Use keyboard shortcuts at the command line

by Vincent Danen | Feb 03, 2005 8:00:00 AM

Tags: Linux, Vincent Danen, keyboard shortcut, keyboard, Ctrl, Linux Tips Newsletter

Takeaway: The bash shell gives you flexibility at the command line for editing. Have a look at these examples.

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The bash shell offers a lot of power for interacting with the command line. By default, the shell uses an Emacs-like mode to edit lines, which you can change to a vi-like mode. The mode you choose largely depends on which editor you're most comfortable with.

For example, when using the default Emacs-like mode, you can use a number of [Ctrl] or [Esc] key combinations to navigate and manipulate text when you're working on a lengthy command. Here's a list of some of your options:

• Press [Ctrl]B to move backward one character.
• Press [Ctrl]F to move forward one character.
• Press [Esc]B to move one word backward.
• Press [Esc]F to move one word forward.
• Press [Ctrl]A to move to the first character in the line.
• Press [Ctrl]E to move to the end of the line.
• Press [Ctrl]U to delete the current line.
• Press [Ctrl]K to delete from the cursor's current position to the end of the line.

You can also use a command to search through your history. Press [Ctrl]R to perform a reverse search through your history for a given command. When you've located the command, press [Enter] to reexecute it, or edit the command to change it.

If you frequently work from the command line, using these shortcuts can save you a lot of time.