bind(1)

NAME
bind - handle fish key bindings

  Synopsis
bind [OPTIONS] SEQUENCE COMMAND

  Description
bind 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 fish escape sequences. 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 \e escape. For example, Alt-w can be written as \ew. The control character can be written in much the same way using the \c escape, for example Control-x (^X) can be written as \cx. Note that Alt-based key bindings are case sensitive and Control-based key bindings are not. This is a constraint of text-based termainls, not fish.

The default key binding can be set by specifying a SEQUENCE of the empty string (that is, ''). It will be used whenever no other binding matches. For most key bindings, it makes sense to use the self-insert function (i.e. bind '' self-insert 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 terminfo(5) for more information, or use bind --key-names 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 function 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.

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

The following parameters are available:

•   -k or --key Specify a key name, such as 'left' or 'backspace' instead of a character sequence

•   -K or --key-names Display a list of available key names

•   -f or --function-names Display a list of available input functions

  Examples
bind \cd 'exit' causes fish to exit when Control-d is pressed.

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