-a

Equivalent to --append.

-B

Use backward searching patterns (e.g. ?pattern?). [Ignored in etags mode]

-e

Same as --output-format=etags. Enable etags mode, which will create a tag file for use with the Emacs editor. Alternatively, if ctags-universal is invoked by a name containing the string "etags" (either by renaming, or creating a link to, the executable), etags mode will be enabled. This option must appear before the first file name.

-f tagfile

Use the name specified by tagfile for the tag file (default is "tags", or "TAGS" when running in etags mode). If tagfile is specified as "-", then the tags are written to standard output instead. ctags-universal will stubbornly refuse to take orders if tagfile exists and its first line contains something other than a valid tags line. This will save your neck if you mistakenly type "ctags-universal -f *.c", which would otherwise overwrite your first C file with the tags generated by the rest! It will also refuse to accept a multi-character file name which begins with a '-' (dash) character, since this most likely means that you left out the tag file name and this option tried to grab the next option as the file name. If you really want to name your output tag file "-ugly", specify it as "./-ugly". This option must appear before the first file name. If this option is specified more than once, only the last will apply.

-F

Use forward searching patterns (e.g. /pattern/) (default). [Ignored in etags mode]

-G

Equivalent to --guess-language-eagerly.

-h list

Specifies a list of file extensions, separated by periods, which are to be interpreted as include (or header) files. To indicate files having no extension, use a period not followed by a non-period character (e.g. ".", "..x", ".x."). This option only affects how the scoping of particular kinds of tags are interpreted (i.e. whether or not they are considered as globally visible or visible only within the file in which they are defined); it does not map the extension to any particular language. Any tag which is located in a non-include file and cannot be seen (e.g. linked to) from another file is considered to have file-limited (e.g. static) scope. No kind of tag appearing in an include file will be considered to have file-limited scope. If the first character in the list is a plus sign, then the extensions in the list will be appended to the current list; otherwise, the list will replace the current list. See, also, the --file-scope option. The default list is ".h.H.hh.hpp.hxx.h++.inc.def". To restore the default list, specify -h default. Note that if an extension supplied to this option is not already mapped to a particular language (see "SOURCE FILES", above), you will also need to use either the --langmap or --language-force option.

-I identifier-list

Specifies a list of identifiers which are to be specially handled while parsing C and C++ source files. This option is specifically provided to handle special cases arising through the use of preprocessor macros. When the identifiers listed are simple identifiers, these identifiers will be ignored during parsing of the source files. If an identifier is suffixed with a '+' character, ctags-universal will also ignore any parenthesis-enclosed argument list which may immediately follow the identifier in the source files. If two identifiers are separated with the '=' character, the first identifiers is replaced by the second identifiers for parsing purposes. The list of identifiers may be supplied directly on the command line or read in from a separate file. If the first character of identifier-list is '@', '.' or a pathname separator ('/' or ''), or the first two characters specify a drive letter (e.g. "C:"), the parameter identifier-list will be interpreted as a filename from which to read a list of identifiers, one per input line. Otherwise, identifier-list is a list of identifiers (or identifier pairs) to be specially handled, each delimited by either a comma or by white space (in which case the list should be quoted to keep the entire list as one command line argument). Multiple -I options may be supplied. To clear the list of ignore identifiers, supply a single dash ("-") for identifier-list.

This feature is useful when preprocessor macros are used in such a way that they cause syntactic confusion due to their presence. Indeed, this is the best way of working around a number of problems caused by the presence of syntax-busting macros in source files (see "CAVEATS"). Some examples will illustrate this point.

int foo ARGDECL4(void *, ptr, long int, nbytes)

In the above example, the macro "ARGDECL4" would be mistakenly interpreted to be the name of the function instead of the correct name of "foo". Specifying "-I ARGDECL4" results in the correct behavior.

/* creates an RCS version string in module */
MODULE_VERSION("$Revision$")

In the above example the macro invocation looks too much like a function definition because it is not followed by a semicolon (indeed, it could even be followed by a global variable definition that would look much like a K&R style function parameter declaration). In fact, this seeming function definition could possibly even cause the rest of the file to be skipped over while trying to complete the definition. Specifying "-I MODULE_VERSION+" would avoid such a problem.

