zshzle - zsh command line editor
DESCRIPTION
If the ZLE option is set (which it is by default in inter
active shells) and the shell input is attached to the ter
minal, the user is able to edit command lines.
There are two display modes. The first, multiline mode,
is the default. It only works if the TERM parameter is
set to a valid terminal type that can move the cursor up.
The second, single line mode, is used if TERM is invalid
or incapable of moving the cursor up, or if the SIN
GLE_LINE_ZLE option is set. This mode is similar to ksh,
and uses no termcap sequences. If TERM is "emacs", the
ZLE option will be unset by default.
KEYMAPS
A keymap in ZLE contains a set of bindings between key
sequences and ZLE commands. The empty key sequence cannot
be bound.
There can be any number of keymaps at any time, and each
keymap has one or more names. If all of a keymap's names
are deleted, it disappears. bindkey can be used to manip
ulate keymap names.
Initially, there are four keymaps:
emacs EMACS emulation
viins vi emulation - insert mode
vicmd vi emulation - command mode
.safe fallback keymap
The `.safe' keymap is special. It can never be altered,
and the name can never be removed. However, it can be
linked to other names, which can be removed. In the
future other special keymaps may be added; users should
avoid using names beginning with `.' for their own
keymaps.
In addition to these four names, either `emacs' or `viins'
is also linked to the name `main'. If one of the VISUAL
or EDITOR environment variables contain the string `vi'
when the shell starts up then it will be `viins', other
wise it will be `emacs'. bindkey's -e and -v options pro
vide a convenient way to override this default choice.
When the editor starts up, it will select the `main'
keymap. If that keymap doesn't exist, it will use `.safe'
instead.
In the `.safe' keymap, each single key is bound to
self-insert, except for ^J (line feed) and ^M (return)
pleasant to use; if you are using it, it means you deleted
the main keymap, and you should put it back.
Reading Commands
When ZLE is reading a command from the terminal, it may
read a sequence that is bound to some command and is also
a prefix of a longer bound string. In this case ZLE will
wait a certain time to see if more characters are typed,
and if not (or they don't match any longer string) it will
execute the binding. This timeout is defined by the KEY
TIMEOUT parameter; its default is 0.4 sec. There is no
timeout if the prefix string is not itself bound to a com
mand.
As well as ZLE commands, key sequences can be bound to
other strings, by using `bindkey -s'. When such a
sequence is read, the replacement string is pushed back as
input, and the command reading process starts again using
these fake keystrokes. This input can itself invoke fur
ther replacement strings, but in order to detect loops the
process will be stopped if there are twenty such replace
ments without a real command being read.
ZLE BUILTINS
The ZLE module contains three related builtin commands.
The bindkey command manipulates keymaps and key bindings;
the vared command invokes ZLE on the value of a shell
parameter; and the zle command manipulates editing widgets
and allows command line access to ZLE commands from within
shell functions.
bindkey [ options ] -l
bindkey [ options ] -d
bindkey [ options ] -D keymap ...
bindkey [ options ] -A old-keymap new-keymap
bindkey [ options ] -N new-keymap [ old-keymap ]
bindkey [ options ] -m
bindkey [ options ] -r in-string ...
bindkey [ options ] -s in-string out-string ...
bindkey [ options ] in-string command ...
bindkey [ options ] [ in-string ]
bindkey's options can be divided into three cate
gories: keymap selection, operation selection, and
others. The keymap selection options are:
-e Selects keymap `emacs', and also links it to
`main'.
-v Selects keymap `viins', and also links it to
`main'.
-a Selects keymap `vicmd'.
keymap name, and does not otherwise count as
an argument.
If a keymap selection is required and none of the
options above are used, the `main' keymap is used.
Some operations do not permit a keymap to be
selected, namely:
-l List all existing keymap names. If the -L
option is also used, list in the form of
bindkey commands to create the keymaps.
-d Delete all existing keymaps and reset to the
default state.
-D keymap ...
Delete the named keymaps.
-A old-keymap new-keymap
Make the new-keymap name an alias for
old-keymap, so that both names refer to the
same keymap. The names have equal standing;
if either is deleted, the other remains. If
there is already a keymap with the
new-keymap name, it is deleted.
-N new-keymap [ old-keymap ]
Create a new keymap, named new-keymap. If a
keymap already has that name, it is deleted.
If an old-keymap name is given, the new
keymap is initialized to be a duplicate of
it, otherwise the new keymap will be empty.
To use a newly created keymap, it should be linked
to main. Hence the sequence of commands to create
and use a new keymap `mymap' initialized from the
emacs keymap (which remains unchanged) is:
bindkey -N mymap emacs
bindkey -A mymap main
Note that while `bindkey -A newmap main' will work
when newmap is emacs or viins, it will not work for
vicmd, as switching from vi insert to command mode
becomes impossible.
The following operations act on the `main' keymap
if no keymap selection option was given:
-m Add the built-in set of meta-key bindings to
the selected keymap. Only keys that are
unbound or bound to self-insert are
affected.
Unbind the specified in-strings in the
selected keymap. This is exactly equivalent
to binding the strings to undefined-key.
When -R is also used, interpret the
in-strings as ranges.
