual events defined by C++ code.
Features:
• [Link]()
Creates a new instance of an event.
• event[key] = function
Sets the function as one of the listeners. Assign nil to remove it.

Note: The [Link] key is reserved for the use by the C++ owner of the event; it is an error to try setting it.

• #event
Returns the number of non-nil listeners.
• pairs(event)
Iterates over all listeners in the table.
• event(args...)
Invokes all listeners contained in the event in an arbitrary order using [Link].

7.5.3 Lua Modules

• Global environment
• utils

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• dumper
• profiler
– Examples
• class

DFHack sets up the lua interpreter so that the built-in require function can be used to load shared lua code from
hack/lua/. The dfhack namespace reference itself may be obtained via require('dfhack'), although it is
initially created as a global by C++ bootstrap code.
The following module management functions are provided:
• mkmodule(name)
Creates an environment table for the module. Intended to be used as:

local _ENV = mkmodule('foo')

...
return _ENV

If called the second time, returns the same table; thus providing reload support.
• reload(name)
Reloads a previously require-d module “name” from the file. Intended as a help for module development.
• dfhack.BASE_G
This variable contains the root global environment table, which is used as a base for all module and script
environments. Its contents should be kept limited to the standard Lua library and API described in this document.

Global environment

A number of variables and functions are provided in the base global environment by the mandatory init file [Link]:
• Color constants
These are applicable both for [Link]() and color fields in DF functions or structures:

COLOR_RESET, COLOR_BLACK, COLOR_BLUE, COLOR_GREEN, COLOR_CYAN,

COLOR_RED, COLOR_MAGENTA, COLOR_BROWN, COLOR_GREY, COLOR_DARKGREY,
COLOR_LIGHTBLUE, COLOR_LIGHTGREEN, COLOR_LIGHTCYAN, COLOR_LIGHTRED,
COLOR_LIGHTMAGENTA, COLOR_YELLOW, COLOR_WHITE

• [Link] event codes

Available only in the core context, as is the event itself:
SC_WORLD_LOADED, SC_WORLD_UNLOADED, SC_MAP_LOADED, SC_MAP_UNLOADED,
SC_VIEWSCREEN_CHANGED, SC_CORE_INITIALIZED
• Functions already described above
safecall, qerror, mkmodule, reload
• Miscellaneous constants
NEWLINE, COMMA, PERIOD evaluate to the relevant character strings.
DEFAULT_NIL is an unspecified unique token used by the class module below.

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• printall(obj)
If the argument is a lua table or DF object reference, prints all fields.
• printall_recurse(obj)
If the argument is a lua table or DF object reference, prints all fields recursively.
• copyall(obj)
Returns a shallow copy of the table or reference as a lua table.
• pos2xyz(obj)
The object must have fields x, y and z. Returns them as 3 values. If obj is nil, or x is -30000 (the usual marker
for undefined coordinates), returns nil.
• xyz2pos(x,y,z)
Returns a table with x, y and z as fields.
• same_xyz(a,b)
Checks if a and b have the same x, y and z fields.
• get_path_xyz(path,i)
Returns path.x[i], path.y[i], path.z[i].
• pos2xy(obj), xy2pos(x,y), same_xy(a,b), get_path_xy(a,b)
Same as above, but for 2D coordinates.
• safe_index(obj,index...)
Walks a sequence of dereferences, which may be represented by numbers or strings. Returns nil if any of obj or
indices is nil, or a numeric index is out of array bounds.

utils

• [Link](a,b)
Comparator function; returns -1 if a<b, 1 if a>b, 0 otherwise.
• utils.compare_name(a,b)
Comparator for names; compares empty string last.
• utils.is_container(obj)
Checks if obj is a container ref.
• utils.make_index_sequence(start,end)
Returns a lua sequence of numbers in start..end.
• utils.make_sort_order(data, ordering)
Computes a sorted permutation of objects in data, as a table of integer indices into the data sequence. Uses
data.n as input length if present.
The ordering argument is a sequence of ordering specs, represented as lua tables with following possible fields:
[Link] = function(value) Computes comparison key from input data value. Not called on nil. If omitted, the
comparison key is the value itself.
ord.key_table = function(data) Computes a key table from the data table in one go.

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[Link] = function(a,b) Comparison function. Defaults to [Link] above. Called on non-nil

keys; nil sorts last.
ord.nil_first = true/false If true, nil keys are sorted first instead of last.
[Link] = true/false If true, sort non-nil keys in descending order.
For every comparison during sorting the specs are applied in order until an unambiguous decision is reached.
Sorting is stable.
Example of sorting a sequence by field foo:

local spec = { key = function(v) return [Link] end }

local order = utils.make_sort_order(data, { spec })
local output = {}
for i = 1,#order do output[i] = data[order[i]] end

Separating the actual reordering of the sequence in this way enables applying the same permutation to multiple
arrays. This function is used by the sort plugin.
• for link,item in [Link](list)
Iterates a df-list structure, for example [Link].job_list.
• [Link](tgt, src)
Does a recursive assignment of src into tgt. Uses [Link] if tgt is a native object ref; otherwise recurses
into lua tables.
• [Link](obj, deep)
Performs a shallow, or semi-deep copy of the object as a lua table tree. The deep mode recurses into lua tables
and subobjects, except pointers to other heap objects. Null pointers are represented as [Link]. Zero-based
native containers are converted to 1-based lua sequences.
• utils.clone_with_default(obj, default, force)
Copies the object, using the default lua table tree as a guide to which values should be skipped as uninterest-
ing. The force argument makes it always return a non-nil value.
• utils.parse_bitfield_int(value, type_ref)
Given an int value, and a bitfield type in the df tree, it returns a lua table mapping the enabled bit keys to true,
unless value is 0, in which case it returns nil.
• utils.list_bitfield_flags(bitfield[, list])
Adds all enabled bitfield keys to list or a newly-allocated empty sequence, and returns it. The bitfield
argument may be nil.
• utils.sort_vector(vector,field,cmpfun)
Sorts a native vector or lua sequence using the comparator function. If field is not nil, applies the comparator
to the field instead of the whole object.
• utils.linear_index(vector,key[,field])
Searches for key in the vector, and returns index, found_value, or nil if none found.
• [Link](vector,key,field,cmpfun,min,max)
Does a binary search in a native vector or lua sequence for key, using cmpfun and field like sort_vector. If
min and max are specified, they are used as the search subrange bounds.
If found, returns item, true, idx. Otherwise returns nil, false, insert_idx, where insert_idx is the correct insertion
point.

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• utils.insert_sorted(vector,item,field,cmpfun)
Does a binary search, and inserts item if not found. Returns did_insert, vector[idx], idx.
• utils.insert_or_update(vector,item,field,cmpfun)
Like insert_sorted, but also assigns the item into the vector cell if insertion didn’t happen.
As an example, you can use this to set skill values:

utils.insert_or_update([Link], {new=true, id=..., rating=...}, 'id')

(For an explanation of new=true, see Recursive table assignment)

• utils.erase_sorted_key(vector,key,field,cmpfun)
Removes the item with the given key from the list. Returns: did_erase, vector[idx], idx.
• utils.erase_sorted(vector,item,field,cmpfun)
Exactly like erase_sorted_key, but if field is specified, takes the key from item[field].
• utils.call_with_string(obj,methodname,...)
Allocates a temporary string object, calls obj:method(tmp,...), and returns the value written into the
temporary after deleting it.
• [Link](building)
Returns the string description of the given building.
• [Link](building)
Returns an x/y/z table pointing at the building center.
• utils.split_string(string, delimiter)
Splits the string by the given delimiter, and returns a sequence of results.
• utils.prompt_yes_no(prompt, default)
Presents a yes/no prompt to the user. If default is not nil, allows just pressing Enter to submit the default
choice. If the user enters 'abort', throws an error.
• utils.prompt_input(prompt, checkfun, quit_str)
Presents a prompt to input data, until a valid string is entered. Once checkfun(input) returns true, . . . ,
passes the values through. If the user enters the quit_str (defaults to '~~~'), throws an error.
• utils.check_number(text)
A prompt_input checkfun that verifies a number input.

dumper

A third-party lua table dumper module from [Link] Defines one function:
• [Link](value, varname, fastmode, ident, indent_step)
Returns value converted to a string. The indent_step argument specifies the indentation step size in
spaces. For the other arguments see the original documentation link above.

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profiler

A third-party lua profiler module from [Link] Module defines one function to
create profiler objects which can be used to profile and generate report.
• [Link]([variant[, sampling_frequency]])
Returns an profile object with variant either 'time' or 'call'. 'time' variant takes optional
sampling_frequency parameter to select lua instruction counts between samples. Default is 'time'
variant with 10*1000 frequency.
'call' variant has much higher runtime cost which will increase the runtime of profiled code by factor of ten.
For the extreme costs it provides accurate function call counts that can help locate code which takes much time
in native calls.
• obj:start()
Resets collected statistics. Then it starts collecting new statistics.
• obj:stop()
Stops profile collection.
• obj:report(outfile[, sort_by_total_time])
Write a report from previous statistics collection to outfile. outfile should be writeable io file object
([Link] or [Link]). Passing true as second parameter sort_by_total_time switches sorting
order to use total time instead of default self time order.
• obj:prevent(function)
Adds an ignore filter for a function. It will ignore the pointed function and all of it children.

Examples

local prof = [Link]()

prof:start()

profiledCode()

prof:stop()

local out = [Link]( "[Link]", "w+")

prof:report(out)
out:close()

class

Implements a trivial single-inheritance class system.

• Foo = defclass(Foo[, ParentClass])
Defines or updates class Foo. The Foo = defclass(Foo) syntax is needed so that when the module or
script is reloaded, the class identity will be preserved through the preservation of global variable values.
The defclass function is defined as a stub in the global namespace, and using it will auto-load the class
module.

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• [Link]
This class field is set by defclass to the parent class, and allows a readable [Link](self,
...) syntax for calling superclass methods.
• [Link] { foo = xxx, bar = yyy }
Declares certain instance fields to be attributes, i.e. auto-initialized from fields in the table used as the constructor
argument. If omitted, they are initialized with the default values specified in this declaration.
If the default value should be nil, use ATTRS { foo = DEFAULT_NIL }.
Declaring an attribute is mostly the same as defining your init method like this:

function [Link](args)
self.attr1 = args.attr1 or default1
self.attr2 = args.attr2 or default2
...
end

The main difference is that attributes are processed as a separate initialization step, before any init methods
are called. They also make the directy relation between instance fields and constructor arguments more explicit.
• new_obj = Class{ foo = arg, bar = arg, ... }
Calling the class as a function creates and initializes a new instance. Initialization happens in this order:
1. An empty instance table is created, and its metatable set.
2. The preinit methods are called via invoke_before (see below) with the table used as argument to
the class. These methods are intended for validating and tweaking that argument table.
3. Declared ATTRS are initialized from the argument table or their default values.
4. The init methods are called via invoke_after with the argument table. This is the main constructor
method.
5. The postinit methods are called via invoke_after with the argument table. Place code that should
be called after the object is fully constructed here.
Predefined instance methods:
• instance:assign{ foo = xxx }
Assigns all values in the input table to the matching instance fields.
• instance:callback(method_name, [args...])
Returns a closure that invokes the specified method of the class, properly passing in self, and optionally a number
of initial arguments too. The arguments given to the closure are appended to these.
• instance:cb_getfield(field_name)
Returns a closure that returns the specified field of the object when called.
• instance:cb_setfield(field_name)
Returns a closure that sets the specified field to its argument when called.
• instance:invoke_before(method_name, args...)
Navigates the inheritance chain of the instance starting from the most specific class, and invokes the specified
method with the arguments if it is defined in that specific class. Equivalent to the following definition in every
class:

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function Class:invoke_before(method, ...)

if rawget(Class, method) then
rawget(Class, method)(self, ...)
end
[Link].invoke_before(method, ...)
end

• instance:invoke_after(method_name, args...)
Like invoke_before, only the method is called after the recursive call to super, i.e. invocations happen in the
parent to child order.
These two methods are inspired by the Common Lisp before and after methods, and are intended for implement-
ing similar protocols for certain things. The class library itself uses them for constructors.
To avoid confusion, these methods cannot be redefined.

7.5.4 In-game UI Library

• gui
– Misc
– ViewRect class
– Painter class
– View class
– Screen class
– FramedScreen class
• [Link]
– Widget class
– Panel class
– Pages class
– EditField class
– Label class
– List class
– FilteredList class

A number of lua modules with names starting with gui are dedicated to wrapping the natives of the dfhack.
screen module in a way that is easy to use. This allows relatively easily and naturally creating dialogs that integrate
in the main game UI window.
These modules make extensive use of the class module, and define things ranging from the basic Painter, View
and Screen classes, to fully functional predefined dialogs.

gui

This module defines the most important classes and functions for implementing interfaces. This documents those of
them that are considered stable.

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Misc

• USE_GRAPHICS
Contains the value of [Link](), which cannot be changed without restarting
the game and thus is constant during the session.
• CLEAR_PEN
The black pen used to clear the screen.
• simulateInput(screen, keys...)
This function wraps an undocumented native function that passes a set of keycodes to a screen, and is the official
way to do that.
Every argument after the initial screen may be nil, a numeric keycode, a string keycode, a sequence of numeric
or string keycodes, or a mapping of keycodes to true or false. For instance, it is possible to use the table passed
as argument to onInput.
• mkdims_xy(x1,y1,x2,y2)
Returns a table containing the arguments as fields, and also width and height that contains the rectangle
dimensions.
• mkdims_wh(x1,y1,width,height)
Returns the same kind of table as mkdims_xy, only this time it computes x2 and y2.
• is_in_rect(rect,x,y)
Checks if the given point is within a rectangle, represented by a table produced by one of the mkdims functions.
• blink_visible(delay)
Returns true or false, with the value switching to the opposite every delay msec. This is intended for rendering
blinking interface objects.
• getKeyDisplay(keycode)
Wraps [Link] in order to allow using strings for the keycode argument.

ViewRect class

This class represents an on-screen rectangle with an associated independent clip area rectangle. It is the base of the
Painter class, and is used by Views to track their client area.
• ViewRect{ rect = ..., clip_rect = ..., view_rect = ..., clip_view = ... }
The constructor has the following arguments:
rect The mkdims rectangle in screen coordinates of the logical viewport. Defaults to the whole
screen.
clip_rect The clip rectangle in screen coordinates. Defaults to rect.
view_rect A ViewRect object to copy from; overrides both rect and clip_rect.
clip_view A ViewRect object to intersect the specified clip area with.
• rect:isDefunct()
Returns true if the clip area is empty, i.e. no painting is possible.

