Readline in vi mode: how can I enable up/down arrows?

Question

When bash has vi bindings available (set -o vi), up/down arrows work in both command and insertion mode. When I setup readline's ~/.inputrc to use vi mode (set editing-mode vi), applications like irb don't get the arrow functionality. I've tried "set enable-keypad on" in inputrc to no effect.

How do I get bash-like arrow functionality in other readline aware applications?

Answer 1

So far, the only way I've been able to use the up/down arrow keys for history is to press ESC first.

This also works with the j and k keys, as long as ESC is pressed first.