When -p is also used, the in-strings specify
prefixes. Any binding that has the given
in-string as a prefix, not including the
binding for the in-string itself, if any,
will be removed. For example,
bindkey -rpM viins '^['
will remove all bindings in the vi-insert
keymap beginning with an escape character
(probably cursor keys), but leave the bind
ing for the escape character itself (proba
bly vi-cmd-mode). This is incompatible with
the option -R.
-s in-string out-string ...
Bind each in-string to each out-string.
When in-string is typed, out-string will be
pushed back and treated as input to the line
editor. When -R is also used, interpret the
in-strings as ranges.
in-string command ...
Bind each in-string to each command. When
-R is used, interpret the in-strings as
ranges.
[ in-string ]
List key bindings. If an in-string is spec
ified, the binding of that string in the
selected keymap is displayed. Otherwise,
all key bindings in the selected keymap are
displayed. (As a special case, if the -e or
-v option is used alone, the keymap is not
displayed - the implicit linking of keymaps
is the only thing that happens.)
When the option -p is used, the in-string
must be present. The listing shows all
bindings which have the given key sequence
as a prefix, not including any bindings for
the key sequence itself.
When the -L option is used, the list is in
the form of bindkey commands to create the
key bindings.
consists of two characters, with an optional `-' between
them. All characters between the two specified, inclu
sive, are bound as specified.
For either in-string or out-string, the following escape
sequences are recognised:
\a bell character
\b backspace
\e, \E escape
\f form feed
\n linefeed (newline)
\r carriage return
\t horizontal tab
\v vertical tab
\NNN character code in octal
\xNN character code in hexadecimal
\M[-]X character with meta bit set
\C[-]X control character
^X control character
In all other cases, `\' escapes the following character.
Delete is written as `^?'. Note that `\M^?' and `^\M?'
are not the same, and that (unlike emacs), the bindings
`\M-X' and `\eX' are entirely distinct, although they are
initialized to the same bindings by `bindkey -m'.
vared [ -Aache ] [ -p prompt ] [ -r rprompt ] name
The value of the parameter name is loaded into the
edit buffer, and the line editor is invoked. When
the editor exits, name is set to the string value
returned by the editor. When the -c flag is given,
the parameter is created if it doesn't already
exist. The -a flag may be given with -c to create
an array parameter, or the -A flag to create an
associative array. If the type of an existing
parameter does not match the type to be created,
the parameter is unset and recreated.
If an array or array slice is being edited, separa
tor characters as defined in $IFS will be shown
quoted with a backslash, as will backslashes them
selves. Conversely, when the edited text is split
into an array, a backslash quotes an immediately
following separator character or backslash; no
other special handling of backslashes, or any han
dling of quotes, is performed.
Individual elements of existing array or associa
tive array parameters may be edited by using sub
script syntax on name. New elements are created
automatically, even without -c.
be taken as the prompt to display at the left. If
the -r flag is given, the following string gives
the prompt to display at the right. If the -h flag
is specified, the history can be accessed from ZLE.
If the -e flag is given, typing ^D (Control-D) on
an empty line causes vared to exit immediately with
a non-zero return value.
zle -l [ -L | -a ] [ string ... ]
zle -D widget ...
zle -A old-widget new-widget
zle -N widget [ function ]
zle -C widget completion-widget function
zle -R [ -c ] [ display-string ] [ string ... ]
zle -M string
zle -U string
zle -I
zle widget [ -n num ] [ -N ] args ...
zle The zle builtin performs a number of different
actions concerning ZLE. Which operation it per
forms depends on its options:
-l [ -L | -a ]
List all existing user-defined widgets. If
the -L option is used, list in the form of
zle commands to create the widgets.
When combined with the -a option, all widget
names are listed, including the builtin
ones. In this case the -L option is ignored.
If at least one string is given, nothing
will be printed but the return status will
be zero if all strings are names of existing
widgets (or of user-defined widgets if the
-a flag is not given) and non-zero if at
least one string is not a name of an defined
widget.
-D widget ...
Delete the named widgets.
-A old-widget new-widget
Make the new-widget name an alias for
old-widget, so that both names refer to the
same widget. The names have equal standing;
if either is deleted, the other remains. If
there is already a widget with the new-wid
get name, it is deleted.
-N widget [ function ]
Create a user-defined widget. If there is
already a widget with the specified name, it
invoked from within the editor, the speci
fied shell function is called. If no func
tion name is specified, it defaults to the
same name as the widget. For further infor
mation, see the section Widgets in zsh
zle(1).
-C widget completion-widget function
Create a user-defined completion widget
named widget. The completion widget will
behave like the built-in completion-widget
whose name is given as completion-widget. To
generate the completions, the shell function
function will be called. For further infor
mation, see zshcompwid(1).
-R [ -c ] [ display-string ] [ string ... ]
Redisplay the command line; this is to be
called from within a user-defined widget to
allow changes to become visible. If a dis
play-string is given and not empty, this is
shown in the status line (immediately below
the line being edited).
If the optional strings are given they are
listed below the prompt in the same way as
completion lists are printed. If no strings
are given but the -c option is used such a
list is cleared.
Note that this option is only useful for
widgets that do not exit immediately after
using it because the strings displayed will
be erased immediately after return from the
widget.
This command can safely be called outside
user defined widgets; if zle is active, the
display will be refreshed, while if zle is
not active, the command has no effect. In
this case there will usually be no other
arguments. The status is zero if zle was
active, else one.
