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<!DOCTYPE sect1 PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.5//EN"
  "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.5/docbookx.dtd" [
   <!ENTITY % general-entities SYSTEM "../general.ent">
  %general-entities;
]>

<sect1 id="ch-config-inputrc">
  <?dbhtml filename="inputrc.html"?>

  <title>Creating the /etc/inputrc File</title>

  <indexterm zone="ch-config-inputrc">
    <primary sortas="e-/etc/inputrc">/etc/inputrc</primary>
  </indexterm>

  <para>The <filename>inputrc</filename> file is the configuration file for
  the readline library, which provides editing capabilities while the user is
  entering  a line from the terminal. It works by translating keyboard inputs
  into specific actions.  Readline is used by bash and most other shells as
  well as many other applications.</para>

  <para>Most people do not need user-specific functionality so the command
  below creates a global <filename>/etc/inputrc</filename> used by everyone who
  logs in. If you later decide you need to override the defaults on a per user
  basis, you can create a <filename>.inputrc</filename> file in the user's home
  directory with the modified mappings.</para>

  <para>For more information on how to edit the <filename>inputrc</filename>
  file, see <command>info bash</command> under the <emphasis>Readline Init
  File</emphasis> section. <command>info readline</command> is also a good
  source of information.</para>

  <para>Below is a generic global <filename>inputrc</filename> along with comments
  to explain what the various options do. Note that comments cannot be on the same
  line as commands. Create the file using the following command:</para>

<screen><userinput>cat &gt; /etc/inputrc &lt;&lt; "EOF"
<literal># Begin /etc/inputrc
# Modified by Chris Lynn &lt;roryo@roryo.dynup.net&gt;

# Allow the command prompt to wrap to the next line
set horizontal-scroll-mode Off

# Enable 8bit input
set meta-flag On
set input-meta On

# Turns off 8th bit stripping
set convert-meta Off

# Keep the 8th bit for display
set output-meta On

# none, visible or audible
set bell-style none

# All of the following map the escape sequence of the value
# contained in the 1st argument to the readline specific functions
"\eOd": backward-word
"\eOc": forward-word

# for linux console
"\e[1~": beginning-of-line
"\e[4~": end-of-line
"\e[5~": beginning-of-history
"\e[6~": end-of-history
"\e[3~": delete-char
"\e[2~": quoted-insert

# for xterm
"\eOH": beginning-of-line
"\eOF": end-of-line

# for Konsole
"\e[H": beginning-of-line
"\e[F": end-of-line

# End /etc/inputrc</literal>
EOF</userinput></screen>

</sect1>