CLASS Example {
        // your content here
};

The example above uses "CLASS" as a preprocessor macro which expands to something different for each platform. For instance CLASS may be defined as "class __declspec(dllexport)" on Win32 platforms and simply "class" on UNIX. Normally, the absence of the C++ keyword "class" would cause the source file to be incorrectly parsed. Correct behavior can be restored by specifying "-I CLASS=class".

-L file

Read from file a list of file names for which tags should be generated. If file is specified as "-", then file names are read from standard input. File names read using this option are processed following file names appearing on the command line. Options are also accepted in this input. If this option is specified more than once, only the last will apply. Note: file is read in line-oriented mode, where a new line is the only delimiter and non-trailing white space is considered significant, in order that file names containing spaces may be supplied (however, trailing white space is stripped from lines); this can affect how options are parsed if included in the input.

-n

Equivalent to --excmd=number.

-N

Equivalent to --excmd=pattern.

-o tagfile

Equivalent to -f tagfile.

-R

Equivalent to --recurse.

-u

Equivalent to --sort=no (i.e. "unsorted").

-V

Equivalent to --verbose.

-w

This option is silently ignored for backward-compatibility with the ctags of SVR4 Unix.

-x

Print a tabular, human-readable cross reference (xref) file to standard output instead of generating a tag file. The information contained in the output includes: the tag name; the kind of tag; the line number, file name, and source line (with extra white space condensed) of the file which defines the tag. No tag file is written and all options affecting tag file output will be ignored. Example applications for this feature are generating a listing of all functions located in a source file (e.g. "ctags-universal -x --c-kinds=f file"), or generating a list of all externally visible global variables located in a source file (e.g. "ctags-universal -x --c-kinds=v --file-scope=no file"). This option must appear before the first file name.

--alias-<LANG>=[+|-]aliasPattern

Adds ('+') or removes ('-') an alias pattern to a language specified with <LANG>. ctags-universal refers to the alias pattern in "Determining file language" stage.

The parameter aliasPattern is not a list. Use this option multiple times in a command line to add or remove multiple alias patterns.

To restore the default language aliases, specify "default" as the parameter aliasPattern. Using "all" for <LANG> has meaning in following two cases:

--append[=yes|no]

Indicates whether tags generated from the specified files should be appended to those already present in the tag file or should replace them. This option is "no" by default. This option must appear before the first file name.

--etags-include=file

Include a reference to file in the tag file. This option may be specified as many times as desired. This supports Emacs' capability to use a tag file which "includes" other tag files. [Available only in etags mode]

--exclude=[pattern]

Add pattern to a list of excluded files and directories. This option may be specified as many times as desired. For each file name considered by ctags-universal, each pattern specified using this option will be compared against both the complete path (e.g. some/path/base.ext) and the base name (e.g. base.ext) of the file, thus allowing patterns which match a given file name irrespective of its path, or match only a specific path. If appropriate support is available from the runtime library of your C compiler, then pattern may contain the usual shell wildcards (not regular expressions) common on Unix (be sure to quote the option parameter to protect the wildcards from being expanded by the shell before being passed to ctags-universal; also be aware that wildcards can match the slash character, '/'). You can determine if shell wildcards are available on your platform by examining the output of the --list-features option, which will include "wildcards" in the compiled feature list; otherwise, pattern is matched against file names using a simple textual comparison.

If pattern begins with the character '@', then the rest of the string is interpreted as a file name from which to read exclusion patterns, one per line. If pattern is empty, the list of excluded patterns is cleared.

Note that at program startup, the default exclude list contains names of common hidden and system files, patterns for binary files, and directories for which it is generally not desirable to descend while processing the --recurse option. To see the list of built-in exclude patterns, use --list-excludes.

--excmd=type

Determines the type of EX command used to locate tags in the source file. [Ignored in etags mode]

The valid values for type (either the entire word or the first letter is accepted) are:

--extra=[+|-]flags|*

Equivalent to --extras=[+|-]flags|*, which was introduced to make the option naming convention align to the other options like --kinds-<LANG>= and --fields=.

This option is kept for backward-compatibility with Exuberant-ctags.

--extras=[+|-]flags|*

Specifies whether to include extra tag entries for certain kinds of information. See also "Extras" subsection to know what are kinds.

