diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index e51dd97..a2a9d70 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -7,4 +7,4 @@
 /gmon.out
 /profiling/*
 /profiling.*
-/include/g_version.h
+/include/g_*.h
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index d9c53f6..8a7d789 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -39,11 +39,12 @@ endif
 ## END CONFIG ##
 
 $(shell ./generate_version.sh)
+$(shell ./generate_shellcode.sh)
 $(shell mkdir -p $(ODIR))
 $(shell mkdir -p $(BINDIR))
 
 # automatically find .h and .hpp
-DEPS = $(shell find $(IDIR) -type f -regex '.*\.hp?p?' ! -name 'g_version.h')
+DEPS = $(shell find $(IDIR) -type f -regex '.*\.hp?p?' ! -name 'g_version.h' ! -name 'g_shellcode.h')
 # automatically find .c and .cpp and make the corresponding .o rule
 OBJ = $(shell find $(SRCDIR) -type f -regex '.*\.cp?p?' | sed 's|\.cpp|.o|g;s|\.c|.o|g;s|^$(SRCDIR)/|$(ODIR)/|g')
 
@@ -58,6 +59,9 @@ $(ODIR)/%.o: $(SRCDIR)/%.cpp $(DEPS)
 $(ODIR)/main.o: $(SRCDIR)/main.cpp $(DEPS) $(IDIR)/g_version.h
 	$(CC) $(CXXFLAGS) -c -o $@ $<
 
+$(ODIR)/debashify.o: $(SRCDIR)/debashify.cpp $(DEPS) $(IDIR)/g_shellcode.h
+	$(CC) $(CXXFLAGS) -c -o $@ $<
+
 lxsh: $(OBJ)
 	$(CC) $(CXXFLAGS) -o $@ $^ $(LDFLAGS)
 
diff --git a/generate_shellcode.sh b/generate_shellcode.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..ba52653
--- /dev/null
+++ b/generate_shellcode.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+file=include/g_shellcode.h
+tmpfile=${TMPDIR-/tmp}/lxsh_shellcodegen
+codedir=shellcode
+
+# $1 = file
+minimize() {
+  if which lxsh >/dev/null 2>&1 ; then
+    lxsh -m "$1"
+  elif which shfmt >/dev/null 2>&1 ; then
+    shfmt -mn "$1"
+  else
+    cat "$1"
+  fi
+}
+
+to_cstr() {
+  sed 's|\\|\\\\|g;s|\"|\\\"|g' | sed ':a;N;$!ba;s/\n/\\n/g;'
+}
+
+echo '#ifndef G_VERSION_H' > "$tmpfile"
+echo '#define G_VERSION_H' >> "$tmpfile"
+for I in "$codedir"/*.sh
+do
+  printf '#define %s "%s"\n' "$(basename "$I" | tr [:lower:] [:upper:] | tr '.' '_')" "$(minimize "$I" | to_cstr)" >> "$tmpfile"
+done
+echo "#endif" >> "$tmpfile"
+
+if [ "$(md5sum "$tmpfile" | cut -d' ' -f1)" != "$(md5sum "$file" | cut -d' ' -f1)" ] ; then
+  mv "$tmpfile" "$file"
+else
+  rm "$tmpfile"
+fi
diff --git a/include/struc.hpp b/include/struc.hpp
index da77f67..27340ba 100644
--- a/include/struc.hpp
+++ b/include/struc.hpp
@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ public:
 
   static const std::string empty_string;
 
-  std::string const& firstarg_string();
+  std::string const& arg_string(uint32_t n);
 
   size_t arglist_size();
 
diff --git a/include/struc_helper.hpp b/include/struc_helper.hpp
index 6ce5870..8b48845 100644
--- a/include/struc_helper.hpp
+++ b/include/struc_helper.hpp
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ pipeline* make_pipeline(std::string const& in);
 condlist* make_condlist(std::string const& in);
 list* make_list(std::string const& in);
 
