Last Updated: May 15, 2019
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1.446K
· jedschneider

Use Emacs/Readline Key Bindings in OS X

OS X appears to support Readline key bindings natively in any text area input. Basic support is built in for the following:

ctl-a          : beginning of line/paragraph
ctl-e          : end of line/paragraph
ctl-n          : next line
ctl-p          : previous line
ctl-f          : forward on the line
ctl-b          : back on the line
ctl-shift f/b  : highlight text
ctl-shift a/e  : highlight to start/end of paragraph
ctl-shift n/p  : highlight next/previous line
ctl-k          : kill to the end of line

I've found this works in almost all OS X apps, from browsers, to chat, and keynote. The only exception I've found is in Microsoft products (e.g. Word).

2 Responses
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SO MUCH CTRL

over 1 year ago ·

I have used emacs extensively in the past, but currently use vim. It is the default for our development group and has some benefits for remote pairing.

over 1 year ago ·