{
    "mode": "man",
    "parameter": "etex",
    "section": "1",
    "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/etex/1/json",
    "generated": "2026-06-15T16:02:05Z",
    "synopsis": "etex [options] [&format] [file|\\commands]",
    "sections": {
        "NAME": {
            "content": "etex - extended (plain) TeX\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "SYNOPSIS": {
            "content": "etex [options] [&format] [file|\\commands]\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "DESCRIPTION": {
            "content": "Run  the e-TeX typesetter on file, by default creating file.dvi.  If the file argument has no\nextension, \".tex\" will be appended to it.  Instead of a filename, a set of e-TeX commands can\nbe given, the first of which must start with a backslash.  With a &format argument e-TeX uses\na different set of precompiled commands, contained in format.fmt; it is usually better to use\nthe -fmt format option instead.\n\ne-TeX  is  the  first concrete result of an international research & development project, the\nNTS Project, which was established under the aegis of DANTE e.V. during 1992. The aims of the\nproject  are  to  perpetuate  and develop the spirit and philosophy of TeX, whilst respecting\nKnuth's wish that TeX should remain frozen.\n\ne-TeX can be used in two different modes: in compatibility mode it is  supposed  to  be  com‐\npletely  interchangable with standard TeX.  In extended mode several new primitives are added\nthat facilitate (among other things) bidirectional typesetting.\n\nAn extended mode format is generated by prefixing the name of the source file for the  format\nwith an asterisk (*).\n\ne-TeX's  handling  of its command-line arguments is similar to that of the other TeX programs\nin the web2c implementation.\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "OPTIONS": {
            "content": "This version of e-TeX understands the following command line options.\n",
            "subsections": [
                {
                    "name": "-fmt",
                    "content": "Use format as the name of the format to be used, instead of the name  by  which  e-TeX\nwas called or a %& line.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-enc -ini",
                    "content": "For documentation of the encTeX extensions see http://www.olsak.net/enctex.html.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-etex -ini",
                    "content": ""
                },
                {
                    "name": "-file-line-error",
                    "content": "Print error messages in the form file:line:error which is similar to the way many com‐\npilers format them.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-no-file-line-error",
                    "content": "Disable printing error messages in the file:line:error style.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-file-line-error-style",
                    "content": "This is the old name of the -file-line-error option.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-halt-on-error",
                    "content": "Exit with an error code when an error is encountered during processing.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-help",
                    "content": ""
                },
                {
                    "name": "-ini",
                    "content": "setting, but no format is preloaded, and basic initializations like  setting  catcodes\nmay be required.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-interaction",
                    "content": "Sets the interaction mode.  The mode can be either batchmode, nonstopmode, scrollmode,\nand errorstopmode.  The meaning of these modes is the same as that of the  correspond‐\ning \\commands.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-ipc",
                    "content": "available is the choice of the installer.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-ipc-start",
                    "content": "As -ipc, and starts the server at the other end  as  well.   Whether  this  option  is\navailable is the choice of the installer.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-jobname",
                    "content": "Use name for the job name, instead of deriving it from the name of the input file.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-kpathsea-debug",
                    "content": "Sets path searching debugging flags according to the bitmask.  See the Kpathsea manual\nfor details.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-mktex",
                    "content": "Enable mktexfmt, where fmt must be either tex or tfm.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-mltex -ini",
                    "content": ""
                },
                {
                    "name": "-no-mktex",
                    "content": "Disable mktexfmt, where fmt must be either tex or tfm.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-output-comment",
                    "content": "Use string for the DVI file comment instead of the date.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-output-directory",
                    "content": "Write output files in directory instead of the current directory.  Look up input files\nin directory first, the along the normal search path.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-parse-first-line",
                    "content": "If  the  first  line of the main input file begins with %& parse it to look for a dump\nname or a -translate-file option.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-no-parse-first-line",
                    "content": "Disable parsing of the first line of the main input file.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-progname",
                    "content": "Pretend to be program name.  This affects both the format used and the search paths.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-recorder",
                    "content": "Enable the filename recorder.  This leaves a trace of the files opened for  input  and\noutput in a file with extension .fls.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-shell-escape",
                    "content": "Enable  the  \\write18{command} construct.  The command can be any shell command.  This\nconstruct is normally disallowed for security reasons.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-no-shell-escape",
                    "content": "Disable the \\write18{command} construct, even if it is enabled in the texmf.cnf file.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-src-specials",
                    "content": "Insert source specials into the DVI file.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-src-specials",
                    "content": "Insert source specials in certain placed of the DVI file.  where is a  comma-separated\nvalue list: cr, display, hbox, math, par, parent, or vbox.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-translate-file",
                    "content": "Use  the  tcxname translation table to set the mapping of input characters and re-map‐\nping of output characters.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-default-translate-file",
                    "content": "Like -translate-file except that a %& line can overrule this setting.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-version",
                    "content": "Print version information and exit.\n"
                }
            ]
        },
        "ENVIRONMENT": {
