Terminal: Expand list of similar filename shortcut





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I remember reading a trick in a stackoverflow comment somewhere for getting a list of filenames in the terminal, but I can't exactly remember it.



If you have a bunch of files like:



foo-a.txt

foo-b.txt

foo-c.txt


There is a trick that goes something along the lines of:




  1. type cat foo-*

  2. Press something like tab, backspace, esc (this does not work, but is the step I want to know)

  3. The command line should now have cat foo-a foo-b foo-c


Note that is is different to the basic tab completion which shows a list of filenames below the command. This will put all the filenames in the command input so that pressing "enter" will execute cat with all the files.



Can anyone enlighten me?






command-line bash shortcut-keys







share|improve this question































    3















    I remember reading a trick in a stackoverflow comment somewhere for getting a list of filenames in the terminal, but I can't exactly remember it.



    If you have a bunch of files like:



    foo-a.txt
    
foo-b.txt
    
foo-c.txt


    There is a trick that goes something along the lines of:




    1. type cat foo-*

    2. Press something like tab, backspace, esc (this does not work, but is the step I want to know)

    3. The command line should now have cat foo-a foo-b foo-c


    Note that is is different to the basic tab completion which shows a list of filenames below the command. This will put all the filenames in the command input so that pressing "enter" will execute cat with all the files.



    Can anyone enlighten me?






    command-line bash shortcut-keys







    share|improve this question



























      3












      3








      3


      0






      I remember reading a trick in a stackoverflow comment somewhere for getting a list of filenames in the terminal, but I can't exactly remember it.



      If you have a bunch of files like:



      foo-a.txt
      
foo-b.txt
      
foo-c.txt


      There is a trick that goes something along the lines of:




      1. type cat foo-*

      2. Press something like tab, backspace, esc (this does not work, but is the step I want to know)

      3. The command line should now have cat foo-a foo-b foo-c


      Note that is is different to the basic tab completion which shows a list of filenames below the command. This will put all the filenames in the command input so that pressing "enter" will execute cat with all the files.



      Can anyone enlighten me?






      command-line bash shortcut-keys







      share|improve this question
















      I remember reading a trick in a stackoverflow comment somewhere for getting a list of filenames in the terminal, but I can't exactly remember it.



      If you have a bunch of files like:



      foo-a.txt
      
foo-b.txt
      
foo-c.txt


      There is a trick that goes something along the lines of:




      1. type cat foo-*

      2. Press something like tab, backspace, esc (this does not work, but is the step I want to know)

      3. The command line should now have cat foo-a foo-b foo-c


      Note that is is different to the basic tab completion which shows a list of filenames below the command. This will put all the filenames in the command input so that pressing "enter" will execute cat with all the files.



      Can anyone enlighten me?






      command-line bash shortcut-keys




      command-line bash shortcut-keys






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited Feb 3 at 8:45







      mdsimmo

















      asked Feb 3 at 8:17









      mdsimmomdsimmo

      486




      486






















          2 Answers
          2






          active

          oldest

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          6















          1. Type cat foo-*

          2. Press Ctrl+X then * (asterisk - Shift+8 on a US keyboard) to expand the glob


            • That's the default shortcut. If it doesn't work, check bind -p | grep glob-expand-word to see if it's set as the default: "C-x*": glob-expand-word. If it's not, you can set it with bind '"C-x*": glob-expand-word'.



          3. The command line should now be cat foo-a.txt foo-b.txt foo-c.txt




          glob-expand-word vs insert-completions



          OP's answer is about insert-completions (Esc, *), which is similar but different to glob-expand-word. glob-expand-word expands filename globs. insert-completions inserts all the possible completions that pressing Tab would show.



          So that means you can also use it for things besides filenames, like options. For example type ls --f, press Esc, *, and you will get ls --file-type --format=, though I'm not sure what good that does...



          And that means that it behaves differently when expanding filenames or globs. For example if you type cat foo-* and press Esc, *, it will expand to only the first completion: cat foo-a.txt.






          share|improve this answer


























          • Thanks, that it! Btw: You can also use esc instead of ctr+x

            – mdsimmo
            Feb 3 at 8:59






          • 1





            @mdsimmo Esc, * is a different function actually. I just checked bind -p | grep '\e*' and it says "e*": insert-completions. I'm not clear on the exact difference, but if you type cat * then press Esc, *, it will expand to just the first matching item.