-M string
As with the -R option, the string will be
displayed below the command line; unlike the
-R option, the string will not be put into
the status line but will instead be printed
normally below the prompt. This means that
the string will still be displayed after the
widget returns (until it is overwritten by
subsequent commands).
This pushes the characters in the string
onto the input stack of ZLE. After the wid
get currently executed finishes ZLE will
behave as if the characters in the string
were typed by the user.
As ZLE uses a stack, if this option is used
repeatedly the last string pushed onto the
stack will be processed first. However, the
characters in each string will be processed
in the order in which they appear in the
string.
-I Unusually, this option is only useful out
side ordinary widget functions. It invali
dates the current zle display in preparation
for output; usually this will be from a trap
function. It has no effect if zle is not
active. When a trap exits, the shell checks
to see if the display needs restoring, hence
the following will print output in such a
way as not to disturb the line being edited:
TRAPUSR1() {
# Invalidate zle display
zle -I
# Show output
print Hello
}
Note that there are better ways of manipu
lating the display from within zle widgets.
In general, the trap function may need to
test whether zle is loaded before using this
method; if it is not, there is no point in
loading it specially since the line editor
will not be active.
The status is zero if zle was active, else
one.
widget [ -n num ] [ -N ] args ...
Invoke the specified widget. This can only
be done when ZLE is active; normally this
will be within a user-defined widget.
With the options -n and -N, the current
numerical argument will be saved and then
restored after the call to widget; `-n num'
sets the numerical argument temporarily to
num, while `-N' sets it to the default, i.e.
as if there were none.
widget. If it is a shell function, these
are passed down as positional parameters;
for builtin widgets it is up to the widget
in question what it does with them. Cur
rently arguments are only handled by the
incremental-search commands, the his
tory-search-forward and -backward and the
corresponding functions prefixed by vi-, and
by universal-argument. No error is flagged
if the command does not use the arguments,
or only uses some of them.
The return status reflects the success or
failure of the operation carried out by the
widget, or if it is a user-defined widget
the return status of the shell function.
A non-zero return status causes the shell to
beep when the widget exits, unless the BEEP
options was unset or the widget was called
via the zle command. Thus if a user defined
widget requires an immediate beep, it should
call the beep widget directly.
With no options and no arguments, only the return status
will be set. It is zero if ZLE is currently active and
widgets could be invoked using this builtin command and
non-zero if ZLE is not active.
WIDGETS
All actions in the editor are performed by `widgets'. A
widget's job is simply to perform some small action. The
ZLE commands that key sequences in keymaps are bound to
are in fact widgets. Widgets can be user-defined or built
in.
The standard widgets built in to ZLE are listed in Stan
dard Widgets below. Other built-in widgets can be defined
by other modules (see zshmodules(1)). Each built-in wid
get has two names: its normal canonical name, and the same
name preceded by a `.'. The `.' name is special: it can't
be rebound to a different widget. This makes the widget
available even when its usual name has been redefined.
User-defined widgets are defined using `zle -N', and
implemented as shell functions. When the widget is exe
cuted, the corresponding shell function is executed, and
can perform editing (or other) actions. It is recommended
that user-defined widgets should not have names starting
with `.'.
User-defined widgets, being implemented as shell func
tions, can execute any normal shell command. They can
also run other widgets (whether built-in or user-defined)
using the zle builtin command. The standard input of the
function is closed to prevent external commands from unin
tentionally blocking ZLE by reading from the terminal, but
read -k or read -q can be used to read characters.
Finally, they can examine and edit the ZLE buffer being
edited by reading and setting the special parameters
described below.
These special parameters are always available in widget
functions, but are not in any way special outside ZLE. If
they have some normal value outside ZLE, that value is
temporarily inaccessible, but will return when the widget
function exits. These special parameters in fact have
local scope, like parameters created in a function using
local.
Inside completion widgets and traps called while ZLE is
active, these parameters are available read-only.
BUFFER (scalar)
The entire contents of the edit buffer. If it is
written to, the cursor remains at the same offset,
unless that would put it outside the buffer.
BUFFERLINES
The number of screen lines needed for the edit
buffer currently displayed on screen (i.e. without
any changes to the preceding parameters done after
the last redisplay).
CURSOR (integer)
The offset of the cursor, within the edit buffer.
This is in the range 0 to $#BUFFER, and is by defi
nition equal to $#LBUFFER. Attempts to move the
cursor outside the buffer will result in the cursor
being moved to the appropriate end of the buffer.
HISTNO (integer)
The current history number.
KEYS (scalar)
The keys typed to invoke this widget, as a literal
string.
LASTWIDGET (scalar)
The name of the last widget that was executed.
LBUFFER (scalar)
The part of the buffer that lies to the left of the
cursor position. If it is assigned to, only that
remains between the new $LBUFFER and the old
$RBUFFER.
MARK (integer)
Like CURSOR, but for the mark.
NUMERIC (integer)
The numeric argument. If no numeric argument was
given, this parameter is unset. When this is set
inside a widget function, builtin widgets called
with the zle builtin command will use the value
assigned. If it is unset inside a widget function,
builtin widgets called behave as if no numeric
argument was given.
