Arrow keys in text input cannot be remapped

[musjj]

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

• VS Code version: Code 1.88.1 (e170252, 2024-04-10T17:34:12.840Z)
• OS version: Linux x64 6.6.28

Steps to Reproduce:

keybindings.json

[
  {
    "key": "ctrl+b",
    "command": "cursorLeft",
    "when": "textInputFocus"
  },
  {
    "key": "left",
    "command": "-cursorLeft",
    "when": "textInputFocus"
  }
]

ctrl+b has no effect on text input boxes and left still functions anyways.

[alexdima]

Most input boxes in vscode are native <input> elements and not implemented via code editors. These keybinding rules work for the input boxes backed by a code editor, such as the SCM input, extension search input, debug console, but not all inputs in vscode need rich functionality.

[VSCodeTriageBot]

This feature request is now a candidate for our backlog. The community has 60 days to upvote the issue. If it receives 20 upvotes we will move it to our backlog. If not, we will close it. To learn more about how we handle feature requests, please see our documentation.

Happy Coding!

[spartanatreyu]

@musjj What's the use case for wanting Ctrl+b to be cursor left?

Is this an emacs-ism?

If so, would it be better to implement this at the userspace level so it works on all the user's programs? Something like an AutoHotkey script or MacOS's built-in shortcuts?

[musjj]

It's more of a readline-ism (bash, etc.). I think using external solutions like AHK wouldn't work very well, because you want the shortcut to be active only in input boxes and I don't think there's a way to detect that. Also, I'm on Linux and I don't think there's anything like AHK yet here.