The parameter flags is a set of one-letter flags, each representing one kind of extra tag entry to include in the tag file. If flags is preceded by either the '+' or '-' character, the effect of each flag is added to, or removed from, those currently enabled; otherwise the flags replace any current settings. All entries are included if '*' is given.

This --extras= option is for controlling extras common in all languages (or language-independent extras). Universal-ctags also supports language-specific extras. (See "Language-specific fields and extras" about the concept). Use --extras-<LANG>= option for controlling them.

The meaning of major extras is as follows (one-letter flag/name):

Inquire the output of --list-extras option for the other minor extras.

A name associated with an extra can be used as alternative to a one-letter flag. Some minor extras have no one-letters flag. In that case, names must be specified anyway. See "Letters and names" for more details.

--extras-<LANG>=[+|-]flags|*

Specifies whether to include extra tag entries for certain kinds of information for language <LANG>. Universal-ctags introduces language-specific extras. (See "Language-specific fields and extras" about the concept). This option is for controlling them.

Specifies "all" as <LANG> to apply the parameter flags to all languages; all extras are enabled with specifying '*' as the parameter flags. If specifying nothing as the parameter flags ("--extras-all="), all extras are disabled. These two combinations are useful for testing.

Check the output of the --list-extras=<LANG> option for the extras of specific language <LANG>.

--fields-<LANG>=[+|-]flags|*

Specifies which language-specific fields are to be included in the entries of the tag file. Universal-ctags supports language-specific fields. (See "Language-specific fields and extras" about the concept). This option is for controlling them.

Specify "all" as <LANG> to apply the parameter flags to all fields; all fields are enabled with specifying '*' as the parameter flags. If specifying nothing as the parameter flags ("--fields-all="), all extras are disabled. These two combinations are useful for testing.

--fields=[+|-]flags|*

Specifies which available extension fields are to be included in the tag entries (see "TAG FILE FORMAT", below, and, "Fields", above, for more information).

The parameter flags is a set of one-letter flags, each representing one type of extension field to include. Each letter or group of letters may be preceded by either '+' to add it to the default set, or '-' to exclude it. In the absence of any preceding '+' or '-' sign, only those fields explicitly listed in flags will be included in the output (i.e. overriding the default set). All fields are included if '*' is given. This option is ignored if the option --format=1 (legacy tag file format) has been specified.

This --fields= option is for controlling fields common in all languages (or language-independent fields). Universal-ctags also supports language-specific fields. (See "Language-specific fields and extras" about the concept). Use --fields-<LANG>= option for controlling them.

The meaning of major fields is as follows (one-letter flag/name):

Check the output of the --list-fields option for the other minor fields.

A name associated with a field can be used as alternative to a one-letter flag. Some minor fields have no one-letters flag. In that case, names must be specified anyway. See "Letters and names" for more details.

--file-scope[=yes|no]

Indicates whether tags scoped only for a single file (i.e. tags which cannot be seen outside of the file in which they are defined, such as "static" tags) should be included in the output. See, also, the -h option. This option is enabled by default.

Universal-ctags provides an alternative way to control this option, with the "F/fileScope" extra, and recommends users to use the extra. However, this extra can cause issues. See ctags-incompatibilities(7).

--filter[=yes|no]

Makes ctags-universal behave as a filter, reading source file names from standard input and printing their tags to standard output on a file-by-file basis. If --sort is enabled, tags are sorted only within the source file in which they are defined. File names are read from standard input in line-oriented input mode (see note for -L option) and only after file names listed on the command line or from any file supplied using the -L option. When this option is enabled, the options -f, -o, and --totals are ignored. This option is quite esoteric and is disabled by default. This option must appear before the first file name.

--filter-terminator=string

Specifies a string to print to standard output following the tags for each file name parsed when the --filter option is enabled. This may permit an application reading the output of ctags-universal to determine when the output for each file is finished. Note that if the file name read is a directory and --recurse is enabled, this string will be printed only once at the end of all tags found for by descending the directory. This string will always be separated from the last tag line for the file by its terminating newline. This option is quite esoteric and is empty by default. This option must appear before the first file name.

--format=level

Change the format of the output tag file. Currently the only valid values for level are 1 or 2. Level 1 specifies the original tag file format and level 2 specifies a new extended format containing extension fields (but in a manner which retains backward-compatibility with original vi(1) implementations). The default level is 2. This option must appear before the first file name. [Ignored in etags mode]

--guess-language-eagerly

Looks into the file contents for heuristically guessing the proper language parser. See "Determining file language".