PENDING (integer)
The number of bytes pending for input, i.e. the
number of bytes which have already been typed and
can immediately be read. On systems where the shell
is not able to get this information, this parameter
will always have a value of zero.
PREBUFFER (scalar)
In a multi-line input at the secondary prompt, this
read-only parameter contains the contents of the
lines before the one the cursor is currently in.
RBUFFER (scalar)
The part of the buffer that lies to the right of
the cursor position. If it is assigned to, only
that part of the buffer is replaced, and the cursor
remains between the old $LBUFFER and the new
$RBUFFER.
WIDGET (scalar)
The name of the widget currently being executed.
STANDARD WIDGETS
The following is a list of all the standard widgets, and
their default bindings in emacs mode, vi command mode and
vi insert mode (the `emacs', `vicmd' and `viins' keymaps,
respectively).
Note that cursor keys are bound to movement keys in all
three keymaps; the shell assumes that the cursor keys send
the key sequences reported by the terminal-handling
library (termcap or terminfo). The key sequences shown in
the list are those based on the VT100, common on many mod
ern terminals, but in fact these are not necessarily
bound. In the case of the viins keymap, the initial
escape character of the sequences serves also to return to
the vicmd keymap: whether this happens is determined by
the KEYTIMEOUT parameter, see zshparam(1).
vi-backward-blank-word (unbound) (B) (unbound)
Move backward one word, where a word is defined as
a series of non-blank characters.
backward-char (^B ESC-[D) (unbound) (unbound)
Move backward one character.
vi-backward-char (unbound) (^H h ^?) (ESC-[D)
Move backward one character, without changing
lines.
backward-word (ESC-B ESC-b) (unbound) (unbound)
Move to the beginning of the previous word.
emacs-backward-word
Move to the beginning of the previous word.
vi-backward-word (unbound) (b) (unbound)
Move to the beginning of the previous word,
vi-style.
beginning-of-line (^A) (unbound) (unbound)
Move to the beginning of the line. If already at
the beginning of the line, move to the beginning of
the previous line, if any.
vi-beginning-of-line
Move to the beginning of the line, without changing
lines.
end-of-line (^E) (unbound) (unbound)
Move to the end of the line. If already at the end
of the line, move to the end of the next line, if
any.
vi-end-of-line (unbound) ($) (unbound)
Move to the end of the line. If an argument is
given to this command, the cursor will be moved to
the end of the line (argument - 1) lines down.
vi-forward-blank-word (unbound) (W) (unbound)
Move forward one word, where a word is defined as a
series of non-blank characters.
vi-forward-blank-word-end (unbound) (E) (unbound)
Move to the end of the current word, or, if at the
end of the current word, to the end of the next
word, where a word is defined as a series of
non-blank characters.
forward-char (^F ESC-[C) (unbound) (unbound)
Move forward one character.
Move forward one character.
vi-find-next-char (^X^F) (f) (unbound)
Read a character from the keyboard, and move to the
next occurrence of it in the line.
vi-find-next-char-skip (unbound) (t) (unbound)
Read a character from the keyboard, and move to the
position just before the next occurrence of it in
the line.
vi-find-prev-char (unbound) (F) (unbound)
Read a character from the keyboard, and move to the
previous occurrence of it in the line.
vi-find-prev-char-skip (unbound) (T) (unbound)
Read a character from the keyboard, and move to the
position just after the previous occurrence of it
in the line.
vi-first-non-blank (unbound) (^) (unbound)
Move to the first non-blank character in the line.
vi-forward-word (unbound) (w) (unbound)
Move forward one word, vi-style.
forward-word (ESC-F ESC-f) (unbound) (unbound)
Move to the beginning of the next word. The edi
tor's idea of a word is specified with the WORD
CHARS parameter.
emacs-forward-word
Move to the end of the next word.
vi-forward-word-end (unbound) (e) (unbound)
Move to the end of the next word.
vi-goto-column (ESC-|) (|) (unbound)
Move to the column specified by the numeric argu
ment.
vi-goto-mark (unbound) (`) (unbound)
Move to the specified mark.
vi-goto-mark-line (unbound) (') (unbound)
Move to beginning of the line containing the speci
fied mark.
vi-repeat-find (unbound) (;) (unbound)
Repeat the last vi-find command.
vi-rev-repeat-find (unbound) (,) (unbound)
Repeat the last vi-find command in the opposite
History Control
beginning-of-buffer-or-history (ESC-<) (unbound) (unbound)
Move to the beginning of the buffer, or if already
there, move to the first event in the history list.
beginning-of-line-hist
Move to the beginning of the line. If already at
the beginning of the buffer, move to the previous
history line.
beginning-of-history
Move to the first event in the history list.
down-line-or-history (^N ESC-[B) (j) (ESC-[B)
Move down a line in the buffer, or if already at
the bottom line, move to the next event in the his
tory list.
vi-down-line-or-history (unbound) (+) (unbound)
Move down a line in the buffer, or if already at
the bottom line, move to the next event in the his
tory list. Then move to the first non-blank char
acter on the line.
down-line-or-search
Move down a line in the buffer, or if already at
the bottom line, search forward in the history for
a line beginning with the first word in the buffer.
