readline - get a line from a user with editing
SYNOPSIS
#include <stdio.h>
#include <readline/readline.h>
#include <readline/history.h>
char *
readline (const char *prompt);
COPYRIGHT
Readline is Copyright (C) 1989-2001 by the Free Software
Foundation, Inc.
DESCRIPTION
readline will read a line from the terminal and return it,
using prompt as a prompt. If prompt is NULL or the empty
string, no prompt is issued. The line returned is allo
cated with malloc(3); the caller must free it when fin
ished. The line returned has the final newline removed,
so only the text of the line remains.
readline offers editing capabilities while the user is
entering the line. By default, the line editing commands
are similar to those of emacs. A vi-style line editing
interface is also available.
This manual page describes only the most basic use of
readline. Much more functionality is available; see The
GNU Readline Library and The GNU History Library for addi
tional information.
RETURN VALUE
readline returns the text of the line read. A blank line
returns the empty string. If EOF is encountered while
reading a line, and the line is empty, NULL is returned.
If an EOF is read with a non-empty line, it is treated as
a newline.
NOTATION
An emacs-style notation is used to denote keystrokes.
Control keys are denoted by C-key, e.g., C-n means Con
trol-N. Similarly, meta keys are denoted by M-key, so M-x
means Meta-X. (On keyboards without a meta key, M-x means
ESC x, i.e., press the Escape key then the x key. This
makes ESC the meta prefix. The combination M-C-x means
ESC-Control-x, or press the Escape key then hold the Con
trol key while pressing the x key.)
Readline commands may be given numeric arguments, which
normally act as a repeat count. Sometimes, however, it is
the sign of the argument that is significant. Passing a
negative argument to a command that acts in the forward
a backward direction. Commands whose behavior with argu
ments deviates from this are noted.
When a command is described as killing text, the text
deleted is saved for possible future retrieval (yanking).
The killed text is saved in a kill ring. Consecutive
kills cause the text to be accumulated into one unit,
which can be yanked all at once. Commands which do not
kill text separate the chunks of text on the kill ring.
INITIALIZATION FILE
Readline is customized by putting commands in an initial
ization file (the inputrc file). The name of this file is
taken from the value of the INPUTRC environment variable.
If that variable is unset, the default is ~/.inputrc.
When a program which uses the readline library starts up,
the init file is read, and the key bindings and variables
are set. There are only a few basic constructs allowed in
the readline init file. Blank lines are ignored. Lines
beginning with a # are comments. Lines beginning with a $
indicate conditional constructs. Other lines denote key
bindings and variable settings. Each program using this
library may add its own commands and bindings.
For example, placing
M-Control-u: universal-argument
or
C-Meta-u: universal-argument
into the inputrc would make M-C-u execute the readline
command universal-argument.
The following symbolic character names are recognized
while processing key bindings: DEL, ESC, ESCAPE, LFD, NEW
LINE, RET, RETURN, RUBOUT, SPACE, SPC, and TAB.
In addition to command names, readline allows keys to be
bound to a string that is inserted when the key is pressed
(a macro).
Key Bindings
The syntax for controlling key bindings in the inputrc
file is simple. All that is required is the name of the
command or the text of a macro and a key sequence to which
it should be bound. The name may be specified in one of
two ways: as a symbolic key name, possibly with Meta- or
Control- prefixes, or as a key sequence.
When using the form keyname:function-name or macro, key
name is the name of a key spelled out in English. For
example:
Meta-Rubout: backward-kill-word
Control-o: "> output"
In the above example, C-u is bound to the function univer
sal-argument, M-DEL is bound to the function back
ward-kill-word, and C-o is bound to run the macro
expressed on the right hand side (that is, to insert the
text ``> output'' into the line).
In the second form, "keyseq":function-name or macro, key
seq differs from keyname above in that strings denoting an
entire key sequence may be specified by placing the
sequence within double quotes. Some GNU Emacs style key
escapes can be used, as in the following example, but the
symbolic character names are not recognized.
