How do you run the previous command in emacs shell?

Question

I am in terminal mode on Ubuntu, and I'm running emacs with 2 buffers open, one is a ruby file, and the other is a shell (opened by typing M-x shell ), and when I switch to the shell buffer, I want to run the same command that I ran before. I would normally just hit the up arrow in a terminal window, but in emacs, it simply puts the cursor up one line.

Does anyone know of keystroke to run the previous shell command from within an emacs shell?

score 64 · Accepted Answer · answered May 11 '10 at 05:30

64

M-p does the job

answered May 11 '10 at 05:30

vava

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Thanks! I searched a bit, but couldn't find it. – Lidmith May 11 '10 at 05:35
Small note for anyone else struggling with DrRacket: you may need to `(require readline)` before some Emacs shortcuts work in the REPL. – William John Holden Jun 14 '22 at 19:53

score 26 · Answer 2 · answered May 12 '10 at 03:48

26

In addition to M-p, you can also use C-up, which I find preferable. The complementary keys M-n or C-down will get you the next command in history.

answered May 12 '10 at 03:48

Prakash K

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Ah, ty. That seems more natural. – Lidmith May 12 '10 at 17:56
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Even though it was not put in the initial question, I have to admit that [C-up] and [C-down] do not work in Emacs via terminal (PuTTY). – avp Jun 13 '14 at 09:01
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It also doesn't seem to work on my Mac; C-up is mapped to a Mac-specific function. – amo Jul 22 '14 at 18:23
For me too `C-up` is mapped to `expose`. And `M-p` feels more natural to me. – Indradhanush Gupta Oct 08 '14 at 09:32

score 5 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 26 '14 at 00:30

5

You might also add this to your emacs init file:

(define-key comint-mode-map (kbd "<up>") 'comint-previous-input)
(define-key comint-mode-map (kbd "<down>") 'comint-next-input)

answered Aug 26 '14 at 00:30

thiagowfx

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score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 21 '15 at 14:02

thiagowfx solution is preferable to me, since I usually try to avoid context-dependency. However, in order for it to work I had to add loading comint mode first:

(progn(require 'comint)
(define-key comint-mode-map (kbd "<up>") 'comint-previous-input)
(define-key comint-mode-map (kbd "<down>") 'comint-next-input))

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Nov 29 '16 at 23:09

0

DeLorean88's answer worked for me, but only with a second closing bracket on the "progn" line:

(progn(require 'comint))
(define-key comint-mode-map (kbd "<up>") 'comint-previous-input)
(define-key comint-mode-map (kbd "<down>") 'comint-next-input))

answered Nov 29 '16 at 23:09

Kevin Bartlett

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Check your file again. The second define-key should cause a syntax error as the last closing bracket is not matched by a first. – vfclists Aug 26 '17 at 07:16

How do you run the previous command in emacs shell?

5 Answers5