iTerm2: delete line?

Question

I'm trying to map ⌘+Delete (backspace) to delete to the beginning of the line (like it works in browsers and text editors) in iTerm2 and I'm unable to find a working escape code for it. I tried 1K (^[1K) based on what I read in Wikipedia. It just prints a "K".

Edit: I found Ctrl+U. Now to find out how to map it. Maybe Hex code 21 (U being 21st letter), so 0x15?

Answer 1

I got it. I have no idea why Hex Code mappings in iTerm2 produce the associated Ctrl+key mappings, but they do. No idea what 0x00 means, either, as it's not assigned to A as might be expected. (though I do believe Unix has its own conventions relating to treating null bytes -- we have e.g. xargs accepting a null byte delimiting format from find for example -- It would be neat if we can bind this to a hotkey with iTerm2)

I was able to find that Ctrl+U does nearly the exact task I want (it deletes the entire line rather than deleting only what is before cursor, but whatever... Ctrl+Y as a bonus can bring it all back). Then I curiously saw that I had hex codes 0x1 and 0x5 mapped to ^A and ^E respectively, for my Cmd+Left and Cmd+Right... so 0x15 is for ^U!

Answer 2

For Mac OS, most editor share the common shortcut ⌘ + Delete: delete to start of the line, in iTerm2 we can switch to this key configuration

Answer 3

Mapping hex code 0x15 to ⌘ + ←Delete in most shells deletes the entire line (content to the left and right of the cursor). While sometimes not as compatible, I find that mapping:

⌘+←Delete to Send Hex Codes:

0x18 0x7f

performs the desired functionality. If you're running ZSH, you'll likely also need to add this to your .zshrc file:

$ echo 'bindkey "^X\\x7f" backward-kill-line' >> ~/.zshrc

as by default ZSH doesn't map backward-kill-line to anything.

Furthermore, you can also delete everything to the right of your cursor by mapping:

⌘+fn+←Delete or ⌘+Delete→ to Send Hex Codes:

0x0b

I wrote a comprehensive guide to adding most of OSX's standard keybinding to your terminal here

Answer 4

In OSX, ⌥+⌫ and ⌘+⌫ are the shortcuts for deleting a word and deleting a line respectively. ⌘+ ← and ⌘+ → are for going to the beginning and end of lines. By default, iTerm2 isn't configured this way, and there are a lot of misleading guides online. The following is what I've found to work on my machine.

1. Open the preferences (⌘+,) and go to the Keys tab.
2. Add a global shortcut key, and just type in your shortcut
3. In the Action dropdown, select Send Hex Code

The hex codes for...

1. Deleting a word: 0x17.
2. Deleting a line: 0x15.
3. Moving to the beginning of the line: 0x01.
4. Moving to the end of the line: 0x05. Just open a new tab, and it should work!

Here is a screenshot, for clarity:

Answer 5

I hope this may help you

map ⌥ <- Delete to Send Hex Codes: 0x1B 0x08

I had test for it, and it is correct.

---

18.09.2013 update

this delete one word, not a line.

Answer 6

As pointed ^U deletes the line. You can easily remap the command by using Better Touch Tool.

It also has cool features for automation, mouse, pad and keyboard mapping. Also includes a window feature for smart borders.

Answer 7

On iTerm2 you can set the exact same shortcuts of your OS. In this case, as the default shortcut to delete a line on Mac OS is ⌘+Delete (backspace), you can do so.

To set the default keybindings of iTerm you have to:

1. Go to Preferences (or ⌘+,)
2. Profiles
3. Keys
4. Key Mappings
5. Presets...
6. Select the "Natural text editing" option