+block* make_block(std::string const& in);
+
 // copy
 arg* copy(arg* in);
 variable* copy(variable* in);
diff --git a/shellcode/array_create.sh b/shellcode/array_create.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..315ff52
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shellcode/array_create.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+__lxsh_array_create() {
+  printf "%s" "$1"
+  shift 1
+  for N ; do
+    printf "\t%s" "$N"
+  done
+}
diff --git a/shellcode/array_get.sh b/shellcode/array_get.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..262151c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shellcode/array_get.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+__lxsh_array_get() {
+  if [ "$2" = "*" ] || [ "$2" = "@" ] ; then
+    printf "%s" "$1" | tr '\t' ' '
+  else
+    printf "%s" "$1" | cut -f$(($2+1))
+  fi
+}
diff --git a/shellcode/array_set.sh b/shellcode/array_set.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..31a4e99
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shellcode/array_set.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+__lxsh_array_set()
+{
+  [ "$2" -gt 0 ] && printf "%s\t" "$(printf "%s" "$1" | cut -f1-$2)"
+  printf "%s" "$3"
+  [ "$2" -lt $(printf "%s" "$1" | tr -dc '\t' | wc -c) ] && { printf "\t" ; printf "%s" "$1"|cut -f$(($2+2))-; }
+}
diff --git a/shellcode/map_create.sh b/shellcode/map_create.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..91aa608
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shellcode/map_create.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+__lxsh_map_create() {
+  for I
+  do
+    printf "%s]%s\n" "$(echo "$I" | cut -d']' -f1 | cut -d '[' -f2)" "$(echo "$I" | cut -d '=' -f2-)"
+  done
+}
diff --git a/shellcode/map_get.sh b/shellcode/map_get.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..36a11a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shellcode/map_get.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+__lxsh_map_get() {
+  if [ "$2" = \* ] || [ "$2" = @ ] ; then
+    printf "%s\n" "$1" | sort | cut -d ']' -f2-
+  else
+    printf "%s\n" "$1" | grep "^$2\]" | cut -d ']' -f2-
+  fi
+}
diff --git a/shellcode/map_set.sh b/shellcode/map_set.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..55a9af6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shellcode/map_set.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+__lxsh_map_set() {
+  printf "%s\n" "$1" | grep -v "^$2\]"
+  if [ -n "$3" ] ; then
+    printf "%s]%s\n" "$2" "$3"
+  fi
+}
diff --git a/shellcode/random_string.sh b/shellcode/random_string.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..134da5a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shellcode/random_string.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+__lxsh_random_string() {
+  env LC_CTYPE=C tr -dc 'a-zA-Z0-9' </dev/urandom | head -c "${1-20}"
+}
diff --git a/shellcode/random_tmpfile.sh b/shellcode/random_tmpfile.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f644e44
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shellcode/random_tmpfile.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+__lxsh_random_tmpfile() {
+  echo "${TMPDIR-/tmp}/$1$(__lxsh_random_string 20)"
+}
diff --git a/src/debashify.cpp b/src/debashify.cpp
index 790e7f0..2ecb3f5 100644
--- a/src/debashify.cpp
+++ b/src/debashify.cpp
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@
 #include "parse.hpp"
 #include "struc_helper.hpp"
 
+#include "g_shellcode.h"
+
 
 typedef struct debashify_params {
   bool need_random_string=false;
@@ -13,7 +15,12 @@ typedef struct debashify_params {
   bool need_array_create=false;
   bool need_array_set=false;
   bool need_array_get=false;
-  std::vector<std::string> debashed_arrays;
+  bool need_map_create=false;
+  bool need_map_set=false;
+  bool need_map_get=false;
+  // map of detected arrays
+  // bool value: is associative
+  std::map<std::string,bool> arrays;
 } debashify_params;
 
 
@@ -99,7 +106,7 @@ bool debashify_bashtest(pipeline* pl)
     return false;
   cmd* in = dynamic_cast<cmd*>(pl->cmds[0]);
 
-  if(in->firstarg_string() == "[[")
+  if(in->arg_string(0) == "[[")
   {
     brace* br = new brace(new list);
     condlist* cl = new condlist;
@@ -134,27 +141,80 @@ bool debashify_bashtest(pipeline* pl)
   return false;
 }
 
-bool debashify_declare(cmd* in)
+void warn(std::string const& in)
 {
-  std::string cmd=in->firstarg_string();
-  if(cmd == "declare" || cmd == "typeset" || cmd == "readonly")
-    throw std::runtime_error(strf("Cannot debashify '%s'", cmd.c_str()));
-  return false;
+  std::cerr << "WARN: " << in << std::endl;
 }
 