If called from a function by the zle command with
arguments, the first argument is taken as the
string for which to search, rather than the first
word in the buffer.
down-history (unbound) (^N) (unbound)
Move to the next event in the history list.
history-beginning-search-backward
Search backward in the history for a line beginning
with the current line up to the cursor. This
leaves the cursor in its original position.
end-of-buffer-or-history (ESC->) (unbound) (unbound)
Move to the end of the buffer, or if already there,
move to the last event in the history list.
end-of-line-hist
Move to the end of the line. If already at the end
of the buffer, move to the next history line.
end-of-history
Move to the last event in the history list.
Fetch the history line specified by the numeric
argument. This defaults to the current history
line (i.e. the one that isn't history yet).
history-incremental-search-backward (^R ^Xr) (unbound)
(unbound)
Search backward incrementally for a specified
string. The search is case-insensitive if the
search string does not have uppercase letters and
no numeric argument was given. The string may
begin with `^' to anchor the search to the begin
ning of the line.
A restricted set of editing functions is available
in the mini-buffer. An interrupt signal, as
defined by the stty setting, will stop the search
and go back to the original line. An undefined key
will have the same effect. The supported functions
are: backward-delete-char, vi-backward-delete-char,
clear-screen, redisplay, quoted-insert,
vi-quoted-insert, accept-and-hold,
accept-and-infer-next-history, accept-line and
accept-line-and-down-history.
magic-space just inserts a space. vi-cmd-mode tog
gles between the `main' and `vicmd' keymaps; the
`main' keymap (insert mode) will be selected ini
tially. history-incremental-search-backward will
get the next occurrence of the contents of the
mini-buffer. history-incremental-search-forward
inverts the sense of the search. vi-repeat-search
and vi-rev-repeat-search are similarly supported.
The direction of the search is indicated in the
mini-buffer.
Any multi-character string that is not bound to one
of the above functions will beep and interrupt the
search, leaving the last found line in the buffer.
Any single character that is not bound to one of
the above functions, or self-insert or
self-insert-unmeta, will have the same effect but
the function will be executed.
When called from a widget function by the zle com
mand, the incremental search commands can take a
string argument. This will be treated as a string
of keys, as for arguments to the bindkey command,
and used as initial input for the command. Any
characters in the string which are unused by the
incremental search will be silently ignored. For
example,
zle history-incremental-search-backward forceps
minibuffer containing the string `forceps'.
history-incremental-search-forward (^S ^Xs) (unbound)
(unbound)
Search forward incrementally for a specified
string. The search is case-insensitive if the
search string does not have uppercase letters and
no numeric argument was given. The string may
begin with `^' to anchor the search to the begin
ning of the line. The functions available in the
mini-buffer are the same as for history-incremen
tal-search-backward.
history-search-backward (ESC-P ESC-p) (unbound) (unbound)
Search backward in the history for a line beginning
with the first word in the buffer.
If called from a function by the zle command with
arguments, the first argument is taken as the
string for which to search, rather than the first
word in the buffer.
vi-history-search-backward (unbound) (/) (unbound)
Search backward in the history for a specified
string. The string may begin with `^' to anchor
the search to the beginning of the line.
A restricted set of editing functions is available
in the mini-buffer. An interrupt signal, as
defined by the stty setting, will stop the search.
The functions available in the mini-buffer are:
accept-line, backward-delete-char, vi-back
ward-delete-char, backward-kill-word, vi-back
ward-kill-word, clear-screen, redisplay,
quoted-insert and vi-quoted-insert.
vi-cmd-mode is treated the same as accept-line, and
magic-space is treated as a space. Any other char
acter that is not bound to self-insert or
self-insert-unmeta will beep and be ignored. If the
function is called from vi command mode, the bind
ings of the current insert mode will be used.
If called from a function by the zle command with
arguments, the first argument is taken as the
string for which to search, rather than the first
word in the buffer.
history-search-forward (ESC-N ESC-n) (unbound) (unbound)
Search forward in the history for a line beginning
with the first word in the buffer.
If called from a function by the zle command with
string for which to search, rather than the first
word in the buffer.
vi-history-search-forward (unbound) (?) (unbound)
Search forward in the history for a specified
string. The string may begin with `^' to anchor
the search to the beginning of the line. The func
tions available in the mini-buffer are the same as
for vi-history-search-backward. Argument handling
is also the same as for that command.
infer-next-history (^X^N) (unbound) (unbound)
Search in the history list for a line matching the
current one and fetch the event following it.
insert-last-word (ESC-_ ESC-.) (unbound) (unbound)
Insert the last word from the previous history
event at the cursor position. If a positive
numeric argument is given, insert that word from
the end of the previous history event. If the
argument is zero or negative insert that word from
the left (zero inserts the previous command word).
Repeating this command replaces the word just
inserted with the last word from the history event
prior to the one just used; numeric arguments can
be used in the same way to pick a word from that
event.
vi-repeat-search (unbound) (n) (unbound)
Repeat the last vi history search.
vi-rev-repeat-search (unbound) (N) (unbound)
Repeat the last vi history search, but in reverse.
up-line-or-history (^P ESC-[A) (k) (ESC-[A)
Move up a line in the buffer, or if already at the
top line, move to the previous event in the history
list.
vi-up-line-or-history (unbound) (-) (unbound)
Move up a line in the buffer, or if already at the
top line, move to the previous event in the history
list. Then move to the first non-blank character
on the line.
up-line-or-search
Move up a line in the buffer, or if already at the
top line, search backward in the history for a line
beginning with the first word in the buffer.