"\C-u": universal-argument
"\C-x\C-r": re-read-init-file
"\e[11~": "Function Key 1"
In this example, C-u is again bound to the function uni
versal-argument. C-x C-r is bound to the function
re-read-init-file, and ESC [ 1 1 ~ is bound to insert the
text ``Function Key 1''.
The full set of GNU Emacs style escape sequences available
when specifying key sequences is
\C- control prefix
\M- meta prefix
\e an escape character
\\ backslash
\" literal ", a double quote
\' literal ', a single quote
In addition to the GNU Emacs style escape sequences, a
second set of backslash escapes is available:
\a alert (bell)
\b backspace
\d delete
\f form feed
\n newline
\r carriage return
\t horizontal tab
\v vertical tab
\nnn the character whose ASCII code is the octal
value nnn (one to three digits)
\xnnn the character whose ASCII code is the hex
adecimal value nnn (one to three digits)
When entering the text of a macro, single or double quotes
should be used to indicate a macro definition. Unquoted
text is assumed to be a function name. In the macro body,
the backslash escapes described above are expanded.
text, including " and '.
Bash allows the current readline key bindings to be dis
played or modified with the bind builtin command. The
editing mode may be switched during interactive use by
using the -o option to the set builtin command. Other
programs using this library provide similar mechanisms.
The inputrc file may be edited and re-read if a program
does not provide any other means to incorporate new bind
ings.
Variables
Readline has variables that can be used to further cus
tomize its behavior. A variable may be set in the inputrc
file with a statement of the form
set variable-name value
Except where noted, readline variables can take the values
On or Off (without regard to case). The variables and
their default values are:
bell-style (audible)
Controls what happens when readline wants to ring
the terminal bell. If set to none, readline never
rings the bell. If set to visible, readline uses a
visible bell if one is available. If set to audi
ble, readline attempts to ring the terminal's bell.
comment-begin (``#'')
The string that is inserted in vi mode when the
insert-comment command is executed. This command
is bound to M-# in emacs mode and to # in vi com
mand mode.
completion-ignore-case (Off)
If set to On, readline performs filename matching
and completion in a case-insensitive fashion.
completion-query-items (100)
This determines when the user is queried about
viewing the number of possible completions gener
ated by the possible-completions command. It may
be set to any integer value greater than or equal
to zero. If the number of possible completions is
greater than or equal to the value of this vari
able, the user is asked whether or not he wishes to
view them; otherwise they are simply listed on the
terminal.
convert-meta (On)
If set to On, readline will convert characters with
the eighth bit set to an ASCII key sequence by
stripping the eighth bit and prefixing it with an
escape character (in effect, using escape as the
meta prefix).
If set to On, readline will inhibit word comple
tion. Completion characters will be inserted into
the line as if they had been mapped to self-insert.
editing-mode (emacs)
Controls whether readline begins with a set of key
bindings similar to emacs or vi. editing-mode can
be set to either emacs or vi.
enable-keypad (Off)
When set to On, readline will try to enable the
application keypad when it is called. Some systems
need this to enable the arrow keys.
expand-tilde (Off)
If set to on, tilde expansion is performed when
readline attempts word completion.
horizontal-scroll-mode (Off)
When set to On, makes readline use a single line
for display, scrolling the input horizontally on a
single screen line when it becomes longer than the
screen width rather than wrapping to a new line.
input-meta (Off)
If set to On, readline will enable eight-bit input
(that is, it will not clear the eighth bit in the
characters it reads), regardless of what the termi
nal claims it can support. The name meta-flag is a
synonym for this variable.
isearch-terminators (``C-[ C-J'')
The string of characters that should terminate an
incremental search without subsequently executing
the character as a command. If this variable has
not been given a value, the characters ESC and C-J
will terminate an incremental search.
keymap (emacs)
Set the current readline keymap. The set of legal
keymap names is emacs, emacs-standard, emacs-meta,
emacs-ctlx, vi, vi-move, vi-command, and vi-insert.
vi is equivalent to vi-command; emacs is equivalent
to emacs-standard. The default value is emacs.
