iTerm2 Vim alt+right/left arrow

Question

As a Linux user, I am very used to jump from word to word in vim/nano using ALT+left or right.

This doesn't seem to work properly using iTerm, I am using zsh, I tried adding;

bindkey -e
bindkey '^[[1;9C' forward-word
bindkey '^[[1;9D' backward-word

It does work, but inside zsh only, then I commented those lines and added in iTerm a keyboard shortcut;

It does work, but only for the ALTleft

How can I make it work for the right arrow too?

Solution 1

In iTerm's properties go to Profiles -> Keys and setup there

• For ⌥→ Send Escape Sequence [1;5C
• For ⌥← Send Escape Sequence [1;5D

Solution 2

Start by viewing the key code your terminal is sending to vim:

$ sed -n l
^[[1;9D 

In the above example, i ran the sed command and pressed Alt + Left.

The ^[[1;9D is the escaped sequence being sent to vim, so we can user that for our mapping.

Add to vimrc:

map <Esc>[1;9D :tabn<CR>

alternative solution for macOS

if sed -nl is not working as expected, try CTRL + V instead

You can determine the current mapping using the "control-V trick": First press control-V, then the keystroke you like to examine. This will print the characters that are sent to the terminal. http://www.macfreek.nl/memory/Backspace_and_Delete_key_reversed

For example typing control-V + delete prints ^?. I have only verified this on macOS 11.

Solution 3

I read another post describing that for option-left and option right, you need to bind them to the actions ^[b and ^[f, respectively. That is, you bind them to "Send escape sequence" and bind key b and f.

http://elweb.co/making-iterm-2-work-with-normal-mac-osx-keyboard-shortcuts/

Comments

[slhck]

That doesn't work for me. The escape sequences are sent, but vim only moves one space back and forth. Running the default vim 7.3 that comes with OS X 10.8. Ideally, I'd like to change it on vim's side, not tweaking the defaults of the Terminal emulator (since that'll result in better portability).

[eiennohito]

That's weird, it works both in vim (from homebrew, not a default one) and zsh with the default configuration from oh-my-zsh (in ~/.oh-my-zsh/lib/key-bindings.sh).

[seds]

Doesn't work here either, I can use alt + arrow in inside zsh, in Vim it only works with shift + arrow :(

[eiennohito]

I checked it one more time on available remote systems (ubuntu 13.04, stable debian, and scientific linux) and it works everywhere. What is the output when you press Control+V, ⌥→? For me it is ^[[1;5C

[pabouk - Ukraine stay strong]

You should include the essential information instead of just putting a reference here.

[Petro Semeniuk]

Works for me: iTerm/Vi + zsh

[Cam Jackson]

+1! I found similar instructions here: coderwall.com/p/h6yfda/…

[Niing]

what's the key code for delete?

[lfender6445]

try ctrl + v and then press the delete key instead of the sed cmd which prints nothing. i get this (running osx): ^?