keybound(3NCURSES)

💖 keybound — get definition of a curses function key code 💖

okay bestie, so you know how keybound(3NCURSES) lives in the Library calls section of the ncurses fam? yeah. that one. let's get into it ✨

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <curses.h>

char * keybound(int key-code, int count);

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✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so keybound is an ncurses extension (yes, an extension, hold that thought for PORTABILITY, bestie) and what it does is let a curses application get the value of the string that's bound to the function key key-code. if you wanna see where those bindings actually get used on input, go peek at wgetch(3NCURSES) — and if you're on the wide-character API side of things, that's wget_wch(3NCURSES) for you 💅

by default, those bindings are string capabilities pulled from the terminfo database entry that matches your terminal type. iconic. classic. the standard behavior, no notes.

now here's the fun part: your app can override those definitions using define_key(3NCURSES) — and it's non-destructive and repeatable, like literally you can just keep doing it, because it's as if you're pushing new definitions onto a stack. stack energy. very LIFO of it 🫶

and that's where the count parameter comes in, because it lets you reach into that stack and grab the *n*th most recently defined binding. and if you pass 0? that selects the binding that actually gets used on input. the one that matters. the main character 😌

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🎀 RETURN VALUE 🎀

if key-code matches a function key that's been defined by the application or the terminal type currently in use, then keybound will allocate and hand you back a string. and heads up — you, the application, have to free it. that's on you, bestie, don't forget 😭

keybound returns NULL if key-code is not positive, or if it doesn't correspond to a key code definition at all. no binding, no string, that's it.

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🦋 EXTENSIONS 🦋

keybound is an ncurses extension. periodt. 💅

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🌈 PORTABILITY 🌈

if your application is out here using ncurses extensions, you should condition their use on the visibility of the NCURSES_VERSION preprocessor macro. basically: vibe check the macro before you commit, so your code doesn't get humbled on a system that isn't ncurses. iykyk 🔥

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👑 AUTHORS 👑

Thomas Dickey

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🌟 SEE ALSO 🌟

• ncurses(3NCURSES)
• define_key(3NCURSES)
• keyok(3NCURSES)
• key_defined(3NCURSES)
• terminfo(5)

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and that's the whole page, bestie — no crumbs left 🍓 this was ncurses 6.6, dated 2024-12-28, and honestly? she ate. go bind some keys 💖✨🎀