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• rect:inClipGlobalXY(x,y)
Checks if these global coordinates are within the clip rectangle.
• rect:inClipLocalXY(x,y)
Checks if these coordinates (specified relative to x1,y1) are within the clip rectangle.
• rect:localXY(x,y)
Converts a pair of global coordinates to local; returns x_local,y_local.
• rect:globalXY(x,y)
Converts a pair of local coordinates to global; returns x_global,y_global.
• rect:viewport(x,y,w,h) or rect:viewport(subrect)
Returns a ViewRect representing a sub-rectangle of the current one. The arguments are specified in local coor-
dinates; the subrect argument must be a mkdims table. The returned object consists of the exact specified
rectangle, and a clip area produced by intersecting it with the clip area of the original object.

Painter class

The painting natives in [Link] apply to the whole screen, are completely stateless and don’t implement
clipping.
The Painter class inherits from ViewRect to provide clipping and local coordinates, and tracks current cursor position
and current pen.
• Painter{ ..., pen = ..., key_pen = ... }
In addition to ViewRect arguments, Painter accepts a suggestion of the initial value for the main pen, and the
keybinding pen. They default to COLOR_GREY and COLOR_LIGHTGREEN otherwise.
There are also some convenience functions that wrap this constructor:
– [Link](rect,pen)
– Painter.new_view(view_rect,pen)
– Painter.new_xy(x1,y1,x2,y2,pen)
– Painter.new_wh(x1,y1,width,height,pen)
• painter:isValidPos()
Checks if the current cursor position is within the clip area.
• painter:viewport(x,y,w,h)
Like the superclass method, but returns a Painter object.
• painter:cursor()
Returns the current cursor x,y in local coordinates.
• painter:seek(x,y)
Sets the current cursor position, and returns self. Either of the arguments may be nil to keep the current value.
• painter:advance(dx,dy)
Adds the given offsets to the cursor position, and returns self. Either of the arguments may be nil to keep the
current value.

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• painter:newline([dx])
Advances the cursor to the start of the next line plus the given x offset, and returns self.
• painter:pen(...)
Sets the current pen to [Link](old_pen,...), and returns self.
• painter:key_pen(...)
Sets the current keybinding pen to [Link](old_pen,...), and returns self.
• painter:clear()
Fills the whole clip rectangle with CLEAR_PEN, and returns self.
• painter:fill(x1,y1,x2,y2[,...]) or painter:fill(rect[,...])
Fills the specified local coordinate rectangle with [Link](cur_pen,...), and returns self.
• painter:char([char[, ...]])
Paints one character using char and [Link](cur_pen,...); returns self. The char argu-
ment, if not nil, is used to override the ch property of the pen.
• painter:tile([char, tile[, ...]])
Like above, but also allows overriding the tile property on ad-hoc basis.
• painter:string(text[, ...])
Paints the string with [Link](cur_pen,...); returns self.
• painter:key(keycode[, ...])
Paints the description of the keycode using [Link](cur_key_pen,...); returns self.
As noted above, all painting methods return self, in order to allow chaining them like this:

painter:pen(foo):seek(x,y):char(1):advance(1):string('bar')...

View class

This class is the common abstract base of both the stand-alone screens and common widgets to be used inside them.
It defines the basic layout, rendering and event handling framework.
The class defines the following attributes:
visible Specifies that the view should be painted.
active Specifies that the view should receive events, if also visible.
view_id Specifies an identifier to easily identify the view among subviews. This is reserved for imple-
mentation of top-level views, and should not be used by widgets for their internal subviews.
It also always has the following fields:
subviews Contains a table of all subviews. The sequence part of the table is used for iteration. In addition,
subviews are also indexed under their view_id, if any; see addviews() below.
These fields are computed by the layout process:
frame_parent_rect The ViewRect represeting the client area of the parent view.
frame_rect The mkdims rect of the outer frame in parent-local coordinates.
frame_body The ViewRect representing the body part of the View’s own frame.

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The class has the following methods:

• view:addviews(list)
Adds the views in the list to the subviews sequence. If any of the views in the list have view_id attributes
that don’t conflict with existing keys in subviews, also stores them under the string keys. Finally, copies any
non-conflicting string keys from the subviews tables of the listed views.
Thus, doing something like this:

self:addviews{
Panel{
view_id = 'panel',
subviews = {
Label{ view_id = 'label' }
}
}
}

Would make the label accessible as both [Link] and [Link].

[Link].
• view:getWindowSize()
Returns the dimensions of the frame_body rectangle.
• view:getMousePos()
Returns the mouse x,y in coordinates local to the frame_body rectangle if it is within its clip area, or nothing
otherwise.
• view:updateLayout([parent_rect])
Recomputes layout of the view and its subviews. If no argument is given, re-uses the previous parent rect. The
process goes as follows:
1. Calls preUpdateLayout(parent_rect) via invoke_before.
2. Uses computeFrame(parent_rect) to compute the desired frame.
3. Calls postComputeFrame(frame_body) via invoke_after.
4. Calls updateSubviewLayout(frame_body) to update children.
5. Calls postUpdateLayout(frame_body) via invoke_after.
• view:computeFrame(parent_rect) (for overriding)
Called by updateLayout in order to compute the frame rectangle(s). Should return the mkdims rectangle
for the outer frame, and optionally also for the body frame. If only one rectangle is returned, it is used for both
frames, and the margin becomes zero.
• view:updateSubviewLayout(frame_body)
Calls updateLayout on all children.
• view:render(painter)
Given the parent’s painter, renders the view via the following process:
1. Calls onRenderFrame(painter, frame_rect) to paint the outer frame.
2. Creates a new painter using the frame_body rect.
3. Calls onRenderBody(new_painter) to paint the client area.
4. Calls renderSubviews(new_painter) to paint visible children.

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• view:renderSubviews(painter)
Calls render on all visible subviews in the order they appear in the subviews sequence.
• view:onRenderFrame(painter, rect) (for overriding)
Called by render to paint the outer frame; by default does nothing.
• view:onRenderBody(painter) (for overriding)
Called by render to paint the client area; by default does nothing.
• view:onInput(keys) (for overriding)
Override this to handle events. By default directly calls inputToSubviews. Return a true value from this
method to signal that the event has been handled and should not be passed on to more views.
• view:inputToSubviews(keys)
Calls onInput on all visible active subviews, iterating the subviews sequence in reverse order, so that
topmost subviews get events first. Returns true if any of the subviews handled the event.

Screen class

This is a View subclass intended for use as a stand-alone dialog or screen. It adds the following methods:
• screen:isShown()
Returns true if the screen is currently in the game engine’s display stack.
• screen:isDismissed()
Returns true if the screen is dismissed.
• screen:isActive()
Returns true if the screen is shown and not dismissed.
• screen:invalidate()
Requests a repaint. Note that currently using it is not necessary, because repaints are constantly requested
automatically, due to issues with native screens happening otherwise.
• screen:renderParent()
Asks the parent native screen to render itself, or clears the screen if impossible.
• screen:sendInputToParent(...)
Uses simulateInput to send keypresses to the native parent screen.
• screen:show([parent])
Adds the screen to the display stack with the given screen as the parent; if parent is not specified, places this one
one topmost. Before calling [Link], calls self:onAboutToShow(parent).
• screen:onAboutToShow(parent) (for overriding)
Called when [Link] is about to be called.
• screen:onShow()
Called by [Link] once the screen is successfully shown.

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• screen:dismiss()
Dismisses the screen. A dismissed screen does not receive any more events or paint requests, but may remain in
the display stack for a short time until the game removes it.
• screen:onDismiss() (for overriding)
Called by [Link]().
• screen:onDestroy() (for overriding)
Called by the native code when the screen is fully destroyed and removed from the display stack. Place code
that absolutely must be called whenever the screen is removed by any means here.
• screen:onResize, screen:onRender
Defined as callbacks for native code.

FramedScreen class

A Screen subclass that paints a visible frame around its body. Most dialogs should inherit from this class.
A framed screen has the following attributes:
frame_style A table that defines a set of pens to draw various parts of the frame.
frame_title A string to display in the middle of the top of the frame.
frame_width Desired width of the client area. If nil, the screen will occupy the whole width.
frame_height Likewise, for height.
frame_inset The gap between the frame and the client area. Defaults to 0.
frame_background The pen to fill in the frame with. Defaults to CLEAR_PEN.
There are the following predefined frame style tables:
• GREY_FRAME
A plain grey-colored frame.
• BOUNDARY_FRAME
The same frame as used by the usual full-screen DF views, like dwarfmode.
• GREY_LINE_FRAME
A frame consisting of grey lines, similar to the one used by titan announcements.

[Link]

This module implements some basic widgets based on the View infrastructure.

Widget class

Base of all the widgets. Inherits from View and has the following attributes:
• frame = {...}
Specifies the constraints on the outer frame of the widget. If omitted, the widget will occupy the whole parent
rectangle.

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The frame is specified as a table with the following possible fields:

l gap between the left edges of the frame and the parent.
t gap between the top edges of the frame and the parent.
r gap between the right edges of the frame and the parent.
b gap between the bottom edges of the frame and the parent.
w maximum width of the frame.
h maximum heigth of the frame.
xalign X alignment of the frame.
yalign Y alignment of the frame.
First the l,t,r,b fields restrict the available area for placing the frame. If w and h are not specified or larger
then the computed area, it becomes the frame. Otherwise the smaller frame is placed within the are based on the
xalign/yalign fields. If the align hints are omitted, they are assumed to be 0, 1, or 0.5 based on which of
the l/r/t/b fields are set.
• frame_inset = {...}
Specifies the gap between the outer frame, and the client area. The attribute may be a simple integer value to
specify a uniform inset, or a table with the following fields:
l left margin.
t top margin.
r right margin.
b bottom margin.
x left/right margin, if l and/or r are omitted.
y top/bottom margin, if t and/or b are omitted.
• frame_background = pen
The pen to fill the outer frame with. Defaults to no fill.

Panel class

Inherits from Widget, and intended for grouping a number of subviews.

Has attributes:
• subviews = {}
Used to initialize the subview list in the constructor.
• on_render = function(painter)
Called from onRenderBody.

Pages class

Subclass of Panel; keeps exactly one child visible.

• Pages{ ..., selected = ... }
Specifies which child to select initially; defaults to the first one.

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• pages:getSelected()
Returns the selected index, child.
• pages:setSelected(index)
Selects the specified child, hiding the previous selected one. It is permitted to use the subview object, or its
view_id as index.

EditField class

Subclass of Widget; implements a simple edit field.

Attributes:
text The current contents of the field.
text_pen The pen to draw the text with.
on_char Input validation callback; used as on_char(new_char,text). If it returns false, the char-
acter is ignored.
on_change Change notification callback; used as on_change(new_text,old_text).
on_submit Enter key callback; if set the field will handle the key and call on_submit(text).
key If specified, the field is disabled until this key is pressed. Must be given as a string.

Label class

This Widget subclass implements flowing semi-static text.

It has the following attributes:
text_pen Specifies the pen for active text.
text_dpen Specifies the pen for disabled text.
text_hpen Specifies the pen for text hovered over by the mouse, if a click handler is registered.
disabled Boolean or a callback; if true, the label is disabled.
enabled Boolean or a callback; if false, the label is disabled.
auto_height Sets [Link].h from the text height.
auto_width Sets [Link].w from the text width.
on_click A callback called when the label is clicked (optional)
on_rclick A callback called when the label is right-clicked (optional)
The text itself is represented as a complex structure, and passed to the object via the text argument of the constructor,
or via the setText method, as one of:
• A simple string, possibly containing newlines.
• A sequence of tokens.
Every token in the sequence in turn may be either a string, possibly containing newlines, or a table with the following
possible fields:
• [Link] = ...
Specifies the main text content of a token, and may be a string, or a callback returning a string.

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• [Link] = ...
Specifies the number of character positions to advance on the line before rendering the token.
• [Link] = pen
Specifies a pen to paint as one tile before the main part of the token.
• [Link] = ...
If specified either as a value or a callback, the text field is padded or truncated to the specified number.
• token.pad_char = '?'
If specified together with width, the padding area is filled with this character instead of just being skipped
over.
• [Link] = '...'
Specifies the keycode associated with the token. The string description of the key binding is added to the text
content of the token.
• token.key_sep = '...'
Specifies the separator to place between the keybinding label produced by [Link], and the main text of
the token. If the separator is ‘()’, the token is formatted as text..' ('..binding..')'. Otherwise it is
simply binding..sep..text.
• [Link], [Link]
Same as the attributes of the label itself, but applies only to the token.
• [Link], [Link]
Specify the pen and disabled pen to be used for the token’s text. The field may be either the pen itself, or a
callback that returns it.
• token.on_activate
If this field is not nil, and [Link] is set, the token will actually respond to that key binding unless disabled,
and call this callback. Eventually this may be extended with mouse click support.
• [Link]
Specifies a unique identifier for the token.
• [Link], token.x1, token.x2
Reserved for internal use.
The Label widget implements the following methods:
• label:setText(new_text)
Replaces the text currently contained in the widget.
• label:itemById(id)
Finds a token by its id field.
• label:getTextHeight()
Computes the height of the text.
• label:getTextWidth()
Computes the width of the text.

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List class

The List widget implements a simple list with paging.

It has the following attributes:
text_pen Specifies the pen for deselected list entries.
cursor_pen Specifies the pen for the selected entry.
inactive_pen If specified, used for the cursor when the widget is not active.
icon_pen Default pen for icons.
on_select Selection change callback; called as on_select(index,choice). This is also called
with nil arguments if setChoices is called with an empty list.
on_submit Enter key callback; if specified, the list reacts to the key and calls it as on_submit(index,
choice).
on_submit2 Shift-Enter key callback; if specified, the list reacts to the key and calls it as
on_submit2(index,choice).
row_height Height of every row in text lines.
icon_width If not nil, the specified number of character columns are reserved to the left of the list item
for the icons.
scroll_keys Specifies which keys the list should react to as a table.
Every list item may be specified either as a string, or as a lua table with the following fields:
text Specifies the label text in the same format as the Label text.
caption, [1] Deprecated legacy aliases for text.
text_* Reserved for internal use.
key Specifies a keybinding that acts as a shortcut for the specified item.
icon Specifies an icon string, or a pen to paint a single character. May be a callback.
icon_pen When the icon is a string, used to paint it.
The list supports the following methods:
• List{ ..., choices = ..., selected = ... }
Same as calling setChoices after construction.
• list:setChoices(choices[, selected])
Replaces the list of choices, possibly also setting the currently selected index.
• list:setSelected(selected)
Sets the currently selected index. Returns the index after validation.
• list:getChoices()
Returns the list of choices.
• list:getSelected()
Returns the selected index, choice, or nothing if the list is empty.
• list:getContentWidth()
Returns the minimal width to draw all choices without clipping.

