> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/ghostty-org/ghostty/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# show-config

> Display the current configuration in valid config file format

The `show-config` command outputs the current Ghostty configuration in a valid configuration file format.

## Usage

```bash theme={null}
ghostty +show-config [options]
```

## Description

This command displays the effective configuration that Ghostty is using. By default, it only shows options that differ from the default values. The output is valid Ghostty configuration syntax that can be copied directly into a config file.

The output format may not exactly match your input configuration files (comments, whitespace, and formatting are not preserved), but it will result in the same behavior.

## Options

<ParamField path="--default" type="boolean">
  Show the default configuration instead of loading the user configuration. Useful for seeing what Ghostty's built-in defaults are.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--changes-only" type="boolean" default="true">
  Only show options that have been changed from the default values. This has no effect when `--default` is specified.

  Set to `false` to show all configuration options regardless of whether they've been changed.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--docs" type="boolean">
  Print documentation above each option as a comment. This makes the output very verbose but is extremely useful for learning about available options, especially when combined with `--default`.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="-h, --help" type="flag">
  Display help information for this command.
</ParamField>

## Examples

### Show Your Current Changes

```bash theme={null}
ghostty +show-config
```

<CodeGroup>
  ```text Output theme={null}
  theme = nord
  font-family = "JetBrains Mono"
  font-size = 14
  window-padding-x = 4
  window-padding-y = 4
  keybind = super+t=new_tab
  keybind = super+w=close_surface
  ```
</CodeGroup>

Shows only the configuration options you've changed from defaults.

### Show All Default Options

```bash theme={null}
ghostty +show-config --default --changes-only=false
```

<CodeGroup>
  ```text Output theme={null}
  theme = default
  font-family = monospace
  font-size = 12
  font-thicken = false
  window-padding-x = 2
  window-padding-y = 2
  window-decoration = true
  cursor-style = block
  cursor-style-blink = false
  mouse-hide-while-typing = false
  shell-integration = detect
  auto-update = off
  ...(hundreds more options)
  ```
</CodeGroup>

### Show Config with Documentation

```bash theme={null}
ghostty +show-config --default --docs
```

<CodeGroup>
  ```text Output theme={null}
  # The theme to use for the terminal. Themes define the color palette
  # and other visual properties. You can list available themes with
  # the list-themes command.
  theme = default

  # The font family to use for the terminal. This should be a monospace
  # font. You can specify multiple fallback fonts by using the font-family
  # option multiple times.
  font-family = monospace

  # The font size in points. This is the base font size that will be
  # used for the terminal.
  font-size = 12

  # If true, the font will be artificially thickened. This can help
  # improve readability on some displays.
  font-thicken = false
  ...
  ```
</CodeGroup>

Perfect for learning about all available configuration options.

### Backup Your Configuration

```bash theme={null}
ghostty +show-config > backup-config.txt
```

Save your current configuration to a file.

### Compare with Defaults

```bash theme={null}
diff <(ghostty +show-config --default --changes-only=false) <(ghostty +show-config --changes-only=false)
```

See exactly what's different between your config and defaults.

### Export for Sharing

```bash theme={null}
ghostty +show-config > my-ghostty-config.txt
```

Export your configuration to share with others (be sure to review for sensitive information first).

## Output Format

The output follows standard Ghostty configuration syntax:

```text Format theme={null}
# Comments (only with --docs)
option-name = value

# Repeatable options appear multiple times
font-family = "First Font"
font-family = "Fallback Font"

keybind = ctrl+c=copy_to_clipboard
keybind = ctrl+v=paste_from_clipboard
```

## Use Cases

### For New Users

Explore all available options and their defaults:

```bash theme={null}
ghostty +show-config --default --docs | less
```

### For Configuration Management

Generate a clean configuration file:

```bash theme={null}
ghostty +show-config > ~/.config/ghostty/config
```

### For Debugging

Verify what Ghostty is actually loading:

```bash theme={null}
ghostty +show-config
```

If an option doesn't appear, it's using the default value.

### For Documentation

Generate configuration with inline documentation:

```bash theme={null}
ghostty +show-config --default --docs > ghostty-config-reference.txt
```

## Notes

<Note>
  The output order is consistent between runs but doesn't necessarily match the order in your input files. Options are grouped logically by the configuration system.
</Note>

<Note>
  When using `--changes-only=false` without `--default`, you'll see your customized values merged with all default values.
</Note>

<Note>
  Conditional configurations and platform-specific settings are evaluated before output, so you'll see the effective configuration for your current platform.
</Note>

## See Also

* [validate-config](/cli/validate-config) - Validate configuration files
* [edit-config](/cli/edit-config) - Open config in editor
* [Configuration Reference](/config/reference)
* [list-themes](/cli/list-themes)
* [list-fonts](/cli/list-fonts)