Use the terminal in vi-mode

2 min read · shell vim comfy readline python

Vi-Commands

Copy, move, and delete with vi-keys.

1echo 'set editing-mode vi' >> ~/.inputrc
2echo 'set keymap vi-insert' >> ~/.inputrc
3exec bash

Try ls <C-n> and ls <C-p>

Use python in vi-mode

1echo 'export PYTHON_BASIC_REPL=true' >> ~/.bashrc
2exec bash

Alias Expansion

1echo '"\C- ": shell-expand-line' >> ~/.inputrc
2exec bash

Now you can expand all aliases with 'Control + Space'. Try just ls, then 'Control + Space'.

Glob Expansion (`*`)

1echo '"\C-x": glob-expand-word' >> ~/.inputrc
2exec bash
3ls *<C-x>

Are you sure you want to delete that?

1rm -r *<C-x>`

Clean up the Downloads folder:

1rm Downloads/*pdf<C-x>`

Arbitrary Commands

Make a keyboard shortcut to type anything. Use \n as a 'newline' character to automatically press <Return>.

1echo 'Control-y: "| lolcat\n"' >> ~/.inputrc
2exec bash
3ls<C-y>

Clear the screen and have a fresh look with C-l.

1Control-l: "\C-u clear -x && ls\n"
2exec bash
3cd /etc/<C-l>

Fix Globs!

If you put the vi-commands in the wrong place in .inputrc, they stop working. Put them at the start:

1sed '/ vi/d' ~/.inputrc
2sed -i '/ vi/d' ~/.inputrc
3
4sed '1 i set editing-mode vi' .inputrc 
5sed -i '1 i set editing-mode vi' ~/.inputrc 
6sed -i '2 i set keymap vi-insert' ~/.inputrc

Vi-sibility

The readline prompt becomes confusing if you don't remember if you're in insert or normal mode. But you can show the current mode in the prompt:

1echo 'set show-mode-in-prompt on' >> ~/.inputrc
2exec bash

Set new symbols for normal and insert mode:

1echo 'set vi-ins-mode-string "  "' >> ~/.inputrc
2echo 'set vi-cmd-mode-string " "' >> ~/.inputrc