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• list:getContentHeight()
Returns the minimal width to draw all choices without scrolling.
• list:submit()
Call the on_submit callback, as if the Enter key was handled.
• list:submit2()
Call the on_submit2 callback, as if the Shift-Enter key was handled.

FilteredList class

This widget combines List, EditField and Label into a combo-box like construction that allows filtering the list by
subwords of its items.
In addition to passing through all attributes supported by List, it supports:
edit_pen If specified, used instead of cursor_pen for the edit field.
edit_below If true, the edit field is placed below the list instead of above.
edit_key If specified, the edit field is disabled until this key is pressed.
not_found_label Specifies the text of the label shown when no items match the filter.
The list choices may include the following attributes:
search_key If specified, used instead of text to match against the filter. This is required for any entries
where text is not a string.
The widget implements:
• list:setChoices(choices[, selected])
Resets the filter, and passes through to the inner list.
• list:getChoices()
Returns the list of all choices.
• list:getVisibleChoices()
Returns the filtered list of choices.
• list:getFilter()
Returns the current filter string, and the filtered list of choices.
• list:setFilter(filter[,pos])
Sets the new filter string, filters the list, and selects the item at index pos in the unfiltered list if possible.
• list:canSubmit()
Checks if there are currently any choices in the filtered list.
• list:getSelected(), list:getContentWidth(), list:getContentHeight(),
list:submit()
Same as with an ordinary list.

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7.5.5 Plugins

• blueprint
• buildingplan
• burrows
• sort
• Eventful
– List of events
– Events from EventManager
– Functions
– Examples
• Building-hacks
– Functions
– Examples
• Luasocket
– Socket class
– Client class
– Server class
– Tcp class
• map-render
– Functions
• cxxrandom
– Native functions (exported to Lua)
– Lua plugin functions
– Lua plugin classes

* crng
* normal_distribution
* real_distribution
* int_distribution
* bool_distribution
* num_sequence
• xlsxreader

DFHack plugins may export native functions and events to lua contexts. They are automatically imported by
mkmodule('plugins.<name>'); this means that a lua module file is still necessary for require to read.
The following plugins have lua support.

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blueprint

Native functions:
• dig(start, end, name)
• build(start, end, name)
• place(start, end, name)
• query(start, end, name)
start and end are tables containing positions (see xyz2pos). name is used as the basis for the filename.

buildingplan

Native functions:
• bool isPlannableBuilding(df::building_type type) returns whether the building type is
handled by buildingplan
• void addPlannedBuilding(df::building *bld) suspends the building jobs and adds the building
to the monitor list
• void doCycle() runs a check for whether buildlings in the monitor list can be assigned items and unsus-
pended. This method runs automatically twice a game day, so you only need to call it directly if you want
buildingplan to do a check right now.

burrows

Implements extended burrow manipulations.

Events:
• [Link] = function(burrow)
Emitted when a burrow might have been renamed either through the game UI, or renameBurrow().
• [Link] = function(job_type,pos,old_tiletype,new_tiletype,
worker)
Emitted when a tile might have been dug out. Only tracked if the auto-growing burrows feature is enabled.
Native functions:
• renameBurrow(burrow,name)
Renames the burrow, emitting onBurrowRename and updating auto-grow state properly.
• findByName(burrow,name)
Finds a burrow by name, using the same rules as the plugin command line interface. Namely, trailing '+'
characters marking auto-grow burrows are ignored.
• copyUnits(target,source,enable)
Applies units from source burrow to target. The enable parameter specifies if they are to be added or
removed.
• copyTiles(target,source,enable)
Applies tiles from source burrow to target. The enable parameter specifies if they are to be added or
removed.

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• setTilesByKeyword(target,keyword,enable)
Adds or removes tiles matching a predefined keyword. The keyword set is the same as used by the command
line.
The lua module file also re-exports functions from [Link].

sort

Does not export any native functions as of now. Instead, it calls lua code to perform the actual ordering of list items.

Eventful

This plugin exports some events to lua thus allowing to run lua functions on DF world events.

List of events

1. onReactionComplete(reaction,reaction_product,unit,input_items,
input_reagents,output_items,call_native)
Auto activates if detects reactions starting with LUA_HOOK_. Is called when reaction finishes.
2. onItemContaminateWound(item,unit,wound,number1,number2)
Is called when item tries to contaminate wound (e.g. stuck in).
3. onProjItemCheckMovement(projectile)
Is called when projectile moves.
4. onProjItemCheckImpact(projectile,somebool)
Is called when projectile hits something.
5. onProjUnitCheckMovement(projectile)
Is called when projectile moves.
6. onProjUnitCheckImpact(projectile,somebool)
Is called when projectile hits something.
7. onWorkshopFillSidebarMenu(workshop,callnative)
Is called when viewing a workshop in ‘q’ mode, to populate reactions, useful for custom viewscreens for shops.
8. postWorkshopFillSidebarMenu(workshop)
Is called after calling (or not) native fillSidebarMenu(). Useful for job button tweaking (e.g. adding custom
reactions)

Events from EventManager

These events are straight from EventManager module. Each of them first needs to be enabled. See functions for more
info. If you register a listener before the game is loaded, be aware that no events will be triggered immediately after
loading, so you might need to add another event listener for when the game first loads in some cases.
1. onBuildingCreatedDestroyed(building_id)
Gets called when building is created or destroyed.

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2. onConstructionCreatedDestroyed(building_id)
Gets called when construction is created or destroyed.
3. onJobInitiated(job)
Gets called when job is issued.
4. onJobCompleted(job)
Gets called when job is finished. The job that is passed to this function is a copy. Requires a frequency of 0 in
order to distinguish between workshop jobs that were cancelled by the user and workshop jobs that completed
successfully.
5. onUnitDeath(unit_id)
Gets called on unit death.
6. onItemCreated(item_id)
Gets called when item is created (except due to traders, migrants, invaders and spider webs).
7. onSyndrome(unit_id,syndrome_index)
Gets called when new syndrome appears on a unit.
8. onInvasion(invasion_id)
Gets called when new invasion happens.
9. onInventoryChange(unit_id,item_id,old_equip,new_equip)
Gets called when someone picks up an item, puts one down, or changes the way they are holding it. If an item
is picked up, old_equip will be null. If an item is dropped, new_equip will be null. If an item is re-equipped in a
new way, then neither will be null. You absolutely must NOT alter either old_equip or new_equip or you might
break other plugins.
10. onReport(reportId)
Gets called when a report happens. This happens more often than you probably think, even if it doesn’t show up
in the announcements.
11. onUnitAttack(attackerId, defenderId, woundId)
Called when a unit wounds another with a weapon. Is NOT called if blocked, dodged, deflected, or parried.
12. onUnload()
A convenience event in case you don’t want to register for every onStateChange event.
13. onInteraction(attackVerb, defendVerb, attackerId, defenderId,
attackReportId, defendReportId)
Called when a unit uses an interaction on another.

Functions

1. registerReaction(reaction_name,callback)
Simplified way of using onReactionComplete; the callback is function (same params as event).
2. removeNative(shop_name)
Removes native choice list from the building.

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3. addReactionToShop(reaction_name,shop_name)
Add a custom reaction to the building.
4. enableEvent(evType,frequency)
Enable event checking for EventManager events. For event types use eventType table. Note that different
types of events require different frequencies to be effective. The frequency is how many ticks EventManager will
wait before checking if that type of event has happened. If multiple scripts or plugins use the same event type,
the smallest frequency is the one that is used, so you might get events triggered more often than the frequency
you use here.
5. registerSidebar(shop_name,callback)
Enable callback when sidebar for shop_name is drawn. Usefull for custom workshop views e.g. using
[Link] lib. Also accepts a class instead of function as callback. Best used with [Link]
class WorkshopOverlay.

Examples

Spawn dragon breath on each item attempt to contaminate wound:

b=require "[Link]"
[Link]=function(item,unit,un_wound,x,y)
local flw=[Link]([Link],6,0,0,50000)
end

Reaction complete example:

b=require "[Link]"

[Link]("LUA_HOOK_LAY_BOMB",function(reaction,unit,in_items,in_reag,out_
˓→items,call_native)

local pos=copyall([Link])
-- spawn dragonbreath after 100 ticks
[Link](100,"ticks",function() [Link](pos,6,0,0,50000) end)
--do not call real item creation code
call_native.value=false
end)

Grenade example:

b=require "[Link]"
[Link]=function(projectile)
-- you can check if [Link] e.g. has correct material
[Link](projectile.cur_pos,6,0,0,50000)
end

Integrated tannery:

b=require "[Link]"
[Link]("TAN_A_HIDE","LEATHERWORKS")

Building-hacks

This plugin overwrites some methods in workshop df class so that mechanical workshops are possible. Although
plugin export a function it’s recommended to use lua decorated function.

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Functions

registerBuilding(table) where table must contain name, as a workshop raw name, the rest are optional:
name custom workshop id e.g. SOAPMAKER

Note: this is the only mandatory field.

fix_impassible if true make impassible tiles impassible to liquids too

consume how much machine power is needed to work. Disables reactions if not supplied
enough and needs_power==1
produce how much machine power is produced.
needs_power if produced in network < consumed stop working, default true
gears a table or {x=?,y=?} of connection points for machines.
action a table of number (how much ticks to skip) and a function which gets called on shop
update
animate a table of frames which can be a table of:
a. tables of 4 numbers {tile,fore,back,bright} OR
b. empty table (tile not modified) OR
c. {x=<number> y=<number> + 4 numbers like in first case},
this generates full frame useful for animations that change little (1-2 tiles)
canBeRoomSubset a flag if this building can be counted in room. 1 means it can, 0 means it
can’t and -1 default building behaviour
auto_gears a flag that automatically fills up gears and animate. It looks over building defini-
tion for gear icons and maps them.
Animate table also might contain:
frameLength how many ticks does one frame take OR
isMechanical a bool that says to try to match to mechanical system (i.e. how gears are turning)
getPower(building) returns two number - produced and consumed power if building can be modified and
returns nothing otherwise
setPower(building,produced,consumed) sets current productiona and consumption for a building.

Examples

Simple mechanical workshop:

require('[Link]-hacks').registerBuilding{name="BONE_GRINDER",
consume=15,
gears={x=0,y=0}, --connection point
animate={
isMechanical=true, --animate the same conn. point as vanilla gear
frames={
{{x=0,y=0,42,7,0,0}}, --first frame, 1 changed tile
{{x=0,y=0,15,7,0,0}} -- second frame, same
(continues on next page)

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(continued from previous page)

}
}

Or with auto_gears:

require('[Link]-hacks').registerBuilding{name="BONE_GRINDER",
consume=15,
auto_gears=true
}

Luasocket

A way to access csocket from lua. The usage is made similar to luasocket in vanilla lua distributions. Currently only
subset of functions exist and only tcp mode is implemented.

Socket class

This is a base class for client and server sockets. You can not create it - it’s like a virtual base class in c++.
• socket:close()
Closes the connection.
• socket:setTimeout(sec,msec)
Sets the operation timeout for this socket. It’s possible to set timeout to 0. Then it performs like a non-blocking
socket.

Client class

Client is a connection socket to a server. You can get this object either from tcp:connect(address,port) or
from server:accept(). It’s a subclass of socket.
• client:receive(pattern)
Receives data. Pattern is one of:
*l read one line (default, if pattern is nil)
<number> read specified number of bytes
*a read all available data
• client:send(data)
Sends data. Data is a string.

Server class

Server is a socket that is waiting for clients. You can get this object from tcp:bind(address,port).
• server:accept()
Accepts an incoming connection if it exists. Returns a client object representing that socket.

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Tcp class

A class with all the tcp functionality.

• tcp:bind(address,port)
Starts listening on that port for incoming connections. Returns server object.
• tcp:connect(address,port)
Tries connecting to that address and port. Returns client object.

map-render

A way to ask df to render a slice of map. This uses native df rendering function so it’s highly dependant on df settings
(e.g. used tileset, colors, if using graphics or not and so on. . . )

Functions

• render_map_rect(x,y,z,w,h)
returns a table with w*h*4 entries of rendered tiles. The format is same as [Link]
(tile,foreground,bright,background).

cxxrandom

Exposes some features of the C++11 random number library to Lua.

Native functions (exported to Lua)

• GenerateEngine(seed)
returns engine id
• DestroyEngine(rngID)
destroys corresponding engine
• NewSeed(rngID, seed)
re-seeds engine
• rollInt(rngID, min, max)
generates random integer
• rollDouble(rngID, min, max)
generates random double
• rollNormal(rngID, avg, stddev)
generates random normal[gaus.]
• rollBool(rngID, chance)
generates random boolean

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• MakeNumSequence(start, end)
returns sequence id
• AddToSequence(seqID, num)
adds a number to the sequence
• ShuffleSequence(rngID, seqID)
shuffles the number sequence
• NextInSequence(seqID)
returns the next number in sequence

Lua plugin functions

• MakeNewEngine(seed)
returns engine id

Lua plugin classes

crng

• init(id, df, dist): constructor

– id: Reference ID of engine to use in RNGenerations
– df (optional): bool indicating whether to destroy the Engine when the crng object is garbage collected
– dist (optional): lua number distribution to use
• changeSeed(seed): alters engine’s seed value
• setNumDistrib(distrib): sets the number distribution crng object should use
– distrib: number distribution object to use in RNGenerations
• next(): returns the next number in the distribution
• shuffle(): effectively shuffles the number distribution

normal_distribution

• init(avg, stddev): constructor

• next(id): returns next number in the distribution
– id: engine ID to pass to native function

real_distribution

• init(min, max): constructor

• next(id): returns next number in the distribution
– id: engine ID to pass to native function

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int_distribution

• init(min, max): constructor

• next(id): returns next number in the distribution
– id: engine ID to pass to native function

bool_distribution

• init(min, max): constructor

• next(id): returns next boolean in the distribution
– id: engine ID to pass to native function

num_sequence

• init(a, b): constructor

• add(num): adds num to the end of the number sequence
• shuffle(): shuffles the sequence of numbers
• next(): returns next number in the sequence

xlsxreader

Utility functions to facilitate reading .xlsx spreadsheets. It provides the following API methods:
• file_handle open_xlsx_file(filename)
• close_xlsx_file(file_handle)
• sheet_names list_sheets(file_handle)
• sheet_handle open_sheet(file_handle, sheet_name)
• close_sheet(sheet_handle)
• cell_strings get_row(sheet_handle)
Example:
local xlsxreader = require('[Link]')

local function dump_sheet(xlsx_file, sheet_name)

print('reading sheet: '..sheet_name)
local xlsx_sheet = xlsxreader.open_sheet(xlsx_file, sheet_name)
dfhack.with_finalize(
function () xlsxreader.close_sheet(xlsx_sheet) end,
function ()
local row_cells = xlsxreader.get_row(xlsx_sheet)
while row_cells do
printall(row_cells)
row_cells = xlsxreader.get_row(xlsx_sheet)
end
end
)
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(continued from previous page)

end

local filepath = "path/to/some_file.xlsx"

local xlsx_file = xlsxreader.open_xlsx_file(filepath)
dfhack.with_finalize(
function () xlsxreader.close_xlsx_file(xlsx_file) end,
function ()
for _, sheet_name in ipairs(xlsxreader.list_sheets(xlsx_file)) do
dump_sheet(xlsx_file, sheet_name)
end
end
)

7.5.6 Scripts

• Enabling and disabling scripts

• Save init script

Any files with the .lua extension placed into hack/scripts/* are automatically used by the DFHack core as
commands. The matching command name consists of the name of the file without the extension. First DFHack
searches for the script in the <save_folder>/raw/scripts/ folder. If it is not found there, it searches in the
<DF>/raw/scripts/ folder. If it is not there, it searches in <DF>/hack/scripts/. If it is not there, it gives
up.
If the first line of the script is a one-line comment, it is used by the built-in ls and help commands. Such a comment
is required for every script in the official DFHack repository.

