Mac OS X for Unix Geeks

Name

bindkey

Syntax

bindkey
bindkey [option]
bindkey [option] [key]
bindkey [option] [key] [command]
bindkey [option] [key] [string]

Description

bindkey is a tcsh shell command that is used to select, examine, and define key bindings for use in the Terminal.

Options

The following list describes the various uses of the bindkey command.

bindkey

Lists all of the key bindings.

bindkey -c key cmd

Binds key to the Unix command cmd.

bindkey -d

Restores the default key bindings.

bindkey -e

Changes the key bindings to Emacs mode.

bindkey key

Lists the bindings for key.

bindkey key cmd

Binds key to the editing command cmd.

bindkey -l

Lists the editing commands and their meanings.

bindkey -r key

Removes the binding for key.

bindkey -s key string

Binds key to the string string.

bindkey -u

Displays a message, showing how to use the bindkey command.

bindkey -v

Changes the key bindings to vi mode.

For example, to create a binding between the F2 key and the proto.term script from Section 1.3.1.1, earlier in this chapter, use this command:

bindkey -c ^[OQ 'open ~/Documents/proto.term'

To get the key sequence ^[OQ, type Control-V followed by the function key you want to bind, in this case F2. Now, any time you type F2 in the first Terminal window, it will open a new Terminal window using the settings saved in the proto.term file. You can put bindkey commands in your .tcshrc or .login script to make them permanent. For additional information on key bindings, and how to alter them, see Using csh ...