Zsh ZLE Standard Widgets — Default Key Bindings (Zsh 5.9) and Bash Readline Equivalents

This list gives all standard widgets (including those with and without default keybindings), a short summary, and the default key(s) for each, as found in Zsh 5.9 (emacs and vi modes).
Where available, the equivalent Bash Readline function and default keybinding are shown as Ctrl-X (Bash Readline).
Widgets with no default keybinding are listed without a key.
Third-party/community/user widgets (e.g. fzf, npm, z4h, bash*) are also listed when requested, but are not present in default zsh.

accept-and-hold
Accepts the current line but keeps it in the editor for further editing. Alt-A
accept-and-infer-next-history
Accepts the line and fetches the next history line matching the input.
accept-and-menu-complete
Accepts line and completes using menu completion if ambiguous.
accept-line
Accept and execute the current command line.
Enter (Emacs/vi-insert), : (vi-cmd)
Enter (Bash Readline, accept-line)
accept-line-and-down-history
Accepts the line and moves down in history, useful for multi-line editing. Ctrl-O
accept-search
Accepts the result of an incremental search.
argument-base
Sets the base for numeric arguments.
auto-suffix-remove
Remove the automatically added suffix (e.g., a space after completion).
auto-suffix-retain
Retain the automatically added suffix.
backward-char
Move cursor one character left.
Ctrl-B (Emacs), h (vi-cmd)
Ctrl-B (Bash Readline, backward-char)
backward-delete-char
Delete the character to the left of the cursor.
Backspace (Emacs), X (vi-cmd)
Backspace/Ctrl-H (Bash Readline, backward-delete-char)
backward-delete-word
Deletes the word before the cursor.
Ctrl-W (Bash Readline, unix-word-rubout)
backward-kill-line
Delete from cursor to start of line.
Ctrl-U (Emacs), d0 (vi-cmd)
Ctrl-U (Bash Readline, unix-line-discard)
backward-kill-word
Delete word before cursor.
Ctrl-W (Emacs), db (vi-cmd)
Ctrl-W (Bash Readline, unix-word-rubout)
backward-word
Move cursor one word left.
Alt-B (Emacs), b (vi-cmd)
Alt-B (Bash Readline, backward-word)
beep
Audible bell/beep.
beginning-of-buffer-or-history
Move to the beginning of the buffer or first history entry. Alt-<
beginning-of-history
Move to the first entry in the history list.
beginning-of-line
Move cursor to start of line.
Ctrl-A (Emacs), 0 (vi-cmd)
Ctrl-A (Bash Readline, beginning-of-line)
beginning-of-line-hist
Goes to the beginning of the line or previous history line if already at beginning.
bracketed-paste
Handles bracketed paste mode (for terminals that support it). Ctrl-Shift-V (Linux), Cmd-V (macOS), Shift-Insert (General) Notes for Bash: To check if enabled: bind -v | grep bracketed To enable: bind 'set enable-bracketed-paste on'
capitalize-word
Capitalize word after cursor.
Alt-C (Emacs), ~ (vi-cmd)
Alt-C (Bash Readline, capitalize-word)
clear-screen
Clear screen and redraw line.
Ctrl-L (Emacs/vi-insert/vi-cmd)
Ctrl-L (Bash Readline, clear-screen)
complete-word
Attempt to complete word at cursor.
Tab (Emacs/vi-insert/vi-cmd)
Tab (Bash Readline, complete)
copy-prev-shell-word
Copies the previous shell word to the cursor position. Alt-Shift-_ or Alt-m
copy-prev-word
Copies the previous word to the cursor position. Ctrl-Alt-_
copy-region-as-kill
Copy text between cursor and mark.
Alt-W (Emacs), y (vi visual mode)
Alt-W (Bash Readline, copy-region-as-kill)
deactivate-region
Deactivate the currently active region (selection).
delete-char
Delete character under cursor.
Del Ctrl-D (Bash Readline, delete-char)
delete-char-or-list
Delete character under cursor or list completions if at end of line. Ctrl-D (Emacs), x (vi-cmd)
delete-word
Delete word after cursor.
Alt-D (Bash Readline, kill-word)
describe-key-briefly
Prompt for a key sequence and display the widget bound to it.
