Editing the Command Line

Ctrl-B, Ctrl-E, Ctrl-W, Ctrl-U — readline-flavored.

Keys: Ctrl-B, Ctrl-E, Ctrl-W, Ctrl-U, Ctrl-H

Inside the : prompt you have a small editing keyset: Ctrl-B/Ctrl-E for line ends, Ctrl-W to delete word, Ctrl-U to clear, arrow keys, and Ctrl-Left/Ctrl-Right for word jumps.

The : prompt is its own mini-editor. The keys are familiar from Insert mode and from readline.

Key	Action
`Ctrl-B`	Beginning of command line
`Ctrl-E`	End of command line
`Ctrl-Left` / `Ctrl-Right`	Word back / forward
`Ctrl-H` / `Backspace`	Delete previous char
`Ctrl-W`	Delete previous word
`Ctrl-U`	Delete to start of line
`Ctrl-R`{reg}	Insert register contents (as in Insert mode)
`Ctrl-R=`{expr}	Insert expression result
`Ctrl-F`	Open command-line window for full editing
`Esc`	Cancel

Watch

📺 #0449 Tab — Complete Command (not yet published)
📺 #0450 Ctrl-R {reg} — Insert Register (not yet published)