The value of editing-mode also affects the default
keymap.
mark-directories (On)
If set to On, completed directory names have a
slash appended.
mark-modified-lines (Off)
If set to On, history lines that have been modified
are displayed with a preceding asterisk (*).
output-meta (Off)
If set to On, readline will display characters with
the eighth bit set directly rather than as a meta-
prefixed escape sequence.
print-completions-horizontally (Off)
If set to On, readline will display completions
with matches sorted horizontally in alphabetical
order, rather than down the screen.
This alters the default behavior of the completion
functions. If set to on, words which have more
than one possible completion cause the matches to
be listed immediately instead of ringing the bell.
visible-stats (Off)
If set to On, a character denoting a file's type as
reported by stat(2) is appended to the filename
when listing possible completions.
Conditional Constructs
Readline implements a facility similar in spirit to the
conditional compilation features of the C preprocessor
which allows key bindings and variable settings to be per
formed as the result of tests. There are four parser
directives used.
$if The $if construct allows bindings to be made based
on the editing mode, the terminal being used, or
the application using readline. The text of the
test extends to the end of the line; no characters
are required to isolate it.
mode The mode= form of the $if directive is used
to test whether readline is in emacs or vi
mode. This may be used in conjunction with
the set keymap command, for instance, to set
bindings in the emacs-standard and emacs-
ctlx keymaps only if readline is starting
out in emacs mode.
term The term= form may be used to include termi
nal-specific key bindings, perhaps to bind
the key sequences output by the terminal's
function keys. The word on the right side
of the = is tested against the full name of
the terminal and the portion of the terminal
name before the first -. This allows sun to
match both sun and sun-cmd, for instance.
application
The application construct is used to include
application-specific settings. Each program
using the readline library sets the applica
tion name, and an initialization file can
test for a particular value. This could be
used to bind key sequences to functions use
ful for a specific program. For instance,
the following command adds a key sequence
that quotes the current or previous word in
Bash:
$if Bash
# Quote the current or previous word
$endif
$endif This command, as seen in the previous example, ter
minates an $if command.
$else Commands in this branch of the $if directive are
executed if the test fails.
$include
This directive takes a single filename as an argu
ment and reads commands and bindings from that
file. For example, the following directive would
read /etc/inputrc:
$include /etc/inputrc
SEARCHING
Readline provides commands for searching through the com
mand history for lines containing a specified string.
There are two search modes: incremental and non-incremen
tal.
Incremental searches begin before the user has finished
typing the search string. As each character of the search
string is typed, readline displays the next entry from the
history matching the string typed so far. An incremental
search requires only as many characters as needed to find
the desired history entry. To search backward in the his
tory for a particular string, type C-r. Typing C-s
searches forward through the history. The characters pre
sent in the value of the isearch-terminators variable are
used to terminate an incremental search. If that variable
has not been assigned a value the Escape and C-J charac
ters will terminate an incremental search. C-G will abort
an incremental search and restore the original line. When
the search is terminated, the history entry containing the
search string becomes the current line.
To find other matching entries in the history list, type
C-s or C-r as appropriate. This will search backward or
forward in the history for the next line matching the
search string typed so far. Any other key sequence bound
to a readline command will terminate the search and exe
cute that command. For instance, a newline will terminate
the search and accept the line, thereby executing the com
mand from the history list. A movement command will ter
minate the search, make the last line found the current
line, and begin editing.
Non-incremental searches read the entire search string
before starting to search for matching history lines. The
search string may be typed by the user or be part of the
contents of the current line.
The following is a list of the names of the commands and
the default key sequences to which they are bound. Com
mand names without an accompanying key sequence are
unbound by default.
In the following descriptions, point refers to the current
cursor position, and mark refers to a cursor position
saved by the set-mark command. The text between the point
and mark is referred to as the region.
