Namespace Terminal.Gui.Input

Keyboard, mouse, and command processing.

The Input namespace provides input handling for keyboard events, mouse interactions, and the command execution framework.

Key Types

Key - Keyboard input with modifier support (Ctrl, Alt, Shift)
Mouse - Mouse event data (position, buttons, modifiers)
Command - Standard application commands enum
KeyBinding / MouseBinding - Associates input with commands
Responder - Base class for input handling

Command Pattern

Views handle input through commands:

// 1. Add command handlers
AddCommand (Command.Accept, ctx => { /* handle */ return true; });
AddCommand (Command.Cancel, ctx => { /* handle */ return true; });

// 2. Bind keys to commands
KeyBindings.Add (Key.Enter, Command.Accept);
KeyBindings.Add (Key.Esc, Command.Cancel);

// 3. Bind mouse to commands
MouseBindings.Add (MouseFlags.Button1Clicked, Command.Accept);

Key Modifiers

Key.A.WithCtrl      // Ctrl+A
Key.A.WithAlt       // Alt+A
Key.A.WithShift     // Shift+A (uppercase)
Key.F1.WithCtrl.WithShift  // Ctrl+Shift+F1

See Also

Classes

Bind: Provides ergonomic factory methods for creating PlatformKeyBinding instances.

BindMouse: Provides ergonomic factory methods for creating PlatformMouseBinding instances.

CommandBindingsBase<TEvent, TBinding>: Abstract class for KeyBindings and MouseBindings. This class is thread-safe for all public operations.

CommandBridge: Bridges command routing across non-containment boundaries (e.g., between a MenuBarItem and its PopoverMenu, which is registered with Application.Popover rather than the SuperView hierarchy).

CommandContextExtensions: Extension methods for ICommandContext.

CommandEventArgs: Event arguments for Command events. Set Handled to true to indicate a command was handled.

CommandExtensions: Extension methods for the Command enum type.

CommandOutcomeExtensions: Provides extension methods for converting between CommandOutcome and bool?.

CommandRoutingExtensions: Extension methods for the CommandRouting enum type.

GrabMouseEventArgs: Provides data for mouse grab-related events (GrabbingMouse and UnGrabbingMouse).

Key: Provides an abstraction for common keyboard operations and state. Used for processing keyboard input and raising keyboard events.

KeyBindings: Provides a collection of Keys bound to Commands.

KeyChangedEventArgs: Event args for when a Key is changed from one value to a new value (e.g. in HotKeyChanged)

KeyEventTypeExtensions: Extension methods for the KeyEventType enum type.

KeystrokeNavigatorEventArgs: Event arguments for the Terminal.Gui.Views.CollectionNavigatorBase.SearchStringChanged event.

ModifierKeyExtensions: Extension methods for the ModifierKey enum type.

Mouse: Provides an abstraction for common mouse operations and state. Represents a mouse event, including position, button state, and other flags.

MouseBindings: Provides a collection of MouseBinding objects bound to a combination of MouseFlags.

MouseFlagsChangedEventArgs: Args for events that describe a change in MouseFlags

MouseFlagsExtensions: Extension methods for the MouseFlags enum type.

PasteEventArgs: Event arguments for the application-level Paste event. Carries the raw payload delivered by the terminal's bracketed-paste mode, before any view-level sanitization. Set Handled to true to stop the paste from being dispatched to the focused view.

PastedEventArgs: Event arguments for the Pasted event raised after the default Paste handler has consumed a paste. Observation only — handlers cannot cancel or alter what has already been inserted.

PastingEventArgs: Event arguments for the cancellable Pasting event raised by the default Paste handler. Text is mutable so subscribers can normalize or filter the payload before the view inserts it; set Handled to true to cancel the paste.

PlatformKeyBinding: Defines the keys for a single command, optionally varying by platform. Keys are additive — for example, on Linux both All and Linux keys apply.

PlatformMouseBinding: Defines the mouse flags for a single command, optionally varying by platform. Mouse flags are additive — for example, on Linux both All and Linux flags apply.

Structs

CommandBinding: A generic command binding used for programmatic command invocations or when a specific binding type is not needed.

CommandContext: Provides context for a Command invocation.

KeyBinding: Provides a collection of Command objects stored in KeyBindings. Carried as context in command invocations (see CommandContext).

MouseBinding: Provides a collection of Command objects stored in MouseBindings. Carried as context in command invocations (see CommandContext).

Interfaces

ICommandBinding: Describes command binding. Used to bind a set of Command objects to a specific user event and passed as part of command invocations (see CommandContext). Bindings are immutable.

ICommandContext: Describes the context in which a Command is being invoked. When a Command is invoked via InvokeCommand(Command) a context object is passed to Command handlers as an ICommandContext reference.

Enums

Command: Actions which can be performed by a View.

CommandOutcome: Describes the outcome of a Command invocation, replacing the three-valued bool? (null = not found, false = not handled, true = handled).

CommandRouting: Describes how a Command is being routed through the view hierarchy. Replaces the ad-hoc boolean flags IsBubblingUp and IsBubblingDown with a single discriminated enum.

KeyEventType: Describes the type of keyboard event: press, release, or repeat.

ModifierKey: Identifies a specific modifier key for standalone modifier key events.

MouseFlags: Mouse flags reported in Mouse.

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