fish-shell/doc_src/bind.txt

\section bind bind - handle fish key bindings

\subsection bind-synopsis Synopsis
<tt>bind [OPTIONS] SEQUENCE COMMAND</tt>

\subsection bind-description Description

<tt>bind</tt> adds a binding for the specified key sequence to the
specified command.

SEQUENCE is the character sequence to bind to. These should be written as
<a href="index.html#escapes">fish escape sequences</a>. For example, because pressing
the Alt key and another character sends that character prefixed with
an escape character, Alt-based key bindings can be written using the
\c \\e escape. For example, Alt-w can be written as
<tt>\\ew</tt>. The control character can be written in much the same way
using the \c \\c escape, for example Control-x (^X) can be written as
<tt>\\cx</tt>. Note that Alt-based key bindings are case sensitive and
Control-based key bindings are not. This is a constraint of text-based
terminals, not \c fish.

The default key binding can be set by specifying a SEQUENCE of the empty
string (that is, <code>''</code>). It will be used whenever no
other binding matches. For most key bindings, it makes sense to use
the \c self-insert function (i.e. <tt>bind '' self-insert</tt> as the
default keybinding. This will insert any keystrokes not specifically
bound to into the editor. Non-printable characters are ignored by the
editor, so this will not result in control sequences being
printable.

If the -k switch is used, the name of the key (such as down, up or
backspace) is used instead of a sequence. The names used are the same
as the corresponding curses variables, but without the 'key_'
prefix. (See \c terminfo(5) for more information, or use <tt>bind
--key-names</tt> for a list of all available named keys.)

COMMAND can be any fish command, but it can also be one of a set of
special input functions. These include functions for moving the
cursor, operating on the kill-ring, performing tab completion,
etc. Use 'bind --function-names' for a complete list of these input
functions.

When COMMAND is a shellscript command, it is a good practice to put
the actual code into a <a href="#function">function</a> and simply
bind to the function name. This way it becomes significantly easier to
test the function while editing, and the result is usually more
readable as well.

If such a script produces output, the script needs to finish by
calling 'commandline -f repaint' in order to tell fish that a repaint
is in order.

Key bindings are not saved between sessions by default. To save custom
keybindings, edit the \c fish_user_key_bindings function and insert the
appropriate \c bind statements.

The following parameters are available:

- <tt>-k</tt> or <tt>--key</tt> Specify a key name, such as 'left' or 'backspace' instead of a character sequence
- <tt>-K</tt> or <tt>--key-names</tt> Display a list of available key names
- <tt>-f</tt> or <tt>--function-names</tt> Display a list of available input functions

The following special input functions are available:

- \c backward-char, moves one character to the left
- \c backward-delete-char, deletes one character of input to the left of the cursor
- \c backward-kill-line, move everything from the beginning of the line to the cursor to the killring
- \c backward-kill-word, move the word to the left of the cursor to the killring
- \c backward-word, move one word to the left
- \c beginning-of-history, move to the beginning of the history
- \c beginning-of-line, move to the beginning of the line
- \c capitalize-word, make the current word begin with a capital letter
- \c complete, guess the remainder of the current token
- \c delete-char, delete one character to the right of the cursor
- \c delete-line, delete the entire line
- \c downcase-word, make the current word lowercase
- \c dump-functions, print a list of all key-bindings
- \c end-of-history, move to the end of the history
- \c end-of-line, move to the end of the line
- \c explain, print a description of possible problems with the current command
- \c forward-char, move one character to the right
- \c forward-word, move one word to the right
- \c history-search-backward, search the history for the previous match
- \c history-search-forward, search the history for the next match
- \c kill-line, move everything from the cursor to the end of the line to the killring
- \c kill-whole-line, move the line to the killring
- \c kill-word, move the next word to the killring
- \c upcase-word, make the current word uppercase
- \c yank, insert the latest entry of the killring into the buffer
- \c yank-pop, rotate to the previous entry of the killring

\subsection bind-example Examples

<tt>bind \\cd 'exit'</tt> causes \c fish to exit when Control-d is pressed.

<tt>bind -k ppage history-search-backward</tt> performs a history search when the Page Up key is pressed.