-cmd* make_array_get_cmd(std::string const& varname, arg* index)
+std::string get_declare_opt(cmd* in)
+{
+  if(in->var_assigns[0].second!=nullptr)
+  {
+    return in->var_assigns[0].second->string();
+  }
+  return "";
+}
+
+bool debashify_declare(list* in, debashify_params* params)
+{
+  bool has_found=false;
+  for(uint32_t i=0; i<in->cls.size(); i++)
+  {
+    // not a cmd: go to next
+    if(in->cls[i]->pls[0]->cmds[0]->type != _obj::block_cmd)
+      continue;
+
+    cmd* c1 = dynamic_cast<cmd*>(in->cls[i]->pls[0]->cmds[0]);
+    std::string const& cmdstr=c1->arg_string(0);
+    if(cmdstr == "declare" || cmdstr == "typeset" || cmdstr == "readonly")
+    {
+      if(cmdstr == "readonly")
+      {
+        warn("removing 'readonly'");
+      }
+      else
+      {
+        std::string const& op = get_declare_opt(c1);
+        if(op == "-a")
+        {
+          for(auto it: c1->var_assigns)
+          {
+            if(it.first != nullptr)
+              params->arrays[it.first->varname] = false;
+          }
+        }
+        else if(op == "-A")
+        {
+          for(auto it: c1->var_assigns)
+          {
+            if(it.first != nullptr)
+              params->arrays[it.first->varname] = true;
+          }
+        }
+        else
+        warn( strf("removing '%s' with argument '%s'", cmdstr.c_str(), op.c_str()) );
+      }
+      has_found=true;
+      delete in->cls[i];
+      in->cls.erase(in->cls.begin()+i);
+    }
+  }
+  return has_found;
+}
+
+cmd* make_cmd_varindex(std::string const& strcmd, std::string const& varname, arg* index)
 {
   cmd* c = new cmd(new arglist);
-  // __lxsh_array_get
-  c->args->add( new arg("__lxsh_array_get") );
-  // __lxsh_array_get "$VAR"
+  // cmd
+  c->args->add( new arg(strcmd) );
+  // cmd "$VAR"
   c->args->add( make_arg("\"$"+varname+"\"") );
-  // __lxsh_array_get "$VAR" N
+  // cmd "$VAR" N
   c->args->add( index );
   return c;
 }
 
-subshell_arithmetic* do_debashify_arithmetic(arithmetic* in)
+subshell_arithmetic* do_debashify_arithmetic(arithmetic* in, debashify_params* params)
 {
   subshell_arithmetic* ret = nullptr;
   if(in->type == _obj::arithmetic_variable)
@@ -169,7 +229,18 @@ subshell_arithmetic* do_debashify_arithmetic(arithmetic* in)
       arg* index = t->var->index;
       t->var->index=nullptr;
 
-      cmd* c = make_array_get_cmd(varname, index);
+      cmd* c;
+      if(params->arrays[varname])
+      {
+        c = make_cmd_varindex("__lxsh_map_get", varname, index);
+        params->need_map_get=true;
+      }
+      else
+      {
+        c = make_cmd_varindex("__lxsh_array_get", varname, index);
+        params->need_array_get=true;
+      }
+
       ret = new subshell_arithmetic(new subshell(c));
     }
   }
@@ -183,7 +254,7 @@ bool debashify_array_arithmetic(_obj* o, debashify_params* params)
   {
     case _obj::subarg_arithmetic: {
       arithmetic_subarg* t = dynamic_cast<arithmetic_subarg*>(o);
-      arithmetic* r = do_debashify_arithmetic(t->arith);
+      arithmetic* r = do_debashify_arithmetic(t->arith, params);
       if(r!=nullptr)
       {
         ret=true;
@@ -193,14 +264,14 @@ bool debashify_array_arithmetic(_obj* o, debashify_params* params)
     } break;
     case _obj::arithmetic_operation: {
       operation_arithmetic* t = dynamic_cast<operation_arithmetic*>(o);
-      arithmetic* r = do_debashify_arithmetic(t->val1);
+      arithmetic* r = do_debashify_arithmetic(t->val1, params);
       if(r!=nullptr)
       {
         ret=true;
         delete t->val1;
         t->val1 = r;
       }
-      r = do_debashify_arithmetic(t->val2);
+      r = do_debashify_arithmetic(t->val2, params);
       if(r!=nullptr)
       {
         ret=true;
@@ -210,7 +281,7 @@ bool debashify_array_arithmetic(_obj* o, debashify_params* params)
     } break;
     case _obj::arithmetic_parenthesis: {
       parenthesis_arithmetic* t = dynamic_cast<parenthesis_arithmetic*>(o);
-      arithmetic* r = do_debashify_arithmetic(t->val);
+      arithmetic* r = do_debashify_arithmetic(t->val, params);
       if(r!=nullptr)
       {
         ret=true;
@@ -237,7 +308,6 @@ bool debashify_array_get(arg* in, debashify_params* params)
         if(t->var->manip != nullptr)
           throw std::runtime_error("Cannot debashify manipulations on ${VAR[]}");
 
