3. Options

This section documents the command-line options to XBoard. You can set these options in two ways: by typing them on the shell command line you use to start XBoard, or by setting them as X resources (typically in your `.Xdefaults' file). Many of the options cannot be changed while XBoard is running; others set the initial state of items that can be changed with the 3. Options menu.

Most of the options have both a long name and a short name. To turn a boolean option on or off from the command line, either give its long name followed by the value true or false (`-longOptionName true'), or give just the short name to turn the option on (`-opt'), or the short name preceded by `x' to turn the option off (`-xopt'). For options that take strings or numbers as values, you can use the long or short option names interchangeably.

Each option corresponds to an X resource with the same name, so if you like, you can set options in your `.Xdefaults' file or in a file named `XBoard' in your home directory. For options that have two names, the longer one is the name of the corresponding X resource; the short name is not recognized. To turn a boolean option on or off as an X resource, give its long name followed by the value true or false (`XBoard*longOptionName: true').

3.1 Chess Engine Options		Controlling the chess engine.
3.2 Internet Chess Server Options		Connecting to and using ICS.
3.3 Load and Save Options		Input/output options.
3.4 User Interface Options		Look and feel options.
3.5 Other Options		Miscellaneous.

3.1 Chess Engine Options

-tc or -timeControl minutes[:seconds]

Each player begins with his clock set to the timeControl period. Default: 5 minutes. The additional options movesPerSession and timeIncrement are mutually exclusive.

-mps or -movesPerSession moves

When both players have made movesPerSession moves, a new timeControl period is added to both clocks. Default: 40 moves.

-inc or -timeIncrement seconds

If this option is specified, movesPerSession is ignored. Instead, after each player's move, timeIncrement seconds are added to his clock. Use `-inc 0' if you want to require the entire game to be played in one timeControl period, with no increment. Default: -1, which specifies movesPerSession mode.

-clock/-xclock or -clockMode true/false

Determines whether or not to display the chess clocks. If clockMode is false, the clocks are not shown, but the side that is to play next is still highlighted. Also, unless searchTime is set, the chess engine still keeps track of the clock time and uses it to determine how fast to make its moves.

-st or -searchTime minutes[:seconds]

Tells the chess engine to spend at most the given amount of time searching for each of its moves. Without this option, the chess engine chooses its search time based on the number of moves and amount of time remaining until the next time control. Setting this option also sets clockMode to false.

-depth or -searchDepth number

Tells the chess engine to look ahead at most the given number of moves when searching for a move to make. Without this option, the chess engine chooses its search depth based on the number of moves and amount of time remaining until the next time control. With the option, the engine will cut off its search early if it reaches the specified depth.

-thinking/-xthinking or -showThinking true/false

Sets the Show Thinking option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: false.

-ponder/-xponder or -ponderNextMove true/false

Sets the Ponder Next Move menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: true.

-mg or -matchGames n

Automatically runs an n-game match between two chess engines, with alternating colors. If the loadGameFile or loadPositionFile option is set, XBoard starts each game with the given opening moves or the given position; otherwise, the games start with the standard initial chess position. If the saveGameFile option is set, a move record for the match is appended to the specified file. If the savePositionFile option is set, the final position reached in each game of the match is appended to the specified file. When the match is over, XBoard displays the match score and exits. Default: 0 (do not run a match).

-mm/-xmm or -matchMode true/false

Setting matchMode to true is equivalent to setting matchGames to 1.

-fcp or -firstChessProgram program

Name of first chess engine. Default: `gnuchessx'.

-scp or -secondChessProgram program

Name of second chess engine, if needed. A second chess engine is started only in Two Machines (match) mode. Default: `gnuchessx'.

-fb/-xfb or -firstPlaysBlack true/false

In games between two chess engines, firstChessProgram normally plays white. If this option is true, firstChessProgram plays black. In a multi-game match, this option affects the colors only for the first game; they still alternate in subsequent games.

-fh or -firstHost host

-sh or -secondHost host

Hosts on which the chess engines are to run. The default for each is `localhost'. If you specify another host, XBoard uses `rsh' to run the chess engine there. (You can substitute a different remote shell program for rsh using the remoteShell option described below.)

-fd or -firstDirectory dir

-sd or -secondDirectory dir

Working directories in which the chess engines are to be run. The default is "", which means to run the chess engine in the same working directory as XBoard itself. (See the CHESSDIR environment variable.) This option is effective only when the chess engine is being run on the local host; it does not work if the engine is run remotely using the -fh or -sh option.

