1 @c -*- coding: utf-8; mode: texinfo; -*-
3 @chapter Running LilyPond
5 This chapter details the technicalities of running LilyPond.
10 * Notes for the MacOS X app::
12 * Updating files with convert-ly::
17 @node Invoking lilypond
18 @section Invoking lilypond
19 @cindex Invoking LilyPond
20 @cindex command line options
21 @cindex options, command line
25 The @code{lilypond} executable may be called as follows from the command line.
28 lilypond [@var{option}]@dots{} @var{file}@dots{}
32 When invoked with a filename that has no extension, the @file{.ly}
33 extension is tried first. To read input from stdin, use a
34 dash (@code{-}) for @var{file}.
36 When @file{filename.ly} is processed it will produce
37 @file{filename.tex} as output (or @file{filename.ps} for PostScript
38 output). If @file{filename.ly} contains more than one @code{\score}
39 block, then the rest of the scores will be output in numbered files,
40 starting with @file{filename-1.tex}. Several files can be specified;
41 they will each be processed independently. @footnote{The status of
42 GUILE is not reset after processing a @code{.ly} file, so be careful
43 not to change any system defaults from within Scheme.}
46 @section Command line options
48 The following options are supported:
52 @item -e,--evaluate=@var{expr}
53 Evaluate the Scheme @var{expr} before parsing any @file{.ly} files.
54 Multiple @code{-e} options may be given, they will be evaluated
57 The expression will be evaluated in the @code{guile-user} module, so
58 if you want to use definitions in @var{expr}, use
61 lilypond -e '(define-public a 42)'
65 on the command-line, and include
68 #(use-modules (guile-user))
72 at the top of the @code{.ly} file.
74 @item -f,--format=@var{format}
75 which formats should be written. Choices are @code{svg}, @code{ps},
76 @code{pdf}, @code{png}, @code{tex}, @code{dvi}.
78 @item -b,--backend=@var{format}
79 the output format to use for the back-end. Choices are
82 for @TeX{} output, to be processed with La@TeX{}. If present, the file
83 @file{file.textmetrics} is read to determine text extents.
85 dump text strings to @file{.texstr} file, which can be run through
86 (La)@TeX{}, resulting in a @code{.textmetrics} file, which contains the
87 extents of strings of text.
90 @cindex PostScript output
92 Postscript files include TTF, Type1 and OTF fonts. No subsetting of
93 these fonts is done. When using oriental character sets, this can
97 for encapsulated PostScript. This dumps every page (system) as a separate
98 @file{EPS} file, without fonts, and as one collated @file{EPS} file with
99 all pages (systems) including fonts.
101 This mode is used by default by lilypond-book.
104 for SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics). This dumps every page as a separate
105 @file{SVG} file, with embedded fonts.
106 @cindex SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)
107 You need a SVG viewer which supports embedded fonts, or a SVG
108 viewer which is able to replace the embedded fonts with OTF fonts.
109 Under Unix, you may use @uref{http://www.inkscape.org,Inkscape}
110 (version 0.42 or later), after copying the OTF fonts in directory
111 @file{PATH/TO/share/lilypond/VERSION/fonts/otf/} to @file{~/.fonts/}.
113 for a dump of the raw, internal Scheme-based drawing commands.
117 @cindex output format, setting
119 @item -d,--define-default=@var{var}=@var{val}
120 This sets the internal program option @var{var} to the Scheme value
121 @var{val}. If @var{val} is not supplied, then @var{#t} is used. To
122 switch off an option, @code{no-} may be prefixed to @var{var}, eg.
130 -dpoint-and-click='#f'
133 @cindex point and click
135 Setting the @code{help} option will print a summary of the options
139 Show a summary of usage.
141 @item -H,--header=FIELD
142 Dump a header field to file BASENAME.FIELD
144 @item --include, -I=@var{directory}
145 Add @var{directory} to the search path for input files.
146 @cindex file searching
149 @item -i,--init=@var{file}
150 Set init file to @var{file} (default: @file{init.ly}).
152 @item -o,--output=@var{FILE}
153 Set the default output file to @var{FILE}. The appropriate
154 suffix will be added (ie @code{.pdf} for pdf, @code{.tex}
161 Generate DVI files. In this case, the @TeX{} backend should be
162 specified, i.e., @code{-b tex}.
165 Generate pictures of each page, in PNG format. This implies
166 @code{--ps}. The resolution in DPI of the image may be set with
172 Generate PDF. This implies @code{--ps}.
175 Generate an output file containing the titles and the first system
178 Do not generate the full pages. Useful in combination with
182 Do not trust the @code{.ly} input.
184 When LilyPond formatting is available through a web server, either the
185 @code{--safe} or the @code{--jail} option @b{MUST} be passed. The
186 @code{--safe} option will prevent inline Scheme code from wreaking
189 When LilyPond formatting is available through a web server, the
190 @code{--safe} @b{MUST} be passed. This will prevent inline Scheme
191 code from wreaking havoc, for example
197 c4^#(ly:export (ly:gulp-file "/etc/passwd"))
202 The @code{--safe} option works by evaluating in-line Scheme
203 expressions in a special safe module. This safe module is derived from
204 GUILE @file{safe-r5rs} module, but adds a number of functions of the
205 LilyPond API. These functions are listed in @file{scm/@/safe@/-lily@/.scm}.
207 In addition, @code{--safe} disallows @code{\include} directives and
208 disables the use of backslashes in @TeX{} strings.
210 In @code{--safe} mode, it is not possible to import LilyPond variables
213 @code{--safe} does @emph{not} detect resource overuse. It is still
214 possible to make the program hang indefinitely, for example by feeding
215 cyclic data structures into the backend. Therefore, if using LilyPond
216 on a publicly accessible webserver, the process should be limited in
217 both CPU and memory usage.
219 Note that @code{--safe} will prevent many useful LilyPond snippets from
220 being compiled. For a softer but secure alternative you can use the
221 @code{--jail} option.
224 @item -j,--jail=@var{user},@var{group},@var{jail},@var{dir}
225 Run LilyPond in a chroot jail.
227 The @code{--jail} option provides a more flexible alternative to
228 @code{--safe} when LilyPond formatting is available through a web
229 server or whenever LilyPond executes externally provided
232 The @code{--jail} option works by changing the root of LilyPond to
233 @var{jail} just before starting the actual compilation process. The user
234 and group are then changed to match those provided, and the current
235 directory is changed to @var{dir}. This setup guarantees that it is not
236 possible (at least in theory) to escape from the jail. Note that for
237 @code{--jail} to work LilyPond must be run as root, which is usually
238 accomplished in a safe way using @command{sudo}.
240 Setting up a jail is a slightly delicate matter, as we must be sure that
241 LilyPond is able to find whatever it needs to compile the source
242 @emph{inside the jail}. A typical setup comprises the following items:
245 @item Setting up a separate filesystem
246 A separate filesystem should be created for LilyPond, so that it can be
247 mounted with safe options such as @code{noexec}, @code{nodev}, and
248 @code{nosuid}. In this way, it is impossible to run executables or to
249 write directly to a device from LilyPond. If you do not want to create a
250 separate partition, just create a file of reasonable size and use it to
251 mount a loop device. A separate filesystem also guarantees that LilyPond
252 cannot write more space than it is allowed.
254 @item Setting up a separate user
255 A separate user and group (say, @samp{lily}/@samp{lily}) with low
256 privileges should be used to run LilyPond inside the jail. There should
257 be a single directory writable by this user, which should be passed in
260 @item Preparing the jail
261 LilyPond needs to read a number of files while running. All these files
262 are to be copied into the jail, under the same path they apper in the
263 real root filesystem. The entire content of the LilyPond installation
264 (e.g., @file{/usr/share/lilypond})
267 If problems arise, the simplest way to trace them down is to run
268 LilyPond using @command{strace}, which will allow you to determine which
271 @item Running LilyPond
272 In a jail mounted with @code{noexec} it is impossible to execute any external
273 program. Therefore LilyPond must be run with a backend that does not
274 require any such program. As we already mentioned, it must be also run
275 with superuser privileges (which, of course, it will lose immediately),
276 possibly using @command{sudo}. It is a good idea to limit the number of
277 seconds of CPU time LilyPond can use (e.g., using @command{ulimit
278 -t}), and, if your operating system supports it, the amount of memory
279 that can be allocated.
284 Show version information.
287 Be verbose: show full paths of all files read, and give timing
291 Show the warranty with which GNU LilyPond comes. (It comes with
292 @strong{NO WARRANTY}!)
296 @section Environment variables
300 @cindex LILYPONDPREFIX
302 @code{Lilypond} recognizes the following environment variables:
305 This specifies a directory where locale messages and
306 data files will be looked up by default. The directory should contain
307 subdirectories called @file{ly/}, @file{ps/}, @file{tex/}, etc.
310 This selects the language for the warning messages.
312 @item LILYPOND_GC_YIELD
313 With this variable the memory footprint and performance can be
314 adjusted. It is a percentage tunes memory management behavior. With
315 higher values, the program uses more memory, with smaller values, it
316 uses more CPU time. The default value is @code{70}.
321 @node Notes for the MacOS X app
322 @section Notes for the MacOS X app
324 The scripts (such as lilypond-book, convert-ly, abc2ly, etc.) are also
325 included inside MacOS X .app. They can be run from the command line by
326 invoking them directly, e.g.
