Key Bindings

rune.bind("f1", function() rune.send("cast shield") end)
rune.bind("ctrl+g", function() rune.pane.toggle("map") end, { name = "map-toggle" })
rune.unbind("f1")

The callback is always a function; binds don’t take command strings the way aliases and triggers do. Call rune.send inside the callback.

Key names

Printable keys use the character itself: a-z, digits, `, and so on. Special keys: f1-f12, up/down/left/right, pageup/pagedown, home/end, tab, escape, backspace, delete, insert. Modifiers: alt+ combines with any key; ctrl+ with letters, arrows, pageup/pagedown, and home/end; shift+ with tab, arrows, and home/end. Enter is not bindable: it submits a normal command or, while the visible composer is open, sends the draft verbatim. Ctrl+Enter (reported by most terminals as ctrl+j) is reserved for inserting a composer newline.

Printable keys and typing

A bound printable key (like ` or j) fires only when the input line is empty, so hotkeys and typing coexist without a modal system. Type jump normally; press j on an empty line and it acts as a hotkey.

Bracketed paste is also intercepted before binds, so pasting one bound character cannot trigger it. A plain one-line paste stays in normal input; structured text enters the verbatim composer.

Internal input modes

Pickers and the composer own the keys needed to edit or cancel them. In the composer that includes text and cursor editing, literal Tab, and two-step Escape discard. Application chords the composer does not use can still run a Lua bind — the default Ctrl+E editor binding is the important example. When the composer or picker closes, normal binding policy resumes.

Options

Binds take the common options name and group. Rebinding a key always replaces whatever was on it, named or not.

Examples

Movement keys, grouped:

rune.bind("up",    function() rune.send("north") end, { group = "numpad-walk" })
rune.bind("down",  function() rune.send("south") end, { group = "numpad-walk" })
-- /group numpad-walk off  when you need arrows for history again

Editing helpers using the input API:

rune.bind("ctrl+u", function() rune.input.set("") end)
rune.bind("ctrl+w", function() rune.input.delete_word() end)

Defaults

The default keymap (history navigation, pickers, completion, scrolling, $EDITOR editing) is registered with rune.bind in the core scripts; the full table is in the rune.bind reference. Rebinding a key in your init.lua replaces the default.

Managing

By name: rune.binds.disable/enable/remove(name) — the full management suite is in the API reference. In the client, /binds lists every binding with its state, group, and the file:line that registered it.

Gotchas

A disabled bind (or one in a disabled group) swallows its key without running the callback in normal input; the key does not fall through to typing. Use rune.unbind(key) to give the key back to the input line.
A callback that errors three times in a row is quarantined.