If called from a function by the zle command with
arguments, the first argument is taken as the
string for which to search, rather than the first
up-history (unbound) (^P) (unbound)
Move to the previous event in the history list.
history-beginning-search-forward
Search forward in the history for a line beginning
with the current line up to the cursor. This
leaves the cursor in its original position.
Modifying Text
vi-add-eol (unbound) (A) (unbound)
Move to the end of the line and enter insert mode.
vi-add-next (unbound) (a) (unbound)
Enter insert mode after the current cursor posi
tion, without changing lines.
backward-delete-char (^H ^?) (unbound) (unbound)
Delete the character behind the cursor.
vi-backward-delete-char (unbound) (X) (^H)
Delete the character behind the cursor, without
changing lines. If in insert mode, this won't
delete past the point where insert mode was last
entered.
backward-delete-word
Delete the word behind the cursor.
backward-kill-line
Kill from the beginning of the line to the cursor
position.
backward-kill-word (^W ESC-^H ESC-^?) (unbound) (unbound)
Kill the word behind the cursor.
vi-backward-kill-word (unbound) (unbound) (^W)
Kill the word behind the cursor, without going past
the point where insert mode was last entered.
capitalize-word (ESC-C ESC-c) (unbound) (unbound)
Capitalize the current word and move past it.
vi-change (unbound) (c) (unbound)
Read a movement command from the keyboard, and kill
from the cursor position to the endpoint of the
movement. Then enter insert mode. If the command
is vi-change, change the current line.
vi-change-eol (unbound) (C) (unbound)
Kill to the end of the line and enter insert mode.
Kill the current line and enter insert mode.
copy-region-as-kill (ESC-W ESC-w) (unbound) (unbound)
Copy the area from the cursor to the mark to the
kill buffer.
copy-prev-word (ESC-^_) (unbound) (unbound)
Duplicate the word to the left of the cursor.
copy-prev-shell-word (ESC-^_) (unbound) (unbound)
Like copy-prev-word, but the word is found by using
shell parsing, whereas copy-prev-word looks for
blanks. This makes a difference when the word is
quoted and contains spaces.
vi-delete (unbound) (d) (unbound)
Read a movement command from the keyboard, and kill
from the cursor position to the endpoint of the
movement. If the command is vi-delete, kill the
current line.
delete-char
Delete the character under the cursor.
vi-delete-char (unbound) (x) (unbound)
Delete the character under the cursor, without
going past the end of the line.
delete-word
Delete the current word.
down-case-word (ESC-L ESC-l) (unbound) (unbound)
Convert the current word to all lowercase and move
past it.
kill-word (ESC-D ESC-d) (unbound) (unbound)
Kill the current word.
gosmacs-transpose-chars
Exchange the two characters behind the cursor.
vi-indent (unbound) (>) (unbound)
Indent a number of lines.
vi-insert (unbound) (i) (unbound)
Enter insert mode.
vi-insert-bol (unbound) (I) (unbound)
Move to the first non-blank character on the line
and enter insert mode.
vi-join (^X^J) (J) (unbound)
Join the current line with the next one.
Kill from the cursor to the end of the line. If
already on the end of the line, kill the newline
character.
vi-kill-line (unbound) (unbound) (^U)
Kill from the cursor back to wherever insert mode
was last entered.
vi-kill-eol (unbound) (D) (unbound)
Kill from the cursor to the end of the line.
kill-region
Kill from the cursor to the mark.
kill-buffer (^X^K) (unbound) (unbound)
Kill the entire buffer.
kill-whole-line (^U) (unbound) (unbound)
Kill the current line.
vi-match-bracket (^X^B) (%) (unbound)
Move to the bracket character (one of {}, () or [])
that matches the one under the cursor. If the cur
sor is not on a bracket character, move forward
without going past the end of the line to find one,
and then go to the matching bracket.
vi-open-line-above (unbound) (O) (unbound)
Open a line above the cursor and enter insert mode.
vi-open-line-below (unbound) (o) (unbound)
Open a line below the cursor and enter insert mode.
vi-oper-swap-case
Read a movement command from the keyboard, and swap
the case of all characters from the cursor position
to the endpoint of the movement. If the movement
command is vi-oper-swap-case, swap the case of all
characters on the current line.
overwrite-mode (^X^O) (unbound) (unbound)
Toggle between overwrite mode and insert mode.
vi-put-before (unbound) (P) (unbound)
Insert the contents of the kill buffer before the
cursor. If the kill buffer contains a sequence of
lines (as opposed to characters), paste it above
the current line.
vi-put-after (unbound) (p) (unbound)
Insert the contents of the kill buffer after the
cursor. If the kill buffer contains a sequence of
lines (as opposed to characters), paste it below
quoted-insert (^V) (unbound) (unbound)
Insert the next character typed into the buffer
literally. An interrupt character will not be
inserted.
vi-quoted-insert (unbound) (unbound) (^Q ^V)
Display a `^' at the cursor position, and insert
the next character typed into the buffer literally.