-        params->need_array_get = true;
         std::string varname = t->var->varname;
         arg* index = t->var->index;
         t->var->index=nullptr;
@@ -248,7 +318,18 @@ bool debashify_array_get(arg* in, debashify_params* params)
           index = new arg("\\*");
         }
 
-        cmd* c = make_array_get_cmd(varname, index);
+        cmd* c;
+        if(params->arrays[varname])
+        {
+          c = make_cmd_varindex("__lxsh_map_get", varname, index);
+          params->need_map_get=true;
+        }
+        else
+        {
+          c = make_cmd_varindex("__lxsh_array_get", varname, index);
+          params->need_array_get=true;
+        }
+
         subshell_subarg* sb = new subshell_subarg(new subshell(c));
         sb->quoted=quoted;
         delete *it;
@@ -265,19 +346,28 @@ bool debashify_array_set(cmd* in, debashify_params* params)
   bool has_replaced=false;
   for(auto it = in->var_assigns.begin() ; it != in->var_assigns.end() ; it++)
   {
-    if(it->second != nullptr && it->second->size()>0 && it->second->first_sa_string().substr(0,2) == "=(")
+    if(it->first!=nullptr && it->second != nullptr && it->second->size()>0 && it->second->first_sa_string().substr(0,2) == "=(")
     {
       // array creation: VAR=()
-      params->need_array_create=true;
       // extract arguments from =(ARGS...)
       std::string gen=it->second->generate(0);
+      std::string varname=it->first->varname;
       gen=gen.substr(2);
       gen.pop_back();
       // create cmd out of arguments
       arglist* args = parse_arglist( gen.c_str(), gen.size(), 0 ).first;
       cmd* c = new cmd(args);
-      // cmd first argument is __lxsh_array_create
-      c->args->insert(0, new arg("__lxsh_array_create") );
+      // cmd first argument is __lxsh_X_create
+      if(params->arrays[varname])
+      {
+        c->args->insert(0, new arg("__lxsh_map_create") );
+        params->need_map_create=true;
+      }
+      else
+      {
+        c->args->insert(0, new arg("__lxsh_array_create") );
+        params->need_array_create=true;
+      }
       subshell_subarg* sb = new subshell_subarg(new subshell(c));
       // insert new value
       delete it->second;
@@ -303,19 +393,40 @@ bool debashify_array_set(cmd* in, debashify_params* params)
       if(tt->val.substr(0,2) == "+=")
       {
         tt->val = tt->val.substr(2); // remove +=
+
         // create array get of value
-        cmd* c = make_array_get_cmd(varname, copy(index));
+        cmd* c;
+        if(params->arrays[varname])
+        {
+          c = make_cmd_varindex("__lxsh_map_get", varname, copy(index));
+          params->need_map_get=true;
+        }
+        else
+        {
+          c = make_cmd_varindex("__lxsh_array_get", varname, copy(index));
+          params->need_array_get=true;
+        }
         subshell_subarg* sb = new subshell_subarg(new subshell(c));
         sb->quoted=true;
         value->insert(0, "\"");
         value->insert(0, sb);
         value->insert(0, "\"");
+
       }
       else
         tt->val = tt->val.substr(1); // remove =
 