Note: Scripts placed in subdirectories still can be accessed, but do not clutter the ls command list (unless ls -a;
thus it is preferred for obscure developer-oriented scripts and scripts used by tools. When calling such scripts, always
use ‘/’ as the separator for directories, e.g. devel/lua-example.

Scripts are re-read from disk if they have changed since the last time they were read. Global variable values persist in
memory between calls, unless the file has changed. Every script gets its own separate environment for global variables.
Arguments are passed in to the scripts via the . . . built-in quasi-variable; when the script is called by the DFHack core,
they are all guaranteed to be non-nil strings.
DFHack core invokes the scripts in the core context (see above); however it is possible to call them from any lua code
(including from other scripts) in any context, via the same function the core uses:
• dfhack.run_script(name[,args...])
Run a lua script in hack/scripts/, as if it was started from dfhack command-line. The name argument should be
the name stem, as would be used on the command line.
Note that this function lets errors propagate to the caller.
• dfhack.script_environment(name)
Run an Lua script and return its environment. This command allows you to use scripts like modules for increased
portability. It is highly recommended that if you are a modder you put your custom modules in raw/scripts
and use script_environment instead of require so that saves with your mod installed will be self-
contained and can be transferred to people who do have DFHack but do not have your mod installed.

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You can say dfhack.script_environment('add-thought').

addEmotionToUnit([arguments go here]) and it will have the desired effect. It will call the
script in question with the global moduleMode set to true so that the script can return early. This is useful
because if the script is called from the console it should deal with its console arguments and if it is called by
script_environment it should only create its global functions and return. You can also access global vari-
ables with, for example print(dfhack.script_environment('add-thought').validArgs)
The function script_environment is fast enough that it is recommended that you not store its result in a
nonlocal variable, because your script might need to load a different version of that script if the save is unloaded
and a save with a different mod that overrides the same script with a slightly different functionality is loaded.
This will not be an issue in most cases.
This function also permits circular dependencies of scripts.
• [Link](name) or reqscript(name)
Nearly identical to script_environment() but requires scripts being loaded to include a line similar to:

--@ module = true

This is intended to only allow scripts that take appropriate action when used as a module to be loaded.
• dfhack.script_help([name, [extension]])
Returns the contents of the embedded documentation of the specified script. extension defaults to “lua”, and
name defaults to the name of the script where this function was called.

Enabling and disabling scripts

Scripts can choose to recognize the built-in enable and disable commands by including the following line any-
where in their file:

--@ enable = true

When the enable and disable commands are invoked, a dfhack_flags table will be passed to the script with
the following fields set:
• enable: Always true if the script is being enabled or disabled
• enable_state: True if the script is being enabled, false otherwise

Save init script

If a save directory contains a file called raw/[Link], it is automatically loaded and executed every time the save
is loaded. The same applies to any files called raw/init.d/*.lua. Every such script can define the following
functions to be called by dfhack:
• function onStateChange(op) ... end
Automatically called from the regular onStateChange event as long as the save is still loaded. This avoids the
need to install a hook into the global [Link] table, with associated cleanup concerns.
• function onUnload() ... end
Called when the save containing the script is unloaded. This function should clean up any global hooks installed
by the script. Note that when this is called, the world is already completely unloaded.
Within the init script, the path to the save directory is available as SAVE_PATH.

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7.6 DFHack Remote Interface

DFHack provides a remote access interface that external tools can connect to and use to interact with DF. This is
implemented with Google protobuf messages exchanged over a TCP socket. Both the core and plugins can define
remotely-accessible methods, or RPC methods. The RPC methods currently available are not comprehensive, but can
be extended with plugins.

Contents

• Server configuration
• Developing with the remote API
– Examples
– Client libraries
• Protocol description
– Built-in messages
– Conversation flow
– Raw message types

* handshake request
* handshake reply
* header
* request
* text
* result
* failure
* quit

7.6.1 Server configuration

DFHack attempts to start a TCP server to listen for remote connections on startup. If this fails (due to the port being
in use, for example), an error message will be logged to [Link].
The server can be configured by setting options in dfhack-config/[Link]:
• allow_remote (default: false): if true, allows connections from hosts other than the local machine. This
is insecure and may allow arbitrary code execution on your machine, so it is disabled by default.
• port (default: 5000): the port that the remote server listens on. Overriding this will allow the server to work
if you have multiple instances of DF running, or if you have something else running on port 5000. Note that the
DFHACK_PORT environment variable takes precedence over this setting and may be more useful for overriding
the port temporarily.

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7.6.2 Developing with the remote API

At a high level, the core and plugins define RPC methods, and external clients can call these methods. Each method
is assigned an ID internally, which clients use to call it. These method IDs can be obtained using the special
BindMethod method, which has an ID of 0.

Examples

The dfhack-run command uses the RPC interface to invoke DFHack commands (or Lua functions) externally.
Plugins that implement RPC methods include:
• rename
• remotefortressreader
• isoworldremote
Plugins that use the RPC API include:
• stonesense
Third-party tools that use the RPC API include:
• Armok Vision (Bay12 forums thread)

Client libraries

Some external libraries are available for interacting with the remote interface from other (non-C++) languages, includ-
ing:
• RemoteClientDF-Net for C#
• dfhackrpc for Go
• dfhack-remote for JavaScript

7.6.3 Protocol description

This is a low-level description of the RPC protocol, which may be useful when developing custom clients.
A WireShark dissector for this protocol is available in the df_misc repo.

Built-in messages

These messages have hardcoded IDs; all others must be obtained through BindMethod.

ID Method Input Output

0 BindMethod [Link] [Link]
1 RunCommand [Link] [Link]

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Conversation flow

• Client → Server: handshake request

• Server → Client: handshake reply
• Repeated 0 or more times:
– Client → Server: request
– Server → Client: text (0 or more times)
– Server → Client: result or failure
• Client → Server: quit

Raw message types

• All numbers are little-endian

• All strings are ASCII
• A payload size of greater than 64MiB is an error
• See RemoteClient.h for definitions of constants starting with RPC

handshake request

Type Name Value

char[8] magic DFHack?\n
int32_t version 1

handshake reply

Type Name Value

char[8] magic DFHack!\n
int32_t version 1

header

Note: the two fields of this message are sometimes repurposed. Uses of this message are represented as header(x,
y), where x corresponds to the id field and y corresponds to size.

Type Name
int16_t id
int16_t (padding - unused)
int32_t size

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request

Type Description
header header(id, size)
buffer Protobuf-encoded payload of the input message type of the method specified by id;
length of size bytes

text

Type Description
header header(RPC_REPLY_TEXT, size)
buffer Protobuf-encoded payload of type [Link]; length
of size bytes

result

Type Description
header header(RPC_REPLY_RESULT, size)
buffer Protobuf-encoded payload of the output message type of the oldest incomplete
method call; when received, that method call is considered completed. Length of
size bytes.

failure

Type Description
header header(RPC_REPLY_FAIL, command_result)
command_result return code of the command (a constant starting with CR_; see RemoteClient.h)

quit

Note: the server closes the connection after receiving this message.

Type Description
header header(RPC_REQUEST_QUIT, 0)

7.7 DFHack API Reference

7.7.1 Maps API

DFHack offers several ways to access and manipulate map data.

• C++: the Maps and MapCache modules
• Lua: the [Link] module

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• All languages: the map field of the world global contains raw map data when the world is loaded.

Note: This page will eventually go into more detail about the available APIs. For now, it is just an overview of how
DF map data is structured.

Contents

• Tiles

Tiles

The DF map has several types of tiles:

• Local tiles are at the smallest scale. In regular fortress/adventure mode play, the cursor takes up 1 local tile.
Objects that use local tile coordinates include:
– Units
– Items
– Projectiles
• Blocks are 16 × 16 × 1 groups of local tiles. Internally, many tile details are stored at the block level for
space-efficiency reasons. Blocks are visible during zoomed-in fast travel in adventure mode.
Objects that use block coordinates include:
– Armies
• Region tiles are 3 × 3 groups of columns of blocks (they span the entire z-axis), or 48 × 48 columns of local
tiles. DF sometimes refers to these as “mid-level tiles” (MLTs). Region tiles are visible when resizing a fortress
before embarking, or in zoomed-out fast travel in adventure mode.
• World tiles are
– 16 × 16 groups of region tiles, or
– 48 × 48 groups of columns of blocks, or
– 768 × 768 groups of columns of local tiles
World tiles are visible on the world map before embarking, as well as in the civilization map in fortress mode
and the quest log in adventure mode.
• Some map features are stored in 16 × 16 groups of world tiles, sometimes referred to as “feature shells”.

7.8 DFHack Documentation System

DFHack documentation, like the file you are reading now, is created as .rst files, which are in reStructuredText
(reST) format. This is a documentation format common in the Python community. It is very similar in concept - and
in syntax - to Markdown, as found on GitHub and many other places. However it is more advanced than Markdown,
with more features available when compiled to HTML, such as automatic tables of contents, cross-linking, special
external links (forum, wiki, etc) and more. The documentation is compiled by a Python tool, Sphinx.

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The DFHack build process will compile the documentation, but this is disabled by default due to the additional Python
and Sphinx requirements. You typically only need to build the docs if you’re changing them, or perhaps if you want a
local HTML copy; otherwise, you can read an online version hosted by ReadTheDocs.
(Note that even if you do want a local copy, it is certainly not necessary to compile the documentation in order to read
it. Like Markdown, reST documents are designed to be just as readable in a plain-text editor as they are in HTML
format. The main thing you lose in plain text format is hyperlinking.)

Contents

• Documentation standards
• Building the documentation
– Required dependencies

* Linux
* macOS
* Windows
– Using CMake
– Running Sphinx manually
– Building a PDF version
• Building the changelogs
– Changelog syntax

7.8.1 Documentation standards

Whether you’re adding new code or just fixing old documentation (and there’s plenty), there are a few important stan-
dards for completeness and consistent style. Treat this section as a guide rather than iron law, match the surrounding
text, and you’ll be fine.
Each command should have a short (~54 character) help string, which is shown by the ls command. For scripts, this is
a comment on the first line (the comment marker and whitespace is stripped). For plugins it’s the second argument to
PluginCommand. Please make this brief but descriptive!
Everything should be documented! If it’s not clear where a particular thing should be documented, ask on IRC or in
the DFHack thread on Bay12 - as well as getting help, you’ll be providing valuable feedback that makes it easier for
future readers!
Scripts can use a custom autodoc function, based on the Sphinx include directive - anything between the tokens
is copied into the appropriate scripts documentation page. For Ruby, we follow the built-in docstring convention
(=begin and =end). For Lua, the tokens are [====[ and ]====] - ordinary multi-line strings. It is highly
encouraged to reuse this string as the in-console documentation by (e.g.) printing it when a -help argument is given.
The docs must have a heading which exactly matches the command, underlined with ===== to the same length. For
example, a lua file would have:

local helpstr = [====[

add-thought
===========
Adds a thought or emotion to the selected unit. Can be used by other scripts,
(continues on next page)

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(continued from previous page)

or the gui invoked by running ``add-thought gui`` with a unit selected.

]====]

Where the heading for a section is also the name of a command, the spelling and case should exactly match the
command to enter in the DFHack command line.
Try to keep lines within 80-100 characters, so it’s readable in plain text in the terminal - Sphinx (our documentation
system) will make sure paragraphs flow.
If there aren’t many options or examples to show, they can go in a paragraph of text. Use double-backticks to put
commands in monospaced font, like this:

You can use ``cleanowned scattered x`` to dump tattered or abandoned items.

If the command takes more than three arguments, format the list as a table called Usage. The table only lists arguments,
not full commands. Input values are specified in angle brackets. Example:

Usage:

:arg1: A simple argument.

:arg2 <input>: Does something based on the input value.
:Very long argument:
Is very specific.

To demonstrate usage - useful mainly when the syntax is complicated, list the full command with arguments in
monospaced font, then indent the next line and describe the effect:

``resume all``
Resumes all suspended constructions.

If it would be helpful to mention another DFHack command, don’t just type the name - add a hyperlink! Specify
the link target in backticks, and it will be replaced with the corresponding title and linked: e.g. `autolabor` =>
autolabor. Link targets should be equivalent to the command described (without file extension), and placed above the
heading of that section like this:

.. _autolabor:

autolabor
=========

Add link targets if you need them, but otherwise plain headings are preferred. Scripts have link targets created auto-
matically.

7.8.2 Building the documentation

Required dependencies

In order to build the documentation, you must have Python with Sphinx version 1.8 or later. Both Python 2.x and 3.x
are supported.
When installing Sphinx from OS package managers, be aware that there is another program called Sphinx, com-
pletely unrelated to documentation management. Be sure you are installing the right Sphinx; it may be called
python-sphinx, for example. To avoid doubt, pip can be used instead as detailed below.

