How to repeat currently typed in parameter on bash console?

I was just typing something along the lines of:

mv foo/bar/poit/zoid/narf.txt

and suddenly realized, damn, I have to type large parts of that parameter again

mv foo/bar/poit/zoid/narf.txt foo/bar/poit/zoid/troz.txt

Even with tabcompletion, quite a pain. I know I can copy paste the parameter by mouse-selecting the text and middleclick but that is not good enough. I want to remain on the keyboard.

So is there a way to copy paste the current parameter of the line using the keyboard?

Answers:

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Method 1

History expansion actually works on the current command as well, using the event designator !#. Combine this with the word designator for the last argument – $ – to get the parameter you just typed. And you can use all the regular modifiers over it, so if, e.g., you are renaming a file in a far away directory, you can just type:

mv path/you/do/not/want/to/type/twice/oldname !#$:h/newname

Method 2

If I’ve planned ahead, I use brace expansion. In this case:

mv foo/bar/poit/zoid/{narf,troz}.txt

Here is another approach using the default readline keyboard shortcuts:

• mv foo/bar/poit/soid/narf.txt: start
• Ctrl–w: unix-word-rubout to delete foo/bar/poit/soid/narf.txt
• Ctrl–y, Space, Ctrl–y: yank, space, yank again to get mv foo/bar/poit/soid/narf.txt foo/bar/poit/soid/narf.txt
• Meta–backspace, Meta–backspace: backward-kill-word twice to delete the last narf.txt
• troz.txt: type the tail part that is different

If you spend any non-trivial amount of time using the bash shell, I’d recommend periodically reading through a list of the default shortcuts and picking out a few that seem useful to learn and incorporate into your routine. Chapter 8 of the bash manual is a good place to start. Knowing the shortcuts can really raise your efficiency.

Method 3

As in your example, you can use next construction:

mv foo/bar/poit/zoid/{narf.txt,troz.txt}

or even (as suggested Ansgar Esztermann):

mv foo/bar/poit/zoid/{narf,troz}.txt

instead ot typing/copypasting long address twice.

Method 4

Playing around I got this to work:

mv foo/bar/poit/zoid/narf.txt

Hit Enter
to store the last parameter.

Now use ↑ to get last typed in line back. Enter a space and to get the last used parameter use:

Alt + .

I hate provoking an error, but it gets the job done in this use case.

Method 5

This inserts the last word of the Readline line buffer. !# is the current line, :$ is the last word, and e^ is history-expand-line.

"ej":"!#:$e^"

This also works when you’re in the middle of a word, and it doesn’t require inserting a space manually, but it has the disadvantage that it overrides the kill ring:

"ee":shell-backward-word
"ei":shell-forward-word
"ew":copy-region-as-kill
"ej":"eee eiew C-y"

In order to duplicate the previous whitespace-delimited word instead of a shell word, you can use C-wC-yC-y. C-w deletes a whitespace-delimited word backwards.

Method 6

You can easy use variables:

a=test.csv ; cp $a $a.bak

Or in you case (note tab competition works for the a part):

a=foo/bar/poit/zoid/ ; mv ${a}narf.txt ${a}troz.txt

Method 7

For zsh, I find the following keybindings helpful.

# Bind alt-m to insert previous word from the current line
bindkey '^[m' copy-prev-shell-word

# Bind alt-k to kill word before cursor in vi-style
bindkey '^[k' vi-backward-kill-word

So I hit Alt–M to repeat the last argument then Alt–K if I want to delete parts off the end of a path.

Here’s a useful reference to some of the behaviors you can map.

Method 8

A short interactive two step solution

1. type: echo foo/bar/poit/zoid/narf.txt

   This makes foo/bar/poit/zoid/narf.txt available for the Alt–. shortcut in bash.

2. type: mv and hit Alt–., Space, Alt–.

   You will get mv foo/bar/poit/zoid/troz.txt foo/bar/poit/zoid/troz.txt.
   Now you can modify the last word easily.

Midnight Commander

This tool which might be (very) handy is a file manager running in the console. It gives you the possibility to copy filenames and directory paths interactively into the command line. Midnight Commander shows you therefore 2 panels (left and right), which list the contents of different directories.

A short guide:

• Up/Down arrow keys select files in the current panel.
• Tab switches between left and right panel.
• Ctrl–Shift–Enter copies the currently selected file to the command line (including full path)
• Alt–o opens the currently selected directory in the other panel
• Ctrl–o lets you see the console in full screen
• Ctrl–x, p copies the path of the active panel into the console
• Ctrl–x, Ctrl–p copies the path of the inactive panel into the console
• Esc–Tab is auto completion

This is by far the fastest way I found so far – after I got used to the shortcuts.

Method 9

Use the same thing in the {,} “duplicator”. I.e.:

git tag -m {v,v}1.0.1

# same as 

git tag -m v1.0.1 v1.0.1

All methods was sourced from stackoverflow.com or stackexchange.com, is licensed under cc by-sa 2.5, cc by-sa 3.0 and cc by-sa 4.0