This document lists the available command line switches for the UNIX and Windows platforms.
This document was last updated for Opera 11.61
Note: UNIX command line switches are case sensitive. They use the prefix ‘-’. Example: to launch Opera without home page or saved sessions, enter opera -nosession on the command line. The full list of command line switches is given below, and may be recalled at any time by entering opera -help on the command line.
| Switch | Description |
|---|---|
newwindow |
Open URL in new window |
newtab |
Open URL in new tab, this is the default behavior for opening a given url |
newprivatetab |
Open URL in new private tab |
activetab |
Open URL in current tab |
backgroundtab |
Open URL in new tab in background |
fullscreen |
Start in full screen mode. Works only if no Opera instances are already running |
geometry <geometry> |
Set geometry of toplevel window. Format: WIDTHxHEIGHT+XOFF+YOFF |
remote "<command>" |
Send command to another Opera window |
window <window id> |
Launch remote opera window. Works for remote commands. Accepts a hexadecimal or a decimal argument. |
windowname <window name> |
Launch remote opera window with a symbolic name. Works for remote and newwindow commands, will override newwindow if a named window is located. Accepts "first", "last" and "operaN" where N=1 means the first window and so on |
noraise |
No window raise when receiving remote commands. Only works for remote commands that do not open a dialog box |
nosession |
Launch without saved sessions or home page |
nomail |
Launch Opera without internal e-mail client |
noargb |
Do not use an ARBG (32-bit) visual |
nolirc |
Do not use LIRC (infra red control) |
nowin |
Launch without any open pages. Will disable any URL argument |
display <displayname> |
Set the X display |
version |
Display version number |
full-version |
Display version data and build details |
debuglibraries |
Loading of optional libraries |
debuglayout |
Turn on UI layout debugging features |
pd <path> |
Location of alternative Opera preferences folder |
sd <path> |
Location of alternative Opera shared resource folder |
bd <path> |
Location of version-specific binaries folder |
mail |
Starts displaying unread mails |
help or ? |
Display list of command line options |
kioskhelp |
Display extra settings for kiosk mode operation |
debughelp |
Displays available debug options |
lirchelp |
Extra options for LIRC (infra red control) |
urllist <filepath> |
Load each line in the given page in an automated run |
urllistloadtimeout <seconds> |
Timeout for each page specified with 'urllist' argument |
uiparserlog <filename> |
UI parser log file for dialogs.yaml |
uiwidgetsparserlog <filename> |
UI parser log file for widgets.yaml |
profilinglog <filename> |
Startup and exit profiling log file |
dialogtest <dialogname> |
Test a dialog layout |
inidialogtest <dialogname> |
Test an ini dialog layout |
language <file> |
Use translation from specified file |
binarydir <path> |
Location of version specific binaries |
personaldir <path> |
Location of alternative '.opera' directory |
debugdns |
Simple debugging of asynchronous dns lookup |
debugfont |
Simple debugging of font handling |
debugkeyboard |
Simple debugging of keyboard events |
debugmouse |
Simple debugging of mouse presses |
debugplugin |
Simple debugging of plug-in handling |
debugxerror |
Simple debugging of X errors |
disableinputmethods |
Disable input methods |
Note: Mac OS command line switches are case sensitive. They use the prefix ‘-’. Example: to launch Opera without home page or saved sessions, enter opera -nosession on the command line. The full list of command line switches is given below, and may be recalled at any time by entering opera -help on the command line.
| Switch | Description |
|---|---|
newtab |
Open URL in new tab, this is the default behavior for opening a given url |
newprivatetab |
Open URL in new private tab |
nomail |
Launch Opera without internal e-mail client |
nowin |
Launch without any open pages. Will disable any URL argument |
debuglayout |
Turn on UI layout debugging features |
csp |
Set to create a single user profile |
ps <suffix> |
Suffix to append to Opera preferences folders |
screenheight <height> |
Screen height resolution in pixels |
screenwidth <width> |
Screen width resolution in pixels |
mail |
Starts displaying unread mails |
help or ? |
Display list of command line options |
kioskhelp |
Display extra settings for kiosk mode operation |
urllist <filepath> |
Load each line in the given page in an automated run |
urllistloadtimeout <seconds> |
Timeout for each page specified with 'urllist' argument |
uiparserlog <filename> |
UI parser log file for dialogs.yaml |
uiwidgetsparserlog <filename> |
UI parser log file for widgets.yaml |
nocrashhandler |
Turn Opera crash logging off |
crashlog |
Display the crashlog |
profilinglog <filename> |
Startup and exit profiling log file |
dialogtest <dialogname> |
Test a dialog layout |
inidialogtest <dialogname> |
Test an ini dialog layout |
pd |
Use the specified personal directory |
Note: The following Windows command line switches are case insensitive. Example usage to search for the planet Jupiter: opera.exe ? jupiter
| Switch | Description |
|---|---|
/Settings <full path> |
Launch with specified settings (opera6.ini) file |
? <keywords> |
Search for <keywords> with default search engine |
/Debug |
Voice debug mode |
-pd |
Use the specified personal directory |
Kiosk mode switches are identical for the Windows, Mac OS X, and UNIX platforms. See the kiosk mode documentation for more details. To review the kiosk mode switches, enter opera -kioskhelp on the command line.
All remote commands must be enclosed in quotation marks, for example:
opera -remote "openURL()"
| Switch | Description |
|---|---|
openURL() |
Open "Go to" dialog box prompting for input |
openURL(url[,noraise]) |
Open URL in active window |
openURL(url[,dest][,noraise]) |
Open URL in destination <W | T | B | P> |
openFile([dest]) |
Open file selector in destination <W | T> |
openM2([dest][,noraise]) |
Open M2 list view in destination <W> |
openComposer([dest][,noraise]) |
Open M2 composer in destination <W> |
addBookmark(url) |
Add url to bookmark list |
raise() |
Raises the opera window |
lower() |
Lowers the opera window |
A standalone url argument or -newwindow, -newtab, -backgroundtab, -newprivatetab or -nowin will disable -remote commands.
[dest] Replace with any of the following:[noraise]Need help? Hit F1 anytime while using Opera to access our online help files, or go here.