-initString string

-secondInitString string

The string that is sent to initialize each chess engine for a new game. Default:

new random

Setting this option from the command line is tricky, because you must type in real newline characters, including one at the very end. In most shells you can do this by entering a `\' character followed by a newline. It is easier to set the option from your `.Xdefaults' file; in that case you can include the character sequence `\n' in the string, and it will be converted to a newline.

If you change this option, don't remove the `new' command; it is required by all chess engines to start a new game.

You can remove the `random' command if you like; including it causes GNU Chess 4 to randomize its move selection slightly so that it doesn't play the same moves in every game. Even without `random', GNU Chess 4 randomizes its choice of moves from its opening book. Many other chess engines ignore this command entirely and always (or never) randomize.

You can also try adding other commands to the initString; see the documentation of the chess engine you are using for details.

-firstComputerString string

-secondComputerString string

The string that is sent to the chess engine if its opponent is another computer chess engine. The default is `computer\n'. Probably the only useful alternative is the empty string (`'), which keeps the engine from knowing that it is playing another computer.

-reuse/-xreuse or -reuseFirst true/false

-reuse2/-xreuse2 or -reuseSecond true/false

If the option is false, XBoard kills off the chess engine after every game and starts it again for the next game. If the option is true (the default), XBoard starts the chess engine only once and uses it repeatedly to play multiple games. Some old chess engines may not work properly when reuse is turned on, but otherwise games will start faster if it is left on.

-firstProtocolVersion version-number

-secondProtocolVersion version-number

This option specifies which version of the chess engine communication protocol to use. By default, version-number is 2. In version 1, the "protover" command is not sent to the engine; since version 1 is a subset of version 2, nothing else changes. Other values for version-number are not supported.

3.2 Internet Chess Server Options

-ics/-xics or -internetChessServerMode true/false

Connect with an Internet Chess Server to play chess against its other users, observe games they are playing, or review games that have recently finished. Default: false.

-icshost or -internetChessServerHost host

The Internet host name or address of the chess server to connect to when in ICS mode. Default: chessclub.com. Another popular chess server to try is freechess.org. If your site doesn't have a working Internet name server, try specifying the host address in numeric form. You may also need to specify the numeric address when using the icshelper option with timestamp or timeseal (see below).

-icsport or -internetChessServerPort port-number

The port number to use when connecting to a chess server in ICS mode. Default: 5000.

-icshelper or -internetChessServerHelper prog-name

An external helper program used to communicate with the chess server. You would set it to "timestamp" for ICC (chessclub.com) or "timeseal" for FICS (freechess.org), after obtaining the correct version of timestamp or timeseal for your computer. See "help timestamp" on ICC and "help timeseal" on FICS. This option is shorthand for -useTelnet -telnetProgram program.

-telnet/-xtelnet or -useTelnet true/false

This option is poorly named; it should be called useHelper. If set to true, it instructs XBoard to run an external program to communicate with the Internet Chess Server. The program to use is given by the telnetProgram option. If the option is false (the default), XBoard opens a TCP socket and uses its own internal implementation of the telnet protocol to communicate with the ICS. See section 5. Firewalls.

-telnetProgram prog-name

This option is poorly named; it should be called helperProgram. It gives the name of the telnet program to be used with the gateway and useTelnet options. The default is `telnet'. The telnet program is invoked with the value of internetChessServerHost as its first argument and the value of internetChessServerPort as its second argument. See section 5. Firewalls.

-gateway host-name

If this option is set to a host name, XBoard communicates with the Internet Chess Server by using `rsh' to run the telnetProgram on the given host, instead of using its own internal implementation of the telnet protocol. You can substitute a different remote shell program for `rsh' using the remoteShell option described below. See section 5. Firewalls.

-internetChessServerCommPort or -icscomm dev-name

If this option is set, XBoard communicates with the ICS through the given character I/O device instead of opening a TCP connection. Use this option if your system does not have any kind of Internet connection itself (not even a SLIP or PPP connection), but you do have dialup access (or a hardwired terminal line) to an Internet service provider from which you can telnet to the ICS.

The support for this option in XBoard is minimal. You need to set all communication parameters and tty modes before you enter XBoard.

Use a script something like this:

stty raw -echo 9600 > /dev/tty00 xboard -ics -icscomm /dev/tty00

Here replace `/dev/tty00' with the name of the device that your modem is connected to. You might have to add several more options to these stty commands. See the man pages for `stty' and tty if you run into problems. Also, on many systems stty works on its standard input instead of standard output, so you have to use `<' instead of `>'.

