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4 <!ENTITY % general-entities SYSTEM "../general.ent">
8 <sect1 id="ch-scripts-inputrc">
9 <?dbhtml filename="inputrc.html"?>
11 <title>Creating the /etc/inputrc File</title>
13 <indexterm zone="ch-scripts-inputrc">
14 <primary sortas="e-/etc/inputrc">/etc/inputrc</primary>
17 <para>The <filename>inputrc</filename> file handles keyboard mapping for
18 specific situations. This file is the startup file used by Readline — the
19 input-related library — used by Bash and most other shells.</para>
21 <para>Most people do not need user-specific keyboard mappings so the command
22 below creates a global <filename>/etc/inputrc</filename> used by everyone who
23 logs in. If you later decide you need to override the defaults on a per-user
24 basis, you can create a <filename>.inputrc</filename> file in the user's home
25 directory with the modified mappings.</para>
27 <para>For more information on how to edit the <filename>inputrc</filename>
28 file, see <command>info bash</command> under the <emphasis>Readline Init
29 File</emphasis> section. <command>info readline</command> is also a good
30 source of information.</para>
32 <para>Below is a generic global <filename>inputrc</filename> along with comments
33 to explain what the various options do. Note that comments cannot be on the same
34 line as commands. Create the file using the following command:</para>
36 <screen><userinput>cat > /etc/inputrc << "EOF"
37 <literal># Begin /etc/inputrc
38 # Modified by Chris Lynn <roryo@roryo.dynup.net>
40 # Allow the command prompt to wrap to the next line
41 set horizontal-scroll-mode Off
47 # Turns off 8th bit stripping
50 # Keep the 8th bit for display
53 # none, visible or audible
56 # All of the following map the escape sequence of the value
57 # contained in the 1st argument to the readline specific functions
62 "\e[1~": beginning-of-line
64 "\e[5~": beginning-of-history
65 "\e[6~": end-of-history
67 "\e[2~": quoted-insert
70 "\eOH": beginning-of-line
74 "\e[H": beginning-of-line
77 # End /etc/inputrc</literal>
78 EOF</userinput></screen>