            – wjandrea
            Feb 3 at 9:02





















          3














          I found the original comment here. (Can someone with more points upvote him for me? :P)



          The sequence is:




          • Type cat foo-

          • Press esc

          • Press * (asterisk)


          The same sequence seems to work with any program (not just cat)






          share|improve this answer





















          • 1





            Upvoted the comment per request :p (BTW, worth noting that comment upvotes don't count towards reputation points)

            – wjandrea
            Feb 3 at 22:16












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          2 Answers
          2






          active

          oldest

          votes








          2 Answers
          2






          active

          oldest

          votes









          active

          oldest

          votes






          active

          oldest

          votes









          6















          1. Type cat foo-*

          2. Press Ctrl+X then * (asterisk - Shift+8 on a US keyboard) to expand the glob


            • That's the default shortcut. If it doesn't work, check bind -p | grep glob-expand-word to see if it's set as the default: "C-x*": glob-expand-word. If it's not, you can set it with bind '"C-x*": glob-expand-word'.



          3. The command line should now be cat foo-a.txt foo-b.txt foo-c.txt




          glob-expand-word vs insert-completions



          OP's answer is about insert-completions (Esc, *), which is similar but different to glob-expand-word. glob-expand-word expands filename globs. insert-completions inserts all the possible completions that pressing Tab would show.



          So that means you can also use it for things besides filenames, like options. For example type ls --f, press Esc, *, and you will get ls --file-type --format=, though I'm not sure what good that does...



          And that means that it behaves differently when expanding filenames or globs. For example if you type cat foo-* and press Esc, *, it will expand to only the first completion: cat foo-a.txt.






          share|improve this answer


























          • Thanks, that it! Btw: You can also use esc instead of ctr+x

            – mdsimmo
            Feb 3 at 8:59






          • 1





            @mdsimmo Esc, * is a different function actually. I just checked bind -p | grep '\e*' and it says "e*": insert-completions. I'm not clear on the exact difference, but if you type cat * then press Esc, *, it will expand to just the first matching item.

            – wjandrea
            Feb 3 at 9:02


















          6















          1. Type cat foo-*

          2. Press Ctrl+X then * (asterisk - Shift+8 on a US keyboard) to expand the glob


            • That's the default shortcut. If it doesn't work, check bind -p | grep glob-expand-word to see if it's set as the default: "C-x*": glob-expand-word. If it's not, you can set it with bind '"C-x*": glob-expand-word'.



          3. The command line should now be cat foo-a.txt foo-b.txt foo-c.txt




          glob-expand-word vs insert-completions



          OP's answer is about insert-completions (Esc, *), which is similar but different to glob-expand-word. glob-expand-word expands filename globs. insert-completions inserts all the possible completions that pressing Tab would show.



          So that means you can also use it for things besides filenames, like options. For example type ls --f, press Esc, *, and you will get ls --file-type --format=, though I'm not sure what good that does...



          And that means that it behaves differently when expanding filenames or globs. For example if you type cat foo-* and press Esc, *, it will expand to only the first completion: cat foo-a.txt.






          share|improve this answer


























          • Thanks, that it! Btw: You can also use esc instead of ctr+x

            – mdsimmo
            Feb 3 at 8:59






          • 1





            @mdsimmo Esc, * is a different function actually. I just checked bind -p | grep '\e*' and it says "e*": insert-completions. I'm not clear on the exact difference, but if you type cat * then press Esc, *, it will expand to just the first matching item.

            – wjandrea
            Feb 3 at 9:02
















          6












          6








          6








          1. Type cat foo-*

          2. Press Ctrl+X then * (asterisk - Shift+8 on a US keyboard) to expand the glob


            • That's the default shortcut. If it doesn't work, check bind -p | grep glob-expand-word to see if it's set as the default: "C-x*": glob-expand-word. If it's not, you can set it with bind '"C-x*": glob-expand-word'.



          3. The command line should now be cat foo-a.txt foo-b.txt foo-c.txt




          glob-expand-word vs insert-completions



          OP's answer is about insert-completions (Esc, *), which is similar but different to glob-expand-word. glob-expand-word expands filename globs. insert-completions inserts all the possible completions that pressing Tab would show.



          So that means you can also use it for things besides filenames, like options. For example type ls --f, press Esc, *, and you will get ls --file-type --format=, though I'm not sure what good that does...



          And that means that it behaves differently when expanding filenames or globs. For example if you type cat foo-* and press Esc, *, it will expand to only the first completion: cat foo-a.txt.






          share|improve this answer
















          1. Type cat foo-*

          2. Press Ctrl+X then * (asterisk - Shift+8 on a US keyboard) to expand the glob


            • That's the default shortcut. If it doesn't work, check bind -p | grep glob-expand-word to see if it's set as the default: "C-x*": glob-expand-word. If it's not, you can set it with bind '"C-x*": glob-expand-word'.



          3. The command line should now be cat foo-a.txt foo-b.txt foo-c.txt




          glob-expand-word vs insert-completions



          OP's answer is about insert-completions (Esc, *), which is similar but different to glob-expand-word. glob-expand-word expands filename globs. insert-completions inserts all the possible completions that pressing Tab would show.



          So that means you can also use it for things besides filenames, like options. For example type ls --f, press Esc, *, and you will get ls --file-type --format=, though I'm not sure what good that does...



          And that means that it behaves differently when expanding filenames or globs. For example if you type cat foo-* and press Esc, *, it will expand to only the first completion: cat foo-a.txt.







          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited Feb 3 at 22:40

























          answered Feb 3 at 8:56









          wjandreawjandrea

          9,57142765




          9,57142765













          • Thanks, that it! Btw: You can also use esc instead of ctr+x

            – mdsimmo
            Feb 3 at 8:59






          • 1





            @mdsimmo Esc, * is a different function actually. I just checked bind -p | grep '\e*' and it says "e*": insert-completions. I'm not clear on the exact difference, but if you type cat * then press Esc, *, it will expand to just the first matching item.

            – wjandrea
            Feb 3 at 9:02





















          • Thanks, that it! Btw: You can also use esc instead of ctr+x

            – mdsimmo
            Feb 3 at 8:59






          • 1





            @mdsimmo Esc, * is a different function actually. I just checked bind -p | grep '\e*' and it says "e*": insert-completions. I'm not clear on the exact difference, but if you type cat * then press Esc, *, it will expand to just the first matching item.

            – wjandrea
            Feb 3 at 9:02



















          Thanks, that it! Btw: You can also use esc instead of ctr+x

          – mdsimmo
          Feb 3 at 8:59





          Thanks, that it! Btw: You can also use esc instead of ctr+x

          – mdsimmo
          Feb 3 at 8:59




          1




          1





          @mdsimmo Esc, * is a different function actually. I just checked bind -p | grep '\e*' and it says "e*": insert-completions. I'm not clear on the exact difference, but if you type cat * then press Esc, *, it will expand to just the first matching item.

          – wjandrea
          Feb 3 at 9:02







          @mdsimmo Esc, * is a different function actually. I just checked bind -p | grep '\e*' and it says "e*": insert-completions. I'm not clear on the exact difference, but if you type cat * then press Esc, *, it will expand to just the first matching item.

          – wjandrea
          Feb 3 at 9:02















          3














          I found the original comment here. (Can someone with more points upvote him for me? :P)



          The sequence is:




          • Type cat foo-

          • Press esc

          • Press * (asterisk)


          The same sequence seems to work with any program (not just cat)






          share|improve this answer





















          • 1





            Upvoted the comment per request :p (BTW, worth noting that comment upvotes don't count towards reputation points)

            – wjandrea
            Feb 3 at 22:16
















          3














          I found the original comment here. (Can someone with more points upvote him for me? :P)



          The sequence is:




          • Type cat foo-

          • Press esc

          • Press * (asterisk)


          The same sequence seems to work with any program (not just cat)






          share|improve this answer





















          • 1





            Upvoted the comment per request :p (BTW, worth noting that comment upvotes don't count towards reputation points)

            – wjandrea
            Feb 3 at 22:16














          3












          3








          3







          I found the original comment here. (Can someone with more points upvote him for me? :P)



          The sequence is:




          • Type cat foo-

          • Press esc

          • Press * (asterisk)


          The same sequence seems to work with any program (not just cat)






          share|improve this answer















          I found the original comment here. (Can someone with more points upvote him for me? :P)



          The sequence is:




          • Type cat foo-

          • Press esc

          • Press * (asterisk)


          The same sequence seems to work with any program (not just cat)







          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited Feb 3 at 22:15









          wjandrea

          9,57142765




          9,57142765










          answered Feb 3 at 8:55









          mdsimmomdsimmo

          486




          486








          • 1





            Upvoted the comment per request :p (BTW, worth noting that comment upvotes don't count towards reputation points)

            – wjandrea
            Feb 3 at 22:16














          • 1





            Upvoted the comment per request :p (BTW, worth noting that comment upvotes don't count towards reputation points)

            – wjandrea
            Feb 3 at 22:16








          1




          1





          Upvoted the comment per request :p (BTW, worth noting that comment upvotes don't count towards reputation points)

          – wjandrea
          Feb 3 at 22:16





          Upvoted the comment per request :p (BTW, worth noting that comment upvotes don't count towards reputation points)

          – wjandrea
          Feb 3 at 22:16


















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