       cmd* c = new cmd(new arglist);
-      c->args->add( new arg("__lxsh_array_set") );
+      if(params->arrays[varname])
+      {
+        c->args->add(new arg("__lxsh_map_set") );
+        params->need_map_set=true;
+      }
+      else
+      {
+        c->args->add(new arg("__lxsh_array_set") );
+        params->need_array_set=true;
+      }
       // __lxsh_array_set "$VAR"
       c->args->add( make_arg("\"$"+varname+"\"") );
       // __lxsh_array_set "$VAR" N
@@ -345,7 +456,16 @@ bool debashify_array_set(cmd* in, debashify_params* params)
       arglist* args = parse_arglist( gen.c_str(), gen.size(), 0 ).first;
       cmd* c = new cmd(args);
       // cmd first argument is __lxsh_array_create
-      c->args->insert(0, new arg("__lxsh_array_create") );
+      if(params->arrays[varname])
+      {
+        throw std::runtime_error("Cannot debashify VAR+=() on associative arrays");
+      }
+      else
+      {
+        c->args->insert(0, new arg("__lxsh_array_create") );
+        params->need_array_create=true;
+      }
+      // second arg is varname
       c->args->insert(1, make_arg("\"$"+varname+"\"") );
       subshell_subarg* sb = new subshell_subarg(new subshell(c));
       // insert new value
@@ -523,38 +643,6 @@ bool debashify_procsub(list* lst, debashify_params* params)
   return has_replaced;
 }
 
-// create the random string generator function
-//
-block* create_random_string_func()
-{
-  std::string code="__lxsh_random_string() { env LC_CTYPE=C tr -dc 'a-zA-Z0-9' </dev/urandom | head -c ${1-20}; }";
-  return parse_block(code.c_str(), code.size(), 0).first;
-}
-
-block* create_random_tmpfile_func()
-{
-  std::string code="__lxsh_random_tmpfile() { echo \"${TMPDIR-/tmp}/$1$(__lxsh_random_string 20)\"; }";
-  return parse_block(code.c_str(), code.size(), 0).first;
-}
-
-block* create_array_set_func()
-{
-  std::string code="__lxsh_array_set()\n{\n  {\n    printf \"%s\\n%s\" \"$3\" \"$1\"\n    printf '%*s' \"$(($2+1))\" | tr ' ' \"\\n\"\n  } | awk 'BEGIN{RS=\"\\n\"};{if(NR==1){ val=$0 } else if(NR=='\"$(($2+2))\"'){ printf \"%s%s\",val,RS } else { printf \"%s%s\",$0,RS } }'\n}";
-  return parse_block(code.c_str(), code.size(), 0).first;
-}
-
-block* create_array_create_func()
-{
-  std::string code="__lxsh_array_create() {\n  for N ; do\n    echo \"$N\"\n  done\n}";
-  return parse_block(code.c_str(), code.size(), 0).first;
-}
-
-block* create_array_get_func()
-{
-  std::string code="__lxsh_array_get() {\n  if [ \"$2\" = \"*\" ] || [ \"$2\" = \"@\" ] ; then\n    printf \"%s\" \"$1\" | tr '\\n' ' '\n  else\n    echo \"$1\" | awk 'BEGIN{RS=\"\\n\"};{if(NR=='\"$(($2+1))\"'){ print } }'\n  fi\n}";
-  return parse_block(code.c_str(), code.size(), 0).first;
-}
-
 bool r_debashify(_obj* o, debashify_params* params)
 {
   // global debashifies
@@ -567,6 +655,7 @@ bool r_debashify(_obj* o, debashify_params* params)
     } break;
     case _obj::_list: {
       list* t = dynamic_cast<list*>(o);
+      debashify_declare(t, params);
       debashify_procsub(t, params);
     } break;
     case _obj::_pipeline: {
@@ -577,7 +666,6 @@ bool r_debashify(_obj* o, debashify_params* params)
     case _obj::block_cmd: {
       cmd* t = dynamic_cast<cmd*>(o);
       debashify_combined_redirects(t);
-      debashify_declare(t);
       debashify_array_set(t, params);
       debashify_plusequal(t, params);
     } break;
@@ -624,13 +712,19 @@ void debashify(shmain* sh)
   sh->shebang = "#!/bin/sh";
   recurse(r_debashify, sh, &params);
   if(params.need_random_string || params.need_random_tmpfile)
-    sh->lst->insert(0, new condlist(create_random_tmpfile_func()));
+    sh->lst->insert(0, new condlist(make_block(RANDOM_TMPFILE_SH)));
   if(params.need_random_tmpfile)
-    sh->lst->insert(0, new condlist(create_random_string_func()));
+    sh->lst->insert(0, new condlist(make_block(RANDOM_STRING_SH)));
   if(params.need_array_create)
-    sh->lst->insert(0, new condlist(create_array_create_func()));
+    sh->lst->insert(0, new condlist(make_block(ARRAY_CREATE_SH)));
   if(params.need_array_set)
-    sh->lst->insert(0, new condlist(create_array_set_func()));
+    sh->lst->insert(0, new condlist(make_block(ARRAY_SET_SH)));
   if(params.need_array_get)
-    sh->lst->insert(0, new condlist(create_array_get_func()));
+    sh->lst->insert(0, new condlist(make_block(ARRAY_GET_SH)));
+  if(params.need_map_create)
+    sh->lst->insert(0, new condlist(make_block(MAP_CREATE_SH)));
+  if(params.need_map_set)
+    sh->lst->insert(0, new condlist(make_block(MAP_SET_SH)));
+  if(params.need_map_get)
+    sh->lst->insert(0, new condlist(make_block(MAP_GET_SH)));
 }
diff --git a/src/minimize.cpp b/src/minimize.cpp
index dee33bb..189313a 100644
--- a/src/minimize.cpp
+++ b/src/minimize.cpp
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ bool r_replace_fct(_obj* in, strmap_t* fctmap)
     }; break;
     case _obj::block_cmd: {
       cmd* t = dynamic_cast<cmd*>(in);
-      std::string cmdname = t->firstarg_string();
+      std::string cmdname = t->arg_string(0);
       auto el=fctmap->find(cmdname);
       if(el!=fctmap->end())
       {
diff --git a/src/processing.cpp b/src/processing.cpp
index e1267a1..0ceb372 100644
--- a/src/processing.cpp
+++ b/src/processing.cpp
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ bool cmd::is_argvar()
 