An interrupt character will not be inserted.
quote-line (ESC-') (unbound) (unbound)
Quote the current line; that is, put a `'' charac
ter at the beginning and the end, and convert all
`'' characters to `'\'''.
quote-region (ESC-") (unbound) (unbound)
Quote the region from the cursor to the mark.
vi-replace (unbound) (R) (unbound)
Enter overwrite mode.
vi-repeat-change (unbound) (.) (unbound)
Repeat the last vi mode text modification. If a
count was used with the modification, it is remem
bered. If a count is given to this command, it
overrides the remembered count, and is remembered
for future uses of this command. The cut buffer
specification is similarly remembered.
vi-replace-chars (unbound) (r) (unbound)
Replace the character under the cursor with a char
acter read from the keyboard.
self-insert (printable characters) (unbound) (printable
charac ters and some control characters)
Insert a character into the buffer at the cursor
position.
self-insert-unmeta (ESC-^I ESC-^J ESC-^M) (unbound)
(unbound)
Insert a character into the buffer after stripping
the meta bit and converting ^M to ^J.
vi-substitute (unbound) (s) (unbound)
Substitute the next character(s).
vi-swap-case (unbound) (~) (unbound)
Swap the case of the character under the cursor and
move past it.
transpose-chars (^T) (unbound) (unbound)
Exchange the two characters to the left of the
ter under the cursor with the character to the
left.
transpose-words (ESC-T ESC-t) (unbound) (unbound)
Exchange the current word with the one before it.
vi-unindent (unbound) (<) (unbound)
Unindent a number of lines.
up-case-word (ESC-U ESC-u) (unbound) (unbound)
Convert the current word to all caps and move past
it.
yank (^Y) (unbound) (unbound)
Insert the contents of the kill buffer at the cur
sor position.
yank-pop (ESC-y) (unbound) (unbound)
Remove the text just yanked, rotate the kill-ring,
and yank the new top. Only works following yank or
yank-pop.
vi-yank (unbound) (y) (unbound)
Read a movement command from the keyboard, and copy
the region from the cursor position to the endpoint
of the movement into the kill buffer. If the com
mand is vi-yank, copy the current line.
vi-yank-whole-line (unbound) (Y) (unbound)
Copy the current line into the kill buffer.
vi-yank-eol
Copy the region from the cursor position to the end
of the line into the kill buffer. Arguably, this
is what Y should do in vi, but it isn't what it
actually does.
Arguments
digit-argument (ESC-0..ESC-9) (1-9) (unbound)
Start a new numeric argument, or add to the current
one. See also vi-digit-or-beginning-of-line. This
only works if bound to a key sequence ending in a
decimal digit.
Inside a widget function, a call to this function
treats the last key of the key sequence which
called the widget as the digit.
neg-argument (ESC--) (unbound) (unbound)
Changes the sign of the following argument.
universal-argument
Multiply the argument of the next command by 4.
integer (positive or negative), use that as the
argument for the next command. Thus digits cannot
be repeated using this command. For example, if
this command occurs twice, followed immediately by
forward-char, move forward sixteen spaces; if
instead it is followed by -2, then forward-char,
move backward two spaces.
Inside a widget function, if passed an argument,
i.e. `zle universal-argument num', the numerical
argument will be set to num; this is equivalent to
`NUMERIC=num'.
Completion
accept-and-menu-complete
In a menu completion, insert the current completion
into the buffer, and advance to the next possible
completion.
complete-word
Attempt completion on the current word.
delete-char-or-list (^D) (unbound) (unbound)
Delete the character under the cursor. If the cur
sor is at the end of the line, list possible com
pletions for the current word.
expand-cmd-path
Expand the current command to its full pathname.
expand-or-complete (TAB) (unbound) (TAB)
Attempt shell expansion on the current word. If
that fails, attempt completion.
expand-or-complete-prefix
Attempt shell expansion on the current word up to
cursor.
expand-history (ESC-space ESC-!) (unbound) (unbound)
Perform history expansion on the edit buffer.
expand-word (^X*) (unbound) (unbound)
Attempt shell expansion on the current word.
list-choices (ESC-^D) (^D =) (^D)
List possible completions for the current word.
list-expand (^Xg ^XG) (^G) (^G)
List the expansion of the current word.
magic-space
Perform history expansion and insert a space into
the buffer. This is intended to be bound to space.
Like complete-word, except that menu completion is
used. See the MENU_COMPLETE option.
menu-expand-or-complete
Like expand-or-complete, except that menu comple
tion is used.
reverse-menu-complete
Perform menu completion, like menu-complete, except
that if a menu completion is already in progress,
move to the previous completion rather than the
next.
end-of-list
When a previous completion displayed a list below
the prompt, this widget can be used to move the
prompt below the list.
Miscellaneous
accept-and-hold (ESC-A ESC-a) (unbound) (unbound)
Push the contents of the buffer on the buffer stack
and execute it.
accept-and-infer-next-history
Execute the contents of the buffer. Then search
the history list for a line matching the current
one and push the event following onto the buffer
stack.
accept-line (^J ^M) (^J ^M) (^J ^M)
Finish editing the buffer. Normally this causes
the buffer to be executed as a shell command.
accept-line-and-down-history (^O) (unbound) (unbound)
Execute the current line, and push the next history
event on the the buffer stack.
beep Beep, unless the BEEP option is unset.
vi-cmd-mode (^X^V) (unbound) (^[)
Enter command mode; that is, select the `vicmd'
keymap. Yes, this is bound by default in emacs
mode.
vi-caps-lock-panic
Hang until any lowercase key is pressed. This is
for vi users without the mental capacity to keep
track of their caps lock key (like the author).
clear-screen (^L ESC-^L) (^L) (^L)
Clear the screen and redraw the prompt.
