dfhack/docs/Quickstart.rst

.. _quickstart:

Quickstart guide
================

Welcome to DFHack! This guide will help get you oriented with the DFHack system
and teach you how to find and use the tools productively. If you're reading this
in the in-game `quickstart-guide` reader, hit the right arrow key or click on
the hotkey hint in the lower right corner of the window to go to the next page.

What is DFHack?
---------------

DFHack is an add-on for Dwarf Fortress that enables mods and tools to
significantly extend the game. The default DFHack distribution contains a wide
variety of tools, including bugfixes, interface improvements, automation agents,
design blueprints, modding building blocks, and more. Third-party tools (e.g.
mods downloaded from Steam Workshop or the forums) can also seamlessly integrate
with the DFHack framework and extend the game far beyond what can be done by
just modding the raws.

DFHack's mission is to provide tools and interfaces for players and modders to:

- expand the bounds of what is possible in Dwarf Fortress
- reduce the impact of game bugs
- give the player more agency and control over the game
- provide alternatives to toilsome or frustrating aspects of gameplay
- **make the game more fun**

What can I do with DFHack tools?
--------------------------------

DFHack has been around for a long time -- almost as long as Dwarf Fortress
itself. Many of the game's rough edges have been smoothed with DFHack tools.
Here are some common tasks people use DFHack tools to accomplish:

- Automatically chop trees when log stocks are low
- Record blueprint files that allow copy and paste of fort designs
- Import and export lists of manager orders
- Clean contaminants from map squares that dwarves can't reach
- Automatically butcher excess livestock so you don't become overrun with
  animals
- Promote time-sensitive job types (e.g. food hauling) so they are done
  expediently
- Quickly scan the map for visible ores of specific types so you can focus
  your mining efforts

Some tools are one-shot commands. For example, you can run `unforbid all <unforbid>`
to claim all (reachable) items on the map after a messy siege.

Other tools must be `enabled <enable>` and then they will run in the background.
For example, `enable seedwatch <seedwatch>` will start monitoring your stocks of
seeds and prevent your chefs from cooking seeds that you need for planting.
Tools that are enabled in the context of a fort will save their state with that
fort, and they will remember that they are enabled the next time you load your save.

A third class of tools add information to the screen or provide new integrated
functionality via the DFHack `overlay` framework. For example, the `unsuspend`
tool, in addition to its basic function of unsuspending all building construction
jobs, can also overlay a marker on suspended buildings to indicate that they are
suspended (and will use different markers to tell you whether this is a problem).

How can I figure out which commands to run?
-------------------------------------------

There are several ways to scan DFHack tools and find the ones you need right now.

The first place to check is the DFHack logo hover hotspot. It's in the upper
left corner of the screen by default, though you can move it anywhere you want
with the `gui/overlay` configuration UI.

When you hover the mouse over the logo (or hit the Ctrl-Shift-C keyboard shortcut)
a list of DFHack tools relevant to the current context comes up. For example, when
you have a unit selected, the hotspot will show a list of tools that inspect
units, allow you to edit them, or maybe even teleport them. Next to each tool,
you'll see the hotkey you can hit to invoke the command without even opening the
hover list.

The second place to check is the DFHack control panel: `gui/control-panel`. It
will give you an overview of which tools are currently enabled, and will allow
you to toggle them on or off, see help text for them, or launch their dedicated
configuration UIs. You can open the control panel from anywhere with the
Ctrl-Shift-E hotkey or by selecting it from the logo hover list.

In the control panel, you can also select which tools you'd like to be
automatically enabled when you start a new fort. There are also system settings
you can change, like whether DFHack windows will pause the game when they come
up.

Finally, you can explore the full extent of the DFHack catalog in `gui/launcher`,
which is always listed first in the DFHack logo hover list. You can also bring up
the launcher by tapping the backtick key (\`) or hitting Ctrl-Shift-D. In the
launcher, you can quickly autocomplete any command name by selecting it in the
list on the right side of the window. Commands are ordered by how often you run
them, so your favorite commands will always be on top. You can also pull full
commandlines out of your history with Alt-S or by clicking on the "history search"
hotkey hint.

Once you have typed (or autocompleted, or searched for) a command, other commands
related to the one you have selected will appear in the right-hand panel. Scanning
through that list is a great way to learn about new tools that you might find
useful. You can also see how commands are grouped by running the `tags` command.

The bottom panel will show the full help text for the command you are running,
allowing you to refer to the usage documentation and examples when you are typing
your command. After you run a command, the bottom panel switches to command output
mode, but you can get back to the help text by hitting Ctrl-T or clicking on the
``Help`` tab.