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Once you have installed Sphinx, sphinx-build --version should report the version of Sphinx that you have
installed. If this works, CMake should also be able to find Sphinx.
For more detailed platform-specific instructions, see the sections below:

• Linux
• macOS
• Windows

Linux

Most Linux distributions will include Python by default. If not, start by installing Python (preferably Python 3). On
Debian-based distros:

sudo apt install python3

Check your package manager to see if Sphinx 1.8 or later is available. On Debian-based distros, this package is named
python3-sphinx. If this package is new enough, you can install it directly. If not, or if you want to use a newer
Sphinx version (which may result in faster builds), you can install Sphinx through the pip package manager instead.
On Debian-based distros, you can install pip with:

sudo apt install python3-pip

Once pip is available, you can then install Sphinx with:

pip3 install sphinx

If you run this as an unprivileged user, it may install a local copy of Sphinx for your user only. The sphinx-build
executable will typically end up in ~/.local/bin/ in this case. Alternatively, you can install Sphinx system-wide
by running pip with sudo. In any case, you will need the folder containing sphinx-build to be in your $PATH.

macOS

macOS has Python 2.7 installed by default, but it does not have the pip package manager.
You can install Homebrew’s Python 3, which includes pip, and then install the latest Sphinx using pip:

brew install python3

pip3 install sphinx

Alternatively, you can simply install Sphinx directly from Homebrew:

brew install sphinx-doc

This will install Sphinx for macOS’s system Python 2.7, without needing pip.
Either method works; if you plan to use Python for other purposes, it might best to install Homebrew’s Python 3 so
that you have the latest Python as well as pip. If not, just installing sphinx-doc for macOS’s system Python 2.7 is fine.

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Windows

Python for Windows can be downloaded from [Link]. The latest version of Python 3 is recommended, as it
includes pip already.
You can also install Python and pip through the Chocolatey package manager. After installing Chocolatey as outlined
in the Windows compilation instructions, run the following command from an elevated (admin) command prompt (e.g.
[Link]):

choco install python pip -y

Once you have pip available, you can install Sphinx with the following command:

pip install sphinx

Note that this may require opening a new (admin) command prompt if you just installed pip from the same command
prompt.

Using CMake

Enabling the BUILD_DOCS CMake option will cause the documentation to be built whenever it changes as part of the
normal DFHack build process. There are several ways to do this:
• When initially running CMake, add -DBUILD_DOCS:bool=ON to your cmake command. For example:

cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE:string=Release -DBUILD_DOCS:bool=ON -DCMAKE_INSTALL_

˓→PREFIX=<path to DF>

• If you have already run CMake, you can simply run it again from your build folder to update your configuration:

cmake .. -DBUILD_DOCS:bool=ON

• You can edit the BUILD_DOCS setting in [Link] directly

• You can use the CMake GUI to change BUILD_DOCS
• On Windows, if you prefer to use the batch scripts, you can run [Link] and set
BUILD_DOCS through the GUI. If you are running another file, such as [Link], you
will need to edit it to add the flag. You can also run cmake on the command line, similar to other platforms.

Running Sphinx manually

You can also build the documentation without going through CMake, which may be faster. There is a docs/build.
sh script provided for Linux and macOS that will run essentially the same command that CMake runs - see the script
for additional options.
To build the documentation with default options, run the following command from the root DFHack folder:

sphinx-build . docs/html

Sphinx has many options to enable clean builds, parallel builds, logging, and more - run sphinx-build --help
for details.

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Building a PDF version

ReadTheDocs automatically builds a PDF version of the documentation (available under the “Downloads” section
when clicking on the release selector). If you want to build a PDF version locally, you will need pdflatex, which is
part of a TeX distribution. The following command will then build a PDF, located in docs/pdf/latex/DFHack.
pdf, with default options:
sphinx-build -M latexpdf . ./docs/pdf

There is a docs/[Link] script provided for Linux and macOS that runs this command for convenience -
see the script for additional options.

7.8.3 Building the changelogs

If you have Python installed, but do not want to build all of the documentation, you can build the changelogs with
the docs/gen_changelog.py script. This script provides additional options, including one to build individual
changelogs for all DFHack versions - run python docs/gen_changelog.py --help for details.
Changelog entries are obtained from [Link] files in multiple repos. This allows changes to be listed in
the same repo where they were made. These changelogs are combined as part of the changelog build process:
• docs/[Link] for changes in the main dfhack repo
• scripts/[Link] for changes made to scripts in the scripts repo
• library/xml/[Link] for changes made in the df-structures repo
Building the changelogs generates two files: docs/_auto/[Link] and docs/_auto/[Link].
These correspond to Changelog and Development Changelog and contain changes organized by stable and devel-
opment DFHack releases, respectively. For example, an entry listed under “0.44.05-alpha1” in [Link] will be
listed under that version in the development changelog as well, but under “0.44.05-r1” in the stable changelog (assum-
ing that is the closest stable release after 0.44.05-alpha1). An entry listed under a stable release like “0.44.05-r1” in
[Link] will be listed under that release in both the stable changelog and the development changelog.

Changelog syntax

[Link] uses a syntax similar to RST, with a few special sequences:

• === indicates the start of a comment
• # indicates the start of a release name (do not include “DFHack”)
• ## indicates the start of a section name (this must be listed in gen_changelog.py)
• - indicates the start of a changelog entry. Note: an entry currently must be only one line.
• : (colon followed by space) separates the name of a feature from a description of a change to that feature.
Changes made to the same feature are grouped if they end up in the same section.
• :\ (colon, backslash, space) avoids the above behavior
• - @ (the space is optional) indicates the start of an entry that should only be displayed in [Link].
Use this sparingly, e.g. for immediate fixes to one development build in another development build that
are not of interest to users of stable builds only.
• Three [ characters indicate the start of a block (possibly a comment) that spans multiple lines. Three ] characters
indicate the end of such a block.
• ! immediately before a phrase set up to be replaced (see gen_changelog.py) stops that occurrence from being
replaced.

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7.9 DF data definitions (DF-structures)

DFHack’s information about DF’s data structures is stored in XML files in the df-structures repository. If you have
obtained a local copy of the DFHack source, DF-structures is included as a submodule in library/xml.
Data structure layouts are described in files named with the df.*.xml pattern. This information is transformed
by a Perl script ([Link]) into C++ headers, as well as metadata for the Lua wrapper. This ultimately allows
DFHack code to access DF data directly, with the same speed and capabilities as DF itself, which is an advantage over
the older out-of-process approach (used by debuggers and utilities like Dwarf Therapist). The main disadvantage of
this approach is that any compiled code relying on these layouts will break when DF’s layout changes, and will need
to be recompiled for every new DF version.
Addresses of DF global objects and vtables are stored in a separate file, [Link]. Since these are only absolute
addresses, they do not need to be compiled in to DFHack code, and are instead loaded at runtime. This makes fixes
and additions to global addresses possible without recompiling DFHack. In an installed copy of DFHack, this file can
be found at the root of the hack folder.
The following pages contain more detailed information about various aspects of DF-structures:

7.9.1 Data Structure Definition Syntax

Contents

• General Background
• XML file format
– Enum type definition

* Enum item attributes

– Bitfield type definition
– Structure type definition

* Common field properties

* Primitive fields
* Substructure fields
* Tagged unions
* Enum fields
* Nested bitfields
* Container fields
· Abstract container
· Pointer fields
· Abstract sequence
· Standard containers
· DF-specific containers
– Class type definition

* Virtual method definition

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– Global object definition

– Symbol table definition
• Lisp Integration
– Reference expressions

* Dereference syntax
* Basic properties
– Reference objects

* Primitive types
* Enums
* Pointers
* Compounds
* Sequences
– Code helpers
– Examples

This document documents the XML syntax used to define DF data structures for use in dfhack.

General Background

Originally dfhack used a file called [Link] to describe data structures of the game. It explicitly listed addresses
of known global variables, and offsets within structures to fields, not unlike the ini files used by Dwarf Therapist.
This format is a good choice when only a small number of fields and objects need to be accessed, and allows a program
to work with many different versions of DF, provided that the relevant fields and objects work in the same way.
However, as the number of known fields and objects grow, maintaining the explicit offset lists quickly becomes difficult
and error prone. Also, even when almost all fields of a structure become known, the format fails to represent and exploit
their relative position, which in practice is actually more stable than the specific offset values.
This format instead represents data structure layout purely via listing all fields in the correct order, exactly like a
structure definition does in the C++ language itself; in fact, these XML definitions are translated into C++ headers in a
mostly straightforward way (the more tricky bits are things like correctly processing circular references, or generating
metadata for lua). There is still a file with numeric data, but it only contains absolute addresses of global objects.
As a downside, dfhack now needs to be recompiled every time layout of some data structure changes; on the other
hand, accessing DF structures from C++ plugins now has no overhead compared with DF’s own code. Also, practice
shows that the more fields are known in a structure, the easier it is to spot what exactly has changed, and fix the exact
area.

XML file format

All XML files use <data-definition> as their root tag.

They should be indented using 4 spaces per level, without tabs.
Unless noted otherwise, all non-root tags allow using a comment attribute, or a <comment>...</comment> sub-
tag. It may be used to include a comment string that can be used by tools processing the xml.

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Excluding content of tags like <comment> or <code-helper>, all plain text inside tag bodies is ignored and may
be freely used instead of XML comments.
NOTE: Using XML tags and/or attributes not defined in this document is not allowed.

Enum type definition

Global enum types are defined as follows:

<enum-type type-name='name' [base-type='int32_t']>

<enum-item [name='key1'] [value='0']/>
<enum-item [name='key2'] [value='1']/>
...
</enum-type>

Every enum has an integer base type, which defaults to int32_t if omitted.
Like in C++, enum items may either explicitly specify an integer value, or rely on auto-increment behavior.
As in most cases, the name attribute may be omitted if unknown; the code generator would produce a random identifier
to satisfy C++ language requirements.

Enum item attributes

The XML syntax allows associating attributes with enum items, thus embedding lookup tables for use in C++ or lua
code.
Every attribute must be declared at the top level of the enum:

<enum-attr name='attr'
[type-name='primitive-or-enum']
[default-value='...']
[use-key-name='true/false']
[is-list='true/false']/>

The declaration allows specifying a numeric, or other enum type for the attribute, overriding the default const
char* string type.
An explicit default value may also be specified; otherwise the attribute defaults to NULL or 0. If use-key-name is
true, the corresponding enum-item’s name is used as the default value.
Alternatively, an attribute may be declared to be a list, instead of a scalar. In this case, the default is an empty list.
NOTE: Attribute name 'key' is reserved for a built-in string attribute representing the enum item key.
For every declared attribute, every enum-item tag may contain an attribute value definition:

<enum-item name='key'>
<item-attr name='attr' value='...'/>
...
</enum-item>

For list attributes, multiple item-attr entries may be used to define the list contents.

Bitfield type definition

Global bitfield types are defined as follows:

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<bitfield-type type-name='name' [base-type='uint32_t']>

<flag-bit [name='bit1'] [count='1'] [type-name='enum']/>
<flag-bit [name='bit2'] [count='1'] [type-name='enum']/>
...
</bitfield-type>

Like enums, bitfields have an integer base type, which defaults to uint32_t. The total number of bits in the bitfield
must not exceed the base type size.
A bitfield item may be defined to occupy multiple bits via the count attribute. It also may have an enum type; due to
compiler limitations, the base-type of the enum must be exactly the same as the bitfield itself.

Structure type definition

Structures without virtual methods are defined as follows:

<struct-type type-name='name'
[is-union='true/false']
[inherits-from='struct_type']
[instance-vector='expr']
[key-field='identifier']>
...
fields
...
</struct-type>

The instance-vector attribute may be used to specify a global vector that canonically contains all instances of the
structure. Code generation uses it to produce a find static method. If key-field is specified, this method uses binary
search by the referred field; otherwise it just indexes the vector with its integer argument.

Common field properties

All fields support the following attributes:

name Specifies the identifier naming the field.
This attribute may be omitted, in which case the code generator produces a random identifier. As follows from
the word random, such identifiers aren’t stable, and shouldn’t be used to access the field.
init-value Specifies the value that should be assigned to the field by the constructor. By default the following
values are used:
• For enums: the first element of the enum.
• For signed integer fields with ref-target or refers-to: -1.
• For other numeric fields, pointers and bitfields: 0.
offset, size, alignment Specifies the offset, size and alignment in bytes.
WARNING: Although allowed for any field by the XML syntax, and supported by the lisp GUI tool, code
generation will fail with these attributes except in cases specifically shown below.
With the above caveat, size and alignment may also be used on the struct-type tag itself.

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Primitive fields

Primitive fields can be classified as following:

1) Unmarked area:

<padding name='id' size='bytes' [alignment='1/2/4'] .../>

This tag defines an area of raw bytes with unknown contents.

2) Numbers:

<int32_t name='id'.../>

Supported number types are: int8_t, uint8_t, int16_t, uint16_t, int32_t, uint32_t,
int64_t, uint64_t, s-float (single float), d-float (double float).
3) Boolean:

<bool name='id'.../>

4) String:

<static-string name='id' size='bytes'.../>

<ptr-string name='id'.../>
<stl-string name='id'.../>

These tags correspond to char[bytes], char*, and std::string.

4) File Stream:

<stl-fstream name='id'/>

This is not really a primitive type, but classified as such since it is treated as a predefined opaque object (a-la
padding).
Primitives support the following attributes:
refers-to='expr'
Specifies a GUI hyperlink to an object returned by an arbitrary expression.
The expression receives the value of the field as $, and the reference to the field as $$.
ref-target='type'
Specifies a hyperlink to an instance of type, identified by the value of the field. The instance is retrieved
via instance-vector and key-field, or a <code-helper name='find-instance'> in the target
type definition.
aux-value='expr'
Specifies an additional value for use in the find-instance code helper.
Unlike refers-to, the expression receives the reference to the field as $, and a reference to the containing
structure as $$; i.e. the arguments are shifted one step toward parent. This is because the value of the
field is already implicitly passed to find-instance.
The find-instance helper receives the field value as $, and aux-value as $$.

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Substructure fields

Nested structures are defined via the compound tag:

<compound name='id' type-name='struct_type'/>

<compound [name='id'] [is-union='true/false'] [key-field='id']>

...
field
...
</compound>

As seen above, a nested structure may either use a global type defined elsewhere, or define an ad-hoc structure in-place.
In the in-place case, omitting name has a special meaning of defining an anonymous nested struct or union.

Tagged unions

Union compounds and vectors of union compounds can additionally have union-tag-field and
union-tag-attr attributes.
union-tag-field sets the name of the field that holds the tag for the union. Union compounds must have tags
that are enumeration fields, while vectors of union compounds can have tags that are vectors of an enumeration type,
or in the case of a union with exactly 2 members, a bit vector.
union-tag-attr overrides the name used to find the union member. By default, the field with a name equal to the
enum key is chosen. When this attribute is set, the specified enum attr will be used instead.

