Create/Edit/Copy Tool Dialog

Last modified: 17 March 2022

From the External Tools page: Add, Edit or Copy

warning

External tools provide the absolute path of the files, not project-directory-relative ones!

Edit the settings for your external tool.

tip

If the specified external tool is a Python script, add -u to the Python options. Thus you will be able to get prompt and user input before the script ends.

Item

Description

Name

The name of the tool that appears as a command name in the Tools menu and the context menus.

Group

The group the tool belongs to. The tool groups correspond to submenus in the Tools menu and the context menus.

Select an existing group from the list.

To create a new group, type its name in the list.

Description

The tool description (optional).

Tool Settings

Program

The path to the executable file to be run. Click the Browse icon to select the file or the Insert Macros icon to open the Macros dialog to select a macro.

Built-in IDE macros are resolved at runtime and let you specify paths relevant to the current context, such as the currently selected file, your project source path, and so on.

Arguments

The arguments to be passed to the program the way you'd specify them on the command line. Click the Insert Macros icon to open the Macros dialog to select a macro.

When specifying the arguments, follow these rules:

  • Note that external tools provide the absolute path of the files, not project-directory-relative ones.

  • Use spaces to separate individual arguments.

  • If an argument includes spaces, enclose the spaces or the argument that contains the spaces in double quotes, for example, some" "arg or "some arg".

  • If an argument includes double quotes (for example as part of the argument), escape the double quotes by means of the backslashes, for example, -Dmy.prop=\"quoted_value\".

Working directory

The path to the current working directory for the program. Click the Browse icon to select the directory, or the Insert Macros icon to open the Macros dialog to select a macro.

Advanced Options

Synchronize files after execution

Make PyCharm aware of changes in the file system when the tool completes its execution.

Open console for tool output

Open the console for viewing the tool output such error messages, etc.

Make console active on message in stdout

Make the output console active and bring it forward when the corresponding event occurs.

Make console active on message in stderr

The same as the previous option but for stderr.

Output Filters

The output filters are used to turn absolute file paths and line numbers in the tool output into hyperlinks. You'll be able to use those links to open the corresponding files in the editor. You can specify one or several filters. Each line is a regular expression. You can use the following macros: $FILE_PATH$, $LINE$, and $COLUMN$. For example:

$FILE_PATH$:$LINE$:$COLUMN$:.*

For more information, see Built-in IDE macros.