gemini-cli - 💡(How to fix) Fix Restore Ctrl+B to 'cursor.left' (backward-char) by default in Unix environments

Description

In Unix-like terminal environments and standard Emacs-style keybindings, Ctrl+B is universally used and expected to perform backward-char (moving the cursor one character to the left).

However, in gemini-cli, Ctrl+B is hardcoded to background.toggle ("Toggle current background shell visibility"). This application-level override breaks the muscle memory of Unix/Readline power users, creating a disjointed typing experience (since Ctrl+F properly moves the cursor forward by default, but Ctrl+B does not move it backward).

Proposed Solutions

While users can customize this by editing ~/.gemini/keybindings.json:

[
  {
    "command": "-background.toggle",
    "key": "ctrl+b"
  },
  {
    "command": "cursor.left",
    "key": "ctrl+b"
  }
]

To improve the out-of-the-box developer experience, we propose:

1. Change the Default: Change the default keybinding for toggling the background shell to a non-conflicting key combination (e.g., Ctrl+\\ or Ctrl+Alt+B), and restore Ctrl+B to cursor.left by default.
2. Opt-in Unix/Readline Preset: Provide a simpler setting/preset to fully respect GNU Readline standards without manual keybinding JSON configuration.

Client Environment

• OS: macOS / Linux (All Unix environments)