Ctrl-X ? (Emacs)
Ctrl-X ? (Bash Readline, describe-key-briefly)
digit-argument
Start entering a numeric argument for the next command.
Alt-0...Alt-9 (Emacs/vi-insert)
Meta-0...Meta-9 (Bash Readline, digit-argument)
down-case-word
Lowercase word after cursor.
Alt-L (Emacs), guw (vi-cmd)
Alt-L (Bash Readline, downcase-word)
down-history
Next history entry.
Down Arrow/Ctrl-N (Emacs), j (vi-cmd)
Down Arrow/Ctrl-N (Bash Readline, next-history)
down-line
Move cursor down one display line.
down-line-or-beginning-search
Down in history to line beginning with the current input, or down a line. Down Arrow
down-line-or-history
Moves the cursor down a line, or to the next history entry. Page Down/Ctrl-N (Emacs)
down-line-or-search
Down in history to the next line matching the current input, or down a line.
edit-command-line
Edits the current command line in an external editor. Ctrl-X Ctrl-E (Emacs), v (vi-cmd)
emacs-backward-word
Moves the cursor one word left (emacs style).
emacs-forward-word
Moves the cursor one word right (emacs style).
end-of-buffer-or-history
Move to the end of buffer or last history entry. Alt-> (Emacs)
end-of-history
Move to the last entry in the history list.
end-of-line
Move cursor to end of line.
Ctrl-E (Emacs), $ (vi-cmd)
Ctrl-E (Bash Readline, end-of-line)
end-of-line-hist
Goes to the end of the line or next history line if already at end.
end-of-list
Move to the end of the completion list.
exchange-point-and-mark
Swap cursor and mark.
Ctrl-X Ctrl-X (Emacs)
Ctrl-X Ctrl-X (Bash Readline, exchange-point-and-mark)
execute-last-named-cmd
Execute the last named command. Alt-Z (Emacs)
execute-named-cmd / execute-named-command
Prompt for the name of a ZLE widget and execute it.
Alt-X (Emacs)
Meta-x (Bash Readline, execute-named-command)
expand-cmd-path
Expands the command path at the cursor.
expand-history
Expands history references in the command line.
Alt-^/Alt-Space/Alt-! (Emacs)
Alt-^ (Bash Readline, history-expand-line) Replaces expansions (!!, !n, !word, ^old^new^) with versions from history e.g., your history contains apachectl start typing ^start^stop then Alt-Space prints apachectl stop to cli
expand-or-complete
Expand or complete the word at the cursor.
expand-or-complete-prefix
Expand or complete from the beginning of the word.
expand-or-complete-with-dots
Expand or complete and show possible completions with dots.
expand-word
Expands the current word e.g., (uses globbing) Typing ls *.md will print ls someFileA.md someFileB.md if they exist.

Ctrl-X*/Meta-* (Emacs)
forward-char
Move cursor one character right.
Ctrl-F (Emacs), l (vi-cmd)
Ctrl-F (Bash Readline, forward-char)
forward-word
Move cursor one word right.
Alt-F (Emacs), w (vi-cmd)
Alt-F (Bash Readline, forward-word)
fzf-cd-widget
(Third-party) Fuzzy-find and cd into a directory using fzf. Alt-C (Emacs)
fzf-completion
(Third-party) Fuzzy completion using fzf. Ctrl-I / Tab (Emacs)
fzf-file-widget
(Third-party) Fuzzy-find and insert file name using fzf. Ctrl-T (Emacs)
fzf-history-widget
(Third-party) Fuzzy-find history using fzf. Ctrl-R (Emacs)
get-line
Gets the current line for editing (used in recursive-edit). Alt-G (Emacs)
gosmacs-transpose-chars
Transposes the two characters before the cursor (gosmacs style).
history-beginning-search-backward
Searches backward for a history entry beginning with the current line.
history-beginning-search-forward
Searches forward for a history entry beginning with the current line.
history-incremental-pattern-search-backward
Incrementally searches backward through history using a pattern.
history-incremental-pattern-search-forward
Incrementally searches forward through history using a pattern.
history-incremental-search-backward
Incremental history search backward.
Ctrl-R (Emacs), / (vi-cmd)
Ctrl-R (Bash Readline, reverse-search-history)
history-incremental-search-forward
Incremental history search forward.