Commands for Moving
beginning-of-line (C-a)
Move to the start of the current line.
end-of-line (C-e)
Move to the end of the line.
forward-char (C-f)
Move forward a character.
backward-char (C-b)
Move back a character.
forward-word (M-f)
Move forward to the end of the next word. Words
are composed of alphanumeric characters (letters
and digits).
backward-word (M-b)
Move back to the start of the current or previous
word. Words are composed of alphanumeric charac
ters (letters and digits).
clear-screen (C-l)
Clear the screen leaving the current line at the
top of the screen. With an argument, refresh the
current line without clearing the screen.
redraw-current-line
Refresh the current line.
Commands for Manipulating the History
accept-line (Newline, Return)
Accept the line regardless of where the cursor is.
If this line is non-empty, it may be added to the
history list for future recall with add_history().
If the line is a modified history line, the history
line is restored to its original state.
previous-history (C-p)
Fetch the previous command from the history list,
moving back in the list.
next-history (C-n)
Fetch the next command from the history list, mov
ing forward in the list.
beginning-of-history (M-<)
Move to the first line in the history.
end-of-history (M->)
Move to the end of the input history, i.e., the
line currently being entered.
Search backward starting at the current line and
moving `up' through the history as necessary. This
is an incremental search.
forward-search-history (C-s)
Search forward starting at the current line and
moving `down' through the history as necessary.
This is an incremental search.
non-incremental-reverse-search-history (M-p)
Search backward through the history starting at the
current line using a non-incremental search for a
string supplied by the user.
non-incremental-forward-search-history (M-n)
Search forward through the history using a non-
incremental search for a string supplied by the
user.
history-search-forward
Search forward through the history for the string
of characters between the start of the current line
and the current cursor position (the point). This
is a non-incremental search.
history-search-backward
Search backward through the history for the string
of characters between the start of the current line
and the point. This is a non-incremental search.
yank-nth-arg (M-C-y)
Insert the first argument to the previous command
(usually the second word on the previous line) at
point. With an argument n, insert the nth word
from the previous command (the words in the previ
ous command begin with word 0). A negative argu
ment inserts the nth word from the end of the pre
vious command.
yank-last-arg (M-., M-_)
Insert the last argument to the previous command
(the last word of the previous history entry).
With an argument, behave exactly like yank-nth-arg.
Successive calls to yank-last-arg move back through
the history list, inserting the last argument of
each line in turn.
Commands for Changing Text
delete-char (C-d)
Delete the character at point. If point is at the
beginning of the line, there are no characters in
the line, and the last character typed was not
bound to delete-char, then return EOF.
backward-delete-char (Rubout)
Delete the character behind the cursor. When given
a numeric argument, save the deleted text on the
kill ring.
forward-backward-delete-char
Delete the character under the cursor, unless the
cursor is at the end of the line, in which case the
quoted-insert (C-q, C-v)
Add the next character that you type to the line
verbatim. This is how to insert characters like
C-q, for example.
tab-insert (M-TAB)
Insert a tab character.
self-insert (a, b, A, 1, !, ...)
Insert the character typed.
transpose-chars (C-t)
Drag the character before point forward over the
character at point, moving point forward as well.
If point is at the end of the line, then this
transposes the two characters before point. Nega
tive arguments have no effect.
transpose-words (M-t)
Drag the word before point past the word after
point, moving point over that word as well.
upcase-word (M-u)
Uppercase the current (or following) word. With a
negative argument, uppercase the previous word, but
do not move point.
downcase-word (M-l)
Lowercase the current (or following) word. With a
negative argument, lowercase the previous word, but
do not move point.
capitalize-word (M-c)
Capitalize the current (or following) word. With a
negative argument, capitalize the previous word,
but do not move point.
Killing and Yanking
kill-line (C-k)
Kill the text from point to the end of the line.
backward-kill-line (C-x Rubout)
Kill backward to the beginning of the line.
unix-line-discard (C-u)
Kill backward from point to the beginning of the
line. The killed text is saved on the kill-ring.
kill-whole-line
Kill all characters on the current line, no matter
where point is.
kill-word (M-d)
Kill from point the end of the current word, or if
between words, to the end of the next word. Word
boundaries are the same as those used by for
ward-word.
backward-kill-word (M-Rubout)
Kill the word behind point. Word boundaries are
the same as those used by backward-word.
unix-word-rubout (C-w)
Kill the word behind point, using white space as a
word boundary. The killed text is saved on the
kill-ring.
