Mac Kung Fu, 2nd Edition

Tip 364

Make Terminal Delete Words Like Other OS X Apps

In most OS X apps you can move the text cursor from word to word by holding down Option and tapping the Left/Right cursor keys. You can also delete words behind the cursor by holding down Option and hitting Delete (the key above Return on Mac keyboards; commonly referred to as Backspace on PC keyboards).

Terminal lets you use the Option+Left/Right cursor key combination, but not Option+Delete, to delete words. You could use the standard Bash keystroke to delete a word behind the cursor—Ctrl+W—or you could hit Esc and then hit Delete, but neither is entirely intuitive for Mac users.

The solution is simple. Open Terminal’s Preferences dialog box (hit Command+,), and then click the Settings ...