If you are using linux, try starting with the script below. Change it as necessary for your installation.

#!/bin/sh -f # configure modem and fire up XBoard # configure modem ( stty 2400 ; stty raw ; stty hupcl ; stty -clocal stty ignbrk ; stty ignpar ; stty ixon ; stty ixoff stty -iexten ; stty -echo ) < /dev/modem xboard -ics -icscomm /dev/modem

After you start XBoard in this way, type whatever commands are necessary to dial out to your Internet provider and log in. Then telnet to ICS, using a command like telnet chessclub.com 5000. Important: See the paragraph below about extra echoes, in 7. Limitations and known bugs.

-icslogon or -internetChessServerLogonScript file-name

Whenever XBoard connects to the Internet Chess Server, if it finds a file with the name given in this option, it feeds the file's contents to the ICS as commands. The default file name is `.icsrc'. Usually the first two lines of the file should be your ICS user name and password. The file can be either in $CHESSDIR, in XBoard's working directory if CHESSDIR is not set, or in your home directory.

-msLoginDelay delay

If you experience trouble logging on to an ICS when using the -icslogon option, inserting some delay between characters of the logon script may help. This option adds delay milliseconds of delay between characters. Good values to try are 100 and 250.

-icsinput/-xicsinput or -internetChessServerInputBox true/false

Sets the ICS Input Box menu option. See section 2.2 Mode Menu. Default: false.

-autocomm/-xautocomm or -autoComment true/false

Sets the Auto Comment menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: false.

-autoflag/-xautoflag or -autoCallFlag true/false

Sets the Auto Flag menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: false.

-autobs/-xautobs or -autoObserve true/false

Sets the Auto Observe menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: false.

-moves/-xmoves or -getMoveList true/false

Sets the Get Move List menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: true.

-alarm/-xalarm or -icsAlarm true/false

Sets the ICS Alarm menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: true.

-icsAlarmTime ms

Sets the time in milliseconds for the ICS Alarm menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: 5000.

-pre/-xpre \fRor\fB -premove true/false

Sets the Premove menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: true.

-quiet/-xquiet or -quietPlay true/false

Sets the Quiet Play menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: false.

-colorizeMessages or -colorize

Setting colorizeMessages to true tells XBoard to colorize the messages received from the ICS. Colorization works only if your xterm supports ISO 6429 escape sequences for changing text colors.

-colorShout foreground,background,bold

-colorSShout foreground,background,bold

-colorChannel1 foreground,background,bold

-colorChannel foreground,background,bold

-colorKibitz foreground,background,bold

-colorTell foreground,background,bold

-colorChallege foreground,background,bold

-colorRequest foreground,background,bold

-colorSeek foreground,background,bold

-colorNormal foreground,background,bold

These options set the colors used when colorizing ICS messages. All ICS messages are grouped into one of these categories: shout, sshout, channel 1, other channel, kibitz, tell, challenge, request (including abort, adjourn, draw, pause, and takeback), or normal (all other messages).

Each foreground or background argument can be one of the following: black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, white, or default. Here "default" means the default foreground or background color of your xterm. Bold can be 1 or 0. If background is omitted, "default" is assumed; if bold is omitted, 0 is assumed.

Here is an example of how to set the colors in your `.Xdefaults' file. The colors shown here are the default values; you will get them if you turn -colorize on without specifying your own colors.

xboard*colorizeMessages: true xboard*colorShout: green xboard*colorSShout: green, black, 1 xboard*colorChannel1: cyan xboard*colorChannel: cyan, black, 1 xboard*colorKibitz: magenta, black, 1 xboard*colorTell: yellow, black, 1 xboard*colorChallenge: red, black, 1 xboard*colorRequest: red xboard*colorSeek: blue xboard*colorNormal: default

-soundProgram progname

If this option is set to a sound-playing program that is installed and working on your system, XBoard can play sound files when certain events occur, listed below. The default program name is "play". If any of the sound options is set to "$", the event rings the terminal bell by sending a ^G character to standard output, instead of playing a sound file. If an option is set to the empty string "", no sound is played for that event.

-soundShout filename

-soundSShout filename

-soundChannel filename

-soundKibitz filename

-soundTell filename

-soundChallenge filename

-soundRequest filename

-soundSeek filename

These sounds are triggered in the same way as the colorization events described above. They all default to "", no sound. They are played only if the colorizeMessages is on.