Enum fields

Fields of enum types are defined as follows:

<enum name='id' type-name='enum_type' [base-type='int32_t']/>

<enum name='id' [base-type='int32_t']>

<enum-item name='key1'.../>
...
</enum>

Like with substructures, enums may be either referenced globals, or ad-hoc definitions.
In the former case, when base-type of the field and the enum differ, a special wrapper is added to coerce the size, or,
if impossible, the enum type is completely replaced with the base-type. The net effect is that the field always has the
expected size and alignment.
If no base-type is specified on the field, the one in the global type definition has complete precedence. This is not
recommended.

Nested bitfields

Ad-hoc bitfields are defined as follows:

<bitfield name='id' [base-type='uint32_t']>

<flag-bit name='key1'.../>
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(continued from previous page)

...
</bitfield>

In order to reference a global type, use <compound>.

Container fields

A number of tags fall under the ‘container’ abstraction. The common element is that the fields they define reference
objects of another type. This includes things like pointers, arrays or vectors.

Abstract container

The basic syntactic property of a container is that it requires exactly one nested field tag in order to specify the
contained item:
<container>
<field .../>
</container>

NOTE: The container tag is used here as a placeholder for any real tag following the container syntax.
For convenience, the following automatic rewrite rules are applied:
1) The type-name attribute:
<container type-name='foo' .../>

is rewritten into:
<container ...>
<compound type-name='foo' .../>
</container>

or, if foo is a primitive type:

<container ...>
<foo .../>
</container>

2) The pointer-type attribute:

<container pointer-type='foo' .../>

is rewritten into:
<container ...>
<pointer type-name='foo' .../>
</container>

3) Multiple nested fields:

<container ...>
<field1 .../>
<field2 .../>
</container>

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are aggregated together:

<container ...>
<compound ...>
<field1 .../>
<field2 .../>
</compound>
</container>

4) If no item is specified, padding is assumed:

<container>
<padding size='4'/>
</container>

NOTE: These rules are mutually exclusive, and it is an error to specify both of the attributes (unless it is
type-name='pointer'), or combine nested fields with any of them.
When the above rewrites are applied and result in creation of a new tag, the following attributes are copied to it from
the container tag, if applicable: key-field, refers-to, ref-target, aux-value. They otherwise have no
effect on the container itself.
This means that:

<container pointer-type='int32_t' ref-target='foo'/>

eventually rewrites to:

<container pointer-type='int32_t' ref-target='foo'>

<pointer type-name='int32_t' ref-target='foo'>
<int32_t ref-target='foo'/>
</pointer>
</container>

Abstract containers allow the following attributes:

has-bad-pointers='true'
Tells the GUI tool to ignore this field in some of its memory scans, because this container may contain
invalid pointers, which can confuse the analysis code.

Pointer fields

As seen above, the pointer tag is a subtype of abstract container.

If the pointer refers to an array of objects, instead of one instance, the is-array attribute should be used:
<pointer type-name=’foo’ is-array=’true’/>
Currently this attribute is ignored by C++ code generation, but the GUI tool properly displays such fields as arrays.

Abstract sequence

Containers that actually contain a sequence of objects support these additional attributes:
index-refers-to='expr'

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Specifies a GUI hyperlink from any item in the container to the object returned by the expression.
The expression receives the index of the item in the container as $, and a reference to the container as $$.
index-enum='enum_type'
Associates an enum with the indices of the container. The GUI tries to use enum item names instead of
numbers when displaying the items, and lua may allow using strings as indices.

Standard containers

<static-array name='id' count='123' .../>

Defines a simple C++ array of the specified length.
<stl-vector name='id'.../>
Defines an std::vector<item> field.
<stl-deque name='id'.../>
Defines an std::deque<item> field.
<stl-set name='id'.../>
Defines an std::set<item> field.
<stl-bit-vector name='id'.../>
Defines an std::vector<bool> field.
STL defines vector<bool> as a special type that actually contains bits. These XML defini-
tions use a separate tag for it; <stl-vector type-name='bool'/> is rendered into C++ as
vector<char>.

DF-specific containers

These are defined in [Link]:

<df-flagarray name='id' index-enum='enum'/>
Defines a BitArray<enum> field.
<df-static-flagarray name='id' index-enum='enum' count='numbytes'/>
Defines a StaticBitArray<numbytes,enum> field.
<df-array name='id' .../>
Defines a DfArray<item> field.
<df-linked-list name='id' type-name='foo_link'/>
Defines an ad-hoc DF-style linked list. In C++ actually equivalent to:

<compound type-name='foo_link'/>

but allows the GUI to display it as a list.

<df-linked-list-type type-name='foo_link' item-type='foo'/>
Defines a DF-style linked list node. This translates to:

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<struct-type type-name='foo_link'>
<pointer name='item' type-name='foo'/>
<pointer name='prev' type-name='foo_link'/>
<pointer name='next' type-name='foo_link'/>
</struct-type>

with some extra code to make it easier to interact with.

<df-other-vectors-type type-name='foo_other' index-enum='foo_other_id'
item-type='foo'/>
Defines a tuple of vectors with the same base type. Individual vectors act as if they were defined as:

<stl-vector name='FOO_KEY' pointer-type='foo'/>

where FOO_KEY is a key in the foo_other_id enum.

Class type definition

In the context of these XML definitions, class denotes types with virtual methods:

<class-type type-name='name'
[inherits-from='class_type']
[original-name='vtable_name']
...>
...
fields
...
<virtual-methods>
...
vmethods
...
</virtual-methods>
</class-type>

Classes are generally the same as <struct-type>, including support for instance-vector. Unlike
<struct-type> however, they don’t allow is-union='true'.
There may only be one table of virtual methods per class-type. In subclasses it should only contain items added to the
table of the superclass.

Virtual method definition

Virtual method definitions are placed within the <virtual-methods> section of a class type. No other tag may
be placed within that section, including comment.
A virtual destructor is defined as follows:

<vmethod is-destructor='true'/>

Ordinary virtual methods use the following syntax:

<vmethod [name='id'] [ret-type='type']>

[<ret-type .../>]
<field1.../>
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(continued from previous page)

<field2.../>
...
</vmethod>

The return type may be specified either as an attribute, or via a ret-type sub-tag. The subtag syntax follows the
abstract container model outlined above. The attribute is exactly equivalent to <ret-type type-name='type'/
> as subtag. If the return type is completely omitted, it is taken to be void.
Ordinary field definition tags within the vmethod tag are treated as method parameters.
If the name attribute is omitted, the vmethod is named randomly and made protected, so that calling it is impossible.
This is the intended way of providing placeholders for completely unknown slots in the vtable.

Global object definition

Global objects are global pointers that are initialized from [Link] at runtime. Therefore, the tag itself is identical
in syntax to <pointer>, except that it doesn’t allow is-array:

<global-object name='id' type-name='...'/>

<global-object name='id'>
<field.../>
</global-object>

C++ generation places them in the df::global namespace.

The offset attribute of the global-object tag represents the absolute address. As noted above, it may only be used
in files intended for the GUI.

Symbol table definition

Symbol tables are defined in [Link] and loaded at runtime. They define locations of global objects and virtual
tables.
The definition syntax is as follows:

<symbol-table name='...' os-type='...'>

<md5-hash value='...'/>
<binary-timestamp value='0x...'/>
...

<global-address name='...' [value='0x...']/>

...

<vtable-address name='...' [value='0x...']/>

...
</symbol-table>

The name attribute specifies an unique name of the symbol table. os-type specifies the applicable OS type, and must
be one of windows, linux, darwin.
The <md5-hash> tag specifies the MD5 hash that is used to match the executable on Linux and OS/X. It will be
ignored if used in a windows symbol table. Likewise, <binary-timestamp> is valid only for matching EXE files.
A symbol table may contain multiple tags in order to match several executables; this is especially useful with MD5
hashes, which change with patching.

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Global object addresses are specified with <global-address> tags. Virtual method table addresses may be pre-
initialized with <vtable-address> tags.
It is allowed to specify addresses for objects and vtables that are otherwise not defined. Obviously, such values can
only be used by directly quering the VersionInfo object in dfhack.

Lisp Integration

This XML file format was designed together with the cl-linux-debug Lisp tool, and has a number of aspects that
closely integrate with its internals.
For instance, when loaded by that tool, all XML tags are converted directly into instances of classes that exactly match
the name of the tag, and when the documentation above mentions expressions, that refers to Lisp expressions within
the context of that library.

Reference expressions

In order to facilitate compact representation for long chains of dereferences that are commonly required when dealing
with the data structures, cl-linux-debug defines a reader macro (i.e. basically a parser plugin) that adds a custom
syntax for them. This syntax is triggered by special characters $ and @.
Expressions written in that syntax expand into nested chains of calls to two generic functions named $ and @, which
implement correspondingly r-value and l-value dereference of their first argument using the second.

Dereference syntax

The reader macro understands the following syntactic patterns:

• @, $, $$, $$$, . . .
Lone @ and sequences of $ are parsed just as the ordinary lisp parser would. This allows referring to the $ and
@ functions, and using sequences of $ characters as implicit argument names.
• $foo
A case-sensitive identifier preceeded by the $ character is interned in the [Link]-names
package as-is, and returned as the parsing result. The identifier may consist of letters, numbers, and - or _
characters.
The symbol is exported from its package and defined as a symbol macro expanding to '$foo, and thus behaves
as a case-sensitive keyword (which however can be used as a lexical variable name). All field & type names and
other identifiers in the XML definitions are loaded into memory as such symbols.
• $foo:bar
This expands into '($foo . $bar); such pairs of identifiers are used in some special contexts.
• $[Link], @[Link]
These expressions expand to correspondingly ($ foo '$bar) and (@ foo '$bar), representing thus
r-value or l-value dereference of variable foo with literal key $bar.
The name foo may only contain characters listed above, but is otherwise separated and parsed with the regular
lisp parser.
• $foo.*, $foo[*], $foo.@, $foo[@], @foo.* . . .
These expand to ($ foo '*), ($ foo '@) etc, thus effectively being a special case of dereference via a
literal field name.

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• $foo[expr], @foo[expr]
These expressions expand to correspondingly ($ foo expr) and (@ foo expr), and are useful for ac-
cessing array elements.
• $[Link][yyy].zzz
When dereference clauses are chained, they expand into nested calls to $ and @, with the outermost depending
on the first character, and all the inner ones being @.
This example expands to: ($ (@ (@ foo '$xxx) yyy) '$zzz).
• @$$[Link], $$$[Link]
When the expression contains multiple initial $ characters, all but the first one are prepended to the initial
variable name.
These examples expand to (@ $$foo '$bar) and ($ $$foo '$bar)
NOTE: Only the $ character may be used in this way; $@@[Link] is invalid.
• $.foo, @$[bar], . . .
If the expression contains no initial identifier, the initial $ sequence is used as one instead (after replacing @
with $ if necessary).
These examples expand to: ($ $ '$foo), (@ $$ bar).
NOTE: Unlike the previous syntax pattern, this one uses all of the initial $ and @ characters.
• $(func arg arg...).bar
If one initial $ or @ is immediately followed by parentheses, the contents of said parentheses are parsed as
ordinary lisp code and used instead of the initial variable.
The example expands to: ($ (func arg arg...) '$bar)
• @$(foo bar baz)
If an initial @ is followed by one or more $ characters and then parentheses, it is parsed as a lambda expression
(anonymous function) with one argument consisting of those $ characters.
This example expands to: (lambda ($) (foo bar baz))
NOTE: it is an error to use multiple initial $ characters without @ like this: $$$(...)...

Basic properties

As described above, dereference is actually implemented by two generic functions, @ and $, which implement l-value
and r-value dereference.
They are defined as such:

(defgeneric @ (obj key))

(defgeneric $ (obj key))
(defgeneric (setf $) (obj key))

Generally, l-value dereference returns an object that can be dereferenced further. R-value dereference with the same
arguments may return the same object as l-value, or a simple scalar value, depending on the context.
Perhaps oppositely to the used terms, only the r-value dereference function may be used as the syntactic target of
assignment; this is because you can’t actually change the (conceptual) address of an object, only its contents; and
l-value dereference returns an address. I.e. in C++ you can write *a = ..., but can’t do &a = ....

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Any of the dereference functions may return a list to represent multiple possible values. Array objects often define (@
foo '*) to return all of the elements.
If either the obj or key argument of any of the functions is a list (including NIL as empty list), the functions loop over
the list, and return a concatenation of the resulting return value lists. This allows using $array.*.field to get a
list of all values of a field within array elements.
($ obj t) is defined as the natural value of an object; e.g. if obj is a reference to a numeric field, this will be its
value. By default it is equal to the object itself. ($ obj key) for any other key would fall back to ($ (@ obj
key) t) if no special handler for $ with that key and object was defined.

Reference objects

The cl-linux-debug library represents typed pointers to objects in memory as objects of the
memory-object-ref type.
Along with the expected address and type of the pointer, these objects also retain a history of dereferences that have
led to this particular pointer, and define virtual fields to access this information. This history is similar to what the
Back button in a browser uses.
All references by default have the following properties:
• @[Link]
By default returns ref itself. May be hidden by struct fields and index-enum keys.
• @ref[integer]
Returns a reference to address + size*int, i.e. offsets the pointer.
• @ref.*
Returns a list of contained collection elements. By default empty.
• @ref.@
Returns a list of subfields. By default empty.
• @ref._parent
Returns the previous reference in the “back” chain.
• @ref._global
Returns the nearest reference in the “back” chain that has a globally named type, i.e. one defined by a
struct-type, class-type etc, and not by any nested substructures. This may return the ref itself.
• @ref._upglobal
Exactly equivalent to @ref._parent._global.
• $ref._address
Returns the numeric address embedded in the ref.
• $ref._size
Returns the size of the object pointed to.
• $ref._key
Returns the key that was used to get this ref from the parent. This is not guaranteed to be precisely accurate, but
e.g. for array elements this will be the array index.

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• $ref._type
For globally named types, returns their type name.

Primitive types

Primitive types define the following methods:

• $ref[t]
The natural value of a primitive field is the scalar non-reference value it contains.
NOTE: When you write $[Link], it will evaluate via ($ @[Link] t).
• @[Link]-to, @[Link]-target
If the field has the relevant attributes, they can be dereferenced to retrieve the target objects.

Enums

Enum fields return their value as symbols, and allow access to attributes:
• $ref[t]
Returns the symbol matching the value, unless there is none. May be assigned both as symbol or number.
• $[Link]
If the enum has an attribute with that name, retrieves its value for the current value of the field.

