Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)

FreeBSD Manual Pages

  
 
  

home | help
READLINE(3)		   Library Functions Manual		   READLINE(3)

NAME
       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) 1989-2004 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 is-
       sued.  The line returned	is allocated with malloc(3); the  caller  must
       free  it	 when  finished.   The line returned has the final newline re-
       moved, 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 additional 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 Control-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 Control 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 direction (e.g., kill-line) causes that command  to
       act  in	a  backward direction.	Commands whose behavior	with arguments
       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  initialization  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  de-
       fault  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 com-
       ments.	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 univer-
       sal-argument.

       The following symbolic character	names are recognized while  processing
       key  bindings:  DEL,  ESC,  ESCAPE,  LFD, NEWLINE, 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	speci-
       fied 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, keyname is the name
       of a key	spelled	out in English.	 For example:

	      Control-u: universal-argument
	      Meta-Rubout: backward-kill-word
	      Control-o: "> output"

       In the above example, C-u is bound to the function  universal-argument,
       M-DEL  is bound to the function backward-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,	keyseq 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 universal-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	speci-
       fying 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  eight-bit  character	whose value is the octal value
		     nnn (one to three digits)
	      \xHH   the eight-bit character whose value  is  the  hexadecimal
		     value HH (one or two hex 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.  Backslash will quote any other  character  in  the
       macro text, including " and '.

       Bash  allows the	current	readline key bindings to be displayed or modi-
       fied with the bind builtin command.  The	editing	mode may  be  switched
       during  interactive  use	by using the -o	option to the set builtin com-
       mand.  Other programs using this	library	 provide  similar  mechanisms.
       The  inputrc  file may be edited	and re-read if a program does not pro-
       vide any	other means to incorporate new bindings.

   Variables
       Readline	has variables that can be used to further customize its	behav-
       ior.  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 audible, 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 command 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 num-
	      ber of possible completions generated  by	 the  possible-comple-
	      tions  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 variable, 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).
       disable-completion (Off)
	      If set to	On, readline will inhibit word completion.  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 sim-
	      ilar 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 key-
	      pad when it is called.  Some systems need	this to	enable the ar-
	      row keys.
       expand-tilde (Off)
	      If set to	on, tilde expansion is	performed  when	 readline  at-
	      tempts word completion.
       history-preserve-point
	      If  set  to  on, the history code	attempts to place point	at the
	      same location on each history line retrived  with	 previous-his-
	      tory or next-history.
       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), re-
	      gardless of what the terminal 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  com-
	      mand.   If this variable has not been given a value, the charac-
	      ters 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 dis-
	      played with a preceding asterisk (*).
       mark-symlinked-directories (Off)
	      If set to	On, completed names which are symbolic links to	direc-
	      tories  have  a slash appended (subject to the value of mark-di-
	      rectories).
       match-hidden-files (On)
	      This variable, when set to On, causes readline  to  match	 files
	      whose  names  begin  with	 a  `.'	(hidden	files) when performing
	      filename completion, unless the leading `.' is supplied  by  the
	      user in the filename to be completed.
       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.
       page-completions	(On)
	      If set to	On, readline uses an internal more-like	pager to  dis-
	      play a screenful of possible completions at a time.
       print-completions-horizontally (Off)
	      If  set  to  On,	readline will display completions with matches
	      sorted horizontally in alphabetical order, rather	than down  the
	      screen.
       show-all-if-ambiguous (Off)
	      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.
       show-all-if-unmodified (Off)
	      This alters the default behavior of the completion functions  in
	      a	fashion	similar	to show-all-if-ambiguous.  If set to on, words
	      which have more than one possible	completion without any	possi-
	      ble  partial  completion (the possible completions don't share a
	      common prefix) cause the matches to be  listed  immediately  in-
	      stead 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  com-
	      pletions.

   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 performed	as the result of tests.	 There
       are four	parser directives used.

       $if    The $if construct	allows bindings	to be made based on the	 edit-
	      ing  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 in-
		     stance, 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  terminal-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 in-
		     stance.

	      application
		     The application construct is used to include application-
		     specific  settings.   Each	program	using the readline li-
		     brary sets	the application	name,  and  an	initialization
		     file can test for a particular value.  This could be used
		     to	bind key sequences to functions	useful 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
		     "\C-xq": "\eb\"\ef\""
		     $endif

       $endif This command, as seen in the previous example, terminates	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 argument and reads
	      commands and bindings from that file.  For example, the  follow-
	      ing directive would read /etc/inputrc:

	      $include	/etc/inputrc

SEARCHING
       Readline	 provides  commands  for searching through the command history
       for lines containing a specified	string.	 There are two	search	modes:
       incremental and non-incremental.

       Incremental  searches  begin  before  the  user has finished typing the
       search string.  As each character of the	search string is typed,	 read-
       line 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
       history for a particular	string,	type C-r.  Typing C-s searches forward
       through	the  history.	The  characters	 present  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 characters 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  command  from  the  history
       list.  A	movement command will terminate	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.

EDITING	COMMANDS
       The following is	a list of the names of the commands  and  the  default
       key sequences to	which they are bound.  Command names without an	accom-
       panying key sequence are	unbound	by default.

       In the following	descriptions, point refers to the current cursor posi-
       tion,  and  mark	refers to a cursor position saved by the set-mark com-
       mand.  The text between the point and mark is referred to  as  the  re-
       gion.

