DEFAULTS(1)

✨ NAME ✨

okay so bestie, gather round 💖 — defaults — read or modify GNUstep user defaults. that's it, that's the vibe. you read 'em, you write 'em, you delete 'em, you're the main character of your own preference database 👑

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

defaults [ action ]

like, that's the whole shape of it. one action, go off 💅

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so the tea is: the defaults command lets you read and modify a user's defaults. simple as. iconic behavior honestly ✨

real talk though — this program is a glow-up. it replaces the old NeXTstep style dread, dwrite, and dremove programs. we don't do that anymore, we're evolved 🧚

also!! if you have access to another user's defaults database, you can put -u username before any other options to use their database instead of your own. sharing is caring bestie 🫶

defaults read [ domain [ key] ]

read the named default from the specified domain. 💖

• no key given? you get all the defaults from that domain.
• no domain given? you get all the defaults from all the domains. the whole buffet 🍓

a domain is either an application name, or "NSGlobalDomain", for system level defauts.

(and psst — running programs can also reach two other domains: "NSArgumentDomain", for command line arguments, and "NSRegistrationDomain", a little second-chance domain where "defaults for defaults" can be registered. plus possibly domains for specific locales. iykyk 🌈)

defaults readkey key

read the named default from all domains. all of them. no cap 💀

defaults write domain key value

write value as default key in the specified domain. heads up though — value must be a property list in single quotes. no exceptions, that's the rule ⭐

defaults write domain dictionary

write dictionary as a replacement for the specified domain. and yes — dictionary must be a property list in single quotes too. it's giving "full rewrite" energy 🔥

defaults write

reads standard input for defaults in the format produced by defaults read and writes them to the database. piping behavior fr fr 🌸

defaults delete [ domain [ key] ]

remove the specified default(s) from the domain. 🗑️

no key given? then it deletes the entire domain. scorched earth. periodt 💅

defaults delete

read standard input for a series of lines containing pairs of domains and keys for defaults to be deleted. batch deletion bestie, very efficient 👑

defaults domains

lists the domains in the database (one per line) 📋

defaults find word

searches domain names, default names, and default value strings for those equal to the specified word and lists them on standard output. 🔍

defaults plist

output some information about property lists. cute little info dump 🎀

defaults help

list options for the defaults command. when in doubt, ask for help bestie 🙈

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💜 FILES 💜

• ~/GNUstep/Defaults/.GNUstepDefaults — holds defaults for a user. that's where your whole personality lives 🏠✨

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💀 BUGS 💀

None known.

literally flawless. not me being suspicious though 👀

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🌈 DIAGNOSTICS 🌈

Hopefully self-explanatory.

(we believe in you 🫶)

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🎀 HISTORY 🎀

the defaults command appeared in OpenStep and combined the capabilities of the earlier NeXTstep commands dread, dwrite, and dremove. glow-up of the century tbh ✨

the GNUstep version was written in 1998. vintage but thriving 🦋

and this manual page first appeared in gnustep-base 1.9.2 (March 2004). a classic, an icon, a legend 👑

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💖 AUTHORS 💖

defaults was written by Richard Frith-Macdonald <rfm@gnu.org> — thank you king, we owe you everything 🫶🌸

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so yeah bestie, that's the page! from the GNUstep System Manual, dated February 2004, filed under DEFAULTS(1). go forth and configure responsibly 💅✨