Edit Modes

Æsh Readline supports two main editing modes: Emacs and Vi.

EditMode

import org.aesh.readline.editing.EditMode;
import org.aesh.readline.editing.EditModeBuilder;

// Create default edit mode (Emacs)
EditMode editMode = EditModeBuilder.builder().create();

// Create Vi mode
EditMode viMode = EditModeBuilder.builder()
        .mode(EditMode.Mode.VI)
        .create();

Emacs Mode

Default mode with Emacs-style key bindings.

Setting Emacs Mode

import org.aesh.readline.ReadlineBuilder;

Readline readline = ReadlineBuilder.builder()
        .editMode(EditModeBuilder.builder()
                .mode(EditMode.Mode.EMACS)
                .create())
        .build();

Emacs Key Bindings

Key	Action
`C-b` or `←`	Move back one character
`C-f` or `→`	Move forward one character
`Backspace`	Delete character left of cursor
`C-d`	Delete character at cursor
`C-_` or `C-x C-u`	Undo
`C-a` or `Home`	Move to start of line
`C-e` or `End`	Move to end of line
`M-f`	Move forward one word
`M-b`	Move backward one word
`↑`	Previous history
`↓`	Next history
`C-l`	Clear screen, redraw line
`M-d`	Delete next word
`C-k`	Kill to end of line
`C-w`	Kill to previous whitespace
`C-y`	Yank (paste)
`C-r`	Search backward in history
`C-s`	Search forward in history
`M-C-j`	Switch to Vi mode
`Tab`	Complete

Vi Mode

Vi-style editing with command and insert modes.

Setting Vi Mode

import org.aesh.readline.ReadlineBuilder;

Readline readline = ReadlineBuilder.builder()
        .editMode(EditModeBuilder.builder()
                .mode(EditMode.Mode.VI)
                .create())
        .build();

Vi Command Mode

Key	Action
`h`	Move back one character
`l`	Move forward one character
`X`	Delete character left of cursor
`x`	Delete character at cursor
`u`	Undo
`0`	Move to start of line
`$`	Move to end of line
`w`	Move forward one word
`b`	Move backward one word
`k` or `↑`	Previous line
`n` or `↓`	Next line
`C-l`	Clear screen
`dw`	Delete next word
`D` or `d$`	Kill to end of line
`db`	Kill to previous whitespace
`p`	Yank after cursor
`P`	Yank before cursor
`y` + movement	Add text to yank buffer
`c`	Enable change mode
`.`	Repeat previous action

Vi Edit Mode

Key	Action
`C-r`	Search backward in history
`C-s`	Search forward in history
`Backspace`	Delete character left of cursor
`Esc`	Return to command mode

Switching Modes

Users can switch between modes at runtime:

In Emacs mode: Press M-C-j (Alt+Ctrl+j) to switch to Vi mode
In Vi mode: Press Esc to exit to command mode, then type editing commands

Runtime Properties

Set edit mode via system property:

System.setProperty("aesh.editmode", "VI");
// Or
System.setProperty("aesh.editmode", "EMACS");

Readline API Key Bindings