Reads a key sequence, then prints the function
bound to that sequence.
exchange-point-and-mark (^X^X) (unbound) (unbound)
Exchange the cursor position with the position of
the mark.
execute-named-cmd (ESC-x) (unbound) (unbound)
Read the name of an editor command and execute it.
A restricted set of editing functions is available
in the mini-buffer. An interrupt signal, as
defined by the stty setting, will abort the func
tion. The allowed functions are: back
ward-delete-char, vi-backward-delete-char,
clear-screen, redisplay, quoted-insert,
vi-quoted-insert, backward-kill-word, vi-back
ward-kill-word, kill-whole-line, vi-kill-line,
backward-kill-line, list-choices,
delete-char-or-list, complete-word, accept-line,
expand-or-complete and expand-or-complete-prefix.
kill-region kills the last word, and vi-cmd-mode is
treated the same as accept-line. The space and tab
characters, if not bound to one of these functions,
will complete the name and then list the possibili
ties if the AUTO_LIST option is set. Any other
character that is not bound to self-insert or
self-insert-unmeta will beep and be ignored. The
bindings of the current insert mode will be used.
execute-last-named-cmd (ESC-z) (unbound) (unbound)
Redo the last function executed with exe
cute-named-cmd.
get-line (ESC-G ESC-g) (unbound) (unbound)
Pop the top line off the buffer stack and insert it
at the cursor position.
pound-insert (unbound) (#) (unbound)
If there is no # character at the beginning of the
buffer, add one to the beginning of each line. If
there is one, remove a # from each line that has
one. In either case, accept the current line. The
INTERACTIVE_COMMENTS option must be set for this to
have any usefulness.
vi-pound-insert
If there is no # character at the beginning of the
current line, add one. If there is one, remove it.
The INTERACTIVE_COMMENTS option must be set for
this to have any usefulness.
Push the entire current multiline construct onto
the buffer stack and return to the top-level (PS1)
prompt. If the current parser construct is only a
single line, this is exactly like push-line. Next
time the editor starts up or is popped with
get-line, the construct will be popped off the top
of the buffer stack and loaded into the editing
buffer.
push-line (^Q ESC-Q ESC-q) (unbound) (unbound)
Push the current buffer onto the buffer stack and
clear the buffer. Next time the editor starts up,
the buffer will be popped off the top of the buffer
stack and loaded into the editing buffer.
push-line-or-edit
At the top-level (PS1) prompt, equivalent to
push-line. At a secondary (PS2) prompt, move the
entire current multiline construct into the editor
buffer. The latter is equivalent to push-input
followed by get-line.
redisplay (unbound) (^R) (^R)
Redisplays the edit buffer.
send-break (^G ESC-^G) (unbound) (unbound)
Abort the current editor function, e.g. exe
cute-named-command, or the editor itself, e.g. if
you are in vared. Otherwise abort the parsing of
the current line.
run-help (ESC-H ESC-h) (unbound) (unbound)
Push the buffer onto the buffer stack, and execute
the command `run-help cmd', where cmd is the cur
rent command. run-help is normally aliased to man.
vi-set-buffer (unbound) (") (unbound)
Specify a buffer to be used in the following com
mand. There are 35 buffers that can be specified:
the 26 `named' buffers "a to "z and the nine
`queued' buffers "1 to "9. The named buffers can
also be specified as "A to "Z.
When a buffer is specified for a cut command, the
text being cut replaces the previous contents of
the specified buffer. If a named buffer is speci
fied using a capital, the newly cut text is
appended to the buffer instead of overwriting it.
If no buffer is specified for a cut command, "1 is
used, and the contents of "1 to "8 are each shifted
along one buffer; the contents of "9 is lost.
Set the specified mark at the cursor position.
set-mark-command (^@) (unbound) (unbound)
Set the mark at the cursor position.
spell-word (ESC-$ ESC-S ESC-s) (unbound) (unbound)
Attempt spelling correction on the current word.
undefined-key
This command is executed when a key sequence that
is not bound to any command is typed. By default
it beeps.
undo (^_ ^Xu ^X^U) (unbound) (unbound)
Incrementally undo the last text modification.
redo Incrementally redo undone text modifications.
vi-undo-change (unbound) (u) (unbound)
Undo the last text modification. If repeated, redo
the modification.
what-cursor-position (^X=) (unbound) (unbound)
Print the character under the cursor, its code as
an octal, decimal and hexadecimal number, the cur
rent cursor position within the buffer and the col
umn of the cursor in the current line.
where-is
Read the name of an editor command and and print
the listing of key sequences that invoke the speci
fied command.
which-command (ESC-?) (unbound) (unbound)
Push the buffer onto the buffer stack, and execute
the command `which-command cmd'. where cmd is the
current command. which-command is normally aliased
to whence.
vi-digit-or-beginning-of-line (unbound) (0) (unbound)
If the last command executed was a digit as part of
an argument, continue the argument. Otherwise,
execute vi-beginning-of-line.
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