-soundMove filename

This sound is used by the Move Sound menu option. Default: "$".

-soundIcsAlarm filename

This sound is used by the ICS Alarm menu option. Default: "$".

-soundIcsWin filename

This sound is played when you win an ICS game. Default: "" (no sound).

-soundIcsLoss filename

This sound is played when you lose an ICS game. Default: "" (no sound).

-soundIcsDraw filename

This sound is played when you draw an ICS game. Default: "" (no sound).

-soundIcsUnfinished filename

This sound is played when an ICS game that you are participating in is aborted, adjourned, or otherwise ends inconclusively. Default: "" (no sound).

Here is an example of how to set the sounds in your .Xdefaults file:

xboard*soundShout: shout.wav xboard*soundSShout: sshout.wav xboard*soundChannel1: channel1.wav xboard*soundChannel: channel.wav xboard*soundKibitz: kibitz.wav xboard*soundTell: tell.wav xboard*soundChallenge: challenge.wav xboard*soundRequest: request.wav xboard*soundSeek: seek.wav xboard*soundMove: move.wav xboard*soundIcsWin: win.wav xboard*soundIcsLoss: lose.wav xboard*soundIcsDraw: draw.wav xboard*soundIcsUnfinished: unfinished.wav xboard*soundIcsAlarm: alarm.wav

3.3 Load and Save Options

-lgf or -loadGameFile file

-lgi or -loadGameIndex index

If the loadGameFile option is set, XBoard loads the specified game file at startup. The file name `-' specifies the standard input. If there is more than one game in the file, XBoard pops up a menu of the available games, with entries based on their PGN (Portable Game Notation) tags. If the loadGameIndex option is set to `N', the menu is suppressed and the N th game found in the file is loaded immediately. The menu is also suppressed if matchMode is enabled or if the game file is a pipe; in these cases the first game in the file is loaded immediately. Use the `pxboard' shell script provided with XBoard if you want to pipe in files containing multiple games and still see the menu.

-td or -timeDelay seconds

Time delay between moves during `Load Game'. Fractional seconds are allowed; try `-td 0.4'. A time delay value of -1 tells XBoard not to step through game files automatically. Default: 1 second.

-sgf or -saveGameFile file

If this option is set, XBoard appends a record of every game played to the specified file. The file name `-' specifies the standard output.

-autosave/-xautosave or -autoSaveGames true/false

Sets the Auto Save menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: false. Ignored if saveGameFile is set.

-lpf or -loadPositionFile file

-lpi or -loadPositionIndex index

If the loadPositionFile option is set, XBoard loads the specified position file at startup. The file name `-' specifies the standard input. If the loadPositionIndex option is set to N, the Nth position found in the file is loaded; otherwise the first position is loaded.

-spf or -savePositionFile file

If this option is set, XBoard appends the final position reached in every game played to the specified file. The file name `-' specifies the standard output.

-oldsave/-xoldsave or -oldSaveStyle true/false

Sets the Old Save Style menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: false.

3.4 User Interface Options

-display

-geometry

-iconic

These and most other standard Xt options are accepted.

-movesound/-xmovesound or -ringBellAfterMoves true/false

Sets the Move Sound menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: false. For compatibility with old XBoard versions, -bell/-xbell are also accepted as abbreviations for this option.

-exit/-xexit or -popupExitMessage true/false

Sets the Popup Exit Message menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: true.

-popup/-xpopup or -popupMoveErrors true/false

Sets the Popup Move Errors menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: false.

-queen/-xqueen or -alwaysPromoteToQueen true/false

Sets the Always Queen menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: false.

-legal/-xlegal or -testLegality true/false

Sets the Test Legality menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: true.

-size or -boardSize (sizeName | n1,n2,n3,n4,n5,n6,n7)

Determines how large the board will be, by selecting the pixel size of the pieces and setting a few related parameters. The sizeName can be one of: Titanic, giving 129x129 pixel pieces, Colossal 116x116, Giant 108x108, Huge 95x95, Big 87x87, Large 80x80, Bulky 72x72, Medium 64x64, Moderate 58x58, Average 54x54, Middling 49x49, Mediocre 45x45, Small 40x40, Slim 37x37, Petite 33x33, Dinky 29x29, Teeny 25x25, or Tiny 21x21. Pieces of all these sizes are built into XBoard. Other sizes can be used if you have them; see the pixmapDirectory and bitmapDirectory options. The default depends on the size of your screen; it is approximately the largest size that will fit without clipping.