Delete all spaces and tabs around point.
kill-region
Kill the text between the point and mark (saved
cursor position). This text is referred to as the
region.
copy-region-as-kill
Copy the text in the region to the kill buffer.
copy-backward-word
Copy the word before point to the kill buffer. The
word boundaries are the same as backward-word.
copy-forward-word
Copy the word following point to the kill buffer.
The word boundaries are the same as forward-word.
yank (C-y)
Yank the top of the kill ring into the buffer at
point.
yank-pop (M-y)
Rotate the kill ring, and yank the new top. Only
works following yank or yank-pop.
Numeric Arguments
digit-argument (M-0, M-1, ..., M--)
Add this digit to the argument already accumulat
ing, or start a new argument. M-- starts a nega
tive argument.
universal-argument
This is another way to specify an argument. If
this command is followed by one or more digits,
optionally with a leading minus sign, those digits
define the argument. If the command is followed by
digits, executing universal-argument again ends the
numeric argument, but is otherwise ignored. As a
special case, if this command is immediately fol
lowed by a character that is neither a digit or
minus sign, the argument count for the next command
is multiplied by four. The argument count is ini
tially one, so executing this function the first
time makes the argument count four, a second time
makes the argument count sixteen, and so on.
Completing
complete (TAB)
Attempt to perform completion on the text before
point. The actual completion performed is applica
tion-specific. Bash, for instance, attempts com
pletion treating the text as a variable (if the
text begins with $), username (if the text begins
with ~), hostname (if the text begins with @), or
command (including aliases and functions) in turn.
If none of these produces a match, filename comple
tion is attempted. Gdb, on the other hand, allows
completion of program functions and variables, and
only attempts filename completion under certain
possible-completions (M-?)
List the possible completions of the text before
point.
insert-completions (M-*)
Insert all completions of the text before point
that would have been generated by possible-comple
tions.
menu-complete
Similar to complete, but replaces the word to be
completed with a single match from the list of pos
sible completions. Repeated execution of menu-com
plete steps through the list of possible comple
tions, inserting each match in turn. At the end of
the list of completions, the bell is rung (subject
to the setting of Bbell-style) and the original
text is restored. An argument of n moves n posi
tions forward in the list of matches; a negative
argument may be used to move backward through the
list. This command is intended to be bound to TAB,
but is unbound by default.
delete-char-or-list
Deletes the character under the cursor if not at
the beginning or end of the line (like delete-
char). If at the end of the line, behaves identi
cally to possible-completions.
Keyboard Macros
start-kbd-macro (C-x ()
Begin saving the characters typed into the current
keyboard macro.
end-kbd-macro (C-x ))
Stop saving the characters typed into the current
keyboard macro and store the definition.
call-last-kbd-macro (C-x e)
Re-execute the last keyboard macro defined, by mak
ing the characters in the macro appear as if typed
at the keyboard.
Miscellaneous
re-read-init-file (C-x C-r)
Read in the contents of the inputrc file, and
incorporate any bindings or variable assignments
found there.
abort (C-g)
Abort the current editing command and ring the ter
minal's bell (subject to the setting of
bell-style).
do-uppercase-version (M-a, M-b, M-x, ...)
If the metafied character x is lowercase, run the
command that is bound to the corresponding upper
case character.
prefix-meta (ESC)
Metafy the next character typed. ESC f is
undo (C-_, C-x C-u)
Incremental undo, separately remembered for each
line.
revert-line (M-r)
Undo all changes made to this line. This is like
executing the undo command enough times to return
the line to its initial state.
tilde-expand (M-&)
Perform tilde expansion on the current word.
set-mark (C-@, M-<space>)
Set the mark to the point. If a numeric argument
is supplied, the mark is set to that position.
exchange-point-and-mark (C-x C-x)
Swap the point with the mark. The current cursor
position is set to the saved position, and the old
cursor position is saved as the mark.
