Re-implement smart copy from alacritty#3873

.github/workflows/upload_asset.sh

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ if [ $# -lt 2 ]; then
     exit 1
 fi
 
-repo="alacritty/alacritty"
+repo="sigurdo/alacritty-smart-copy"
 file_path=$1
 bearer=$2
 

README.md

@@ -10,6 +10,38 @@
        src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/8886672/103264352-5ab0d500-49a2-11eb-8961-02f7da66c855.png">
 </p>
 
+## About this fork
+
+This fork of Alacritty lets you copy and paste with `ctrl+c` and `ctrl+v`, like in most modern Windows and Linux software. If no text is selected, `ctrl+c` sends `SIGINT` like usual. The selection is cleared when you copy with `ctrl+c`. In this way, pressing `ctrl+c` twice will always send minimum one `SIGINT`. Copying without clearing the selection can still be achieved with `ctrl+shift+c`.
+
+On the technical side, a `CopyDynamic` action is added. It copies the selected text and clears the selection. When no text is selected, the keystroke is passed through, thus causing a `SIGINT`.
+
+"Smart copy" was first propsed and rejected already [back in 2018](https://github.com/alacritty/alacritty/issues/1919) for reasons I do not agree with. In 2020, dtheodor provided a [fantastic explanation](https://github.com/alacritty/alacritty/issues/1919#issuecomment-588188924) of why smart copy is such a brilliant solution. A [pull request implementing this feature](https://github.com/alacritty/alacritty/pull/3873) was proposed by ambiso later in 2020, which was also rejected. [Their fork](https://github.com/ambiso/alacritty/tree/master) is sadly outdated now. Therefore, I created this updated forked with the same approach. I plan to keep the fork up to date for as long as I use Alacritty as my daily driver terminal emulator.
+
+The following key bindings are provided by default for Windows, Linux and BSD:
+
+```yaml
+key_bindings:
+  - { key: V, mods: Control, mode: ~Vi, action: Paste }
+  - { key: C, mods: Control, mode: ~Vi, action: CopyDynamic }
+```
+
+and in TOML (for Alacritty v13+),
+
+```toml
+[[keyboard.bindings]]
+key = "V"
+mods = "Control"
+mode = "~Vi"
+action = "Paste"
+
+[[keyboard.bindings]]
+key = "C"
+mods = "Control"
+mode = "~Vi"
+action = "CopyDynamic"
+```
+
 ## About
 
 Alacritty is a modern terminal emulator that comes with sensible defaults, but

alacritty/src/config/bindings.rs

@@ -118,6 +118,9 @@ pub enum Action {
     /// Store current selection into clipboard.
     Copy,
 
+    /// Copy selection and clear it, or forward the keybinding to the program if there is no selection.
+    CopyDynamic,
+
     #[cfg(not(any(target_os = "macos", windows)))]
     /// Store current selection into selection buffer.
     CopySelection,
@@ -666,7 +669,9 @@ fn common_keybindings() -> Vec<KeyBinding> {
     bindings!(
         KeyBinding;
         V,        ModifiersState::CTRL | ModifiersState::SHIFT, ~BindingMode::VI; Action::Paste;
+        V,        ModifiersState::CTRL, ~BindingMode::VI; Action::Paste;
         C,        ModifiersState::CTRL | ModifiersState::SHIFT; Action::Copy;
+        C,        ModifiersState::CTRL, ~BindingMode::VI; Action::CopyDynamic;
         F,        ModifiersState::CTRL | ModifiersState::SHIFT, ~BindingMode::SEARCH;
             Action::SearchForward;
         B,        ModifiersState::CTRL | ModifiersState::SHIFT, ~BindingMode::SEARCH;

alacritty/src/input.rs

@@ -273,6 +273,12 @@ impl<T: EventListener> Execute<T> for Action {
             Action::Copy => ctx.copy_selection(ClipboardType::Clipboard),
             #[cfg(not(any(target_os = "macos", windows)))]
             Action::CopySelection => ctx.copy_selection(ClipboardType::Selection),
+            Action::CopyDynamic => {
+                if !ctx.selection_is_empty() {
+                    ctx.copy_selection(ClipboardType::Clipboard);
+                    ctx.clear_selection();
+                }
+            },
             Action::ClearSelection => ctx.clear_selection(),
             Action::Paste => {
                 let text = ctx.clipboard_mut().load(ClipboardType::Clipboard);
@@ -1043,6 +1049,11 @@ impl<T: EventListener, A: ActionContext<T>> Processor<T, A> {
                 // Pass through the key if any of the bindings has the `ReceiveChar` action.
                 *suppress_chars.get_or_insert(true) &= binding.action != Action::ReceiveChar;
 
+                // Pass through the key if any of the bindings has the `CopyDynamic` action and the selection is empty.
+                if binding.action == Action::CopyDynamic && self.ctx.selection_is_empty() {
+                    suppress_chars = Some(false);
+                }
+
                 // Binding was triggered; run the action.
                 binding.action.clone().execute(&mut self.ctx);
             }