You can select other sizes or vary other layout parameters by providing a list of comma-separated values (with no spaces) as the argument. You do not need to provide all the values; for any you omit from the end of the list, defaults are taken from the nearest built-in size. The value n1 gives the piece size, n2 the width of the black border between squares, n3 the desired size for the clockFont, n4 the desired size for the coordFont, n5 the desired size for the default font, n6 the smallLayout flag (0 or 1), and n7 the tinyLayout flag (0 or 1). All dimensions are in pixels. If the border between squares is eliminated (0 width), the various highlight options will not work, as there is nowhere to draw the highlight. If smallLayout is 1 and titleInWindow is true, the window layout is rearranged to make more room for the title. If tinyLayout is 1, the labels on the menu bar are abbreviated to one character each and the buttons in the button bar are made narrower.

-coords/-xcoords or -showCoords true/false

Sets the Show Coords menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: false. The coordFont option specifies what font to use.

-autoraise/-xautoraise or -autoRaiseBoard true/false

Sets the Auto Raise Board menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: true.

-autoflip/-xautoflip or -autoFlipView true/false

Sets the Auto Flip View menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: true.

-flip/-xflip or -flipView true/false

If Auto Flip View is not set, or if you are observing but not participating in a game, then the positioning of the board at the start of each game depends on the flipView option. If flipView is false (the default), the board is positioned so that the white pawns move from the bottom to the top; if true, the black pawns move from the bottom to the top. In any case, the Flip menu option (see 2.5 Options Menu) can be used to flip the board after the game starts.

-title/-xtitle or -titleInWindow true/false

If this option is true, XBoard displays player names (for ICS games) and game file names (for `Load Game') inside its main window. If the option is false (the default), this information is displayed only in the window banner. You probably won't want to set this option unless the information is not showing up in the banner, as happens with a few X window managers.

-buttons/-xbuttons or -showButtonBar True/False

If this option is False, xboard omits the [<<] [<] [P] [>] [>>] button bar from the window, allowing the message line to be wider. You can still get the functions of these buttons using the menus or their keyboard shortcuts. Default: true.

-mono/-xmono or -monoMode true/false

Determines whether XBoard displays its pieces and squares with two colors (true) or four (false). You shouldn't have to specify monoMode; XBoard will determine if it is necessary.

-flashCount count

-flashRate rate

-flash/-xflash

These options enable flashing of pieces when they land on their destination square. flashCount tells XBoard how many times to flash a piece after it lands on its destination square. flashRate controls the rate of flashing (flashes/sec). Abbreviations: flash sets flashCount to 3. xflash sets flashCount to 0. Defaults: flashCount=0 (no flashing), flashRate=5.

-highlight/-xhighlight or -highlightLastMove true/false

Sets the Highlight Last Move menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: false.

-blind/-xblind or -blindfold true/false

Sets the Blindfold menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: false.

-clockFont font

The font used for the clocks. If the option value is a pattern that does not specify the font size, XBoard tries to choose an appropriate font for the board size being used. Default: -*-helvetica-bold-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.

-coordFont font

The font used for rank and file coordinate labels if showCoords is true. If the option value is a pattern that does not specify the font size, XBoard tries to choose an appropriate font for the board size being used. Default: -*-helvetica-bold-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.

-font font

The font used for popup dialogs, menus, comments, etc. If the option value is a pattern that does not specify the font size, XBoard tries to choose an appropriate font for the board size being used. Default: -*-helvetica-medium-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.

-fontSizeTolerance tol

In the font selection algorithm, a nonscalable font will be preferred over a scalable font if the nonscalable font's size differs by tol pixels or less from the desired size. A value of -1 will force a scalable font to always be used if available; a value of 0 will use a nonscalable font only if it is exactly the right size; a large value (say 1000) will force a nonscalable font to always be used if available. Default: 4.

-bm or -bitmapDirectory dir

-pixmap or -pixmapDirectory dir

These options control what piece images xboard uses. The XBoard distribution includes one set of pixmap pieces in xpm format, in the directory `pixmaps', and one set of bitmap pieces in xbm format, in the directory `bitmaps'. Pixmap pieces give a better appearance on the screen: the white pieces have dark borders, and the black pieces have opaque internal details. With bitmaps, neither piece color has a border, and the internal details are transparent; you see the square color or other background color through them.

