bash backspace not working bash backspace not working

when I hit the Backspace key, I get a space. One of them is to clean the keyboard such that all dust and dirt go away. Once I copied the "cygwin" file to this location, the bash shell backspace key worked fine, as did tab and others. ncurses seemed like the most suspicious upgrade, so I downgraded (see instructions on how to ignore package upgrades for certain packages) through: and in the next MSYS2 instance I started, terminal codes for backspace, delete, etc., worked as intended again. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Do I need a thermal expansion tank if I already have a pressure tank? You should be able to configure what exactly is sent when pressing the Backspace key in your terminal emulator's settings. If you are using vi / vim text editor and the backspace key doesn't work in the insert mode, run the following command to fix this: :set backspace=indent,eol,start To fix "not working" backspace key in the insert mode permanently, add set backspace=indent,eol,start command to vi / vim configuration file in your $HOME directory. Ctrl Z now works. 1) I am not able to use "tab key" for auto completion of the command. Ctrl + C Tags: Backspace Linux sqlplus Unix previous SQL Developer Change Language 1) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to invoke the Run box. Just updated the repo and simple `makepkg` in the bash directory. The backspace key not doing backspace is actually a common problem with Linux shells and terminals (see http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Keyboard-and-Console-HOWTO-5.html ). If you have tried all the above-mentioned fixes and nothing works then chances are that its a software-specific issue. same as cread -ignbrk brkint -inlcr -igncr icrnl -iutf8 -ixoff -iuclc -ixany imaxbel opost -olcuc -ocrnl onlcr -onocr -onlret -ofill -ofdel nl0 cr0 tab0 bs0 vt0 ff0 isig icanon iexten echo echoe echok -echonl -noflsh -xcase -tostop -echoprt echoctl echoke, all special characters to their default values, Your shell may be set to /bin/sh instead of /bin/bash, on top of paul's answer, if you want to retain the ability to have colorful output, you can use xterm-88color. https://ci.appveyor.com/project/zklhp/msys2-packages/build/1.0.16/artifacts. Allow the utility to complete the scan and then follow the instructions. So if you press ^H (that's CONTROL-H) and your key backs up but you hit the BACKSPACE key and it does not try using stty as follows: The '\' tells it that the next character is going to be a non-printable control-character and to accept it, not "interpret" it. I have tried all 5 options but none of them fixed the issue. xterm-256color I don't know why they were missing; found someone else with that issue, went into setup and told terminfo and termcap to reinstall, and everything worked. Can you give more details of how you installed and invoked Cygwin, and where exactly the backspace key fails to work? A journalist by training, he discovered the power of Unix-like operating systems and the command-line interface while learning how to edit video on macOS. I just rebuilt bash from current msys2-packages and installed it and the issue seems gone. I have this issue as well. Take the backspace for example, the remote host expects some character to be used as "erase/backspace" , while you pressing backspace in the terminal , the terminal program will send some character to the remote host, if what the remote host expects diffs with the characters sent by the terminal program, you would encounter this issue. Thanks! You have these five options below available to chose from. Changing `TERM` (e.g. Console applications read ASCII sequences, not keysyms. The backspace doesn't work in the bash terminal of VS code. [broken rendering] Arrow keys and backspace not working in bash after recent update, ignore package upgrades for certain packages, https://bugs.archlinux.org/task/57300?project=1&string=ncurses, [MSYS2] Term=xterm-256color does not support backspace and command history correctly, (cosmetic) xterm-256color is unreliable when using MinGW manually, https://forum.voidlinux.eu/t/solved-problems-after-todays-update/4553, ncurses: Fix double-free and prevent crash, Arrow keys broken in msys2 bash programs after installing Terminal, (fixed after rebuilding bash): editing keys don't work in CLI in bash with. You'll see what code is sent as "erase". Thanks for contributing an answer to Stack Overflow! It only takes a minute to sign up. I cd to the bash dir of the msys2 packages repo and issued makepkg --skippgpchec -sCLf and it stopped/errored after some time with IIRC undefined type or something. When Backspace Key is Not Working in Console - Ed Chen Logic Hello, I have the same problem. Follow Up: struct sockaddr storage initialization by network format-string, Identify those arcade games from a 1983 Brazilian music video, How to tell which packages are held back due to phased updates. Im a developer, a dad, and a big tech enthusiast. He has been using Linux regularly in some form since 2006. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. When I enter TERM=xterm, the problem disappears, even after I set TERM=xterm-256color again. In short, it is available for use when your keyboard is not available. It's great that this answer helped some other users, but in this case it's not the solution to the question since the original question isn't asking about vim. Bash 4.4.0.19 fixes the editing key issues for me with xterm-256color, but this new issue remains (both with 4.4.0.12 after a rebuild and also with the pre-built 4.4.0.19 after the update): (Only after rebuilding bash): bash aborts after setting TERM to some dummy name, e.g. @Alexpux any plans to downgrade ncurses soon? The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? privacy statement. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. That link lacks info, but void linux appears to have had a similar issue: https://forum.voidlinux.eu/t/solved-problems-after-todays-update/4553 . It's because the default mintty TERM is xterm, and the issue appears to be related to TERM being xterm-256color - which is required for some programs to display more than 8 colors. I added in braces how they behave on my system: I had the same problem, using bash in Gnome-Terminal. But there is a far simpler way found here: The former one allows you to press one key at a time for keyboard shortcuts and the latter one tells the keyboard to ignore repeated keystrokes. Check for the updates or try to quit and reset your Excel. It's almost like the CMD shell that Cygwin is bound to is failing to interpret cursor movement. @Alexpux, what's wrong with _FORTIFY_SOURCE=2? I build my application image with the multi-stages build. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. I checked my /var/log/pacman.log which ended with: So, somewhere between 2018-01-15 and 2018-01-30 this regression happened. Space instead of Backspace in Cygwin Bash Problem - Matthias Kerstner Replacing broken pins/legs on a DIP IC package. I cd to the bash dir of the msys2 packages repo and issued |makepkg --skippgpchec -sCLf| and it stopped/errored after some time with IIRC undefined type or something. Windows keyboards also have a Delete key, but this deletes characters in a forward direction. You can now navigate webpages in Chrome by pressing Alt + left arrow to open a previous page and Alt + right arrow to move forward. If you preorder a special airline meal (e.g. You can check what control characters the system uses with the stty command. It feels like a kludge but it works. What if no code at all is sent? If the read command sees the end of file marker (EOF) before the line is terminated by a newline, it will not treat it as a successful read. If it is working, it means that the issue is in the existing keyboard, not in the operating system. Did this satellite streak past the Hubble Space Telescope so close that it was out of focus? It does exactly the same thing as the backspace key. My code is GPL licensed, can I issue a license to have my code be distributed in a specific MIT licensed project? rev2023.3.3.43278. Thanks for contributing an answer to Super User! when you hit the "backspace" key. For example on my Arch Linux system I have /usr/share/vim/vimfiles . Fortunately, you can also fix this with the stty command. If this is the reason, you will have to run your antivirus or antimalware software to get rid of the malware. Facing Problem in Ksh Shell - Backspace is Not Working To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. If you don't have termcap installed install it but . Thanks for contributing an answer to Ask Ubuntu! Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. ctrl-v and then right arrow prints ^[[C but the shell doesn't seem to re-render the line correctly when used without it. This is also the inference to draw when other keys do not work. One way to get around it is by including stdio.h before any of the ssp headers in ncurses. Most of us are aware of the on-screen keyboard or the virtual keyboard that Windows operating system provides. You need remove -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2 from CPPFLAGS in makepkg.conf file. I cant reproduce issue on my computer. Lets check which terminals the remote host supports. If you do not want to uninstall the driver, you can even try updating the driver by selecting Update driver from the context menu. 1,710 views. So, I'm new to VS code just installed it and I'm having an issue. Solved: Hi I am connecting my HP-UX thru Telnet using putty. If you are wondering how to fix backspace key on windows 10/11 this should be the very first thing to try. I tried ssh from cygwin (in windows) to Debian. If you hit the "BACKSPACE" key and it does not go backward it's because the terminal is probably looking for a different character based on the TERM type. Acidity of alcohols and basicity of amines. FWIW, my original /usr/bin/bash.exe is from 2017-02-15, so almost a year old, and building a fresh one (same version 4.4.12(1)-release (x86_64-pc-msys), using makepkg) did fix it for me. But the terminal does seem to interpret \b (backspace) and \e[D (move one column left) correctly. How can this new ban on drag possibly be considered constitutional? Additionally, I now can't build bash with makepkg, there's some compile error with an unknown type IIRC - this is after the msys2 runtime was updated to cygwin 2.10 . ether@jolteon MSYS /w Some more background to my problem/solution: I had a problem where I need to paste more than 4k characters. You ssh to your Debian from some terminal (putty, solaris dterm, debain xterm, you-name-it), this termninal announce capabilities (which includes