The inputrc file is the configuration
file for the Readline library, which provides editing capabilities
while the user is entering a line from the terminal. It works by
translating keyboard inputs into specific actions. Readline is used
by Bash and most other shells as well as many other applications.
Most people do not need user-specific functionality so the command
below creates a global /etc/inputrc
used by everyone who logs in. If you later decide you need to
override the defaults on a per-user basis, you can create a
.inputrc file in the user's home
directory with the modified mappings.
For more information on how to edit the inputrc file, see info bash under the Readline Init File section. info readline is also a good source
of information.
Below is a generic global inputrc along
with comments to explain what the various options do. Note that
comments cannot be on the same line as commands. Create the file
using the following command:
cat > /etc/inputrc << "EOF"
# Begin /etc/inputrc
# Modified by Chris Lynn <roryo@roryo.dynup.net>
# Allow the command prompt to wrap to the next line
set horizontal-scroll-mode Off
# Enable 8bit input
set meta-flag On
set input-meta On
# Turns off 8th bit stripping
set convert-meta Off
# Keep the 8th bit for display
set output-meta On
# none, visible or audible
set bell-style none
# All of the following map the escape sequence of the value
# contained in the 1st argument to the readline specific functions
"\eOd": backward-word
"\eOc": forward-word
# for linux console
"\e[1~": beginning-of-line
"\e[4~": end-of-line
"\e[5~": beginning-of-history
"\e[6~": end-of-history
"\e[3~": delete-char
"\e[2~": quoted-insert
# for xterm
"\eOH": beginning-of-line
"\eOF": end-of-line
# for Konsole
"\e[H": beginning-of-line
"\e[F": end-of-line
# End /etc/inputrc
EOF