Command Line Reference
LaunchBox Reader is controlled at startup with command-line arguments.
Basic Usage
LaunchBox.Reader.exe --path "C:\Docs\Manual.pdf"
The open verb is optional:
LaunchBox.Reader.exe open --path "C:\Docs\Manual.pdf"
You can also pass a bare path as the first non-option argument:
LaunchBox.Reader.exe "C:\Docs\Manual.pdf"
Using --path is recommended for integrations because it is explicit and easier to read in logs.
Help and Diagnostics
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
--help, -help, -h, /help, /h, /? |
Show command-line help. |
--help-keys, -help-keys, --keys, -keys |
Show keyboard controls. |
--help-controller, -help-controller, --controller, -controller |
Show controller controls. |
--version, -version, -v, /version, /v |
Show reader version. |
--verbose-logging, --diagnostics |
Enable detailed diagnostic logging. |
Slash aliases are supported on Windows.
Target Document
| Argument | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
--path, -path |
File or folder path | Document, archive, image, or image folder to open. |
--format, -format |
pdf, epub, cbz, cbr, cb7, cbt, zip, rar, 7z, images |
Optional format hint when a path is ambiguous. |
--document-title, -document-title |
Text | Title shown by the reader instead of the filename. |
--game-title, -game-title |
Text | Optional related item title for display integrations. |
--platform, -platform |
Text | Optional related category title for display integrations. |
Startup Location
| Argument | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
--page, -page |
1-based page number | Opens directly to a page. |
--progress, -progress |
0 to 1 |
Opens to a normalized reading position. |
--resume, -resume |
Flag | Restores saved reading position when available. |
--no-resume, -no-resume |
Flag | Ignores saved reading position for this launch. |
Resume is enabled by default unless disabled by settings or --no-resume.
Window and Monitor Placement
| Argument | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
--fullscreen, -fullscreen |
Flag | Starts fullscreen. |
--launch-window-handle, --launch-hwnd, --owner-window-handle, --parent-window-handle |
Decimal or 0x window handle |
Opens on the same monitor as the calling window. |
--launch-point, -launch-point |
x,y |
Opens on the monitor containing the supplied screen point. |
--launch-bounds, -launch-bounds |
x,y,width,height |
Opens on the monitor nearest the supplied screen bounds. |
--return-focus, -return-focus |
Text hint | Stores a focus return hint for the caller. |
For most host applications, --launch-window-handle is the best option if you have access to your main window handle.
Chrome and UI
| Argument | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
--hide-chrome, -hide-chrome |
Flag | Starts with minimal chrome. |
--show-chrome, -show-chrome |
Flag | Starts with full chrome visible. |
--theme, -theme |
black, dark, light, sepia |
Sets reader theme for this launch. |
Fixed-Layout Documents
Fixed-layout documents include PDFs, comics, image archives, image folders, and direct image files.
| Argument | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
--layout, -layout |
single, spread, stacked |
Sets page layout. |
--fit, -fit |
fit, width, height, free |
Sets initial zoom mode. |
--fixed-margin, -fixed-margin |
none, small, medium, large |
Sets page margin. |
--stack-direction, -stack-direction |
vertical, horizontal, v, h |
Sets stacked scroll direction. |
--reading-direction, --direction |
ltr, left-to-right, rtl, right-to-left |
Sets reading direction. |
--page-turn, -page-turn |
premium, simple, instant |
Sets page turn mode. |
Note: simple currently maps to the animated page turn mode.
EPUB and Reflowable Reading
| Argument | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
--flow, -flow |
paginated, continuous |
Sets EPUB reading flow. |
--epub-layout, -epub-layout |
auto, single, spread |
Sets EPUB paginated layout. |
--margin, --epub-margin |
small, medium, large, 0, 1, 2 |
Sets EPUB text margin. |
--font, --font-family, --book-font |
serif, sans, sans-serif, mono, monospace |
Sets EPUB font family. |
--text-scale, --font-scale, --font-size |
80 to 200, optionally with % |
Sets EPUB text scale percentage. |
--line-spacing, -line-spacing |
tight, normal, relaxed, loose, 0, 1, 2, 3 |
Sets EPUB line spacing. |
--night-mode, -night-mode |
Flag | Enables EPUB night-mode lighting. |
--no-night-mode, -no-night-mode |
Flag | Disables EPUB night-mode lighting. |
Search
| Argument | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
--search, -search |
Text | Preloads a search query for searchable document types. |
Exit Codes and Error Handling
The reader is primarily a GUI application. A successful Process.Start only means the process was created. It does not guarantee that the document was fully loaded.
For integration robustness:
- Validate the target path before launching.
- Use supported file extensions.
- Use
--verbose-loggingwhen diagnosing launch issues. - Read logs from the reader data root if a user reports a failure.