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harish2222 edited this page Jun 19, 2026 · 2 revisions

Configuration

Forgum stores its settings in a JSON file. You can change how it looks and behaves by editing this file.

Where is the Config File?

Platform Location
Windows ~/Documents/PowerShell/forgum/config.json
Mac/Linux ~/.config/forgum/config.json
Custom Set the FORGUM_CONFIG environment variable

How to Change Settings

Method 1: Use Set-Forgum (Easiest)

The Set-Forgum cmdlet is the recommended way to update your settings. It allows you to change configuration values with a single command without needing to handle the JSON file or configuration objects manually.

# Enable rainbow colors and use the dragon cow
Set-Forgum -Lolcat $true -Cow dragon

# Set a talking animation with custom eyes
Set-Forgum -Animation talking -Eyes "@@"

# Enable random cows on startup
Set-Forgum -RandomCow $true

# Change multiple settings at once
Set-Forgum -Animation bounce -Cow bill-the-cat -RainbowFrequency 0.2

Method 2: Advanced Manual Configuration

If you need to perform complex logic or bulk updates, you can manipulate the configuration object directly.

# Read current settings
$config = Get-CFConfig

# Change something
$config.lolcat.enabled = $true
$config.animation.mode = 'talking'
$config.cow.file = 'tux'

# Save changes
Set-CFConfig -Config $config

Method 3: Edit the Config File Directly

Open the config file in any text editor and change what you want.

All Settings

Here's the complete config file with every setting explained:

{
  "animation": {
    "mode": "static",
    "speed": 20,
    "duration": 12,
    "spread": 3.0
  },
  "cow": {
    "file": "default",
    "random": false,
    "mode": null,
    "eyes": "oo",
    "tongue": "  "
  },
  "fortune": {
    "database": "fortunes",
    "offensive": false
  },
  "lolcat": {
    "enabled": false,
    "truecolor": true,
    "frequency": 0.1,
    "invert": false
  },
  "output": {
    "wordWrap": true,
    "maxWidth": 60
  },
  "shell": {
    "integration": "auto",
    "tmux": {
      "enabled": false,
      "pane": "status-right"
    }
  }
}

Settings Explained

Animation Settings

Setting Values What It Does
mode static, talking, typewriter, slide-in, bounce, dissolve, fade-in, blink, wiggle, wave, disco How the cow appears
speed Any number Animation speed (higher = faster)
duration Any number How long animation lasts (seconds)
spread Any number How spread out the animation is

Examples:

# Instant display (default)
$config.animation.mode = 'static'

# Talking animation (mouth moves)
$config.animation.mode = 'talking'

# Typewriter effect (types character by character)
$config.animation.mode = 'typewriter'

# Faster animation
$config.animation.speed = 50

Cow Settings

Setting Values What It Does
file Any cow name Which cow to use
random true, false Pick a random cow each time
mode null, b, d, g, p, s, t, w, y Cow mood/expression
eyes Any 2 characters Custom eye characters
tongue Any 2 characters Custom tongue characters

Cow Modes:

Mode Eyes Name
b == Borg
d xx Dead
g $$ Greedy
p @@ Paranoia
s ** Stoned
t -- Tired
w OO Wasted
y .. Youthful

Examples:

# Always use the tux cow
$config.cow.file = 'tux'

# Pick a random cow each time
$config.cow.random = $true

# Use dead eyes
$config.cow.mode = 'd'

# Custom eyes
$config.cow.eyes = '@@'

Fortune Settings

Setting Values What It Does
database Any fortune file name Which fortune file to use
offensive true, false Include offensive fortunes

Examples:

# Use a custom fortune file
$config.fortune.database = 'my_fortunes'

# Include all fortunes
$config.fortune.offensive = $true

Lolcat (Rainbow) Settings

Setting Values What It Does
enabled true, false Turn rainbow on/off
truecolor true, false Use 24-bit color (better) or 256-color
frequency Any number Rainbow tightness (higher = tighter)
invert true, false Swap colors

Examples:

# Turn on rainbow
$config.lolcat.enabled = $true

# Use 256-color mode (for older terminals)
$config.lolcat.truecolor = $false

# Tighter rainbow
$config.lolcat.frequency = 0.2

# Inverted colors
$config.lolcat.invert = $true

Toggle Patterns:

The easiest way to toggle lolcat is through your shell profile. These patterns let you control rainbow mode without editing config.json every time.

