How to set and determine the command-line editing mode of Bash?












8














How to set the vi or emacs command line editing mode the Bash AND how to determine which mode is currently set?










share|improve this question





























    8














    How to set the vi or emacs command line editing mode the Bash AND how to determine which mode is currently set?










    share|improve this question



























      8












      8








      8


      3





      How to set the vi or emacs command line editing mode the Bash AND how to determine which mode is currently set?










      share|improve this question















      How to set the vi or emacs command line editing mode the Bash AND how to determine which mode is currently set?







      bash emacs vi






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited Nov 30 at 6:13









      bignose

      22528




      22528










      asked Nov 29 at 19:02









      Blcknx

      1375




      1375






















          3 Answers
          3






          active

          oldest

          votes


















          4














          Since your question is specific about bash:



          To set it permanently for every new session:



          echo 'set -o vi' >> ~/.bashrc


          or (recommended), add (or change) a line in ./inputrc:



          set editing-mode vi


          This will set the editing mode of readline which is used by several other programs beside bash.



          It is easy to unset both options:



          shopt -ou vi emacs


          To set one, either:



          set -o vi


          Or



          shopt -os vi


          The same for emacs. Setting vi unsets emacs and viceversa.



          To list the state:



          $ shopt -op emacs
          set +o emacs

          $ shopt -op vi
          set -o vi


          Or both at once:



          $ shopt -op emacs vi
          set +o emacs
          set -o vi


          To test if vi is set:



          shopt -oq vi      &&   echo vi is set


          Or (ksh syntax):



          [[ -o vi ]]        &&   echo vi is set


          emacs:



          shopt -oq emacs   &&   echo emacs is set


          Or:



          [[ -o emacs ]]    &&   echo emacs is set


          or, to test that no option is set:



          ! ( shopt -oq emacs || shopt -oq vi ) && echo no option is set





          share|improve this answer































            14














            To set:



            set -o vi


            Or:



            set -o emacs


            (setting one unsets the other. You can do set -o vi +o vi to unset both)



            To check:



            if [[ -o emacs ]]; then
            echo emacs mode
            elif [[ -o vi ]]; then
            echo vi mode
            else
            echo neither
            fi


            That syntax comes from ksh. The set -o vi is POSIX. set -o emacs is not (as Richard Stallman objected to the emacs mode being specified by POSIX) but very common among shell implementations. Some shells support extra editing modes. [[ -o option ]] is not POSIX, but supported by ksh, bash and zsh. [ -o option ] is supported by bash, ksh and yash (note that -o is also a binary OR operator for [).






            share|improve this answer























            • It works and it is surprising, that it is that difficult to determine the mode.
              – Blcknx
              Nov 29 at 19:06






            • 3




              set -o | egrep -w '^emacs|vi' will return whether emacs or vi is set.
              – Stephen Harris
              Nov 29 at 19:10



















            3














            There is also bind -V | grep editing-mode.



            man bash is huge but well worth reading in depth.






            share|improve this answer





















              Your Answer








              StackExchange.ready(function() {
              var channelOptions = {
              tags: "".split(" "),
              id: "106"
              };
              initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

              StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
              // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
              if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
              StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
              createEditor();
              });
              }
              else {
              createEditor();
              }
              });

              function createEditor() {
              StackExchange.prepareEditor({
              heartbeatType: 'answer',
              autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
              convertImagesToLinks: false,
              noModals: true,
              showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
              reputationToPostImages: null,
              bindNavPrevention: true,
              postfix: "",
              imageUploader: {
              brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
              contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
              allowUrls: true
              },
              onDemand: true,
              discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
              ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
              });


              }
              });














              draft saved

              draft discarded


















              StackExchange.ready(
              function () {
              StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2funix.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f484997%2fhow-to-set-and-determine-the-command-line-editing-mode-of-bash%23new-answer', 'question_page');
              }
              );

              Post as a guest















              Required, but never shown

























              3 Answers
              3






              active

              oldest

              votes








              3 Answers
              3






              active

              oldest

              votes









              active

              oldest

              votes






              active

              oldest

              votes









              4














              Since your question is specific about bash:



              To set it permanently for every new session:



              echo 'set -o vi' >> ~/.bashrc


              or (recommended), add (or change) a line in ./inputrc:



              set editing-mode vi


              This will set the editing mode of readline which is used by several other programs beside bash.