Ctrl-S (Emacs), ? (vi-cmd)
Ctrl-S (Bash Readline, forward-search-history) (may require stty fix)
history-search-backward
Search backward for line matching current input.
Alt-P (Emacs), K (vi-cmd)
Alt-P (Bash Readline, history-search-backward)
history-search-forward
Search forward for line matching current input.
Alt-N (Emacs), J (vi-cmd)
Alt-N (Bash Readline, history-search-forward)
infer-next-history
Fetch the next history line matching the inputa Ctrl-X Ctrl-N
insert-last-word
Inserts the last word from the previous command. Alt-Shift-_ Alt-. (Bash Readline, yank-last-arg)
kill-buffer
Deletes the entire contents of the edit buffer. Ctrl-X Ctrl-K (Emacs)
kill-line
Delete from cursor to end of line.
Ctrl-K (Emacs), D (vi-cmd)
Ctrl-K (Bash Readline, kill-line)
kill-region
Kill text between cursor and mark.
Ctrl-W (Emacs), d (vi visual mode)
Ctrl-W (Bash Readline, kill-region)
kill-whole-line
Deletes the entire line regardless of cursor position. Ctrl-U (Emacs)
kill-word
Delete word after cursor.
Alt-D (Emacs), dw (vi-cmd)
Alt-D (Bash Readline, kill-word)
list-choices
List possible completions at the cursor.
Ctrl-D (Emacs/vi-insert/vi-cmd)
Ctrl-D (Bash Readline, list-choices)
list-expand
Expands the current word and lists possible expansions. Ctrl-XG
magic-space
Expand history then insert space.
Alt-Space (Emacs)
menu-complete
Complete the word using menu-style completion.
menu-expand-or-complete
Expand or complete using menu.
menu-select
Select from a completion menu.
neg-argument
Begins a negative numeric argument for the next command.
Alt--/Esc-- (Emacs) (Hold Alt and press -) or (Press Esc then -) E.g., type mad*capone (cursor position is *) type Alt-- or Esc-- then Alt-3 or Esc-3 then Ctrl-H should leave madone on the line, deleting the 3 cap characters in a forward direction, which is the opposite direction of Ctrl-H (backspace)
npm_toggle_install_uninstall
(Third-party) Toggle npm install/uninstall.
F2 F2 (F2 twice) if you previously ran npm install lodash
this will print npm uninstall lodash also works for short forms npm i ... and npm un ...
overwrite-mode
Toggle overwrite/insert mode.
Insert (Emacs/vi-insert/vi-cmd)
Insert (Bash Readline, overwrite-mode)
pound-insert
Insert a # at the beginning of the line.
push-input
Push current input onto the buffer stack.
push-line
Push the current line onto the buffer stack.
push-line-or-edit
Push the line or edit it in a new buffer.
put-replace-selection
Paste and replace the current selection.
quote-line
Quotes the entire command line. Alt-'
quote-region
Quotes the region between the cursor and the mark. Alt-Shift-"
quoted-insert
Insert next character literally.
Ctrl-V (Emacs), Ctrl-V (vi-insert)
Ctrl-V (Bash Readline, quoted-insert)
read-command
Reads a command (used in execute-named-command).
recursive-edit
Start a recursive ZLE editing session.
redisplay
Redisplays the current editing buffer.
Ctrl-L (Bash Readline, redisplay)
redo
Redo last undone change.
Ctrl-R (Emacs), Ctrl-R (vi-cmd)
Ctrl-X Ctrl-R (Bash Readline, redo if available)
reset-prompt
Re-expand and redraw the prompt.
reverse-menu-complete
Cycles backward through menu completions.
run-help
Push current buffer and run help on the command at cursor.
Alt-H (Emacs)
select-a-blank-word
Select a blank-delimited word.
select-a-shell-word
Select a shell word.
select-a-word
Select a word.
select-in-blank-word
Select inside a blank-delimited word.
select-in-shell-word
Select inside a shell word.
select-in-word
Select inside a word.
self-insert
Insert typed character.
Any printable character
Any printable character (Bash Readline, self-insert)
self-insert-unmeta
Insert the character, removing meta modifier.
send-break
Sends a break signal (e.g., Ctrl+C).