Pointers

• $ref[t], @ref[t], $ref._target, @ref._target

These all return the value of the pointer, i.e. a reference to the target object.
• ($ ref key) -> ($ (@ ref t) key)
• (@ ref key) -> (@ (@ ref t) key)
All dereferences not explicitly supported are delegated to the target object. This means that for most properties
pointers are completely transparent; notable exceptions are pointers to pointers, and pointers to primitive fields
where you have to use e.g. $[Link].

Compounds

• @[Link], @ref._fields.field
Returns a reference to the given field.
• @ref.*, @ref.@
Returns a list of references to all fields. Note that if the object is both an implicit compound and a sequence,
@ref.* will returns the sequence items as described below.

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Sequences

• @ref[int]
Returns a reference to the Nth item of the sequence.
• @ref[symbol]
If the sequence has an index-enum, its items can be accessed by symbolic names.
• @ref.*
Returns a list of all items of the sequence.
• @ref._items
Returns the items of the sequence as a special lazy object, intended to optimize some things in the GUI.
• @[Link]-refers-to[int]
If the sequence has the relevant attribute, returns the target for the given index.
• $[Link]
Returns the number of items in the sequence.
• $[Link]-items
Checks if the sequence has any items, and returns T or NIL.

Code helpers

The <code-helper> tag may be used to add lisp code fragments to the objects defined in the xml. The
refers-to, index-refers-to and ref-target tags are also converted to code helpers internally, and you
can use e.g. <code-helper name='refers-to'>...</code-helper> instead of the attribute if your ex-
pression is too long for it.
There are two features that can only be implemented via explicit <code-helper> tags:
• <code-helper name='describe'> ... </code-helper>
This specifies a piece of code that is called to supply additional informational items for the rightmost column of
the table in the GUI tool. The code should return a string, or a list of strings.
As with refers-to, the code receives the value of the object as $, and the reference to the object in $$ (i.e.
$ is equal to $$[t]).
The (describe-obj object) function can be used to call the same describe mechanism on another object,
e.g.:
<code-helper name='describe'> (describe-obj $.name) </code-helper>

• <code-helper name='find-instance'> ... </code-helper>

If the instance-vector and key-field attributes are not descriptive enough to specify how to find an
instance of the object by id, you can explicitly define this helper to be used by ref-target links elsewhere.
It receives the value of the ref-target bearing field as $, and its aux-value as $$.
Other than via ref-target, you can invoke this mechanism explicitly using the (find-instance class
key aux-key) function, even from a find-instance helper for another type:
<code-helper name='find-instance'>$(find-instance $art_image_chunk $$).images[$]</
˓→code-helper>
(continues on next page)

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(continued from previous page)

This finds an instance of the art_image_chunk type using the aux-value $$, and then returns an element of
its images sub-array using the main value $.

Examples

• @global.*
The global variable ‘global’ contains a special compound that contains all known global objects. This expres-
sions retrieves a list of refs to all of them.
Using $global.* would return values for the primitive ones instead of refs, and is not that useful.
• $[Link][0].id
This expression is syntactically parsed into the following sequence:

tmp = global
tmp = @[Link] ; the world global ref
tmp = @[Link] ; the units field ref
tmp = @[Link] ; the all vector ref
tmp = @tmp[0] ; the first unit object pointer ref
$[Link]

The only non-trivial step here is the last one. The last value of tmp is a reference to a pointer, and as described
above, it delegates anything it does not directly understand to its target, adding an implicit step at runtime:

unit = @tmp._target
$[Link]

A unit object does not define $[Link] directly either, so the final step falls back to:

idref = @[Link]
($ idref t)

which retrieves a reference to the id field, and then evaluates its natural value.
The result is that the expression returns the id value of the first unit in the vector as would be naturally expected.
Using @[Link][0].id would have used @[Link] as the last step, which would
have skipped the ($ idref t) call and returned a reference to the field.
• A simple index-refers-to example:

<stl-vector name='created_weapons' type-name='int32_t'

index-refers-to='$[Link][$]'/>

This is used to define a vector with counts of created weapons.

When it is displayed in the GUI, the tool evaluates the index-refers-to expression for every vector ele-
ment, giving it the element index as $, and a reference to the vector itself as $$ (here unused).
The expression straightforwardly uses that index to access another global vector and return one of its elements.
It is then used by the GUI to add additional information to the info column.
• An example of refers-to and _parent:

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<compound name='burrows'>
<stl-vector name='list' pointer-type='burrow'/>
<int32_t name='sel_index' refers-to='$$._parent.list[$]'/>
</compound>

This fragment of XML defines a compound with two fields, a vector and an int, which has a refers-to
attribute. When that field is displayed in the GUI, it evaluates the expression in the attribute, giving it the integer
value as $, and a reference to the integer field as $$.
The expression parses as:

tmp = $$ ; reference to the int32_t field

tmp = @tmp._parent
tmp = @[Link]
$tmp[$]

Since the only way the GUI could get a reference to the field was to evaluate @ref-to-burrows.
sel_index, that previous reference is stored in its “back” list, and @tmp._parent retrieves it. After that
everything is simple.
• An example of ref-target with aux-value:

<int32_t name='race' ref-target='creature_raw'/>

<int16_t name='caste' ref-target='caste_raw' aux-value='$$.race'/>

The race field just specifies a type as ref-target, so the reference simply evaluates the find-instance
helper of the creature_raw, passing it the race value as $.
In order to find the caste however, you need to first find a creature, which requires a race value. This value is
supplied via the aux-value attribute into the $$ argument to find-instance.
Since the value of the caste field will be passed through to the helper anyway, when evaluating aux-value
the $ argument is set to a reference to the holding field, and $$ is set to its _parent. This means that $$.race
in the context of aux-value is equivalent to $$._parent.race in the context of refers-to.
• A complex example of cross-references between arrays:

<struct-type type-name='caste_raw'>
<compound name='body_info'>
<stl-vector name='body_parts' pointer-type='body_part_raw'/>
</compound>
<compound name='bp_appearance'>
<stl-vector name='modifiers' pointer-type='bp_appearance_modifier'/>

<stl-vector name='modifier_idx' type-name='int32_t'

refers-to='$$._parent._parent.modifiers[$]'
index-refers-to='$$._parent.part_idx[$].refers-to'/>
<stl-vector name='part_idx' type-name='int16_t'
refers-to='$$._global.body_info.body_parts[$]'/>
<stl-vector name='layer_idx' type-name='int16_t'
refers-to='$$._parent._parent.part_idx[$$._key].refers-to.
˓→layers[$]'

index-refers-to='$$._parent.part_idx[$].refers-to'/>
</compound>
</struct-type>

In order to understand this example it is first necessary to understand that refers-to specified on a vector is
actually transplanted onto the implicitly constructed element tag:

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<stl-vector name='part_idx'>
<int16_t refers-to='$$._global.body_info.body_parts[$]'/>
</stl-vector>

Therefore, $$ is a reference to the <int16_t> field, $$._parent is a reference to the vector, $$.
_parent._parent is a reference to the bp_appearance compound, etc.
The $$._global... works as an abbreviation that applies _parent until it reaches a globally defined type,
which in this case is the current instance of the caste_raw struct.
NOTE: $$._global._global is the same as $$._global, i.e. repeated _global is a no-op. The latest
version supports _upglobal, which is equivalent to _parent._global.
Thus, the refers-to link on the part_idx vector evaluates to the element of the body_parts vector,
indexed by the value of the current part_idx vector item.
Likewise, the refers-to link on the modifier_idx vector goes back to the bp_appearance compound,
and descends into the modifiers vector, using the value of the current item.
The index-refers-to link on the same modifier_idx vector highlights the shared indexing relation be-
tween the bottom vectors by linking to the part_idx vector via the current item index. Since this attribute is hosted
by the vector itself, $$ points at the vector, and only one _parent is needed to reach bp_appearance.
This link also demonstrates how the defined relations can be reused in other expressions by accessing the tar-
get of the refers-to link inside part_idx. When the part_idx vector is accessed simply as $xxx.
part_idx[foo], it evaluates as:

tmp = @xxx.part_idx
tmp = @tmp[foo]
($ tmp t)

thus returning just an integer value. However, if an additional dereference step is added, it turns to:

tmp = @xxx.part_idx
tmp = @tmp[foo]
obj = @[Link]-to
($ obj t)

which follows the refers-to link and evaluates its target.

Finally, the layer_idx vector, in addition to specifying the same index-refers-to link as
modifier_idx, uses the link in part_idx to access other objects at its end:

refers-to='$$._parent._parent.part_idx[$$._key].[Link][$]'

Note how this link has to use two _parent steps again due to being attached to the element of the vector
instead of the vector itself. It also has to use the _key attribute of the vector element to retrieve the current
index in the vector, because here $ holds the element value.

7.9.2 Updating DF-structures for a new DF version

Contents

• General Process
• Running Dwarf Fortress

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• Available Scripts
• STAGE 1. Linux compound globals
• STAGE 2. Old way to find Linux compound globals
• STAGE 3. Linux primitive globals
• STAGE 4. Primary windows compound globals
• STAGE 5. Secondary windows compound globals
• STAGE 6. Windows primitive globals

General Process

Download the new versions. The scripts expect the following directory layout:

~userhome/
Games/
DF/
df_linux/ - Current DF for linux
df_windows/ - Current DF for windows
df_osx/ - Current DF for osx

metasm/ - Checkout of the library for ruby scripts

from [Link]
df_misc/ - Checkout of the ruby scripts
from [Link]
dfhack/ - DFHack checkout

• Use “[Link] v0.??.??” to automatically perform a number of steps. If you get a mismatch error from
[Link], see “STAGE 1”.
• Start the linux DF version, and launch the tool.
• Execute (reset-state-annotation)
• Commit.
• Use the tool to verify that the layout of the compound globals on linux is correct, and update xml as necessary.
Check that unit seems reasonable, etc. Compare the changes in g_src between releases. Delete redundant entries
for some linux & osx globals in [Link].
• Compile DFHack without plugins for windows and run devel/find-offsets to find globals there.
• With the windows version in wine, run (check-struct-sizes) to see if any objects changed their size. If nothing is
obviously wrong, use (check-struct-sizes :annotate? t) to mark correctly sized objects ALIGNED.
• Check the rest of the document for info on finding still missing globals.
• Commit.
• Run [Link] to update CSV files and verify vtable size and argument counts.
• Commit.

Running Dwarf Fortress

The lisp tool expects that the game is started in a mode where all allocated memory is automatically filled with a
certain byte value.

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On linux this is achieved by simply starting the game like this:

MALLOC_PERTURB_=45 ./df

Windows requires applying a patch to a copy of the executable like this:

cp -f 'Dwarf [Link]' 'Dwarf_Fortress_malloc.exe'

ruby -I ~/Games/DF/metasm ~/Games/DF/df_patchmalloc.rb 'Dwarf_Fortress_malloc.exe'

Available Scripts

[Link]

Takes the full v0.??.?? version number as one required parameter.

Uses md5sum for linux and winedump for windows to find out the new hash and PE timestamp.
Use the stamps to create new sections in [Link] Also paste them into make-csv inside [Link]
Creates an empty v0.??.??.lst, and change thes open-annotations filename in [Link].
Wipes linux/[Link] empty of all the global definitions.
Runs [Link] to find out addresses of vtables and many linux/osx globals, and pastes them into [Link]

[Link]

Runs ruby and perl scripts to extract data from the executables, and writes the output to txt files in subdirectories.

[Link]

Uses the lisp tool and some scripts to produce csv files with offsets for linux and windows. These are useful for manual
lookup and some scripts.

[Link]

Starts the lisp tool. You may pass the process ID as a parameter to avoid the prompt.

[Link]

Used by make-scans to extract the keybinding enum from g_src in form of [Link]

[Link]

Used by make-scans to compare the extracted addresses of the compound linux/osx globals with a saved copy from a
previous version and thus determine their names.

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[Link]

Used by [Link] to produce a file listing the addresses of all virtual methods in a compact form. Relies on csv
files and data from [Link]

STAGE 1. Linux compound globals

(done by [Link] normally)

Linux and OSX initalize and destruct their complex globals in a way that allows to determine their addresses by
disassembling a small section of the executable. This is currently done by ruby scripts called from [Link]; it
is also possible to do that via the lisp tool for linux.
The ruby scripts produce a raw dump of the global addresses as linux/[Link]. A perl script is then used to compare it
with linux/[Link] (which is manually edited and committed into the repository), and thus derive the names of the
globals by their order. The resulting data is written back to linux/[Link], linux/[Link] and linux/[Link]
(which is inserted into [Link]).
If the size of a global changes too much, or a new one is added in the middle, this matching may fail. In this case
it is necessary to manually match and add the new names to [Link] and commit it as [Link]. After that, run
[Link] to rerun the scripts, and paste linux/[Link] into [Link].
OSX behaves exactly the same as linux in this respect.

STAGE 2. Old way to find Linux compound globals

(now mostly obsolete, retained as fallback and for historical interest)

Globals gps, enabler, gview and init are in the export table for linking with libgraphics, so they are immediately
available in (browse @global.*).
Run (list-globals/linux), paste the results in linux/[Link], and immediately compare it to the old version from
source control. The order of the globals is quite stable, so if sizes look similar, they can be guessed immediately.
The .bss compound section should be done except for ‘announcements’.
Run (browse-dataseg). The first three -30000 are cursor. Following group of 6 are selection_rect. After that, at 16-
aligned addresses are control_mode and game_mode. Tab the game ui to the most common two-pane mode, scroll to
the end and find 0x30200. Within this dword ui_menu_width is byte 1, ui_area_map_width is byte 2.
(reload), (browse @global.*), look at the most important globals for misalignment. If found, fix it and delete old tables
from [Link].

STAGE 3. Linux primitive globals

Unpause the game for a moment to let various structures be initialized.

The fields can be found either by a straight memory search, or by looking in the area they are expected to be.

[A] The ‘cur_year’ area.

Located just before ui_building_assign_type.

1. cur_year / cur_year_tick
(find-changes); step with dot; Enter; step; +; step; +; step; +; done

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look at values in bss, there will be cur_year_tick, and cur_year is 32 bytes before that.
2. process_jobs
Designate a building for construction. Look after process_dig for an enabled boolean.
3. process_dig
Step the game one step. Designate a tile for digging. Look after cur_year and before process_jobs.
Note: this order because designating sometimes sets process_jobs too.
4. job_next_id / ui_workshop_job_cursor
Find a workshop without jobs; (find-changes); add job; Enter; add job; +; add job; +; done Finds job_next_id
and ui_workshop_job_cursor, the distinction is obvious.
The ui_workshop_job_cursor is expected to be after cur_year_tick.
5. ui_workshop_in_add, ui_building_in_resize, ui_building_in_assign
Expected to be in the area after ui_workshop_job_cursor, in this order. Change the relevant state in game and
F5.
6. ui_building_item_cursor
Find a cluttered workshop, t; (find-changes); move cursor down; Enter; cursor down; +; cursor down; +; done
Expected to be right after ui_workshop_job_cursor.
7. current_weather
Subtract 0x1c from cur_year address. Obviously, a big hack.
It is best to use a save where the contents are non-zero and known to you.

