VSCodeVim / VSCodeVim/Vim

`<Tab>` and `<BS>` insertMode keybindings

Open
#5,912 3 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

area/remap
Dominant language
TypeScript
Stars
15.2k
Forks
1.5k
Avg merge
3d 18h
Merged PRs (30d)
6

Description

Describe the bug
Expected to be able to change <Tab> and <BS> (backspace) into a different command in insert mode.

To Reproduce
In settings.json:

 "vim.insertModeKeyBindingsNonRecursive": [
        {"before": ["<Tab>", "<Tab>"], "after":["<Esc>"]},
        {"before": ["<Tab>", "<BS>"], "after":["<Tab>"]},
    ]
  1. with the above in settings.json
  2. edit a file.
  3. Go to Insert Mode
  4. Expected <Tab><Tab> to go back to Normal Mode
  5. also expect <Tab><BS> to insert a <Tab>.

Expected behavior
Expect to be able to remap <Tab> and <BS> in insert mode.

Environment (please complete the following information):

  • Extension (VsCodeVim) version: 1.18.5
  • VSCode version: 1.51.1
  • OS: macOS Mojave 10.14.6

Additional context

I like to do <Tab><Tab> to <Esc>, but this is annoying when I actually want to input a <Tab> so that's why I also have <Tab><BS> to actually input a <Tab>.

I'm using Colemak keyboard layout, so <BS> is the capslock, so not so bad.

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

Reproduce the insert-mode mappings from settings.json using the reported Tab and Backspace sequences. Trace how VSCodeVim processes insert-mode keybindings, then verify that both sequences trigger their configured actions without breaking ordinary Tab input.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
typescript, vscode
Domain
tooling
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.