--help

Prints to standard output a detailed usage description, and then exits.

--help-full

Prints to standard output a detailed usage description about experimental features, and then exits. Visit http://docs.ctags.io/en/latest for information about the latest exciting experimental features.

--if0[=yes|no]

Indicates a preference as to whether code within an "#if 0" branch of a preprocessor conditional should be examined for non-macro tags (macro tags are always included). Because the intent of this construct is to disable code, the default value of this option is no. Note that this indicates a preference only and does not guarantee skipping code within an "#if 0" branch, since the fall-back algorithm used to generate tags when preprocessor conditionals are too complex follows all branches of a conditional. This option is disabled by default.

--kinddef-<LANG>=letter,name,description

See ctags-optlib(7). Be not confused this with --kinds-<LANG>.

--kinds-<LANG>=[+|-]kinds|*

Specifies a list of language-specific kinds of tags (or kinds) to include in the output file for a particular language, where <LANG> is case-insensitive and is one of the built-in language names (see the --list-languages option for a complete list). The parameter kinds is a group of one-letter flags designating kinds of tags (particular to the language) to either include or exclude from the output. The specific sets of flags recognized for each language, their meanings and defaults may be list using the --list-kinds-full option. Each letter or group of letters may be preceded by either '+' to add it to, or '-' to remove it from, the default set. In the absence of any preceding '+' or '-' sign, only those kinds explicitly listed in kinds will be included in the output (i.e. overriding the default for the specified language).

Specify '*' as the parameter to include all kinds implemented in <LANG> in the output. Furthermore if "all" is given as <LANG>, specification of the parameter kinds affects all languages defined in ctags-universal. Giving "all" makes sense only when '*' is given as the parameter kinds.

As an example for the C language, in order to add prototypes and external variable declarations to the default set of tag kinds, but exclude macros, use "--c-kinds=+px-d"; to include only tags for functions, use "--c-kinds=f".

A name associated with a kind can be used as alternative to a one-letter flag. See "Letters and names" for more details.

--<LANG>-kinds=[+|-]kinds|*

Equivalent to --kinds-<LANG>=.... This option is kept for backward-compatibility with Exuberant-ctags.

--langdef=name

See ctags-optlib(7).

--langmap=map[,map[...]]

Controls how file names are mapped to languages (see the --list-maps option). Each comma-separated map consists of the language name (either a built-in or user-defined language), a colon, and a list of file extensions and/or file name patterns. A file extension is specified by preceding the extension with a period (e.g. ".c"). A file name pattern is specified by enclosing the pattern in parentheses (e.g. "([Mm]akefile)").

If appropriate support is available from the runtime library of your C compiler, then the file name pattern may contain the usual shell wildcards common on Unix (be sure to quote the option parameter to protect the wildcards from being expanded by the shell before being passed to ctags-universal). You can determine if shell wildcards are available on your platform by examining the output of the --list-features option, which will include "wildcards" in the compiled feature list; otherwise, the file name patterns are matched against file names using a simple textual comparison.

When mapping a file extension with --langmap option, it will first be unmapped from any other languages. (--map-<LANG> option provides more fine-grained control.)

If the first character in a map is a plus sign ('+'), then the extensions and file name patterns in that map will be appended to the current map for that language; otherwise, the map will replace the current map. For example, to specify that only files with extensions of .c and .x are to be treated as C language files, use "--langmap=c:.c.x"; to also add files with extensions of .j as Java language files, specify "--langmap=c:.c.x,java:+.j". To map makefiles (e.g. files named either "Makefile", "makefile", or having the extension ".mak") to a language called "make", specify "--langmap=make:([Mm]akefile).mak". To map files having no extension, specify a period not followed by a non-period character (e.g. ".", "..x", ".x.").

To clear the mapping for a particular language (thus inhibiting automatic generation of tags for that language), specify an empty extension list (e.g. "--langmap=fortran:"). To restore the default language mappings for a particular language, supply the keyword "default" for the mapping. To specify restore the default language mappings for all languages, specify "--langmap=default".

