ZSHZLE(1)
NAME
zshzle - zsh command line editor
DESCRIPTION
If the ZLE option is set (it is by default) and the shell
input is attached to the terminal, the user is allowed 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 the shell.
Bindings
Command bindings may be set using the bindkey builtin.
There are two keymaps-the main keymap and the alternate
keymap. The alternate keymap is bound to vi command mode.
The main keymap is bound to emacs mode by default. To
bind the main keymap to vi insert mode, use bindkey -v.
However, if one of the VISUAL or EDITOR environment vari-
ables contain the string vi when the shell starts up the
main keymap will be bound to vi insert mode by default.
The following is a list of all the key commands and their
default bindings in emacs mode, vi command mode and vi
insert mode.
Movement
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 ^?) (unbound)
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.
vi-forward-char (unbound) (space l) (unbound)
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
direction.
History
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) (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.
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.
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.
vi-fetch-history (unbound) (G) (unbound)
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 func-
tions 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 sup-
ported 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 toggles between the
main and alternate key bindings; the main key
bindings (insert mode) will be selected initially.
Any string that is bound to an out-string (via
bindkey -s) will behave as if out-string were typed
directly. Typing the binding of history-incremen-
tal-search-backward will get the next occurrence of
the contents of the mini-buffer. Typing the binding
of history-incremental-search-forward inverts the
sense of the search. vi-repeat-search and vi-rev-
repeat-search are similarly supported. The direc-
tion 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.
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.
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 func-
tions available in the mini-buffer are: accept-
line, vi-cmd-mode (treated the same as accept-
line), backward-delete-char, vi-backward-delete-
char, backward-kill-word, vi-backward-kill-word,
clear-screen, redisplay, magic-space (treated as a
space), quoted-insert and vi-quoted-insert. Any
string that is bound to an out-string (via bindkey
-s) will behave as if out-string were typed
directly. Any other character 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 bindings of the current insert mode will
be used.
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.
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.
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).
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) (unbound)
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.
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.
vi-change-whole-line (unbound) (S) (unbound)
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 behind the cursor.
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-line (^K) (unbound) (unbound)
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
cursor 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
the current line.
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 ' character
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)
Put a character in the buffer at the cursor posi-
tion.
self-insert-unmeta (ESC-^I ESC-^J ESC-^M) (unbound)
(unbound)
Put a character in 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 cur-
sor if at end of line, else exchange the character
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
cursor 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.
neg-argument (ESC--) (unbound) (unbound)
Changes the sign of the following argument.
universal-argument
Multiply the argument of the next command by 4.
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 upto
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.
menu-complete
Like complete-word, except that menu completion is
used. See the MENU_COMPLETE option below.
menu-expand-or-complete
Like expand-or-complete, except that menu comple-
tion is used.
reverse-menu-complete
See the MENU_COMPLETE option below.
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)
Execute the contents of the buffer.
accept-line-and-down-history (^O) (unbound) (unbound)
Execute the current line, and push the next history
event on the the buffer stack.
vi-cmd-mode (^X^V) (unbound) (^[)
Enter command mode; that is, use the alternate
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.
describe-key-briefly
Waits for a keypress then prints the function bound
to the pressed key.
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 function. The
allowed functions are: backward-delete-char, vi-
backward-delete-char, clear-screen, redisplay,
quoted-insert, vi-quoted-insert, kill-region (kills
the last word), backward-kill-word, vi-backward-
kill-word, kill-whole-line, vi-kill-line, backward-
kill-line, list-choices, delete-char-or-list, com-
plete-word, expand-or-complete, expand-or-complete-
prefix, accept-line and vi-cmd-mode (treated the
same as accept-line). The space and tab charac-
ters, if not bound to one of these functions, will
complete the name and then list the possibilities
if the AUTO_LIST option is set. Any string that is
bound to an out-string (via bindkey -s) will behave
as if out-string were typed directly. Any other
character 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.
execute-last-named-cmd (ESC-z) (unbound) (unbound)
Redo the last function executed with execute-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-input
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, eg. execute-
named-command, or the editor itself, eg. if you are
in vared. Otherwise abort the parsing of the cur-
rent 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 specified 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.
vi-set-mark (unbound) (m) (unbound)
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 (lots o' keys) (lots o' keys) (unbound)
Beep.
undo (^_ ^Xu ^X^U) (unbound) (unbound)
Incrementally undo the last text modification.
vi-undo-change (unbound) (u) (unbound)
Undo the last text modification. If repeated, redo
the modification.
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.