bash backspace not working bash backspace not working

I checked my /var/log/pacman.log which ended with: So, somewhere between 2018-01-15 and 2018-01-30 this regression happened. 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. Esc, Enter, and Spacebar are prone to stop operating altogether with backspace, which is very common. Why does my backspace key keep being unbound from erase? How to match a specific column position till the end of line? As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. When I enter TERM=xterm, the problem disappears, even after I set TERM=xterm-256color again. Now, if you still use VI, sometimes the translation doesn't work and you have to actually type ^H in vi, but that's OK. You could have said: stty erase k [ENTER] 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. What is a word for the arcane equivalent of a monastery? 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. 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. Welcome to Unix & Linux! 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. Assuming you're using gnome-terminal as emulator, open the Edit manu and click on Profile preferences. Windows keyboards also have a Delete key, but this deletes characters in a forward direction. Added on Jan 19 2014. 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. In the terminal, press Ctrl + v and press your backspace. Share Improve this answer Follow answered Apr 11, 2015 at 10:06 Kunal Kapadia 151 1 1 Add a comment 4 Just to chime in the new ssp changes break building ncurses, undefined references to FILE in ssp/stdio.h and ssp/whar.h. Doing your suggested change results in backspace working for both. I found this one that worked for me. Rebuild bash can fix the problem. The update for bash to version 4.4.019-1 fixed the shell history in mintty's terminal mode xterm-256color for me. Note: if you already installed cygwin just run installer again and add xterm package. This simple comment is certainly the best solution I have seen to this. You can even remove the Backspace key to know whether it is damp or covered with dust and clean it completely. Now, if you still use VI, sometimes the translation doesn't work and you have to actually type ^H in vi, but that's OK. and it literally would have translated 'k' into the erase/delete character.. Once I copied the "cygwin" file to this location, the bash shell backspace key worked fine, as did tab and others. The "foo" part is what bash sees when you press ALT + CyrChar. You may notice this problem when you log in to remote machines over SSH, ones that run non-Linux Unix operating systems, particularly proprietary systems like Oracle's Solaris. The cursor keys work too since the bash 4.4.0.19-1 and still with 4.4.0.19-2 . ether@jolteon MSYS /w They might say something like "I love Linux system mangling^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hadministration.". Then use bind '"\efoo":kill-word' to bind that to the kill-word command. It's worth noting that you aren't getting "a space": It's failing to move the cursor back to erase the character. 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. Additionally, the release notes say: hese notes are for ncurses 6.1, released January 27, 2018. 7 Exciting Smartphones Unveiled at MWC 2023, The 5 Weirdest Products We Saw at MWC 2023, 4 Unexpected Uses for Computer Vision In Use Right Now, What Is Google Imagen AI? 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. Problem with finding FILE strict is solved yesterday. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Here's how you can easily remediate this issue. Is there a proper earth ground point in this switch box? Alternatively, just dont go full-width with your screen. I build my application image with the multi-stages build. To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. Okay, yeah, I didn't know of this issue. is it possible in HP-UX HPE GreenLake Products Support Contact Dashboard Applications Devices Manage My cart Close Close HPE GreenLake Cloud Consoles in communication from California State University, East Bay. I know it is strange. Replacing broken pins/legs on a DIP IC package. How to make the prompt beep with every key press/character printed? EDIT2: My bad the error occurs on Windows 10 as well. Fortunately, this is easy to fix with a simple command. 1) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to invoke the Run box. The PR linked just above should work around the crash, I hope. ), HDMI 2.0 Max Refresh Rate & Resolution (Can You Get 144Hz?). Bulk update symbol size units from mm to map units in rule-based symbology. To add it to bashrc, type following in your terminal: go to command palette and select open shortcut key words go to this file and delete all data in this file. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. Changing the TERM variable to cygwin and adding SET TERM=cygwin to the .bat file didn't work for me, but I fixed it. Reboot your laptop or PC so that Windows can reinstall the keyboard automatically. 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. So I'm stuck having to manually type stty erase [whatever] to fix it when I notice the backspace key is wrong. 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. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. My understanding is that the shell handles stdin buffering, so shouldn't the backspace-handling be the same for both the shell and an app? 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. The backspace works on the cmd terminal of VS code though. This is also the inference to draw when other keys do not work. Use # stty icanon to allow the "canonical (cooked) mode". Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. The problem is that there are many ways to represent a backspace, but the read command doesn't understand all of them. Readers like you help support MUO. 