            "content": "See the Kpathsearch library documentation (the `Path specifications' node)  for  precise  de‐\ntails  of how the environment variables are used.  The kpsewhich utility can be used to query\nthe values of the variables.\n\nOne caveat: In most e-TeX formats, you cannot use ~ in a filename you give directly to e-TeX,\nbecause  ~  is an active character, and hence is expanded, not taken as part of the filename.\nOther programs, such as Metafont, do not have this problem.\n\nTEXMFOUTPUT\nNormally, e-TeX puts its output files in the current directory.  If  any  output  file\ncannot be opened there, it tries to open it in the directory specified in the environ‐\nment variable TEXMFOUTPUT.  There is no default value for that variable.  For example,\nif  you  say  etex paper and the current directory is not writable, if TEXMFOUTPUT has\nthe value /tmp, e-TeX attempts to create /tmp/paper.log (and  /tmp/paper.dvi,  if  any\noutput is produced.)  TEXMFOUTPUT is also checked for input files, as TeX often gener‐\nates files that need to  be  subsequently  read;  for  input,  no  suffixes  (such  as\n``.tex'') are added by default, the input name is simply checked as given.\n\nTEXINPUTS\nSearch  path for \\input and \\openin files.  This should start with ``.'', so that user\nfiles are found before system files.  An empty path component will  be  replaced  with\nthe   paths   defined   in   the  texmf.cnf  file.   For  example,  set  TEXINPUTS  to\n\".:/home/user/tex:\" to prepend the current  direcory  and  ``/home/user/tex''  to  the\nstandard search path.\n\nTEXFORMATS\nSearch path for format files.\n\nTEXPOOL\nsearch path for etex internal strings.\n\nTEXEDIT\nCommand  template for switching to editor.  The default, usually vi, is set when e-TeX\nis compiled.\n\nTFMFONTS\nSearch path for font metric (.tfm) files.\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "FILES": {
            "content": "The location of the files mentioned below varies from system to system.   Use  the  kpsewhich\nutility to find their locations.\n\netex.pool\nText file containing e-TeX's internal strings.\n\ntexfonts.map\nFilename mapping definitions.\n\n*.tfm  Metric files for e-TeX's fonts.\n\n*.fmt  Predigested e-TeX format (.fmt) files.\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "NOTES": {
            "content": "Starting with version 1.40, pdfTeX incorporates the e-TeX extensions, so in this installation\neTeX may be just a symbolic link to pdfTeX.  See pdftex(1).  This manual page is not meant to\nbe exhaustive.  The complete documentation for this version of e-TeX can be found in the info\nmanual Web2C: A TeX implementation.\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "BUGS": {
            "content": "This version of e-TeX implements a number of optional extensions.  In fact, many of these ex‐\ntensions  conflict to a greater or lesser extent with the definition of e-TeX.  When such ex‐\ntensions are enabled, the banner printed when e-TeX starts is changed to print e-TeXk instead\nof e-TeX.\n\nThis  version  of  e-TeX  fails to trap arithmetic overflow when dimensions are added or sub‐\ntracted.  Cases where this occurs are rare, but when it does the generated DVI file  will  be\ninvalid.\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "SEE ALSO": {
            "content": "pdftex(1), tex(1), mf(1).\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "AUTHORS": {
            "content": "e-TeX was developed by Peter Breitenlohner and the NTS team; Peter later continued its devel‐\nopment outside of the team.\n\nTeX was designed by Donald E. Knuth, who implemented it using his Web system for Pascal  pro‐\ngrams.   It was ported to Unix at Stanford by Howard Trickey, and at Cornell by Pavel Curtis.\nThe version now offered with the Unix TeX distribution is that generated by the Web to C sys‐\ntem (web2c), originally written by Tomas Rokicki and Tim Morgan.\n\nThe encTeX extensions were written by Petr Olsak.\n\n\n\nWeb2C 2015                                  1 March 2011                                     ETEX(1)",
            "subsections": []
        }
    },
    "summary": "etex - extended (plain) TeX",
    "flags": [
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
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            "description": "Use format as the name of the format to be used, instead of the name by which e-TeX was called or a %& line."
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            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
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            "description": "For documentation of the encTeX extensions see http://www.olsak.net/enctex.html."
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            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": ""
        },
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            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
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            "description": "Disable printing error messages in the file:line:error style."
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            "description": "This is the old name of the -file-line-error option."
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            "description": "Exit with an error code when an error is encountered during processing."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
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            "description": ""
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            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
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            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Sets the interaction mode. The mode can be either batchmode, nonstopmode, scrollmode, and errorstopmode. The meaning of these modes is the same as that of the correspond‐ ing \\commands."
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            "flag": "",
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            "flag": "",
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            "long": null,
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            "description": "Use name for the job name, instead of deriving it from the name of the input file."
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            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
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            "description": "Sets path searching debugging flags according to the bitmask. See the Kpathsea manual for details."
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            "description": "Use string for the DVI file comment instead of the date."
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            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
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            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "If the first line of the main input file begins with %& parse it to look for a dump name or a -translate-file option."
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        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "Disable parsing of the first line of the main input file."
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        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
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            "description": "Pretend to be program name. This affects both the format used and the search paths."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
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        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
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        },
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            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
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            "description": "Insert source specials into the DVI file."
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            "flag": "",
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            "flag": "",
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    ],
    "examples": [],
    "see_also": [
        {
            "name": "pdftex",
            "section": "1",
            "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/pdftex/1/json"
        },
        {
            "name": "tex",
            "section": "1",
            "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/tex/1/json"
        },
        {
            "name": "mf",
            "section": "1",
            "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mf/1/json"
        }
    ]
}