SQLCL
KEYMAP
REFERENCE

ORACLE SQLcl · 2025

EDITING MODES

EMACS MODE (DEFAULT)

Always in insert mode. Type to insert text. Use Ctrl/Alt shortcuts for commands. Example: Ctrl+A (beginning), Ctrl+E (end), Alt+B (back word)

VI INSERT MODE (VIINS)

Type to insert text. Press Esc to switch to command mode. Example: Type "SELECT" → Esc → Now in command mode

VI COMMAND MODE (VICMD)

Navigate and edit with single keys. Press i to insert, a to append. Example: h (left), l (right), w (word forward), dd (delete line)

HOW KEYMAPS WORK ACROSS MODES

Alt+R (History Search)

Works in ALL modes - EMACS, VIINS, VICMD

Alt+U (Uppercase Word)

Works in ALL modes - converts "select" → "SELECT"

Ctrl+E

VIINS only - switches to EMACS mode

QUICK REFERENCE

Most SQLcl keymaps (Alt+R, Alt+N, Alt+A, Alt+E, Alt+U, Alt+C, etc.) work universally across all modes. You don't need to think about modes unless you're using Vi keybindings.

HISTORY SEARCH

Alt+R

Search history backward (prefix match: "SEL" finds "SELECT...")

Alt+<

Jump to oldest command in history

Alt+>

Jump to newest command / clear current line

TEXT CASE MANIPULATION

Alt+C

Capitalize word: hello → Hello

Alt+U

Uppercase word: select → SELECT (perfect for SQL keywords)

Alt+L

Lowercase word: EMPLOYEES → employees

KILL/YANK (CUT/PASTE)

Ctrl+U

Kill entire line (save to kill ring clipboard)

Ctrl+K

Kill from cursor to end of line

Ctrl+W

Kill word backward

BUFFER NAVIGATION

Alt+A

Beginning of buffer (multi-line SQL: jump to first line)

Alt+E

End of buffer (multi-line SQL: jump to last line)

Ctrl+\

Cancel edit / goto end of buffer

Esc

Cancel edit / goto end of buffer (alternative)

EXECUTION CONTROL

Enter

Accept line (execute if at end, newline if editing middle)

Ctrl+R

Run immediately (bypass prompts, execute now)

Ctrl+C

Send interrupt signal (cancel operation)

DISPLAY CONTROL

Ctrl+L

Clear screen (refresh terminal display)

Alt+!

Redraw display (force buffer redraw)

Alt+G

Collect garbage

EDITING MODE

Ctrl+E

Switch to Emacs editing mode (from Vi insert)

SMART MULTI-LINE HANDLERS

Up Arrow

Move up one line (if editing) OR previous history (if at end)

Down Arrow

Move down one line (if editing) OR next history (if at end)

Backspace/Delete

Smart delete with auto screen-clear on large buffers

SET COMMANDS

SET AUTOSUGGESTIONS

Enable/disable auto-suggestions from history

SET LINENUMBERS

Enable/disable line numbers in multi-line mode

SET STATUSBAR

Enable/disable status bar display

SET HIGHLIGHTING

Enable/disable SQL syntax highlighting

SET HISTORY

Configure command history settings

SET LINESIZE

Set display width for data (e.g., SET LINESIZE 120)

SET PAGESIZE

Set number of lines per page

SET SQLFORMAT

Set output format (ANSICONSOLE, JSON, CSV, XML, HTML, etc.)

SET SERVEROUTPUT

Enable/disable DBMS_OUTPUT display

SET TIMING

Display query execution time

SET AUTOCOMMIT

Enable/disable auto-commit after each statement

SET FEEDBACK

Display row count feedback (e.g., "5 rows selected")

SET HEADING

Enable/disable column headings in query output

SET ECHO

Display commands before execution (for scripts)

SET VERIFY

Show before/after substitution variables

SET AUTOTRACE

Enable automatic EXPLAIN PLAN and statistics

SET COMMANDS - DISPLAY

SET COLSEP

Set column separator (default: space)

SET NULL

Set text to display for NULL values

SET NUMFORMAT

Set default number display format

SET NUMWIDTH

Set default width for number columns

SET LONG

Set maximum width for LONG, CLOB, NCLOB columns

SET LONGCHUNKSIZE

Set fetch size for LONG columns

SET ARRAYSIZE

Set number of rows fetched per database access

SET MAXROWS

Limit number of rows returned by query

SET TRIMOUT

Trim trailing spaces in output

SET TRIMSPOOL

Trim trailing spaces in spooled output

SET WRAP

Enable/disable line wrapping for long lines

SET PRINTTHEME

Set color theme for terminal output

SET COMMANDS - ADVANCED

SET SQLBLANKLINES

Allow blank lines in SQL statements

SET SQLCASE

Convert SQL keywords to UPPER/LOWER/MIXED

SET SQLTERMINATOR

Set SQL statement terminator (default: ;)

SET BLOCKTERMINATOR

Set PL/SQL block terminator (default: /)

SET DEFINE

Set substitution variable prefix (default: &)

SET ESCAPE

Set escape character for substitution variables

SET CONCAT

Set concatenation character for variables (default: .)

SET SQLPROMPT

Customize SQL prompt (e.g., SET SQLPROMPT "DB> ")

SET ERRORLOGGING

Log errors to table for analysis

SET CODESCAN

Enable code scanning for security issues

SET DDL

Show DDL for database objects

SET CLOUDCONFIG

Configure Oracle Cloud settings

SET WALLET

Configure Oracle Wallet for secure connections

SET EXITCOMMIT

Commit changes on exit (ON/OFF)

SET EDITOR

Set external editor for EDIT command

HELP SET <var>

Get detailed help for specific SET variable