keys such as Backspace and Tab) via TERM environment variable. Surly Straggler vs. other types of steel frames. So its not working. is it possible in HP-UX HPE GreenLake Products Support Contact Dashboard Applications Devices Manage My cart Close Close HPE GreenLake Cloud Consoles How to Connect Two Monitors To One Computer With One VGA Port? What is a word for the arcane equivalent of a monastery? Add a comment. Data Structure & Algorithm Classes (Live) System Design (Live) DevOps(Live) Explore More Live Courses; For Students. Simply run Cygwin setup again and reinstall termcap and terminfo. Pressing the Backspace key, depending on how the key is defined, may either perform a destructive backspace (deleting the character to the left of the cursor while moving the cursor to the left) or move the cursor to the beginning of the line. My terminfo folder was entirely missing. To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. David is a freelance writer based in the Pacific Northwest, but originally hailing from the Bay Area. /usr/share/terminfo/r/ . to `ansi`) seems to fix everything, but it's weirder than that: For Working Professionals. If there are problems with cygwin, I even tried it from ubuntu terminal, but same problem. 1518273 Jan 19 2014 edited Jan 19 2014. There is discussion here and here but it probably only gets resolved if lots of people email github support. Something wrong with shell or termcap library on debian. In my case, I had to switch from xterm-256color to xterm-88color and it is far better than other options. Hope there are no side-effects. How to tell which packages are held back due to phased updates. You don't need to open tmux. What happens when you type control-V followed by backspace? Never experienced your problem. You can easily fix it by going to Settings > Text and images and turning off the Use slash commands and preview emojis, mentions, and markdown syntax as you type feature. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. Not working means when I tap the backspace it prints a white space in the terminal. The Backspace key isn't something you normally think about too much, but sometimes you might find it doesn't work correctly in the terminal, especially when logged in to a remote machine, echoing "^H" instead of erasing what you've typed. Calculating probabilities from d6 dice pool (Degenesis rules for botches and triggers). Bash is just the most visible of those (assuming there are more packages depending on ncurses). If you can't get that to work and most everything works properly except the backspace, you can reprogram "getty" on the host you connect to to recognize what you want, and here's how (this is the oldest, most common and most universal way of solving backspace/delete issues): You ssh or telnet to your host and in the host you run the stty command. This seems to happen with arrows and backspace. Logged in to "-bash", not to "bash". Re: [LINUX5250] Backspace key - mail-archive.com Now, if you are using bash, it should be enough to create an ~/.inputrc file containing these lines: As an added bonus, they will make Home and End work as well. There are also some distros that will run in . Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. SSH only works if I specify the key with -i, change home folder permissions on exit/disconnect, Securely Piping String in Local Text File to Remote Command using SSH, Login SSH using RSA key instead of normal login. I'd highly recommend getting Partition Magic to "sqeeze" your existing Windows partition down in preparation for this process, though. Best Terminal for cygwin. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group. (2022 Edition), Can You Use Zoom on Firestick? How do I check if a directory exists or not in a Bash shell script? If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. The corrupted association between windows 10 and your physical keyboard is the reason why your Backspace key has stopped working. Reboot your laptop or PC so that Windows can reinstall the keyboard automatically. Your backspace key may be broken due to a bad mapping which has been loaded into Vim. You can fix the Tab issue with the same as above. Unix & Linux Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for users of Linux, FreeBSD and other Un*x-like operating systems. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? Login from Ubuntu and give me output of commands: 1. echo $TERM 2. stty -a, While this didn't directly help me, since TERM was correctly set, it did help identify the problem. I found a solution to a problem that presented like the one above. Note that on the command line, the backspace works as expected, but when my program (a simple TCP socket based chat client) is reading from stdin, the backspace character prints (echoes back to the screen) ^?instead of deleting the last character. Try this and see if the Backspace key works correctly. now copy all the files and folders that exist inside /usr/share/terminfo to the folder C:\cygwin\etc\terminfo - Just wondering why the backspace key does not work within SQL*Plus? So guess it might need some patches to get around this. Github IMHO has quite a bad code viewer. Did you know that windows 7, 8, and 10 can troubleshoot your keyboard? I am using tmux to force the error since it uses an relatively uncommon terminal config. The nature of