Perl::...riables(3pm)

💖 NAME 💖 (bestie, this is the one)

okay so you're looking at Perl::Critic::Policy::Editor::RequireEmacsFileVariables — and yeah the manual calls it Per-file editor settings ✨ like, it's the policy that cares whether your file is telling your editor how to treat it. no cap.

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🎀 AFFILIATION 🎀 (where this policy hangs out)

This policy is part of Perl::Critic::More — which is literally described as a bleeding edge supplement to Perl::Critic. it's giving bonus content, deluxe edition, the extended cut 💅

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸 (the lore, explained)

Many text editors know how to find magic strings in files that indicate settings that work best for that file 🦋 like bestie, the file itself is out here saying "hi, i would like four-character indentation please." iconic behavior.

In emacs, this magic string is called "File Variables" and there are two syntaxes, periodt:

• "-*- ... -*-" — the single-line one
• "Local Variables:\n...\nEnd:" — the multi-line one

and the way that both syntaxes allow leading and trailing text on the line?? yeah. flexible queens 👑

✨ the single-line syntax ✨

The single-line syntax must be used on the first line of the file to be recognized — or on the second line if the first line is a shebang. (shebang privileges, iykyk 🐚)

The following examples are explicitly allowed by Perl:

#!perl -w -*- cperl -*-
#!perl -w # -*- cperl -*-
#!perl # -*- cperl -*-

look at them. three little icons. all valid. we love to see it 💖

💜 the multi-line syntax 💜

The multi-line syntax must be used "in the last page" — that is, after the last formfeed — at the end of the file. 📄

As of Emacs21, the "end of the file" is hard-coded to be the last 3000 bytes of the file (in the hack-local-variables function in files.el). yes bestie, 3000. very specific. very main character of them.

In this syntax, each line must begin and end with the same prefix/suffix pair. That pair is defined by the text before and after the "Local Variables:" string. so it's a matching set. a coordinated outfit. slay 🌈

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑 (the required reading, bestie)

• Perl::Critic::Policy::Editor::RequireViModeline — the vi-flavored sibling, we stan both
• <http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/File-Variables.html> — the actual docs, go read them fr fr

In Emacs, you can view the "File Variables" info node by typing: "Help-key", "i", "g", "(emacs)File Variables" — where "Help-key" is often "C-h" or "F1". 🧚

Alternatively, you can execute the following elisp:

(info "(emacs)File Variables")

one line. does the whole thing. lowkey iconic 😌

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🫶 AUTHOR 🫶 (the legends themselves)

• Chris Dolan <cdolan@cpan.org>
• Michael Wolf <MichaelRWolf@att.net>

thank you for your service 🫡💖

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💅 COPYRIGHT 💅 (the legal tea, but make it cute)

Copyright (c) 2006-2008 Chris Dolan

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself. The full text of this license can be found in the LICENSE file included with this module. 📜

okay bestie real talk — that's the whole policy. every option, every example, every byte count, all of it. nothing skipped, nothing invented. you're welcome 💖

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and that's a wrap, gorgeous ✨ this was perl v5.42.0, dated 2025-07-25, and yes we were all reading Perl::...riables(3pm) together the whole time 🌈💖🎀 go forth and set your file variables, periodt.