              It is easy to unset both options:



              shopt -ou vi emacs


              To set one, either:



              set -o vi


              Or



              shopt -os vi


              The same for emacs. Setting vi unsets emacs and viceversa.



              To list the state:



              $ shopt -op emacs
              set +o emacs

              $ shopt -op vi
              set -o vi


              Or both at once:



              $ shopt -op emacs vi
              set +o emacs
              set -o vi


              To test if vi is set:



              shopt -oq vi      &&   echo vi is set


              Or (ksh syntax):



              [[ -o vi ]]        &&   echo vi is set


              emacs:



              shopt -oq emacs   &&   echo emacs is set


              Or:



              [[ -o emacs ]]    &&   echo emacs is set


              or, to test that no option is set:



              ! ( shopt -oq emacs || shopt -oq vi ) && echo no option is set





              share|improve this answer




























                4














                Since your question is specific about bash:



                To set it permanently for every new session:



                echo 'set -o vi' >> ~/.bashrc


                or (recommended), add (or change) a line in ./inputrc:



                set editing-mode vi


                This will set the editing mode of readline which is used by several other programs beside bash.



                It is easy to unset both options:



                shopt -ou vi emacs


                To set one, either:



                set -o vi


                Or



                shopt -os vi


                The same for emacs. Setting vi unsets emacs and viceversa.



                To list the state:



                $ shopt -op emacs
                set +o emacs

                $ shopt -op vi
                set -o vi


                Or both at once:



                $ shopt -op emacs vi
                set +o emacs
                set -o vi


                To test if vi is set:



                shopt -oq vi      &&   echo vi is set


                Or (ksh syntax):



                [[ -o vi ]]        &&   echo vi is set


                emacs:



                shopt -oq emacs   &&   echo emacs is set


                Or:



                [[ -o emacs ]]    &&   echo emacs is set


                or, to test that no option is set:



                ! ( shopt -oq emacs || shopt -oq vi ) && echo no option is set





                share|improve this answer


























                  4












                  4








                  4






                  Since your question is specific about bash:



                  To set it permanently for every new session:



                  echo 'set -o vi' >> ~/.bashrc


                  or (recommended), add (or change) a line in ./inputrc:



                  set editing-mode vi


                  This will set the editing mode of readline which is used by several other programs beside bash.



                  It is easy to unset both options:



                  shopt -ou vi emacs


                  To set one, either:



                  set -o vi


                  Or



                  shopt -os vi


                  The same for emacs. Setting vi unsets emacs and viceversa.



                  To list the state:



                  $ shopt -op emacs
                  set +o emacs

                  $ shopt -op vi
                  set -o vi


                  Or both at once:



                  $ shopt -op emacs vi
                  set +o emacs
                  set -o vi


                  To test if vi is set:



                  shopt -oq vi      &&   echo vi is set


                  Or (ksh syntax):



                  [[ -o vi ]]        &&   echo vi is set


                  emacs:



                  shopt -oq emacs   &&   echo emacs is set


                  Or:



                  [[ -o emacs ]]    &&   echo emacs is set


                  or, to test that no option is set:



                  ! ( shopt -oq emacs || shopt -oq vi ) && echo no option is set





                  share|improve this answer














                  Since your question is specific about bash:



                  To set it permanently for every new session:



                  echo 'set -o vi' >> ~/.bashrc


                  or (recommended), add (or change) a line in ./inputrc:



                  set editing-mode vi


                  This will set the editing mode of readline which is used by several other programs beside bash.



