PowerShell / PowerShell/Win32-OpenSSH

Ctrl Key Not Working in Vim over SSH with Specific Terminal Software

Open
#2,324 6 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

Waiting on Author
Dominant language
No language data
Stars
8.3k
Forks
819
PR merge metrics
No merged PRs in 30d

Description

Prerequisites
  • Write a descriptive title.
  • Make sure you are able to repro it on the latest version
  • Search the existing issues.
Introduction

I am using terminals like Wezterm and Xterm on Ubuntu to connect to Windows via SSH.
The default shell in this setup is WSL.
However, upon starting Vim, none of the operations involving the Ctrl key, such as Ctrl+W and Ctrl+R, work.
The keys Ctrl+C and Ctrl+Z function perfectly in the Bash shell, so this issue appears to occur only when Vim is launched.

Interestingly, this issue doesn't occur when using gnome-terminal.

Additionally, when using the Using terminals like wezterm and xterm to connect to an Ubuntu system via SSH, the problem does not occur.
Honestly, I'm not sure if this is an issue with Win32-OpenSSH that needs fixing, but I'm interested to know why this happens.

Expected behavior

Control key should work in Vim while using Wezterm or Xterm.

Actual behavior

Control key does not work in Vim while using Wezterm or Xterm.

Environment data
Name                           Value
----                           -----
PSVersion                      5.1.19041.5369
PSEdition                      Desktop
PSCompatibleVersions           {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0...}
BuildVersion                   10.0.19041.5369
CLRVersion                     4.0.30319.42000
WSManStackVersion              3.0
PSRemotingProtocolVersion      2.3
SerializationVersion           1.1.0.1
Version

OpenSSH_for_Windows_9.8p1 Win32-OpenSSH-GitHub, LibreSSL 3.9.2

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reproducing the reported matrix: Vim over SSH from WezTerm and Xterm to WSL, then compare it with gnome-terminal and the Ubuntu target described in the issue. Check the behavior of Ctrl+W, Ctrl+R, Ctrl+C, and Ctrl+Z in each setup; done means identifying the terminal or SSH interaction responsible and documenting the expected behavior or a confirmed fix path.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
linux, powershell, vim
Domain
cli, networking, operating-systems
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.