simulating nature: A Q&A with IBM Quantum researcher Dr. Jamie We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup, backspace not working, even after attempted fix, pkg-config on cygwin will not find the gsl package. Following are the steps for disabling these keys on Windows 10/11: Heres a video that will guide you step-by-step: This is another easy solution to try and find where the problem lies. All character is changed strrange character, Force telnet / ssh to use crtl-H for backspace, Read and process a string, char by char, yet allow user to simple line edit the input, Tmux Terminfo problem with Zsh key bindings. Apparently it was fixed for them after bash was updated, but I don't know it it was just rebuilt or maybe something else. @SomeCallMeTim: I was able to fix this issue by using Minty, cygwin behaves in very wierd manner at times. Thanks for pointing out the shortcomings of my previous answer. You may have to edit several configuration files to tell all of the programs involved precisely what you want. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. How to concatenate string variables in Bash, Git is not working after macOS Update (xcrun: error: invalid active developer path (/Library/Developer/CommandLineTools). If so, how close was it? It should delete the highlighted part of the text. Switch to the Compatibility tab and you should get these options: Now you can change the Backspace key generates: setting. [still broken rendering] and ^H to backspace, because if I can do this, I can just add it to all of my .bashrc files, and it will certainly end this nightmare. What is the correct way to screw wall and ceiling drywalls? To do so: Now, check whether the key is working or not. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. TERM=blahblah . This is a big hope to restore the keys functionality to Chrome and other applications. Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. or stty erase "^?" depending on which of these you normally see when you hit your backspace. It resets all the special characters to their default values. Added on Jan 19 2014. Why does backspace not work within SQL*Plus? - Oracle Forums in my .bashrc file, and use some other terminal to access the server, it often ends up wrong. It's available through the Cygwin installer. key. Re: [LINUX5250] destructive backspace patch (was: I'm back To change the key mapping of the backspace key to normal: stty erase "^H" Login or Register to Ask a Question Previous Thread | Next Thread I tried the following with and without a ~/.bashrc file: Pressing few chars and then a backspace seems to print a space. vim set backspace backspace= backspace .vimrc set backspace=2 3 0 same as ":set backspace=" (Vi compatible) 1 same as ":set backspace=indent,eol" 2 same as ":set backspace=indent,eol,start" cp /usr/share/vim/vimrc ~/.vimrc set backspace=indent,eol,start Bash, how to globally fix ^H and ^? backspace problems Share Improve this answer Follow answered Aug 23, 2010 at 6:39 CarpeNoctem 2,407 4 23 32 Add a comment Your Answer How is an ETF fee calculated in a trade that ends in less than a year? The easiest way (which did not work everytime while testing) is to simply reinstall terminfo and termcap via setup.exe, as mentioned here: Backspace does not work in Cygwin. The nature of simulating nature: A Q&A with IBM Quantum researcher Dr. Jamie We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup, Announcement: AI-generated content is now permanently banned on Ask Ubuntu. http://linux-journal.blogspot.com/2005/04/fix-vim-backspace-doesnt-work.html, http://lifepluslinux.blogspot.in/2014/08/backspace-doesnt-work-in-vim-on-cygwin.html, How Intuit democratizes AI development across teams through reusability. Disconnect between goals and daily tasksIs it me, or the industry? How can I explain to my manager that a project he wishes to undertake cannot be performed by the team? Can you help me to understand this explanation of shell quoting? Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Backspace and Tab keys might not work properly when you're logged in remotely to a Linux system. And when I press Ctrl + backspace the output is ^H. The virtual keyboard works as the physical one and is likely to aid you in finding out why is the backspace not working on Windows 10. I start my mintty session with xterm-256color, and I can reproduce the backspace problem as stated. :(. This worked for me! You signed in with another tab or window. Can I tell police to wait and call a lawyer when served with a search warrant? Print some odd charachters? Well, in reality, this is not the reason. Make sure you replace foo with exactly what follows the ^ [. Now, you may have thought that something is wrong with Chrome or some malware has done its wicked job. The "foo" part is what bash sees when you press ALT + CyrChar. Is it with the keyboard or with the laptop? Why do many companies reject expired SSL certificates as bugs in bug bounties? Use This Guide), Cursor Disappears in Chrome? You should see something like "^ [foo". Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Either the last space will get erased (backspace functioning correctly, delete. Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. ether@jolteon MSYS /w vegan) just to try it, does this inconvenience the caterers and staff? Is there any global settings where I can have this configurations done for all input? Manage Settings Has 90% of ice around Antarctica disappeared in less than a decade? Cygwin Terminal backspace and arrow keys not working. Pressing backspace with root gives weired character in putty Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. The backspace works on the cmd terminal of VS code though. 4) Reboot your computer; Windows should then reinstall your keyboard automatically. Changing the TERM variable to cygwin and adding SET TERM=cygwin to the .bat file didn't work for me, but I fixed it. It only takes a minute to sign up. That will give you backspace capabilities in everything but emacs. Super User is a question and answer site for computer enthusiasts and power users. (Solved! I reinstalled MSYS2 from scratch and updated all packages, no issue so far. BackSpace and Delete Configuration for Linux (VT, xterm, bash, tcsh Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! In my real situation I have input from program, which doesn't call read. Now, if you restart your vscode or terminal inside the vscode, TERM will reset to default and the problem will occur again. To open the virtual keyboard, go to Ease of Access keyboard settings and click Keyboard in the left panel. If it says "^H," then it uses the older Backspace character. Assuming ncurses 6.1 may break binary compatibility, it would need a rebuild of all packages which use ncurses. Unfortunately, theres no alternative key that would do the same as backspace however there may be a workaround: just try to select the text with your mouse/touchpad and tap the delete (DEL) button. Using indicator constraint with two variables, How do you get out of a corner when plotting yourself into a corner, Identify those arcade games from a 1983 Brazilian music video, Trying to understand how to get this basic Fourier Series, Redoing the align environment with a specific formatting. By clicking Post Your Answer, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. How do I print colored text to the terminal? To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. export TERM=xterm will set the emulator to xterm. backspace makes a ^H character - LinuxQuestions.org Here what I did: In package manager due installation I selected to install xterm: X11 terminal emulator, after installation I added SET TERM=xterm to the .bat file (like proposed above), launched terminal and in Options -> Terminal menu selected Type=xterm, then restarted terminal. 6,402, 678 Maybe key mapping. This also resolved a similar issue I was having with the cursor keys. Why do small African island nations perform better than African continental nations, considering democracy and human development? @whtyger this worked for this script. I had exactly this. By clicking Sign up for GitHub, you agree to our terms of service and At times, your keyboard is greatly influenced by these keys. To avoid this, use VT100.backarrowKey: false instead, so: (see also https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Xterm#Fix_the_backspace_key). typing echo xy does print y, but shows at the command line while typing as $ echo x y, and typing echo xy does print yx but shows at the input line as $ echo xyx. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. There are several different ways to set your backspace key when this happens. Phil. How can I check if a program exists from a Bash script? Its much worse if it happens to other keys on your keyboard as well. I tried to google my problem a lot but didn't find solution that works for me. Go to Start , then select Settings > Ease of Access > Keyboard, and turn on the toggle under Use the On-Screen Keyboard. Browse other questions tagged, Where developers & technologists share private knowledge with coworkers, Reach developers & technologists worldwide, Enter the following in terminal and check what happens: export TERM=xterm. Then I set my TERM to xterm-256color which caused the issue to appear; downgrading ncurses to 6.0 fixes the issue. How To Fix Backspace Not Working In Windows 10 - The Droid Guy Is There Any Shortcut for the Backspace Key on the laptop / PC? for Backspace. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. The text was updated successfully, but these errors were encountered: It seems the shell is not able to move the cursor backwards, and when it tries to re-render the line, it just appends the new string instead of replacing the old one. My backspace key and zsh vi-mode are broken on command line when i use tmux. The nature of simulating nature: A Q&A with IBM Quantum researcher Dr. Jamie We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup, Backspace, del, arrow keys not working with interactive programs in Tilda, In SSH Terminal, I can't type any character. FWIW, I tried rebuilding bash locally (first time, so hopefully it's OK) and it seems to fix the issue. .bashrc edit messes up terminal command arrow-up history print, Keyboard lockup when typing and random characters, gnome-terminal hides ending characters of the current path's first row, How to delete a tracker tag containing special characters. I noticed few missing files in msys2 filesystem package like the one that autoregenerates fstab, what was the reason this one was removed ? [rendering fine] Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. 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