GNU Readline Keybindings Cheatsheet

GNU Readline is the input library used by bash, zsh, psql, python REPL, and many CLI tools. The default mode is Emacs mode (switch with set -o emacs; toggle to vi mode with set -o vi).

Movement

(| = cursor position)

Shortcut	Action	Mnemonic	Before	After
Ctrl+A	Start of line	A = beginning	hello| world	|hello world
Ctrl+E	End of line	E = ending	hello| world	hello world|
Ctrl+F	Forward one character	F = forward	hel|lo world	hell|o world
Ctrl+B	Backward one character	B = backward	hell|o world	hel|lo world
Alt+F	Forward one word	F = far forward	hello |world	hello world|
Alt+B	Backward one word	B = back	hello |world	|hello world
Ctrl+XX	Toggle cursor ↔ start	—	hello| world	|hello world

Comparison — Opposite Pairs

Forward	Backward
Ctrl+A — Start of line	Ctrl+E — End of line
Ctrl+F — Forward one char	Ctrl+B — Backward one char
Alt+F — Forward one word	Alt+B — Backward one word

Comparison — Similar Pairs (Same Action)

Keybinding	Also Known As
Ctrl+XX — Toggle cursor ↔ start	No direct equivalent

Deletion

(| = cursor position)

Shortcut	Action	Mnemonic	Before	After
Ctrl+W	Delete word backward	W = Word backward	hello world| foo	hello |foo
Alt+D	Delete word forward	D = forward (destreza/right)	hello |world foo	hello |foo
Alt+Backspace	Delete word backward (same as Ctrl+W)	—	hello world| foo	hello |foo
Ctrl+U	Delete from cursor to start of line	U-turn backward to start	hello world |foo	|foo
Ctrl+K	Delete from cursor to end of line	K = right side → delete right	hello| world foo	hello|
Ctrl+D	Delete char under cursor / EOF	—	hell|o world	hel| world

Comparison — Opposite Pairs

Forward Delete	Backward Delete
Ctrl+D — Delete char forward	Backspace — Delete char backward
Alt+D — Delete word forward	Ctrl+W / Alt+Backspace — Delete word backward
Ctrl+K — Delete to end of line	Ctrl+U — Delete to start of line

Comparison — Similar Pairs (Same Action)

Keybinding	Also Known As
Alt+Backspace — Delete word backward	Ctrl+W

Kill / Yank (Cut / Paste)

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+Y	Yank (paste) the last killed text
Alt+Y	Cycle through kill ring (after Ctrl+Y)

All deletion commands above "kill" (cut) into a ring buffer. Ctrl+Y pastes the most recent kill; Alt+Y cycles older entries.

History

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+P / ↑	Previous command
Ctrl+N / ↓	Next command
Ctrl+R	Incremental search backward through history
Ctrl+S	Incremental search forward (if enabled)
Alt+P	Non-incremental search backward
Alt+N	Non-incremental search forward
Alt+<	First history entry
Alt+>	Last history entry
Alt+.	Insert last argument of previous command

Comparison — Opposite Pairs

Backward / Previous	Forward / Next
Ctrl+P — Previous command	Ctrl+N — Next command
Ctrl+R — Reverse search	Ctrl+S — Forward search
Alt+P — Non-incremental backward	Alt+N — Non-incremental forward
Alt+< — First entry	Alt+> — Last entry

Undo / Repeat

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+_ or Ctrl+X Ctrl+U	Undo last edit
Alt+R	Undo all changes on current line

Transpose (Swap)

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+T	Swap two characters (char under cursor with char before it)
Alt+T	Swap two words (word before cursor with word after)

Case Change

Shortcut	Action
Alt+U	Uppercase next word (from cursor to end of word)
Alt+L	Lowercase next word
Alt+C	Capitalize next word (first char uppercase, rest lowercase)

Macros

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+X (	Start recording keyboard macro
Ctrl+X )	Stop recording keyboard macro
Ctrl+X e	Execute last recorded macro

Miscellaneous

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+L	Clear screen (same as clear)
Ctrl+X Ctrl+E	Open current line in $EDITOR
Alt+Tab	Insert completion (bash programmable completion)
Ctrl+I	Tab (same as Tab key)
Ctrl+M	Enter (same as Enter key)

Numeric Argument Prefix

Press Alt+<N> before any command to repeat it N times.

Example	Result
Alt+5 Alt+D	Delete 5 words forward
Alt+10 Ctrl+F	Move forward 10 characters
Alt+3 Ctrl+W	Delete 3 words backward
Alt+100 Ctrl+B	Move backward 100 characters

Official Reference

• info readline or man readline
• GNU Readline manual: https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/html_node/Bindable-Readline-Commands.html