329 @var{path/to}/LilyPond.app/Contents/Resources/bin/convert-ly
332 Alternatively, you may add this directory to your path. Modify (or create)
333 a file called @code{.profile} in your home directory such that it contains
336 export PATH=$PATH:@var{path/to}/LilyPond.app/Contents/Resources/bin
340 This file should end with a blank line.
342 Note that @var{path/to} will generally be @code{/Applications/}.
346 @section Error messages
348 @cindex error messages
349 Different error messages can appear while compiling a file:
355 Something looks suspect. If you are requesting something out of the
356 ordinary then you will understand the message, and can ignore it.
357 However, warnings usually indicate that something is wrong with the
361 Something is definitely wrong. The current processing step (parsing,
362 interpreting, or formatting) will be finished, but the next step will
368 Something is definitely wrong, and LilyPond cannot continue. This
369 happens rarely. The most usual cause is misinstalled fonts.
371 @cindex trace, Scheme
375 Errors that occur while executing Scheme code are caught by the Scheme
376 interpreter. If running with the verbose option (@code{-V} or
377 @code{--verbose}) then a call trace of the offending
378 function call is printed.
380 @cindex Programming error
381 @item Programming error
382 There was some internal inconsistency. These error messages are
383 intended to help the programmers and debuggers. Usually, they can be
384 ignored. Sometimes, they come in such big quantities that they obscure
385 other output. In this case, file a bug-report.
387 @item Aborted (core dumped)
388 This signals a serious programming error that caused the program to
389 crash. Such errors are considered critical. If you stumble on one,
395 @cindex errors, message format
396 If warnings and errors can
397 be linked to some part of the input file, then error messages have the
401 @var{filename}:@var{lineno}:@var{columnno}: @var{message}
402 @var{offending input line}
405 A line-break is inserted in the offending line to indicate the column
406 where the error was found. For example,
409 test.ly:2:19: error: not a duration: 5:
414 These locations are LilyPond's best guess about where the warning or
415 error occured, but (by their very nature) warnings and errors occur
416 when something unexpected happens. If you can't see an error in the
417 indicated line of your input file, try checking one or two lines
418 above the indicated position.
421 @node Updating files with convert-ly
422 @section Updating with @command{convert-ly}
424 @cindex Updating a LilyPond file
425 @cindex @code{convert-ly}
427 The LilyPond input syntax is routinely changed to simplify it or improve
428 it in different ways. As a side effect of this, the LilyPond interpreter
429 often is no longer compatible with older input files. To remedy this,
430 the program @command{convert-ly} can be used to deal with most of the
431 syntax changes between LilyPond versions.
433 It uses @code{\version} statements in the input files to detect the
434 old version number. In most cases, to upgrade your input file it is
435 sufficient to run@footnote{MacOS X users may execute this command
436 under the menu entry @samp{Compile > Update syntax}.}
439 convert-ly -e myfile.ly
442 If there are no changes to myfile.ly and file called myfile.ly.NEW
443 is created, then myfile.ly is already updated.
445 @command{convert-ly} always converts up to the last syntax change handled by
446 it. This means that the @code{\version} number left in the file is
447 usually lower than the version of @command{convert-ly} itself.
449 To upgrade LilyPond fragments in texinfo files, use
452 convert-ly --from=... --to=... --no-version *.itely
455 To upgrade many files at once, combine @code{convert-ly} with
456 standard unix commands. This example will upgrade all @code{.ly}
457 files in the current directory
460 for f in *.ly; do convert-ly -e $f; done;
463 In general, the program is invoked as follows:
466 convert-ly [@var{option}]@dots{} @var{file}@dots{}
470 The following options can be given:
474 Do an inline edit of the input file. Overrides @code{--output}.
476 @item -f,--from=@var{from-patchlevel}
477 Set the version to convert from. If this is not set, @command{convert-ly}
478 will guess this, on the basis of @code{\version} strings in the file.
480 @item -n,--no-version
481 Normally, @command{convert-ly} adds a @code{\version} indicator
482 to the output. Specifying this option suppresses this.
484 @item -s, --show-rules
485 Show all known conversions and exit.
487 @item --to=@var{to-patchlevel}
488 Set the goal version of the conversion. It defaults to the latest
498 Not all language changes are handled. Only one output option can be
502 @c We might want to make this a completely new section, along with more
503 @c info about how to upgrade old input files. -gp
506 Copy and paste from CVS, last updated
509 http://savannah.gnu.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs/*checkout*/lilypond/lily-bugs/bugs/convert-ly.txt?rev=HEAD&content-type=text/plain
513 There are a few things that the convert-ly cannot handle. Here's a list of limitations
514 that the community has complained about.
