[GH-ISSUE #518] Feature request: select-all (Cmd+A) for Textarea #136

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opened 2026-03-02 23:44:48 +03:00 by kerem · 3 comments

kerem commented

2026-03-02 23:44:48 +03:00

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Originally created by @danolekh on GitHub (Jan 13, 2026).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/anomalyco/opentui/issues/518

browser-like "select all" in textarea - press cmd+a to select everything

i have a working implementation:

Added "select-all" to TextareaAction
Added keybinding: { name: "a", super: true, action: "select-all" }
Added selectAll() method

i mostly used claude to navigate this repo. i don't have much terminal dev experience - i usually work in browsers - so I wanted this familiar behavior

What I tested (macOS only)

Terminal	Works?
Kitty	✅ yes
Alacritty	✅ yes
Ghostty	❌ no - intercepts Cmd+A for terminal buffer selection

Questions

Does this make sense for the project?
On Windows/Linux, super+a maps to Win+A which is weird. So I'm not sure about this feature
What's the tui philisophy regarding keybindings overall - I see some emcas bindings, and, in the same components browser-like bindings

Originally created by @danolekh on GitHub (Jan 13, 2026). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/anomalyco/opentui/issues/518 browser-like "select all" in textarea - press cmd+a to select everything i have a working implementation: - Added `"select-all"` to TextareaAction - Added keybinding: `{ name: "a", super: true, action: "select-all" }` - Added `selectAll()` method i mostly used claude to navigate this repo. i don't have much terminal dev experience - i usually work in browsers - so I wanted this familiar behavior What I tested (macOS only) | Terminal | Works? | |----------|--------| | Kitty | ✅ yes | | Alacritty | ✅ yes | | Ghostty | ❌ no - intercepts Cmd+A for terminal buffer selection | Questions 1. Does this make sense for the project? 2. On Windows/Linux, `super+a` maps to Win+A which is weird. So I'm not sure about this feature 3. What's the tui philisophy regarding keybindings overall - I see some emcas bindings, and, in the same components browser-like bindings

kerem

2026-03-02 23:44:48 +03:00

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kerem commented

2026-03-02 23:44:50 +03:00

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@kommander commented on GitHub (Jan 14, 2026):

Totally
Mappings can be overridden by applications, I'd add maybe another default mapping for windows? Not sure what it is there. The default mappings should maybe be platform dependent.
People have all kinds of conflicting expectations, so it will work fine for some while others expect something else. There is no defacto standard for the terminal, it depends on the platform, terminal emulator and the philosophy the users comes from. Impossible to meet them all with a default. It's configurable/customizable, that's one philosophy I'd say.

@kommander commented on GitHub (Jan 14, 2026): 1. Totally 2. Mappings can be overridden by applications, I'd add maybe another default mapping for windows? Not sure what it is there. The default mappings should maybe be platform dependent. 3. People have all kinds of conflicting expectations, so it will work fine for some while others expect something else. There is no defacto standard for the terminal, it depends on the platform, terminal emulator and the philosophy the users comes from. Impossible to meet them all with a default. It's configurable/customizable, that's one philosophy I'd say.

kerem commented

2026-03-02 23:44:50 +03:00

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@danolekh commented on GitHub (Jan 18, 2026):

@kommander
have a question regarding arrow keys behaviour when something is selected

in browsers, if something is selected, and you click arrow left / right you go to respective edges of that selection
in terminals, your selection doesn't affect this behiour - cursor just moves from the place it was at that moment

is this something we shouldn't modify?

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/f26319af-96c9-4463-9e12-238ac74a2be2

@danolekh commented on GitHub (Jan 18, 2026): @kommander have a question regarding arrow keys behaviour when something is selected in browsers, if something is selected, and you click arrow left / right you go to respective edges of that selection in terminals, your selection doesn't affect this behiour - cursor just moves from the place it was at that moment is this something we shouldn't modify? https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/f26319af-96c9-4463-9e12-238ac74a2be2

kerem commented

2026-03-02 23:44:50 +03:00

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@kommander commented on GitHub (Jan 18, 2026):

It could have a similar behaviour like that, yes.

@kommander commented on GitHub (Jan 18, 2026): It could have a similar behaviour like that, yes.

kerem referenced this issue

2026-03-02 23:45:56 +03:00

[PR #136] [MERGED] Fix(#134) Solid empty scroll box issue #316

kerem referenced this issue

2026-03-14 09:18:21 +03:00