By default when you use FreeBSD's BASH shell and if you hit Home, Del, Insert keys all of them just prints ~ (some garbage is printed ). To get rid of this problem, edit /etc/profile file and define key binding.
1) Open your bash global profile file:
# vi /etc/profile
2) Add following line to it:
export INPUTRC=/usr/local/etc/inputrc
3) Close and save the file
4) Open the file /usr/local/etc/inputrc and define / modify key binding:
# vi /usr/local/etc/inputrc
5) Append following config data:
set meta-flag on set input-meta on set convert-meta off set output-meta on "\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 "\e[5C": forward-word "\e[5D": backward-word
6) Close and save the file
7) Now logout and login back again to test your new key settings.
Featured Articles:
- 20 Linux System Monitoring Tools Every SysAdmin Should Know
- 20 Linux Server Hardening Security Tips
- Linux: 20 Iptables Examples For New SysAdmins

- My 10 UNIX Command Line Mistakes
- 25 PHP Security Best Practices For Sys Admins
- The Novice Guide To Buying A Linux Laptop
- Top 5 Email Client For Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows Users
- Top 20 OpenSSH Server Best Security Practices
- Top 10 Open Source Web-Based Project Management Software
Facebook it - Tweet it - Print it -
We're here to help you make the most of sysadmin work. So, subscribe!


{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
And another one:
“x7F”: backward-delete-char
PS Nice hints ‘n tips on your site!
You can just copy /usr/compat/linux/etc/inputrc to /etc/inputrc and add “export INPUTRC=/etc/inputrc” to /etc/profile. Not sure if everyone has the /usr/compat/linux/etc/inputrc file, though. I’m on FreeBSD 6.1
PotatoSalad,
I am also not sure about freebsd 4.x. If you have the file just copy and use it :)
BTW, it’s
“\x7F”: backward-delete-char
Forget the backslash like BOK and your keyboard will be crippled off the ‘x’ key
Don’t forget the ‘ctl-v’ trick though. (I mentioned it here.) I’ve found some of those codes are different on different keyboards/machines!
WOW! Thanks – I just switched two dedicated servers from Fedora Core 4 to FreeBSD 6.1 and this was driving me crazy!!!
Here’s some more handy things to put in your /etc/profile
alias pico="nano -w"
alias slocate="locate"
alias cd..="cd .."
export EDITOR=/usr/local/bin/nano
export INPUTRC=/etc/inputrc
It’s also worth noting that if you don’t have permission to edit /etc/inputrc you can at least create a .inputrc file in your home directory
great!
Thanks a lot, that fixed the keys in bash, but there’s one more: the END key in the nano editor doesn’t work.
How would I get that going?
Thanks, but…
How to do this in (T)cshell ? I’ve no the program ‘export’.
I’m freebsd 7.1.
it works very well on bash – Solaris 10.
Thanks alot, i got a vps with freebsd and have been hard just because this issue, now even the paste and copy from mouse works perfectly.