Configurable Hotkeys Support

[pidgeon777]

What feature would you like to see?

It would be highly valuable to introduce configurable hotkeys in Codex. Currently, key bindings such as Ctrl+J, Ctrl+H, etc., are hardcoded. Allowing users to customize these shortcuts would greatly improve accessibility and workflow efficiency across different environments and personal preferences.

How it could be implemented:

• Add a section (e.g., [keybindings]) to the existing config.toml file, where users can specify custom bindings for actions like 'newline', 'backspace', etc.
• At runtime, Codex would read this configuration and dynamically map keyboard events to user-defined actions.
• Provide clear documentation and examples for supported key names and modifier combinations (Ctrl, Alt, Shift, Enter, single characters).

Example config.toml section:

[keybindings]
newline = "Ctrl+J"
backspace = "Ctrl+H"
move_left = "Ctrl+B"

This feature would make Codex more flexible and user-friendly, especially for users with specific accessibility needs or those coming from different editor backgrounds.

Are you interested in implementing this feature?

I am interested in helping discuss the design, but may not have time to implement. Please coordinate before starting a PR.

Additional information

This approach could also pave the way for future extensibility, such as per-profile or per-mode bindings, and easier adaptation to international keyboards.

[bartlettroscoe]

I can't use Ctrl+J when codex CLI is running in a terminal in VS Code because Ctrl+J toggles the terminal view.

So codex is less usable when running inside a VS Code terminal (such as when running on a remote machine using the "Remote-SSH" extension).

[jtele2]

For me, most of the line editor commands seem to work (option+delete kills word, and option+f and option + b move forward and back). However, option+d does not kill word forward. I don't understand why some work and others don't?

[ejkitchen]

I really would prefer the default to be shift-enter instead of ctrl-j for newline. ctrl-j is not intuitive or at least support configurable key bindings to allow this change. You go from ChatGPT web or any other LLM web interface and then you get here and it's another paradigm.

[mwotton]

in particular, having ctrl-k killing to end of line but not putting it into a buffer you can use with ctrl-y is maddening

[dawidgora]

For me it's super important feature because:

• when I want to use it inside PhpStorm's terminal, current keymap collides with some PhpStorm's which makes it less-usable and makes me use regular Terminal app
• I'm using corne keyboard and I don't even have some of the keys that are used in default keymap

[rsyring]

I 👍 this issue but the only thing I really care about is the newline hotkey. CTRL+J or even ALT+Enter is not intuitive at all. Shift+Enter is the most common combination for most messaging clients (Slack, Signal, etc.) that auto-submit on enter. Please make it configurable or add that as a default.

This one things makes the agent almost unusable for truly interactive usage. Muscle-memory is so baked in for shift+enter....accidentally submitting prompts is infuriating.

[dlukt]

How many times have I pressed ENTER to wrongly send everything I've written off, instead of just creating a new line.
I hate this in codex and in ChatGPT.

[dmugtasimov]

But they made Alt + Enter work. Have developers ever heard of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_least_astonishment !?

I vote for either making it configurable or either Ctrl + Enter or Shift + Enter ( Alt + Enter is first time in my life and I am 34 years with computers).

I am pressing Ctrl + Enter and it start processing partial prompt instead of letting me enter the rest. This is an example how one not very thoughtful decision ruins the entire great product. Or there is a plan to move the entier world to Alt + Enter :)