EPCLEXTRACT(1)

🦋 EPCLEXTRACT(1) — User Commands 🦋

okay bestie, welcome to the epclextract manual page, section 1 of the User Commands, version 3.5.1. yes that whole title thing was the header, we're folding it in here so it doesn't just sit there being boring 💅

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✨ NAME ✨

• epclextract — literally just the manual page for epclextract 3.5.1. that's it. that's the name. iconic of it honestly 🎀

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📜 SYNOPSIS 📜

epclextract [options] [files]

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so this is epclextract 3.5.1, and what it does is read an PCL2 protocol and print out the steps you actually need for proving the clauses sitting in the "proof", "final", or "extract" steps. basically it takes the whole messy proof situation and goes "here's the part that matters, bestie" ✨

🌸 Options 🌸

• -h, --help — prints a short description of program usage and options. the "help me help you" flag 🫶
• -V, --version — prints the version number of the program. so you can prove you're on the right build, no cap.
• -v, --verbose[=<arg>] — verbose comments on the progress of the program. the short form, or the long form without the optional argument, is equivalent to --verbose=1. so like, -v alone = volume 1, but you can dial it higher if you want the whole tea ☕
• -f, --fast-extract — do a fast extract. with this option the program understands only a subset of PCL, and it assumes that all "proof" and "final" steps are at the end of the protocoll (protocoll — their spelling, not mine, and I love that for them 💀). so yes: speed mode, but only if the input behaves.
• -C, --forward-comments — pass comments found in the input through to the output while reading input. your little notes survive the trip 💌
• -c, --competition-framing — print special "begin" and "end" comments around the proof object, as required by the CASC MIX* class. competition-core behaviour, periodt.
• -n, --no-extract — don't extract, print back all steps (actually, it treats all steps as proof steps). useful as a syntax checker, or if you want to convert PCL to TSTP using the next option. the "I'm not extracting, I'm just looking" flag 👀
• --tstp-out — print proof protocol in TSTP syntax. the default is PCL, so this is you switching the vibe.
• --tptp3-out — synonymous with --tstp-out. same energy, different spelling 💅
• -o arg, --output-file=<arg> — redirect output into the named file. bye bye terminal, hello file 🎀
• -s, --silent — equivalent to --output-level=0. shhh. nothing to see here. silence is golden.

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🐛 REPORTING BUGS 🐛

found a bug? report bugs to schulz@eprover.org. and bestie, please include the following, if possible:

• the version of the package as reported by eprover --version.
• the operating system and version.
• the exact command line that leads to the unexpected behaviour.
• a description of what you expected and what actually happened.
• if possible, all input files necessary to reproduce the bug.

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©️ COPYRIGHT ©️

Copyright 1998-2026 by Stephan Schulz, schulz@eprover.org, and the E contributors (see DOC/CONTRIBUTORS).

this program is a part of the distribution of the equational theorem prover E 🧚. you can find the latest version of the E distribution, plus additional information, at http://www.eprover.org

this program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

this program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. see the GNU General Public License for more details.

you should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program (it should be contained in the top level directory of the distribution in the file COPYING); if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA.

we welcome bug reports and even reasonable questions 🙋. if the prover behaves in an unexpected way, please include the following information:

• What did you observe?
• What did you expect?
• The output of eprover --version
• The full commandline that lead to the unexpected behaviour
• The input file(s) that lead to the unexpected behaviour

most bug reports should be send to schulz@eprover.org. bug reports with respect to the HO-version should be send to, or at least copied to, jasmin.blanchette@gmail.com. please remember that this is an unpaid volunteer service — be nice, they're doing this for free 🫶

the original copyright holder can be contacted via email or as:

Stephan Schulz DHBW Stuttgart Fakultaet Technik Informatik Lerchenstrasse 1 70174 Stuttgart Germany

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so yeah, that's the whole page, bestie. epclextract 3.5.1, dated August 2026, living in section 1 as EPCLEXTRACT(1). go forth and extract, you absolute main character 👑💖