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Backward Delete Word

Delete entire words with Option+Delete (backward) or Option+Fn+Delete (forward) in the terminal.

Intended Usage​

ShortcutActionDescription
Option+Deletebackward-kill-wordDelete word before cursor
Option+Fn+Deletekill-wordDelete word after cursor
Option+←backward-wordMove cursor back one word
Option+→forward-wordMove cursor forward one word

Problem​

Option+Delete does not delete words.

Root cause: macOS terminals treat Option as the Option key rather than as Alt/Meta (for terminal escape sequences).

Solution​

Ghostty​

Add to ~/.config/ghostty/config:

macos-option-as-alt = left

Options:

  • left - Left Option acts as Alt, right Option types special characters
  • right - Right Option acts as Alt, left Option types special characters
  • true - Both Option keys act as Alt

Reload with Cmd+Shift+R or restart Ghostty.

Fish Shell Keybindings​

Ensure these bindings exist in ~/.config/fish/conf.d/50-keybindings.fish:

# Option+Backspace (backward delete word)
bind \e\b backward-kill-word
bind \e\x7f backward-kill-word

# Option+Delete (forward delete word)
bind \e\[3\;9~ kill-word

Verification​

  1. Open a new terminal
  2. Type: hello world
  3. Press Option+Delete
  4. Expected: hello (word "world" deleted)
  • config/ghostty/config - Ghostty terminal configuration
  • config/fish/conf.d/50-keybindings.fish - Fish shell keybindings