3

when I type commands on a terminal, I usually find myself trying to use it like a text editor, I know this is not how it is supposed to be used, but I recently was watching a talk on youtube and the presenter did something interesting at 17:25 https://youtu.be/f5phsX4VUOU?t=17m25s. It seems like a mini text editor popped out --> he edited the text --> closed it and the changes were reflected back on terminal. How do I do that? is it some sort of plugin or a shortcut?

1
  • Got an answer on youtube from the video uploader, wanted to post his answer here. He is using an app called kapeli.com/dash. The app comes with a lot of other features, but wanted to know if there is an app that does only the editing part
    – David
    Aug 19, 2016 at 22:38

1 Answer 1

3

If you want to edit a command from your history, the fc command can help.

First, set the editor to one of your choice via the FCEDIT variable. To use TextEdit.app, do this:

$ FCEDIT='open -nW'

Then run some commands:

$ echo "this command neets editing"

Later, run fc:

$ fc

TextEdit should open up, with echo "this command neets editing" in a new window. Change "neets" to "needs" then save the file and quit the editor. Once the editor quits, the modified command will run, displaying the corrected text.

If you want to edit the active command, invoke edit-and-execute-command. In my shell, this is bound to Ctrl-x Ctrl-e. It depends on the value of the EDITOR environment variable.

Find the key binding in your shell:

$ bind -q edit-and-execute-command
edit-and-execute-command can be invoked via "\C-x\C-e".

That's Ctrl-x Ctrl-e. Set the EDITOR to something you like. I use emacs, but let's use TextEdit again since this is OS X.

$ EDITOR='open -nW'
$ echo "this command neets editing"  #now type ctrl-x then ctrl-e

Your editor will open up. Edit the command and save the file. When you close your editor the new command will run.


For more information about fc, run help fc. For more information about edit-and-execute-command, run man readline. For more information on bind, run help bind.

6
  • I wish there were at least one cli that allows you to work like a simple text editor, its 2016 and I don't think asking to include simple cursor support from a mouse input or even normal text editing capabilities from the keyboard is resource intensive anymore. but thanks
    – David
    Aug 21, 2016 at 3:47
  • 1
    I suppose it depends on what you call "simple". If you run M-x shell in emacs, you can get a shell inside an editor. It's ok for some tasks, but gets messy if you invoke something that, for example, has its own interpretation of the cursor keys. You can do some pretty significant editing within most shells, but the keyboard commands are a bit obscure. They predate the great standardization across operating systems that happened in the mid 90s.
    – Eric
    Aug 21, 2016 at 12:35
  • 1
    In Bash's default configuration, Ctrl-a takes you to the start of a line and Ctrl-e takes you to the end. Ctrl-k cuts everything from the cursor to the end of the line. Ctrl-y pastes the text you last cut. These are also the key bindings that work in emacs. Mouse support in a raw terminal (not running in a window manager) is usually limited to copy-and-paste, with the paste location determined by the text cursor. The capabilities are there, but they will be very unfamiliar to people who first learned on more modern user interfaces.
    – Eric
    Aug 21, 2016 at 12:40
  • 1
    It looks like OS X's terminal supports cursor positioning by mouse. Option-click does it. Source: osxdaily.com/2014/03/06/place-cursor-at-mouse-position-terminal
    – Eric
    Aug 21, 2016 at 12:48
  • Thanks Eric. I was just wondering why I don't see any newer clis like iterm integrate native cursor support or normal keyboard bindings. I think this would greatly improve the user experience. Maybe this will be my next project :)
    – David
    Aug 21, 2016 at 18:58

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .