Zsh zle shift selection

Expanding on Stephane's excellent answer from almost 3 years ago, I added some more bindings to make the behaviour (almost) completely consistent with all of Windows' standard keyboard behaviour:

• Selection is cleared when using a navigation key (arrow, home, end) WITHOUT shift
• Backspace and Del delete an active selection
• Selection is extended to the next/previous word when using Ctrl+Shift+Left/Ctrl+Shift+Right
• Shift+Home and Shift+End extend the selection to the beginning and end of line respectively. Ctrl+Shift+Home and Ctrl+Shift+End do the same.

Two things that are not exactly the same:

• Extending a selection to the next word includes trailing space, unlike windows. This could be fixed, but it doesn't bother me.
• Typing when there is an active selection will not delete it and replace it with the character you typed. This would seem to require a lot more work to remap the entire keyboard. Not worth the trouble to me.

Note that the default mintty behaviour is to bind Shift+End and Shift+Home to access the scroll back buffer. This supercedes the zsh configuration; the keys never get passed through. In order for these to work, you will need to configure a different key (or disable scroll back) in /etc/minttyrc or ~/.minttyrc. See "modifier for scrolling" here - the simplest solution is just set ScrollMod=2 to bind it to Alt instead of Shift.

So everything:

~/.minttyrc

ScrollMod=2

~/.zshrc

r-delregion() {
  if ((REGION_ACTIVE)) then
     zle kill-region
  else 
    local widget_name=$1
    shift
    zle $widget_name -- $@
  fi
}

r-deselect() {
  ((REGION_ACTIVE = 0))
  local widget_name=$1
  shift
  zle $widget_name -- $@
}

r-select() {
  ((REGION_ACTIVE)) || zle set-mark-command
  local widget_name=$1
  shift
  zle $widget_name -- $@
}

for key     kcap   seq        mode   widget (
    sleft   kLFT   $'\e[1;2D' select   backward-char
    sright  kRIT   $'\e[1;2C' select   forward-char
    sup     kri    $'\e[1;2A' select   up-line-or-history
    sdown   kind   $'\e[1;2B' select   down-line-or-history

    send    kEND   $'\E[1;2F' select   end-of-line
    send2   x      $'\E[4;2~' select   end-of-line

    shome   kHOM   $'\E[1;2H' select   beginning-of-line
    shome2  x      $'\E[1;2~' select   beginning-of-line

    left    kcub1  $'\EOD'    deselect backward-char
    right   kcuf1  $'\EOC'    deselect forward-char

    end     kend   $'\EOF'    deselect end-of-line
    end2    x      $'\E4~'    deselect end-of-line

    home    khome  $'\EOH'    deselect beginning-of-line
    home2   x      $'\E1~'    deselect beginning-of-line

    csleft  x      $'\E[1;6D' select   backward-word
    csright x      $'\E[1;6C' select   forward-word
    csend   x      $'\E[1;6F' select   end-of-line
    cshome  x      $'\E[1;6H' select   beginning-of-line

    cleft   x      $'\E[1;5D' deselect backward-word
    cright  x      $'\E[1;5C' deselect forward-word

    del     kdch1   $'\E[3~'  delregion delete-char
    bs      x       $'^?'     delregion backward-delete-char

  ) {
  eval "key-$key() {
    r-$mode $widget \$@
  }"
  zle -N key-$key
  bindkey ${terminfo[$kcap]-$seq} key-$key
}

This covers keycodes from several different keyboard configurations I have used.

Note: the values in the "key" column don't mean anything, they are just used to build a named reference for zle. They could be anything. What is important is the seq, mode and widget columns.

Note 2: You can bind pretty much any keys you want, you just need the key codes used in your console emulator. Open a regular console (without running zsh) and type Ctrl+V and then the key you want. It should emit the code. ^[ means \E.

shift-arrow() {
  ((REGION_ACTIVE)) || zle set-mark-command
  zle $1
}
shift-left()  shift-arrow backward-char
shift-right() shift-arrow forward-char
shift-up()    shift-arrow up-line-or-history
shift-down()  shift-arrow down-line-or-history
zle -N shift-left
zle -N shift-right
zle -N shift-up
zle -N shift-down

bindkey $terminfo[kLFT] shift-left
bindkey $terminfo[kRIT] shift-right
bindkey $terminfo[kri]  shift-up
bindkey $terminfo[kind] shift-down

That assumes your terminal sends a different escape sequence upon Shift-Arrows from the one sent upon Arrow and that your terminfo database is properly populated with corresponding kLFT and kRIT capabilities, and that you're using emacs style key binding.

Or, to factorize the code a bit:

shift-arrow() {
  ((REGION_ACTIVE)) || zle set-mark-command
  zle $1
}
for key  kcap seq        widget (
    left  LFT $'\e[1;2D' backward-char
    right RIT $'\e[1;2C' forward-char
    up    ri  $'\e[1;2A' up-line-or-history
    down  ind $'\e[1;2B' down-line-or-history
  ) {
  functions[shift-$key]="shift-arrow $widget"
  zle -N shift-$key
  bindkey ${terminfo[k$kcap]-$seq} shift-$key
}

Above, hardcoded sequences for cases where the terminfo database doesn't have the information (using xterm sequences).

Expanded on Jamie Treworgy's answer.

Includes the following functionality:

• cmd+a: select entire command-line prompt text
• cmd+x: cut (copy & delete) current command-line selection to clipboard
• cmd+c: copy current command-line selection to clipboard
• cmd+v: pastes clipboard selection
• ctrl+u: delete backwards till beginning of line
• cmd+z: undo
• cmd+shift+z: redo
• shift select:
  • shift-left: select character to the left
  • shift-right: select character to the right
  • shift-up: select line upwards
  • shift-down: select live downwards
  • cmd-shift-left: select till beginning of line
  • cmd-shift-right: select till end of line
  • alt-shift-left: select word to the left
  • alt-shift-right: select word to the right
  • ctrl-shift-left: select till beginning of line
  • ctrl-shift-right: select till end of line
  • ctrl-shift-a: select till beginning of line
  • ctrl-shift-e: select till end of line
• unselect: works as expected, on left/right, alt-left/right, cmd/ctrl-left/right, esc+esc.
• delete selection: works as expected on Delete, ctrl+d, backspace
• delete selection & insert character: works as expected for all visible ASCII characters and whitespace
• delete selection & insert clipboard: works as expected

---

.zshrc

# for my own convenience I explicitly set the signals
#   that my terminal sends to the shell as variables.
#   you might have different signals. you can see what
#   signal each of your keys sends by running `$> cat`
#   and pressing keys (you'll be able to see most keys)
#   also some of the signals sent might be set in your 
#   terminal emulator application/program
#   configurations/preferences. finally some terminals
#   have a feature that shows you what signals are sent
#   per key press.
#
# for context, at the time of writing these variables are
#   set for the kitty terminal program, i.e these signals  
#   are mostly ones sent by default by this terminal.
export KEY_ALT_F='ƒ'
export KEY_ALT_B='∫'
export KEY_ALT_D='∂'
export KEY_CTRL_U=$'\x15' # ^U
export KEY_CMD_BACKSPACE=$'^[b'   # arbitrary; added via kitty config (send_text)
export KEY_CMD_Z=^[[122;9u
export KEY_SHIFT_CMD_Z=^[[122;10u
export KEY_CTRL_R=$'\x12' # ^R
export KEY_CMD_C=^[[99;9u
export KEY_CMD_X=^[[120;9u
export KEY_CMD_V=^[[118;9u
export KEY_CMD_A=^[[97;9u
export KEY_CTRL_L=$'\x0c' # ^L
export KEY_LEFT=${terminfo[kcub1]:-$'^[[D'}
export KEY_RIGHT=${terminfo[kcuf1]:-$'^[[C'}
export KEY_SHIFT_UP=${terminfo[kri]:-$'^[[1;2A'}
export KEY_SHIFT_DOWN=${terminfo[kind]:-$'^[[1;2B'}
export KEY_SHIFT_RIGHT=${terminfo[kRIT]:-$'^[[1;2C'}
export KEY_SHIFT_LEFT=${terminfo[kLFT]:-$'^[[1;2D'}
export KEY_ALT_LEFT=$'^[[1;3D'
export KEY_ALT_RIGHT=$'^[[1;3C'
export KEY_SHIFT_ALT_LEFT=$'^[[1;4D'
export KEY_SHIFT_ALT_RIGHT=$'^[[1;4C'
export KEY_CMD_LEFT=$'^[[1;9D'
export KEY_CMD_RIGHT=$'^[[1;9C'
export KEY_SHIFT_CMD_LEFT=$'^[[1;10D'
export KEY_SHIFT_CMD_RIGHT=$'^[[1;10C'
export KEY_CTRL_A=$'\x01' # ^A
export KEY_CTRL_E=$'\x05' # ^E
export KEY_SHIFT_CTRL_A=$'^[[97;6u'
export KEY_SHIFT_CTRL_E=$'^[[101;6u'
export KEY_SHIFT_CTRL_LEFT=$'^[[1;6D'
export KEY_SHIFT_CTRL_RIGHT=$'^[[1;6C'
export KEY_CTRL_D=$'\x04' # ^D

# -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

# copy selected terminal text to clipboard
zle -N widget::copy-selection
function widget::copy-selection {
    if ((REGION_ACTIVE)); then
        zle copy-region-as-kill
        printf "%s" $CUTBUFFER | pbcopy
    fi
}

# cut selected terminal text to clipboard
zle -N widget::cut-selection
function widget::cut-selection() {
    if ((REGION_ACTIVE)) then
        zle kill-region
        printf "%s" $CUTBUFFER | pbcopy
    fi
}

# paste clipboard contents
zle -N widget::paste
function widget::paste() {
    ((REGION_ACTIVE)) && zle kill-region
    RBUFFER="$(pbpaste)${RBUFFER}"
    CURSOR=$(( CURSOR + $(echo -n "$(pbpaste)" | wc -m | bc) ))
}

# select entire prompt
zle -N widget::select-all
function widget::select-all() {
    local buflen=$(echo -n "$BUFFER" | wc -m | bc)
    CURSOR=$buflen   # if this is messing up try: CURSOR=9999999
    zle set-mark-command
    while [[ $CURSOR > 0 ]]; do
        zle beginning-of-line
    done
}

# scrolls the screen up, in effect clearing it
zle -N widget::scroll-and-clear-screen
function widget::scroll-and-clear-screen() {
    printf "\n%.0s" {1..$LINES}
    zle clear-screen
}

function widget::util-select() {
    ((REGION_ACTIVE)) || zle set-mark-command
    local widget_name=$1
    shift
    zle $widget_name -- $@
}

function widget::util-unselect() {
    REGION_ACTIVE=0
    local widget_name=$1
    shift
    zle $widget_name -- $@
}

function widget::util-delselect() {
    if ((REGION_ACTIVE)) then
        zle kill-region
    else
        local widget_name=$1
        shift
        zle $widget_name -- $@
    fi
}

function widget::util-insertchar() {
    ((REGION_ACTIVE)) && zle kill-region
    RBUFFER="${1}${RBUFFER}"
    zle forward-char
}

#                       |  key sequence                   | command
# --------------------- | ------------------------------- | -------------

bindkey                   $KEY_ALT_F                        forward-word
bindkey                   $KEY_ALT_B                        backward-word
bindkey                   $KEY_ALT_D                        kill-word
bindkey                   $KEY_CTRL_U                       backward-kill-line
bindkey                   $KEY_CMD_BACKSPACE                backward-kill-line
bindkey                   $KEY_CMD_Z                        undo
bindkey                   $KEY_SHIFT_CMD_Z                  redo
bindkey                   $KEY_CTRL_R                       history-incremental-search-backward
bindkey                   $KEY_CMD_C                        widget::copy-selection
bindkey                   $KEY_CMD_X                        widget::cut-selection
bindkey                   $KEY_CMD_V                        widget::paste
bindkey                   $KEY_CMD_A                        widget::select-all
bindkey                   $KEY_CTRL_L                       widget::scroll-and-clear-screen

for keyname        kcap   seq                   mode        widget (

    left           kcub1  $KEY_LEFT             unselect    backward-char
    right          kcuf1  $KEY_RIGHT            unselect    forward-char

    shift-up       kri    $KEY_SHIFT_UP         select      up-line-or-history
    shift-down     kind   $KEY_SHIFT_DOWN       select      down-line-or-history
    shift-right    kRIT   $KEY_SHIFT_RIGHT      select      forward-char
    shift-left     kLFT   $KEY_SHIFT_LEFT       select      backward-char

    alt-right         x   $KEY_ALT_RIGHT        unselect    forward-word
    alt-left          x   $KEY_ALT_LEFT         unselect    backward-word
    shift-alt-right   x   $KEY_SHIFT_ALT_RIGHT  select      forward-word
    shift-alt-left    x   $KEY_SHIFT_ALT_LEFT   select      backward-word

    cmd-right         x   $KEY_CMD_RIGHT        unselect    end-of-line
    cmd-left          x   $KEY_CMD_LEFT         unselect    beginning-of-line
    shift-cmd-right   x   $KEY_SHIFT_CMD_RIGHT  select      end-of-line
    shift-cmd-left    x   $KEY_SHIFT_CMD_LEFT   select      beginning-of-line

    ctrl-e            x   $KEY_CTRL_E           unselect    end-of-line
    ctrl-a            x   $KEY_CTRL_A           unselect    beginning-of-line
    shift-ctrl-e      x   $KEY_SHIFT_CTRL_E     select      end-of-line
    shift-ctrl-a      x   $KEY_SHIFT_CTRL_A     select      beginning-of-line
    shift-ctrl-right  x   $KEY_SHIFT_CTRL_RIGHT select      end-of-line
    shift-ctrl-left   x   $KEY_SHIFT_CTRL_LEFT  select      beginning-of-line

    del               x   $KEY_CTRL_D           delselect   delete-char

    a                 x       'a'               insertchar  'a'
    b                 x       'b'               insertchar  'b'
    c                 x       'c'               insertchar  'c'
    d                 x       'd'               insertchar  'd'
    e                 x       'e'               insertchar  'e'
    f                 x       'f'               insertchar  'f'
    g                 x       'g'               insertchar  'g'
    h                 x       'h'               insertchar  'h'
    i                 x       'i'               insertchar  'i'
    j                 x       'j'               insertchar  'j'
    k                 x       'k'               insertchar  'k'
    l                 x       'l'               insertchar  'l'
    m                 x       'm'               insertchar  'm'
    n                 x       'n'               insertchar  'n'
    o                 x       'o'               insertchar  'o'
    p                 x       'p'               insertchar  'p'
    q                 x       'q'               insertchar  'q'
    r                 x       'r'               insertchar  'r'
    s                 x       's'               insertchar  's'
    t                 x       't'               insertchar  't'
    u                 x       'u'               insertchar  'u'
    v                 x       'v'               insertchar  'v'
    w                 x       'w'               insertchar  'w'
    x                 x       'x'               insertchar  'x'
    y                 x       'y'               insertchar  'y'
    z                 x       'z'               insertchar  'z'
    A                 x       'A'               insertchar  'A'
    B                 x       'B'               insertchar  'B'
    C                 x       'C'               insertchar  'C'
    D                 x       'D'               insertchar  'D'
    E                 x       'E'               insertchar  'E'
    F                 x       'F'               insertchar  'F'
    G                 x       'G'               insertchar  'G'
    H                 x       'H'               insertchar  'H'
    I                 x       'I'               insertchar  'I'
    J                 x       'J'               insertchar  'J'
    K                 x       'K'               insertchar  'K'
    L                 x       'L'               insertchar  'L'
    M                 x       'M'               insertchar  'M'
    N                 x       'N'               insertchar  'N'
    O                 x       'O'               insertchar  'O'
    P                 x       'P'               insertchar  'P'
    Q                 x       'Q'               insertchar  'Q'
    R                 x       'R'               insertchar  'R'
    S                 x       'S'               insertchar  'S'
    T                 x       'T'               insertchar  'T'
    U                 x       'U'               insertchar  'U'
    V                 x       'V'               insertchar  'V'
    W                 x       'W'               insertchar  'W'
    X                 x       'X'               insertchar  'X'
    Y                 x       'Y'               insertchar  'Y'
    Z                 x       'Z'               insertchar  'Z'
    0                 x       '0'               insertchar  '0'
    1                 x       '1'               insertchar  '1'
    2                 x       '2'               insertchar  '2'
    3                 x       '3'               insertchar  '3'
    4                 x       '4'               insertchar  '4'
    5                 x       '5'               insertchar  '5'
    6                 x       '6'               insertchar  '6'
    7                 x       '7'               insertchar  '7'
    8                 x       '8'               insertchar  '8'
    9                 x       '9'               insertchar  '9'

    exclamation-mark      x  '!'                insertchar  '!'
    hash-sign             x  '\#'               insertchar  '\#'
    dollar-sign           x  '$'                insertchar  '$'
    percent-sign          x  '%'                insertchar  '%'
    ampersand-sign        x  '\&'               insertchar  '\&'
    star                  x  '\*'               insertchar  '\*'
    plus                  x  '+'                insertchar  '+'
    comma                 x  ','                insertchar  ','
    dot                   x  '.'                insertchar  '.'
    forwardslash          x  '\\'               insertchar  '\\'
    backslash             x  '/'                insertchar  '/'
    colon                 x  ':'                insertchar  ':'
    semi-colon            x  '\;'               insertchar  '\;'
    left-angle-bracket    x  '\<'               insertchar  '\<'
    right-angle-bracket   x  '\>'               insertchar  '\>'
    equal-sign            x  '='                insertchar  '='
    question-mark         x  '\?'               insertchar  '\?'
    left-square-bracket   x  '['                insertchar  '['
    right-square-bracket  x  ']'                insertchar  ']'
    hat-sign              x  '^'                insertchar  '^'
    underscore            x  '_'                insertchar  '_'
    left-brace            x  '{'                insertchar  '{'
    right-brace           x  '\}'               insertchar  '\}'
    left-parenthesis      x  '\('               insertchar  '\('
    right-parenthesis     x  '\)'               insertchar  '\)'
    pipe                  x  '\|'               insertchar  '\|'
    tilde                 x  '\~'               insertchar  '\~'
    at-sign               x  '@'                insertchar  '@'
    dash                  x  '\-'               insertchar  '\-'
    double-quote          x  '\"'               insertchar  '\"'
    single-quote          x  "\'"               insertchar  "\'"
    backtick              x  '\`'               insertchar  '\`'
    whitespace            x  '\ '               insertchar  '\ '
) {
    eval "function widget::key-$keyname() {
        widget::util-$mode $widget \$@
    }"
    zle -N widget::key-$keyname
    bindkey $seq widget::key-$keyname
}

# suggested by "e.nikolov", fixes autosuggest completion being 
# overriden by keybindings: to have [zsh] autosuggest [plugin
# feature] complete visible suggestions, you can assign an array
# of shell functions to the `ZSH_AUTOSUGGEST_ACCEPT_WIDGETS` 
# variable. when these functions are triggered, they will also 
# complete any visible suggestion. Example:
export ZSH_AUTOSUGGEST_ACCEPT_WIDGETS=(
    widget::key-right
    widget::key-shift-right
    widget::key-cmd-right
    widget::key-shift-cmd-right
)

---

Bonus

Some people might also find these useful, though I didn't include them above, just add them to the for-loop array:

1. Tab

       tab                   x  $'\x09'           insertchar  '\   '
   

   • note that tab completion will fail

2. Other

       send              kEND   $'\E[1;2F'        select      end-of-line
       send2             x      $'\E[4;2~'        select      end-of-line
   
       shome             kHOM   $'\E[1;2H'        select      beginning-of-line
       shome2            x      $'\E[1;2~'        select      beginning-of-line
   
       end               kend   $'\EOF'           deselect    end-of-line
       end2              x      $'\E4~'           deselect    end-of-line
   
       home              khome  $'\EOH'           deselect    beginning-of-line
       home2             x      $'\E1~'           deselect    beginning-of-line
   
       csend             x      $'\E[1;6F'        select      end-of-line
       cshome            x      $'\E[1;6H'        select      beginning-of-line
   
       cleft             x      $'\E[1;5D'        deselect    backward-word
       cright            x      $'\E[1;5C'        deselect    forward-word
   
       del               kdch1   $'\E[3~'         delregion   delete-char
   

---

OLD but maybe still useful for some

Note

Certain keyboard key sequences were first configured on the terminal application (in my case iTerm2) to send the shell program specific signals. The bindings used in the above code are:

➤ iTerm2
   ➤ Preferences
     ➤ Keys
       ➤ Key Bindings:

This step binds terminal keys to shell signals, i.e tells the terminal program/application (iTerm2) what signals to send the shell program (zsh) upon pressing certain keyboard key sequences. Depending on your terminal program, and preference, you can bind your keys however you'd like, or use the default signals.

keyboard  -->  cmd+z  -->  iTerm2  -->  ^[Ω  -->  zsh  -->  undo (widget)

Then the script above binds the received signals to shell functions, called widgets. I.e we tell the shell program, to run a specified widget upon receiving a specified signal (key sequence).

So on your command-line, upon pressing keyboard key sequences, the terminal sends the appropriate signal to the shell, and the shell calls the corresponding widget (function). The functions we tell the shell to bind to are in this case functions that edit the command-line itself, as though it was a file.

The widgets defined above use zsh's builtin zle (zsh line editor) module API. For more information you can see the official documentation: ZSH ➤ 18 Zsh Line Editor, and official guide: ZSH ➤ Chapter 4: The Z-Shell Line Editor.

• A neat trick to see what signals are received by the shell is running cat and then pressing keys:

  ❯ cat
  ^[[1;2D^[[1;2C^[Ω^[≈^[ç
  

  That was the output for after having pressed: shift-left, shift-right, cmd+z, cmd+x, and cmd+c.

  Certain keys might not appear. In this case, check your terminal's configurations, the key might be binded to some terminal functionality (e.g. cmd+n might open up a new terminal pane, cmd+t might open up a new terminal tab).

  Also see terminfo(5), another way of finding certain keys.

---

Known Issues & Issue Fixes

• if you're on iTerm2, changing what cmd+v is binded to might make pasting on anything other than the command-line act different, and requires remapping on that specific program (e.g. in the search prompts for programs like less). if you want to avoid this, then don't change the mapping of iTerm2's cmd+v, and comment-out/remove the widget::paste.

• esc might clash with oh-my-zsh's sudo plugin and give weird behavior. You can comment-out/remove the esc line in the array, or suggest a fix.

• right clashes with zsh-autosuggestion, i.e it won't accept the suggestion. You can comment-out/remove right from the array, or suggest a fix. This is probably possible, I just currently don't know how, and spent enough time for now trying.

  I tried many things, I think the closest thing to working might of been something like:

  function widget::key-right() {
      REGION_ACTIVE=0
      zle autosuggest-accept
      zle forward-char
  }
  zle -N widget::key-right
  bindkey $'\eOC' widget::key-right
  

  But to no avail. It doesn't complete the suggestion. You could however always create a new keybinding for it:

  bindkey $'\e\'' autosuggest-accept
  

  I got autosuggestion-accept from the Github repo: zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions.

  To fix right-key clashing with zsh-autosuggestion, and/or other clashes you might have, add to one of your shell initialization files (e.g. .zshrc) the following: export ZSH_AUTOSUGGEST_ACCEPT_WIDGETS=(<shell-function> ...) (suggested by @e.nikolov). see above for an example.

All solutions on this page are either incomplete or too invasive, so they negatively interfere with other plugins (e.g. zsh-autosuggestions or zsh-syntax-highlighting). I have therefore come up with a different approach that works significantly better.

https://github.com/jirutka/zsh-shift-select/

This plugin does not override any existing widgets and binds only shifted keys. It creates a new shift-select keymap that is automatically activated when the shift selection is invoked (using any of the defined shifted keys) and deactivated (the current keymap switches back to main) on any key that is not defined in the shift-select keymap. Thanks to this approach, it does not interfere with other plugins (for example, it works with zsh-autosuggestions without any change).