Integrated terminal: support keyboard-only text selection for current command/input

[moshfeu]

Problem

In the integrated terminal, there does not seem to be a built-in way to select part of the current command line or text using keyboard-only interactions similar to regular text inputs/editors.

For example, after typing:

node index.js

I would like to select just js using the keyboard and then copy or replace it.

Today, common selection shortcuts such as Shift+Left/Right do not behave like text selection in an editor/input field, because those keys are typically handled by the shell/terminal instead.

Why this would help

• Improves keyboard-only workflows
• Helps accessibility
• Makes terminal input feel more consistent with the rest of VS Code
• Avoids shell-specific workarounds that vary by OS and shell

Existing workaround

Shell/readline keybindings can sometimes be used as a workaround, but:

• they are not discoverable
• they differ between bash/zsh/fish/etc.
• on macOS, Option-based bindings may conflict with normal character input

Feature request

Please consider adding an optional mode or setting for keyboard-only text selection within the integrated terminal, especially for the current prompt/input line.

For example:

• select by character with Shift+Left/Right
• select by word with platform-appropriate word-selection shortcuts
• copy/replace the selected text without relying on shell-specific bindings

Terminal

Screen.Recording.2026-05-10.at.18.32.36.mov

Editor

Screen.Recording.2026-05-10.at.18.35.30.mov

[meganrogge]

Thanks for the issue. This already exists within something called the accessible view. Run the command Open accessible view. In there, you can use all the editor shortcuts to copy text.