character-search (C-])
A character is read and point is moved to the next
occurrence of that character. A negative count
searches for previous occurrences.
character-search-backward (M-C-])
A character is read and point is moved to the pre
vious occurrence of that character. A negative
count searches for subsequent occurrences.
insert-comment (M-#)
The value of the readline comment-begin variable is
inserted at the beginning of the current line, and
the line is accepted as if a newline had been
typed. The default value of comment-begin makes
the current line a shell comment.
dump-functions
Print all of the functions and their key bindings
to the readline output stream. If a numeric argu
ment is supplied, the output is formatted in such a
way that it can be made part of an inputrc file.
dump-variables
Print all of the settable variables and their val
ues to the readline output stream. If a numeric
argument is supplied, the output is formatted in
such a way that it can be made part of an inputrc
file.
dump-macros
Print all of the readline key sequences bound to
macros and the strings they ouput. If a numeric
argument is supplied, the output is formatted in
such a way that it can be made part of an inputrc
file.
emacs-editing-mode (C-e)
When in vi editing mode, this causes a switch to
emacs editing mode.
vi-editing-mode (M-C-j)
When in emacs editing mode, this causes a switch to
vi editing mode.
The following is a list of the default emacs and vi bind
ings. Characters with the eighth bit set are written as
M-<character>, and are referred to as metafied characters.
The printable ASCII characters not mentioned in the list
of emacs standard bindings are bound to the self-insert
function, which just inserts the given character into the
input line. In vi insertion mode, all characters not
specifically mentioned are bound to self-insert. Charac
ters assigned to signal generation by stty(1) or the ter
minal driver, such as C-Z or C-C, retain that function.
Upper and lower case metafied characters are bound to the
same function in the emacs mode meta keymap. The remain
ing characters are unbound, which causes readline to ring
the bell (subject to the setting of the bell-style vari
able).
Emacs Mode
Emacs Standard bindings
"C-@" set-mark
"C-A" beginning-of-line
"C-B" backward-char
"C-D" delete-char
"C-E" end-of-line
"C-F" forward-char
"C-G" abort
"C-H" backward-delete-char
"C-I" complete
"C-J" accept-line
"C-K" kill-line
"C-L" clear-screen
"C-M" accept-line
"C-N" next-history
"C-P" previous-history
"C-Q" quoted-insert
"C-R" reverse-search-history
"C-S" forward-search-history
"C-T" transpose-chars
"C-U" unix-line-discard
"C-V" quoted-insert
"C-W" unix-word-rubout
"C-Y" yank
"C-]" character-search
"C-_" undo
" " to "/" self-insert
"0" to "9" self-insert
":" to "~" self-insert
"C-?" backward-delete-char
Emacs Meta bindings
"M-C-G" abort
"M-C-H" backward-kill-word
"M-C-J" vi-editing-mode
"M-C-M" vi-editing-mode
"M-C-R" revert-line
"M-C-Y" yank-nth-arg
"M-C-[" complete
"M-C-]" character-search-backward
"M-space" set-mark
"M-#" insert-comment
"M-&" tilde-expand
"M-*" insert-completions
"M--" digit-argument
"M-." yank-last-arg
"M-0" digit-argument
"M-1" digit-argument
"M-2" digit-argument
"M-3" digit-argument
"M-4" digit-argument
"M-5" digit-argument
"M-6" digit-argument
"M-7" digit-argument
"M-8" digit-argument
"M-9" digit-argument
"M-<" beginning-of-history
"M-=" possible-completions
"M->" end-of-history
