vscode terminal sends ctrl+<arrow key> instead of alt+<arrow key>

[kaysond]

Does this issue occur when all extensions are disabled?: Yes

• VS Code Version: 1.80.0
• OS Version: Windows 10

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Enable terminal.integrated.sendKeybindingsToShell
2. Focus terminal and press alt and any arrow key

I used fish_key_reader to see what the terminal is sending:

• vscode terminal
  • alt+left: \e\[1\;5D
  • ctrl+left: \e\[1\;5D
• windows terminal, gnome terminal, etc
  • alt+left: \e\[1\;3D
  • ctrl+left: \e\[1\;5D

Tried searching through the options and old issues, but couldn't find anything to resolve it

[vscodenpa]

Thanks for creating this issue! It looks like you may be using an old version of VS Code, the latest stable release is 1.81.1. Please try upgrading to the latest version and checking whether this issue remains.

Happy Coding!

[kaysond]

Issue exists on 1.81.1 too

[Tyriar]

This was actually done by design. There's a change to remove it in xterm.js and add it as a special keybinding in vscode here: xtermjs/xterm.js#4538

In the meantime and even after that is done, you should add a custom keybinding as described here: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/terminal/advanced#_custom-sequence-keybindings

[Tyriar]

Action on my side is to look into why this was done again (I think it was to align typical terminal shortcuts with the editor) and make sure it's documented on the site.

[kaysond]

Action on my side is to look into why this was done again (I think it was to align typical terminal shortcuts with the editor) and make sure it's documented on the site.

Thanks!

Probably worth mentioning that even if you do remove the hack from xterm.js and add it to vscode... if terminal.integrated.sendKeybindingsToShell is set to true, then the alt+arrow should still get sent unmodified.

[Tyriar]

if terminal.integrated.sendKeybindingsToShell is set to true, then the alt+arrow should still get sent unmodified.

@kaysond I think when xtermjs/xterm.js#4538 is actioned that's how it will behave