inputrc file cannot be loaded

Question

I just figured out we can create a ~/.inputrc file to define keyboard mappings. But I don't know how to load it. I tried to source it but I get a 'set Syntax Error' immediately. I copied the ~/.inputrc file from here: http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/lfs/view/6.2/chapter07/inputrc.html

It mentions that it is loaded using Readline. What does that mean?

I have an inputrc that I run with, and if I try to source it I get "command not found" errors from bash... but it loads and works fine when I create a new terminal. — Billy Lazzaro, Feb 22 '13 at 15:17

score 8 · Answer 1 · edited Nov 19 '17 at 15:17

8

 $ bind -f ~/.inputrc

-f filename: Read key bindings from filename.

 $ help bind

Notes: It's a built-in bash command, so it will only work with bash or sh. It won't work with ksh or csh shell, for tcsh or csh shell you need to use bindkey command. For more help: bindkey

edited Nov 19 '17 at 15:17

Matthias Braun

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answered Feb 22 '13 at 15:30

Satish

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when i do `$ bind` it says command not found. however `$ help bind` actually seems to have instructions for it.. I'm confused. Do you know by default where the bind binary is located ? – user1861088 Feb 22 '13 at 15:33
bind is built into bash, run man bash – Satish Feb 22 '13 at 15:34
what is your OS version or vendor? – Satish Feb 22 '13 at 15:34
are you using bash shell or other shell? – Satish Feb 22 '13 at 15:37
I'm running c shell on Linux – user1861088 Feb 22 '13 at 15:40
The C shell does not use Readline, so `.inputrc` is irrelevant to you. – chepner Feb 22 '13 at 15:43
so what does c shell use to define key bindings then? – user1861088 Feb 22 '13 at 15:46
bindkey - This is different method to define keymap, check my edited answer – Satish Feb 22 '13 at 16:10
@Satish: you linked to the `zsh` documentation, which at best will be accidentally relevant to `bindkey` in `csh`. – chepner Feb 22 '13 at 16:25

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:23

Readline is one of several possible "keyboard input handling frontends" that a program might use. A program might also use none (other than the usual stdio handling done by libc).

As mentioned, .inputrc is used by readline, so it will only affect programs that use readline. Bash is such a program, so it will use .inputrc indirectly, but it is not a file that you will source like files as .bashrc, and the syntax is not related at all. The .inputrc file is only loaded (indirectly though the readline library) by the program at startup. From the documentation:

When a program which uses the Readline library starts up, the init file is read, and the key bindings are set.

inputrc file cannot be loaded

2 Answers2