Ctrl-G (Bash Readline, abort)
set-local-history
Set the local history context.
set-mark-command
Set the mark for selection.
Ctrl-@ (Emacs)
Ctrl-@ (Bash Readline, set-mark)
spell-word
Correct spelling on current word.
Esc-$ (Emacs/vi-insert)
split-undo
Separate the undo history at this point.
transpose-chars
Swap character before and at cursor.
Ctrl-T (Emacs), xp (vi-cmd)
Ctrl-T (Bash Readline, transpose-chars)
transpose-words
Swap the current word with the previous word.
Alt-T (Emacs)
Alt-T (Bash Readline, transpose-words)
undefined-key
Called for undefined keybindings.
undo
Undo the last edit.
Ctrl-_/Ctrl-X u/Ctrl-X Ctrl-U (Emacs), u (vi-cmd)
Ctrl-_/Ctrl-X Ctrl-U (Bash Readline, undo)
universal-argument
Start a universal argument (for passing to other widgets).
up-case-word
Uppercase word after cursor.
Alt-U (Emacs), gUw (vi-cmd)
Alt-U (Bash Readline, upcase-word)
up-history
Previous history entry.
Up Arrow/Ctrl-P (Emacs), k (vi-cmd)
Up Arrow/Ctrl-P (Bash Readline, previous-history)
up-line
Move cursor up one display line.
up-line-or-beginning-search
Up in history to line beginning with the current input, or up a line. Up Arrow
up-line-or-history
Moves the cursor up a line, or to the previous history entry. Ctrl-P (Emacs)
up-line-or-search
Up in history to the previous line matching the current input, or up a line.
vi-add-eol
Enter insert mode at end of line.
A (vi-cmd)
vi-add-next
Enter insert mode after cursor.
a (vi-cmd)
vi-backward-blank-word
Moves left to the start of the previous blank-delimited word (vi mode).
vi-backward-blank-word-end
Moves left to the end of the previous blank-delimited word (vi mode).
vi-backward-char
Move cursor left.
h (vi-cmd)
vi-backward-delete-char
Deletes the character before the cursor (vi mode).
vi-backward-kill-word
Deletes the word before the cursor (vi mode).
vi-backward-word
Move cursor left to start of previous word.
b (vi-cmd)
vi-backward-word-end
Move left to the end of the previous word.
vi-beginning-of-line
Move to the beginning of the line (vi mode).
0 (vi-cmd)
vi-caps-lock-panic
Widget to recover from caps lock mistakes in vi mode.
vi-change
Start a change operation (like c, cw, cc).
c (vi-cmd)
vi-change-eol
Change to end of line.
C (vi-cmd)
vi-change-whole-line
Change the whole line.
S (vi-cmd)
vi-cmd-mode
Switch to vi command mode.
Ctrl-X Ctrl-V (Emacs), Esc (vi-insert)
vi-delete
Start a delete operation (like d, dw, dd).
d (vi-cmd)
vi-delete-char
Delete the character under the cursor.
x (vi-cmd)
vi-digit-or-beginning-of-line
Digit argument or beginning of line.
0 (vi-cmd)
vi-down-case
Converts the selected text to lowercase (vi mode).
gu (vi-cmd)
vi-down-line-or-history
Down in history (vi mode).
j (vi-cmd)
vi-end-of-line
Move to end of line (vi mode).
$ (vi-cmd)
vi-fetch-history
Fetch history entry (vi mode).
vi-find-next-char
Find next character on line (vi mode).
f (vi-cmd)
vi-find-next-char-skip
Find next character, cursor after it (vi mode).
t (vi-cmd)
vi-find-prev-char
Find previous character on line (vi mode).
F (vi-cmd)
vi-find-prev-char-skip
Find previous character, cursor after it (vi mode).
T (vi-cmd)
vi-first-non-blank
Go to first non-blank character of line.
^ (vi-cmd)
vi-forward-blank-word
Moves right to the next blank-delimited word (vi mode).
vi-forward-blank-word-end
Moves right to the end of the next blank-delimited word (vi mode).
vi-forward-char
Move cursor right.
l (vi-cmd)
vi-forward-word
Move cursor right to start of next word.
w (vi-cmd)
vi-forward-word-end
Move right to the end of the next word.
vi-goto-column
Go to specified column in line.
vi-goto-mark
Go to a previously set mark.
vi-goto-mark-line
Go to line of a previously set mark.
vi-history-search-backward
Search history backward (vi mode).
vi-history-search-forward
Search history forward (vi mode).
vi-indent
Indent line (vi mode).
vi-insert
Switch to vi insert mode.
i (vi-cmd)
vi-insert-bol
Insert at beginning of line.