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. I run: And I found that doesn't work. ether@jolteon MSYS /w Simply, plug in another functional keyboard to your existing laptop or PC and see whether its Backspace key is working or not. Is There Any Shortcut for the Backspace Key on the laptop / PC? Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. or stty erase "^?" depending on which of these you normally see when you hit your backspace. when I hit the Backspace key, I get a space. I am using tmux to force the error since it uses an relatively uncommon terminal config. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? (Yes! Backspace, Tab not working in terminal (using ssh), cyberciti.biz/faq/howto-set-bash-as-your-default-shell, I followed the advice in this old reddit post, How Intuit democratizes AI development across teams through reusability. I've emailed several times over the past year, but it doesn't seem like a priority. 6,402, 678 Maybe key mapping. There is discussion here and here but it probably only gets resolved if lots of people email github support. This is also the case with the Sticky key. $ TERM=xterm 2. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Once you press [ENTER] you should be able to press your [BACKSPACE] key and have it backspace/delete whatever you typed. You may have to edit several configuration files to tell all of the programs involved precisely what you want. How to have bash write two bash history files without changing bash source code? 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. Even am stuck on the same issue and from minty also backspace functionality is not working. We try our best to keep things fair and balanced, in order to help you make the best choice for you. ether@jolteon MSYS /w Filter keys are useful for easier typing than normal by deterring the keyboard from focusing on repeated or brief strokes. Similarly, try using the same problematic keyboard with another laptop or PC. Calculating probabilities from d6 dice pool (Degenesis rules for botches and triggers). Thanks. You can set the erase character to the one your computer uses with this simple command: Try this and see if the Backspace key works correctly. bash terminal If you don't have termcap installed install it but . Make sure you replace foo with exactly what follows the ^ [. 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. Check for the updates or try to quit and reset your Excel. Type CTRL-h instead of using backspace. xterm-256color ```. Reinstalling does not work either and i cannot recompile it either because the bootstrapped version also cannot find itself. Phil. Do new devs get fired if they can't solve a certain bug? This seems to happen with arrows and backspace. My code is GPL licensed, can I issue a license to have my code be distributed in a specific MIT licensed project? @SomeCallMeTim: I was able to fix this issue by using Minty, cygwin behaves in very wierd manner at times. Works for me on a bash integrated terminal in vscode. I just rebuilt bash from current msys2-packages and installed it and the issue seems gone. Doesn't work for me, apparently the cache was cleaned at some stage. You should see something like "^ [foo". What video game is Charlie playing in Poker Face S01E07? Why are Suriname, Belize, and Guinea-Bissau classified as "Small Island Developing States"? Many SSH clients let you modify the setting that controls how the Backspace (or delete) key functions. Is it possible to create a concave light? ether@jolteon MSYS /w From ubuntu all should works just fine. You can fix the Tab issue with the same as above. The corrupted association between windows 10 and your physical keyboard is the reason why your Backspace key has stopped working. Ive heard many people complaining about the backspace key not working properly on Discord and this is the Discord glitch. How to check if a string contains a substring in Bash. 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. Thanks @Tom for your link that fixed the issue for me. By clicking Post Your Answer, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. 32 related questions found. Are there tables of wastage rates for different fruit and veg? FWIW, I tried rebuilding bash locally (first time, so hopefully it's OK) and it seems to fix the issue. Can Martian regolith be easily melted with microwaves? i newer had any problem with it so im curious. 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. At times, your keyboard is greatly influenced by these keys. Then click Uninstall device. In the remote host, run #stty erase ^H. I followed the advice in this old reddit post: I copied the .terminfo folder from my user directory to the .terminfo folder under my root user directory. Acidity of alcohols and basicity of amines. 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. So a quick fix is as below: You can fix the Tab issue with the same as above. If you preorder a special airline meal (e.g. Instead of saying "Keep" for each, click it to make it say "Reinstall". However, after an update, you may have noticed that the shortcut does not work anymore. So tmux communicated to the remote host properly but we have backspace or some other matching key issue. This may be unintentional; Vim sees CTRL-H as a backspace (because CTRL-H is the ASCII code for a backspace), so you also cannot map anything to that. Currently I have ASCII DEL. Right-click anywhere in the Cygwin window, Mitty version = 1.2-beta1 (x86_64-pc-cygwin). How to handle a hobby that makes income in US. Using indicator constraint with two variables. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. you tell athena what to expect for the backspace key. Google has wittingly removed this shortcut, beginning from version 52. You can set this in your shell. How to follow the signal when reading the schematic? I noticed this using gVim in Windows. Did this satellite streak past the Hubble Space Telescope so close that it was out of focus? How to setup a background ssh tunnel which could automatically quit with terminal/session? Share. Thus, it is wise to use a tool such as Windows Defender or Malwarebytes for detecting malware intrusion. Click the Options button and enable the Control + Alt + Backspace check box under Key sequence to kill the X server. How To Fix Backspace Key on Laptop/PC with Windows 10/11, Fix 2: Check the Backspace Functionality on Another Laptop or PC, Fix 6: Scan for viruses and Other Malware, More specific cases of not working backspace key, Backspace Not Working in Chrome to Delete Text, The Backspace Key is Not Working in Excel, The Backspace Key is Not Working on Discord, The Backspace Key is Not Working in Outlook. 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 The simplest fix by far. It's available through the Cygwin installer. maybe related: https://bugs.archlinux.org/task/57300?project=1&string=ncurses, Possibly interesting development: mintty/mintty#738 (comment). It is useful when the physical keyboard has stopped working well. I'd highly recommend getting Partition Magic to "sqeeze" your existing Windows partition down in preparation for this process, though. 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. The reason why Google did so was several complaints of losing data unintentionally as a result of pressing Backspace while not typing. I added in braces how they behave on my system: I had the same problem, using bash in Gnome-Terminal. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. ncdu: What's going on with this second size column? Switch to the Compatibility tab and you should get these options: Now you can change the Backspace key generates: setting. The reason for this is because many Linux distro's ship with pre-made vimrc files which set some common options. If you have tried all the above-mentioned fixes and nothing works then chances are that its a software-specific issue. So, after ssh to unix host (it doesn't depend debian it or other host) set the TERM variable according to your terminal. Similar to the Backspace key, you can fix the issue using the stty command if Tab doesn't work in the terminal. Either the last space will get erased (backspace functioning correctly, delete. Therefore I suggest you add the export TERM=xterm in bash_profile or bashrc. by choronzon Tue May 14, 2013 12:22 am. command but not successfully. Thanks for contributing an answer to Ask Ubuntu! Disconnect between goals and daily tasksIs it me, or the industry? Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Now, you may have thought that something is wrong with Chrome or some malware has done its wicked job. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. Downgrading ncurses solved it for me. They are easy to follow and have both basic and advanced measures. 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. Crtl C and V worked, Ctrl-Z did not, Z worked. Did any DOS compatibility layers exist for any UNIX-like systems before DOS started to become outmoded? If you have checked your keyboard and it is physically good, have checked and updated the keyboard drivers, and have detected no malware attack, it is time to update Windows 10 / 11 if the Backspace key is still not working. 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. I tried checking the Backarrow sends ^H and Delete sends DEL settings in "broken" mode, but it did not seem to help, instead doing nothing when pressing those characters, if I recall correctly. No idea why. in my .bashrc file, and use some other terminal to access the server, it often ends up wrong. Note that, @roaima @Kusalananda Thanks for pointing it out that OP didn't mention. Hello, I have the same problem. @whtyger this worked for this script. I tried googling but didn't find what I was looking for! /usr/share/terminfo/r/ . I tried to google my problem a lot but didn't find solution that works for me. If you hit ^L you can see that backspace IS working. Anyway I found this post, which lead me to the solution for my install. Following change made it work, Found this at But it worked like a charm to me thanks to Yuksel, The problem was with 'termInfo' files, Steps he have suggested, confirm if the problem is terminal related by typing in CygWin Terminal, this should give (ignore the warning), WARNING: terminal is not fully functional, Get the information of 'TermCap' to which path or directory it is related to by typing below code in CygWin Terminal, infocmp: couldn't open terminfo file /usr/share/terminfo/63/cygwin, Or you might also get something starting with text like 'Reconstructed via infocmp', Run the below code in CygWin Terminal to run the diagnostics to get extra details about the path where the files are saved, that should respond you similar to below text, C:/cygwin / system binary,noacl, C:/cygwin/bin /usr/bin system binary,noacl, C:/cygwin/lib /usr/lib system binary,noacl, C:\cygwin\etc\terminfo /usr/share/terminfo system binary,noacl, cygdrive prefix /cygdrive user binary, noacl, posix=0, auto, from the output, you got from the 3rd step. Is this possible? Lets check which terminals the remote host supports. I get space when i hit backspace on both minty terminal as well as cygwin terminal, @Rachel Did you ever resolve this? I cant reproduce issue on my computer. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. That will give you backspace capabilities in everything but emacs. Most application will expect that you already have the emulator set to something compatible such as xterm or linux. It might help us identify where the problem lies. I hope that you will enjoy my blog. Normally you figure out which key code the shell sees and assign this to your desired "widget". when you hit the "backspace" key. Where does this (supposedly) Gibson quote come from? Has 90% of ice around Antarctica disappeared in less than a decade? This worked for me! Can you help me to understand this explanation of shell quoting? Bash is just the most visible of those (assuming there are more packages depending on ncurses). Ctrl + C Tags: Backspace Linux sqlplus Unix previous SQL Developer Change Language Im a developer, a dad, and a big tech enthusiast. rev2023.3.3.43278. I usually use this to fix any funky character output in my terminal. Never even though to look at my login shell! . This is a big hope to restore the keys functionality to Chrome and other applications. Why do many companies reject expired SSL certificates as bugs in bug bounties? In my case, I had to switch from xterm-256color to xterm-88color and it is far better than other options. How do I get to know the value of TERM? Ok thats a bit simpler, but wont it affect other sources to remove the hardening ? Can you give more details of how you installed and invoked Cygwin, and where exactly the backspace key fails to work? Now that you've sorted out the Backspace key issue in the Linux terminal, you can really get to work. Confirm it fixes the crash for me, thanks. to `ansi`) seems to fix everything, but it's weirder than that: What sort of keyboard do you have? How to tell which packages are held back due to phased updates. rev2023.3.3.43278. 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. If it is set to "^C" or "^\" it is your problem. 4) Reboot your computer; Windows should then reinstall your keyboard automatically. Use This Guide), Cursor Disappears in Chrome? In my case backspace was not at all working after creating blank ~/.vimrc. backspace in Vim instert mode (see here: https://bugs.gentoo.org/154090). ether@jolteon MSYS /w I don't want to apply a bandaid by setting TERM variables to something other than what was working before my mishap. If the key works, it means that your physical keyboard is somewhat damaged or broken. Note that Docker is not mentioned by the user. TERM=blahblah . To avoid this, use VT100.backarrowKey: false instead, so: (see also https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Xterm#Fix_the_backspace_key). On Windows 10 (Fall Creators Update) both TERMs don't produce this error (at least for me). 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 . I also know of other people bumping into this issue, which, again, is quite a dealbreaker. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. This one fixed it for me. To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. But there is a far simpler way found here: Our journey has still to come to an end. If you preorder a special airline meal (e.g. I think your TERM was set to something incompatible. You should upgrade to 17.04 as soon as possible. I couldn't figure out why is this happening. 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. pacman -U /var/cache/pacman/pkg/ncurses-6.0.20170708-2-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz. 5 comments. If that is not the issue: Open the Settings App Go to Update & Security - Troubleshoot Run the Keyboard troubleshooter If that does not resolve this for you Open Device Manager Expand the Keyboards section Right click your keyboard and choose 'Uninstall' Then restart your PC ___________________________________________________________________ There are several different ways to set your backspace key when this happens. Then I set my TERM to xterm-256color which caused the issue to appear; downgrading ncurses to 6.0 fixes the issue. If the issue is only with the Backspace key, you can try and disable the filter or sticky keys. @Rachel Thanks, though I found out that my problem was that the Cygwin install missed some important files (like /usr/lib/terminfo). Disconnect between goals and daily tasksIs it me, or the industry? Does it do anything? You can check what control characters the system uses with the stty command. Left and right arrows at the shell prompt don't skip chars as expected, but ctrl-v and then pressing an arrow key does print a correct (I think) string, e.g. Thus, you should try one or all of them to get the key working again. I searched for issues with backspace key and i tried checking and unchecking iterm's "delete key sends ^H" option but it did not change backspace behavior. I noticed few missing files in msys2 filesystem package like the one that autoregenerates fstab, what was the reason this one was removed ? If the above fail to work, the last resort, you may interrupt the current line to start it over in the new line. It's definitely a problem of tcsh since in any other application the backspace works fine. After connecting from Fedora to an OpenWrt host with ssh the remote bash If the file is not a POSIX compliant text file, the last line may not include a newline character . If the backspace was working okay initially and no longer is then try using the "reset" command. NOTE: this folder might be different from yours depending on the installation. If you change the TERM variable in CYGWIN before telnet or SSH to a host you will get much better results: The host now knows you have an ANSI terminal type and it can use it's ANSI TERMCAP file to tell it how to communicate. Backspace versus Delete On a Windows keyboard, the backspace key deletes characters. Can I tell police to wait and call a lawyer when served with a search warrant? [1] 2. To solve the backspace problem, type Code: $ stty erase ^H And if you want to go to the previous commands that you've typed, /sbin/sh does not provide this feature, you have to use bash, so type Code: $ bash This User Gave Thanks to gabam For This Post: Corona688 Login or Register to Ask a Question Previous Thread | Next Thread