How do DFHack in-game windows work?
-----------------------------------

Many DFHack tools have graphical interfaces that appear in-game. You can tell
which windows belong to DFHack tools because they will have the word "DFHack"
printed across their bottom frame edge. DFHack provides an advanced windowing
system that gives the player a lot of control over where the windows appear and
whether they capture keyboard and mouse input.

The DFHack windowing system allows multiple overlapping windows to be active at
once. The one with the highlighted title bar has focus and will receive anything
you type at the keyboard. Hit Esc or right click to close the window or cancel
the current action. You can click anywhere on the screen that is not a DFHack
window to unfocus the window and let it just sit in the background. It won't
respond to key presses or mouse clicks until you click on it again to give it
focus. If no DFHack windows are focused, you can right click directly on a window
to close it without left clicking to focus it first.

DFHack windows are draggable from the title bar or from anywhere on the window
that doesn't have a mouse-clickable widget on it. Many are resizable as well
(if the tool window has components that can reasonably be resized).

You can generally use DFHack tools without interrupting the game. That is, if the
game is unpaused, it can continue to run while a DFHack window is open. If configured
to do so in `gui/control-panel`, tools will initially pause the game to let you
focus on the task at hand, but you can unpause like normal if you want. You can
also interact with the map, scrolling it with the keyboard or mouse and selecting
units, buildings, and items. Some tools will intercept all mouse clicks to allow
you to select regions on the map. When these tools have focus, you will not be able
to use the mouse to interact with map elements or pause/unpause the game. Therefore,
these tools will pause the game when they open, regardless of your settings in
`gui/control-panel`. You can still unpause with the keyboard (spacebar by default),
though.

Where do I go next?
-------------------

To recap:

You can get to popular, relevant tools for the current context by hovering
the mouse over the DFHack logo or by hitting Ctrl-Shift-C.

You can enable DFHack tools and configure settings with `gui/control-panel`,
which you can access directly with the Ctrl-Shift-E hotkey.

You can get to the launcher and its integrated autocomplete, history search,
and help text by hitting backtick (\`) or Ctrl-Shift-D, or, of course, by
running it from the logo hover list.

With those three interfaces, you have the complete DFHack tool suite at your
fingertips. So what to run first? Here are a few commands to get you started.
You can run them all from the launcher.

First, let's import some useful manager orders to keep your fort stocked with
basic necessities. Run ``orders import library/basic``. If you go to your
mangager orders screen, you can see all the orders that have been created for you.
Note that you could have imported the orders directly from this screen as well,
using the DFHack `overlay` widget at the bottom of the manager orders panel.

Next, try setting up `autochop` to automatically designate trees for chopping when
you get low on usable logs. Run `gui/control-panel` and select ``autochop`` in the
``Fort`` list. Click on the button to the left of the name or hit Enter to enable
it. You can then click on the configure button (the gear icon) to launch
`gui/autochop` if you'd like to customize its settings. If you have the extra
screen space, you can go ahead and set the `gui/autochop` window to minimal mode
(click on the hint near the upper right corner of the window or hit Alt-M) and
click on the map so the window loses keyboard focus. As you play the game, you can
glance at the live status panel to check on your stocks of wood.

Finally, let's do some fort design copy-pasting. Go to some bedrooms that you have
set up in your fort. Run `gui/blueprint`, set a name for your blueprint by
clicking on the name field (or hitting the 'n' hotkey), typing "rooms" (or whatever)
and hitting Enter to set. Then draw a box around the target area by clicking with
the mouse. When you select the second corner, the blueprint will be saved to your
``blueprints`` subfolder.

Now open up `gui/quickfort`. You can search for the blueprint you just created by
typing its name, but it should be up near the top already. If you copied a dug-out
area with furniture in it, your blueprint will have two labels: "/dig" and "/build".
Click on the "/dig" blueprint or select it with the keyboard arrow keys and hit Enter.
You can rotate or flip the blueprint around if you need to with the transform hotkeys.
You'll see a preview of where the blueprint will be applied as you move the mouse
cursor around the map. Red outlines mean that the blueprint may fail to fully apply
at that location, so be sure to choose a spot where all the preview tiles are shown
with green diamonds. Click the mouse or hit Enter to apply the blueprint and
designate the tiles for digging. Your dwarves will come and dig it out as if you
had designated the tiles yourself.

Once the area is dug out, run `gui/quickfort` again and select the "/build" blueprint
this time. Apply the blueprint in the dug-out area, and your furniture will be
designated. It's just that easy! Note that `quickfort` uses `buildingplan` to place
buildings, so you don't even need to have the relevant furniture or building
materials in stock. The planned furniture/buildings will get built whenever you are
able to produce the building materials.

There are many, many more tools to explore. Have fun!