 bool cmd::is(std::string const& in)
 {
-  return in == this->firstarg_string();
+  return in == this->arg_string(0);
 }
 
 /** GETTERS **/
@@ -303,7 +303,7 @@ bool r_get_cmd(_obj* in, countmap_t* all_cmds)
   {
     case _obj::block_cmd: {
       cmd* t = dynamic_cast<cmd*>(in);
-      std::string cmdname = t->firstarg_string();
+      std::string cmdname = t->arg_string(0);
       if(cmdname != "" && !all_cmds->insert( std::make_pair(cmdname, 1) ).second)
         (*all_cmds)[cmdname]++;
     }; break;
diff --git a/src/resolve.cpp b/src/resolve.cpp
index 0566955..9a2d0be 100644
--- a/src/resolve.cpp
+++ b/src/resolve.cpp
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ std::pair< std::vector<condlist*> , bool > resolve_condlist(condlist* in, shmain
   if(tc == nullptr)
     return std::make_pair(std::vector<condlist*>(), false);
 
-  std::string const& strcmd=tc->firstarg_string();
+  std::string const& strcmd=tc->arg_string(0);
 
   if(g_include && strcmd == "%include")
     return std::make_pair(do_include_parse(in, parent), true);
@@ -245,7 +245,7 @@ std::pair< std::vector<arg*> , bool > resolve_arg(arg* in, shmain* parent, bool
     cmd* c = tc->first_cmd();
     if(c == nullptr) // skip if not cmd
       continue;
-    std::string strcmd=c->firstarg_string();
+    std::string strcmd=c->arg_string(0);
     std::string fulltext;
     if(g_include && strcmd == "%include")
     {
diff --git a/src/struc_helper.cpp b/src/struc_helper.cpp
index 6b96374..68e18a5 100644
--- a/src/struc_helper.cpp
+++ b/src/struc_helper.cpp
@@ -61,6 +61,12 @@ list* make_list(std::string const& in)
   return parse_list_until(in.c_str(), in.size(), 0, 0).first;
 }
 
+block* make_block(std::string const& in)
+{
+  return parse_block(in.c_str(), in.size(), 0).first;
+}
+
+
 // copy
 
 arg* copy(arg* in) {
@@ -152,10 +158,10 @@ std::vector<std::string> arglist::strargs(uint32_t start)
   return ret;
 }
 
-std::string const& cmd::firstarg_string()
+std::string const& cmd::arg_string(uint32_t n)
 {
-  if(args!=nullptr && args->args.size()>0 && args->args[0]->sa.size() == 1 && args->args[0]->sa[0]->type == _obj::subarg_string)
-    return dynamic_cast<string_subarg*>(args->args[0]->sa[0])->val;
+  if(args!=nullptr && args->args.size()>n && args->args[n]->sa.size() == 1 && args->args[n]->sa[0]->type == _obj::subarg_string)
+    return dynamic_cast<string_subarg*>(args->args[n]->sa[0])->val;
   return cmd::empty_string;
 }