diff --git a/crates/nu-cli/src/cli.rs b/crates/nu-cli/src/cli.rs
index b7d48c4f61..4cf9508a85 100644
--- a/crates/nu-cli/src/cli.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-cli/src/cli.rs
@@ -555,6 +555,13 @@ pub async fn cli() -> Result<(), Box<dyn Error>> {
 
         rl.set_edit_mode(edit_mode);
 
+        let key_timeout = config::config(Tag::unknown())?
+            .get("key_timeout")
+            .map(|s| s.value.expect_int())
+            .unwrap_or(1);
+
+        rl.set_keyseq_timeout(key_timeout as i32);
+
         let completion_mode = config::config(Tag::unknown())?
             .get("completion_mode")
             .map(|s| match s.value.expect_string() {
diff --git a/crates/nu-protocol/src/value.rs b/crates/nu-protocol/src/value.rs
index 286ae4cb7f..202637a0d6 100644
--- a/crates/nu-protocol/src/value.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-protocol/src/value.rs
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ use indexmap::IndexMap;
 use nu_errors::ShellError;
 use nu_source::{AnchorLocation, HasSpan, Span, Spanned, Tag};
 use num_bigint::BigInt;
+use num_traits::ToPrimitive;
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use std::path::PathBuf;
 use std::time::SystemTime;
@@ -122,6 +123,19 @@ impl UntaggedValue {
         }
     }
 
+    /// Expect this value to be an integer and return it
+    pub fn expect_int(&self) -> i64 {
+        let big_int = match self {
+            UntaggedValue::Primitive(Primitive::Int(int)) => Some(int),
+            _ => None,
+        };
+
+        match big_int.and_then(|i| i.to_i64()) {
+            Some(i) => i,
+            _ => panic!("expect_int assumes that the value must be a integer"),
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Helper for creating row values
     pub fn row(entries: IndexMap<String, Value>) -> UntaggedValue {
         UntaggedValue::Row(entries.into())
diff --git a/docs/commands/config.md b/docs/commands/config.md
index 1cc3781297..8e1880f375 100644
--- a/docs/commands/config.md
+++ b/docs/commands/config.md
@@ -29,14 +29,15 @@ Syntax: `config {flags}`
 
 ### Variables
 
-| Variable        | Type                 | Description                                                    |
-| --------------- | -------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| path            | table of strings     | PATH to use to find binaries                                   |
-| env             | row                  | the environment variables to pass to external commands         |
-| ctrlc_exit      | boolean              | whether or not to exit Nu after multiple ctrl-c presses        |
-| table_mode      | "light" or other     | enable lightweight or normal tables                            |
-| edit_mode       | "vi" or "emacs"      | changes line editing to "vi" or "emacs" mode                   |
-| completion_mode | "circular" or "list" | changes completion type to "circular" (default) or "list" mode |
+| Variable        | Type                   | Description                                                    |
+| --------------- | ---------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| path            | table of strings       | PATH to use to find binaries                                   |
+| env             | row                    | the environment variables to pass to external commands         |
+| ctrlc_exit      | boolean                | whether or not to exit Nu after multiple ctrl-c presses        |
+| table_mode      | "light" or other       | enable lightweight or normal tables                            |
+| edit_mode       | "vi" or "emacs"        | changes line editing to "vi" or "emacs" mode                   |
+| key_timeout     | integer (milliseconds) | vi: the delay to wait for a longer key sequence after ESC      |
+| completion_mode | "circular" or "list"   | changes completion type to "circular" (default) or "list" mode |
 
 ## Examples