PowerShell toggle function:

# Add to your PowerShell profile
function Toggle-Lolcat {
    $config = Get-CFConfig
    $config.lolcat.enabled = -not $config.lolcat.enabled
    Set-CFConfig -Config $config
    $status = if ($config.lolcat.enabled) { 'ON' } else { 'OFF' }
    Write-Host "Rainbow: $status" -ForegroundColor $(if ($config.lolcat.enabled) {'Magenta'} else {'Gray'})
}

# Shortcut to run fortune with or without lolcat
function ff {
    $config = Get-CFConfig
    if ($config.lolcat.enabled) {
        forgum -Lolcat
    } else {
        forgum
    }
}

Bash/Zsh toggle function:

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
toggle_lolcat() {
    pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; `$config = Get-CFConfig; `$config.lolcat.enabled = -not `$config.lolcat.enabled; Set-CFConfig -Config `$config; Write-Host 'Rainbow: ' + ('ON' if `$config.lolcat.enabled else 'OFF')"
}

# Shortcut to run fortune with or without lolcat
ff() {
    local enabled
    enabled=$(pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; (Get-CFConfig).lolcat.enabled")
    if [[ "$enabled" == "True" ]]; then
        pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; forgum -Lolcat"
    else
        pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; forgum"
    fi
}

Fish toggle function:

# Add to ~/.config/fish/config.fish
function toggle_lolcat
    pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; `$config = Get-CFConfig; `$config.lolcat.enabled = -not `$config.lolcat.enabled; Set-CFConfig -Config `$config; Write-Host 'Rainbow: ' -NoNewline; if (`$config.lolcat.enabled) { Write-Host 'ON' -ForegroundColor Magenta } else { Write-Host 'OFF' -ForegroundColor Gray }"
end

# Shortcut to run fortune with or without lolcat
function ff
    set enabled (pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; (Get-CFConfig).lolcat.enabled")
    if test "$enabled" = "True"
        pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; forgum -Lolcat"
    else
        pwsh -NoProfile -Command "Import-Module Forgum -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; forgum"
    end
end

Output Settings

Setting Values What It Does
wordWrap true, false Wrap long messages
maxWidth Any number Maximum width before wrapping

Examples:

# Don't wrap text
$config.output.wordWrap = $false

# Wider output
$config.output.maxWidth = 80

Shell Settings

Setting Values What It Does
integration auto, on, off Shell integration
tmux.enabled true, false tmux integration
tmux.pane status-right, status-left Where to show in tmux

Reset to Defaults

If you mess up your config, delete the config file and Forgum will create a fresh one:

# Windows
Remove-Item ~/Documents/PowerShell/forgum/config.json

# Mac/Linux
Remove-Item ~/.config/forgum/config.json

Or use the command:

Set-CFConfig -Config @{
    animation = @{ mode = 'static'; speed = 20; duration = 12; spread = 3.0 }
    cow = @{ file = 'default'; random = $false; mode = $null; eyes = 'oo'; tongue = '  ' }
    fortune = @{ database = 'fortunes'; offensive = $false }
    lolcat = @{ enabled = $false; truecolor = $true; frequency = 0.1; invert = $false }
    output = @{ wordWrap = $true; maxWidth = 60 }
    shell = @{ integration = 'auto'; tmux = @{ enabled = $false; pane = 'status-right' } }
}

Back: tmux Integration | Next: Custom Cows →

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