   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 characters (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 re-
	      call  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, moving 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.
       reverse-search-history (C-r)
	      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 po-
	      sition (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
	      previous	command	 begin	with word 0).  A negative argument in-
	      serts the	nth word from the end of the previous 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 ex-
	      actly 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 character behind the cur-
	      sor is deleted.
       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.
	      Negative 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.  If	point is at  the  end  of  the
	      line, this transposes the	last two words on the line.
       upcase-word (M-u)
	      Uppercase	 the current (or following) word.  With	a negative ar-
	      gument, uppercase	the previous word, but do not move point.
       downcase-word (M-l)
	      Lowercase	the current (or	following) word.  With a negative  ar-
	      gument, lowercase	the previous word, but do not move point.
       capitalize-word (M-c)
	      Capitalize the current (or following) word.  With	a negative ar-
	      gument, capitalize the previous word, but	do not move point.
       overwrite-mode
	      Toggle overwrite mode.  With an explicit positive	numeric	 argu-
	      ment, switches to	overwrite mode.	 With an explicit non-positive
	      numeric argument,	switches to insert mode.  This command affects
	      only  emacs mode;	vi mode	does overwrite differently.  Each call
	      to readline() starts in insert mode.  In overwrite mode, charac-
	      ters  bound to self-insert replace the text at point rather than
	      pushing the text	to  the	 right.	  Characters  bound  to	 back-
	      ward-delete-char	replace	 the  character	 before	 point	with a
	      space.  By default, this command is unbound.

   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 forward-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	bound-
	      ary.  The	killed text is saved on	the kill-ring.
       unix-filename-rubout
	      Kill the word behind point, using	 white	space  and  the	 slash
	      character	 as  the word boundaries.  The killed text is saved on
	      the kill-ring.
       delete-horizontal-space (M-\)
	      Delete all spaces	and tabs around	point.
       kill-region
	      Kill the text between the	point and  mark	 (saved	 cursor	 posi-
	      tion).  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	bound-
	      aries 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 follow-
	      ing yank or yank-pop.

   Numeric Arguments
       digit-argument (M-0, M-1, ..., M--)
	      Add this digit to	the argument already accumulating, or start  a
	      new argument.  M-- starts	a negative 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 fol-
	      lowed by digits, executing universal-argument again ends the nu-
	      meric argument, but is otherwise ignored.	 As a special case, if
	      this command is immediately followed by a	character that is nei-
	      ther a digit or minus sign, the argument count for the next com-
	      mand is multiplied by four.  The	argument  count	 is  initially
	      one,  so	executing this function	the first time makes the argu-
	      ment 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 ac-
	      tual completion performed	is  application-specific.   Bash,  for
	      instance,	 attempts  completion  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	completion  is	attempted.   Gdb, on the other
	      hand, allows completion of program functions and variables,  and
	      only attempts filename completion	under certain circumstances.
       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-completions.
       menu-complete
	      Similar to complete, but replaces	the word to be completed  with
	      a	 single	match from the list of possible	completions.  Repeated
	      execution	of menu-complete steps through the  list  of  possible
	      completions,  inserting  each  match in turn.  At	the end	of the
	      list of completions, the bell is rung (subject to	the setting of
	      bell-style) and the original text	is restored.  An argument of n
	      moves n positions	forward	in the list of matches;	a negative ar-
	      gument may be used to move backward through the list.  This com-
	      mand 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 identically	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 making the	 char-
	      acters 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  terminal'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 uppercase character.
       prefix-meta (ESC)
	      Metafy the next character	typed.	ESC f is equivalent to Meta-f.
       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	occur-
	      rences.
       character-search-backward (M-C-])
	      A	 character  is	read and point is moved	to the previous	occur-
	      rence of that character.	A negative count searches  for	subse-
	      quent occurrences.
       insert-comment (M-#)
	      Without  a  numeric  argument,  the  value  of the readline com-
	      ment-begin variable is inserted at the beginning of the  current
	      line.  If	a numeric argument is supplied,	this command acts as a
	      toggle:  if the characters at the	beginning of the line  do  not
	      match  the value of comment-begin, the value is inserted,	other-
	      wise the characters in comment-begin are deleted from the	begin-
	      ning  of the line.  In either case, the line is accepted as if a
	      newline had been typed.	The  default  value  of	 comment-begin
	      makes  the  current line a shell comment.	 If a numeric argument
	      causes the comment character to be removed, the line will	be ex-
	      ecuted by	the shell.
       dump-functions
	      Print  all  of the functions and their key bindings to the read-
	      line output stream.  If a	numeric	argument is supplied, the out-
	      put  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  values  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 output.  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 command 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.

DEFAULT	KEY BINDINGS
       The following is	a list of the default emacs and	vi bindings.   Charac-
       ters  with the eighth bit set are written as M-<character>, and are re-
       ferred 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 men-
       tioned are bound	to self-insert.	 Characters assigned to	signal genera-
       tion by stty(1) or the terminal 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 remaining characters
       are unbound, which causes readline to ring the  bell  (subject  to  the
       setting of the bell-style variable).

   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-I"  tab-insert
	     "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 Mode bindings
	     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-char-search
	     "="  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)

FILES
       ~/.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-readline@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.

GNU Readline 5.0		2004 January 28			   READLINE(3)

NAME | SYNOPSIS | COPYRIGHT | DESCRIPTION | RETURN VALUE | NOTATION | INITIALIZATION FILE | SEARCHING | EDITING COMMANDS | DEFAULT KEY BINDINGS | SEE ALSO | FILES | AUTHORS | BUG REPORTS | BUGS

Want to link to this manual page? Use this URL:
<https://man.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=readline&sektion=3&manpath=FreeBSD+6.0-RELEASE>

home | help