DOKK / manpages / debian 11 / asymptote / asy.1.en
ASY(1) General Commands Manual ASY(1)

asy - Asymptote: a script-based vector graphics language

asy [options] [file ...]

Asymptote is a powerful descriptive vector graphics language for technical drawings, inspired by MetaPost but with an improved C++-like syntax. Asymptote provides for figures the same high-quality level of typesetting that LaTeX does for scientific text.

If no arguments are given, Asymptote runs in interactive mode.

If "-" is given as the file argument, Asymptote reads from standard input.

A summary of options is included below. The effect of most options can be negated by prepending no to the option name. Default values for most options may also be entered in the file .asy/config.asy in the user's home directory using the long form:


import settings;
batchView=true;

For a complete description, see the Info files.

View output; command-line only.
Use absolute WebGL dimensions [false].
Center, Bottom, Top, or Zero page alignment [C].
Directional page alignment (overrides align) [(0,0)].
Antialiasing width for rasterized output [2].
Automatically activate 3D scene [true].
3D labels always face viewer by default [true].
Module to automatically import.
Enable automatic importing of plain [true].
Autoplay 3D animations [false].
Enable automatic PDF page rotation [false].
Show 3D axes in PDF output [true].
Mask fpu exceptions in batch mode [false].
View output in batch mode [false].
Convert all colors to black and white [false].
Set current directory; command-line only.
Convert rgb colors to cmyk [false].
Command to autoexecute.
Conserve memory at the expense of speed [false].
Compress images in PDF output [true].
Enable debugging messages [false].
Ratio of physical to logical pixels [1].
Default output file precision [7].
Garbage collect using purge(divisor=n) [2].
Embed rendered preview image [true].
Enable environment map image-based lighting (Experimental) [false].
Exit interactive mode on EOF [true].
Fit rendered image to screen [true].
Additional frame delay [0].
Animation speed [30].
Allow read from other directory [true].
Allow write to other directory [false].
Convert all colors to grayscale [false].
Show summary of options; command-line only.
Retain n lines of history [1000].
Iconify rendering window [false].
Generate inline embedded image [false].
Generate inline TeX code [false].
Mask fpu exceptions in interactive mode [true].
View output in interactive mode [true].
Write expressions entered at the prompt to stdout [true].
Keep intermediate files [false].
Keep intermediate LaTeX .aux files [false].
Postscript level [3].
List available global functions and variables [false].
Use a local interactive history file [false].
Loop 3D animations [false].
Mask fpu exceptions; command-line only.
Maximum rendering tile size [(1024,768)].
Maximum viewport size [(0,0)].
Input code over multiple lines at the prompt [false].
View output from multiple batch-mode files [false].
Multisampling width for screen images [4].
Produce offline html files [false].
PostScript offset [(0,0)].
Convert each output file to specified format.
Alternative output directory/filename.
Parse file [false].
Automatically reload document in pdfviewer [false].
Delay before attempting initial pdf reload [750000].
Initial 3D rendering screen position [(0,0)].
Embed 3D PRC graphics in PDF output [true].
Prompt [> ].
Continuation prompt for multiline input [..].
Suppress welcome text and noninteractive stdout [false].
Render 3D graphics using n pixels per bp (-1=auto) [-1].
Resize step [1.2].
reverse 3D animations [false].
Convert cmyk colors to rgb [false].
Disable system call [true].
Scroll standard output n lines at a time [0].
WebGL touch screen distance limit for shift mode [20].
WebGL touch screen shift mode delay [200].
Spin speed [60].
Emulate unimplemented SVG shading [true].
Interactive prompt auto-completion [true].
latex|pdflatex|xelatex|lualatex|tex|pdftex|luatex|context|none [latex].
Render thick 3D lines [true].
Render thin 3D lines [true].
Use POSIX threads for 3D rendering [true].
Show 3D toolbar in PDF output [true].
Show translated virtual machine code [false].
Run LaTeX twice (to resolve references) [false].
Use two-sided 3D lighting model for rendering [true].
General purpose user string.
Increase verbosity level (can specify multiple times) [0].
Show version; command-line only.
WebGL shift mode vibrate duration [25].
Horizontal and vertical 3D viewport margin [(0.5,0.5)].
Wait for child processes to finish before exiting [false].
Enable warning; command-line only.
Show where listed variables are declared [false].
Special interactive mode for xasy [false].
WebGL maximum zoom pinch [100].
WebGL zoom pinch sensitivity [10].
Zoom step factor [1.05].
Mouse motion zoom step [0.1].

Asymptote is documented fully in the asymptote Info page. The manual can also be accessed in interactive mode with the "help" command.

Asymptote was written by Andy Hammerlindl, John Bowman, and Tom Prince.

This manual page was written by Hubert Chan for the Debian project (but may be used by others).

1 Dec 2004