ChatZLE

ChatZLE

Bring zsh/ZLE-style command-line editing to Minecraft chat.

Client-side only. ChatZLE improves editing for Minecraft chat and /commands. It does not start zsh, open a terminal, or execute commands on your computer.

ChatZLE adds persistent command history, inline autosuggestions, fuzzy reverse search, and familiar zsh/ZLE-inspired editing shortcuts to Minecraft.

Features

• Inline history autosuggestions ranked by prefix, frequency, and recency
• Persistent command history, deduplicated and separated by server by default
• Fuzzy reverse search with Ctrl-R
• Prefix-aware history navigation with Up and Down
• ZLE-inspired editing for character and word movement
• Kill ring, yank, and yank-pop
• Last-argument insertion with Alt-.
• Command abbreviations, such as /gms → /gamemode survival
• Sensitive-command filtering for common login, password, token, and authentication commands
• Full compatibility with vanilla Brigadier syntax highlighting and command suggestions
• No server-side installation required

Vanilla Completion Compatibility

ChatZLE history suggestions can remain visible while the vanilla Brigadier completion popup is open.

• Tab, Up, and Down continue to control vanilla completions
• Right or End accepts the complete ChatZLE history suggestion
• Alt-Right accepts only the next word from the ChatZLE suggestion

This keeps full-line history completion available even while vanilla is suggesting the current command argument.

Main Shortcuts

| Shortcut | Action |
| — | — |
| Right / End | Accept the complete inline suggestion |
| Alt-Right | Accept the next suggested word |
| Up / Down | Navigate history matching the current prefix |
| Ctrl-R | Open fuzzy reverse history search / select the next result |
| Ctrl-S | Select the previous reverse-search result |
| Enter / Right | Accept the selected search result |
| Esc / Ctrl-G | Cancel reverse search |
| Ctrl-A / Ctrl-E | Move to the beginning/end of the line |
| Ctrl-B / Ctrl-F | Move backward/forward one character |
| Alt-B / Alt-F | Move backward/forward one word |
| Ctrl-W | Kill the previous word |
| Ctrl-U / Ctrl-K | Kill to the beginning/end of the line |
| Alt-D | Kill the next word |
| Ctrl-Y / Alt-Y | Yank / yank-pop |
| Ctrl-T / Alt-T | Transpose characters / words |
| Alt-. | Insert the last argument from history |

On macOS, ZLE actions use the physical Control key. Standard Minecraft Command-key shortcuts continue to work normally.

Client Commands

• /chatzle — show the current status
• /chatzle help — show a compact shortcut reference
• /chatzle toggle|enable|disable — control ChatZLE without restarting
• /chatzle reload — reload configuration and history
• /chatzle history stats|clear — inspect or clear saved history
• /chatzle abbr list|add|remove — manage command abbreviations

Example:

/chatzle abbr add gms /gamemode survival

Typing /gms afterwards expands it to /gamemode survival .

Requirements

| Component | Version |
| — | — |
| Minecraft | 1.21.11 |
| Fabric Loader | 0.18.4 or newer |
| Fabric API | A build for Minecraft 1.21.11 |
| Fabric Language Kotlin | 1.13.9+kotlin.2.3.10 or newer |
| Java | 21 |

Install ChatZLE in the client’s mods directory. Do not install it on the server.

Privacy

Configuration and history are stored locally in:

config/chatzle/config.json
config/chatzle/history.json

ChatZLE does not transmit your command history.

Common credential-like commands are excluded from persistent history by default. This is a best-effort safeguard and cannot guarantee that every sensitive command will be detected.

Links

• Source Code
• Issue Tracker
• MIT License
• Author Website