Chapter 4. Command Line Operation

When command line parameters are supplied, KAlarm does not display the list of scheduled alarms as described in Using KAlarm above. Command line options specific to KAlarm may be used to perform the following operations:

  • schedule a new alarm

  • control KAlarm's display mode

  • obtain help

Additional command line options are provided primarily to enable other programs to interface to KAlarm. They are described in the chapter Developer's Guide to KAlarm.

The command line must only contain options applicable to one KAlarm operation. If you want to perform multiple operations, you must invoke KAlarm multiple times with a single set of options each time.

Schedule a New Alarm

The following options are used to schedule a new alarm:

OptionDescription
-a, --ack-confirmPrompt for confirmation when the alarm message is acknowledged.
-A, --attach URLSpecify the path or URL of a file which is to be attached to the email. This option may be repeated as necessary. --mail must be specified with this option.
--auto-closeAutomatically close the alarm window after the expiry of the --late-cancel period. --late-cancel must be specified with this option.
-b, --beepMake an audible beep when the message is displayed. --speak, --play and --play-repeat cannot be specified with this option.
--bccBlind copy the email to yourself. --mail must be specified with this option.
-c, --color, --colour colorSet the message background color to the specified Qt™ color name or hex code 0xRRGGBB.
-C, --colorfg, --colourfg colorSet the message foreground color to the specified Qt™ color name or hex code 0xRRGGBB.
-d, --disableDisable the alarm. It will not trigger until it has been manually enabled.
--disable-allDisable alarm monitoring. This prevents any alarms from being triggered until you re-enable alarms or restart KAlarm, e.g. at next login. --triggerEvent cannot be specified with this option.
-e, --exec commandlineSpecify a shell command to execute. If specified, this option must be the last KAlarm option in KAlarm's command line. All subsequent command parameters and options are interpreted as forming the command line to execute. --file and --exec-display and --mail cannot be specified with this option. --ack-confirm, --beep, --color and --colorfg are ignored with this option.
-E, --exec-display commandlineSpecify a shell command to execute to generate the alarm message text. If specified, this option must be the last KAlarm option in KAlarm's command line. All subsequent command parameters and options are interpreted as forming the command line to execute. --exec, --file and --mail cannot be specified with this option.
-f, --file URLSpecify the path or URL of a text or image file whose contents are to form the alarm message. --exec, --exec-display and --mail cannot be specified, and message must not be present with this option.
-F, --from-id IDUse the specified KMail identity as the sender of the email. --mail must be specified with this option.
-i, --interval periodSet the interval between repetitions of the alarm. Hours/minutes are specified in the format nHnM, where n is a number, e.g. 3H30M. Other time periods are specified in the format nX, where n is a number and X is one of the following letters: Y (years), M (months), W (weeks), D (days). If --recurrence is also specified, Y (years) and M (months) are not allowed. Mandatory if --repeat or --until is specified.
-k, --korganizerShow the alarm as an event in KOrganizer's active calendar.
-l, --late-cancel periodCancel the alarm if it cannot be triggered within the specified period after the correct time. Hours/minutes are specified in the format nHnM, where n is a number, e.g. 3H30M. Other time periods are specified in the format nX, where n is a number and X is one of the following letters: W (weeks), D (days). The default value of period is 1 minute.
-L, --loginTrigger the alarm every time you log in. --interval, --repeat and --until cannot be specified with this option.
-m, --mail addressSend an email to the specified address. This option may be repeated as necessary. --exec, --exec-display and --file cannot be specified with this option. --ack-confirm, --beep, --color and --colorfg are ignored with this option.
-n, --nameSpecify a name to help you to identify the alarm.
-N, --notifyDisplay the alarm as a notification, not in a window. --color, --colorfg, --play, --ack-confirm and --auto-close cannot be specified with this option.
-p, --play URLSpecify the path or URL of an audio file to be played once, either as an audio alarm or when the alarm message is displayed. --play-repeat, --beep and --speak cannot be specified with this option.
-P, --play-repeat URLSpecify the path or URL of an audio file to be played repeatedly, either until Stop Play is used, or for as long as the alarm message is displayed. --play, --beep and --speak cannot be specified with this option.
--recurrence specSet the alarm to recur. Specify the recurrence using iCalendar syntax (defined in RFC2445), e.g. FREQ=MONTHLY;COUNT=4;INTERVAL=3;BYDAY=-1MO. --until cannot be specified with this option.
-r, --repeat countSet the number of times the alarm should be triggered, or if a recurrence is specified with --recurrence, the number of times the alarm should be triggered each time --recurrence activates it (i.e. a repetition within a recurrence). If --recurrence is not present, specify -1 to repeat the alarm indefinitely. --interval must be, and --until cannot be, specified with this option.
-R, --reminder periodOutput a reminder alarm the specified length of time before or after the main alarm and each of its recurrences (if any). The period is specified in the same format as described for --late-cancel. By default, the reminder will occur before the alarm. To specify a reminder after the alarm, prefix period with +, e.g. +3D. This option cannot be specified with --exec, --mail or --reminder-once.
--reminder-once periodOutput a reminder alarm once, the specified length of time before or after the first recurrence of the alarm. No reminder will be displayed before or after subsequent recurrences (if any). The period is specified in the same format as described for --reminder. This option cannot be specified with --exec, --mail or --reminder.
-s, --speakSpeak the message when it is displayed. This option requires KAlarm to have been built with speech enabled and the Qt™ Speech module to be installed and working. --beep, --play and --play-repeat cannot be specified with this option.
-S, --subject subjectThe subject line of the email. --mail must be specified with this option.
-t, --time date/timeTrigger alarm on the date or at the date/time specified. Specify a date without a time in the format yyyy-mm-dd[ TZ]; specify a date and time by [[[yyyy-]mm-]dd-]hh:mm[ TZ] (where omitted, date fields default to the values for today). If no time zone is specified, the local system time zone is assumed. If a time zone specifier TZ is present, it may be the name of a system time zone (e.g. Europe/London), or UTC representing the UTC time zone.
-v, --volume percentageSet the audio volume for playing the audio file. This option can only be used when --play or --play-repeat is specified.
-u, --until date/timeRepeat the alarm until the date or date/time specified. Specify the date or date/time using the same syntax as for --time. Note that if --time is specified, the time zone will be taken from its value and no time zone may be included in the --until value. --interval must be, and --repeat and --recurrence cannot be, specified with this option.
messageMessage text to display or, if --mail is specified, the body of the email message.

Either a message text, --file, --exec, --exec-display, --play or --play-repeat must be specified; except as noted above, all the options are optional.

Two alternative examples which display a multi-line message with a red background at 10 p.m. on the 27th of this month are:

% kalarm -c red -t 27-22:00 "Remember to\nSTOP"
% kalarm -c 0xFF0000 -t 27-22:00 "Remember to\nSTOP"