mtx-context(1)

📦 version 2025.221.svn74241, in opensuse-leap 16.0

💖 mtx-context(1) — ConTeXt Process Management 💖

okay bestie, pull up a chair, because this is the page for mtx-context, aka ConTeXt Process Management, and it's genuinely the main character of the whole ConTeXt toolchain. ✨

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

mtxrun --script context [ OPTIONS ...  ] [ FILENAMES ]

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

ConTeXt Process Management — that's the whole vibe, fr fr. It runs your files, it makes your formats, it does the process-management thing. That's it, that's the description. 💅

✨ OPTIONS: BASIC ✨

like the name says, this is where you start. 🎀

  • --run — process (one or more) files. this is the default action, so if you don't say anything, this is what happens. no cap.
  • --make — create context formats. ✨
  • *--ctx=name* — use a ctx file (a process management specification).
  • --noctx — ignore ctx directives and flags. just… pretend they're not there. 🙈
  • --interface — use the specified user interface (default: en).
  • --autopdf — close the pdf file in the viewer, then start the pdf viewer afterwards. little open-close-reopen moment, we love a glow-up.
  • --purge — purge files either or not after a run (--pattern=...).
  • --purgeall — purge all files either or not after a run (--pattern=...).
  • *--usemodule=list* — load the given module or style, normally part of the distribution.
  • *--environment=list* — load the given environment file first (document styles).
  • *--mode=list* — enable the given modes (conditional processing in styles).
  • *--path=list* — also consult the given paths when files are looked for.
  • *--arguments=list* — set variables that can be consulted during a run (key/value pairs).
  • *--randomseed=number* — set the randomseed. 🎲
  • *--result=name* — rename the resulting output to the given name.
  • *--trackers=list* — set tracker variables (show the list with --showtrackers).
  • *--directives=list* — set directive variables (show the list with --showdirectives).
  • *--silent=list* — disable logcategories (show the list with --showlogcategories).
  • --strip — strip Lua code. only meant for production where no errors are expected. ⚠️ like, do not do this while debugging, bestie.
  • *--errors=list* — show errors at the end of a run, and quit when in list (also when --silent is on).
  • --htmlerrorpage — generate an html error page instead (optional: =scite).
  • --noconsole — disable logging to the console (logfile only).
  • --nodummy — don't create a dummy file (this can confuse pdf viewers that keep the file in view).
  • --purgeresult — purge the result file before the run.
  • *--find=string* — search for the given pattern in the documentation sources.
  • --forcexml — force xml stub.
  • --forcecld — force cld (context lua document) stub.
  • --forcelua — force lua stub (like texlua).
  • --forcemp — force mp stub.
  • --arrange — run an extra imposition pass, given that the style sets up imposition.
  • --noarrange — ignore imposition specifications in the style.
  • --pages — report pagenumbers of names pages and list references (--page=... or --page=...).
  • --jit — use luajittex with jit turned off (only use the faster virtual machine).
  • --jiton — use luajittex with jit turned on (in most cases not faster, even slower). 😭
  • --once — only run once (no multipass data file is produced).
  • --runs — process at most this many times.
  • --forcedruns — process this many times (permits for optimization trial runs).
  • --batchmode — run without stopping and do not show messages on the console.
  • --nonstopmode — run without stopping.
  • --nocompactfonts — revert to less efficient (traditional) font scaling.
  • --nosynctex — never initializes synctex (for production runs).
  • --synctex — run with synctex enabled (better use upsynctex[state=start]).
  • --nodates — omit runtime dates in the pdf file (optional value: a number (1970 offset) or a string "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM").
  • --nocompression — forcefully turns off compression in the backend.
  • --trailerid — alternative trailer id (or a constant one).
  • --generate — generate file database etc. (as luatools does).
  • --paranoid — do not descend to .. and ../... 🚫
  • --version — report the installed context version.
  • --global — assume the given file is present elsewhere.
  • --nofile — use a dummy file as jobname.
  • --forceinput — use this file as input file instead of the given one.
  • --expert — show some more options. 👑 (this is your ticket into the EXPERT section, iykyk)

💜 OPTIONS: EXPERT 💜

you made it past --expert. welcome to the inner circle. 🫶

  • --touch — update the context version number (also provide --expert, optionally provide --basepath).
  • --nostatistics — omit runtime statistics at the end of the run.
  • --profile — profile the job (use: mtxrun --script profile --analyze).
  • --timing — generate a timing and statistics overview.
  • --keeptuc — keep previous tuc files (jobname-tuc-[run].tmp).
  • --keeppdf — keep previous pdf files (jobname-pdf-keep.tmp).
  • --keeplog — keep previous log files (jobname-log-[run].tmp).
  • --notuc — don't write a tuc file.
  • --lmtx — force lmtx mode (when available).
  • --overloadmode=error|warning|0--6|255 — enable csname overload checking.
  • *--extra=name* — process extra (mtx-context-... in distribution).
  • --extras — show extras.
  • --ownerpassword — encrypt the (pdf) file using this master password. 🔐
  • --userpassword — use an additional password for opening the document.
  • --permissions — list of: print, modify, extract, add, fillin, assemble, quality.
  • --wtpdf — add an wtpdf conformance blob, but best check first if it applies. ⚠️

🌈 OPTIONS: SPECIAL 🌈

the special-est of specials. ✨

  • --pdftex — process file with texexec using pdftex.
  • --xetex — process file with texexec using xetex.
  • --mkii — process file with texexec.
  • --pipe — do not check for file and enter scroll mode (--dummyfile=whatever.tmp).
  • --parallel — process multiple files at the same time (you can specify a number of processes, default: 8).
  • --parallellist — process commands in this file (lines that start with 'context').
  • --sandbox — process file in a limited environment.
  • --addbinarypath — prepend the (found) binarypath to runners.

🧚 AUTHOR 🧚

more information about ConTeXt and the tools that come with it can be found at:

and that's the whole page bestie, you ate that 💅✨ this was version 1.05, dated 01-01-2025 — go forth and --run something iconic. 🌸🦋💖

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