If XBoard is configured and compiled on a system that includes libXpm, the X pixmap library, the xpm pixmap pieces are compiled in as the default. A different xpm piece set can be selected at runtime with the pixmapDirectory option, or a bitmap piece set can be selected with the bitmapDirectory option.

If XBoard is configured and compiled on a system that does not include libXpm (or the --disable-xpm option is given to the configure program), the bitmap pieces are compiled in as the default. It is not possible to use xpm pieces in this case, but pixmap pieces in another format called "xim" can be used by giving the pixmapDirectory option. Or again, a different bitmap piece set can be selected with the bitmapDirectory option.

Files in the bitmapDirectory must be named as follows: The first character of a piece bitmap name gives the piece it represents (`p', `n', `b', `r', `q', or `k'), the next characters give the size in pixels, the following character indicates whether the piece is solid or outline (`s' or `o'), and the extension is `.bm'. For example, a solid 80x80 knight would be named `n80s.bm'. The outline bitmaps are used only in monochrome mode. If bitmap pieces are compiled in and the bitmapDirectory is missing some files, the compiled in pieces are used instead.

If the bitmapDirectory option is given, it is also possible to replace xboard's icons and menu checkmark, by supplying files named `icon_white.bm', `icon_black.bm', and `checkmark.bm'.

For more information about pixmap pieces and how to get additional sets, see 11.3 zic2xpm below.

-whitePieceColor color

-blackPieceColor color

-lightSquareColor color

-darkSquareColor color

-highlightSquareColor color

Colors to use for the pieces, squares, and square highlights. Defaults:

-whitePieceColor #FFFFCC -blackPieceColor #202020 -lightSquareColor #C8C365 -darkSquareColor #77A26D -highlightSquareColor #FFFF00 -premoveHighlightColor #FF0000

On a grayscale monitor you might prefer:

-whitePieceColor gray100 -blackPieceColor gray0 -lightSquareColor gray80 -darkSquareColor gray60 -highlightSquareColor gray100 -premoveHighlightColor gray70

-drag/-xdrag or -animateDragging true/false

Sets the Animate Dragging menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: true.

-animate/-xanimate or -animateMoving true/false

Sets the Animate Moving menu option. See section 2.5 Options Menu. Default: true.

-animateSpeed n

Number of milliseconds delay between each animation frame when Animate Moves is on.

3.5 Other Options

-ncp/-xncp or -noChessProgram true/false

If this option is true, XBoard acts as a passive chessboard; it does not start a chess engine at all. Turning on this option also turns off clockMode. Default: false.

-mode or -initialMode modename

If this option is given, XBoard selects the given modename from the Mode menu after starting and (if applicable) processing the loadGameFile or loadPositionFile option. Default: "" (no selection). Other supported values are MachineWhite, MachineBlack, TwoMachines, Analysis, AnalyzeFile, EditGame, EditPosition, and Training.

-variant varname

Activates preliminary, partial support for playing chess variants against a local engine or editing variant games. This flag is not needed in ICS mode. Recognized variant names are:

normal Normal chess wildcastle Shuffle chess, king can castle from d file nocastle Shuffle chess, no castling allowed fischerandom Fischer Random shuffle chess bughouse Bughouse, ICC/FICS rules crazyhouse Crazyhouse, ICC/FICS rules losers Lose all pieces or get mated (ICC wild 17) suicide Lose all pieces including king (FICS) giveaway Try to have no legal moves (ICC wild 26) twokings Weird ICC wild 9 kriegspiel Opponent's pieces are invisible atomic Capturing piece explodes (ICC wild 27) 3check Win by giving check 3 times (ICC wild 25) shatranj An ancient precursor of chess (ICC wild 28) unknown Catchall for other unknown variants

In the shuffle variants, xboard does not shuffle the pieces, but you can do it by hand using Edit Position. Some variants are supported only in ICS mode, including fischerandom, bughouse, and kriegspiel. The winning/drawing conditions in crazyhouse (offboard interposition on mate), losers, suicide, giveaway, atomic, and 3check are not fully understood. In crazyhouse, xboard does not yet keep track of offboard pieces. Shatranj is unsupported, but it may be usable if you turn off Test Legality.

-debug/-xdebug or -debugMode true/false

Turns on debugging printout.

-rsh or -remoteShell shell-name

Name of the command used to run programs remotely. The default is `rsh' or `remsh', determined when XBoard is configured and compiled.

-ruser or -remoteUser user-name

User name on the remote system when running programs with the remoteShell. The default is your local user name.