"M-?" possible-completions
"M-B" backward-word
"M-C" capitalize-word
"M-D" kill-word
"M-F" forward-word
"M-L" downcase-word
"M-N" non-incremental-forward-search-history
"M-P" non-incremental-reverse-search-history
"M-R" revert-line
"M-T" transpose-words
"M-U" upcase-word
"M-Y" yank-pop
"M-\" delete-horizontal-space
"M-~" tilde-expand
"M-C-?" backward-kill-word
"M-_" yank-last-arg
Emacs Control-X bindings
"C-XC-G" abort
"C-XC-R" re-read-init-file
"C-XC-U" undo
"C-XC-X" exchange-point-and-mark
"C-X(" start-kbd-macro
"C-X)" end-kbd-macro
"C-XE" call-last-kbd-macro
"C-XC-?" backward-kill-line
VI Insert Mode functions
"C-D" vi-eof-maybe
"C-H" backward-delete-char
"C-I" complete
"C-J" accept-line
"C-M" accept-line
"C-R" reverse-search-history
"C-S" forward-search-history
"C-T" transpose-chars
"C-U" unix-line-discard
"C-V" quoted-insert
"C-W" unix-word-rubout
"C-Y" yank
"C-[" vi-movement-mode
"C-_" undo
" " to "~" self-insert
"C-?" backward-delete-char
VI Command Mode functions
"C-D" vi-eof-maybe
"C-E" emacs-editing-mode
"C-G" abort
"C-H" backward-char
"C-J" accept-line
"C-K" kill-line
"C-L" clear-screen
"C-M" accept-line
"C-N" next-history
"C-P" previous-history
"C-Q" quoted-insert
"C-R" reverse-search-history
"C-S" forward-search-history
"C-T" transpose-chars
"C-U" unix-line-discard
"C-V" quoted-insert
"C-W" unix-word-rubout
"C-Y" yank
"C-_" vi-undo
" " forward-char
"#" insert-comment
"$" end-of-line
"%" vi-match
"&" vi-tilde-expand
"*" vi-complete
"+" next-history
"," vi-char-search
"-" previous-history
"." vi-redo
"/" vi-search
"0" beginning-of-line
"1" to "9" vi-arg-digit
"=" vi-complete
"?" vi-search
"A" vi-append-eol
"B" vi-prev-word
"C" vi-change-to
"D" vi-delete-to
"E" vi-end-word
"F" vi-char-search
"G" vi-fetch-history
"I" vi-insert-beg
"N" vi-search-again
"P" vi-put
"R" vi-replace
"S" vi-subst
"T" vi-char-search
"U" revert-line
"W" vi-next-word
"X" backward-delete-char
"Y" vi-yank-to
"\" vi-complete
"^" vi-first-print
"_" vi-yank-arg
"`" vi-goto-mark
"a" vi-append-mode
"b" vi-prev-word
"c" vi-change-to
"d" vi-delete-to
"e" vi-end-word
"f" vi-char-search
"h" backward-char
"i" vi-insertion-mode
"j" next-history
"k" prev-history
"l" forward-char
"m" vi-set-mark
"n" vi-search-again
"p" vi-put
"r" vi-change-char
"s" vi-subst
"t" vi-char-search
"u" vi-undo
"w" vi-next-word
"x" vi-delete
"y" vi-yank-to
"|" vi-column
"~" vi-change-case
SEE ALSO
The Gnu Readline Library, Brian Fox and Chet Ramey
The Gnu History Library, Brian Fox and Chet Ramey
bash(1)
~/.inputrc
Individual readline initialization file
AUTHORS
Brian Fox, Free Software Foundation
bfox@gnu.org
Chet Ramey, Case Western Reserve University
chet@ins.CWRU.Edu
BUG REPORTS
If you find a bug in readline, you should report it. But
first, you should make sure that it really is a bug, and
that it appears in the latest version of the readline
library that you have.
Once you have determined that a bug actually exists, mail
a bug report to bug-readline@gnu.org. If you have a fix,
you are welcome to mail that as well! Suggestions and
`philosophical' bug reports may be mailed to bug-read
line@gnu.org or posted to the Usenet newsgroup
gnu.bash.bug.
Comments and bug reports concerning this manual page
should be directed to chet@ins.CWRU.Edu.
BUGS
It's too big and too slow.
The info file is much more up-to-date. This man page con
flicts with it in a few places, but the conflicts will be
resolved in a future release of readline.
Man(1) output converted with
man2html