[B] The ui_look_cursor area.

Located in the area of the 124 byte global before ui.

1. ui_look_cursor
Like ui_building_item_cursor, but with a cluttered tile and k.
2. ui_selected_unit
Find a place with many nearby units; (find-changes); v; Enter; v; new; . . . ; when returned to origin, 0; 1; 2. . . ;
done
Expected to be before ui_look_cursor.
3. ui_unit_view_mode
Select unit, page Gen; (find-changes); Inv; Enter; Prf; +; Wnd; +; done
Expected to be after ui_selected_unit.
4. pause_state
(find-changes); toggle pause; Enter; toggle; 0; toggle; 1; etc; done
Expected to be in the area after ui_look_cursor.

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[C] The window_x/y/z area.

Located right after ui_build_selector.

1. window_x, window_y, window_z
Use k, move window view to upper left corner, then the cursor to bottom right as far as it can go without moving
the view.
(find-changes); Shift-RightDown; Enter; Shift-RightDown; + 10; Shift-RightDown; + 10; done
Finds cursor and two variables in bss. Z is just after them.

[D] Random positions.

1. announcements
Immediately follows d_init; starts 25 25 31 31 24 . . .

STAGE 4. Primary windows compound globals

After aligning globals on linux, run (make-csv) to produce offset tables.

1. world

Set a nickname, search for it; the unit will have it at offset 0x1C. Then trace back to the unit vector, and subtract its
offset.

2. ui

Open the ‘s’quad sidebar page. Navigate to a squad in [Link], then backtrace and subtract the offset of
[Link].

3. ui_build_selector

Start creating a building, up to the point of material selection. Find the material item through world and backtrack
references until .bss.

4. ui_sidebar_menus

Select a unit in ‘v’, open inventory page, backtrack from unit_inventory_item, subtract offset of unit.inv_items.

5. ui_look_list

Put a ‘k’ cursor over a unit, backtrack to a 0x10 bytes object with pointer at offset 0xC, then to the global vector.

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6. ui_advmode

In adventure mode, open the ‘c’ompanions menu, then backtrack from [Link][0] (i.e. the player) via
ui_advmode.[Link]
Alternatively, look before ui_look_list for “0, 15” coming from the string.

7. enabler

(find-changes), resize the window, enter; resize width by +1 char, +; repeat until few candidates left; then done, select
the renderer heap object and backtrack to [Link].
Alternatively, look before ui for clocks changing every frame.

8. map_renderer

Put a ‘v’ cursor exactly above a unit; backtrack from the unit object.
Alternatively, look before ui_advmode for the unit pointer list.

9. texture

Load the game with [GRAPHICS:YES] in [Link], and example set. Then search for string “example/[Link]”
and backtrack.
Alternatively, look between ui_build_selector and init.

STAGE 5. Secondary windows compound globals

These are too difficult to find by backtracking or search, so try looking in the expected area first:

1. timed_events

Look for a pointer vector around -0x54 before ui.

2. ui_building_assign_*

2a. ui_building_assign_is_marked
Assign to zone, (find-changes), toggle 1st unit, enter; toggle 1st, 0; toggle 1st, 1; toggle 2nd, new; done
The vector is expected to be just before ui.
2b. ui_building_assign_items
Expected to be immediately before ui_building_assign_is_marked.
2c. ui_building_assign_units
Start assigning units to a pasture, backtrack from one of the units.
The vector is expected to be immediately before world.
2d. ui_building_assign_type

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The vector is expected to be 2nd vector immediately after ui_look_list.

3. gview

Immediately follows ui.

4. Init files

4a. d_init
Follows world after a small gap (starts with flagarray).
4b. init
Follows ui_build_selector after a small gap.

5. gps

Look at around offset ui_area_map_width+0x470 for pointers.

6. created_item_*

6a. created_item_type
Expected to be at around -0x40 before world.
6b. created_item_subtype
The first vector immediately after ui_look_list.
6c. created_item_mattype
Immediately before ui_sidebar_menus.
6d. created_item_matindex
Before ui, after timed_events.
6e. created_item_count
Immediately before timed_events.

STAGE 6. Windows primitive globals

Like linux primitives, except the ordering is completely different.

This section only describes the ordering heuristics; for memory search instructions see linux primitive globals.
[A] formation_next_id
Followed by ui_building_item_cursor, cur_year.
[B] interaction_instance_next_id. . . hist_figure_next_id
Contains window_x, ui_workshop_in_add.
[C] machine_next_id
Followed by ui_look_cursor, window_y.

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[D] crime_next_id
Followed by, in this order (but with some gaps):
• ui_workshop_job_cursor
• current_weather (immediately after ui_workshop_job_cursor)
• process_dig
• process_jobs
• ui_building_in_resize
• ui_building_in_assign
• pause_state
[E] Random positions.
1. cur_year_tick
Look immediately before artifact_next_id.
2. window_z
Look before proj_next_id.
3. ui_selected_unit
Look just after squad_next_id.
4. ui_unit_view_mode
Look just before hist_event_collection_next_id.
5. announcements
Immediately follows d_init; starts 25 25 31 31 24 . . .

7.10 Memory research

There are a variety of tools that can be used to analyze DF memory - some are listed here. Note that some of these
may be old and unmaintained. If you aren’t sure what tool would be best for your purposes, feel free to ask for advice
(on IRC, Bay12, etc.).

Contents

• Cross-platform tools
– Ghidra
– IDA Freeware 7.0
– Hopper
– DFHack tools

* Plugins
* Scripts
* Sizecheck

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* Legacy tools
• Linux-specific tools
– GDB
– Other analysis tools
– df-structures GUI
– EDB (Evan’s debugger)
• Windows-specific tools

7.10.1 Cross-platform tools

Ghidra

Ghidra is a cross-platform reverse-engineering framework (written in Java) available at [Link] It sup-

ports analyzing both 32-bit and 64-bit executables for all supported DF platforms. There are some custom DFHack
Ghidra scripts available in the df_misc repo (look for .java files).

IDA Freeware 7.0

Available from Hex-Rays. Supports analyzing both 32-bit and 64-bit executables for all supported DF platforms.
Some .idc scripts for IDA are available in the df_misc repo.

Hopper

Runs on macOS and some Linux distributions; available from [Link] TWBT uses this to
produce some patches.

DFHack tools

Plugins

There are a few development plugins useful for low-level memory research. They are not built by default, but can be
built by setting the BUILD_DEVEL CMake option. These include:
• check-structures-sanity, which performs sanity checks on the given DF object. Note that this will
crash in several cases, some intentional, so using this with GDB is recommended.
• memview, which produces a hex dump of a given memory range. It also highlights valid pointers, and can be
configured to work with Sizecheck to auto-detect object sizes.
• vectors, which can identify instances of std::vector in a given memory range.

Scripts

Several development scripts can be useful for memory research. These include (but are not limited to):
• devel/dump-offsets
• devel/find-offsets

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• devel/lsmem
• devel/sc (requires Sizecheck)
• devel/visualize-structure
• Generally, any script starting with devel/find

Sizecheck

Sizecheck is a custom tool that hooks into the memory allocator and inserts a header indicating the size of every object.
The corresponding logic to check for this header when freeing memory usually works, but is inherently not foolproof.
You should not count on DF being stable when using this.
DFHack’s implementation of sizecheck is currently only tested on Linux, although it probably also works on macOS.
It can be built with the BUILD_SIZECHECK CMake option, which produces a libsizecheck library installed in
the hack folder. On Linux, passing --sc as the first argument to the dfhack launcher script will load this library on
startup. On other platforms, or when passing a different argument to the launcher (such as for GDB), you will need to
preload this library manually, by setting PRELOAD_LIB on Linux (or LD_PRELOAD if editing the dfhack launcher
script directly), or by editing the dfhack launcher script and adding the library to DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES on
macOS.
There is also an older sizecheck implementation by Mifki available on GitHub ([Link] is the main sizecheck library,
and win_patch.cpp is used for Windows support). To use this with other DFHack tools, you will likely need to
edit the header’s magic number to match what is used in devel/sc (search for a hexadecimal constant starting with 0x).

Legacy tools

Some very old DFHack tools are available in the legacy branch on GitHub. No attempt is made to support these.

7.10.2 Linux-specific tools

GDB

GDB is technically cross-platform, but tends to work best on Linux, and DFHack currently only offers support for
using GDB on 64-bit Linux. To start with GDB, pass -g to the DFHack launcher script:

./dfhack -g

Some basic GDB commands:

• run: starts DF from the GDB prompt. Any arguments will be passed as command-line arguments to DF (e.g.
load-save may be useful).
• bt will produce a backtrace if DF crashes.
See the official GDB documentation for more details.

Other analysis tools

The dfhack launcher script on Linux has support for launching several other tools alongside DFHack, including
Valgrind (as well as Callgrind and Helgrind) and strace. See the script for the exact command-line option to specify.
Note that currently only one tool at a time is supported, and must be specified with the first argument to the script.

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df-structures GUI

This is a tool written by Angavrilov and available on GitHub. It only supports 32-bit DF. Some assistance may be
available on IRC.

EDB (Evan’s debugger)

Available on GitHub.

7.10.3 Windows-specific tools

Some people have used Cheat Engine for research in the past.

7.11 Patching the DF binary

Writing scripts and plugins for DFHack is not the only way to modify Dwarf Fortress. Before DFHack, it was common
for tools to manually patch the binary to change behaviour, and DFHack still contains tools to do this via the binpatch
command.

Warning: We recommend using a script or plugin instead of a raw patch if at all possible - that way your work
will work for many versions across multiple operating systems.

Contents

• Getting a patch
• Using a patch
– Patching at runtime
– Patching on disk
• Tools reliant on binpatches
– fix-armory
– gui/assign-rack

7.11.1 Getting a patch

There are no binary patches available for Dwarf Fortress versions after 0.34.11.
This system is kept for the chance that someone will find it useful, so some hints on how to write your own follow.
This will require disassembly and decent skill in memory research.
• The patches are expected to be encoded in text format used by IDA.
• See the patches folder in commit b0e1b51 for examples.
• Issue 546 is about the future of the binpatches, and may be useful reading.
If you want to write a patch, the armory patches discussed here and documented below would probably be the best
place to start.

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7.11.2 Using a patch

There are two methods to apply a patch.

Patching at runtime

The binpatch script checks, applies or removes binary patches directly in memory at runtime:

binpatch [check|apply|remove] <patchname>

If the name of the patch has no extension or directory separators, the script uses hack/patches/<df-version>/
<name>.dif, thus auto-selecting the version appropriate for the currently loaded executable.
This is the preferred method; it’s easier to debug, does not cause persistent problems, and leaves file checksums alone.
As with many other commands, users can simply add it to dfhack*.init to reapply the patch every time DF is run.

Patching on disk

Warning: This method of patching is deprecated, and may be removed without notice. You should use the
runtime patching option above.

DFHack includes a small stand-alone utility for applying and removing binary patches from the game executable. Use
it from the regular operating system console:
binpatch check "Dwarf [Link]" [Link] Checks and prints if the patch is currently ap-
plied.
binpatch apply "Dwarf [Link]" [Link] Applies the patch, unless it is already applied or
in conflict.
binpatch remove "Dwarf [Link]" [Link] Removes the patch, unless it is already re-
moved.
If you use a permanent patch under OSX or Linux, you must update [Link] with the new checksum of the
executable. Find the relevant section, and add a new line:

<md5-hash value='????????????????????????????????'/>

In order to find the correct value of the hash, look into [Link]; DFHack prints an error there if it does not recognize
the hash.

7.11.3 Tools reliant on binpatches

Some DFHack tools require the game to be patched to work. As no patches are currently available, the full description
of each is included here.

fix-armory

Enables a fix for storage of squad equipment in barracks.

Specifically, it prevents your haulers from moving squad equipment to stockpiles, and instead queues jobs to store it
on weapon racks, armor stands, and in containers.

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Note: In order to actually be used, weapon racks have to be patched and manually assigned to a squad. See gui/assign-
rack.

Note that the buildings in the armory are used as follows:

• Weapon racks (when patched) are used to store any assigned weapons. Each rack belongs to a specific squad,
and can store up to 5 weapons.
• Armor stands belong to specific squad members and are used for armor and shields.
• Cabinets are used to store assigned clothing for a specific squad member. They are never used to store owned
clothing.
• Chests (boxes, etc) are used for a flask, backpack or quiver assigned to the squad member. Due to a probable
bug, food is dropped out of the backpack when it is stored.

Warning: Although armor stands, cabinets and chests properly belong only to one squad member, the owner of
the building used to create the barracks will randomly use any containers inside the room. Thus, it is recommended
to always create the armory from a weapon rack.

Contrary to the common misconception, all these uses are controlled by the Individual Equipment usage flag. The
Squad Equipment flag is actually intended for ammo, but the game does even less in that area than for armor and
weapons. This plugin implements the following rules almost from scratch:
• Combat ammo is stored in chests inside rooms with Squad Equipment enabled.
• If a chest is assigned to a squad member due to Individual Equipment also being set, it is only used for that
squad’s ammo; otherwise, any squads with Squad Equipment on the room will use all of the chests at random.
• Training ammo is stored in chests inside archery ranges designated from archery targets, and controlled by the
same Train flag as archery training itself. This is inspired by some defunct code for weapon racks.
There are some minor traces in the game code to suggest that the first of these rules is intended by Toady; the rest are
invented by this plugin.

gui/assign-rack

Bind to a key (the example config uses P), and activate when viewing a weapon rack in the q mode.

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This script is part of a group of related fixes to make the armory storage work again. The existing issues are:
• Weapon racks have to each be assigned to a specific squad, like with beds/boxes/armor stands and individual
squad members, but nothing in the game does this. This issue is what this script addresses.
• Even if assigned by the script, the game will unassign the racks again without a binary patch. This patch is
called weaponrack-unassign, and has not been updated since 0.34.11. See Bug 1445 for more info.
• Haulers still take equipment stored in the armory away to the stockpiles, unless fix-armory is used.
The script interface simply lets you designate one of the squads that are assigned to the barracks/armory containing
the selected stand as the intended user. In order to aid in the choice, it shows the number of currently assigned racks
for every valid squad.

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