Note that file name patterns are tested before file extensions when inferring the language of a file. This order of Universal-ctags is different from Exuberant-ctags. See ctags-incompatibilities(7) for the background of this incompatible change.

--language-force=language

By default, ctags-universal automatically selects the language of a source file, ignoring those files whose language cannot be determined (see "SOURCE FILES", above). This option forces the specified language (case-insensitive; either built-in or user-defined) to be used for every supplied file instead of automatically selecting the language based upon its extension. In addition, the special value "auto" indicates that the language should be automatically selected (which effectively disables this option).

--languages=[+|-]list

Specifies the languages for which tag generation is enabled, with list containing a comma-separated list of language names (case-insensitive; either built-in or user-defined). If the first language of list is not preceded by either a '+' or '-', the current list (the current settings of enabled/disabled languages managed in ctags-universal internally) will be cleared before adding or removing the languages in list. Until a '-' is encountered, each language in the list will be added to the current list. As either the '+' or '-' is encountered in the list, the languages following it are added or removed from the current list, respectively. Thus, it becomes simple to replace the current list with a new one, or to add or remove languages from the current list.

The actual list of files for which tags will be generated depends upon the language extension mapping in effect (see the --langmap option). Note that the most of all languages, including user-defined languages, are enabled unless explicitly disabled using this option. Language names included in list may be any built-in language or one previously defined with --langdef. The default is "all", which is also accepted as a valid argument. See the --list-languages option for a list of the all (built-in and user-defined) language names.

Note --languages= option works cumulative way; the option can be specified with different arguments multiple times in a command line.

--license

Prints a summary of the software license to standard output, and then exits.

--line-directives[=yes|no]

Specifies whether "#line" directives should be recognized. These are present in the output of preprocessors and contain the line number, and possibly the file name, of the original source file(s) from which the preprocessor output file was generated. When enabled, this option will cause ctags-universal to generate tag entries marked with the file names and line numbers of their locations original source file(s), instead of their actual locations in the preprocessor output. The actual file names placed into the tag file will have the same leading path components as the preprocessor output file, since it is assumed that the original source files are located relative to the preprocessor output file (unless, of course, the #line directive specifies an absolute path). This option is off by default. Note: This option is generally only useful when used together with the --excmd=number (-n) option. Also, you may have to use either the --langmap or --language-force option if the extension of the preprocessor output file is not known to ctags-universal.

--links[=yes|no]

Indicates whether symbolic links (if supported) should be followed. When disabled, symbolic links are ignored. This option is on by default.

--list-aliases[=language|all]

Lists the aliases for either the specified language or all languages, and then exits. The aliases are used when heuristically testing a language parser for a source file.

--list-excludes

Lists the current exclusion patterns used to exclude files.

--list-extras[=languages|all]

Lists the extras recognized for either the specified language or "all" languages. See "Extras" subsection to know what are extras.

An extra can be enabled or disabled with --extras= for common extras in all languages, or --extras-<LANG>= for the specified language. These option takes one-letter flag or name as a parameter for specifying an extra.

The meaning of columns are as follows:

--list-features

Lists the compiled features.

--list-fields[=language|all]

Lists the fields recognized for either the specified language or "all" languages. See "Fields" subsection to know what are fields.

A field can be enabled or disabled with --fields= for common extras in all languages, or --fields-<LANG>= for the specified language. These option takes one-letter flag or name as a parameter for specifying a field.

The meaning of columns are as follows:

--list-kinds[=language|all]

Subset of --list-kinds-full. This option is kept for backward-compatibility with Exuberant-ctags.

This option prints only LETTER, DESCRIPTION, and ENABLED fields of --list-kinds-full output. However, the presentation of ENABLED column is different from that of --list-kinds-full option; "[off]" follows after description if the kind is disabled, and nothing follows if enabled. The most of all kinds are enabled by default.

The critical weakness of this option is that this option does not print the name of kind. Universal-ctags introduces --list-kinds-full because it considers that names are important.

This option does not work with --machinable nor --with-list-header.

--list-kinds-full[=language|all]

Lists the tag kinds recognized for either the specified language or "all" languages, and then exits. See "Kinds" subsection to learn what kinds are.

Each kind of tag recorded in the tag file is represented by a one-letter flag, or name. They are also used to filter the tags placed into the output through use of the --kinds-<LANG> option.