516 This bug report structure has been chosen because convert-ly has a structure that doesn't
517 allow to smoothly implement all needed changes. Thus this is just a wishlist, placed
521 Doesn't always convert figured bass correctly, specifically things like {< >}. Mats' comment on working around this:
522 To be able to run convert-ly
523 on it, I first replaced all occurencies of '{<' to some dummy like '{#'
524 and similarly I replaced '>}' with '&}'. After the conversion, I could
525 then change back from '{ #' to '{ <' and from '& }' to '> }'.
526 Doesn't convert all text markup correctly. In the old markup syntax,
527 it was possible to group a number of markup commands together within parentheses, e.g.
528 -#'((bold italic) "string")
529 This will incorrectly be converted into
530 -\markup{{\bold italic} "string"}
531 instead of the correct
532 -\markup{\bold \italic "string"}
534 Doesn't handle \partcombine
535 Doesn't do \addlyrics => \lyricsto, this breaks some scores with multiple stanzas.
537 \magnify isn't changed to \fontsize.
538 - \magnify #m => \fontsize #f, where f = 6ln(m)/ln(2)
539 remove-tag isn't changed.
540 - \applyMusic #(remove-tag '. . .) => \keepWithTag #'. . .
541 first-page-number isn't changed.
542 - first-page-number no => printfirst-page-number = ##f
543 Line breaks in header strings aren't converted.
544 - \\\\ as line break in \header strings => \markup \center-align <
545 "First Line" "Second Line" >
546 Crescendo and decrescendo terminators aren't converted.
550 \turnOff (used in \set Staff.VoltaBracket = \turnOff) is not properly converted.
552 \markup{ \center-align <{ ... }> } should be converted to:
553 \markup{ \center-align {\line { ... }} }
554 but now, \line is missing.
556 Special LaTeX characters such as $~$ in text are not converted to UTF8.
562 @section Reporting bugs
565 @cindex reporting bugs
567 If you have input that results in a crash or an erroneous output, then
568 that is a bug. We try to respond to bug-reports promptly, and fix them as
569 soon as possible. Help us by sending a defective input file, so we can
570 reproduce the problem. Send the report via:
573 @uref{http://post.gmane.org/post.php?group=gmane.comp.gnu.lilypond.bugs}
579 @item Try to produce a very small input file which demonstrates the problem;
580 one or two bars is often sufficient to reproduce a bug. The smaller the
581 input file is, the easier it is for us to debug the problem.
583 @item Don't forget to tell which version of LilyPond you use!
585 @item If possible, use @code{ragged-right} in your example. This makes sure
586 that the bug can be reproduced in all paper sizes.
590 @c the bug database is not up to date enough.
592 When you've found a bug, have a look at our
593 @uref{http://@/lilypond@/.org/@/doc/@/v2.5/@/bugs/,bug database} to see if
594 it has already been reported. You could also try to do a few searches
595 on the mailing list for the bug. Sometimes the bug will have already
596 been reported and a fix or workaround is already known.
599 Here is an example of a good bug report:
602 It seems that placement of accidentals is broken. In the
603 following example, the accidental touches the note head.
605 Using Mac OSX 10.3.7, fink package lilypond-devel
608 \layout { ragged-right = ##t }
615 \layout { ragged-right = ##t }
617 \override Accidental #'extra-offset = #'(1.0 . 0)
623 @section Editor support
628 @cindex modes, editor
629 @cindex syntax coloring
630 @cindex coloring, syntax
632 There is support from different editors for LilyPond.
636 Emacs has a @file{lilypond-mode}, which provides keyword
637 autocompletion, indentation, LilyPond specific parenthesis matching
638 and syntax coloring, handy compile short-cuts and reading LilyPond
639 manuals using Info. If @file{lilypond-mode} is not installed on your
640 platform, then read the
642 @uref{source/Documentation/topdocs/INSTALL.html,installation instructions}.
645 installation instructions.
650 For @uref{http://@/www@/.vim@/.org,VIM}, a @file{vimrc} is supplied, along
651 with syntax coloring tools. For more information, refer to the
653 @uref{source/Documentation/topdocs/INSTALL.html,installation instructions}.
656 installation instructions.
662 The @uref{http://@/www@/.jedit@/.org@/,jEdit} editor has a LilyPond plugin.
663 This plugin includes a DVI viewer, integrated help and viewing via
664 GhostScript. It can be installed by doing @key{Plugins > Plugin
665 Manager}, and selecting @code{LilyTool} from the @key{Install} tab.
669 All these editors can be made to jump into the input file to the source
670 of a symbol in the graphical output. See @ref{Point and click}.