GNU Readline: Useful Command Line Navigation Tools [StartupCTO]

Last Updated: 24 Mar 2026

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Author: 101.47.30.175

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= GNU Readline: Useful Command Line Navigation Tools =

Most varieties of Unix/Linux use [[http://tiswww.case.edu/php/chet/readline/rltop.html|GNU Readline]] which lets you edit commands on the command line, gives you a command-line history, handles tab-completion, and the like. 

Many of the basic commands are pretty obvious: you use the left/right arrow keys to move your cursor. Up/down arrow keys scroll through the saved command history.

Some, however, **extremely** useful, but are a bit more esoteric. Remmeber that C means the 'Control' key, and M means the 'Meta' key, which is usually Option (OS X) or ALT (Windows).

**C-a** - move to the beginning of the line.
**C-e** - move to the end of the line
**M-b** - move back one word (incidentally, C-f is forward a character, but you have arrow keys for that)
**M-f** - move forward one work
**C-]** + //character// - move forward to the next instance of //character//
**M-C-]** + //character// - same, but move backwards

Finally, there are some //really// esoteric commands. Generally, I don't find it that worthwhile to learn these, but Peter Krumins has put together a [[http://www.catonmat.net/download/readline-emacs-editing-mode-cheat-sheet.pdf|GNU Readline cheat sheet]] with all the gory details. He's also got a good article that covers [[http://www.catonmat.net/blog/bash-emacs-editing-mode-cheat-sheet/|a few of the more advanced concepts]].

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