The meaning of columns are as follows:

$ ctags --kinds-C=+'{local}' --list-kinds-full \
  | grep -E '^(#|C\+\+ .* local)'
#LANGUAGE  LETTER NAME   ENABLED REFONLY NROLES MASTER DESCRIPTION
C++        l      local  yes     no      0      C      local variables
$ ctags --kinds-C=-'{local}' --list-kinds-full \
  | grep -E '^(#|C\+\+ .* local)'
#LANGUAGE  LETTER NAME   ENABLED REFONLY NROLES MASTER DESCRIPTION
C++        l      local  no      no      0      C      local variables

--list-languages

Lists the names of the languages understood by ctags-universal, and then exits. These language names are case insensitive and may be used in many other options like --language-force, --languages, --kinds-<LANG>, --regex-<LANG>, and so on.

Each language listed is disabled if followed by "[disabled]". To use the parser for such a language, specify the language as an argument of --languages=+ option.

This option does not work with --machinable nor --with-list-header.

--list-map-extensions[=language|all]

Lists the file extensions which associate a file name with a language for either the specified language or all languages, and then exits.

--list-map-patterns[=language|all]

Lists the file name patterns which associate a file name with a language for either the specified language or all languages, and then exits.

--list-maps[=language|all]

Lists file name patterns and the file extensions which associate a file name with a language for either the specified language or all languages, and then exits. See the --langmap option, and "SOURCE FILES", above.

To list the file extensions or file name patterns individually, use --list-map-extensions or --list-map-patterns option. See the --langmap option, and "SOURCE FILES", above.

This option does not work with --machinable nor --with-list-header.

--list-regex-flags

See ctags-optlib(7).

--list-roles[=language|all[.kinds]]

List the roles for either the specified language or "all" languages. If the parameter kinds is given after the parameter language or "all" with concatenating with '.', list only roles defined in the kinds. Both one-letter flags and names surrounded by braces are acceptable as the parameter kinds.

The meaning of columns are as follows:

--machinable[=yes|no]

Use tab character as separators for --list- option output. It may be suitable for scripting. See "List options" for considered use cases. Disabled by default.

--map-<LANG>=[+|-]extension|pattern

This option provides the way to control mapping(s) of file names to languages in a more fine-grained way than --langmap option.

In ctags-universal, more than one language can map to a file name pattern or file extension (N:1 map). Alternatively, --langmap option handle only 1:1 map, only one language mapping to one file name pattern or file extension. A typical N:1 map is seen in C++ and ObjectiveC language; both languages have a map to ".h" as a file extension.

A file extension is specified by preceding the extension with a period (e.g. ".c"). A file name pattern is specified by enclosing the pattern in parentheses (e.g. "([Mm]akefile)"). A prefixed plus ('+') sign is for adding, and minus ('-') is for removing. No prefix means replacing the map of <LANG>.

Unlike --langmap, extension (or pattern) is not a list. --map-<LANG> takes one extension (or pattern). However, the option can be specified with different arguments multiple times in a command line.

--maxdepth

Limits the depth of directory recursion enabled with the --recurse (-R) option.

--options=pathname

Read additional options from file or directory.

ctags-universal searches pathname in optlib path list first. If ctags-universal cannot find a file or directory in the list, ctags-universal reads a file or directory at the specified pathname.

If a file is specified, it should contain one option per line. If a directory is specified, files suffixed with ".ctags" under it are read in alphabetical order.

As a special case, if "--options=NONE" is specified as the first option on the command line, preloading is disabled; the option will disable the automatic reading of any configuration options from either a file or the environment (see "FILES").

--options-maybe=pathname

Same as --options but doesn't cause an error if file (or directory) specified with pathname doesn't exist.

--optlib-dir=[+]directory

Add an optlib directory to or reset optlib path list. By default, the optlib path list is empty.

--print-language

Just prints the language parsers for specified source files, and then exits.

--quiet[=yes|no]

Write fewer messages (default is no).

--recurse[=yes|no]

Recurse into directories encountered in the list of supplied files. If the list of supplied files is empty and no file list is specified with the -L option, then the current directory (i.e. ".") is assumed. Symbolic links are followed. If you don't like these behaviors, either explicitly specify the files or pipe the output of find(1) into ctags-universal -L- instead. Note: This option is not supported on all platforms at present. It is available if the output of the --help option includes this option. See, also, the --exclude to limit recursion.

