[GH-ISSUE #651] Feature Request: support step_backward in asciinema cli play command #947

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opened 2026-03-15 11:05:58 +03:00 by kerem · 2 comments

kerem commented

2026-03-15 11:05:58 +03:00

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Originally created by @xguo-prestolabs on GitHub (Sep 27, 2024).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/asciinema/asciinema/issues/651

Hi, all,

asciinema cli only support 4 key bindings,

quit (Ctrl+C)
pause (SPACE)
step/step_forward (DOT)
next_marker ( ] )

I think we also need step_backward key, is there any reason for not adding support of this step_backward key?

Thanks.

Originally created by @xguo-prestolabs on GitHub (Sep 27, 2024). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/asciinema/asciinema/issues/651 Hi, all, asciinema cli only support 4 key bindings, 1. quit (Ctrl+C) 2. pause (SPACE) 3. step/step_forward (DOT) 4. next_marker ( ] ) I think we also need step_backward key, is there any reason for not adding support of this step_backward key? Thanks.

kerem closed this issue

2026-03-15 11:06:04 +03:00

kerem commented

2026-03-15 11:06:09 +03:00

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@ku1ik commented on GitHub (Oct 20, 2024):

is there any reason for not adding support of this step_backward key?

Yup. The way asciinema play works doesn't allow rewinding / step back. Step forward is easy because we just need to write the next output event to STDOUT. Step backward would need to run a virtual terminal emulator inside your actual terminal to be able to obtain screen contents for each (past) frame, and then redrawing the whole terminal view. In other words, while step forward was trivial to implement, step backward is hard (possible but a lot of work).

@ku1ik commented on GitHub (Oct 20, 2024): > is there any reason for not adding support of this step_backward key? Yup. The way `asciinema play` works doesn't allow rewinding / step back. Step forward is easy because we just need to write the next output event to STDOUT. Step backward would need to run a virtual terminal emulator inside your actual terminal to be able to obtain screen contents for each (past) frame, and then redrawing the whole terminal view. In other words, while step forward was trivial to implement, step backward is hard (possible but a lot of work).

kerem commented

2026-03-15 11:06:14 +03:00

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@ku1ik commented on GitHub (Jun 23, 2025):

Not planned at the moment.

@ku1ik commented on GitHub (Jun 23, 2025): Not planned at the moment.