With iTerm2 on Mac, how to delete forward a word from cursor on command-line?

Question

With iTerm2 1.0.0 on Mac OS X 10.6.8, I'd like to delete from cursor to the next end of word, i.e. deleting one word forward. I tried Alt+d but this types the delta operator symbol ∂ and doesn't delete. How to suppress the typing but let it delete?

score 73 · Answer 1 · edited Apr 13 '21 at 21:02

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Preferences → Profile → Keys add the following shortcuts:

⌥← Send Escape Sequence Esc+ b

⌥→ Send Escape Sequence Esc+ f

⌘← Send Escape Sequence Esc+ [H

⌘→ Send Escape Sequence Esc+ [F

⌘←Delete Send Hex Code 0x18 0x7f (add bindkey "^X\\x7f" backward-kill-line to .zshrc if you use zShell)

⌥←Delete Send Hex Code 0x1B 0x08

⌘Del→ Send Hex Code 0x0b

⌥Del→ Send Escape Sequence d

edited Apr 13 '21 at 21:02

neaumusic

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answered Jun 09 '16 at 07:55

maxbellec

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⌥←Delete : Send Hex Code 0x1B 0x08 to delete a word backwards till spl. character. ( self notes ) – FacePalm Sep 23 '16 at 17:33
If you're using Emacs and want to send Meta-d (delete next word) when pressing ⌘+d, then set: ⌘+d to Send Hex Code 0x1B 0x64. – Domenico De Felice Apr 11 '23 at 10:53

Aleksandar Dimitrov · Accepted Answer · 2012-09-09T02:27:13.877

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I don't have a mac handy, but ESC d should in theory do the same thing that ALT-d does.

NOTE: this means hitting ESC, releasing it, then hitting d. Look ma, no key chords.

edited Sep 09 '12 at 02:27

answered Sep 09 '12 at 01:36

Aleksandar Dimitrov

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Correct; ESC typically acts as the meta key in Mac OS X, since the Alt key (Option) is used for other purposes. – chepner Sep 09 '12 at 02:25
Where to see a complete list of such key combinations for editing at command line? – qazwsx Dec 03 '15 at 16:06
meh. it works but it ain't so very comfortable on new machines where the ESC is a on the touch bar. seems like manually mapping this to Alt-d is the better choice. – kumetix Nov 10 '19 at 06:07

score 19 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 24 '12 at 13:22

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Just to add to Alexsander's answer the easiest way to replicate this behaviour is to select the option "Left option key acts as +Esc" in the Preferences->Profiles-> Keys screen.

answered Oct 24 '12 at 13:22

Hal

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score 13 · Answer 4 · answered Dec 28 '17 at 06:30

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You can add a shortcut for it, go to "Preferences" → "Profiles" → "Keys", and then click on "+" to add a custom shortcut, and add this:

Now you should be able to delete a word forward by clicking ⌥ + d.

answered Dec 28 '17 at 06:30

Maroun

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score 6 · Answer 5 · answered May 19 '20 at 12:32

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You can follow this article to set up the key binding in iterm2. It works for me. The hex codes for...
Deleting a word: 0x17.
Deleting a line: 0x15.

answered May 19 '20 at 12:32

Andy Wong

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score 4 · Answer 6 · answered Jul 03 '22 at 15:04

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Even simpler solution is to go to "Preferences" → "Profiles" → "Keys" and in the "Presets..." dropdown, choose "Natural Text Editing"

answered Jul 03 '22 at 15:04

Suley

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score 3 · Answer 7 · answered Nov 08 '21 at 10:11

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Surprised no-one mentions this one, which works for me:

Settings -> Profiles -> Default (or whatever) -> Keys -> General -> Left Option key: switch from Normal to Esc+.

answered Nov 08 '21 at 10:11

Josh Friedlander

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Did this in old one and somehow forgot this for my new mac book. This is simple. Now ALT + back/forward arrow moves word. ALT + d delete word forward , ALT + backspace delete word behind the cursor. – Knight71 Mar 23 '23 at 10:30

score 1 · Answer 8 · answered Dec 05 '21 at 14:02

maxbellec answer was really helpful, I'll just add that:

⌘← Send Escape Sequence Esc+ [H

⌘→ Send Escape Sequence Esc+ [F

did not do the trick for me. First, these shortcuts were already configured in the Preferences -> Keys -> Key Bindings as other actions shortcut (next/previous tab). But changing these shortcuts to other combinations also did not work. So, I've added:

bindkey "^[[F" end-of-line

bindkey "^[[H" beginning-of-line

to the .zshrc, which solved it.

score 0 · Answer 9 · answered Dec 01 '15 at 08:57

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ctrl+d was a forward delete for me in irb and iex in iTerm2. But since I wanted to use the regular del key on the keyboard with the numpad, I looked for something else. And then I found a list of hex codes corresponding to ctrl+something key strokes: 4 is number and the number is 4.

answered Dec 01 '15 at 08:57

Philip Claren

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This is forward delete a _character_, the question is about deleting a _word_ – max pleaner Oct 28 '19 at 21:50
It closes terminal window as well. Not the best solution. – Denis May 16 '23 at 12:04

With iTerm2 on Mac, how to delete forward a word from cursor on command-line?

9 Answers9