--regex-<LANG>=/regexp/replacement/[kind-spec/][flags]

See ctags-optlib(7).

--sort[=yes|no|foldcase]

Indicates whether the tag file should be sorted on the tag name (default is yes). Note that the original vi(1) required sorted tags. The foldcase value specifies case insensitive (or case-folded) sorting. Fast binary searches of tag files sorted with case-folding will require special support from tools using tag files, such as that found in the ctags-universal readtags library, or Vim version 6.2 or higher (using "set ignorecase"). This option must appear before the first file name. [Ignored in etags mode]

--tag-relative[=yes|no]

Indicates that the file paths recorded in the tag file should be relative to the directory containing the tag file, rather than relative to the current directory, unless the files supplied on the command line are specified with absolute paths. This option must appear before the first file name. The default is yes when running in etags mode (see the -e option), no otherwise.

--totals[=yes|no]

Prints statistics about the source files read and the tag file written during the current invocation of ctags-universal. This option is off by default. This option must appear before the first file name.

--verbose[=yes|no]

Enable verbose mode. This prints out information on option processing and a brief message describing what action is being taken for each file considered by ctags-universal. Normally, ctags-universal does not read command line arguments until after options are read from the configuration files (see "FILES", below) and the CTAGS environment variable. However, if this option is the first argument on the command line, it will take effect before any options are read from these sources. The default is no.

--version

Prints a version identifier for ctags-universal to standard output, and then exits. This is guaranteed to always contain the string "Universal Ctags".

--with-list-header[=yes|no]

Print headers describing columns in --list- option output. See also "List options".

access

Indicates the visibility of this class member, where value is specific to the language.

file

Indicates that the tag has file-limited visibility. This key has no corresponding value.

kind

Indicates the type, or kind, of tag. Its value is either one of the corresponding one-letter flags described under the various --kinds-<LANG> options above, or a full name. It is permitted (and is, in fact, the default) for the key portion of this field to be omitted. The optional behaviors are controlled with the --fields option.

implementation

When present, this indicates a limited implementation (abstract vs. concrete) of a routine or class, where value is specific to the language ("virtual" or "pure virtual" for C++; "abstract" for Java).

inherits

When present, value. is a comma-separated list of classes from which this class is derived (i.e. inherits from).

signature

When present, value is a language-dependent representation of the signature of a routine. A routine signature in its complete form specifies the return type of a routine and its formal argument list. This extension field is presently supported only for C-based languages and does not include the return type.

vi -t tag

Start vi and position the cursor at the file and line where "tag" is defined.

:ta tag

Find a tag.

Ctrl-]

Find the tag under the cursor.

Ctrl-T

Return to previous location before jump to tag (not widely implemented).

M-x visit-tags-table <RET> FILE <RET>

Select the tag file, "FILE", to use.

M-. [TAG] <RET>

Find the first definition of TAG. The default tag is the identifier under the cursor.

M-*

Pop back to where you previously invoked "M-.".

C-u M-.

Find the next definition for the last tag.

CTAGS

If this environment variable exists, it will be expected to contain a set of default options which are read when ctags-universal starts, after the configuration files listed in FILES, below, are read, but before any command line options are read. Options appearing on the command line will override options specified in this variable. Only options will be read from this variable. Note that all white space in this variable is considered a separator, making it impossible to pass an option parameter containing an embedded space. If this is a problem, use a configuration file instead.

ETAGS

Similar to the CTAGS variable above, this variable, if found, will be read when etags starts. If this variable is not found, etags will try to use CTAGS instead.

TMPDIR

On Unix-like hosts where mkstemp() is available, the value of this variable specifies the directory in which to place temporary files. This can be useful if the size of a temporary file becomes too large to fit on the partition holding the default temporary directory defined at compilation time. ctags-universal creates temporary files only if either (1) an emacs-style tag file is being generated, (2) the tag file is being sent to standard output, or (3) the program was compiled to use an internal sort algorithm to sort the tag files instead of the sort utility of the operating system. If the sort utility of the operating system is being used, it will generally observe this variable also. Note that if ctags-universal is setuid, the value of TMPDIR will be ignored.

tags

The default tag file created by ctags-universal.

TAGS

The default tag file created by etags.