                  It is easy to unset both options:



                  shopt -ou vi emacs


                  To set one, either:



                  set -o vi


                  Or



                  shopt -os vi


                  The same for emacs. Setting vi unsets emacs and viceversa.



                  To list the state:



                  $ shopt -op emacs
                  set +o emacs

                  $ shopt -op vi
                  set -o vi


                  Or both at once:



                  $ shopt -op emacs vi
                  set +o emacs
                  set -o vi


                  To test if vi is set:



                  shopt -oq vi      &&   echo vi is set


                  Or (ksh syntax):



                  [[ -o vi ]]        &&   echo vi is set


                  emacs:



                  shopt -oq emacs   &&   echo emacs is set


                  Or:



                  [[ -o emacs ]]    &&   echo emacs is set


                  or, to test that no option is set:



                  ! ( shopt -oq emacs || shopt -oq vi ) && echo no option is set






                  share|improve this answer














                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer








                  edited Nov 29 at 23:42

























                  answered Nov 29 at 22:58









                  Isaac

                  11.1k11648




                  11.1k11648

























                      14














                      To set:



                      set -o vi


                      Or:



                      set -o emacs


                      (setting one unsets the other. You can do set -o vi +o vi to unset both)



                      To check:



                      if [[ -o emacs ]]; then
                      echo emacs mode
                      elif [[ -o vi ]]; then
                      echo vi mode
                      else
                      echo neither
                      fi


                      That syntax comes from ksh. The set -o vi is POSIX. set -o emacs is not (as Richard Stallman objected to the emacs mode being specified by POSIX) but very common among shell implementations. Some shells support extra editing modes. [[ -o option ]] is not POSIX, but supported by ksh, bash and zsh. [ -o option ] is supported by bash, ksh and yash (note that -o is also a binary OR operator for [).






                      share|improve this answer























                      • It works and it is surprising, that it is that difficult to determine the mode.
                        – Blcknx
                        Nov 29 at 19:06






                      • 3




                        set -o | egrep -w '^emacs|vi' will return whether emacs or vi is set.
                        – Stephen Harris
                        Nov 29 at 19:10
















                      14














                      To set:



                      set -o vi


                      Or:



                      set -o emacs


                      (setting one unsets the other. You can do set -o vi +o vi to unset both)



                      To check:



                      if [[ -o emacs ]]; then
                      echo emacs mode
                      elif [[ -o vi ]]; then
                      echo vi mode
                      else
                      echo neither
                      fi


                      That syntax comes from ksh. The set -o vi is POSIX. set -o emacs is not (as Richard Stallman objected to the emacs mode being specified by POSIX) but very common among shell implementations. Some shells support extra editing modes. [[ -o option ]] is not POSIX, but supported by ksh, bash and zsh. [ -o option ] is supported by bash, ksh and yash (note that -o is also a binary OR operator for [).






                      share|improve this answer























                      • It works and it is surprising, that it is that difficult to determine the mode.
                        – Blcknx
                        Nov 29 at 19:06






                      • 3




                        set -o | egrep -w '^emacs|vi' will return whether emacs or vi is set.
                        – Stephen Harris
                        Nov 29 at 19:10














                      14












                      14








                      14






                      To set:



                      set -o vi


                      Or:



                      set -o emacs


                      (setting one unsets the other. You can do set -o vi +o vi to unset both)



                      To check:



                      if [[ -o emacs ]]; then
                      echo emacs mode
                      elif [[ -o vi ]]; then
                      echo vi mode
                      else
                      echo neither
                      fi


                      That syntax comes from ksh. The set -o vi is POSIX. set -o emacs is not (as Richard Stallman objected to the emacs mode being specified by POSIX) but very common among shell implementations. Some shells support extra editing modes. [[ -o option ]] is not POSIX, but supported by ksh, bash and zsh. [ -o option ] is supported by bash, ksh and yash (note that -o is also a binary OR operator for [).






