The command bar is opened by pressing Ctrl-e. It is a single-line buffer, meaning that all keybindings from a normal buffer are supported (as well as mouse and selection).

When running a command, you can use extra syntax that micro will expand before running the command. To use an argument with a space in it, put it in quotes. The command bar parser uses the same rules for parsing arguments that /bin/sh would use (single quotes, double quotes, escaping). The command bar does not look up environment variables.

Micro provides the following commands that can be executed at the command-bar by pressing Ctrl-e and entering the command. Arguments are placed in single quotes here but these are not necessary when entering the command in micro.

• bind 'key' 'action': creates a keybinding from key to action. See the keybindings documentation for more information about binding keys. This command will modify bindings.json and overwrite any bindings to key that already exist.

• help ['topic'] ['flags']: opens the corresponding help topics. If no topic is provided opens the default help screen. If multiple topics are provided (separated via ) they are opened all as splits. Help topics are stored as .md files in the runtime/help directory of the source tree, which is embedded in the final binary. The flags are optional.

  • -hsplit: Opens the help topic in a horizontal split
  • -vsplit: Opens the help topic in a vertical split

  The default split type is defined by the global helpsplit option.

• save ['filename']: saves the current buffer. If the file is provided it will 'save as' the filename.

• quit: quits micro.

• goto 'line[:col]': goes to the given absolute line (and optional column) number. A negative number can be passed to go inward from the end of the file. Example: -5 goes to the 5th-last line in the file.

• jump 'line[:col]': goes to the given relative number from the current line (and optional absolute column) number. Example: -5 jumps 5 lines up in the file, while (+)3 jumps 3 lines down.

• replace 'search' 'value' ['flags']: This will replace search with value. The flags are optional. Possible flags are:

  • -a: Replace all occurrences at once
  • -l: Do a literal search instead of a regex search

  Note that search must be a valid regex (unless -l is passed). If one of the arguments does not have any spaces in it, you may omit the quotes.

  In case the search is done non-literal (without -l), the 'value' is interpreted as a template:

  • $3 or ${3} substitutes the submatch of the 3rd (capturing group)
  • $foo or ${foo} substitutes the submatch of the (?Pnamed group)
  • You have to write $$ to substitute a literal dollar.

• replaceall 'search' 'value': this will replace all occurrences of search with value without user confirmation.

  See replace command for more information.

• set 'option' 'value': sets the option to value. See the options help topic for a list of options you can set. This will modify your settings.json with the new value.

• setlocal 'option' 'value': sets the option to value locally (only in the current buffer). This will not modify settings.json.

• show 'option': shows the current value of the given option.

• run 'sh-command': runs the given shell command in the background. The command's output will be displayed in one line when it finishes running.

• vsplit ['filename']: opens a vertical split with filename. If no filename is provided, a vertical split is opened with an empty buffer. If multiple files are provided (separated via ) they are opened all as splits.

• hsplit ['filename']: same as vsplit but opens a horizontal split instead of a vertical split.

• tab ['filename']: opens the given file in a new tab. If no filename is provided, a tab is opened with an empty buffer. If multiple files are provided (separated via ) they are opened all as tabs.

• tabmove '[-+]n': Moves the active tab to another slot. n is an integer. If n is prefixed with - or +, then it represents a relative position (e.g. tabmove +2 moves the tab to the right by 2). If n has no prefix, it represents an absolute position (e.g. tabmove 2 moves the tab to slot 2).

• tabswitch 'tab': This command will switch to the specified tab. The tab can either be a tab number, or a name of a tab.

• textfilter 'sh-command': filters the current selection through a shell command as standard input and replaces the selection with the stdout of the shell command. For example, to sort a list of numbers, first select them, and then execute > textfilter sort -n.

• log: opens a log of all messages and debug statements.

• plugin list: lists all installed plugins.

• plugin install 'pl': install a plugin.

• plugin remove 'pl': remove a plugin.

• plugin update ['pl']: update a plugin (if no arguments are provided updates all plugins).

• plugin search 'pl': search available plugins for a keyword.

• plugin available: show available plugins that can be installed.

• reload: reloads all runtime files (settings, keybindings, syntax files, colorschemes, plugins). All plugins will be unloaded by running their deinit() function (if it exists), and then loaded again by calling the preinit(), init() and postinit() functions (if they exist).

• cd 'path': Change the working directory to the given path.

• pwd: Print the current working directory.

• open 'filename': Open a file in the current buffer.

• reopen: Reopens the current file from disk.

• reset 'option': resets the given option to its default value

• retab: Replaces all leading tabs with spaces or leading spaces with tabs depending on the value of tabstospaces.

• raw: micro will open a new tab and show the escape sequence for every event it receives from the terminal. This shows you what micro actually sees from the terminal and helps you see which bindings aren't possible and why. This is most useful for debugging keybindings.

• showkey 'key': Show the action(s) bound to a given key. For example running > showkey Ctrl-c will display Copy.

• term ['exec']: Open a terminal emulator running the given executable. If no executable is given, this will open the default shell in the terminal emulator.

The following commands are provided by the default plugins:

• lint: Lint the current file for errors.
• comment: automatically comment or uncomment current selection or line.