I (vi-cmd)
vi-join
Join this and next line.
Ctrl-X Ctrl-J (Emacs), J (vi-cmd)
vi-kill-eol
Deletes from the cursor to the end of the line (vi mode).
vi-kill-line
Deletes the entire line (vi mode).
dd (vi-cmd)
vi-match-bracket
Find matching bracket. Ctrl-X Ctrl-B (Emacs), % (vi-cmd)
vi-open-line-above
Open new line above and insert.
O (vi-cmd)
vi-open-line-below
Open new line below and insert.
o (vi-cmd)
vi-oper-swap-case
Swap case in operator-pending mode.
vi-pound-insert
Insert # at beginning of line (vi mode).
vi-put-after
Paste yanked text after cursor.
p (vi-cmd)
vi-put-before
Paste yanked text before cursor.
P (vi-cmd)
vi-quoted-insert
Insert next character literally (vi mode).
vi-repeat-change
Repeat the last change command.
. (vi-cmd)
vi-repeat-find
Repeat the last character search.
; (vi-cmd)
vi-repeat-search
Repeat the last search.
vi-replace
Replace character under cursor.
r (vi-cmd)
vi-replace-chars
Replace characters (vi mode).
R (vi-cmd)
vi-rev-repeat-find
Repeat last character search in reverse.
, (vi-cmd)
vi-rev-repeat-search
Repeat last search in reverse.
vi-set-buffer
Use a named buffer for next change/yank.
vi-set-mark
Set a mark at cursor position.
vi-substitute
Substitute character under cursor.
s (vi-cmd)
vi-swap-case
Swap case of character at cursor.
~ (vi-cmd)
vi-undo-change
Undo the last change (vi mode).
vi-unindent
Unindent line (vi mode).
vi-up-case
Converts the selected text to uppercase (vi mode).
gU (vi-cmd)
vi-up-line-or-history
Up in history (vi mode).
k (vi-cmd)
vi-yank
Yank (copy) text.
y (vi-cmd)
vi-yank-eol
Yank to end of line.
Y (vi-cmd)
vi-yank-whole-line
Yank the whole line.
yy (vi-cmd)
visual-line-mode
Start visual line selection mode.
visual-mode
Start visual selection mode.
what-cursor-position
Display info about the cursor. Ctrl-X = (Emacs)
where-is
Prompt for a ZLE widget name and show its key bindings. Ctrl-X Ctrl-W (Emacs)
Ctrl-X Ctrl-W (Bash Readline, where-is)
which-command
Show the name of the widget bound to a key sequence. Alt-? (Emacs)
yank
Paste the most recently killed text at the cursor.
Ctrl-Y (Emacs), p (vi-cmd)
Ctrl-Y (Bash Readline, yank)
yank-pop
Replace yanked text with earlier entries from the kill ring.
Alt-Y (Emacs)
Alt-Y (Bash Readline, yank-pop)
z4h-clear-screen-hard-top
(Third-party) Z4H: clear screen, cursor at top.
z4h-clear-screen-soft-top
(Third-party) Z4H: clear screen, prompt at top.
zle-isearch-update
Update incremental search display.
zle-keymap-select
Special widget for reacting to keymap changes.

References and More Info:

Zsh ZLE Widgets Documentation
Bash Readline Manual / man readline
Bash Readline Default Key Bindings Table
To see your current Bash keymap: bind -P
To see your current Zsh keymap: bindkey
Vi-mode is available in both Bash (set -o vi) and Zsh (bindkey -v), but widget names and customization are more advanced in Zsh.

Note:
Some keybindings may vary depending on your terminal or personal configuration. For a complete and up-to-date list, use the reference commands above.

travisjupp/zle-widgets-with-default-keybindings.md

Zsh ZLE Standard Widgets — Default Key Bindings (Zsh 5.9) and Bash Readline Equivalents