                      share|improve this answer














                      To set:



                      set -o vi


                      Or:



                      set -o emacs


                      (setting one unsets the other. You can do set -o vi +o vi to unset both)



                      To check:



                      if [[ -o emacs ]]; then
                      echo emacs mode
                      elif [[ -o vi ]]; then
                      echo vi mode
                      else
                      echo neither
                      fi


                      That syntax comes from ksh. The set -o vi is POSIX. set -o emacs is not (as Richard Stallman objected to the emacs mode being specified by POSIX) but very common among shell implementations. Some shells support extra editing modes. [[ -o option ]] is not POSIX, but supported by ksh, bash and zsh. [ -o option ] is supported by bash, ksh and yash (note that -o is also a binary OR operator for [).







                      share|improve this answer














                      share|improve this answer



                      share|improve this answer








                      edited Nov 29 at 19:14

























                      answered Nov 29 at 19:05









                      Stéphane Chazelas

                      299k54564913




                      299k54564913












                      • It works and it is surprising, that it is that difficult to determine the mode.
                        – Blcknx
                        Nov 29 at 19:06






                      • 3




                        set -o | egrep -w '^emacs|vi' will return whether emacs or vi is set.
                        – Stephen Harris
                        Nov 29 at 19:10


















                      • It works and it is surprising, that it is that difficult to determine the mode.
                        – Blcknx
                        Nov 29 at 19:06






                      • 3




                        set -o | egrep -w '^emacs|vi' will return whether emacs or vi is set.
                        – Stephen Harris
                        Nov 29 at 19:10
















                      It works and it is surprising, that it is that difficult to determine the mode.
                      – Blcknx
                      Nov 29 at 19:06




                      It works and it is surprising, that it is that difficult to determine the mode.
                      – Blcknx
                      Nov 29 at 19:06




                      3




                      3




                      set -o | egrep -w '^emacs|vi' will return whether emacs or vi is set.
                      – Stephen Harris
                      Nov 29 at 19:10




                      set -o | egrep -w '^emacs|vi' will return whether emacs or vi is set.
                      – Stephen Harris
                      Nov 29 at 19:10











                      3














                      There is also bind -V | grep editing-mode.



                      man bash is huge but well worth reading in depth.






                      share|improve this answer


























                        3














                        There is also bind -V | grep editing-mode.



                        man bash is huge but well worth reading in depth.






                        share|improve this answer
























                          3












                          3








                          3






                          There is also bind -V | grep editing-mode.



                          man bash is huge but well worth reading in depth.






                          share|improve this answer












                          There is also bind -V | grep editing-mode.



                          man bash is huge but well worth reading in depth.







                          share|improve this answer












                          share|improve this answer



                          share|improve this answer










                          answered Nov 29 at 22:25









                          studog

                          26516




                          26516






























                              draft saved

                              draft discarded




















































                              Thanks for contributing an answer to Unix & Linux Stack Exchange!


                              • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                              But avoid



                              • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                              • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


                              To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.





                              Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.


                              Please pay close attention to the following guidance:


                              • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                              But avoid



                              • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                              • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


                              To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




                              draft saved


                              draft discarded














                              StackExchange.ready(
                              function () {
                              StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2funix.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f484997%2fhow-to-set-and-determine-the-command-line-editing-mode-of-bash%23new-answer', 'question_page');
                              }
                              );

                              Post as a guest















                              Required, but never shown





















































                              Required, but never shown














                              Required, but never shown












                              Required, but never shown







                              Required, but never shown

































                              Required, but never shown














                              Required, but never shown












                              Required, but never shown







                              Required, but never shown







                              Popular posts from this blog

                              How to change which sound is reproduced for terminal bell?

                              Can I use Tabulator js library in my java Spring + Thymeleaf project?

                              Title Spacing in Bjornstrup Chapter, Removing Chapter Number From Contents